Elemis 'Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash'

I had heard good things about the Elemis 'Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash', and I was attracted to it by the the idea that it gently resurfaced the skin. This was appealing, since I struggle with my skin, and acne and acne scars and marks are the bane of my life. I am forever looking for the product which will give me that 'perfect complexion', and am pretty much willing to spend a lot of money and time trying to achieve it.

'Galactoarabinan, a Polysaccharide, enhances the non-abrasive exfoliation process, whilst Brazilian Babussu Oil replenishes moisture. Moringa protects the skin against environmental damage, whilst White Truffle, Poria Cocos, soothes and supports the skin’s natural micro flora.' The product 'sloughs away dead skin cells, smoothes and refines the complexion' and 'skin looks radiant and youthful'.
Personally, I am not sure how effective these ingredients are. I know the normal exfoliating agents used in skincare are AHA, BHA and retinoids, so I'm not familiar with any of the ingredients or how effective they are at resurfacing the skin...but I bought it anyway.

During the first few weeks of use, I became rather quite annoyed with the lack of results. I didn't feel like it was delivering the results I wanted and had heard of (perfect skin, acne remission, scars diminishing). I regretted spending a lot of money on something I really wanted to work, but just didn't. I carried on getting spots and I wasn't noticing any effect in my complexion. I resigned it to the 'never buy again' section in my brain, and just carried on using it to use it up. It was one of those products I loved to hate.
Then a couple of weeks later, I suddenly noticed how clear my skin was. It looked so bright, radiant and healthy, and bar the odd spot, my acne was gone. I haven't had a breakout in about 2 weeks! Even my mother complimented my skin, and she never compliments me!
I am not sure if it is this wash alone, or something else in my skincare routine. But I feel slightly more love for it than I did when I first began using it. It just goes to show, sometimes results aren't immediate and obvious.

When using it, it leaves skin feeling so clean and incredibly soft, without that dreaded tight feeling you get. It foams up into a really luxurious lather. I sometimes use mine with my Clarisonic if I want to give my skin an uber-clean and exfoliation.
Despite having all those dead-skin-eroding bits and bobs inside the bottle, it is such a gentle cleanser. I imagined it to be a bit stingy and to cause irritation as soon as I used it, but no, I haven't experienced anything but lovely, soft skin. Even when I've been using my Retin-A and my skin is all sore and red, there has been no irritation.

It doesn't take off eye makeup very well, so I take off all my makeup with a facial wipe and then use my cleanser. It is actually meant to be a secondary cleanser, so the idea is that you take off all the makeup and grime with the first wash, then use this cleanser after.
I only need one pump which is an adequate amount for washing the whole of my face and neck area, so a little bit goes a long way. Just as well, considering the price tag!
The smell of the product is well and truly beautiful. It's like stepping out into a tropical garden first thing in the morning, and is so calming and relaxing. It really sets me up for the day ahead!

It comes in a 200ml bottle, which is quite a nice large size. It means it has lasted me absolutely ages, I bought mine about 6 weeks ago, and I'm only about a third of the way through. It also has a pump dispenser, which is quite handy because you can't get too much product like you sometimes can with squeezy bottles. Plus, you can't lose the lid. Yes, it happens.

The RRP is £27.60, which is a hefty price for a face wash. I did actually get it for cheaper, there was an offer on and I got it for only £22, which is definitely more palatable than the RRP!

To be honest, I'm in two minds whether I would repurchase or not. On the one hand it is such a great secondary cleanser, it leaves skin clean and soft, it smells lovely, packaging is practical, it's a gentle and non-irritating cleanser, it has lasted me absolutely ages, maybe it cleared up my acne, and has left my skin looking quite radiant, but on the other hand it is expensive for a cleanser. Actually, that is the only con. But still, price is a very important factor!

Are you a fan of any Elemis products?

Cetaphil 'Gentle Skin Cleanser.'

I first heard about this brand when I was reading an interview with Scarlett Johansson, who had said that she loved this cleanser,. So of course, I went out and bought it. I'm so swayed by celebrity recommendations (apart from sheep's placenta. Just no)!



I, like Scarlett, also love this cleanser, especially when my skin is feeling sensitive, sore and just can't face a thorough Hibiscrub cleanse.
I wouldn't use it every day, purely for the fact that I don't feel like it really leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean. I do think if you struggle with the sensitiveness or dryness of your skin, you might need to use it every day (it does say 'daily cleansing' on the bottle), but I only suffer with sensitive skin once in a while, and since having oily skin and covered in spots right now (urgh), I need to make sure my skin is cleansed good and proper.
Although, like it says on the bottle, it leaves my skin feeling moisturised, 'soft, smooth and healthy'.

The product comes out of the bottle looking rather like a shampoo, and smells rather like E45, which always reminds me of the smell of PVA glue.
I use this by squeezing a blob of it into my hands, and then (without adding water), applying it to my skin and massaging it all over my face. This cleanser doesn't foam up, and it is more of a cream cleanser than anything else. I do this for a couple of minutes, and then I get a cotton wool pad and wipe the excess off my face. This means that this cleanser is great for when you don't have a sink with you, since you can put it straight on your face without water, massage it in and wipe off with a cotton pad without faffing around with water and drying your face.
However, you can use it with water, in the way that instead of wiping off the excess with a cotton pad, you would rinse your skin and pat dry. I prefer the non-water way - because I'm lazy and it seems so much easier!

This product is marketed as 'high tolerance' and has a soap-free formula, which means it would be suitable for most sensitive skin conditions. Indeed, when using it when my face is sore and dry, I experienced no unpleasant stinging or irritation, and left my skin feeling really calm and refreshed.

