Winter Skincare Routine

Happy December! I can't believe the most exciting (and busy) month of the year is upon us already. I for one, am very much looking forward to the all the festivities. As a primary school teacher, everything is more exciting at this time of year. Even though everything is fun and cosy, there are things that make it unbearable, one thing being - the weather. It has been so cold recently and my body has really taken the brunt of it. I've been poorly all weekend and my skin has been dry AF. I was in desperate need of a new skincare routine a couple of weeks ago and switching things up has been the greatest idea of mine. 

Sudocrem, The Unsung Hero

In the beauty world, there are 100s of products released every week. Some are hits and others are flops, in the skincare world there is one product that I come back to, time and time again. In my mind, if you use/repurchase a product more than twice, then its a holy grail and worth the splurge. For me this is 'Sudocrem', this unsung hero does not get enough praise for all its qualities and uses. Fear not, I will explain why it is an item you need to have in your stash - and it won't break the bank. 

Vinopure Purifying Gel Cleanser Review

Cleansers are one of those skincare products that I am so fussy about! I need something that is going to refesh my skin, make it feel clean but not break me out like crazy. I'm very careful with brands, ingridients and the formula. Caudalie is a brand that I adore and always have, their serums, elixir and even the moisturising sorbet are just some of the products I love. This time my heart has been taken by the Vinopure Purifying Gel Cleanser* (£16). 

This gel cleanser is enriched with salicylic acid, grapeseed polyphenols and a blend of different essential oils. The cleanser really does cleanse the skin without leaving it dry or irritated. I have never used a cleanser like this, the texture is a gel but it isn't harsh on the skin. Its gentle and so lovely on my very problematic skin. 

Since using this for around a month, every morning and night I have seen a difference in the size of my pores, the amount of sebum that is produced on my skin. Which in turn is reducing the amount of blemishes that are appearing on my skin, which is the biggest win of all. The range also includes a toner, serum and moisturiser which are all on my list to try next! 

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Pixi Vitamin C Range Review

I have two concerns when it comes to my skin, the first being spots and the second being scars.These two things are what I try and target everyday, to help reduce/minimise/go away. Anything that helps them becomes a favourite product of mine. When Pixi sent over their entire Vitamin C* range, I was very excited. I had heard so many benefits of using VC for scarring and hyperpigmentation, and I couldn't wait to get started and discover the benefits for myself. 

                                                                                       
                                   

Glow 2OH Dark Spot Toner Review

I was over the moon when I heard that Ole Henriksen was finally coming to the UK and of all shops it was going to be Boots that would be stocking them. A site that has a range of brands and has stores everywhere. There have been a few things from the brand that I have wanted to try but when I spotted a stand in my local store there was one thing on my list to get - the dark spot toner. I've heard so many rave reviews about this and it just had to be mine. Never have I spent this much on a toner (£22!!) but I had high hopes. 

Antipodes Holy Grails

All I seem to be taking about lately is skincare on here and on instagram, but I seem to be getting a slight obsession with it. My skin has become so important to me and the way my makeup looks is down to my skin. Antipodes have been a brand that I have loved for over a year now, and each time I use their products I notice an instant difference in my skin - without a doubt. Even my mum does! That is the biggest seal of approval for sure. I have pretty much talked about every product from them on here ... but these 4 are my current go-to's, holy grail status! 

Dermalogica Clear Start

I seem to be finding that my love for skincare is taking over makeup, it excites me so much more when I buy a new cleanser or use a face oil at night. Sounds really sad when I say it back to myself, but I am sure that fellow beauty lovers (may) agree with me. The feeling of using something new for the first time and seeing it make a difference or go horribly wrong on the skin is the best thing ever. My skin is combination to oily and breakout prone, the tiniest amount of a product my skin doesn't like will make it explode. The Dermalogica Clear Start range is a targeted system to help those of us who suffer from breakouts. It is mainly for young teens who are just starting out with skincare, as there is a capsule collection of nine products but can be used by anyone. 

Skincare Diaries: CosRx

2017 was definitely a year of skincare for me, I wrote more posts about that I think than I did about anything else. Each month, I found myself falling in love with new and different products. Sometimes products that didn't work so well and sometimes products that blew me away. Instead of keeping all the products till the end of their use and then talking about them, I'm going to start just mentioning them when I can and come back to them in a almost review type post in a few months. Hope this all makes sense, it also gives me a way to track the skincare that has helped and hurt my skin. These two products are from CosRx and slowly but surely I have been adding them into my routine and they are now very much staple products. I have been reading a lot about Korean skincare at the moment and only after doing my research did I buy these two.           

