The affordable goodies from my skincare routine Part 2: the FIRST AID BEAUTY

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First Aid Beauty, First Aid Beauty Instant Oatmeal Mask, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, review

There’s no secret how much I enjoy using the First Aid Beauty products as part of my skincare routine lately, both AM and PM.

[ To read about my complete nighttime skincare routine, click here; to read my previous First Aid Beauty post, click here ]

As a final step in my nighttime routine, after the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate Serum Oil I use this First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream.

It’s a simple, white, not too thick face cream that sinks instantly into your skin and adds such a dramatic amount of hydration to it. The result is a glowing and plumped skin in a matter of minutes! 

What else is amazing about this face cream… I discovered that it also prevents your skin from getting dehydrated, acting like a barrier that locks your skin moisture in throughout the day.

Now, I never kept a secret from the fact that I already managed to burn my face and arms, the first time I sat longer in the sunlight this year… I went fishing for a whole day and even if I did applied and reapplied sunscreen, it failed me gloriously! Being as fair as it can be I’m prone to getting sunburns and red skin rather than a beautiful, bronze goddess, flawless tan… and the minimal tan I manage to get also disappears by the end of Summer anyway!

Pont is: I got burned! What I did: I generously applied on my face the night serum from Kiehl’s and on top of that another generous amount of the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, day and night and any discomfort, itchiness or redness instantly disappeared, NO peeling whatsoever! And I still have a bit of a tan… for the time being anyway!

So I definitely think that this combination worked miracles for my ( at that moment ) damaged skin and I definitely recommend both products! To be used together or separately…

In addition to my usual skincare routine, I like to throw in extra products according to whatever my skin needs at a certain moment. One of those type of products is also this First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask.

It is a 10 minute mask, perfect for one of those days when your skin is red and irritated, and doesn’t want to cooperate no matter what you do… Stubborn little thing! 

So, I apply it like I do with any other mask, on freshly cleansed skin, avoiding the eye and lip area. It has a weird consistency… It sure feels like a lotion but it also has those oatmeal bits in it that makes it a bit rough! But it smells de-li-cious! Do you know the smell of a new cut-open bag of granola? That’s it! Yummy!

I leave it on for 10 minutes then I wash of any residues with a cloth and warm water! It leaves my skin glowing, while calms down and sooths my distressed skin.

As all First Aid Beauty products they are made from natural ingredients and are safe to use on sensitive skins!

What’s your favourite First Aid Beauty product! What are are your favourite skincare items/brands! What do you think I should try next?

See you soon beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

 

INTERESTING FACTS:

• oatmeal masks are actually really good for calming down rough and irritating spots as well, and any inflammations might appear on the surface of your skin. That’s why it is recommended to add a hand or two of raw oatmeal flakes to your water when you’re taking a bath, soak in there for a couple of minutes… You’ll see results instantly!

• you can also use the oatmeal flakes as a natural body scrub. You can use them by themselves or combined with natural oils of your choice, as a little DIY scrub. If used by themselves, just make sure you wet them before you rub your skin with them… For the obvious reasons!

The affordable goodies from my skincare routine Part 1: the FIRST AID BEAUTY Face Cleanser and the Facial Radiance Pads

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Diptyque, Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder, Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator, First Aid Beauty, First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser, First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads, Foreo Luna Mini, review, skincare, Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads

I already took you step by step throughout my PM Skincare routine ( see picture above ) in last week’s blog post, but now I want to talk to you about two lovely First Aid Beauty products, that make taking care of my face very enjoyable, no matter how tired I am. So here you have the Face Cleanser and the infamous Facial Radiance Pads.

I would like to start by saying that First Aid Beauty products are really affordable and they can also be found in convenient sets. I got mine from feelunique.com, where you can find them periodically discounted too, with free shipping worldwide for orders over 10£.

That aside, let’s get to the actual review!

The First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser is a basic foaming cleanser good to remove any excess oils on your face or even traces of makeup. I love it because it leaves my skin clean without stripping all those “good” face oils off.

How I use it:

– by itself, daily, as a second cleanse and I only need a tiny amount of product to do that. I apply it on my damp face, massage it in – moment that it actually foams up, and more you massage it in, more it transforms into a soft, creamy paste. Then I either rinse everything off with lukewarm water or I clean everything with a muslin cloth.

– every other day – I use it combined with the Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder for a deeper cleanse, also as a second cleanse, only at night

– once or twice a week according to the needs of my skin, I also use it with my Foreo Luna Mini, a cleansing device that I will write an in-depth review on soon.

All in all, the First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser is a decent, gentle cleanser that really has the job done at any time, morning and night.

The First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads are “the thing” when it comes to skincare nowadays. Everybody uses them and raves about them all-over the Internet. But what are they anyway?

They are round cotton pads ( made with one of the softest cotton to touch! ) pre-soaked in a mix of lactic and glycolactic acid to use all-over your face as a chemical exfoliator. I have sensitive skin so physical exfoliators aren’t my favourites to use on my face, unless they’re really gentle – like this Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator, which I carefully only use once or twice a week at most, anyway.

