Caudalie Eau Demaquillante Cleansing Water

Selling at £9 for 100ml on the Caudalie website, which you can find here, the Eau Demaquillante Cleansing Water is a micellar solution designed to remove your makeup before cleansing. You just apply a small amount to a large cotton pad and sweep it over your face and neck, repeating as necessary until you are satisfied. In fact, you could actually use this product alone, but personally I like to either exfoliate or cleanse my skin with a hot cloth cleanser afterwards in the evenings,to ensure that my skin is completely clean. In the mornings, however, I am happy just to use this to wipe away any oil or grime that may have accumulated during the night and it leaves my skin feeling refreshed, soft and clean.

Being a micellar solution, this product is very gentle, and yet it still removes all traces of makeup with ease. This is designed for use on the eyes, too, and it doesn't sting at all, nor is it oily, which are both huge bonuses in my opinion. I have quite sensitive eyes which are easily irritated by a lot of products, and I really dislike having to use anything unneccessarily oily on my face.

I usually tend to give my skin a couple of sprays of the infamous Caudalie Beauty Elixir after use, and I feel that together, they really leave my skin feeling supple, smooth and 'awake', without a trace of oil. I then moisturise as normal.

A quick summary:

                                                    The Good                                                  

  Gentle on the skin

Gentle enough to use on the eyes

Removes all traces of makeup

Leaves skin feeling refreshed and soft

Practical and easy to use, as it doesn't require water. Perfect for use on the go.

                                                          

    The Bad

A little bit on the pricey side at £9 for just 100ml, especially as...

..100ml doesn't tend to last long

I would definitely purchase this again. I have been using a hot cloth cleanser for a while now, which I love, and while I really like the fact that I can use it to remove makeup and cleanse all in one go, I hate that I end up with mascara stains all over the muslin cloths and can never use them more than once or twice without having to throw them in the wash! It's so much better to use this Cleansing Water first, as I can dispose of the used cotton pads and then cleanse with a nice clean cloth along with my hot cloth cleanser.

If you are new to Caudalie then I would definitely recommend giving this a go, as it is one of the cheaper products available, and a 100ml bottle is not a huge commitment to make. I went for this size in order to try it out, and now I know that I will like it, I will go ahead and buy the larger one (200ml for £15).

Have you tried anything from Caudalie? 

What are your favourite skincare brands and products?

xx

Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask

I bought the Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask along with the Skincare Essentials, which, if you've been reading my previous posts, you will know that I adore.

Actually, it was a while before I felt the need to give this mask a go, as the Hot Cloth cleanser alone has been doing such a good job of keeping my skin looking fresh and healthy, but I wanted to see if this product could work any further wonders.

The instructions say to apply a thick layer of cream over the face and neck and then relax for fifteen minutes or so. Then, like the Hot Cloth cleanser, you use the muslin cloth provided to polish the mask off your skin and then splash with water. The mask is designed to be used after cleansing, and before the Instant Boost Skin Tonic.

This is the first of the Liz Earle products I've tried that I haven't been massively impressed with, mainly because I didn't feel that it made all that much of a difference after having used it. Like the rest of the range, the mask has a pleasant smell, and it also has quite a thick, luxurious texture. I don't have anything bad to say about it, but equally, it's no miracle worker, although perhaps if I was not already using the Skin Essentials range then I would have noticed more of an improvement in my skin.

Hope everyone is enjoying that Friday feeling!

Have you tried any of the Liz Earle masks? If so, what did you think of them?

Liz Earle Skincare Review

Ok, first of all, I'd like to apologise for not having included any photos of my own for this post, and probably the next couple. The reason for this is that my camera has decided to break on me and, as I am currently abroad in Brazil, I'm finding it hard to get my hands on a new charger or battery, one of which seems to be the problem! As soon as I do, I will most definitely be including my own snaps, so I thank you for your patience on that one!

Onwards.

I have heard a lot of hype about the Liz Earle skincare range over the past few months, what with the awards it has won, and the praise it has received on a couple of my favourite fellow bloggers' pages, and have finally managed to get my hands on some of their products. I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first, not least because I have never managed to locate a skincare range that really seemed to suit my skin. I have naturally pretty good skin, though I do get the odd blemish, as everyone does. But I find that many ranges tend to dry my skin out (yep, even the high-end ones), which is certainly not desirable, and this has often left me feeling like I was better off keeping it simple. However, I loved the sound of the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and so decided to give it a go along with the Instant Boost Skin Tonic, and the Skin Repair Moisturiser for normal/combination skin.