Dealing with Hyperpigmentation/Acne Scarring

A topic for discussion on here is always my skin, I have combination skin, more on the oily than dry but it goes through phases where it is super dry and then super oily - your girl can't win. The past month and a half things have changed dramatically, I have really stripped back with everything in my skincare routine. Acne scarring and hyperpigmentation isn't a bad thing at all but I want to clear it up as much as I can. I am still trying different things, the other week I spoke all about PMD. A device that is really helped with the deep tissue acne scarring that I have suffered from for years, for the other scars and my skin in general I have been loving these certain products. There are so many that I have used over the years, but these have been the biggest success in a short space of time. 

Internally, I have been taking Evening Primerose Oil tablets, they have worked wonders on my skin and helped me inside to out. As they say, you are what you eat. My diet isn't particularly bad, but I do have days where all I eat is crap. These have helped to not only clear my skin, but they have helped slow down amount of breakouts that I get. I hardly get any at the moment, unless I react to a product or its the time of the month. 

The team over at Skinkissed got in contact with me recently to try their Luxury Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Serum (£20). Before I said yes to trying it, I gave it a quick Google and read the reviews on Amazon, my eyes could not believe what I was reading - every single review was positive, with people saying that they loved it and it had worked miracles for them. This got me very excited to try it, I have been using it nearly every night for around 3 weeks and can't believe it. After just 3 days I noticed these incredible changes like the reviews, my skin looked amazing. At the time, I was home and very much confident to go makeup free. My skin looked brighter, which I think is because of the Vitamin C, so much clearer and softer. Every morning, I have woken up with the softest skin and its down to the ingredients in this miracle serum. I love how with consistent use, my skin has improved by a mile and looks so much better than usual. It has really helped with those newly formed scars and hyperpigmentation. 

My love for The Ordinary is immense, a brand that makes skincare so easy to follow and do. They have a whole range of skincare products that are perfect to target different things, I could go on forever. Recently, I have been loving the Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane*. The last time I used a retinoid, I went in with it too quickly and my skin has a really bad flare up, so this time I was a little hesitant but rest assured this is so much more gentle on the skin. Firstly Squalane is something that my skin loves. I have the one from The Oridnary and bring it out when my skin is extremely dry as it keeps it hydrated. The addition of a retinoid to something that I already love is a heavenly pair.It doesn't irritate my skin in the slightest, keeps it nourished and helps control breakouts. I use this twice a week instead of the serum above, the next morning my skin is so glowy. Yes, someone with oily skin can have a natural glow and it looks so healthy. This is not to be used if you have Acne skin, I am not diagnosed with Acne, just have breakout prone skin, this works perfectly to help with the pigmentation issues that I have. 

The products that I sandwich in between these are usually cleansers, masks and toners. I love everything from The Body Shop at the moment. Their Overnight Tea Tree Mask is perfect to help a breakout, the Rose Toner is amazing at giving my skin a boost in hydration.  For cleanser, I use nothing but the DHC Cleansing Oil followed up by Cetaphil, this duo removes all traces of makeup, and doesn't irritate my skin. In additon, the Magnitone Face Brush is a life saver, it really gets deep into the skin and washes everything away. Acnecide, is my go to spot treatment. Available online and over the counter in both Boots and Superdrug without a prescription from the Doctor. I use this when a whitehead appears, within two days it has gone and leaves me with nothing but very dry skin due to the ingredients but amazing at clearing up spots. For Moisturiser, I have been reaching for the Urban Veda, Neem Day and Night Cream. This range has been amazing at helping my oily prone skin, it helps to control it throughout the day and almost minimise it. 

One product that I could not live without and having been using for over a year now is Aloe Vera gel. When I first started using it, I didn't think much of it apart from that it is cooling my very warm skin at night. A few weeks without it and I really noticed a difference. My skin wasn't 'healing and cooling' as it used to. I apply this all over my face every night without fail, it helps to calm any redness down, shrink the size of spots and overall just make my skin feel better.

I am loving that my routine is very simple, basic and effective- what more do you want! 

                                                                                        

PMD: Does It Work?

Over the past year or so, I have seen a great deal of reviews on the PMD kit. For the past month and a half, I have been putting it to the set and I think now, it is time to share my thoughts, on whether it is a hit or a miss?! 

