Monday 5 May 2014

ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY LEAVE BOOTS EMPTY HANDED

I have a genuine problem with Boots. I walk past and find myself being drawn in, and I quickly start racking my brain - do I actually need anything? Toothpaste, shower gel? Probably, but the chances are I'll completely forget about them and find myself immediately drawn to the skincare and makeup aisles. 'I'll just have a browse', I tell myself. 'Just see what's new'. Turns out I'm a pathological liar because I rarely leave Boots empty handed and seem to come up with all sorts of wild justifications for my purchases. BUT, this time, I done good. I stuck to my intended purchases and EVEN PUT SOMETHING BACK?!?! Whack. My purse is pretty grateful though.


As it goes, the Clarins sunscreen wasn't actually a recent purchase, but something I received for Christmas and hadn't used till now. It's a lightweight and easily absorbed sunscreen offering SPF40 protection, leaving the skin feeling soft and moisturised with a matte finish - but at £31 a pop, it ain't cheap. I love this product, but I'll probably be giving the La Roche-Posay Anthelios range a go next, which seems to be very well rated but around a third of the price of the Clarins offering. Price regardless, use of a good daily sunscreen is one of the best things you can do to protect your skin and minimise the effects of aging, particularly if you use products which increase the photosensitivity of your skin, such as retinols, benzyol peroxide and AHA's..

..which brings us nicely to my next product! This was the reason I finally got round to incorporating a sunscreen in to my routine - Nip+Fab's glycolic fix serum. In turn, the reason I even bothered to include a serum in the first place is due to a recent interest in Asian skincare products and routines. >>This page<< offers some great information about all the extra steps that an Asian skincare routine can incorporate, the purpose for them and the order in which they should be applied. Their routines can typically include up to 10 steps, but for now i'll just stick with an extra one! I opted for this serum as it contains 4% glycolic acid, a great little chemical exfoliator which doesn't irritate my rather sad skin. It retails at ~£15, but it's frequently on offer in Boots and Superdrug. I apply this after my toner, gently pat it in to the skin, and leave it to absorb for a few minutes before applying moisturiser. The packaging says to allow 2 weeks before results are visible, but I find that this immediately makes my moisturiser glide on much more smoothly. Can't gripe at that.

Next up is the 'PapayaGold Paw Paw Payaya moisturising balm'. Long name for a little tube. I didn't actually set out to buy this but I've seen this mentioned on various blogs, and I'm always keen for anything marketed at dry, chapped skin. It contains manuka honey, which is something of a trendy ingredient in skincare at the moment, though the evidence for its claimed benefits are still somewhat up in arms - its antibacterial benefits have been shown in vitro but with minimal clinical evidence. However, honey in general (not just the manuka variety) is known to have antimicrobial properties (hence its use in acne treatments), and to be very good at retaining moisture - the reason this pipped my interest. It has a very thick consistency with no particular odour, and feels very nourishing on the skin without being too greasy (it's essentially jumped up vaseline though, so it's not absorbed particularly quickly). It's great for odd dry patches (I like it round my eyes at night), and a very handy little size to chuck in you bag day to day, plus a little goes a long way. It's £5.99 for 25g, available at Boots and Superdrug.

Finally, the Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix body lotion. I've gone pretty mad for 2 things lately - Nip+Fab products, and AHAs. Can you tell?! I bought this lotion to use on my legs in the hope that it'd help to clear up some keratosis pilaris (AKA 'chicken skin'). I haven't been using it long enough to comment on any improvements yet, but it's easy absorbed and has something of a fresh, citrusy scent - not actually something I like in my skincare goodies, but I'll live with it! I was torn between this and the Avene Akerat10 lotion, though I was swayed by the lower price tag of the glycolic fix (£7.99 vs. £15). Both contain lactic acid (an AHA) and salicylic acid (a BHA) to exfoliate, though the Avene lotion contains urea also - another keratolytic ingredient. Keratosis pilaris is caused by an overproduction of keratin (a protein of the hair, skin and nails), which in turn plugs hair follicles and causes those little bumps many of us are familiar with. So, theoretically, keratolytic ingredients soften that keratin build up and put us on the road to smooth, bump free skin. Theoretically. Time will only tell on this one!

Hopefully after this little spluge i'll be able to reel in my spending for a little while. Though, I have had my eye on some makeup brushes.. and some Sleek blushes.. and a tonne of Asian skincare products.. holy hell. SOMEONE HELP ME.

5 comments:

  1. Such a funny blog post title! I definitely agree with you, I can never ever walk out of Boots without buying something.. I've seen the Paw Paw Moisturising Balm in my local Boots and I'm tempted to purchase it. The Nip & Fab Glycolic Fix Serum sounds amazing too!

    Rachael | overdosedemaquillage.com

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    1. The serum is fab! A tiny bit goes a long way, and I've found it's actually pretty good for helping to bring out ingrown hairs too. Love your blog btw!

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  3. I've been looking at Nip+Fab's glycolic fix serum for a while now, totally hooked on a lot of their other products and I am in desperate need of some more serum so perhaps this may be my next purchase :o)?

    Have just come across your blog too btw, really enjoying it! :o)

    -Amie
    http://hellbentforlipstick.com

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    1. I think Nip+Fab on the whole is pretty under rated, but the serum is glorious! I've been using it for ~3 weeks now and my face is smooth like nobody's biz. Also, bizarrely - I happened to stumble across your blog only yesterday looking for a lipstick review.. small world!

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