My Morning Skincare Routine

The past week has been hectic with my return to school. Of course, no matter how busy I get, I always make sure to follow through with my skincare routine.

After splashing some cold water on my face to wake up, I follow with a cooling toner like Biotherm's Biosource. The toning lotion feels refreshing while cleansing your skin of the previous evening's skincare.

To add hydration and prevent fine lines, I use H2O Eye Oasis. It's more of a gel consistency which feels great on the eyes in the morning.

I recently started using La Roche Posay's Effaclar K after hearing great things and being a hardcore fan of Effaclar Duo. Haven't formulated a full opinion on it but I'm sure you'll hear all about it soon in a future post!

For years on and off, I've been using Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream as my face moisturizer. It hydrates your skin for the entire day but never makes oily skin oilier. Just trust me, this is the only moisturizer you will ever need, no matter your skin type, so buy it in the large size. It doesn't look that big in this picture but I swear it's huge. Bigger than the size of my fists even , and I have large hands.

I'll be honest now, I don't remember to apply sunscreen most of the time... But when I do (usually once a week), Shiseido's Sun Protection Lotion is always the sunscreen of my choice. The best part of it is how thin and light it feels on the skin. Now if only I remember to use it more often...

Not really sure if Soap & Glory's A Great Kisser lip balm counts as "skincare" but nonetheless, I love it! Besides smelling like Georgia peaches, it moisturizes your lips and stays on! It has a slight nude pink tint that's barely noticeable but still really nice. I can't say enough good things about this lip balm.

You Need This: Ren Invisible Pores Detox Mask

This past week was not a good skin week for me. The right side of my face decided to grow a cluster of unwanted spots that even my Effaclar Duo could not calm.

In comes the Ren Invisible Pores Detox Mask! I used this mask for the first time two weeks ago the minute I received it from the post. I didn't think much of it then because my skin didn't have any issues, but I immediately liked it.

When my skin decided to have a meltdown this week, I turned to this as a last resort. Containing calming elements like French Clay, lavender, and bergamot, your skin feels and looks calmer after just 15 minutes. The cool but slightly gross part of this mask is the way it draws out your skin's impurities. After removing this mask, I instantly saw blackheads and whiteheads coming to the surface. Make sure to use a good toner to get rid of all the gunk that comes out to avoid more breakouts.

Psst! Before buying, compare the price to the one on LookFantastic. I saved $10 buying two Ren products!

3 Lush Sea Salt Products

Sea salt is a natural ingredient with many benefits for your skin and hair. Perhaps that's why I own so many "beach" sprays, but that's another post.

Let's start with "Big". Compared to the other two Lush products, Big is indeed big in size. This clarifying shampoo with chunks of sea salt claims to build body and oomph while giving hair a good deep clean. Unfortunately, I got squeaky clean hair but zero oomph. On the plus side, this shampoo smells really good and gives your feet a nice exfoliation from the pieces of sea salt that land on your shower floor. The downside, Big waste of $$$!

Lush's Big Shampoo

Next up is Ocean Salt. Out of the three sea salt products, this one is probably my favourite. Initially, I didn't like this product because of the large scratchy salt granules found in the first layer of the product. I would not advise using that layer on your face, perfect for a pre-wax body exfoliation though. Infused with avocado, lime juice, and even vodka; you will be left with brighter and cleaner feeling skin after one use. Because of the citrus and vodka, I would advise you not to use this when you have any open blemishes or cuts on your face. 

Bottom layer of Lush Ocean Salt

Lastly, we have Sea Spray. From the name, you can probably guess that this is a sea salt spray. Infused with grapefruit, seaweed, and sea water; this product claims to give your hair texture, hold, shine, volume (!!!) , and that "just came from a day at the beach" look. My main issue with this product is it makes my hair look dirty. I guess it does add "texture" but it comes out in a sort of white salty form. I would definitely not use this to "refresh" my hair throughout the day unless you like that gritty feel in your hair. Another beach spray fail for me, but at least I have the smaller version.

So far, I'm not impressed with Lush's hair range. What are your favourite Lush products?