The First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads are an awesome introductory exfoliator, so if you’ve just started using exfoliating acids I highly recommend these. They’re mild and gentle enough to be used daily ( although I find that a bit too much to handle for my sensitive skin! ) but efficient enough to free your complexion from that superficial layer of dead skin cells, brightening everything up and allowing your skin to easily regenerate and breath again.

You simply take one pad, swipe it all-over your face ( no pressure or rubbing needed ), you turn it the other way around and go on your face once more. I use this before using my toners or face mists, or even instead of those, in the evenings mostly ( they are really also very comfortable to sleep in without the fear of getting irritations or redness ), every other day.

Will I repurchase them? Probably not, but only because next I want to try the more expensive ( crazy expensive that is! ) version of these, the Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads.

First Aid Beauty products are also great because they don’t have any added fragrance to them, so they are really good for sensitive skins, even though I have to say that the Radiance Pads do have a faint chemical scent to them, nothing that would bother you too much though, or for too long.

As they say on their website:

FAB products are free of harsh chemicals and known allergens, including parabens, phthalates, alcohol, fragrances and artificial dyes. Select products also boast FDA-approved over-the-counter formulations that target specific skin issues such as eczema and acne. The result is true first aid beauty and a collection of products that may be used safely by even the most sensitive skin types.

I definitely recommend First Aid Beauty products for being simple, effective and affordable!

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

INTERESTING FACTS & TIPS:

– make sure you know the difference between a face wash and a makeup remover, so that when you’re tempted to use your face wash only when you take your makeup off and you don’t see the results you’re expecting, not to blame the product and use a makeup remover/makeup wipes as a first step in your cleansing routine, as you should!

– ALWAYS double, triple cleanse ( check how I currently triple cleanse in this post here ), because a clean skin is a healthier skin and a smoother canvas for your makeup application… Not to mention that you also use less makeup -> those “good days skin” everybody’s talking about, and some are only wishing for… unfortunately!

– NEVER sleep with your makeup on!

– IF you can, cleanse your face and reapply your makeup as many times a day as possible!

– make sure you keep your most expensive/most packed with nutrients/effective face cleansers the closest to your skin, and use them as the last step in your cleansing routine! Like this you can benefit from all those nutritious ingredients longer and you don’t wash them away completely… and with those, all your sweet money!

PM Skincare routine…

Tags

Balance Me, Diptyque, Elemis, First Aid Beauty, Kielh's, L'Occitane, night time routine, Omorovicza, Oskia, skincare

This is my current nighttime skincare routine step by step!

STEP I:

– TIE HAIR UP – these might seem like a lot of hair ties and pins, but these go missing like crazy, so it’s always a good idea to keep a “few” in hand. Love these ones from Oysho.

STEP II:

– TAKE MAKEUP OFF – I’m a huge fan of cleansing. I firmly believe that a clean skin is a healthy skin… Therefore I double or triple-cleanse! 

Here is how a triple cleanse sounds like:

I’m starting with some L’Occitane Cleansing Milk on two large cotton pads to take off most of my makeup. Then I wash my face with an oil cleanser, my pick: the L’Occitane Cleansing Oil and to make sure that there’s no makeup residue whatsoever I also use a tiny bit of the First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser combined with the Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder.

On days where I’m not wearing a full-face of makeup, I skip on the L’Occitane Cleansing Oil and go directly to the First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser + Diptyque Radiance Boosting Powder combination.

STEP III:

– USE A TONER/EXFOLIATING PADS – I spritz some of the Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist on a regular cotton pad, then gently, in circular motions I take it all-over my face. Every other day I replace the face mist with one of the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads. These are amazing for a gentle acid exfoliation and they also tone and brighten your complexion. More on these coming soon!

STEP IV:

– HYDRATION + MOISTURE – USE A FACE SERUM – the one I’m currently using and loving the effect it has on my skin, is this Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate, of which I only use a few drops rubbed between the palm of my hands, then I press it into the skin. This is fast absorbing and doesn’t leave any greasy residue… I already wrote a review on it here!

                                         – USE AN EYE CREAM – I’m was testing for quite a while this Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream a lightweight, yet very hydrating eye cream Alina from Debenhams UK kindly enough to sent it over, along with the Kiehl’s Serum. The review is already up!

                                         – USE A MOISTURIZER – my moisturizer of choice has been lately the Elemis Hydra-Nourish Night Cream, an anti-oxidant, rich night cream. But for an extra boost of moisture and hydration I always reach for another First Aid Beauty product, the Ultra Repair Cream – a very, very rich cream that offers intense hydration for dry, parched skin.

                       – USE A LIP BALM – the lip balm I’m still loving at the moment is the Omorovicza Perfecting Lip Balm. I know, I kind of strayed away from my beloved By Terry Baume de Rose, but I felt that the Omorovicza one suited my needs better.

                       – USE A HAND CREAM – don’t forget about your hands! They also need to be moisturized regularly, especially at this time of the year. I still have left some of the Laura Mercier Fresh Fig Hand Cream, that I try to finish up. *Gosh, this smells delicious!* This would be the last hand cream in my stash then I will have to purchase a new one! Any good recommendations?

I would love to know what your PM Skincare Routine consists of, so please kindly share it in the Comments below!

Also keep in mind that this daily routine doesn’t include masks and other treatments I use! These will be featured in a separate post!

See you soon, beautiful!

xx, Annie

 

 

DISCLAIMER here.