Apologies for the mini blogging break, I've just spent from a week at the beach with family where I went on a bit of a phone/ laptop detox.
But I'm here at the airport, with a whole lot of holiday/ sun care skin tips, all ready for us to start heading into warmer weather (please Melbourne, give us some sunshine!)
First up, three new purchases for my trip. I had 3 requirements when packing for this trip/ buying skincare.
1. Low maintenance, for a week away with family and lots of kids, I wanted a quick routine I could stick to without feeling like the most high maintenance person around, or giving up on it in favour of pool time.
2. Protect, knowing that this was the first time my winter skin would be seeing sun, I had a goal to minimise any damage. Plus my skin tends to get cranky after regular sunscreen application (sunscreens post coming later) so I wanted to minimise damage. I was particularly interested in getting my hands on some antioxidants, as they're dynamite in preventing redness, agespots and other sun damage.
3. Economical, as I was leaving my more expensive products at home, I was looking for cheap, pack-able alternatives that would do the job, without taking up too much room in my bag, or causing me grief if they broke in transit. Also, they can all be grabbed from your local chemist at the last minute.
Here's what I picked up
And here they are, festively laid out on my beach towel (ignore the yucky front part of the moisturiser- do Chemist Warehouse stickers drive anyone else crazy trying to get them off?)
I'll do a mini-review for each one, bear in mind I've only be using them for a week, and I'm reviewing mainly based on their suitability as a travel product.
In general, I was really happy with my skin this trip. My skintone stayed nice and even and not red during my holiday which was great, and I didn't get any of the sunscreen breakouts that I can be prone to (although I credit this more to washing thoroughly than product- again, another post) I was careful to keep my face out of the sun, but all up, very happy with my skin at the end of the trip.
 |
| (source) |
Sukin
Price: $23.95 not the cheapest botanical serum you'll ever buy, but I think quite reasonable for a night-time serum, especially one with a range of active ingredients (compared to basic Rosehip) and no mineral oils or other cheap fillers.
Packaging: It is in a glass bottle, which is slightly less convenient, however the pump pack top more than makes up for this! Hooray for those of us who can never get those dropper-apparatus right!
Purpose: A double hitter, has a range of antioxidant ingredients (Argan Oil, Goji Fruit, Acai, Vitamin E) to treat any skin damage- great for skin that might be tempted to pigment in the sun, plus Cocoa Butter for moisturising. Because it's so moisturising, I've been using it as a night-time serum.
Review: Firstly, the smell. It's quite intense, a vanilla-y herbal smell, that took me a little while to get used to. There's no added frangrances or any irritants- that's just the natural botanical fragrance. But it's a strong one, and those who don't like strong smelling products, or are allergic to essential oils should probably steer clear. It goes on really nicely, as a milky gel like fluid, one drop from the pump top is perfect for the face, it's nice and thin so a little goes a long way. It is very moisturising, due to the Cocoa Butter, so I would use it at night only, I suspect it would feel a bit heavy for the day. I did notice my face felt a little tighter and heavier after I applied it, but not too bad. I occasionally layered this on top of the Rosehip oil in the evening, if my skin was looking a bit ragged.
My skin looked very hydrated and happy in the morning, particularly if I layered it with Rosehip, I had no reactions or breakouts from this product, and I'll continue using it when I get home. Overall, a reasonably priced serum for a non-oil product, and one I'll happily incorporate into my night-time serum choices.
 |
| (source) |
Swisse
Price: A very reasonable $14.95 which made me sure it would have mineral oils or other nasties, but not at all. A steal!
Packaging: The tube is great for travel. It's less than 100mL so can be taken in hand luggage, and I used it liberally during my flight. It's not breakable or likely to get too messy. Sure it's not so glamorous, but for a travel product, packagin is spot on.
Purpose: A big drink for sensitive skin. Contains a range of nourishing ingredients, namelyVitamin E and Olive Squalane plus Plantolin, Chamomile and Oat to sooth the skin and calm any redness or irritation.
Review:
I dithered between this and their more general moisturiser, but decided that the sensitive one with all their anti-irritant ingredients was the best choice in case of sunburned skin. It's quite a thick moisturiser, no scent or colourings, but the fact that it really sat on my face meant I was more likely to use it at night only. For such a reasonably priced product, I think you have to make some concessions, which in this cases were 'face feel'. Having said that, I don't mind the feeling of a heavier, nourishing moisturiser at night, and I think this one was particularly good in keeping my skin nice and calm and hydrated after long days in the sun. I'll be keeping this on hand for travel, particularly on the plane, as I think it forms a great barrier for dehydrated skin, however, next time I travel I'll be bringing a lighter, day moisturiser as well.
I dithered between this and their more general moisturiser, but decided that the sensitive one with all their anti-irritant ingredients was the best choice in case of sunburned skin. It's quite a thick moisturiser, no scent or colourings, but the fact that it really sat on my face meant I was more likely to use it at night only. For such a reasonably priced product, I think you have to make some concessions, which in this cases were 'face feel'. Having said that, I don't mind the feeling of a heavier, nourishing moisturiser at night, and I think this one was particularly good in keeping my skin nice and calm and hydrated after long days in the sun. I'll be keeping this on hand for travel, particularly on the plane, as I think it forms a great barrier for dehydrated skin, however, next time I travel I'll be bringing a lighter, day moisturiser as well.
 |
| (Source) |
Price: $19.95 which is down the reasonable end of standard for organic Rosehip Oil.
Packaging: Ah! The glass jar and the eye dropper again. I think I'm going to have to accept that this is standard in the Rosehip world. The dropper has a wider bottom than I'm used to though, and so was slightly more difficult to use a small amount.
Purpose: Rosehip is a terrifically strong antioxidant alone, and this one has the extra Acai which adds to the antioxidant effect, and serves as a preservative to keep the Rosehip fresh. Layer under moisturiser and sunscreen in the morning, to prevent sun damage, and at night if you're trying to reverse some damage done that day.
Review
I have a confession, I actually bought another Rosehip Oil that I was very interested in, then left it at work. So this was the result of a quick dash to Coles the day before I left. I didn't love the consistency of this product, it was stickier and heavier than other Rosehip Oils that I have used previously, and didn't seem to be absorbed as well by my skin. I felt particularly uncomfortable using it on my decollete as it just seemed to smear around. It was also a much ligher colour, which my research tells me indicates a less potent, lower quality Rosehip Oil. So unfortunately, a thumbs down for Essano.
That's all for my new products and reviews, I've got a few more holiday skin posts up my sleeve (updated cleansing routine, sunscreen reviews etc) then it's back to normal posting.
Until then, there's a dodgy airport coffee calling my name.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think? I'd love to hear....
Feel free to use OpenID if you'd like to be a product-holic anonymous