Review | Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin

Good afternoon lovelies, today I have the one product to end all excuses for taking off makeup at the end of the day! Enter Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin.

I have been testing out this cleanser for the past couple of days and I can vouch that it really does what it says...it cleanses the skin, tones it and removes makeup. It is also effective against waterproof makeup.

It is basically a paraben-free, white cleansing milk that comes in a 100ml tube. The texture is a little runny and you only need the size of a 1 euro coin to fully cleanse your face. I like to start cleansing my makeup away with it first then proceed to using makeup remover if need be and after I rinse everything off, I just need to moisturize my skin and I'm done! One thing worth mentioning is that my skin and eyes don't burn while using this cleanser and my skin feels super soft and clean!

I would definitely urge anyone with sensitive skin to go pick this cleanser up and give it a go! You can find Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 Cleanser from leading pharmacies, a list of which can be obtained from the Vichy Facebook page.

PR Sample

Best Of 2012: Skin Care

Time to reveal which were my top skin care products in 2012! Those of you following me for a while know that I have had some issues with my skin up to August of last year; for those of you who are new here, I basically started getting a whole lot of zits on my face and I thought it was all due to starting my job etc... turned out I was using too much products to try and eliminate the spots and I ended up making matters worse. That is until I only used La Roche Posay products.

So here are the winners in the Skin Care Category! La Roche Posay Effaclar Foaming Cleansing Gel...honestly, the best cleanser I have ever used that is specifically targeted for my skin type. It doesn't dry out my skin whilst doing an excellent job at cleansing away excess sebum; paired with La Roche Posay Effaclar Mat Moisturizer, they really do care for my skin and it has now become less oily and I am getting spots much less frequently and they tend do disappear quicker.  The moisturizer has a very nice skin mattifying effect and is also an excellent make-up base!

Roberts Rose Water has been my choice of toner this year as with its gentle action, it cares for my sensitive skin yet it refreshes my skin effectively with a light rose fragrance.  Nivea Visage Young Mild Exfoliating Scrub continues to be a winner with me as it is mild enough to use everyday to keep my skin peachy smooth!

As for make-up removal, besides the above products, I like to use Nivea Refreshing Cleansing Lotion and Lycia Make-Up Remover Wipes to remove eye make-up effectively without irritating my eyes. The wipes need no introduction and I am very fond of the cleansing lotion simply because unlike other make-up removers, it doesn't leave an oily residue.

Lastly, a little shout-out to this Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash that I have been using while in Paris because of it's compact size.  While the smell is definitely not pleasant, I like the fact that the product is of 98.8% natural origin and it didn't break me out or leave my skin overly dry. Since this was a freebie with Glamour magazine, I cannot get it in Malta so I will enjoy it while it lasts!

And those, dear readers, have been my favourite skin care products in 2012!













Part 1: Nails

Products marked with * were either gifted to me or else sent by respective companies' PR for review purposes.

Review: Nivea Visage Young stay clear! Purifying Toner

Today, I will review another product I use for my facial cleansing routine, my Nivea Visage Young stay clear! Purifying Toner.

As usual, the packaging :)

The bottle is a transparent blue colour with some white and blue abstract flower motifs (similar to those on the facial scrub tube). It has a twist-off cap and a small hole though which the toner comes out. The benefits of having such a bottle are 1) you can see how much is left and

2) you have total control over how much product comes out

The toner is a clear colour and has the usual smell you would expect of a facial toner. You get 200ml or product which for me is a fair amount. The toner is alcohol free so it won't dry out the skin whilst still removing excess sebum and dirt. For me, this is a bonus for two reasons:

First, here in Malta we have what is known as hard water (our water is rich in calcium and magnesium carbonates) and that makes it very drying to the skin; therefore, having a toner that doesn't dry me out prevents my skin from producing excess serum and hence reduce breakouts.

Secondly, I like to use this toner more than once a day to refresh my skin so I wouldn't like it to dry me out.

The refreshing effect of this toner lasts well on my skin and it purifies it without leaving me with that taut-skin feeling. This is mainly why I like this toner so much. It is non-comedogenic, so I don't have to worry about blackheads or blocked pores.

I usually use the toner before and after a scrub and also before and after applying a facial mask to help open and close the pores accordingly.

