Detoxing The Skincare Cabinet

A recent Instagram photo made me realise just how many of you ladies treasure your beauty cabinets, but it also made me come to terms with the fact that mine is a hot mess of facial oils, AHA’s, cleansers, spritzes, sprays and serums. My skincare switches on a daily basis depending on how my skin is on a particular day. So if I feel a breakout on its way I’ll bring out the clay based masks and something with glycolic or salicylic acid, but if my skin’s particularly parched then it’s nothing a good facial oil won’t sort out.

The beauty cabinet in question

My approach to skincare has fared well for me, but after a recent breakout brought on by indulging in a bowl of mac and cheese (quite depressing when it’s your favourite) I needed something to calm my skin down rather than blasting it with every harsh and drying acne product under the sun in an attempt to get my skin to behave. I had a large host of products to choose from, but I stuck with a select few and my skin calmed down in time. Realising that regardless of my hoarding ways, I only need a few things to get me by so I bring you the contents of a more streamlined skincare cabinet:

Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel* – Where do I even begin? The smell? Like roses. Ingredients? Pumpkin enzyme, vitamins A, B2, C and E as well as starflower oil rich in Omega 6. Texture? Ignore the word ‘gel’ in Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel as it has more of a balmy texture but without the oil and grease of a cleansing balm. Something else that makes it different to a balm is that it emulsifies upon contact with water which might be great news for your washing machine. I can’t be the only one that’s had enough of washing muslin cloths all the time, right?

Perricone MD Hypoallergenic Gentle Cleanser* – Foaming cleansers only irritate my skin further, but this olive oil based cleanser free from parabens, sulphates, mineral oil and synthetic dyes is perfect for sensitive skin. Gentle cleansers hardly do a good job of cleansing but it passes the mascara removal test so it gets a thumbs up from me.

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Facial Pads* – When you’re breaking out the first thing you should be keeping clear of are face scrubs, but what do you do when exfoliating works wonders for your skin? Glycolic acid. Gentle yet effective, the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Facial Pads have been a love of mine for quite some time. A quick wipe after cleansing in the evening and and you wake up to breakouts significantly calmer and brighter, smoother skin.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Infusion* – You couldn’t get me to commit to an eye cream until I recently discovered the Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Infusion earlier this year. Although I feel it’s better for someone a little older, considering my terrible sleeping pattern this eye serum works wonders with it keeping the under-eye area moisturised and puffiness free. Heavy on the pocket but the tiny bottle has lasted me since May and there’s no end in sight.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II* – An improvement on Estée Lauder‘s previous ANR serum, this not only repairs the skin but it purifies and really soothes. Still testing this out as it’s a new addition to the cabinet so I’ll keep you updated in time.

Vichy Idealia Life Serum* – Another serum here and this offering from Vichy is enriched with LR 2412 and LHA. New beauty jargon aside, the former is a skin repairing molecule derived from the jasmine plant while the latter comes from salicylic acid which is probably why my skin always clears up when I use it.

Essence of Morocco Facial Argan Oil* – I’ve previously written about the Essence of Morocco Facial Argan Oil so I’ll be keeping this short, but it’s the one thing that’s made the most significant difference. Rather odd that a facial oil can work so well at soothing acne prone skin, but it does.

Estée Lauder DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant UV Defense Broad Spectrum SPF50* – You’ve probably gathered just how into Estée Lauder I am by now. However the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Facial Pads call for SPF as it may increase photosensitivity. The dilemma with SPF is that it can cause the skin to breakout, but the DayWear and my skin get along fine.