I have quite a lot of acne scarring on my face, particularly around me cheek area. This is from breakouts that have left a mark, some are treatable (more on that next week) others are so deep that it is next to impossible to use a product on them. Microdermabrasion has been something that my mum and I have been looking at doing for my skin, now that the breakouts have calmed down and my hormones have balanced out, the only real issue is scarring. That is where the PMD comes in, it seems to have worked a real treat on my skin. 

Una Brennan Salicylic Acid Purifying Cleansing Wash Review

Hello, welcome to another episode of fixing Parie's skin. It has been a constant battle, that includes a lot of crying, healthy eating and the occasional chocolate bar because why not. In today's blog post, I am going to be reviewing the (amazing) Super Facialist by Una Brennan, Salicylic Acid Purifying Cleansing Face Wash. Phew, that was a mouthful. This wash has been my skin saviour the past few weeks and has worked like magic.

What I've Been Loving - Palmers Skin Therapy Oil Face

Acne Scarring is the worst, but something I have to live with *crying emoji face*. It never usually bothered me before until I realised that the majority of my skincare issues come from the scarring - hyper-pigmentation, discolouration ect. This then effected my makeup as well as I had to buy things to cover it all up and layering makeup is my pet peeve. During a twitter chat (#bbloggers on Sunday/Wednesday at 8pm) I learnt that the best thing for my skin was actually 'Rosehip Oil' and so the hunt began. I looked online to find this from Pai, and this one from Trilogy. Both a bit too expensive for my liking, so the search continued until one day I went to Asda and found one for half the price and the same thing from Palmer's Coca Butter. I love Palmer's as a brand so this was perfect. After testing it for two weeks I have to share it with you all! 

Why Is It Good

• With Vitamin E
• Helps Improve the Appearance of: Fine Lines & Wrinkles, Dark Spots, Uneven Skin Tone & Aging Skin
• Rosehip Fragrance
• With Retinol, Vitamin C & Cetesomate-E® Complex
• Hypoallergenic, Dermatologist Tested, Paraben & Phthalate Free
• Transform your skin with a powerful blend of 10 pure precious oils, Retinol, Vitamin C & our exclusive Cetesomate-E Complex.

Thoughts/Experiences

After cleaning my skin at night I take a few drops using the pipette and massage it in all over my face, focusing mainly on my forehead and cheeks. It is a oil so at first feels heavy and greasy but after about 10 minutes it sinks into your skin and feels very hydrating. 

After using it for two weeks I have fallen in love with it and it is now a staple piece in my skincare routine. The majority of my scars have disappeared, which has in effect evened out my skin tone. I am in shock that this has actually worked and my skin feels fresh and renewed. It also smells amazing! 

 If you are a acne sufferer or have any sort of scarring, discolouration on your skin then you need to get yourself some of this 'miracle oil'! 

Buy On Amazon for £9.99 HERE
Buy On FeelUnique for £9.99 HERE

 

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Gladskin Acne Review

Ergh acne, what a horrible word but something that I have to live with and have started to cope with, changing my diet, looking after myself and the most important one of all my skincare has become very important to me. For the past few weeks I have testing out the Gladskin Acne Gel* +  Daily Care Cream* to see how they work and what benefits they have.

Daily Care Cream (30ML - 14.95 50ML 19.95)

I am terrible at applying moisturiser to my skin and the main reason is because a lot of them feel greasy. When it came to testing this care cream I didn't have very high hopes, but the texture of this cream isn't greasy at all and sinks into the skin to give you a nice base for your makeup/other skincare products. All Gladskin products are made for sensitive skin, paraben and perfume free makes them great for all skin types no matter what you are. 

Acne Gel (30ML - 24.50 50ML - 39.50)

I have never used a spot treatment like this acne gel, you don't apply it last or on top of everything instead you apply it first, leave it for 5-10 minutes and then apply your creams on top, the gel can be removed if you want but by the time is up the gel disappears. The experience of using this was very weird, but I have got used to it and two weeks after using it I have seen an immediate difference in my acne overall, mainly on my forehead. It is recommend to use this twice a day, but I forget most of the time and just used it at night - perfectly fine! The only thing I don't like about this gel is the consistency. I expected a 'gel' to be much more thicker, yet this is runny. After 10 minutes of applying however it becomes like a peel, and you can remove it?! Very weird but it works! 

The best thing about both these products is the pump on the bottles! It makes applying them easy and fun as well. I love that within just two weeks of using these products as a pair I have seen a difference in my skin. My acne has reduced not disappeared but I guess that is something that takes time to happen. I love that Gladskin market these products together, knowing what to use and when. 

