Since my once-stellar skincare regime has been replaced with baby wipes to take off last night's make up, my skin has been in serious need of some TLC. Simple and Nivea now sit on my bathroom counter where endless bottles of Dermalogica and Elemis once lived.
After coming down with the flu this past week, my skin has been in serious need of a pick me up, so when I was finally able to get out of bed I dragged myself down to Boots to take advantage of their 3-for-2 offer on No7 skincare. I've always liked this range, particularly the Protect & Perfect day cream but I was intrigued to try the Beautiful Skin range as one of it's main ingredients is one of my favourites, rosehip oil.
I was torn between the hot cloth and melting gel cleanser. I've never used a cloth cleanser before, and have always much preferred a quick lather and rinse off method to anything that requires too much effort (I know, lazy), but on the recommendation of my beautiful friend Holly at summerhollyday.com, knowing her affliction for Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, I decided to try the hot cloth cleanser. With that sorted, all I needed was a moisturizer (I have far too many toners at home). The only one my Boots had in stock was for Dry/Very Dry skin. I was in search of Normal/Dry but as it is winter and my skin is in it's driest state ever I decided it couldn't do much harm to try it. For my freebie, I chose an overnight eye cream as I've been meaning to incorporate one into my skincare regime lately, but as I said earlier - what skincare regime?
As you can see, the cleanser already comes with a cloth. I had heard from other bloggers how the cloth was fairly scratchy, but as I have nothing to compare it to I didn't have a problem with it at all and it met expectations. If anything, I quite liked it's exfoliant effect. Here's what the cleanser looks like before you apply it to dry skin:
When I applied it I used circular motions until it sank in like a moisturiser, then I wet the muslin cloth with warm water and buffed it away until my face felt clean. I am one of those people who doesn't feel like my face is clean until it's 'squeaky', so I was pleasantly surprised at how good my skin felt since the process is so gentle. Then I applied the moisturizer:
Again, my expectations for this were all wrong. I was expecting it to be thick and greasy, but it sank in as soon as I applied it and there was not a hint of shine. My skin is the annoying type that feels dry but looks oily, so I was delighted to see how matte my skin looked during and after application. It also has quite a nice scent. I don't like heavily scented products and have heard complaints that No 7 products have a 'baby powder' smell, but I found it to be quite delicate and pleasant.
And finally, the eye cream:
It has quite a silicone-y texture, which I prefer to greasy eye creams that don't seem to settle. It definitely had a tingle-y effect, one which I can't decipher if it is cooling or burning. Very odd, but definitely one of those sensations that makes you think "Hoorah, it's working!".
I will check back with you in a week to let you know how my new regime is working out, but I feel fairly positive about it. I'm happy with every product I bought, and you can't go wrong with 250 points when you spend £25 (these were £24.50, so a bottle of iced tea later and the points were mine!), plus a £5 off No 7 skincare voucher and £3 off No 7 make-up voucher with your purchase!
Until next time,
Anna
