Elemis Soothing Eye Rescue

I have no reason why but I've really never been into eye creams and I don't know why. It's definitely not because I don't need to use one. I can often suffer with dark circles under my eyes and I don't really know why I put up with them. I think I just think I can cover them up with my trusty Nars creamy concealer and get on with my day.

I purchased this one a pretty long time ago now and recently I've been picking it up and using it a lot more than ever before. I think I kind of shocked myself when doing so. This one seemed perfect for what I needed it for; my tired bag to be precise. I purchased this from TK Maxx which is such a great store for finding little finds within their beauty range. They have such a range on offer and all for great, discounted prices. Elemis is a well recommended brand and I haven't tried many of their products so I was excited to try this one.

It has a pump which is perfect for getting the right amount of product out and I find I don't even need to use a full pump for both eyes. I use around half a pump, split the product onto a finger on each hand and then apply. I use a tapping motion to blend this into my eye area and voila. This sinks into the skin quickly and feels really refreshing under the eye. It's an instant feeling and I really like it, especially in the morning as it helps me to feel more awake. This product really helps my under eyes and I have started to see a difference since using it. The colour of my eye bags has not been so prominent and my eye bags themselves seem to have reduced in size.

Overall I think I might have been converted to eye gels/creams especially after using this one. I love the refreshing feeling after application and the fact that it's such a simple step to add to your skin care routine. Let me know your favourite eye product in the comments, I may be persuaded :-)

Elemis Skin Clear Overnight Serum

Another skin care product aimed at spots, aren't you lucky lucky readers. It's actually been a little while since my last one so I thought I would pop this one up next. I've had mixed feelings about the Elemis products I've tried in the past so here I am trying another. As I've mentioned my skin type has changed recently but unfortunately I'm still getting those pesky spots. I'm all for easy skin care steps and this product is exactly that.

Firstly the product again has a pretty strong smell, alike to the other products I've tried. I do find that this one disappears pretty quickly though so I can manage it. The product itself is simply a serum that you apply before you go to bed and it works on your skin overnight. It's aimed to help clear blemishes all whilst you're sleeping. The consistency of the product is actually quite runny so it can be tricky to apply. But once you get the hack of being fast then all is ok. It doesn't take long to sink into the skin which is great. No one wants to apply something to your face before bed and have to sit and wait before you can actually put your head on the pillow.

In the morning my face feels refreshed and I can see a difference in reference to my blemishes. The redness is visibly reduced which is a great starting point. It makes them easier to cover up when applying make up. I can't say I can see a huge difference in the size of my spots but this is definitely great for the redness.

Overall this is a nice product to use when you have those pesky red spots that you just can't seem to calm down, this will definitely help you. I've still got mixed reviews on Elemis as a brand but would still love to try some of their other products.

Elemis Fresh Skin Matte Attack

A little while back I tried my first ever Elemis product and today I'm going to be reviewing my second and third products from them. I was really excited to try skin care products from Elemis after hearing so many good things about them. I picked up this mini set from TK Maxx a while back and have just finished both products so thought it would be the perfect time to share my thoughts with you. I do have an oily t zone and also suffer from blemishes so this line from Elemis really appealed to me.

Firstly the Purifying face wash which Elemis say:  
"Helps detox and purify the skin. With antiseptic properties, the wash promotes healthy cell growth to repair damaged tissue. White Willow Bark provides gentle exfoliation whilst Cedarwood and Cucumber soothe the skin. Experience an extreme clean.”
I really enjoyed using this face wash, I do love a quick face wash when I'm having a quick morning or evening shower as they are such an easy way to get a clean face. This face wash really does that, it leaves my skin feeling really soft and really clean. It gets rid of all the dirt and oil that builds up on your face over a period of time. It does have a scent which I wasn't most keen on but it doesn't linger on the skin. Also a little amount of this product does go a really long way on the skin so this mini size was perfect.

Next the Mattifying moisturiser which Elemis say:
“Helps control the shine of oily skins. A skin multi-tasker, this reduces T-zone shine within one hour of application and maintains a matte finish for up to 8 hours. Shea Butter helps promote cell renewal, hydrates and protects all day long, whilst reducing redness, inflammation and helps minimise post blemish imperfections.”
I relatively enjoyed using this product but it does have it's bad points alongside some good. So starting with the good points, it really did help minimise the oiliness of my t zone which is just what this product aims to do which I loved. Although I would not say that it left me with a matte finish for 8 hours it was a lot less than that. Again this product had quite a strong scent which I wasn't keen on but that seems to be a pattern across this whole product line from Elemis. The consistency of this moisturiser was actually rather runny/slippy and I felt it took longer to sink into my skin after application.

Overall I really enjoyed using the face wash but didn't find the moisturiser to really be my cup of tea. I think this mini set though is the perfect way to test out new products you've never tried before. I would really like to try different products from Elemis, other than this range, to see if they are as heavily scented as these and also to see if they live up to the hype everyone talks about! Have you tried either of these products? What are your favourite products from Elemis?

