Cleansing with Elemis including the new Energising Marine Cleanser

I am pretty new to the world of Elemis* but my gosh what a way to become introduced to one another, more so as such an avid fan of double cleansing, which you will notice I do mention quite a lot!  So from Elemis, I have been kindly gifted these two products - The much loved Elemis Cleansing Balm and the Elemis Pro-Collagen Energizing Marine Cleanser.

The first product which I've been using for what is now a few months is the Elemis Pro-Collagen Energising Marine Cleanser, which as you can see is sold in a huge 400ml bottle, currently on QVC!

The cleanser which is a best described as being a luxurious gel cleanser on the skin, feels just divine when used and it works just as well on its own for a morning cleanser as it does in an evening as part of your double cleanse.

If you are familiar with the iconic Rose & Mimosa aromas found in the Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, you will be pleased to know you can also find it within this cleanser. With its unique and gentle acid complex, this cleanser promises to energise and invigorate stressed and tired skin without stripping it of essential moisture and it includes:

• Padina Pavonica which helps to improve hydration
• Succinic Acid which  has brilliant anti-inflammatory benefits to calm skin conditions and it also helps to balance congested skin
• Lactic Acid which  is great for hyperpigmentation and enlarged pores as well as helping to boost hydration
• Ferulic Acid which is found in Acai is an amazing antioxidant that protects the skin and also works on lines and wrinkles

When this gel cleanser comes into contact with water, it turns from a gel into a creamy lather and I find it so gentle on the skin.   I can't help but absolutely love this cleanser, it smells just beautiful and is incredibly uplifting, it works alone or is a superb partner for the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm and is perfect for using in the morning and the evening.  You can find this cleanser, still on offer via QVC here.

As mentioned, I absolutely love to double cleanse and is my favourite part of my skincare routine. The Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm is a bit of a cult product for the brand and as someone who loves a good cleansing balm, I was delighted with this one.

Designed to dissolve makeup, dirt and oil from your skin, this Cleansing Balm is enriched with a nourishing blend of ingredients which are designed to deeply cleanse to leave your skin feeling smooth, hydrated and glowing.  The key ingredients within this balm are:

• Padina Pavonica promotes skin elasticity and cell vitality.
• Mimosa Flower Wax hydrates and retains moisture in the skin.
• Starflower Oil maintains moisture levels.
• Almond, Coconut, & Shea Oils nourish and condition.
• Elderberry Seed Oil firms and plumps.
• Wheatgerm contains vitamins E and F, enriches and nourishes the skin.
• Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects against free radical damage

Featuring a soothing blend of Lavender and Chamomile, this is a real treat for the skin. As an extra treat, aside from using this product as just a cleansing balm, the advice is to use a teaspoon-sized amount and apply it to the face, neck and décolleté massaging gently with fingertips. Relax for around 10 minutes, then hold a warm, damp cleansing cloth over the skin, practise abdominal breathing and inhale the sensorial aroma, it is absolute bliss.

After using this on my skin, it always feels so clean and soft to the touch. Such a beautiful product and it works so well with the Marine Cleanser above.

You can find both of these products, in differing sizes from Elemis directly or via Lookfantastic.

Have you tried anything from Elemis?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Boots No.7 Beauty Vault

With my birthday coming up in a few days time, I know a friend of mine has bought me the Boots No7 Beauty Vault as she kind of let it slip in a message, but honestly, it is such an absolute bargain, especially if you love No7 as a brand.

This Beauty Vault contains an amazing collection of No7 favourites from luxurious skincare to gorgeous makeup treats which are worth a whopping £130, so a huge saving of £98 to be had.

This set includes:

• No7 Matte Liquid Lips 4ml - Captivate or Inspire
• No7 Dramatic Lift Mascara 4ml - Black
• No7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil 1g - Black
• No7 Radiant Results Revitalising Cleansing Wipes - 30
• No7 Radiant Results Purify Clay Cleanser 150ml
• No7 Early Defence GLOW ACTIVATING Serum 30ml
• No7 Youthful Eye Serum 15ml
• No7 Radiant Results Revitalising Micellar Cleansing Water 200ml
• No7 Instant Results Nourishing Hydration Mask 100ml
• No7 CUSTOM BLEND Highlighting Drops Voupon* (The voupon which enables you to claim one No7 CUSTOM BLEND Highlighting Drops in your chosen shade from a Boots store.

What I love about this No7 Beauty Vault is that there is a good mixture of both skincare and makeup and those items are a good mix of full-size products with a nice selection of travel sizes too. It comes packaged inside a really colourful presentation box.

All of this for £32 is an absolute bargain and I am intrigued by the Custom Blend Highlighting drops!  You can grab this Beauty Vault online (here*) or in-store, whilst stocks last.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

elf No Budge Shadow Stick

I am a huge fan of the ByTerry Ombre Blackstar eyeshadow crayons, as well as the M&S Rosie for Autograph Cream Eyeshadows, so when the No Budge Shadow Sticks from ELF arrived, I was keen to see how well they stood their ground, particularly when the saving is between £7 and £24 compared to M&S and ByTerry

I am a huge fan of Eyeshadow sticks, they are like the lazy girl version to skincare, easy to apply, blend and to create the look you want, especially on the go. Described as being a no budge, metallic cream eyeshadow stick which features a long-lasting formula, which when applied helps avoid smudging, smearing, and creasing.

