The Round Up... Clay Masks

Best For... A Truly Deep Cleanse
Origins Clear Improvements - £23.00

When my skin is feeling particularly grotty - disgusting word but it's the only one that really sums up how congested and vile my skin feels sometimes - this is the one I reach for. You only need a tiny amount of this (this tube has lasted me the best part of two years - I have a second tube of this which I got in a set last Christmas that I still have never cracked open as this one is still going strong, so the price is really ridiculously reasonable!) as clay can absorb an incredible amount, I was told just how many times its own weight it can hold but I can't remember the exact figures!

The point is you need a really thin layer of this - no slather it on and waste a tonne of product here. This is the harshest of the three on the skin so I only apply it exactly where I need it, usually round my nose and chin otherwise it could end up drying out skin if it's not really required. Having said that when you put it on skin where it is needed the results are unparalleled, it's like a vacuum for anything that could be clogging up your skin and leaving you with clear pores and no oil build up. Dry skinned girls may want to avoid but for anyone with combination or oily skin this is definitely a must have.          

My only advice would be to make sure you moisturise well - even maybe use a moisture boosting mask or serum - as as well as sucking out all the oil and grime clogging you up, it can also strip even the oiliest skin of moisture, so make sure to replace it!



Best For... A Gentle, Non Drying Cleanse
REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask - £18.00

Of the three this is the one I like the least, it does it's job, but just not any better than the Una Brennan version. It's much more gentle than the Origins one and can be slathered all over - though I find my eyes sting if I take it too high up on my nose or cheeks, which doesn't happen with either of the other two options. Once it's slathered on though it definitely does what it is supposed to and removes the clogging dirt and oil without stripping the skin, so worth having if you're a REN loyalist or there's a 'buy two products and get x free' - which there currently is on Feel Unqiue, where I've linked up to. If you're reading this later and that offer is finished M&S are always running offers on their beauty hall - offers well worth keeping an eye on. Overall there's nothing massively wrong with this product or anything for me to put you off buying it, but I just think the Una Brennan one does a really similar job and is half the price.

With mentioning- you get 50ml of this product for £18, whereas you get 100ml of the Origins Clear Improvements for £23 or 125ml of the Una Brennan for £8.99, so it's half the size of the Origins and less than half the size of the Una Brennan.



Best For... A Gentle, Non Drying Cleanse On A Budget
Una Brennan Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask - £8.99

The packaging and name of this product seems to have changed since I picked it up - to the Salicylic Acid Anti Blemish Clay Mask, but I think it's pretty much the same product.

This does a really similar job to the REN version, it will clean out your skin without drying it - funnily enough I tried the cleanser from the Una Brennan Tea Flower range i.e. the deep cleaning range, and it dried my skin out horribly - I definitely don't have this problem with this mask. When I was commuting to Edinburgh over the summer for the Fringe Festival there was just something about being on a train for the best part of four hours a day (not to mention the 'grab it and go' nature of my diet - I was leaving the house at seven and arriving home at nine, every meal I ate was some form of fast food or, at best, an M&S sandwich) that left my skin feeling pretty congested. I slapped this mask on almost every second night to no adverse reactions and it definitely helped to prevent any of the grime I could feel living on my skin turning in to anything on the surface.

This only needs to be on the skin for five minutes to do it's job so it's also a great one if you're rushed for time and don't want to be sitting around for ages waiting on it drying it etc.




All in all, the Una Brennan is a great high street cleansing mask that I reach for quite a lot and will repurchase, but for a truly deep cleanse Origins is the only one to cut it. As for the REN? I'll use it up, it's not a bad product, but I won't bother replacing it once it's gone.

The Round Up... In Shower Body Moisturisers

We live in a fast paced age, time is of the essence and the rise of smart phones and 4G mean we like convenience. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who has a breakdown if I can't get signal and therefore access the latest youtube video in my subscription box on the subway!) It's little wonder then that companies have cottoned on to this in the beauty sense and are delivering us multiple ways to moisturise our bodies before we've even left the shower. This has even more benefits if you live in the UK like me and during the winter the time spent between exiting the shower and putting clothes (which you've placed on the radiator before hand of course!) on must be minimised as much as possible, even if it means forgoing moisturiser and being a Scaly Sally for a few months. Well, scales be going (though of course there's no excuse now we're getting into July!) because there are some brilliant products out there...


Best For... Not That Much?!
Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser - £5.10
The first offering in my collection of in shower moisturising products is this one from Nivea, this one that created such a stir in the blogging world about a year (or maybe more) ago and that I dutifully trooped off to buy when I saw some of my blogging favourites sing its praises. Well, I'm really not that impressed. I don't know if I'm majorly missing something but this doesn't really do much for my skin, at least not much that's off any use in the long term. The ingredients list boasts that infamous mineral oil which stops it from penetrating the skin and that's presumably why I haven't seen anything that great come of it. It gives the body a sheen once it's first used, but it's a short term effect and there are no long term benefits so this shall be the first post which the tag 'Don't Buy This' is added to. Sure, the sheen is nice, but achievable with both of the other products listed and it means you're not washing £5.10 literally down the drain with no real benefits for your skin!


Best For... Long Term Results
Lush Africa Paradise Body Conditioner - £20.00* (Not online yet, sorry!)
In stark contrast this one does a very good job of delivering long term benefits. The high price is cancelled out by how little of this you need, so it will last pretty much forever. You use this one after you've washed yourself, stand out from under the water, rub it all over (or anywhere you want to moisturise) then rinse it off. The smell is pretty questionable on this one but it doesn't linger after you've used it. What does linger is that heavy, moist feeling - even after you've rinsed, hopped out of the shower and dried yourself you can still feel this on your skin, working its way in and penetrating all those layers. Although the smell is a but funky if you can get by it this product is definitely worth a space in your shower.


