Dry & Sensitive Skin Care Routine

 

To me, a skin care routine is extremely important and I for one stick to mine religiously. In my early teens I suffered with really problematic skin, so I decided one day that I would develop my own routine and stick to it. Over the years I have definitely seen an improvement in my skin overall and I very rarely get blemishes. The main thing with skin care is to obviously find the right products that suit your skin type and stick to them! If you're constantly swapping up and using different products, your skin won't react to them properly and it'll have no lasting effect.

I have sensitive skin that is prone to dryness - my jaw and eyes seem to be the worst affected! So I have to find products that pack my skin full of hydration yet at the same time are gentle and soothing to calm the sensitivity. I'm really happy with how my skin care routine is at the moment as I've found some real gems that work really well for me. An added bonus is that everything I use can easily be found on the high street, so value wise I think they're all amazing!

St Ives Apricot Scrub for Sensitive Skin | LINK

As I have dry skin, exfoliating is a key step in my skin care routine as it helps buff away my problem areas and helps keep my skin feeling soft and looking radiant. My favourite facial scrub is the St Ives Apricot Scrub for sensitive skin and despite it being quite a rough facial scrub, I actually find my skin looks its best if I use this on a daily basis. I like to use this in the shower before cleansing so that it can really help make my skin feel soft and smooth.

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Cleanser | LINK

Now this cleanser seems to get a lot of mixed reviews, but I for one absolutely love it and use it both morning and night to cleanse my skin. The Peaches & Clean cleanser by Soap & Glory is packed with anti-oxidants and vitamins so whilst it gently cleanses away makeup and impurities, it also helps treat my skin and leaves it looking and feeling amazing. I love this cleanser so much and I can honestly say it's helped clear up my skin and definitely keeps any new blemishes at bay.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water | Review | LINK

For makeup removal I always turn to the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (applied on to a large cotton pad) as this is brilliant for gently removing any kind of makeup - including waterproof mascara! I love how refreshing this feels on the skin and how quickly it takes my makeup off without leaving any residue on the skin. This also works really well as a toner and sometimes I apply this to a small cotton pad and wipe it across my face before I apply my moisturisers in the morning.

Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturising Day Cream

Whatever your skin type, a daily moisturiser is absolutely essential to have in your skin care routine as they help control oil production and aid your skin's moisture levels. Every morning after cleansing I like to apply a fair amount of the Superdrug Vitamin E Day Cream to leave my skin feeling super soft and nourished. The day cream also contains SPF 15 which is great to help protect my skin from the sun's rays. The Superdrug Vitamin E range is (obviously) high in Vitamin E, anti-oxidants and contains horse-chestnut oil extracts which leaves your skin feeling amazing!

Superdrug Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream

This is just the night version of the Vitamin E day cream and I like to use this every night before going to bed. The night cream has all the same benefits as the day cream (minus the SPF protection) so helps keep your skin feeling nourished whilst you sleep. One main thing I love about these Vitamin E creams is that their smell is really rich and lovely. Despite these creams feeling thick and luxurious, they both sink into the skin instantly and leave it feeling moisturised and hydrated!

Superdrug Vitamin E Nourishing Eye Cream

To complete the set, I also use the Superdrug Vitamin E Nourishing Eye Cream both day and night. As I've said, my eyes seem to be prone to dryness so an eye cream has been an essential part of my skin care routine for years! This is the best eye cream I've used so far as it's light yet is so nourishing on my eyes. It's really gentle too so I've never found it to irritate my eyes, so this will be great for people with sensitive eyes too. You only need a small amount of this cream so this little tube actually lasts quite a long time despite its size.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil | LINK

Facial oils are actually a fairly new addition to my skin care routine, probably in the last year and a half or so. I was originally using the ESPA Optimal Pro Serum, but when I ran out a few months ago I went on the hunt for one that was less expensive yet still did an amazing job. I've recently fallen in love with The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil and I use this every night after cleansing my skin. I find 3 drops is the perfect amount to press into my skin and over night, the oil helps leave my skin feeling nourished and looking glowy and radiant in the morning.

Witch Naturally Clear Blemish Stick | LINK

Even though I have dry skin, I do still suffer with the odd break out. So when I do I always reach for my trusty Witch Blemish Stick that contains witch hazel which is an anti-septic treatment that helps dry out spots and blemishes. I'm sure many of you do use this blemish treatment as it works so well and is super cheap!

Freederm Fast Track Treatment | LINK

If I have any pesky spots that won't budge with my Witch Stick, then I'll apply a small amount of the Freederm Fast Track Treatment gel. This just helps reduce blemishes and their redness in a gentle way without over drying the area.

