Review: Biore Make Up Removing Wipes and Pore Strips

Ok so picture the scene: You've rolled into the house late after a night out, you're so tired (or in my case have had one too many G&Ts) that you just fall into bed, make up and all. You wake up the next morning feeling none too pretty. Thanks to having slept in your make up, you don't look too pretty either (maybe that's just me!)

Most of the time I remain faithful to my Clinique 3 Step, but for these occasions, or even before cleansing it is so handy to have some make up removing wipes by the bed.

My favourite right now are the Biore ones. They're brilliant at getting even the most stubborn of mascara off and they don't leave that funny residue on the skin that other wipes tend to. Most importantly, they don't irritate my skin or break me out.

Sorry about the stock photo. Biore is going through a bit of a re-brand at the moment and I can't seem to find these anywhere! I'm making do with Primark wipes at the moment (they're ok but not as good as these).

Another product I'm loving from this brand are the pore strips. They're brilliant for dealing with stubborn, clogged pores that my normal cleanser can't shift.  I would definitely recommend these if, like me, you suffer with blackheads as they do leave my pores much clearer after use. Biore have released a short YouTube video on how the strips work and I thought I'd share.



You can find the make up removing wipes (£3.99) and the pore strips (£7.99) in Boots and Superdrug. Hopefully they should have stocked up by now!

Happy Sunday everyone!

:-) xxx

Sudocrem: A Mini Skincare Miracle

No, I'm actually not joking. That's right, the stuff you use on babies when they get nappy rash. No, I haven't gone mad...actually...that's debatable.

I can genuinely say I don't know what possessed me to slap this on my face before bed the other night but I'm certainly glad I did. My skin had been a bit spotty (combination of stress and flying long haul I think) but also really dry in some places so I wanted something that would treat the dryness without making the spots any worse. This happened to be in the bathroom cupboard so I dived in.

A word of warning, this stuff is really thick and REALLY white. It is not a day cream. It is not even something I'd use if there was the slightest chance that anyone would see me. I looked like I was channeling Edward Cullen, and not in a good way.

Anyway, the next morning I woke up to find my dry skin was much, much better. As an added bonus this seemed to somehow take the redness out of any breakouts. It is antiseptic, promotes healing, suitable for sensitive skin, and gives the skin moisture without that greasy feeling many intensive moisturisers have. Well that's not entirely true, your skin will feel very greasy when you apply it but this settles overnight and my skin was quite matte the next day.

The best part? It's really cheap!

I wouldn't call this my 'go to' night cream exactly(!) but it works wonders when my confused face doesn't know what skin type it wants to have.

:-) xxx

So I Cried at Clinique....Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions 3 Step Review

Firstly, I’d better explain the reason for all the crying, namely: My face.  I’ve always had a problem with spots but as soon as I hit my 20s…wowzers!  My skin went mad!  Basically I have very oily skin and tend to get blackheads aroung my T-zone and the big red angry kind of spots everywhere else.  Add the fact that I’ve recently given up smoking, leading to some sort of stress- related skin reaction and Double Wowzers!  It was not a pretty sight I can assure you.

Well that was it, I’d decided that at 26, enough was enough!  After marching into Boots’ skincare section and realising that I’d tried most of these drugstore level products before to no avail, I plonked myself down, red faced and teary eyed at the Clinique counter.  Yes, I cried.  I CRIED AT CLINIQUE!!

Luckily a lovely consultant sat down with me, and after a (very thorough) consultation, recommended a course of the Anti Blemish Solutions range.  I was a bit apprehensive as, having tried 3-step at levels 3 and 4 and breaking out even more, what on earth was this stuff going to do to my face?!?  The consultant used the products on my face at the counter and I couldn’t have been more wrong, the products are so much milder than the higher level 3-step products and I was sold.

Moving on to the products (please excuse the dodgy photos, daylight didn't really happen today!)…

Here’s what Clinique has to say:

“The Clear Skin System wastes no time in giving blemishes the boot. Does it without the dryness and irritation that generally gets skin into trouble. It's simple, scientific. Gentle exfoliation opens clogged pores, evicts blemish-causing agents. Targeted ingredients rush in to accelerate treatment. Keeps skin clearer, longer, too.”

Step 1: Cleanse

Cleansing Bar for Face and Body and Cleansing Foam: Both £13

I’ve been using 2-3 pumps of the cleansing foam on its own in the morning.  At night I wash my face with the cleansing bar first and then follow with the foam.  All you do is massage into the skin and rinse.  The reason for the double-cleansing at night was explained really well by the consultant:

            “You wouldn’t clean your body with your clothes on, so don’t cleanse your face without taking your make-up off first!”  Fair enough.

As the bar cleanser goes further, I use that to take off my make-up as opposed to the foam.  Otherwise the cleansing foam would run out really quickly, it’s just more cost-effective.  They are the same product but just in different form.  On reflection I think I actually prefer the cleansing bar as it has a more creamy texture.  I’m really enjoying using these cleansers.  They’re surprisingly gentle and my skin feels completely clean but without that uncomfortable tightness after use.  The only downside is that the foam smells a bit ‘chemically’ although it is supposed to be fragrance free.  The smell is not overpowering and really, I can live with it-I’m not one of those people that needs my face wash to smell of roses!

Step 2: Exfoliate

Clarifying Lotion: £16

After cleansing I use the clarifying lotion.  Because of my breakout, I was advised never to exfoliate using a ‘beady’ exfoliator as all this does is transfer bacteria from one pore to another and you can actually damage your pores scrubbing them like this…Eek!  You need to shake this well to mix in the sediment that sits at the bottom of the bottle, use one tip of the bottle on a cotton ball and then sweep all over your face.  You literally only need one tip of the bottle.  This is powerful stuff and the main reason that people find clarifying lotion irritating is that they tend to soak the cotton ball and are using too much product.  Also, a cotton ball is better than a cotton pad as it is fluffier and gets deeper into the pores.  This stuff is brilliant, it may sound gross but you can literally see the dead skin on the cotton pad after use!  Another pro to the product is that it will probably last me forever as you are only using a small amount each time.

Step 3: Moisturise

Clearing Moisturizer: £16.50

Finally, I use a 5p sized blob of the Clearing moisturiser.  This has to be the best moisturiser I have ever used.  I’ve always found that oil-free moisturisers tend to leave my skin a bit too dry but this stuff strikes a really good balance between controlling the shine and hydrating my skin.  It’s in a gel form which is kind of strange to get used to at first but goes on really smoothly and really calms my skin after using the Clarifying Lotion whilst still feeling really light.  It was designed to act as a barrier to protect the skin from any blemish-causing bacteria.

Final Thoughts and Did it Work…?

Indeedy it did!  Any active acne started to clear up after about 2 weeks and it seemed to prevent any future breakouts after that.  My skin was all glowy, soft, and clear and all was right with the world again…until…I slept in my make up….FOR 2 NIGHTS IN A ROW!  Well done me and cue the inevitable flurry of spots.  I really am my own worst enemy.  Luckily I have my stash of Clinique to sort me out and will no longer be crying at poor unsuspecting department store skincare consultants!!