Lush's 'Vanishing Cream'.

I went into Lush a couple of weeks ago primarily for some bath bombs for my dear father. However, the eagle-eyed shop assistant saw me looking around the shop on my own, tempted by all the delightful goodies and he made the most of my vulnerability and bulging purse.
The 'Vanishing Cream' was one of the things I left with. I had explained my acne plight to the guy, and he recommended this as a moisturiser because it didn't leave any nasty film on the skin, tit wouldn't overload my skin and the ingredients wouldn't cause any sensitivity or irritation.

The Lush website describes this products as:
A low fat moisturiser that disappears into the skin.
This is a moisturiser for those who want a cream that doesn’t sit on the skin for ages. This cream vanishes completely, leaving nothing behind except beautifully soft skin.
Firstly, it smells wonderful. You can definitely tell that there is Lavender in the ingredients list! It is quite relaxing when applying it before I go to bed - as I apply the cream it also releases the Lavender smell into the air which makes you pleasantly sleepy and relaxed! Two in one! However, the Lavender actually has another function - it apparently contains antiseptic properties!

It is a very moisturising cream, You don't need a lot of the cream for the face, a little does go a long way! It is a light formulation, and isn't heavy on the skin. When I wake up after applying it the night before, my skin is very soft and does feel moisturised.
I would disagree with what they say about the cream leaving 'nothing behind'. After applying it to my skin, I do still feel like there is product on my skin, even leaving it half and hour to sink in. It does feel a little bit greasy, and there is a definite shine left to my skin. This doesn't bother me, but I just disagree with their marketing of the product, the whole point being that it sank in leaving nothing!
I'm not sure on the suitability of this product for acne prone skins. It has had no effect on my acne; it hasn't made it worse, but it hasn't cleared it up either. The fact that it did leave a greasy film on my skin makes me question whether it would be suitable, I have looked on the Makeupalley reviews for this product, and a lot of people have said that it breaks them out.
One thing it does do well, is moisturise my skin when it's sore and cracked. I have suffered no irritation, stinging or redness when using this on skin after Retin-A usage. It might be the natural ingredients and the lack lots of synthetic chemicals, but it is nice to find another cream in addition to my Aquaphor which I can use when my skin is in a sorry state!

At £16.75 per 45g pot, I do think it is a little bit expensive for what feels like a basic moisturiser with an environmentally-friendly background. It doesn't do anything to my skin that cheaper moisturisers haven't done in the past, and I haven't noticed a massive difference in the way my skin feels. It moisturises alright, smells nice and contains lots of naturally derived products. But that's really it. And due to that, I'll finish the tub up, but won't repurchase this product.

Have you guys tried the 'Vanishing Cream', and if you have, what do you think of it? Are there any other Lush products I have to try?

Me and my acne: Week 30 update.

There is a reason why I have left doing another one of these posts for this long. Apart from forgetfulness on my behalf, I left it two weeks before I updated the blog because my skin seems to be improving, and I wanted to make sure it had improved enough before I danced/shouted/screamed about it and then jinxed it!

Here is what my skin looks like at the moment;


As you can see, I still have about ten active spots at the moment, but most of the redness you can see on my skin (mostly on my forehead) is just the after-effect of having acne, which I'm hoping should fade in time.
When I went to the doctors just under 2 weeks ago to sort out my skin, he prescribed me Dianette, which is a contraceptive pill aimed at women who were struggling with their skin. Although I have to wait 2 more weeks to actually start taking this medication, and my Lymecycline ran out two weeks ago, so at the moment I'm acne-medication free, apart from my Retin-A which I apply weekly.
This is what makes it so surprising that my skin has cleared up. Why would it be worse when I'm on medication to clear it up?

I am using a few new products in my skin-care routine, which I will indicate whilst going through my normal day to night skincare regime, but I don't think that that really has anything to do with clearing up my skin, although who knows?!.
Morning I use Hibiscrub and double cleanse my face, and after I tone with Vichy's 'Purifying Astringent Toner' (new), and then apply Vichy's 'Capital Sun SPF 50 Mattifying Face Fluid Dry Touch' (new), and that's it for the day.
My night-time skincare routine comprises of a little more. I take off the majority of my make-up/face cream with a blob of Cetaphil and a cotton pad, after which I use the Hibiscrub to double/triple-cleanse my skin and make sure it's squeaky clean. Then I have two options. Twice a week I just use Retin-A on clean skin. The other nights, I follow my cleanse with the same Vichy toner, and then apply Nuxe's 'Huile Prodigieuse' (new) all over my face until it has sank in, and then a layer of Lush's Vanishing Cream (new), and then after that I layer Eucerin's 'Aquaphor' all over my face until I'm a gooey sticky mess! And then I'm done! I find this is the only way to combat the drying effect a retinoid has on your skin.
I'm also using No7's 'Total Renewal Microdermabrasion Exfoliator' and Lush's 'Cosmetic Warrior' (new) face mask. I normally do this after my skin is moisturised enough and before I apply the retinoid for the week.

A break from oral acne antibiotics is maybe what my skin needs, but right now I'm really pleased with the way my skin is behaving, and I just hope it clears up more and more each and every day (one can wish!). I'm also looking forward to seeing what effect starting the new medication Dianette has on my skin, and let's just keep our fingers crossed it gets rid of my acne for good!