Simply pure: simply amazing!

Thanks to boots and their decision to discontinue my favourite cleansers, I have been on the look out for a new face cleanser for my poor dehydrated and ageing dry skin. What I am after is  a cleanser which:

1. cleanses effectively
2. specially formulated for dehydrated or dry skin
3. doesn't cost the earth (maximum £6)
4. visually attractive (nice packaging)
5. something which has a nice smell or a smell which I won't be bored of half way through the bottle.

I stumbled on the Superdrug ‘Simply Pure Aqua Hydrating Cleansing Gel’ facial cleanser last week end and guess what? I am baffled on how many boxes this ticks already.



The whole line was designed with sensitive skins in mind and are meant to very kind to your skin. No fragrance or parabens which some find irritate their skin, just kind for you, and as harmless as a feather coming close to your skin, hence the packaging. There are 4 ranges within the line, but more about that later.

When I read the description (see picture below) of the 'aqua hydrating cleansing gel' I felt it was just designed for me. I've already used it for a week now, day and night and I am happy to report that it works: No feeling of dryness, quite hydrating and it does exactly what it says on the tin. So that's 2 boxes ticked right away.





The price was the aspect which shocked me the most. Usually this would retail at £4.59 but it was at half price. KERCHING. This sounds too good to be true. If I carry on enjoying this product, I won't have any problem repurchasing and it's even cheaper than my beloved discontinued botanics one. Can't go wrong with that!


The packaging is inoffensive, simple, discreet and minimalistic (a bugger to photograph though ) Will I get bored of the smell? Absolutely no risk of that, the product is fragrance free. So just like that, Superdrug ticked all the criteria boxes. BAM!


Do I love this cleanser? No. I will repurchase this product, without the shadow of doubt. It does everything I ask, it's functional but it doesn't send me to cloud nine. Yes the packaging is inoffensive but omg, how boring. I am drawn to something which reminds me of nature, something green, a leaf, a plant and now all I get is blue. I don't connect with this cleanser. At this point, I hear you scream 'get a grip, who needs to connect with a cleanser, a cleanser is supposed to cleanse your skin, not having a romantic fling with' I know, I know but what can I say, I miss the fresh herby olive oil or honey smell of my boots cleansers, I miss the cream texture (this one is a gel) and I am still grieving their disappearance. This aqua cleanser is like the guy you find at 2.00am when the bar is about to shut, the guy which will do I guess but it's not James Bond.


Have you found the james bond of cleansers?



If I am not mistaken, I *think* that the dehydrated range from simply pure range is still on half price at the moment, but don't delay if you want to try. This would also cater for oily skin, and yes oily skin can also be dehydrated. Even though the whole range is for sensitive skin, they also do a calming range,  combination skin range and oily skin (now the packaging for the oily skin grabs me so much more. I wish I had oilier skin just to be able to buy that)




















If, like me you've been left high and dry by Boots discontinuing your cleanser, one of these might be for you.  Thank you Superdrug

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Oh no they didn't!

Oh yes, they did and I am mourning.





In their wisdom, Boots went all out and redesigned their Botanics skincare range. If you have been to Boots recently, you will have seen colourful additions to the Botanics skincare range, and 5 lines emerging from these colours:

1. The Youth Skincare Range for young skin,
2. The All Bright Skincare Range for brighter looking skin,
3. The Ultra Calm Skincare Range to sooth sensitive skin,
4. The Shine Away Skincare Range to target blemishes and reduce shine,
5. and the Organic Skincare range for customers 'who desire an extra level of proven purity'







It's all well and good but in the process, Boots discontinued my ultimate two favourite cleansers and I can't find the words to describe how upset I am. I've waxed lyrical about both of these (here and here) in 2 separate individual posts, so I'll to keep it straight to the point: these cleansers did everything I asked to and more:
1) the feeling of moisture when I rinse my face off was amazing,
2) the scent of these were just spot on and I could quite frankly never get bored of,
3) the bargain price (ranging from £3.99 to £5.10) made me very happy.
4) I absolutely adored the packaging. Totally up my street. love, love, undiluted love.
I was rarely buying them full price as boots Botanics were very often on offer and I was able to get ample supplies at a discount price. If I had known they had plans to discontinue it, I would have definitely stocked up.






