I've never really been one for a skincare routine, but I have been wanting to get into a proper routine for a long, long time. One weekend whilst in Basingstoke with Tim I suddenly remembered what I had been putting off, and popped into Wilkinsons to grab a few bits.
Fast forward a few weeks and I have been keeping up with my routine day in, day out, and I have seen some results, before I get into that lets start with my routine!
Simple Kind To Skin Facial Gel Wash
I've heard all kinds of good things about Simple from plenty of bloggers, but I've never actually used any of their products. For my first ever proper skin routine I wanted something simple (pun intended), and something that I knew would work. The best thing about this product is it's completely colourless and odourless, there's nothing worse than a face wash that smells really weird... You only need a tiny amount, and it lathers up in your hands really well, meaning hopefully a bottle should last a decent amount of time. I use this every morning and night, and it's been easy enough to slot into my standard morning/bedtime routine.
I would definitely recommend this product if like me, you are just getting into a skincare routine, as it really is Simple.
St Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub
I was first introduced to this product by Emma Blackery, when watching one of her videos about skin care. The thing she loved most about this product was the smell of apricot. I can confirm that this product smells absolutely delicious. Even better is that this scrub is a lot more environmentally friendly than some other scrubs on the market. I don't know if you know this, but some of the 'microbeads' that are used in some face washes and scrubs are pretty harmful when they finally make their way to the sea. With this though, you need not worry, the exfoliant in this product is ground up walnut shell, so it's completely natural! I use this every other day, just before I go to bed, I find if I use it any more than that, then my skin gets a little sensitive. On the back of the bottle it does recommend that for the best results you use the product 3/4 times a week, which I am still managing to do without hurting my skin.
Another product I am very happy with, one thing I would mention is that you don't need to be rough with this scrub. As the exfoliants are walnut shell, they are quite hard, so you need only gentle scrub your face, for a short amount of time, and you still get good results. If you like yummy smelling scrubs, and you love the environment, then this may be one for you.
Simple Rapid Action Spot Zapper
At the time I bought these products I was having a serious breakout, so I knew I needed something to help reduce the appearance of my spots. I'd already picked up one Simple product at that point, and this caught my eye. I'm a big fan of roll on products because they are so easy to apply, this one has a metal roller, rather than a plastic one, and it glides onto the skin. You basically roll it onto your spots, and it reduces the size and redness of them. I use this after washing my face every morning/night, or when I notice a spot coming up. The first thing I noticed about this as that it felt cool on my skin, and it didn't smell of anything. Often with 'spot zapping' products they smell really strong and can sometimes even make your eyes water when using them. There was also no stinging sensation with this, which I have had in the past with spot treatments.
If you want a spot treatment that doesn't smell too strongly, and feels good to your skin, then you should give this one a go!
The Results!
I have noticed a MASSIVE improvement in my skin. I have less spots, and my skin feels so smooth when I run my hand over it. I think I really began to notice the difference when applying my foundation, as I need even less product to make my skin look flawless now. As for the spots, I still get the odd one here or there, but overall they are much better than they were when I started this. Even if I do get a spot, I just put some of the spot zapper on, and I noticed a reduction in swelling within a few hours, and my spots seem to disappear a lot quicker than they used to!
For anyone else who doesn't really have a skin care routine at the moment, because you think it really won't make that much of a difference, I can assure you that it really does. Go out and pick up just one product to try, and even that will give you some good results.
Let me know in the comments what your skincare routine is?
