Simple, Sanctuary and SebaMed

I totally love the Innisfree Bija It’s a Real Squeeze Face Masks: A refreshing face mask made from the torreya oil to clear your skin! The Jeju green complex consists of green tea, tangerine, cactus, camellia leaves, and orchids to keep your skin healthy. This triple-layer sheet has a long-lasting moisturizing effect so that the essence can gradually be absorbed into the skin. I use this whenever my skin feels dry or when there are blemishes lurking and it just feels totally wonderful, plus it clears problems up in double quick time. My skin feels so soft after this one – I love it! Masks cost £1 at the Innisfree shop and I already have back-ups.

The Pixi Glow Tonic is a product I’m in two minds about: This best selling, cult favourite exfoliating toner perfects skin tone and texture, resulting in a healthy glow. Aloe vera, ginseng and botanical extracts work together to soothe and treat skin while 5% glycolic acid accelerates cell renewal. Alcohol-free and gentle on all skin types. Sometimes I think it’s great and really perks my face up and at other times I wonder if it’s too harsh. I have a couple of bottles still to get through, so lots of time to make my mind up! It costs £18 for 250ml at Marks and Spencer – so maybe a bit pricey if I’m not totally in love with it …

I always use the Simple Kind to Eyes Eye Make Up Remover Pads for my eye-make up, whether waterproof or not: Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make-Up Remover Pads now with vitamin goodness are the perfect blend of cleansing and vitamin goodness to remove even waterproof mascara. These pads won’t sting or irritate your delicate eyes. Perfect for even sensitive skin. These ones are very gentle and do the job with no fuss, so I don’t use anything else. They cost £4.19 for a pack of 30 pads at Boots.

The DHC Velvet Skin Coat came as a sample product in a beauty package I received recently: Prepare your skin for pristine make-up application; unique transparent, powdery gel texture helps temporarily fill in fine lines; apply before foundation or wear alone for a flawless, natural look. I was deeply confused as I thought it was a BB Cream so started using it as that before I realised what I’d done, LOL! It’s a primer! It seems okay but didn’t really leap out at me so I won’t be trying a full size version. You can buy it at Amazon for £18.90 for a 15g tube, which is ridiculously expensive really.

I’m nothing without my year-round daily dose of Haylief Hay Fever/Allergy tablets: Loratadine can relieve allergic symptoms due to hayfever and other airborne allergies such as house dust mite and pet allergies, plus allergic skin conditions including rash, itching and urticaria (hives); works within minutes and delivers a full 24 hours relief – without making you drowsy. This is a pretty decent hay fever tablet and I have already stocked up on another batch of them – okay, they don’t deal with the serious allergy stuff I have so I go on to my super-powerful pills at that point, but they’re pretty good for normal, everyday use. I do mix and match them with others of course, but that just helps me health-wise. You can get them from Amazon for £2.45 for 30 tablets.

Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Whitening Toothpaste has pride of place in my bathroom: Most other sensitive toothpastes primarily numb the pain; Colgate® Sensitive Pro Relief™ + Whitening works by plugging the channels that lead to sensitive tooth nerves, to block the pain; with regular use, it builds a long-lasting protective barrier that acts like a seal against sensitivity; its low abrasive formula gently effectively removes stains, helping to restore the natural whiteness of your teeth. This works really well and I use it every night – I add in another similar product in the morning. It helps to desensitise my teeth which basically makes life a lot happier, LOL! I already have 2 spares in the cupboard. You can get this at Boots for £3.80 for a 75ml tube, but there’s a 2 for £5 offer on at the moment, so stock up early!

I’ve written about the SebaMed Clear Face Care Gel loads of times: Panthenol supports the healing of acne lesions; hyaluronic acid increases the moisturizing binding capacity of the skin; aloe barbadensis soothes irritated skin; free from oils and emulsifiers; allantoin smoothens rough scaly skin. I always use this on my spots or blemishes at night and it really works. I also use it on my chest and back and it keeps my skin a lot clearer. Result! You can buy it at Amazon for £5.55 for 50ml, and it’s brilliant!