Superdrug Vitamin E Leave-On Moisture Mask | LINK

As I'm a firm believer in pampering your skin, I like to have a range of face masks in my stash to use a couple times a week. One of the newest additions to my skin care routine is the Superdrug Vitamin E Leave-On Moisture Mask which is from the same range as my moisturisers. This is a fairly new release yet is one that I'm already completely obsessed with! Like the moisturisers this mask is packed with Vitamin E and anti-oxidants so leaves your skin feeling really soft. What I love about this mask is that you apply it like a thick moisturiser, leave it on for 10 minutes and then simply massage the excess into your skin - simple, no messing around with removing it!

Superdrug Own Sachet Face Masks | LINK

These face masks are amazing (I think I'm a bit obsessed with Superdrug skin care!) and are so lovely to use! Sachet face masks are fun to use with your friends and it's nice to experiment with different ingredients and formulas. My absolute favourite ones are the Manuka Honey Peel-Off Mask and the Cooling Cucumber one (not photographed) as they are both amazing for sensitive skin and leave my skin looking and feeling amazing!

Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask | Review | LINK

If my skin starts to flare up and feels really sensitive, this is when I use the Quick Fix Facials Calming Clay Mask as it's brilliant at reducing redness and inflammation. It also leaves my skin feeling soft and is just an all round great face mask for people with sensitive skin!

I hope you enjoyed my updated skin care routine! If you're curious and fancy reading what products I used to use a few years ago, then check out this post here. I hope that if you're looking for any new products to include in your skin care routine this post has helped you. I'd recommend everything in this post if you suffer with dry/ sensitive skin like me as together they reduce redness and help nourish my skin!

What are your top 3 skin care products?

Leave your skin care tips and tricks in the comments below!

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Beauty Tips For My Younger Self

Like many girls, when I was younger and in my early teens I was completely guilty of my fair share of beauty mishaps! It's only when you're older and a bit wiser on what actually works for you, do you look back and think "what the hell was I thinking?!".

I thought I would put together a list of these "beauty fails" to see whether any one else did these when they first started to experiment with beauty products! I'm definitely not saying that what I do now is perfect - you never know, I could rewrite this post in 10 years time and be criticising the things that I do now!

1. Put down those tweezers, Amie!

Who knew how lethal a pair of tweezers can actually be? Very is the answer and I'm sure most of you reading this will agree! I was definitely one of those girls that got a bit "tweezer-happy" in my early teens and one day decided that they had to be thin. Very thin in fact. Of course this looks ridiculous and I cringe whenever I see a picture of younger myself with these terrible brows. I actually went far enough once where I accidentally shaved off half my eye brow! Luckily I could hide it with my fringe, but I was so embarrassed that I think that's when I finally decided to give my brows a break.

2. Find the right skin care that actually works.

When I was younger I never stuck to a proper skin care routine. I either used the same products that my mum had bought for herself or just bought whatever was on offer at that time. With the added factor that I didn't even realise skin types existed, this meant I was constantly buying face scrubs/ cleansers that were for every skin type except my own! I never thought I had dry skin as I constantly had blemishes, so I continued to buy products for oily prone skin - which obviously made the situation worse! Throw in the fact I also have sensitive skin meant my skin was a mess, yet it was only when I was 16/17 that I started to sort out my skin care routine.  

3. Sort out your hair care routine!

My hair care routine was pretty similar to my skin care routine where I just used whatever I found in the bathroom at the time. Luckily I was quite clued up in the sense to use both shampoo and conditioner from a young age and that my hair didn't need washing everyday, so the condition wasn't too bad! But because my hair was curly, some days I suffered with fly aways and frizzy hair, so what was my solution for this? Well I used to put conditioner straight on to my dry hair in hope that it would smooth it down. Obviously it did smooth my hair down, but it also made it look ridiculously greasy and feel disgusting! I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea at the time, but thankfully I grew out of that habit!

4. Don't keep using makeup that clearly doesn't work for you.

Raise your hand if your 13 year old self thought the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse was the best foundation invention ever *raises hand*. As I had no older sister to tell me what makeup I should actually be wearing, I let my younger self choose and of course I made all the wrong decisions! Dream Matte Mousse was the first to pop into my head. Despite using the lightest shade, I knew for a fact it was far too orange for me, yet I still carried on using it!

I was also a massive fan of glitter eye liner (gold being my favourite - lovely!) and used it on top of my liquid liner and lashings of mascara - it's a miracle I could even hold my eye lids up! I think I was slightly scared at the thought of swapping up my makeup, so I just stuck to the same products even if they didn't work for me! Luckily now I love to swap up my makeup, but I definitely won't be going back to these products! 

