Skincare Shake Up

For a while i've been struggling with consistent bad skin; nothing seems to clear it and it can really get me down, so i decided to shake things up a bit and spend my 30 odd boots points that had racked up on my advantage card. What else are those pesky points for, eh? For refernence, i have blemish probe, oily/combination skin and i tend to buy a lot of oil control products. Here's how i got on with my new skincare:

Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Facial Scrub | I'm a little bit of a scrub fanatic and have become quite accustom to my St. Ives scrub. My skin needs quite a good exfoliation to see any sort of improvement and this, sadly, just didn't cut it. It's mainly a moisturising consistency with very tiny exfoliating particles, this would be great for someone who just wants something else to go with their cleanser, to clean grime off their skin, but not for someone like me who needs a good scrub to keep my very blemish prone skin under control. It did leave my face feeling smooth afterwards, but unlike my St. Ives scrub i couldn't really see any physical changes in my appearance. I can't say that if it particularly kept my oily skin at bay because i use so many other oil reducing products that i can't say that this did anything miraculous, but i also can't say that it did anything to hinder my oily skin. I'll continue to use this product but probably on days when my skin is looking a little better and i just want something smoothing.

Simple Kind to Skin Deep Cleansing Face Mask | Thanks to the likes of Vivianna Does Makeup & Lily Pebbles i've become quite a face mask junkie. I really like clay masks because you can instantly see a difference in my skin, and that's what we all seem to want these days - the instant solution. However, although this is a great, moisturising mask thats's all it feels like: moisturiser. Because this type of mask is put on wet and stays wet, there's no drying involved, it just doesn't feel like it's working to me. I much prefer clay, gel or peel off masks where you can feel like it's doing something for your skin. It did absolutely no harm to my skin, it was very smoothing and probably gave it some extra moisturiser but it honestly didn't feel like it did anything different to slapping a layer of your favourite moisturiser on for ten minutes and then removing it.

Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream SPF15 | This is probably the third eye cream i've tried and honestly, i've never really found anything that works before now. I'm determined that you don't have to shell out a small fortune to get a decent eye cream because, frankly, we can't all afford those prices. I saw this on the Boots website when i was browsing around and it had multiple glowing reviews, so i thought i'd give it a shot. Now, i don't know if it's just a placebo effect because i'm willing something to work, because trust me i need it, but i feel as though my dark circles are easing up a tad. Don't get me wrong, it's no miracle worker but i feel as though they're not as harsh as before and any improvement is good in my book, even if it is just a placebo. It's a really pleasant cream, honestly, it's smooth and sinks in nicely. It's not too thick, or too thin and it's fairly soothing, so an overall nice product.

Clean & Clear Deep Cleansing Lotion for Sensitive Skin | I've only ever used one other product similar in style to this and i generally seem to overlook this step in my skincare routine. Honestly, i don't know why because this product is dramatically helping to clear up my skin. I've always been a little afraid of Clean & Clear, i once used a product that didn't agree with me and since then it's kind of been off my radar, until i was browsing boots for things to shake up my skincare. I use this either if i feel my make up wipe hasn't removed all my makeup/the grime from my face or after my shower and cleansing/scrub routine just to clean off the skin. It's very refreshing and tingles on the skin, but like many people that makes me think it's actually doing something. It can dry my skin out a little bit, if i'm not careful, but once i learnt that was possible i just used a good moisturiser and everything was fine. I really like this product, coupled with my other skincare products this seems to work great.

Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Peel Off Face Mask | I wanted to give this mask a go because i was a little unsure about the Simple mask that i previously discussed. This works far better for me and it feels as though it does something. It's a standard gel, peel off mask. Once applied i waited 15 minutes, as it stated, and peeled it off. It was very easy to remove and left my skin feeling smooth and treated. I can't say whether it's helping drastically with my skin because i feel i need to use for quite a while before any signs would show; and for reference i use a mask once a week and rotate about three or four different masks, but i'll keep you posted.

Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Strips x 6 | I've only ever used one other nose strip product and i felt as though it did absolutely nothing for me. This, however, surprised me. They're the not the most expensive on the market but they have great ingredients, including the Tea Tree & Witch Hazel and they left my nose feeling smooth, for sure. I could clearly see impurities the strip had pulled on, on the strip, which shows me it actually helped. I think, however, it did dry my nose out a little as the next day my makeup didn't quite sit right but i've learnt from this and know to moisturise well after using.

Nivea Daily Essentials Oil Free Moisturising Day Cream for Oily to Combination Skin | I honestly just bought this prouct because i needed one more item to complete my three for two offer, from boots. I have oily/combination skin and currently use a mattifying moisturiser for under my make up, which i adore. I can't give an honest review of this yet because it's the only product i have fully road tested - i still have a day moisturiser on the go, so i want to save it until my current one runs out. Honestly though, this will have to be pretty damn good to replace my Good Things Miracle Mattifier, because i love it.

So, there's my skincare shake up and i really feel like my skin needed it. It was getting into a bit of a rut and wasn't looking it's finest. Things have cleared up a little but i'm considering taking a trip to the doctor to get it looked as nothing seems to help with my acne blemishes. Do you have any product suggestions for my blemish prone, oily/combo skin? What do you like to use?

K|xo