My Foray into Hydraluron

I have been using serums for a while now and I quite enjoy the oils I use as well. I have a few to choose from and they do work quite well.

This year, the Winter has taken a serious toll on my skin and I am very dry and dehydrated. My skin looks dull and the texture is rough and all just bleh.

Part of the reason is that in the last few weeks, I have been feeling quite down and under the weather. This means that I have not been overly kind to my skin.

I am not getting any younger and there is no time to mess around. So, I decided to take some advice from all the skin loving people out there, including Mrs Hirons, and get myself a tube of Hyluronic Acid to help with the moisture issue. Apparently it can attract 1,000 times its weight in water.

I was surprised, when I finally went and bought the stuff from Boots, that it was £16.66, instead of the regular £24.99. I did, however, buy it with points so it was like a gift to myself.

I am very excited to finally add this little gem to my collection and look forward to trying it out and finding our for myself if it lives up to the hype!

I will let you know.

Have you tried it?
How do you rate it?

Skin Pep Brightening Enzyme & Acid Peel Review

Last year, I decided to try out this whole beauty box story, and although the boxes themselves have been quite handy for storage (go figure), I was not entirely impressed with my little experiment.

The box I went with was a three-month Glossy Box subscription. I don't think I've really tried any of the stuff I got, so I decided it was time to get on with it and give one of the skincare samples a whirl. 

The September Glossy Box (my last one) included some peels from Skin Pep.

I decided to try one last night.

It did not blow my mind. In fact, I don't think I saw a difference, but that's just me.

The inci list is quite impressive, with peptides Glycolic and Lactic acids, vitamin C and enzymes, fruit extracts and other nice things, so I don't think it did any harm.

It didn't feel bad, but my skin has been very dull and unhappy lately, so I was hoping for a bit more zing and pop. I mean it does say it's a brightening peel.

The Skin Pep Brightening Enzyme & Acid Peel has a gel texture with a mild aroma which I can't describe but is not offensive and I would say pleasant.

The 3.5ml sachet is plenty for a face application, which you massage into your face to remove dead skin and then leave for a few minutes. The product dries and you can wet your face to reactivate it. Then you wipe it off. There is no peeling per se. It felt like a mask to me.

I was a bit apprehensive to try it because of the hardcore nature of the product implied by the packaging. I was more than a little disappointed that it appeared to do nothing at all.

I did not feel any difference. If anything, it was a bit drying for me, but that may be because I left it on for the "deeper peeling" time. If you have oily skin it may be what you're after. It's just not for me.

I have another sachet, but I doubt that I will see any miracles, so it's probably best to avoid it.

Verdict: Meh...

What are your favourite masks, peels and treatments?

I'm quite keen to explore!

Happy New Year

Hello All the people!

It's the first day of 2015! Yay

I just wanted to pop in and say Happy New Year to everyone.

Everyone had a different 2014, but for me, it was one of my worst years,if not The worst year.

Mr C and I have suffered a lot and done a lot of crying and mourning and healing. We are now in a better emotional place (subject to bad days), but the year has taken its toll.

We have made some changes recently and are looking forward to a better year in 2015. Mr C will be joining me at Weight Watchers next week and I hope to embark on an exercise regime and get my health back in check.

Mr C will also be having some knee surgery done in late Jan so we hope that will help his pain.

In general, do not like resolutions. I think that you shouldn't need a New Year to commit to something just like you should not need Valentine's day to express your feelings to those you love.

Having said that, A New Year is as good a time as any to turn a corner, take a step forward or even re-affirm your commitment to something, so, with that in mind, I will do what Mr C says I do best - State the blatantly obvious. These are my little resolutions for this year. They are not mind-blowing. They are, for the most part, blatantly obvious.

In 2015,

1. I will continue to remember and honour my beloved child; I will mourn her loss while I learn to live in the world and find some happiness and some peace.
2. I will be kind to myself and show myself compassion.
3. I will take better care of myself and my health.
4. I will continue my weight-loss
5. I will be more physically active
6. I will be more sociable
7. I will continue my work on this blog and improve it.
8. I will nurture and share my interest in skincare.
9. I will get better at my skincare routine
10. I will learn to cook

Please note that the word try is not in this list. I could go all Yoda and say Do or Do Not. There is no Try but I won't. The truth is that saying you will try is like saying you won't. It is not a commitment to do something; it gives you an escape clause where you can deceive yourself into giving up.

I do not want to give up on myself. all these goals are for my own personal benefit. I will feel better and be better by doing them.

Some of these are harder than others and sometimes I will falter and lose my way. but that's okay, as long as I am honest with myself about it and get back to the path, facing the right direction.

I have learned that the only way to get anywhere is to take small steps. I run out of steam way to quickly for giant leaps.

These are not revolutionary changes in my life but I will be going up against 37 years of self-sabotage and bad habits so I am not expecting miracles. (I already think the cooking thing is a bit of a stretch - all they way to wishful thinking - but I will have to start some time)

That is my list. It was not intended to be 10 (I put the numbers in afterwards) but it works.

How do you tackle the New Year? Do you make plans and resolutions or do you just "Call the whole thing off?" Do you track them or give up after six weeks?

Let me know what your plans are and how confident you are that you will achieve them.

I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great 2015. May it touch you softly and be gentle with your heart.

Be kind to your skin and love yourself.