5. Get some dress sense girl!
Back in the day, I really didn't have a clue on fashion. Between the ages of 13 and 16 I had a weird sense of style and used to buy clothes that really did not suit me. I remember that I used to buy things from the Topshop and Miss Selfridge sales just because I wanted something from that brand, not because I'd actually ever wear it! This meant I collected some awful clothes that really weren't me and looked terrible on. When I wasn't wearing these, my typical look would be some unflattering jeans paired with the classic Primark ugg boots! Now that I work in the fashion retail industry, I do actually have some nice clothes (hallelujah), but I do remember it used to be such a struggle to pick out an outfit in my teens!

 I hope you enjoyed this post, I had a bit of a giggle to myself as I was writing this! Let me know whether you agree with any of these tips and leave your own in the comments below.

What beauty tips would you give your younger self?

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Perfume Collection

For me, no outfit is complete without a little spritz of my favourite perfume just before heading out the door. It helps complete my look and I could go far enough to say I feel slightly naked without wearing any! Over the years I have grown a small collection of perfumes and body mists that I like to use on a daily basis. I'm someone who like both a sweet girly fragrance for daytime wear and a more sophisticated, deeper scent for the evenings.

Dolce & Gabbana The One

 This is what I would class as my everyday perfume as it has that perfect mixture of a sweet fruity scent with deeper tones of vanilla and ambery-musk that I really like. It has an amazing wear time as well and I always get compliments on my perfume whenever I wear it! I got through my 30ml bottle pretty quickly and I'm now on to a bigger 50ml bottle, so this perfume is a definite winner in my books.

Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita

 This perfume reminds me of the first time I went to France with my boyfriend just over 5 years ago. I had popped into Sephora to buy any eyeshadow (my first ever high end purchase!) and received a little sample of this perfume. I loved it so much and luckily found it in my local Asda for around £10 which was an amazing bargain! I really love the bold spiciness to this scent plus the bottle is absolutely stunning when sitting on my dressing table! I think it's always important to have a special perfume like this that brings back good memories from the past.

Boss Orange Woman

I feel like this is a really popular perfume amongst us ladies as nearly everyone I know owns a bottle of Boss Orange! This is a scent that my boyfriend picked out for me and he buys it for me every year. I find it's a perfect Spring time scent as it contains notes of sweet apple and has that lovely warmth to it that I like in perfumes.

Vera Wang Princess

This is another one of my staple everyday perfumes that I absolutely adore! I remember finding this on Fragrance Direct and was able to get the 100ml bottle plus a roller ball version for around £40. It's lasted me absolutely ages but I am probably due to buy a new bottle very soon. I love the light fruity and floral scent that makes it a perfect everyday scent.

Marc Jacobs Dot*

Marc Jacobs has some of the nicest perfumes out there, mainly due to the overly cute bottles! Dot is a young playful scent with floral and vanilla notes making this an amazing Spring/ Summer perfume. This is definitely a day time scent as it's light and fresh and will be one I'll be reaching for more in the warmer months.

Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto*

I've very nearly come to the end of this beloved perfume - literally just a few sprays left! YSL's Manifesto has beautiful woody and vanilla notes making this a perfect evening scent as it's very sophisticated. I also love the oriental tone to this perfume and if it was cheaper, I would keep on repurchasing it time and time again. For now I'm going to keep it for special occasions and save up to buy a new bottle soon!

Vera Wang Lovestruck

The last perfume in my collection is another one from Vera Wang called Lovestruck. As I loved my Princess so much, I thought I would give this a try when I found it in the sales. I'm not as keen on this scent and is probably the one I reach for the least. Despite having the typical floral and fruity scents I like, I think the musk element kind of brings it down for me and I find it doesn't sit that well on my skin. Such a shame as the bottle is so pretty!

Zoella Blissful Mistful

I think every blogger and their dog owns the lovely Zoella's body mist - it's always good to support the fellow blogging community! Obviously body mists don't last as long as perfumes, so I prefer to use these during the summer or to take them on holiday to throw in my beach bag. As it's such a fresh fruity scent, this will be great to start wearing in the spring.

Soap & Glory Orangeasm Super Tonic Fragrance Mist*

My final perfume in my collection is another body mist from Soap & Glory and is in the Orangeasm scent. This body mist is a fresh fruity scent with orange and lemon extracts. The wear time isn't very impressive and unfortunately isn't a scent that I seem to get along with - it seems a bit clinical smelling, if that makes sense! I'm sure some people will really get along with this scent, but personally it's just not for me.

So this is my current perfume and body mist collection! I think it's great to have a few perfumes on the go because it's nice to swap things up a bit, especially for different occasions and seasons. Let me know your thoughts on my collections and whether you tried any of the perfumes that I own!

What is your all time favourite perfume?

Leave your recommendations in the comments below!

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