Bed side table evening essentials

It's a definite must to keep everything that I need, when it comes to night time, close by. I hate it when I'm tucked up in bed and something I need is on the other side of my bedroom, super frustrating. So I like to make sure that my essentials are on my bed side table and ready to use. I use all of these products on a nightly basis and am currently enjoying them so I thought I would share them all with you.

My first essential of course is some Vaseline. I always find if I do not put a lip balm on before I go to sleep then I wake up with really painful and cracked lips. Vaseline simply does the job, nothing spectacular, but it works well for me. I know if I put this on before bed then my lips won't be painful when I awake in the morning so I can't really go wrong. I do also like to apply this when I wake also just to super soften my lips.

Next is a hand cream, this particular one from Cath Kidston. It has super cute packaging and a nice floral scent to it. I much prefer to apply hand cream before bed and then I find I do not need to reapply throughout the day again really. This one is super nourishing and leaves my hands feeling really soft, not sticky.

Then I always have to keep a spot treatment nearby, at the moment I'm currently using one from Elemis. This essential always chops and changes as I like to buy a different one each time, this is just my current one at the moment. I always, always apply a spot treatment every night in aid to help reduce current blemishes or past scarring. You can read my review here.

After applying my spot treatment I then use my Freederm serum which is great when you have lots of blemishes or that one big, nasty spot. It's a really soothing cream which is night to apply in the evenings and works whilst you sleep. It can take a couple of minutes to sink into your face though so I tend to have one last small check on social media whilst it does just that. You can read my review here.

Finally, again whilst I'm flicking through my phone, I spray my Avon pillow mist onto my pillow. The smell of this spray is really calming and genuinely nice. Since buying this product, I have used it every night since. I really do love using this product and I think it does make a difference to my nights sleep. You can read my review here.

And that's the contents of my skin care bed side table essentials! I honestly love using all of these products before I go to sleep and really think they help. I would definitely recommend these products and would love to know if you have tried them. I also love to hear your bed side table essentials :-)

Elemis Skin Clear Treatment Gel

This is my first ever Elemis product would you believe! I was shopping in TK Maxx a while back and came across this and couldn't help myself. I've always wanted to try something from Elemis and the fact that it was a spot treatment was even better. I've heard great things about the brand in the past so was super excited to get started on trying this product.

Now lets get the negative out of the way first.. I'm normally ok with a scent but the smell of this product is so overpowering it's really not that nice. As soon as I've put a little bit on my finger ready to apply onto my face I can instantly smell it. I can't really describe the smell, just like a spot treatment smell if you know what I mean, which I wouldn't normally mind. It's just this one is so strong that it really isn't actually nice to put onto your face simple because it's closer to your nose so makes it smell even more!

But aside from the smell I have been liking this product as an actual treatment for my spots. This product does the classic stinging when applied onto some spots but nothing too painful that you can't handle. I tend to apply this just in the evenings after I've finished all my skin care routine and just put this on all of my spots before I go to bed. The tube this product is in makes it super easy to use and control how much product your squeezing out. I do find that this product does help reduce the redness and size of my spots over a few days. It's not a miracle product by no means but it does help speed up the time of getting rid of spots.

Overall the actual product in how it helps your spots is really great, not the best I've used in the past but it certainly does make some difference and helps. But the smell kind of kills it for me due to how strong it does smell. I know everyone is different so some people may find it not so strong so definitely give it a sniff before you pick it up if you're wanting to try this product. You can buy it here from Feel Unique for £13.

TK Maxx Haul #2

TK Maxx beauty section has really been on point recently and I haven't been able to stop myself from purchasing rather a lot of bits that I've seen as you can probably tell. They always have great brands at a discounted price so it's great when you find something you've been after for a while at a fraction of the price.

The first thing I picked up was from Orly and it's their Primetime which is basically a nail primer which claims to prevent chips. Anything to help my nail varnish last longer is a winner for me so if this product works I'll definitely be raving about it on my blog. I'm not however one to make the process of painting my nails any longer than it can already take. So if this product is not a fast dryer then hopefully it will make up for the no chipping. This product was a bargain at only £2.99.

Next I got this lovely set from Macadamia which includes 6 different products inside and was only around £15. This was something I was really excited to get my hands on as the brand, Macadamia, I've heard so much about. The products are quite expensive when bought separately so I was pleased when I found this set. The products include; a shampoo, conditioner, oil, mask, treatment and a comb. This is a brilliant way to try out all of the products and decide what you like/dislike. I have already dived into this set but I'll do a separate post on all my thoughts.

Finally I picked up a whopping four products from Elemis, again a brand I'd heard so much about but had never actually tried. These were all a great price ranging only from £7.99 to £9.99 so I couldn't resist them. From left to right I picked up; soothing eye rescue, treatment gel, matte attack (including a moisturiser and face wash) and an overnight serum. I've already started a couple of these products but not all of them yet but I'm definitely excited to do so and to get a good opinion on the brand.

And that's it, my TK Maxx haul! If you live near a TK Maxx store then I definitely recommend you popping in to check out the beauty section as there are so many amazing products in there at the moment. You can also check out the TK Maxx website here if you don't have a store near you. I hope you enjoyed this post and keep your eyes peeled for reviews in the future of these products :-)