Current skincare for hormonal acne

I've spoken a few times about my hormonal (menopausal, ugh!) acne & after a re-jig of my skincare, I seem to have found the perfect products that have really helped to clear up my skin in the last 7 weeks so I thought I'd share them with you.

Cleansing

After using my Simple eye makeup remover cream, I take the bulk of my makeup off with the Garnier Micellar water & then follow up with a deep cleanse using the Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil.  I love this silky, lightweight oil as it never feels greasy or leaves a film on my skin.  I always use a clean flannel every day to remove this as the lightweight muslin cloths leave too much product behind for my liking - Primark luxury facecloths/flannels are excellent.

Exfoliate/toner

These Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Pads by Nip + Fab are a recent discovery, bought on a total whim one day when I spotted them on offer but I'm soooo glad I found them!  I noticed a huge difference in my skin after using these for just a few days - my blemishes starting clearing up immediately & redness was reduced.  Don't be put off by the 'glycolic acid'  or 'exfoliating' tags as these pads are so gentle on the skin but incredibly effective.  The acid is the exfoliating agent whilst they also contain witch hazel to tone, hyaluronic acid to hydrate & blue daisy to soothe.

If my skin is having a particularly bad breakout, I give it a light spritz with this Serozinc by La Roche-Posay.  I don't think it particularly treats blemishes but it helps to mattify the skin without drying it out.

Treatments

Another new purchase is La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I.  This is a targeted breakout corrector cream & I apply this on any new blemishes.  You only need a tiny amount & it really helps to immediately reduce imperfections & reduces the chance of scarring.

Another wonder product from LR-P here & one I've spoken about before on the blog - Effaclar Duo+.  This lightweight gel-crème helps to rapidly clear up any breakouts & refine the skin's appearance & I'm now on my third tube of this.  It's really helped to reduce the scarring on my chin & any redness is immediately soothed - I love this stuff!!

Hydrate & nourish

More new products, this time from Vichy.  After Vichy kindly sent me the Liftactiv Supreme to try (read my review here) & I loved it so much, I decided to buy their Aqualia Thermal serum.  It's so important for all skin types to keep really well hydrated so I always use a hydrating serum under my moisturiser.  I had been using Hydraluron & Clarins Hydraquench but I really like this from Vichy too.  One pump is enough to cover my whole face, neck & décolletage & teamed with the rest of my skincare routine, my skin still feels really well hydrated when I wake up in the morning.

My skin has cleared up enormously since using this regime & scarring is reducing all the time.  My breakouts are not so regular - or horrific! - now & overall, I'm much happier.  It's amazing how much having acne can zap your confidence!

Are there any other skincare recommendations out there?

Summer cleansing routine

I want to share with you my current Summer cleansing routine as I've recently bought new products to try & so far, so good!

 

 

 

 

My eyes are so sensitive & react to a lot of eye makeup removers, even ones stating they are specifically for sensitive eyes.  I don't like the residue left by oilier removers & I find they make my mascara smudge the following day after using them so that pretty much rules them out!  But I've been using the Simple Nourishing Eye Makeup Remover for over a year & I do actually think it's the best one I've ever used.  It removes every scrap of mascara & eye makeup & I never wake up with panda eyes the following morning (well, unless I've used Benefit They're Real but I'll save that post for another day!)  My eyes never feel irritated or greasy & I think for a product hovering around the £4 mark for 100ml, it really does a brilliant job.

 

I've been a loyal fan of the beauty blogger favourite Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish for years now & I love it so I don't really know what's nudged into trying something new.  I've been reading about the virtues of micellar waters (solutions that contain microscopic surfactant molecules that help to bring oil & water together.  Read here for a brilliant description!!) for some time now but I've been happy with my routine so hadn't bothered trying them.  Well eventually, just as I knew it would, curiosity got the better of me & after seeing the B Pure Micellar Water on offer in Superdrug (150ml, currently £3.32 instead of £4.99), I decided to try it.

 

I just look at these bottles of solution & think, "nope, that'll never remove all my makeup" but amazingly, it does!  I'm so impressed with this product, I really feel like my skin is getting cleansed & refreshed without any tautness afterwards.  I've been using this as my first cleanse before I move onto my next new product, Botanics  Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm from Boots, £8.99 for 75ml.  Again, I'd seen this product reviewed many times on the blogosphere but it was especially when Jen of Daisy Rose Beauty recommended it that I decided to try it! 

 

 

 

 

This beautifully scented 97% organic cleansing balm is almost solid in the pot, as you'd expect from a balm however, it melts fantastically onto the skin as you can see from the above photo.  The smallest amount goes a long way so I'll be expecting this pot to last a long time!  I massage it in all over my face & neck (always massage your face upwards ladies, gravity is pulling it down, it doesn't need any extra help!!) & remove with the enclosed cloth soaked in hand-hot water.  Rinse & repeat until all signs of makeup have gone.

 

My skin feels scrupulously clean after using this balm but so nourished & moisturised.  The smell is divine & I'm pleased to see that it's 97% organic, paraben free & not tested on animals.  I'm really tempted to try more products from the Botanics range now!

 

 

 

 

I realise I haven't included any moisturisers or serums on this post but that's coming soon.  If I'd added them to this one, it would've gone on forever!

 

So to conclude, although I've only been using the micellar water & balm for a week or so, I am really impressed with them.  I stupidly feel like I'm being disloyal to my Cleanse & Polish but it will be interesting to see how my skin is after a month or so.  This duo could become my new favourite!

 

Toodles!