SkinB5 Acne Control Cleansing Mousse

After giving birth to my daughter last month my poor hormonal skin was in need of some serious attention to clear it up. I've always suffered from acne in one form or another and being in my mid 30's now it can get a little bit depressing sometimes when I think that my skin should be past all that.

I'd been waiting to use this SkinB5 Acne Control Cleansing Mousse I was sent to try out as soon as I wasn't pregnant anymore and over the past four weeks I've been using it every day.

The SkinB5 Acne Control Cleansing Mousse is part of the SkinB5 Acne Control Program which also consists of their Extra Strength Acne Control Tablets, an Acne Control Moisturiser, Acne Control Caplets and a Skin Purifying Mask.

The mousse contains a soothing combination of Green Tea, Vitamin B5 and Aloe Vera to refine the texture of the skin as well as Salicylic Acid to prevent further breakouts.

The SkinB5 mousse feels nice and gentle on my face and while it doesn't really lather up too much when being used, it's still easy to spread around on the skin and doesn't irritate or make my face feel tight or sensitive at all after cleansing.

The mousse has a very subtle scent to it that is in no way overpowering and two pumps is all you really need to adequately cleanse the entire face and neck area.

My skin was a mix of very itchy and sensitive acne as well as having very large pores with a lot of blackheads. After using this mousse for the past four weeks it has cleared up considerably and is starting to look a lot smoother, less red and a lot less oily. I have noticed some small dry sections where my skin was affected the worst but these areas are not sore or irritated at all and after I complete my usual moisturising routine of a night they are barely able to be seen.

SkinB5 is Australian made and owned and was started by acne sufferers.They have a very informative website that explains their entire acne control system as well as giving additional information on all of the products available.

If you have suffered from acne and haven't found that wonder product that works for you yet, I highly recommend giving this one a go. Considering the difference I have noticed with only using one part of the entire system, I can imagine that if all of the recommended products are used in harmony together then the result would be even better.

Has anyone else tried these products yet? Does anyone else get as excited to try Australian owned and made skincare products as I do??

Have a great weekend!

Michelle xx

May Addiction - 'Yes To' Brand

I realise I haven't done a monthly addiction post in a while but truthfully it's because nothing I used had really grabbed my attention to that degree until this month. I don't know if it was the stress of studying for my exam which was at the beginning of May or whether I just lost my mojo for a little while but I seemed to be a bit all over the shop beauty product wise the past couple of months.

That was until I started acquiring some 'Yes To' products and grew a soft spot for this brand again.

I used to use this brand quite a lot in the past because it was gentle on my sensitive skin but then moved on I guess to other more exciting brands. Lately I have been into 'Yes To' products again and my current go-to items from this brand at the moment are as follows:

1) Yes To Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Towelettes - One word sums up these wipes, 'Bliss'. I can't get enough of the scent of these wipes. They have such a clean, fresh scent that instantly makes stress disappear once they are wiped over the face. They remove all traces of makeup and leave my skin feeling fresh and completely clean and soothed which is awesome after a big night out when I'm tired and want nothing more than to get my makeup off quickly and get into bed. I sometimes even forget to put my moisturiser on after using these because they make my skin feel moisturised enough.

2) Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gel Cleanser - I've been using this cleanser for a while now and love how sqeaky clean my skin feels after use. Again, it's got the nice, fresh cucumber scent that I just love. This gel can be a bit drying though but as long as I put on a moisturiser straight after using I don't notice any problems. The best thing to me is that I feel no stinging and get no eczema flare ups from using this cleanser. Win!

3) Yes To Carrots Conditioning Lip Butter with SPF 15 - This is such a thick lip balm that is great for those days when your lips feel like old sandpaper after a big day out in the sun and/or wind. It makes the lips feel extremely moisturised and stays on for at least a couple of hours. The only thing I must mention to be aware about with this Lip Butter is that if you apply it too thick you get a nice cream looking coating on your lips so apply it sparingly as that's not the best look to go for.

