Skin Love

So the title to this post sounds kinda dirty, but I don't care ;)

It's been about 11 days since I last posted but I've been trying to be good and save my pennies - which kind of relates to my latest "rave" which I'll go into now.

I am not in the slightest loyal to skincare. That's probably not a great thing, as I do and have suffered from eczema for around eight years now. I had it as a toddler, it disappeared - lying dormant I guess - and then (perhaps with the start-up of all my laaaaaady hormones) aged fourteen it came back with a rather vicious vengeance causing me much upset. It's kind of limiting it terms of what I buy in terms of shower gels and body lotions which is no fun because one of my favourite places to shop is Bath and Body Works (I make do with their delicious candles) and I am very careful about what I put on my face. I gravitate towards products designed for "dry", "mild" and "sensitive" skin, whatever the brand.

For some reason, I do tend to enjoy Garnier products. I frequently use their hair dyes (I'm currently rocking a bright red look so I buy their dye on average every 4-6 weeks) and have no problems despite my sensitive scalp. I also often use their skincare, and recently I purchased a couple of things, one I love - and one I don't. Let me elaborate:

Garnier Moisture Rescue Cleansing Cloths (for Dry and Sensitive Skin) available at  larger drug stores/pharmacies.

The wipes are great. They smell like roses (in fact, they take me right back to when I used to wear Paul Smith - Rose. Love that scent) and they have lots of make-up remover in them and they're great at taking off your eye make-up too. I wouldn't recommend using them alone, because you do need a cleanser too (I use Sephora's cleansing oil) - but for make-up removal and possibly those night outs where you can't face doing your whole routine, they're fantastic and affordable to boot. I think they're usually around $10, but often reduced.

Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel Cream for Dry skin. (Stock photo from Garnier.ca)

 The moisturiser, not such a fan. It's a gel formula, which I don't adore, and I don't have that lovely oh-so-soft feeling. It just feels like of thin and rubbish, I didn't notice any improvement in my skin using it and I don't see how it's meant for dry and sensitive skin when it's so lacking in the creamy goodness. When I was really suffering with my eczema around 18 months ago, my doctor told me you should always go for cream based moisturisers and lip balms as opposed to the oil-based ones - so for instance, you Vaseline addicts should maybe rethink your choice of skincare as it's actually very drying to your poor skin.

Pond's Dry Skin Cream (available at many drugstores/pharmacies and supermarkets. For price see below!)

So, after I used up the Garnier Moisture Rescue moisturiser (I like to give things a fair shot, and I'm a bit cheap) I decided to go for a much heralded classic that I'd never tried before. I opted for Ponds cold cream for Dry Skin. It cost me around $7 dollars (so around £3-4 for you UK folk) and I loooove it. I put it on right after the shower (experts recommend you do all your moisturising before you're out of the shower a mere 3 minutes, as your pores soak it all up best in that 180 second window) and I put it on my neck also. No itching, no breaking out, nothing. Just lovely, cooling, baby-softness. I was actually stroking my face and neck the other day oohing and ahhing at how lovely it felt, particularly in comparison to the Garnier Moisture Rescue stuff. My only criticism would be that even with dry skin I could see it being a little thick for summer, but as we're in the winter months right now it's perfect. Plus the jar is massive, and I use literally a tiny bit off my fingertips on the four "corners" of my face - each cheek, forehead and chin - and that's all I need to feel gorgeously soft and supple. Also, be sure to leave some time between the application of this (like I would suggest with any moisturiser) and applying your foundation, as if you're too hasty it could streak a little.

Some things you can compromise on, high-end or even upper end of the drugstore doesn't always mean best results (not that I'm calling Garnier high end by any means) and Ponds has a stellar reputation for a reason. They also offer a cream for "normal" skin types, which I'm sure is just as lovely as the dry.

Who knows, I may stop being so flighty with my product choices and become loyal for once...maybe...