Best For... Quickness
L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil - £17.50
I've been a fan of this one for years now and have repurchased many a bottle, more so than I'd care to face up to. You can buy a 500ml refill of this for £23.50 which means that after you've bought and finished a bottle you can buy the refill, which will fill it twice over and save you some pennies, which makes the price of tho sone a little more bearable. Unlike the Lush offering a little of this doesn't go a huge way - though perhaps that's not helped by the fact I love the smell and slather myself in it like I've got a version of Willie Wonka's chocolate waterfall and river that consists entirely of this oil stashed in a beauty version of his Inventing Room somewhere in my house. Which I don't. Though I can dream. This goes on like an oil but turns to a milk once it's mixed with water - a body version of the Clarins Melt Off cleanser - but the oil penetrates deeply and moisturises my skin both instantly and in the long term. I get the same healthy look that the Nivea provides but with the long term benefits too. I love the fact that this one comes in a bottle that means I can squeeze it onto my skin without worrying about water splashing in and ruining the product a la the Lush tub so it means I can use it with little care and probably too much reckless abandonment for a £17.50 shower gel. But then, it's not just a shower gel - it's a moisturiser too. See how I justify it?

In case you can't tell the L'Occitane offering is definitely my favourite, but it does feel weightless and leaves no residue so for when you want that pampered, moisturised feeling the Lush one does the job nicely, though both deliver moisture that packs a punch and penetrates into the skin properly. As for the Nivea? Save the pennies and spend a little bit more on a product that actually works. Or go about it the old fashioned way and spend the time using a separate body moisturiser - it is July after all, and the slight increase in heat means that it's maybe not totally terrible to be unclothes for a little longer between leaving the shower and getting dressed!

The Round Up... Eye Creams

If there's one thing I can call myself a bona fide expert on it's eye cream - I suffer from dark circles, extremely sensitive, often inflamed and very dry, delicate and dehydrated eyes. Yep, I get all the luck. I fully believe in having options within all types of skincare and listening to what your skin wants on a daily basis and the same goes for eyes - after years of experimenting I have a nice little wardrobe of eye creams to chose from to treat different issues.

Best For... Dark Circles 

StriVectin-EV Get Even Dark Circle Corrector - £38.00

Okay, so this is the one that's made the biggest difference to my life - I've had dark under eye circles since before I can remember - you can check my prep school picture if you don't believe me! I remember asking my classmates in junior school what time they went to bed at since I thought that under eye circles were all linked to sleeping and, well, it just doesn't matter how much I sleep - they don't go anywhere!  This is the only eye cream to significantly make any difference to my circles - I don't know how it does it but it delivers. Over time it's definitely reduced my dark circles quite noticeably - they're never going to disappear but this really has brought them down. 

It's quite a potent formula and not one I can reach for on days when my eyes are feeling sensitive. Although the Space NK product description says this can be used on the eye lids I find my eyelids are too sensitive for most eye creams so I can't personally recommend that - though clearly it is safe to do so if you're eyes aren't as sensitive as mine! 

This product isn't really designed to do anything other than reduce circles and brighten the area, both of which it does, so you need something else in your arsenal for lines, puffiness and hydration but if your dark circles mean Bobbi Brown Corrector is your best friend then this is one to check out. 

Best For... Puffy Eyes 

Arran Aromatics Green Tea Eye Gel - £3.50*

£3.50 and I can safely say this is the best de-puffing eye gel I've ever used! I was gifted this at an Arran Aromatics blogger event and the lady in the shop said they all swear by it and have various jars in the fridge in the staff room for the early morning starts when the eyes just need to be refreshed a little. I don't think puffiness is something that can really be tackled long term but for an immediate cooling and de-puffing of the eye area this baby is brilliant. 

I also have tried the Origins No Puffery Cooling Roll On which retails at £24.00 and is supposed to do the same job. In fact for my sensitive eyes the Origins product was far too potent and caused the skin to become really inflamed and I have to remove it immediately - though I was still left with visible red marks from where the product had made contact! There is a tingle to the Arran Aromatics version when you apply it but nothing my eyes couldn't handle.

Best For... Dry Eyes 

Eucerin AQUAporin Active Eye Cream - £13.50

When my eyes are dry and dehydrated this is what I reach for. This moisturises and nourishes the skin without being too heavy a formula for the thin skin around the eyes. I also find that no matter who inflamed my eyes are I can still go in with this one and it won't just cause further irritation.

I also love the design of this bottle - it comes with a pump dispenser which I much prefer. Although the other creams in this post have all made it in they've done so based on formulas rather than packaging design - I'm not a fan of the stick your finger in a pot method! The pump dispenser means there's less product waste and it's just all much more hygienic all round.

Make no mistake though, this one hasn't made it in here because of the packaging over formula - the pump is just an added bonus to a fantastic product for anyone with sensitive, dehydrated, dry eyes!

Best All Rounder

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye - £38.00

For those of you who don't have any of these problems in a massive way this is the eye cream that does it all - it delivers hydration, deals with lines and brightens and de-puffs the area. So why have I included all the others? Well, I think this ones main focus is in anti-aging and it deals with the other issues as a by product of revitalising the whole eye are apt make it look fresher and younger. I do see results for my dark circles and hydration levels with this eye cream, but not as much as I see them with the other creams that are specifically designed to target those issues. 

If anti-aging is your main concern or if you don't suffer from any of the above issues in depth then this is a fantastic eye cream to reach for that does it all. It also protects the eye area from UV damage, which as we all know is hugely important, especially now that it's coming to that time of year where we'll all be hoping to start spending some more time in the sun - whether that's through some BBQs in your own back yard or because you're jetting off to a tropical island.