Botanics 100% Organic Facial Oil

Botanics
100% Organic Facial Oil
Boots - £9.99

Oils are having their moment right now and are even beneficial for combination and oily complexions, especially when used in combination with another cleanser to remove every last trace of make up and dirt without upsetting the skin. Double-cleansing with an oil before using your regular cleanser helps to ensure stubborn long-wearing foundations and sunscreen are lifted from the skin gently.

This Botanics oil is almost always on some sort of offer at Boots, which means you can feel less guilty about rubbing it all over your face and wiping most of it away! It has an amazing, if somewhat artificial, smell. Very sweet and "almondy". However, the product is 100% organic, which I assume means the "parfum" ingredient as well.

To use as a cleanser, pour around 5-10 drops into your hand and massage onto your dry face (no need to wet your face first). Really work it into the skin and around the eye area (probs best not to get it into the eyes if possible). Then, soak a regular facecloth in warm water, wring it out, and start polishing the oil off. Rinse your cloth and repeat a couple of times until you feel that most of your make up is gone. Then go on with your regular cleanser and follow with your usual regime.

This oil can also be added to moisturiser and/or night cream for a boost, or even massaged into the face before moisturiser. I rub this on my hands, lips, and any weird dry patches. I also like sweeping a very small amount over my eyebrows with my little finger to gloss them up a bit and help them look groomed.

All-in-all, there are tonnes of uses for this little bottle of wonder and with its organic credentials, gorgeous scent, and affordable price tag it's a no-brainer = buy it!

Ingredients: Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil*, Argania spinosa kernel oil*, Rosa canina seed oil*, Tocopheryl acetate, Limonene, Citronellol, Pelargonium graveolens flower oil, Citrus aurantium dulcis peel extract*, Linalool, Citrus aurantium bergamia (Bergamot) fruit oil, Citrus medica limonum (Lemon) peel oil, Geraniol, Parfum (Fragrance)**, Citral
* Ingredients certified as organic by the Soil Association for use in cosmetic products
** Ingredients certified as organic by the Ecocert Association for use in cosmetic product

Botanics All Bright range

About a year-and-a-half ago, my skin first started properly freaking out for the first time in years. I was completely unprepared for the whiteheads, blackheads, oily t-zone and cystic acne which ensued and spent hours reading blogs and product reviews to find a magic cure.

It turns out there is no magic cure, but there certainly are products and ingredients which can help you on your way to much clearer, brighter, happier skin. Incorporating these into an appropriate skincare regime can dramatically reduce the pain and embarrassment of blemished skin.

One range in particular has seen me through these bad times: Botanics All Bright. These products have natural hibiscus extract, which promises to "brighten and smooth all skin types". This gentle exfoliating effect is essential for congested skin. Combined into a regime, the overall effect is astonishing for such a cheap range of products. They really help overcome whiteheads, clear out most blackheads and leave skin much more refined in texture.

Although they are brilliant, they're not miracle workers - I am still left with cystic acne (which is hard to treat with topical on-the-skin products anyway) and I do get the odd blemish every few days. The exfoliating action from these products alone is not quite strong enough for me, and I do incorporate other products (especially glycolic masks and toners) into my routine.

Keep an eye out for special offers on all of the Botanics products. Currently, there's up to a third off selected Botanics skin care. I wait until these offers appear then stock up on refills (although I wouldn't stockpile too far ahead as the natural ingredients may not keep for too long). I've included the full prices in this post but it's very rare you'll catch them not on offer.

Top performers for me include:

1. Botanics All Bright Gentle Cleansing Cream - £3.99
2. Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner - £3.99
3. Botanics All Bright Refreshing Eye Roll-On - £8.99
4. Botanics All Bright Cleansing Face Wipes 25s - £3.49

Yes, I've put the face wipes in there. Just to clarify: I absolutely do not *wash* my face with the wipes. They are for make up mishaps or moisturiser/serum dramas (ie. get it off my face NOW moments). You must cleanse your face properly with a face wash, preferably morning and night, preferably use a face cloth, preferably use a decent cleanser (I haven't tried the face wash from this range because I am married to my cleansing balms and to my Origins gel, but it looks okay from the ingredients). I'll wash my face with one of my cleansers, warm water, and a flannel. Then I'll sweep a bit of the All Bright cleansing cream over, and then a sweep of the toner.