This product set me back £8.99 from Boots, which I think is a really good price for this type of product. I have had mine for about 2 months, and I've only used about a third! I don't use it a lot, as mentioned, but I still think that's pretty good going!

As I said, I wouldn't use this every day, since I prefer really thoroughly cleansing my skin with Hibiscrub, but for those who are having trouble finding a cleanser which is sensitive enough for your skin, I would thoroughly recommend giving this product a try.

I mean, if Scarlett Johansson uses it, surely it's good enough for us normal people?!

HibiScrub.

I had finished my Korres facial soaps a few weeks ago, and was a little bit stuck with what facial wash/cleanser to go for next. I didn't particularly want to go for something too high-end and expensive, since I double-cleanse every night and every morning because of my acne, and therefore go through facial washes/cleansers like nobody's business. I didn't want to get something I'd had before, because I wanted to try something different. Forever on the search for the HG of facial cleansers, y'know!

Then my sister, who is under a consultant dermatologist for her acne (another similarity between us!), was recommended something called HibiScrub to cleanse her skin in place of her normal facial wash. Then someone my mum works with said that she had used it and it was amazing at getting her skin squeaky clean, and really helped to clear up her acne.
Basically, it is a surgical wash that surgeons prepare the skin with before the operate on it. Because it is a surgical product which needs to be used for an aseptic activity, by nature it has to kill every little bacteria/germ on the surface of the skin, and this is why it got recommended to my sister for her acne. I think, especially if you have acne like I do, it's important to find a product that cleans the skin well. Although we all know that having acne doesn't mean you don't wash, the lack of a decent cleanser and regime will exacerbate the current problem, so this is why when my mum and sister mentioned it to me I had to go out the following day and buy it.

Because it is quite a strong solution, you have to dilute it down before you use it as a facial wash. As you can see from the photos, I decanted half into an old tube of cream (I made sure the bottle and pump were clean beforehand of course!), and filled the rest with water.

It is recommended if you have quite sensitive skin or you find it dries your skin out after using it, use it every other night or every two nights.
But since my skin produces oil like mice produce baby mice and my skin is as resilient as a soldier right now, I use it every morning and every night. I don't find it dries my skin out, even when using my Retin-A and my skin peels off, there is no irritation whatsoever. Although when I've maybe scratched and the skin has broken through completely, it does definitely sting. So if you were thinking of using it on broken skin or suffer with a condition which means your skin is weepy and really sore, I wouldn't use it, or consider diluting it right down and using it once every two days.
I also would say try not to get it in your eyes, because it will sting like crazy. Plus, it doesn't taste too nice either. Complete blegh.

It was about £9 (I can't remember how much exactly, sorry!) from the our local chemist, but all chemists/pharmacies seem to stock the product, so it's a product you can get hold of quite easily, in normal circumstances. There seems to be a little bit of manufacturing difficulty at the moment, so you will struggle to find a bottle of HibiScrub at this present time. But hopefully the manufacturers sort out whatever the problem is and make sure all the chemists/pharmacies are stocked up with it!

The most important bit: it does the job of completely ridding my face of all the impurities accumulated throughout my commute, my hospital duties, and the commute home, and leaves my skin feeling and looking amazingly clean. My skin was literally glowing with cleanliness, which was lovely!
This stuff actually works, and my skin has cleared up no end. Although I still have the odd spot, I can definitely tell a definate difference.

I know it's not organic, and it's not made from natural ingredients, and it's not by some really fancy French company and it's name is a bit boring, but it works. And because of that, I am going to use it forever and ever.

Clarisonic 'Refining Skin Polish'

I really need and want one of the Clarisonic brushes in my life, but at £150, I will perhaps hold off until I win the lottery perhaps?
I was really excited to try the little tube of Clarisonic goodness that I got in my Feel Unique December box. I had no idea the brand produced facial washes as well as the brushes, and was surprised to see a cheeky wee tube nestled inside my box.

Starting off on a bit of a negative. It is like a wash with lots of little bits in, and I don't really class it as that much of an exfolaitor (nothing comes close to Dermalogica's 'Multivitamin Thermafoliant'). It's more of a really good foaming facial wash with bits in. I think it's a 'middle of the road' product, either that or it can't decide what it is.
I do think that despite it not achieving the same status as the aforementioned product, it is good as maybe something you can use everyday to just clean your face and refine any wee dry bits you may have on your skin.
It's non-drying and is very gentle, despite being effective at removing all traces of daily grime, dirt and make-up from the skin.

I have suffered from Retin-A skin the past few days (story of my life) and have found that this product, without taking too much skin off my face (you can read about my tragic experience here), effectively removed all the dead skin from my face without any irritation or stinging, which I was surprised about. Normally I suffer some irritation but no. No stinging, no exaggerated redness, no weeping areas of skin.

'Antioxidants Green Tea and wine extracts provide anti-inflammatory properties. Jojoba beads, prickly pear and acai fruit oil hydrate and moisturise. This polish provides gentle exfoliation for areas of the body needing extra care, including the décolleté, hands, arms, elbows and feet. Paraben-free and pH-balanced.'

Doesn't that product description just sound delicious?! Prickly pear and acai fruit...skin food!
I do like the fact it's paraben-free and pH balanced. I think that's one of the reasons it doesn't sting and burn like other exfoliating facial washes do, which is good for me and perhaps people with more sensitive skin.

Despite my whinge about it being a product I can't really figure out (maybe that's just me) I am really impressed with this product, and am definitely curious about purchasing it for a daily facial/exfoliating wash. However, I do think it is a tad expensive at £21 per 180ml. Although I definitely will think on the matter.
Again, I wouldn't tout it as being a fantastic exfoliator because you can get a much more intense result by using other products (do you even need to ask?!), but it is more of a product I would use everyday.

Has anyone used anything else from the Clarisonic product range?