Saturday 24 August 2013

REVIEW: REN Skincare

I have always been interested in Ren skincare as a lot of beauty bloggers tend to favour their facial masks. However, for one reason or another I haven't tried them but always looked on fondly thinking one day I would. Today was the day, I headed into town for one thing and one thing only and that was a eyebrow brush but got side tracked into Marks and Spencer. Big signs hit me straight on '20% off beauty and fragrance' and before I knew it I was typing my pin in the card machine purchasing a 'Kit for Combination Skin'. I swear, I have a problem.
The little kit contains 3 miniatures of the Cleansing Gel, Detox Mask and Day Fluid so gives you the perfect opportunity to try out the range for a fraction of the price.
 
 
 
Cleansing Gel
I thought I would try these out in one night, in typical order of cleanse, mask and moisturise therefore the Cleansing Gel came first to get rid of all that make up and everyday grime. At first look, the formulation looked runny and very thin compared to other gels I have used and because of this it is a tad difficult to massage into your skin without dropping a bit so stand over your skink! It advises to rinse off with warm water so this is what I did with some large cotton pads. It removed every inch of make up and grime and left my skin feeling fresh and smooth - I was impressed.
The only beef I have with this product is the fact it isn't great at removing eye make up. While it removed the last bits of eye shadow it didn't effectively remove my gel eyeliner nor my waterproof mascara. For me, I like a cleanser to do the whole works so I don't have to bother with eye makeup remover as this adds a un necessary extra step.
 
Detox Mask
This is the product I was most looking forward to testing out as I have heard such good things about the Ren masks and I wanted to compare this to my beloved Sanctuary 5 minute detox. The formulation is thick and clay like but is still easy to apply to the skin. I put the product all over my face but I think it is something I will only need on my oily t-zone. It instructs to wash with warm water after it dries on your skin but I wasn't expecting it to dry so quickly - literally in a couple of minutes it seemed ready to be removed.
After I removed the mask you could see my skin was much less congested and super clean, my pores looked smaller too! I love this mask, at the moment the same as my Sanctuary but this could change if it continues to minimise my pores!

Day Fluid
This day fluid is essentially a moisturiser for oily skin types therefore it is going to give your skin the moisture it needs without the added grease factor. This is a light formula, similar to my fave La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and similarly sinks in nicely to the skin. It made my skin feel super soft and a lovely finishing product to my mini Ren facial. Do I think it is better than my La Roche Posay? No. However I think this one will need to be used for a few more days to determine whether it actually works.

Overall, I was impressed with the Ren Skincare set and for £9.60 I think it was worth every penny to try out the range. However, I do think you can get similar results with different brands for a cheaper price for example using a cleansing balm then mask such as Sanctuary and then La Roche moisturiser for a smaller price. No, I don't think I will change my skincare routine totally to this, but the mask was definitely worth while and definitely on my shopping list.

Friday 23 August 2013

REVIEW: Clinique take the day off cleansing balm!

A few months ago I wrote a blog in utter despair - my skin was heavily congested, spotty and ridiculously oily. I turned to the skincare expert Caroline Hirons for help and scoured her blog for solutions -  one that kept cropping up was to try out a cleansing balm.
Now, I am going to confess that while I love foundation, my skin took a back seat and generally I didn't use any sort of cleanser to take off my layers of make up. According to Caroline, using just a make up wipe is not enough for your skin and you should always use a decent cleansing balm, she suggested Emma Hardie. Instead of going straight out and buying a Emma Hardie cleanser I shopped around and the Clinique lover I am, I went straight to their counter (naughty me!). I picked up their new Take the Day Off Cleansing balm and tried it straight away!
 
 
 
I also love the look of the packaging - it looks super luxe on my dressing table!
 
The texture of this balm is kinda strange. It looks like lard in the container but when massaged into the skin it turns to oil. You then wipe away with either cotton pads or a muslin clothe with hot water. This balm takes all your make up off in one swoop and your skin is left make up free and feeling fresh. A week later and my skin was looking so much better, it looked much less congested, smooth and almost spot free! I would 100% recommend this balm as it done wonders for my skin. I'm sure that this cleanser isn't the only cleanser that would help skin with imperfections, it is just a case of making sure you  cleanse every night - don't think a wet wipe does it all!  
 
Go out and buy yourself a cleansing balm - you won't look back!
 
Elles x
 
Links
 
Caroline Hiron's skincare blog: http://www.beautymouth.com/