Simple Kind to Eyes Soothing Eye Balm

I’ve been on a bit of a Simple kick lately. Wait, that sounds wrong. I bought a lot of their stuff on offer. Hence the flurry of Simple skincare posts.

They continue their winning streak for me with this lovely little eye cream. The box claims it will refresh tired eyes and reduce puffiness whilst being gentle on even sensitive eyes. And do you know, it does! Something about applying the cold gel like cream to my eye area just clears your head like nothing else. It’ll wake you up more than that second cup of coffee will! The skin under my eyes feels less tight too.

I have a different eye cream that I use during the day as it has SPF which this doesn’t. This however does just the trick for soothing and refreshing the skin around my eyes after I’ve removed my eye makeup. It’s only £3.69 at Boots so it doesn’t break the bank. You don’t need a lot either so your pennies will stretch a fair way. Another win for Simple!

Simple Radiance Brightening Moisturiser SPF10

I heard an interesting thing yesterday. Apparently the SPF in makeup only works if it is directly in contact with your skin, not layered over other products. I don’t know if this is true or not but it does worry me a bit. It also makes me doubly determined to find a moisturiser that I like with SPF as it’s the first thing to go on my face before primer and foundation. Here is the first contender.

This cheap (£6.49 but usually on a buy 2 get one free in Boots) and cheerful offering claims to “visibly brighten” with “mango goodness for healthy glowing skin”. The back of the box waffles on about light reflecting particles and vitamins E, C and B5. It all sounds wonderful doesn’t it?

Well I’m pleased to announce that after the Simple evil eye makeup remover disappointment this is a pleasant product. I have combination skin, incredibly dry on my cheeks and oil slick greasy on my t-zone. This moisturiser manages to sooth the dry bits without exacerbating the environmental disaster that is my nose. It claims to have no perfume but there definitely is a slight chemical/ mango whiff. It is too slight and fades to quickly to be of any bother to me. The cream is thick, spreads well and is absorbed quickly making it a good base for my makeup. And so far no breakouts!

Does it “illuminate” my skin? No. I have never noticed any such effect. I sometimes think that my skin tone is more even after applying this which is always a plus but if you’re worried about the light reflecting particles turning you into a human disco ball you need not fret. If you are looking for a product that does brighten your complexion this probably won’t do the job but as a good light-ish moisturiser designed for sensitive skin with SPF it does everything I want it too. And it does it pretty well! I will definitely consider repurchasing this.

Hope everyone has a good week ahead of them! Euch... Mondays x

The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream

I have mentioned before my recent skin disaster. You may be surprised to know that the culprit was the much loved and respected Olay total effects moisturiser with SPF. I bought it mainly for the SPF but the formula was just too heavy on my combination/ oily skin. I broke out in spots for the first time in... well... ever. While rooting around in my stash for something to tide me over until I could get to the shops I came across a little pot of loveliness that came with a Christmas present. Aren’t Mums just the best? This is only the 20ml sample pot from the gift set. Ordinarily it comes in a 50ml pot for £10.



This little pot has actually lasted me a fair while. The consistency is so thick and spreadable that it lasts and lasts. The slight scent is inoffensive and I’ve even used it round my eyes (yes I know you should use specific things blah blah blah I was desperate) with no ill effects. It does take a while to sink in on me though so I’ve been using it at night and just not bothering with moisturiser in the day. I initially thought, because the texture is so rich, that it would break me out like the Olay did but amazingly it hasn’t! Another plus (which might be in my head) but I have a scar on my neck which I usually apply vit E cream to because the skin around it gets dry and makes it look more prominent. This moisturiser did the trick very well and with continued use it has defiantly become less noticeable.

The moisturiser dilemma got me thinking though. I’m in my early 20’s with fairly oily skin. I live in Scotland so sun exposure is slim to none. I don’t smoke, I drink lots of water, I eat healthy food. Am I worrying about my skin too much? My older female relatives have always drummed into me that prevention is the best cure and I’m sure they are right but everywhere you look there are different opinions on when we should start worrying about wrinkles. Some say teens, some say when the first few lines rear their wrinkly heads. Personally apart from light moisturisers and SPF I leave my skin well alone (if it ain’t broke etc...). What age did you start worrying about anti ageing products? And are they working for you?

Back to the Vitamin E Cream. Would I repurchase? It is slightly too heavy for me but I would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone with drier skin than mine. I’m definetly going to get the Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream. At £10 you could certainly do a lot worse!

A rundown of cheap and cheerful hand creams

As a sufferer of irritant dermatitis, mainly brought on by the soap at work, I buy more hand creams than I do food. I apply it several times an hour in vast quantities and so I need to be able to buy lots of it at a reasonable price. Now any medical professional will tell you (at least the ones I work with do) that when trying to repair the skins moisture barrier and heal dry/ cracking skin the key factor is having a greasy, oily cream that will form a protective barrier for you whilst delivering moisture to the skin itself. Any woman will tell you it’s a little bit more complicated than this. A cream may be doing you the world of good but if it leaves your hands too greasy to pick anything up without a comedy moment of it slipping out of your hands a la prison shower soap, or if it smells like hospital bleach to the point than you walk around holding your hands as far away from your face as possible, it is just no use to us.

