MY LOCKDOWN SKINCARE FAVOURITES | BEFORE + AFTER

Before we proceed, yes; in the throes of self-isolation mania I shaved my eyebrows off. I’m not proud, I’m not pleased with myself. I honestly thought I’d look like some amazing alien/Jefree Star/drag queen hybrid buuuuuuut…..no……

Abject fails aside, I’m loving having all this time to take care of myself. Long walks along the sea front, marathon-Judge-Judy-watching, and lots and lots of skincare sessions. I wanted to put all my current favourites together and write a little review on each product I’ve been adoring during these strange weeks of lockdown. So, without further ado, here are my top five skincare products at the moment!

PIXI Beauty Glow Mud Cleanser 

I’ve had the pleasure of using this clay cleanser by PIXI for around six months now, and I know it’s something I’ll always want to keep in my collection from now on. It set me back £18 from Boots, and I bought it as part of my first ever PIXI Beauty haul. Aside from the pretty minty-green pastel tube with rose-gold lettering [one of my biggest weaknesses], the product itself is really good. I went off foaming cleansers a while ago in favour of creamy cleansers instead, so this was really appealing to me. I read somewhere that foaming cleansers strip your skin of their natural moisture and actually work to dry it out, so I’ve stopped using them altogether and prefer a creamy-feeling one instead that doesn’t lather up.

This brightening and clarifying ‘mud’ cleanser contains 5% glycolic acid which helps to exfoliate, brighten and soothe the skin. It’s also one of my favourite things to use to make sure all my makeup is off properly. It’s marketed as being gentle enough for all skin, despite containing the 5% chemical exfoliant, and as someone with sensitive skin, I can say that it’s very comfortable to use. It can leave my skin feeling slightly dry, so I always make sure to follow it with some kind of toner or moisturiser. It doesn’t smell overly strong, and I always feel like my skin looks fresher and purer after a good go with this.

PIXI Beauty Peel + Polish

I’ve said it once and I’ll bloody say it again: this stuff is liquid gold! For an eye-watering £26 from Boots, you can take home this offensively tiny 80ml tube of heaven. I absolutely adore the packaging, again; pastel pink loveliness with my basic-bitch fave rose-gold lettering. It looks so nice on display in the bathroom! This was also part of my first venture into the PIXI skincare products, and was probably the highlight of the three items I bought. I exfoliate 2 to 3 times per week, but more if I feel like I need to. I managed to get a wicked sunburn in the garden in 16-degree weather, so now the burn has calmed down I have a fair bit of peeling going on that I’d rather get rid of.

This very very very gritty exfoliator smells like watermelons and basically resurfaces your whole face. It’s like magic [well, you’d expect it to be for £26!]. It contains fruit enzymes which help to loosen the dead skin cells while lactic acid helps to exfoliate them away. It’s also made with cellulose peels and sugar extracts which polish the skin and counteracts dullness. The first time I used this I was absolutely thrilled - so thrilled I almost forgot how much I paid for it - but I wouldn’t ever want to be without this product now. I’ve started to really notice when I need to get it out of the cabinet to re-reveal my glowing-looking skin beneath all the crap. 

Liz Earle Cleanse + Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 

Remember when this first came out and every man, woman and child were posting pretty flatlays on their blogs of their Liz Earle cult-fave Hot Cloth Cleanser? I certainly do, and I was a bit vexed because I was so late to the party. I remember I’d just spent about sixty quid on some other skincare that very week and couldn’t face another big splurge just at that moment. But when I tried it, I absolutely fell in love, and I really think that Liz Earle’s products helped to keep my newly acne-free skin clear. Since using up my first 100ml tube, I decided to upgrade to the 200ml version, which costs £27 from Boots. 

I use this creamy cleanser before bed, rather than my PIXI Glow Mud Cleanser which I prefer to use in the morning, because I do worry about rubbing literal acid into my face twice a day. The Liz Earle cleanser is entirely natural and derived from botanicals, which I’m an absolute sucker for. It’s enriched with cocoa butter, rosemary, chamomile and eucalyptus, so it smells beautiful and feels like you’re really indulging. The cleanser aims to soothe and purify, but it’s also fabulous and getting rid of the last few remnants of mascara and eyeliner that my micellar water can’t reach. When you use it with Liz Earle’s muslin cloth, it also helps to exfoliate and lift dead skin away, and I always feel a bit brighter in the face when I’ve treated myself with this.