You can buy the Gladskin Acne Products HERE

* PR SAMPLES

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Starting Off; Skincare ♥

FINALLY!  Hello earthlings, today is the start of the 'TheSoProject' also know as 'The Starting Off Project'. Over the next 10 weeks, every Tuesday my self and loads of other bloggers will be posting everything that teens/ make up newbies need to know when starting off with make up. Everything from skincare to make up brushes, I have loved beauty related stuff for a while now and I wish when I first started going into the whole make up thing; there was a guide for me to read. So... here I am now helping you lot out there! To find out more about this project check out Steph's post (the mastermind behind all of this) over on here blog here. 
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Writing this skincare post seems perfect for me at the moment, as I suffer from regular (mainly hormonal) breakouts on certain parts of my face a lot! August was a month that I set my self a goal to do whatever I can to clear most of it up. Just putting random face masks, and spot treatments on for one night won't instantly make a difference. It is always best to set your self a skincare routine; this doesn't have to be expensive nor does it have to be time consuming. Just remember that it is all worth it in the end.

There is such a wide range and variety of skin care brands and products out there that can really help your skin to begin to clear up. One of the brands I love is Clean & Clear, I found this moisturiser in my local poundshop once a upon a time, and little did I know that it would become my best friend. I now religiously use this every night before going to bed to help with my acne, it feels very light - so you can also use it in the morning and it helps to combat and fight against those nasty spot and tightens up your pores. A small sizes amount of this goes very far! 

Next up is my holy grail skincare brand - Simple. This brand makes everything to suit your skin so that nothing makes it go funny, these wipes are my new discovery as they are exfoliating wipes. One side has a rough texture and the other is a smooth side to polish your face. I find that taking your make up off at night is the best feeling ever and these wipes make the job easier for you and leaves your skin feeling clean and fresh! Make sure that you always take your make up off before you sleep, your skin needs time to breathe. 

My final skincare newbie, is from the brand 'Witch' there products contain witch hazel which is a flower that is extracted into a substance so that it can be used in products to combat acne. There are several products in this range,and I really want to get my hands on them all as this beauty has really made a difference to my skin. The blemish stick is a solid gel stick that pops up like an ice lolly and allows you to rub it on the affected area and leaves no marks just a cool feeling. 

I have found sticking to the same products for some time and doing it all regularly can really help you out. There is also help available where you can ask the professionals about your skin, whether this be a skin specialist / doctor or even these online advice questionnaires, where you answer questions and they find out about your skin type and what can help. Read the other posts through out the 10 weeks

TeenTalkTuesday; DIY; Honey Face Mask ♥

Today I bring you a really simple, quick and easy DIY! I have heard a lot about the benefits of honey, and I thought that I would try out a honey face mask! All you need for this DIY is HONEY! You can also do this face mask and add different ingredients to it; such as... yoghurt, banana, apple, milk and cinnamon!

You can use whatever type of honey you like, whether it's raw,pure, natural! Whatever! Let me tell you some of the amazing wonders that honey can do!

Honey Face masks are hugely popular because of several skin benefits that honey offers. Honey as a basic ingredient in a facial mask helps to cure acne, scars, wounds, wrinkles and even dry skin.
Skin Benefits of Honey
- Honey has antibacterial properties, which helps in fighting acne and pimples. Honey reduces infection and is very effective home remedy to treat acne.
- Honey is also antiseptic. When honey is diluted with water, it produces hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is an antimicrobial agent and is used as a mild antiseptic. Honey is useful in treating cuts, wounds, and abrasions.
-Honey is a good cleanser for skin. It soak ups impurities from the pores of the skin, leaving your skin clear and clean.
-Honey is a very effective moisturizer for skin. It retains moisture making your skin radiant, soft and supple.
-Honey properties protect your skin under the sun and assist the skin to rejuvenate and stay young.
-Honey is a natural remedy to prevent wrinkles. Honey slows down the ageing process.

Now lets get started! First of all you want to tie your hair back, or clip it back so that nothing gets in the way of the honey!

You then want to apply a even layer of the honey to your skin, it is very sticky so be careful and apply it in a safe area that you can clean up any mess! 

I leave it on for a good half an hour, so that my skin can soak up all the goodness and then I jump in the shower and wash it off! You can leave it on for a shorter amount of time if you wish, and you can also wash it off over the sink and then pat dry and apply moisturiser! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this! For DIY's coming..!