My moisturising buddy

If there is one thing I keep changing times and times again is my day face moisturiser. For one, I don't think I have found my 'holy grail' one and my priorities change all the time. One minute, I will feel super self conscious about getting old and will want to invest into something pricey-ish hoping it will make me feel better. The next, I am thinking, I am going to get old anyway, no matter how many lotions and potions I slather on my face and will just want a very accessible and plain moisturiser which does its hydrating job well.

 
One of my skincare priorities which is hardly going to change is that I need moisture, loads of it and this what brought me to purchase a tube of Superdrug Vitamin e radiance moisture cream. I was very dubious this moisturiser would impress me. How could a £2.99 moisturiser ticks my boxes when a £14.99 face cream can sometimes leave me indifferent?





This is what it promises to do:







12 hour moisturisation, did they say? I don't know about you but when a product promises me to give {insert amount of hours/days/weeks} result, I usually like to half that and consider myself happy if I get that result. Put your hands up if you only get 1.5 weeks of fuzz free legs when you’ve been promised 4! I can't tell you if this moisturiser left me moisturised for a whole 12 hours but my skin always feels adequately moisturised after a whole day of work and until I am ready to take it all off in the evening.


To top the long lasting moisturising experience (and the Superdrug vitamin e hot cleansers fans will vouch for this) the moisturiser smells absolutely divine and reminds me of cocoa butter mixed with sun cream. Texture is lovely too and sinks in my skin very easily, leaves me moisturised, plumped, smelling gorgeous and never too greasy. It feels like my skin needs it and drinks it all as soon as I slather it on my face.
 
Now for the 'radiance' bit. This cream, in my opinion, is strictly reserved for individuals with dry/very dry types of skin. The light reflecting pigments are quite powerful and noticeable almost verging disco ball but I absolutely love it personally. I hope the following picture, taken in bright natural light will be able to give you an idea.





I admit I will probably feel self conscious if I wear this moisturiser on its own, in bright day light, say at a picnic date (eek, I can't stand picnics) at 2pm on a ridiculously sunny 'summer' day, in case I resemble one of the vampires in twilight but to be honest, I can't imagine myself wearing this moisturiser alone, and with no foundation on top. As soon as you put something on top, primer or foundation, the radiance effect is dramatically reduced. Also having said that, I have found myself reaching for this moisturiser many times, on a dull winter day, even when I am not planning to put makeup on top.

This moisturiser is not perfect though and it tragically clashes with my favourite face primer (no.7 airbrush away primer) and as soon as the two become in contact, they almost curdle together and  I am left with little bits of stuff peeling away on the surface. Is is the fault of the £2.99 moisturiser or the ridiculously expensive no.7 primer? (£19 something?) I don't know. My primer also 'curdles' with another face moisturiser which I own and my vitamin e moisturiser gets on perfectly with my L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer.
 
As for the anti ageing agenda, the Superdrug vitamin doesn't claim to bring me 10 years younger but it does contain 2 universally recognised anti-ageing ingredients (read the beauty mouth anti ageing cheat skin here) : vitamin e and a sun protection factor (SPF 15) and I am very very VERY happy with that.

I am going through my third tube of vitamin e moisturiser and it's definitely going to fall into my Superdrug basket many times again in the future, especially when I get 2 for £3.99 as it is the case at the moment. The tube has a very small handy handbag size, it's not overly girly and embarrassing to carry around and be seen with and finally no big fat fingers dipping in a big fat pot: you squeeze of fresh amount of product every time. It really bugs me I can use my airbrush away primer with it, but it gives me the chance to use up my other primers I never use.


What: Superdrug Vitamin e Skin Care SPF 15 Radiance Moisture Cream. 
How much: £2.99 (watch out for 2 for £3.99 offers during the year)
Where: Superdrug.
Availability: even the small and dingy superdrugs have got it :)

It’s Sunday and that means it’s Blogging Date with Sirvinya. If you have a few minutes to spare, please do check Sirvinya’s beauty blog. Thank you for reading xx

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Origins Vitazing for the poor?

I didn't realise until a foundation match consultation last week how pale I was. I don't consider myself as super pale (I am nc25 in Mac Studio Sculpt) but many people find me quite pale. Things are not helped by the fact that I never step out the door with minimum SPF15 on my face, whether it rains or shines, summer or winter. So when I see day moisturisers designed to help your complexion and add a little bit of a life to your skin, I am very interested.



So this is why I bought the new L'Oreal Triple Active Glow Complexion Enhancing Moisturiser SPF15 (£7.99) They say it's a radiance boosting moisturiser enriched with complexion enhancing pigments to give you a natural glow and a unified looking skin tone. The recommended retail price for this is £7.99 but I found it at Superdrug, waiting for me to buy it at just under £5, about 2 weeks ago.







The packaging is lovely. Inside a flashy box, complete with a holographic label, comes a white elegant and minimalistic little 50ml handy size moisturiser, with SPF 15 and a golden peach cap. Inside, a very light peachy moisturiser which sinks into my skin quickly and leaves my skin very moisturised without feeling greasy. So that's one big tick already for me.









Did it leave my skin with an enhanced glow, like it promised on the bottle?
I didn't notice any difference although I was quite glad I didn't end up orange with the peachy tone of the moisturiser. To be honest with you, what was most noticeable for me was the smell: a quite overpowering chemical smell which seems to linger all day long. But I wanted to stick with it, try my best to forget about the smell and let my skin make the most of its active moisturising ingredients.


Today, I have been wearing it for the third day in a row and I think that I just can't take it anymore. Quite frankly, I can't wait to take it off and have a good scrub tonight. This moisturiser might be a little gem for some (although who, other than Robinson Crusoe needs 48hrs face moisturisation?) but I just cannot go past beyond the smell and sadly I can't wear it.







My tube was freshly sealed in the shop but if they have a tester in the shop, you might want to have a sniff of it before purchasing, as the smell is definitely... interesting. Dupe for Origins Vitazing, it certainly ain't. Triple Active Glow, meet my bin.


what: L’Oreal Triple Active Glow Complexion Enhancing Moisturiser SPF 15
how much: RRP £7.99 in Boots and Superdrug. Cheaper at cheapsmells.
  

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Boots Vitamin e Moisture Lotion

After being beyond with impressed with Boots Vitamin E toner, I couldn't wait to try the moisture face lotion from the same range. As nothing is easy with my small boots, I had to wait until last week till it came finally back in stock and that I could put my hands on it.





This is what they have to say about this £2.85 moisturiser:

Boots Vitamin E moisture lotion SPF15 contains naturally derived Wheatgerm Oil conditions, moisturises and nourishes the skin. Boots Vitamin E Moisture Lotion moisturises all day long to keep skin smooth, soft and radiant. The added benefit of SPF 15 protects against UVA and UVB rays

I couldn't believe how much product I could get for the price. Sadly this is when the fairy tale ended. I am not sure if I got my hands on a duff tube or what but this moisturiser actually never dried on my face and remained tacky to the touch… for ever!




With its widely recognised anti ageing ingredient Vitamin E and spf factor, I was hoping this would have my go to moisturiser but sadly I can't use it. I managed to keep the moisturiser on my face the two times I tried it but hadn't I put a drying foundation on top (I have tons of those unfortunately at home) I don't think I would have made it through the day without removing it. The fragrance was absolutely spot on, the price, the packaging equally spot on, but I just cannot make it work for me.

What: Boots Moisture Lotion with Vitamin e
Where: Boots.
How much: £2.85

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