Like all the other facial products I reviewed in these past days, I have been using this toner for a long time and I am quite happy with it so I intend to change it only when my skin changes :)

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Review: Nivea Visage Refreshing Cleansing Lotion

Hello my lovelies I hope you're all well :) Today, I am going to review another product which I use for my facial cleansing routine: Refreshing Cleansing Lotion, also by Nivea Visage.

As usual, here's what the package looks like:

It is actually very similar to my eye make-up remover except that the bottle is opaque, so to check how much product is left, I usually put it up against the light. Then it's the usual thing... logo and description and more details and ingredients on the back.

Since I have combination skin, this product is excellent for me. It is a creamy formulation but not as creamy as a product intended for dry skin; it's somewhere in between. I actually prefer this product over my older Nivea cleanser which was in gel form and it dried out my skin more than necessary. This one, on the other hand, hydrates it to just the right level without making my skin feel greasy or oily. The smell is the usual cleanser smell for this one as well.

I like to use this cleanser to remove the rest of my facial make-up and also some left-over traces of eye make-up. I think this is the only cleanser that doesn't sting or burn when I cleanse my eyes with, so that's a great bonus.

Overall, I think I am going to stay faithful to this cleanser for as long as my skin permits to. As usual, like the other Nivea products, it is reasonably priced, and better still, you get 200ml. Since it is a creamy formula, you get through it less faster than other formulations!

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Full Skin Cleansing Routine

Hello my beauties :)

Today, I'm gonna blog about my skin care routine and the products I use throughout.

1. I always make sure my hands are squeaky clean and after I wash them thoroughly with soap and warm water, I apply a sanitizing gel. This will eliminate commensal skin bacteria and therefore, prevents transfer of these bacteria onto the face.

2. Dilate 2 or 3 cotton discs in warm water and apply eye-make up remover to each one of them.

3. Pull the brow of one eye upwards (gently), apply the disc to the eyelid and leave for 5 seconds. Sweep in an outward motion and repeat until all the makeup is removed.

4. Run under the lower lashes with disc edge to remove any mascara and eye pencil smudges. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other eye with another cotton disc. If mascara is still coming out, apply some more make up remover to a cotton bud and run it over the lashes.

5. To remove lipstick, apply some makeup remover to another cotton disc, hold lips taut from one side and sweep outwards in the opposite direction (if your holding your lips from the left side sweep to the right and vice versa).

6. For cleansing the face, apply a 20 Euro-cent coin-sized dollop of cleanser to one of your palms. Wet the other palm and work the cleanser into a lather. Start by applying it over the neck in upward, circular movements and move on to the centre of the face and continue with outwards circular movements. Pay special attention to the nostril area. Rinse off with warm water and repeat when removing full make up.

7. Apply toner all over the face, omitting the eye area.

8. Apply 20 Euro-cent coin-sized dollop of FACIAL scrub (body scrubs have coarser granules which will be too harsh for the skin on the face) onto your palms and massage on your face using circular motions outwards and upwards from the jaw-line. Leave on for 3 minutes and rinse off with warm water.

9. Apply a thin layer of face mask (for peel-offs apply a thicker layer) all over the face omitting the eye and lip areas. Leave on for 15 - 30 minutes or as long as it is stated on the package. Rinse off with warm water. Steps 8 and 9 should ideally be done twice a week.

10. Apply another application of toner paying special attention to the hair-lines so as to make sure all traces of the mask are removed.

11. Leave the skin to dry.

12. Apply some eye gel or eye cream by gently dabbing with the ring finger around the orbitals.

13. Apply a slick of lip balm.

14. Apply a layer of moisturizer and work in the skin until fully absorbed. In the morning apply sunscreen prior to applying the moisturizer. When I am not going to apply foundation, I use a tinted moisturizer as a make-up base.

- Skin Truth Face Eye Contour Gel

- Nivea Visage Extra Gentle Eye Make-up Remover

- Nivea Visage Refreshing Facial Wash Gel

- Nivea Visage Refreshing Toner

- Nivea Visage Young smooth it! mild exfoliating facial scrub

- Nivea Visage Young control shine! mattifying gel cream

- Nivea Visage Young be beautiful! tinted moisturizer

- Nivea Lip Care Caregloss & Shine

- A range of Montagne Jeunesse face masks and tonics. I always try out different ones suited for my skin.