So here we have a list of some of the hand creams that live next to every sink in my house and in every hand bag I own. The only criterion I had for inclusion is that they must all cost under £5.


Aveeno Hand Cream: £4.99 This claims to be non greasy and long lasting even going as far as saying it will last 24 hours and through hand washing! I wouldn’t go that far. It is one of the longer lasting creams that I have here, I don’t feel the need to reapply 5 minutes after, but it doesn’t leave me feeling moisturised for longer than an hour. Mind you with my hands that is pretty good going. I don’t find it too greasy either. There is a slight scent but it isn’t overpowering at all. Rather, it just smells clean on my hands then fades away. At £4.99 this is the most expensive here but then it is rather good.

Norwegian Formula Concentrated hand cream (unscented): £2.49 In terms of sheer effectiveness this is way up there. The strange gel like formula is difficult to squeeze out but this is a good thing as you only need a small amount. This is the unscented version which is a lifesaver when your hands get so cracked that perfume starts to irritate them. Because you only need a little it will last you too and at this price I consider it an absolute bargain. My one quibble, and it’s just because I’m weird, is that I prefer rubbing a cream in rather than this strange textured gel. It’s not enough to stop me using it but it’s just a thought. In most ways it is better than a more traditional cream though and I have never felt my hands feeling greasy or tacky after use unless I use too much of it.

Dove Beauty Hand Cream : £2.79 This is another one that promises 24 hour moisture but doesn’t really deliver. My hands do feel nice and soft after using it but it has a tendency to leave me with an oily residue that transfers onto everything I touch. I leave paw prints on documents etc. The scent is also hit and miss (the traditional Dove soapy smell). Now I love this scent, it reminds me of visiting my Grandparents as a child because they always had the soap bar in the bathroom. However it is quite strong to the point where people have commented on it.

Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail Condition Lotion: £2.05 This has a more watery texture than the other and sinks in quickly without making me feel too greasy. However this also means that it doesn’t last too long. I bought this tube two weeks ago and I’ve pretty much finished it even though it is not the only one I use. What I do like about this is the keratin and vitamin E it contains claiming to strengthen nails by up to 50%. I wouldn’t go that far but I suppose every little helps! It does have a fairly strong smell to it but it tends to fade pretty quickly once it’s on your hands.

Atrixo: £1.79 This is the cheapest of the lot. I also find it to be one of the most moisturising which is why I keep buying it but unfortunately it makes me suffer from the same greasy paw prints as the Dove does. It last ages on my hands though and the scent isn’t too overpowering, just nice and fresh smelling. The other gripe I have about it is the packaging. The threads where the lid screws on have a tendency to get grimy and I don’t think that a pot is the most hygienic way of packaging it.
My favourites have to be the Aveeno and Norwegian Formula. They get the job done without irritating my skin and I can still touch things afterwards without leaving oily marks. What’s your favourite hand cream?

L'Occitane Immortelle Divine Cream

Now I could be writing about any old cream here, because I have no photograph of this product. Why? Well for a start at £60 odd a pot I cannot afford this, but I bought a some sachets from ebay and decanted them into a pot and in my rush to hide my purchase from my OH I hid them in the bin and then could not stomach searching through bits of risotto and fruit corners to find the damn things.

However I do have a photograph of the product decanted into my little pot.

And a photo to show the texture

I wanted to try this after its high reviews in the Anti-Aging Beauty Bible, and with the inexorable march towards winter and cooler temperatures I wanted to see if this product could go onto The List - y'know, the one which contains all those high end skin care products which are just out of one's price range. I really think that searching for a good moisturiser is a bit like house hunting, one always finds a great house which is just that little bit too expensive, just a bit out of one's price range, so that one ends up settling for the slightly cheaper but less satisfactory.

I managed to secure 7 sachets, which decanted into a pot gave me 7mls, enough to make a informed opinion on smell, texture, slip or massagebility, absorbability, residue, and feeling on skin. But not enough to enable me to decide if it has an effect on my skin.

So smell - urrrhhhggghh sweet floral, I hate it (thank goodness I did not give into the ezpayments on QVC recently). Smell is so personal and I am sure that for some this will be beautiful, light and fresh, a bit herbal - to me it is all pervading, sharp-sweet, a bit like that awful taste of salt and sugar mixed together. Mercifully it does not last and by the time I have applied it has gone.

Texture/slip/massageability - this is suprisingly light in texture, almost gel like, but not a watery gel. This can be massaged into the skin and that is a bonus for me, it feels rich without being greasy.

Absorbability/residue/feeling on skin - really lovely for me at any rate. I like a moisturiser to be massaged in but not disappear without a trace, for despite having a skin which is clinging to the oiliness of my youth, I do like a moisturiser which has a richness to it, and this does, but it is not heavy.

So would I leave hints about this to my OH? Cough whenever I pass a L'Occitane shop? Wave the page of aforementioned Anti-Aging Beauty Bible frantically to and fro? No, for me smell is everything, and this reminds me of my reaction to the doubtless wonderful Pro Collagen Marine Cream by Elemis, love the texture, cannot abide the smell which reminds me of Christian Dior's Poison, and I lived through the '80s when everyone wore it, that and Beverly Hills Giorgio *shudders*.