Best Of Beauty 'Skin Care Saviours'

Skin Care Saviours feat. Clarisonic, Vichy, La Roche-Posay and Trilogy

I'm delighted to be be taking part in Samantha's Best of Beauty Blogger Challenge. I'm in desperate need of something to keep me on track with blogging-type stuff.

The first topic is one dear to my heart - and one I've had a mental note to write about for ever and ever, so no time like the present.

So my skin care saviour is no one product. Instead it's a combination of products, that I half-stumbled, half-planned upon when it came to whipping my skin into shape.

My blog has chronicled my battles with my skin since it began. From excessive dryness and dehydration. To mystery reactions to products, to redness, to make-up-repelling-awfulness. No more, I said, I've had enough. So the first thing I did? Marched (well, wondered aimlessly is more like it) straight to the Clarisonic counter in House of Fraser and put the fate of skin - and my purse, in the hands of Ms. Kelly Hope.

The Clarisonic won me over almost instantly, but in a strange way. I was one of the sort who got a purge period. Nasty time all together. My skin broke out everywhere, and I mean, everywhere. But  Kelly urged me to power through. And I did. Because these breakouts were different. They appeared, developed and started healing much faster, and after they cleared the skin beneath was clear and calm. I started out with the sensitive brush, then, when it was time for a fresh one, I switched to the normal brush - the one pictured here. I use it morning and night, 7 days a week, unless I'm really really lazy some mornings. I treat my skin to a deep cleanse with the, you guessed it, deep cleanse brush once a week. This was the first, crucial step in what was to be an epic skin care journey.

Now, the Clarisonic can only do so much. It won't promise you the Earth because it's only a stage one product. It's all about what you use along side it. That's where the rest of my Skin Care Saviours come in.

First, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. There's nothing I can say about this product that hasn't been said before. Why I found it good was because it worked by helping to draw out the impurities in my skin which the Clarisonic could then clean away (gross). It also kept reoffending areas at bay. This bottle has lasted me months upon months, with daily use. I'm mighty impressed, and also very distressed that it's almost empty. No other blemish treatment, especially not an all-over treatment has worked so well for me (I'll admit, I had written it off in favour of a targeted treatment, Effaclar AI, from the same range a while back - but we live and we learn!)

Finally, moisturising - or for me, hydrating and nourishing to be exact. What I loved about the Clarisonic, and really what sold me on it, was when Kelly explained how it readied your skin to take in the products you apply after. Music to the ears of a skin care junkie such as myself who always wants to get the most out of her products. Firstly, hydration comes from the creme-de-la-creme of night creams, Vichy Aqualia Thermal. My skin adores anything thermal water-based, and no matter what the time of year or weather, this cream-gel-hybrid has delivered. I also find, and I don't think I'm alone in this, that my breakouts clear better when I come at them when with a burst of hydration.

Last, but by no means least, Trilogy rosehip oil. It might seem like a lot but bare with me. The Vichy is water based, so that absorbs into the skin. Oil, sits on the skin, locking in moisture. This oil isn't greasy, if anything it's a slightly dry oil. 3 small drops is all you need for your entire face. Winning all round so far. I started using this because I read a lot about these types of products helping to clear acne scars and redness. I'm happy to say that I've managed to escape any particularly nasty scaring, something I was worried about given the rapid changes in my skin, and frankly, I'm trying to give it all the help I can get. This oil nourishes the skin with antioxidants, essential omega acids and vitamins. This oil deserves a post all of its own, watch this space!

There are literally dozens of these posts live across the web right now as part of the Best of Beauty Blog Challenge. You can always follow #BOBBlogChallenge on Twitter to find more.

Lots of love

Lisa

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