Dry Skin Fix

Hello! Huge apology for not posting yesterday but have a super (not in a good way) amount of work at the moment that I still haven't completed for tomorrow. I really hate growing up! As mentioned in a few previous posts, I've had really dry skin at the moment, particularly on my face. I think I have put it down to not only the transition in the weather but the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum which I have stopped using for a while just to make sure. It's been so itchy it's painful and has completely changed the texture of my skin. This month I've been on a mission to add moisture and hydration back into my skin and this is what's working for me! I've gone kind of skin care crazy!

I use Nuxe's Aroma-Perfection Purifying Cleansing Gel every morning and evening at the moment after taking off the majority of my make up with L'Oreal's Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil (I wish brands wouldn't name products after tongue twisters.) I find this gets off all the grime, dirt and make up from the day and leaves me with a clean but not stripped base. To my clean base I add La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo + to my problematic areas and where I can feel spots coming up (TMI?) which I find soothes the area and prevents marks being left behind (review coming soon!) and to sooth the need to itch my dry patches I add E45 cream to the worst areas (my cheeks and forehead) before finishing my routine with Nuxe's Reve de Miel Lip Balm and a thin layer of Superdrug's Vitamin E moisturizer which I'm not actually a fan of as it leaves a film on my face but I'm giving it a go.

For a boost, I add a little extra moisture into my skin with two products that I love at the moment. Firstly, Lush's Oatafix Face Mask which I find intensely moisturizes and gently exfoliates my skin which doesn't irritate my dry skin. I've spoken about this before so I won't rave too much! I use this once a week, normally on a Sunday for an end of week pamper and top up for my skin! The newest edition to my routine is The Body Shop's Vitamin E Serum-in-Oil. This was suggested to me when I called on the #bbloggers of Twitter to help me with my dry skin dilemma. @VivelaVieBlogs suggested I use this and I'm so glad that I went and picked it up. I use 3 or 4 drops twice a week and it leaves my face feeling so smooth. It doesn't irritate my dry patches or make me break out so I think that really, this is to thank. I quite like putting oil products on my face as well because I find it really gives my skin an injection of moisture that I can't find in cream products. Thank god for The Body Shop.

Do you have anything you use when you have dry skin? What's in your skincare routine at the moment?

Oatafix

Hello! Right now I should be in France and I have been told that I won't have Wifi... What a nightmare! But I'm probably having a nice little break with some lovely revision. Brilliant, just brilliant! So, without further delays, has anyone tried Oatafix?

Lush Oatafix Mask, £6.25

After finishing one of Lush's most loved face masks, Cupcake, I decided I would pick one of their other most loved and talked about. Oatafix promises to 'cleanse, soften and moisturize dry skin' which is something I've really been struggling with at the moment. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm hoping it's down to the cold weather rather than being allergic to something... It also claims to 'reduce redness and gently polish' with the almonds and illipe butter which nourishes and restores the skin. Alongside these products is bananas which contain a large amount of antioxidants and vitamin C which aids elasticity and protection of the skin. They're also great for just making a DIY mask in your kitchen (would anyone like to see a recipe?) which is a quick fix if you're in need of some skin TLC.

Oatafix has a waxy and grainy texture down to the oats and almonds within it. As a result of this, the mask is quite hard to spread over the face but I find that with application to a wet face and perhaps a little extra water when working it into the skin makes it a lot easier and less wasteful. The smell (and taste which I discovered by accident) reminds me a lot of flapjacks which smells sooo good and is probably my favourite scent of all lush masks (I find Cupcake lingers a little too much for my liking...) I also love how cooling this mask is, especially as with all Lush masks you have to keep them in the fridge to ensure the natural ingredients last longer.

I find that with Lush face masks that I don't notice the effects until I stop using it and realize how great it was for my face. I haven't got through this whole tub, but I use this about twice a week and every time I use it it nourishes my skin and gently exfoliates, leaving my skin so smooth and moisturized. My make up always goes on so much better the day after I've used this as I find it evens out my skin so that it's ready for my base. It hasn't completely solved my dry skin problem but it's been 2 weeks so I'll give it a chance and perhaps it will come out on top as my new favourite Lush mask and I will see why everyone loves it so much!

I've tried The Sacred Truth, Cupcake and now this, but do you have any suggestions for what I should pick up next?

Lush Carrots

Hello! Has anyone else got this cough and cold? I'm really not loving it.. I needed a new face mask at the weekend so I went straight to Lush. On my visit I saw their new Easter products and these carrots really caught my eye...

I've also just started reading The Clockwork Orange which I've been meaning to read for ages! I read so much last year but barely have this year so if you have any suggestions let me know!

'Swish a carrot around your bath to enjoy soft clouds of bubbles and tropically scented water. Although these reusable bubble bars may do a convincing carrot impression, their fragrance definitely gives them away: buchu, lemon and bergamot oils create a tropical, fruity and refreshing bath.' - lush.co.uk

These carrots really don't smell of carrots, but even through my cold I can small they have a fruityness to them that fills the bathroom. Lush's Bubble Bars are my favourite as I have never quite got the knack of creating thousands of bubbles with bubble bath and these are fool proof - just hold them under the tap as your bath runs. With these, you can hold them by the cute string tops although I found this came loose after 3 uses. I also love that you can use these over and over until they finally disappear, which for me was 5-6 baths, depending on the carrot size. As you get 3 carrots per purchase, that's about 18 baths on a good run, so I think they're really good value for money and you get soooo many yummy baths for it.

Although the whole orange bath thing is kind of cool, I only hold my carrot under the tap for about 45 seconds which creates plenty of bubbles in my opinion but doesn't give a strong colour (not the most appealing). It left my skin feeling really smooth and lingered on my skin for an hour or so after I got out which I liked as it doesn't clash with other products too strongly.

I love when Lush bring out their Limited Edition products because they're always such cute ideas but I also hate it because if you find something you love you have to wait another year! You can get these items up until Easter which is the 20th of April this year (Why does it change every year? Surely Jesus died on one date?..) and while I won't be distraught when I can't get these anymore, they're pretty cute and smell really good!

Have you tried anything from Lush's Easter range this year?