I have three shades within my collection - Perfect Pearl, Metallic Mocha and Bronze Metal, but I do believe there is a fourth shade which is Rose Gold. The Crayon features a convenient twist up feature and within the base, there is also a sharpener to help you create that perfect shaped nib.  As well as being used as an eyeshadow, these crayons can also be applied as an eyeliner, which is what I used Bronze Metal for.

These crayons have an incredible formula and they glide across the eyelid with ease, easier than the M&S Rosie Autograph version in my opinion. Depending on how you use them, you can blend with your finger or a brush, but they are quite pigmented, so in some cases, less is definitely more.

The swatches above show the shades as they are, no filtering or changing of the colour to highlight them. Perfect Pearl is as you can see, a slight hint of gold to it, but most definitely pearl.  Metallic Mocha is a really beautiful deep metallic bronze which has a slight shade of deep purple almost running through it. Finally Bronze Metal is a beautiful bronze shade, my favourite of the three and the one that I have used the most.

For me, these No Budge Shadow Sticks more than justify the £5 that they cost, they definitely rival M&S for me and come very close to being as good as ByTerry where the formula is just slightly better.

The e.l.f. No Budge Shadow Stick retails for £5 each and is available from Superdrug, Feelunique* or the official e.l.f. UK website here, where you can grab them for just £2.50 each.

Pixi Beauty Retinol Collection

One of the words that you can't escape with skincare is 'Retinol' and I was kindly gifted the Pixi Retinol Collection a while back and I have really enjoyed getting to grips with it. Packaged inside the beautiful travel bag are 6 products from the collection.

As always with Pixi there is a Tonic. Glow Tonic is the cult hero product for Pixi as a brand and with each new release, a Tonic is added to the family.  The Retinol Tonic is described as being a potent youth-preserving tonic features a unique time-release Retinol to help rejuvenate the skin for a natural glow. 

This Tonic also uses powerful antioxidants and botanicals such as Jasmine Flower to replenish the skin for a smoother, softer appearance while soothing sensitive skin. As a product that you use a cotton pad on to wipe across your skin, im not too sure how well the Retinol works with the skin. In every other product, I have applied it to the skin and not used anything that wipes it away, but it doesn't irritate my skin or bring about any redness and with prices starting at £10 it is a nice product.

The next product is the Pixi Jasmine Cleanser and this is quite possibly my favourite cleanser from Pixi that I have used. Luxuriously creamy, what I love is that it doesn't strip the skin.

Using vitamin A (retinol), antioxidants and ceramides which all work together to remove all impurities to leave the skin feeling smoother, firmer and more radiant-looking. Also used within this cleanser is Jasmine Oil which is known to have nourishing and brightening properties. Putting all these ingredients together, what you get is a cleanser which rejuvenated and locks in moisture without stripping. Priced at £18 for 135ml.

The third product is the Pixi Retinol Jasmine Lotion and I was really surprised at how lightweight this was to use but at the same time incredibly moisturising.

As with the rest of the products within this collection, the lotion is formulated with vitamin A, jasmine oil and peptides which together work to renew, smooth and deeply nourish the skin. Designed to be used daily, I tend to use this in a morning after cleansing and before the oil, which is listed below. I love how it feels on my skin and this is a product I really would recommend trying if you like lightweight moisturising creams. Priced at £24 for 50ml.

There is always an eye cream within my skincare routine and I was delighted to see one from Pixi within this collection. The Pixi Retinol Eye Cream has been formulated to improve elasticity as well as to smooth and protect the delicate skin around the eye.

Said to be suitable for all skin types, as well as the retinol for smoothing and refining and then we have the inclusion of caffeine which helps to depuff and energise before peptides work to firm and revitalise the skin around the eyes. I have found this eye cream to be really moisturising, it doesn't make my eyes water or sting when I use it and it does a pretty good job at depuffing the eye area, which from someone who suffers from insomnia is quite the comment. Priced at £22 for 22ml.

I am a huge convert to using oils within my skincare routine. For years I wrongly assumed that having combination-oily skin, using an oil would only exacerbate the issue rather than help. Within this Pixi collection, there are two oils - The Jasmine Oil Blend and the Overnight Retinol Oil.

The Pixi Jasmine Oil Blend is described as being an exquisite oil blend which has been designed to be effective in helping the skin to recover from the loss of moisture and dullness.  What I love about this oil is that it isn't greasy, it isn't tacky and your skin doesn't feel as though it has been rubbed over a block of lard.

Using jasmine flower extract, evening primrose and grapeseed oil, making it rich in omegas, antioxidants and vitamins to nourish and protect the skin. It can be used alone morning or night and it can also be added into your moisturiser to give an extra boost of hydration. This is one of my favourite oil blends and my favourite product of the collection, one I wouldn't hesitate to buy. Priced at £26 for 30ml.

The final product and another oil, which is the Pixi Overnight Retinol Oil and its job is to help to restore plumpness and improve the appearance of fine lines and pores.

This is the last step of your routine before applying your moisturiser and it includes retinol, peptides and ceramides which come together and work to help restore natural plumpness and elasticity to your skin as well as giving you a glowing and healthy complexion. Again, this is a non-greasy oil when applied and you only need a few drops to apply to the skin, it absorbs really quickly so there is little time needed to wait for it to disappear into the skin before completing your nighttime routine. I have only just started to use this product, so I will update in a few months time. Priced at £26 for 30ml.

I absolutely love this range, if I am honest it has been my favourite collection so far and definitely one I am 

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.