What Liz Earle says:  Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare is a Great British beauty brand, founded in 1995. We are passionate about all that we do and create products that really work on every skin type by harnessing the potent powers of the finest quality naturally active ingredients. (uk.lizearle.com)

For the record, their website also states that none of the Liz Earle products are tested on animals, nor do they use genetically engineered ingredients. Good to know.

My products arrived just a couple of days after I had placed my order, and were very well packaged, stored neatly in a white cardboard box, and then individually wrapped in tissue paper and secured with Liz Earle stickers. 

I was excited to find that, as well as the three main products I had ordered (along with a mask, which will be featured in a forthcoming post), Liz Earle had kindly included some sample sachets of each shade of their Sheer Skin Tint , travel-size squeezy tube of the Hot Cloth Cleanser, and a full-size bottle of the Energising Bodywash! These were free gifts because of the amount I had spent (over £30, I think. Apologies for not remembering exactly, I will make sure I note it down next time! Anyway, check their site uk.lizearle.com , as they've always got some fab offers on the go).

Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

The Hot Cloth Cleanser, like the other products in this range, comes in simple, pale green packaging, which I think adds visual emphasis to the fact that the brand favour natural ingredients. The bottle has a pump dispenser, which makes it easy to deposit the required amount onto your hands (one to two pumps, depending on your preference). One thing I wasn't crazy about, though, was the fact that, due to the hard, opaque bottle, I would never know when it was about to come to an end!

The concept of the Hot Cloth Cleanser is unique: You massage the cream into dry skin, taking care to do so thoroughly, and then you 'polish' it off with one of the two muslin cloths provided. The cloths must be soaked in hand-hot water to do so, and then you splash your face with cool water to finish.

I must say, I absolutely love this cleanser. It gets off even the toughest of waterproof mascaras and leaves my face feeling completely clean, fresh and soft. Using it in conjunction with the cloth means that you are able to slough away dead skin cells, so essentially, it also serves as an exfoliant, which is great.

Ingredients include cocoa seed butter, chamomile, rosemary and eucalyptus, but I'd say the most prominent of those in terms of scent is eucalyptus.

Instant Boost Skin Tonic

This toner comes in a bottle with a practical 'twist-up' cap, which you basically twist one way to open and the other to close. The idea is that you use this after the cleanser, and is applied by pouring a generous amount onto a cotton wool pad and sweeping over the face and neck. 

This really does have a lovely, gently sweet fragrance, and contains Aloe Vera, Calendula, Rose-scented Geranium and Cucumber, along with natural Vitamin E. It feels cool and refreshing on the skin and for me, again, is a winner. I'm not sure I can comment exactly on what this product as an individual does for my skin, but using the three products together certainly makes for an enjoyable and refreshing session in the morning, and a relaxing one at night.

Skin Repair Moisturiser

Containing Borage and Avocado oil and Echinacea, this is a real feel-good moisturiser. Applied after the Skin Tonic, the cream feels thick and indulgent, and is really easily absorbed. By far my favourite of the three products, I absolutely adore it's scent. I want to describe it as sweet yet refreshing again, but I feel silly repeating the same thing again given the difference in ingredients! But really, I think that the whole range is designed to be a bit of a sensory experience as well as a skincare routine, and the whole lot has a relaxing feel to it.

I don't think I really need to spell out the fact that I absolutely adore these products and feel that I have found my skincare regime for life (well, until I have to start resorting to anti aging products instead, that is!)

I love the packaging, the consistencies of the two 'creams' (cleanser and moisturiser), and of course, the heavenly scents! But most of all, I love the fact that not one of these products leaves my skin feeling dry or tight. The moisturiser doesn't leave an oily feeling on my skin, as so many do. My skin has been really clear and soft to touch since I started this regime and I will be stocking up on more of these treats as soon as the old bank balance allows!

Have you tried any Liz Earle products? What did you think? Would love to hear your thoughts!