4) Yes To Carrots C Me Blush Lip Tint in Ready Red - I can't say enough about how good this Lip Tint is. I like to use this during the day to get a small tint of colour on my lips when full-on red lipstick would be too much. It stays on for ages and leaves the lips feeling so soft and moisturised. You can build the colour of this tint up too by applying a few layers if you want it to be a bit darker. It's got a very strong peppermint flavour to it though which leaves a cooling sensation on the lips so if you're not a fan of peppermint then this may not be for you.

What brands have you been loving lately?

Michelle xx

Review - Natio Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser

I have been using this cleanser for a good couple of months now after DJ's had a sale on some Natio products and have become quite a fan.

A little about this product:
'Soap-free cleanser with a neutral pH. Extra low foaming to avoid stripping skin of vital moisture. Effectively removes excess surface oils, impurities and make-up and helps neutralise the drying effects of hard water. Natio Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser maintains correct moisture balance, leaving skin feeling pure, soft and moist. Includes shea butter to maintain correct moisture balance, rosewood to improve radiance and sandalwood, calendula and jojoba to, soothe and moisturise. Suitable for all skin types' 

First up I just love the smell. It's such a fresh herbal sort of scent that is really nice to have on your face and is kind of relaxing when used at night.

I also love how this cleanser makes my skin feel. It always left nice and clean with all traces of makeup gone and a nice smooth surface ready for my toner and moisturiser.

There were only a couple of small things that bugged me about this cleanser. The first is that it's a pretty thick cream and getting it out of the tube once you're getting towards the end is actually quite difficult. Also, being as thick as it is I found you really had to work it with a fair amount of water to get the foaming effect and cover your whole face.

Another thing that bothered me was a couple of weeks ago. After I had a bad head cold my nose was going through that raw, red and sore stage as is the norm after a lot of nose blowing and I found that this cleanser seemed to sting that area quite a bit when in use. This is probably nothing but thought it was something to mention as it made me steer clear from it for a couple of days until my nose was healed. I have quite sensitive skin normally and have not experienced any other forms of irritation from using this cleanser at all other than this episode.

Overall, if you're looking for a fairly gentle no frills cleanser then this is one to consider.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Michelle xx

A.S.A.P. Daily Facial Cleanser Review

I have been using this A.S.A.P. Daily Facial Cleanser for a little while now and I have found it a great product so far.

Here's what the product claims:

A rich, non-greasy formulation, gently and deeply cleanses the skin of makeup and grime without drying or irritating. Contains 12% Glycolic Complex buffered to pH5.5 to loosen and invisibly remove dead skin cells leaving your skin feeling refreshingly clean and smooth.

In a way this cleanser is kind of fun to use because it is super duper slippery to apply (I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but it kind of has the consistency of KY Jelly) and you really only need a very small amount because it seems to spread a very looooong way. I usually use an amount equivalent to 2 or 3 grains of rice (seriously!) and that is enough to cleanse my entire face and neck.

It foams really nice and rinses off without any yucky residue left on your skin which is something I love as I suffer from oily skin. My face always feels nice and clean after cleansing with this product rather than with some others that make me feel as if I need to clean my face again.

It's also non-drying which is great as I hate it when you cleanse your face and then feel like it's a race against time to get your moisturiser on before your skin cracks open which some other cleansers I've tried have felt like.

Overall it's a great everyday cleanser which thoroughly removes all traces of makeup and leaves the skin feeling clean and refreshed.

I've also just started to use the A.S.A.P. Daily Exfoliating Facial Scrub so once I have used it for long enough I will give you my opinion on that too.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Michelle

Boring Beauty Products

I have been using this Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser for a while now and frankly, I am getting quite bored with it and just want to finish the bottle already!!

Yes, it does what it supposed to do, which is cleanse the face of all impurities while being hypo-allergenic and without being over drying or irritating to sensitive skin (which I can suffer from) but it's just a boring cleanser to use. The packaging is boring, the smell is boring and even the way it foams doesn't do it for me either.

Fair enough, if you want a plain old cleanser that does it's job fuss free, then this is for you. Maybe I'm just getting too spoilt for choice these days with all the fancy products that are out there with amazing packaging and even more amazing smells and consitencies that when I'm faced with something that purely just does what it's supposed to do without any bells and whistles I'm left feeling a little deflated.

Does that seem ridiculous or what??

Has anyone else experienced the same Blah-ness when using a similar product before??