Another word of warning: the Soothing Eye Make Up Remover is awful. Dreadful. It hated my eyes. My eyes hated it back. Straight in the bin - there was no way I was giving it to a friend or family member. The day and night moisturisers are okay I guess... I think this is one area you need to put a bit of money into. I have an Origins moisturiser in my regime which I absolutely could not live without, it is £34, the moisturisers from this range are less than a fiver, so I guess in this instance you do get what you pay for.

Last word on the All Bright range (and Botanics in general): it is incredibly refreshing to see the ingredients printed online (that's why I haven't included them in this post). I spend hours looking for ingredients lists online and if I can't find any, and if I don't have access to the physical product, I'll just pass it by - no matter how much love it's getting on blogs and in magazines. So good on Boots for providing these details and saving their customers the hassle!

Origins Never a Dull Moment Face Cleanser

Origins
Never a Dull Moment Skin-brightening face cleanser
Boots £18

Origins "Never a Dull Moment" face wash is a skin-brightening face cleanser with fruit extracts. I bought this when I was on a bit of a mission to overhaul my skin care routine and I was thoroughly fed up with my skin and its bad behaviour. My skin was freaking out and was somehow managing to have all the following properties simultaneously: dry, oily, blotchy, tight, itchy, lumpy, spotty, dull, flaky, shiny... the list goes on. Hideous.

Anyway, I was initially dubious about this wash as it is foaming, which is usually a no-no for acne-prone skin. However, Origins mentioned those magic words which always manage to lure me in, namely:  "skin brightening" and "fruit acids". Any product with those terms is usually geared towards sluggish complexions much in need some exfoliating action. Right up my alley.

I have large collection of cleansers with my most popular choices in the past being a gel to milk cleanser for the shower in the morning (I don't have hot showers due to low blood pressure so the temp is fine for my face, if you do have hot showers - beware of washing your face in the hot water!), and a balm cleanser in the evening removed with a flannel. I avoid shea butter and mineral oil like the plague. If I do use an oily balm, I make sure to double cleanse with something to remove the balm residue, or to ensure the balm has friendly ingredients (almond oil, rosehip oil etc don't break me out).

This Origins cleanser has been in the shower with me most mornings and I've been really appreciating how clean and fresh my skin feels. The little boost from the fruit acids contributes to the other peeling products I use and has significantly cut down on those pimply surface spots that are usually a result of clogged up skin. The smell isn't anything to write home about, but I don't use products for their smell. I have a few Origins products (reviews coming up) and they often have quite... odd smells. Sort of like plants. Hmm.

I've included the full ingredients list as presented on the packaging as I like to know exactly what's in my products and it's often a nightmare trying to find a full list. Origins aren't quite an organic brand however they use lots of lovely essential oils and natural extracts. These can be a problem for some sensitive skins, but my reactive skin seems fine with this, in fact it is very soothing. Some might not like the fact it has butylene glycol in it. I personally don't go out of my way to avoid it, but there is talk that it can dry the skin.

So in conclusion: great product; not cheap but reasonable for results; easy to use in the shower; foaming but not drying; great gentle exfoliating action for clogged skin; basically, an all-round winner!

Ingredients: water\aqua\eau; citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) flower water - cocamidopropyl hydroxylsultaine - coco-betaine - decylglucoside - sodium cocoyl sarcosinate - sodium isostearoyl lactylate - methyl gluceth-20 - peg-7 glyceryl cocoate - sodium chloride - barosma betulina (buchu) leaf oil*, citrus paradisi (grapefruit) peel oil*, eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus) leaf oil*, abies sibirica (pine) oil*, prunus amygdalus amara (bitter almond) kernal oil*, limonene - disodium cocoyl glutamate - mangifera indica (mango) fruit extract - carica papaya (papaya) fruit extract - yucca schidigera (yucca) extract - quillaja saponaria wood extract - aloe barbadensis (aloe) leaf juice - polyquaternium-6 - bis-peg-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane - sodium cocoyl glutamate - butylene glycol - polysorbate 20 - monosodium citrate - citric acid - phenoxylethanol - methylchloroisothiazolinone - methylisothiazolinone.    *essential oil