Biore Blemish Clearing Scrub

Bioré has a reasonably complicated array of cleansers available.  I'm a big fan of the Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser - months on now, my skin hasn't dried out and I'm using such a tiny amount it feels like the never ending cleanser.

I won a full size of the new Blemish Clearing Scrub.  Now, I'm not normally a fan of combination scrub/cleansers.  Firstly, I'm not convinced I need to exfoliate like that every day and secondly, I often find them drying.  However, my other half does use this type of thing so I figured even if it wasn't quite right for me, I'd be able to find it a happy home.

Unlike the Balancing Cleanser this scrub has a very strong scent which is dominated by mandarin.  Also, the main ingredient after water is not glycerin, but laureth-4 carboxylic acid.  This is used in acne treatments and is a surfactant, so it basically helps the product foam.  Having done this tiny bit of research, it's not surprise to me that I found this product dried out my skin.  Also, I really disliked its strong scent.

Handed over to my other half, he's decided it's not as good as his usual product and, like me, he finds it 'too orange-y'.

So overall, this product is a miss, rather than a hit.

Widely available.  RRP ~ $11.

Bioré.

Source: prize.

Skinvitals Eye Brighten Cloth Eye Treatment Mask

Part of my personal beauty routine, such as it is, is a weekly(ish) home facial.  This usually just incorporates exfoliation plus a mask.  I do use separate moisturising and clarifying masks and the moisturising mask I currently use is suitable for use around the eyes.

However, I was tottering around Priceline the other day and caught sight of a single use mask that promised to deal with dark circles and that would brighten and invigorate the eye area.  Skinvitals produces a range of cloth masks and Eye Brighten just happened to be at my eye levels.  A single packet was about $5 (less the 40% Priceline was having off skincare) but from the website it looks like these also come in packs of three for $10.50.

Although the packet extols the fact the mask contains Vitamin C and licorice the ingredient after water is sodium hyaluronate.  If you were just reading the back of the packet, this might sound vaguely scary but a bit of googling shows that it is absolutely the opposite.  In one form (hyaluronic acid) it occurs naturally in the body, including in the eye's own vitreous humour.  This form is quite large (on a molecular level) and doesn't penetrate the skin well but it is often used in injectable fillers (mmmm, doesn't that sound nice?).  Sodium hyaluronate, however, has many of the same positive properties but is smaller and more readily absorbed by the skin, taking its moisturising properties with it and providing a bit of plumping at the same time.  Unsurprisingly, this makes it popular in skin care and, as it occurs in the body, it is very low risk in the allergen stakes.

The mask is easy to use:  cleanse your face, open the packet, pop the cloths under your eyes and sit back and relax for 15 minutes or so.  The cloths are very cooling and I loved the feel of this on my skin.  Because there's not a lot of preparation involved, this is definitely a very quick pick me up.  When you're ready, remove the cloths and any excess serum can be wiped away with a tissue or cotton pad, or patted into your skin.  I didn't find that there was really any excess.

So you can judge for yourself whether or not a one off application had any brightening effects, here are before and after photos (sorry they aren't at quite the same angle - I think the pre-angle is more flattering ...).  I have a toddler, so if anyone is going to have dark circles and puffy eyes, it's me!

Personally, I wasn't convinced that as a one off this had any incredible immediate effects but I do think that expecting that is unrealistic.  I can see myself definitely buying this again and I'll definitely be trying out the remainder of the SkinVitals range.

Available from Priceline.  Other stockists on the Skinvitals site.  Around $5.

Skinvitals.

Source: purchase.

L'Oreal Revitalift Total Repair 10 Night Cream

What a mouthful!  You can understand why, when I toddled into Priceline a few months ago to buy this (on special, of course) I was completely confused by what was on offer and what wasn't.  In the L'Oreal range, Revitalift and Revitalift 10 are two different things.  I'm still not clear on what the difference is - but this is what I ended up with ...

This night cream claims to fight 10 signs of ageing while you sleep.  A big plus for me is that its main ingredient (after water) is glycerin - something that my skin seems to love.  After that, an ingredient I haven't passed comment on yet: dimethicone.  This is really widely found in cosmetics (and related products) and is basically a silicone.  It makes creams very smooth and also helps fill in/smooth over any fine lines.  It can also act as a protective barrier (so make sure your skin is clean before slathering it on as it will help trap gunk too!).

Personally, I've found that products containing dimethicone have a nice feel when I'm applying them to my skin.  They spread easily and tend not to feel oily.

I absolutely loved this cream.  It was easy to apply, non greasy and I didn't need too much of it.  It made my skin feel plumped up and hydrated just before bed and in the morning I still felt the same way.

For much of the time I was using this, it was in combination with the Garnier Ultralift during the day, and those two in tandem is a combination I'd be happy to return to.  My skin felt great.

I was not such a fan of the little pump container.  It worked absolutely fine but there's no way to know if you've run out of cream or the pump mechanism is simply failing because there's not enough left.  However, even though it is a cheap plastic container, it does look reasonably luxe in your bathroom.

I would definitely buy this again.  I know I'm a bit younger than the L'Oreal Revitalift target age range but I figure that pre-emptive skincare is not a bad thing.

Widely available.  RRP is around $36 but you'll be able to find it cheaper.

L'Oreal.

Source:  purchase.

Pond's Age Miracle Dual Action Eye Cream

This cream, from the relatively recently relaunched Ponds, offers 'dual action' with separate creams for eye lid and under the eye.

Initially I was very sceptical about this, especially as the two creams are very different in appearance and texture.  And while the jar is quite funky (and also quite luxe for a relatively cheap product) I could see myself running out of one cream a lot sooner than the other.

This didn't happen - I have run out of the eye lid cream and still have a little of the under eye cream left, but it's only a tiny disparity.