NARS Cosmetics Multi-Action Hydrating Toner

I got this for my birthday last year, but have only just got around to trying it properly in lockdown! NARS is one of my favourite ever makeup brands, so I have been really looking forward to trying their skincare out. This toner is rated really really highly on the various websites its sold on, and the average price looks to be £25 and you can get it from LookFantastic. I’ve depleted my wine stash since being in lockdown, but this product won’t help because it’s alcohol-free. It’s also oil-free, paraben-free, synthetic fragrance-free and dermatologist-tested. A really interesting feature of this one is that it claims to have a trademarked Light Reflecting Complex, which is meant to reflect light like a prism, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. No one’s mentioned I look particularly prism-like in recent weeks!

I’ve been using this instead of a moisturiser lately, because it does a pretty good job by itself, and I’d hate to slather a layer of cream on over the top and just end up feeling claggy. I’ve been loving a toner to finish my skincare routine, especially since the weather’s been warmer because they just feel so much lighter. This toner also claims to refine the appearance of pores for a smoother look, and aims to brighten and revitalise. I’ve only been using it for a few weeks so far, but I love the way it feels and am noticing a brightness and an evenness in my skin. 

GLAMGLOW Thirstymud™ Hydrating Treatment

A couple of years ago, you wouldn’t have caught me dead using a hydrating treatment. I was convinced that my oily skin was down to too much moisture, and never even had a moisturiser or a cream in my possession. OH HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED. I realised that by using all these anti-oil products, I was forcing my skin to try to create its own oils in overtime. Ah well, every day is a school day. Now I love all of my extra-special moisturising and hydrating products, but this one is my absolute favourite. This was a Christmas present from my mum, but I’ve seen it’s £44 from LookFantastic. It says to use this treatment 2 to 3 times per week, but I’d say I only really indulge once a fortnight or so. Partly because I want the tub to last as long as possible!

Even though Coronavirus is making sure we ain’t going nowhere, this mask can be used as an In-Flight Treatment to stop your skin literally shrivelling up to a crisp on a plane-journey, which I love. I’ve not been able to try this yet, but I know how minging my skin feels after a flight. I was also interested to see that you can use as an overnight treatment, which I would absolutely love to give a try. This mask, however, doesn’t dry down like a clay mask - it’s more like a super-thick cream that’s wiped away after 15 minutes - so I’d be a bit grossed out by it going on my pillow or in my hair. It contains raw honey and ginger root to help soften and condition the skin. It’s just sooo soothing and feels very very luxurious, which is something we all need during these lockdown days. 

Before doing my very very involved and rigorous skincare sesh, you can definitely see a lot of dryness; horrible flakey bits from my sunburn last week. When my skin gets dry, it’s noticeable because it shows up in lighter flecks which is very very very glam indeed. It’s most noticeable on my forehead and my nose. I’ve also had some dry bits on my chin where I’ve had a few spots over the last few weeks, which have now [finally] decided to start going down. 

You can also see, quite noticeably, how my pores are quite enlarged and dark. This is probably just general dirt and oil buildup - most likely from my dressing gown hood which has been in a permanent up-position while I eat crisps and drink coke on the sofa. 

As well as this, I feel like my complexion just looks slightly dull and a bit darker than it should be. I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the sun, so have a bit more colour to my face - and freckles, yay! - but in the ‘before’ pictures my skin looks a bit flat and tired.

I love doing before and after pictures so you can see the change just half an hour of pampering can achieve! In comparison, the ‘after’ pictures look much more glowy and bright. My skin tone looks far more even, and almost blurred, I’d say. The texture of my skin is noticeably more smooth and you can’t see the darker pores that are visible beforehand. It’s also nice to see that the dead skin and dry flakes have been buffed away, leaving smoothness and evenness beneath. And my skin feels soooo soft to touch, although now I’m trying to avoid touching it so I don’t grease it up again immediately. 

With all this craziness going on in the world, it’s so important to take some time out for some you time. I’m personally trying to squeeze as much out of each day as possible - which I know is easier said than done for some - but even just doing a properly long skincare session can boost you if you’re feeling bored or low. I’m seriously hoping I can carry on giving my skin the TLC it deserves once this all blows over! And the less said about my eyebrows, the better…

Lots of love,

Jasmine x

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