There was hope for the organic one, but Boots added some shitty bonus rosehip extract in there, which now makes the product stink of flower. Rosewater and rosehip are really good for you yaddi yadda Zzzzz, people rave about them but I don’t want it in my cleanser, I get bored of it so quickly.  I have purchased the brightening one (with hibiscus ) which smells really nice and surprisingly not too flowery but it made my face a little bit itchy and tight. Fortunately I was able to return it on that basis.


If you have been a fan of Botanics skincare range, I would urge you to go to Boots immediately and check if your favourites are still there. I was able to get a last bottle of the 'rice and honey' cleanser, which I now want to keep for special occasions (how sad is that) as it has suddenly increased in value so much in my eyes.


I doubt I will ever find a cleanser which ticked so many boxes for a fiver.
The search has started. *blows snotty nose in a tissue*

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Lately, I have been loving...

If I had to think about the most repurchased facial cleanser in my entire life, it would probably be Clearasil which I have used religiously  in an bid to combat my spots. My skin has changed, I am not getting younger and whilst I am still suffering from breakouts every now and then,  but it's now moisture that I feel my skin desperately needs.


Because of my acneic past, I've been avoiding oil and cream cleansers like the  plague, anxious it would leave the door right open to spots to make their come back. Lately, I've found myself using baby oil, of all things,  to remove my heavy eye makeup and I am ashamed to say that I've been loving it. The makeup disappears in one swipe and I feel my skin has been  lapping up the oily particles in it. I knew then that I was ready to try a cream/oil cleanser for my entire face


My shy steps led me to Boots, and I came home with Boots Botanics Face Nourishing Cleanser, with water, olive oil and glycerin listed as their  first top 3 ingredients.






I can't describe how anxious I was to use this for the first time. No foam, No Sodium Laureth Sulfate to make it  foam? This is like telling me to start drinking tea without sugar. I need SLS, it's all I've ever known in my life. Also how could it possibly  make my skin clean without leaving any oil residues, and risking my pores to clog up?


I took the leap of faith and I am glad I did. The  cleanser feels absolutely lovely on the skin. The whole cleaning ritual feels so lovely and very multi sensory: from the delicate olive oil  scent when you dispense the product, the massaging into the skin and the rinsing it off. I can't my head round how using an oil can leave my  skin feeling so clean, smooth and moisturised but it does.





The best of it all? The cleanser only cost me £5.10 and Botanics, being a Boots brand is often part of 3 for 2 offers. This makes me happy. I  have still have my beloved Botanics Rice and Honey Facial Wash in standby but I've never touched it back since. If you suffer from dry skin and  never tried a cream cleanser, you might possibly fall in love with this product. I have.

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My mo(i)st repurchased facial wash

Other than the Clearasil sensitive face wash which I have used constantly a good 10 years, my most repurchased facial wash lately has been the Moisturising Deep Clean Foam from Botanics, Boots. I might have purchased this about 6 to 7 times and can't get enough of it and it was high time I devoted a little space for it on my blog. 





This facial wash won't make you look younger, won't exfoliate and will not help you pull men. It just does what it says on the tin: it washes your skin very well and leave it soft and moisturised. I love the delicate fragrance of it. What I love the best when when I rinse it off as I can really feel the smooth moisturising honey gliding off effortlessly.  


 


If you have a dry skin, I would mostly recommend it, for women and men equally as the packaging is nice and discreet. Priced at only £4.07, the 150ml tub will last you forever and always seem to be on a 3 for 2 offer, as it the case at the moment. If I had to be picky and say something negative about it, I’d like to mention the packaging. The very first tub of this which I purchased was a duff one: it was very difficult to get the product out, but I am happy to report that all the subsequent ones I bought were spot on and didn’t have this problem: just a small squeeze on the tube would dispense the product very easily. But again not too easily either. I bought many facial washes in this format (Garnier facial wash and scrub springs to mind) where you have to be very gentle with it and the lightest touch would release some product and where you would always find some product deposited in the cap, whilst you have not used it and left it alone.

A pump for this product would be absolutely  ideal for me and a miniature and easy refillable travel size would be the cherry on the cake.

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