I wanted to share some appreciation for a few little gems I've found on my travels that I absolutely love and couldn't live without! Funnily enough all of these things were picked up on a whim (is there really any other way to buy things?) and turned out to work wonders. I've been using them most days which is a big thing for me as I'm not usually one for routine, but these little beauties are making my life much easier and the best thing is they're amazing quality all at budget prices! So here's a look at what I've been coveting, maybe you'll find something new to try?
The Body Shop Organic Cotton Facial Pads
Sounds crazy but hear me out, because I know already what you may be thinking... "Organic cotton, really? How prissy" "What's the point? It just costs more surely?" "Aren't all cotton pads the same?" "What difference would that even make?"
I've been there, I was sceptical but I was so wrong. These cotton pads are luxuriously silky and smooth, they glide across your face! They also don't do that horrendous thing where all the fluffy bits end up stuck to your eyelashes and I've found that they're much less harsh on my skin, helping it become calmer than when I used to use normal bulk buy cotton pads. The softness is just incredible, they absorb product really well (they don't just absorb it & then dry out, they stay moist so less waste of make-up remover), there's two different textured sides depending on what you want to use them for, they're suitable for use on babies & most importantly for me is that they are much more environmentally friendly! The best part to mention is I've noticed they get tough eye make-up off 10x quicker than normal cotton pads, they just sweep it off. Honestly I urge you to give them a try, both your skin and mother nature will thank you!
Superdrug Tea Tree Sensitive Facial Cleansing Wipes
In a sense these were both an essential and an impulse buy. Naturally I've been relying on Superdrug heavily since going cruelty-free and trust me, they make transition a hell of a lot easier as all their own brand products are CF and many are vegetarian & vegan!
I'd decided that I wasn't really doing a good job at taking my makeup off properly, therefore clogging my pores and causing even more breakouts than I naturally have. Fatigue can make you do crazy things and instead of using my nice Body Shop camomile cleanser & eye makeup remover I was instead resorting to quickly rubbing a baby wipe over my face, yikes. But I like the ease & convenience of wipes so it didn't take me long in my travels to stumble across these. I love tea tree, they have camomile extract in them, they did a sensitive version, they're CF & vegan - all boxes ticked!
I really, really adore these wipes. They make life so much easier when I can't be bothered making much of an effort taking my makeup off (especially after a night out) so now I just use my eye makeup remover on the fab cotton pads I mentioned and follow it up with a good, soothing wipe. They lift every bit of excess dirt away and leave you feeling completely refreshed. I expected the tea tree to possibly tingle a tad but not at all! I'd say the only downside is that the tea tree smell is quite strong, it's not a problem for me at all but if you're a bit sensitive to smells you may find these overpowering. However I love them, they've calmed my skin down and are such a handy, fuss-free thing to grab and wipe over your face, makeup or no makeup! Repurchasing all the way.
Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz
If I'm feeling fancy or energised, after the tea tree wipes I like to spritz some of this all over my face and neck then wipe away gently with, yep you guessed it, a cotton pad. It's great for making sure every bit of makeup is off your face, works wonderfully as a toner and it's also brilliant if you just want to give your face a freshen up. I just spritz it on and leave it! It smells so delicate, feels really calming & refreshing and I've even noticed a visible tightening of my pores. I've also found that it works great as a makeup setting spray but I don't use it often for this purpose. I was lucky enough to pick this up from the clearance bit in Boots for £3! Absolute bargain; and it's cruelty-free & organic.
Greenland Pomegranate Lip Balm
This is where the packaging changes up from the simple green and white theme I seem to have gravitated towards! Honestly this is a holy grail product for me, hands down. I picked it up in Boundary Mill whilst browsing, noticed the packaging, liked what I saw, read the packaging, liked it even more! It's everything I could want in a lip balm:
- A little goes a long way
- The scent/flavour is delicious but delicate, not sickly at all
- The balm is so smooth & moisturising, when applied it lasts for ages (seriously, I barely have to reapply)
- Chapped lips are a thing of the past
- It's 98% natural, vegetarian & cruelty-free
- No paraffin, mineral oils or parabens
- It seals lipsticks really well
- It's neither too glossy nor too matte
Most of their other products look just as good & happen to be vegan! I can't wait to try more lip balm flavours as well as other products and I would definitely urge you to check them out.
Tea Tree Nose Pore Strips
In all honesty these are something I've used for years because lets face it, sometimes pores just inexplicably get too blocked for you to handle and nothing else fixes them but the ever glamorous pore strip! I usually get these from Bodycare, they are 99p per pack of six and after emailing the company I found out that these are also cruelty-free. There isn't that much to say about them, they do what they're supposed to! They smell nice, they go on easy - they actually have little nicks in them so they curve round your nose without bubbling up - they really clean out my pores, they don't make me oily after use and I don't have to use them all that often because they do such a good job!
What skincare essentials could you not live without? Leave me a comment and lets get chatting!
Stay curious
*In terms of skin-type I've had acne since the age of 10/11 and suffered ever since, I'm now 25. What works for me & eases my blemished, scarred skin may not do the same for you. Just keep trying! x
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