As for the creams themselves - I actually quite liked the pale pink eye lid cream.  It was very smooth and light, went on easily and had a nice matt, powdery feel to it.

However, the under eye cream (and let's face it, that's where most of us are worried about wrinkles!) didn't do it for me at all.  I found the cream far too heavy and often, especially in slightly cooler weather, I felt like I was dragging it across the delicate eye area.  It also had a tendency to sit in the eye crease if I accidentally used too much.

In terms of performance, I'd rate this product as maintenance rather than anything else.  I didn't notice any improvement in terms of appearance but also I haven't come out of the experience looking worse.

The main ingredient in both creams (before water even!) is cyclopentasiloxane, a silicone that appears to most commonly be used in conditioners.  But it is used in make up and, like all the silicones, has emollient properties and can fill in fine lines temporarily but seems to be there more for feel (which makes it even stranger than that the under cream felt so heavy, but there you go) and its ability to deliver other ingredients to the skin.  The lower lid cream does contain glycerin (which appears to be my skin's favourite!) but it's well down the list of ingredients.

I picked this up from Priceline with the benefit of both some SisterClub vouchers and a special SisterClub discount so it set me back all of about $15, however it is normally more expensive.

Would I buy this again?  No.

Available from Priceline.  RRP $29.99

Ponds.

Source: purchase.

Garnier UltraLift 2 in 1 Serum (Day)

This a prize that landed in my letter box.  After being underwhelmed by the Garnier BB Cream, I didn't come to this moisturiser (in the increasingly popular "+ serum" format) with high expectations.

I could not have been more wrong.  This is a fabulous day cream.  My only criticism is that it doesn't have any sun protection in it.  That, seriously, is it.  My only complaint.

The cream is very prettily presented: two spirals of cream and serum so that as you pump you get the perfect blend.  It is very lightly scented (a plus in my mind) and the cream itself is super light and quickly absorbed.  I would guess that if you had very dry, dehydrated skin this might not do the trick - but, even if you are like me (my skin is routinely dehydrated) this is great.  You don't need to use very much (though at under $20 you could afford to!) and it softens and plumpens (is that a word?!) skin.

Initially I was using this both morning and night and I did find it wasn't quite powerful enough, with a few dry patches appearing.  But swapping to a proper night cream (and, I understand, that Garnier produces a night cream version of this) solved that problem.

Its main ingredient (after water) is glycerin - something my skin always responds well to.  Next up is pentylene glycol which, interestingly, has antimicrobial properties.  I wonder if this translates well into the cream not causing breakouts in those prone to them ...

I loved this.  Something I will definitely consider buying when I am next in the market for a moisturiser.  Top marks, Garnier!

Widely available.  RRP is about $20.

Garnier.

Source: prize.

Clairol Nice'n Easy

 This is a product which is readily available and very often reduced in price. I'll confess that I was seduced by not only the mark down but also a pretty comprehensive range of colours.
 
For the record, I chose 114C (Light Chestnut Brown) which doesn't appear on the Clairol website so maybe it's been discontinued.

As with all hair dyes, you need to do an allergy test 48 hours in advance. And here is the first con: you need to mix the colour and developer and use this for your patch test. I find this a massive pain as I can't just do the patch test on the spur of the moment. I have to be organised enough to find something to mix them together in and by that stage I have found something else to do.

You apply the dye to dry hair (a definite plus) and ideally you will have done a strand test to work out the perfect development time ... or you leave for 20-25 minutes.

As with all permanent colours, Nice'n Easy promises 100% grey coverage but I was a little disappointed.  Despite the much vaunted (by the ads) multi-tonal colouring, the greys turned out (as they so often do) a deepish pink which faded very quickly.

I liked that the conditioner treatment was resealable but, as far as I'm concerned, the faff with the allergy test and the less than awesome grey coverage far outweigh that.  In a hair colour, I think the most important thing is even, persistent coverage and on this count, Nice'n Easy did not deliver.

Widely available.  RRP about $12.99 though often on special

Clairol.

Source: purchase.

Sanctum Moisure Concentrate

A while back I read a piece in the Guardian about how, when buying moisturisers (or skin care in general) it's a good idea to have a quick read of the ingredients list.  If it's dominated by water (sorry, aqua) and mineral oil then you're really paying for glorified baby oil.  If it's dominated by the so called 'active' ingredients, then you're getting a bit more bang for your buck.

This Sanctum Moisture Concentrate (which I received as part of a prize) ticks the second box with the plenty of things like aloe, vitamin A, cocoa seed butter and jojoba oil.  It's also Australian made and owned, not tested on animals, vegan friendly and 87% organic.

So before you even use this, you feel good.

How does it stack up as product?  I really liked it.  It has a very herbal, savoury smell that is dominated by rosemary.  I liked this as it reminded me of expensive facials where they use very concentrated products!

I used the product morning and night (always a plus, in my mind) and found it a good base for foundation.  It did a good job of hydrating my skin although it wasn't always quite up to the winter weather.  At the same time, it didn't cause any breakouts but it is quite emollient so if you have oily skin (rather than combination) or you're prone to breakouts you might want to try one of Sanctum's other moisturisers.

This is another product I would definitely buy.  It's only $20 for a 75g tube and it lasted me for quite a while.  It seems like it might be a bit tricky to get hold of.  Here is South Australia it is supposedly available at Foods for Life in Gawler Place but the FfL website doesn't list it.  You can, however, buy it through the Sanctum website.  Sanctum offers loads of different products, including ones for men and babies, so if you are interested in organic and sustainable skin care you should have a look.

Available:  check the store locator on the Sanctum website or buy online. $19.95

Sanctum Australia.

Source:  prize.