My cruelty free face masks

Hi everyone

I am a big fan of face mask. I wear make up everyday to work including foundation, powder, bronzer and blusher and then at the weekend just powder and blusher and although I do take my make up off diligently every day I feel it is important to give my skin an extra clean with a mask.

I have a few favourite masks that I really like that all range in prices from £1 to £25  and also for a range of different effects.

I use a number of masks from Superdrug that are between £1 and £2 each. They are often single use masks but at that price they are a really good find. The dead sea purifying mask is good on a Friday after a weeks worth of foundation, powder and stress at work. It gets right into the pores and leaves my skin feeling fresher and also gets rid of any excess oil. It is designed for oily skin so I do have to be careful on areas such as my cheeks that it doesn’t dry them out. I often use this is in conjunction with the nose strips to really clear my pores.

If my skins feeling dry I use the sheet mask, I really like this one as it leave the residue on my skin which sounds bad but it isn’t it allows me to rub it in and leave my skin feeling great.

Last but not least is the tee tree oil mask which is a newer one I tried, I did like this one if I wanted a really deep clean but it left my skin much dryer than the dead sea mask so I think I will stick to that in the future.

At a slightly higher price point is the Lush cupcake mask. I love this so much, it smells like chocolate but more to the point is a miracle worker on blemishes and oily skin. It is very messy but like all lush products so worth a bit of mess. It dries very quickly and it really does feel like I have new skin. It doesn’t exfoliate but it is a slightly rougher texture so it feels like it does take off the dead skin. The price is £7.50 and it probably lasts about 3 full face masks.

Next is The Body shop Himalayan Charcoal purifying glow mask. This one is an exfoliator as well so again is very messy but so worth it. This one is the most intense mask and I do have to be a little careful as I can leave my skin a little bit red if I leave it on to long. It really does dry almost to dust on the skin but for any blemishes or oily skin it is a miracle worker/. The price of this mask is £17 so it is more expensive but it is quite a big tub and because it is the most intense you wouldn’t use this any more than once every couple of week and personally I only use it on my T Zone so is does last well.

Last but no least is the Aveda Radiance mask, this is the mask I use when I need to be more gentle with my skin. It is very smooth and makes my skin feel clean and fresh but it is gentler than the other masks. The price is £28.50 so it is the most expensive mask but again is very worth it. It smells and feels very natural with no chemical smell or feel. My skin doesn’t go red and I can use the mask often without drying my skin.

I would love to hear what masks you use, do you have any recommendations for me to try? I think its important to use high end and also affordable masks so I’m up for trying your recommendations.

Thanks for reading

AKL

 

Cruelty free haircare

Hi everyone

I am constantly trying to find affordable good quality hair care, over the years I’ve dyed my hair, straightened it, bleached it and more so I do need good quality shampoo and conditioners. I use a number of different shampoos depending each at different price points. These are the ones I am currently using.

Every time Superdrug brings out a new range I like to give it a try, Superdrug is affordable and also all their own brand products are cruelty free. The shampoo and conditioner I have recently brought is the Argon hair therapy deep cleaning shampoo and weightless conditioner. The shampoo is really good, it is almost like an exfoliator but really gentle and leaves my hair squeaky clean. It is very thick so I have to put it on then splash my hair with water to get a lather but it rinses off really well to leave my hair really soft. It smells nice and I can often smell it on my hair for a while after which I like.

The conditioner is good, it runs out very quickly as it is thinner than the shampoo hence the ‘weightless’. It smells really good and does make my hair soft. I think personally I need a creamier conditioner due to the over dying and over styling but I did still like this product. The price was around £3/4 and it was buy one get one half price so really affordable.

If I am looking for a bit extra moisturiser at an affordable price then I use the Superdrug Coconut and Water Coconut Oil Conditioner, it is really fresh and creamy but it is thicker than normal conditioner. I like these bottles as they tend to last me a long time as well. I am guilty of washing my hair everyday so I do get through a lot of shampoo and conditioner. I don’t find these to be overpowering in terms of the coconut smell either which I do sometimes find with coconut. They tend to run out at the same time as well, a bit of  a random point and I don’t know if other people find this but I find that my conditioner runs out first normally.

Finally the last shampoo and conditioner I use is by Aveda. This is by far my favourite which will not come as a surprise as it is the most expensive at aprox £25 each. It is like going to a salon and having your hair done, it smells amazing very clean and fresh, I love it. It is lightweight but leaves you hair silky soft. These are reasonably big bottles but the rate I use them up means they are quite expensive to use all the time so I some times use this as almost a treatment a couple of times a week or if I have a special occasion.

Once I am out of the shower, I use the Hair Therapy Oil with Argan, I pump it into my hand and run it from the middle of my hair down to smooth it before drying. I love this product as it is an oil but non oily, I have quite fine hair so it can get coated with product really easily. It’s really conditioning and make my hair feel protected before drying.

A couple more products I use that I really like is the Argon oil replenishment mask from Superdrug which is about £2, its just that extra bit thicker and creamier than the lightweight conditioner so really good as a one off treatment. Its also good for travelling as they come in the little sachets.

Then when my hair is really feeling dry and over styled (most of the time) I use the Argon pre shampoo elasticising hair treatment and the intensive hot oil. I like both of them as they are really quick, the pre shampoo you only leave on for 20 minutes and the hot oil for a couple of minutes before shampooing off so again really good for travel. Sometimes when I don’t have much time these just add extra moisturiser

I had to mentioned Batiste as I love Batiste dry shampoo, it isn’t very often I use dry shampoo but some times if I have a day off work and I try not to wash my hair this does the job.

I am constantly changing up my products though so I would be interested to hear about new products. Do you recommend any good hair products that work for you?

Thanks for reading

AKL