I was very excited about the Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Gel-Lotion as I was going through my grapefruit-for-health phase: Full of pink grapefruit seed oil, our softening Pink Grapefuit Body Lotion will hydrate and nourish your skin. Your skin will be wrapped in moisture, with a sweet fruity scent; body lotion hydrates skin; 24hr moisture; fresh gel lotion; quickly absorbed; Community Trade honey from Ethiopia. I’m so over that phase now and I’m glad I’ve finished this one though it’s perfectly okay, if you really like grapefruit! It’s just a bit TOO grapefruit for me, even in the mornings when I need to be alert, LOL. You can get it at the Body Shop for £8.50 for 250ml.

The Sanctuary Cleansing Burst Body Wash came in a bundle of products at Christmas: Sanctuary Body Wash is an aromatic body wash infused with essential oils and spices to gently cleanse and condition, whilst moisturising capsules of sesame oil and jojoba burst on the skin to help leave it feeling soft, silky smooth and subtly scented. I was fooled by the inclusion of jojoba oil which is very good for the skin, forgetting this is Sanctuary and so it smells like the 1970s, yuk! I really disliked the scent and was so glad when it was finished. I won’t be buying this again! If you like the 1970s, then you can get this one at Boots for £6.00 for 250ml, and there’s even a 3-for-2 offer on all Sanctuary products. But you’d really have to be desperate …

Ah, Eos Vanilla Mint lip balms: aren’t these a bit of a con? You pay all that cash for a pretty looking lip salve which does exactly the same as all the other lip salves in existence, but at a much higher price. The taste is also so subtle that it’s hard to tell flavour what it is at all. But if you’re sold on the packaging, then you can get it at Amazon for £6.99 for 25oz. What was I thinking? I still have some of these left in the same and different flavours which I bought during my crazy Eos phase, but I won’t be bothering again …

Have a fabulous Sunday, everyone!

Anne Brooke Books 

Hay fever blues

Watery eyed woman holding facial tissue box.

A slightly different post today now that summer is on its way as I want to talk about the dreaded hay fever. Strangely I never suffered from this until I was in my mid-30s, when it suddenly came upon me in the form of snuffles and sneezing – which I’m quite used to anyway, being rather susceptible to colds!

That’s all very well, but this year, at the age of 52, the hay fever season has suddenly decided to change its strategy completely, and has gone directly and nastily to my eyes. Honestly, this week and this weekend I’ve sometimes hardly been able to see at all! My eyes are scratchy, sore and very, very red, and believe me it’s all most unpleasant.

I don’t know if it’s my age and a result of the menopause that it’s suddenly changed, or if it’s because the grass seed this year is super-powered, but here are some remedies that are currently helping me:

1. Antihistamines – I take these anyway for my allergies. I prefer Loratadine but there are all sorts of options, which you can pick up at your local pharmacy.
2. Eye mist/eye drops – as I really HATE eyedrops, I’m using Murine Eye Mist which you can spray onto closed eyelids while you blink a bit – and it definitely helps.
3. Camomile tea bags – you don’t need to drink them if you don’t want to! I get a couple, soak them in cold water and then lie down with them on my eyelids for half an hour. It really works. You can keep them and reuse them too for the next time you need them, which is brilliant (though probably not for drinking, LOL!).
4. Sunglasses – I wear my normal pair indoors (yes, even in church today which caused much amusement!), and it’s very soothing indeed.
5. Wrap-round sunglasses – use these if you go outside as it stops the pesky pollen getting to your eyes. Plus you look like a film star which is always nice!
6. Timing – if you can, avoid going outside in the heat of the day when the pollen is worst. Evenings are the best time to venture out and these days they are just as enjoyable as the mornings or afternoons.
7. Windows and curtains – it helps to close these if you can bear it.
8. Computer screen – turn this down to the lowest level of brightness and it really makes a difference.
9. Eye make up – I’m avoiding this at the moment, while my eyes try to sort themselves out. I’m having fun with skin care and lipstick instead!

And if anyone has any other tips, please do let me know. Thank you!

Anne Brooke Books