Essential measures #5 Olay Total Effects Make up Remover

Women can be very fussy about their cleansing routines.  Some like to pre-cleanse, for others just a splash of water will do. Some insist on a separate eye make up remover, for others, a simple cleansing wipe fulfils all their needs. And while for some, only oil cleansers give that deep down clean feeling, for others, cream or hot cloth cleansers are the way forward.

It's unsurprising women are so fussy about cleaning their skin - after all, clean skin means healthy skin and fewer of the breakouts that for many women plague them well into adulthood and beyond. Breakouts can then lead many women (myself included) to pile on the make up... leading of course, to more breakouts. Clean, glowing skin looks youthful, appealing, and is the perfect base for make up.


Now in my early 30s, I've found a cleansing routine that works for me. In the mornings, I usually just use a facial wash, sometimes with an exfoliator. I'm not too fussy about which, although at the moment I'm using a Murad one containing AHAs, as my skin has been acting up a bit, probably due to the hot weather conditions we've been having.

When it comes to make up removal however, I am firmly in the cream cleanser camp, and I've found what I believe to be the ultimate make up removing clean cleanser - Olay Total Effects Make up Remover.

pic: Google images

This cream is sooooo effective at removing make up, including eye make up and mascara - far more effective than any other eye make up removers I've tried. I've gone through quite a few tubes of this since I discovered it last Christmas and I now bulk buy it when it's on offer. I find it quite expensive for a 'drugstore' cleanser at £6.50 for 150mls, but you can often find it on offer in Boots and Superdrug for around the £4 mark, sometimes cheaper (in fact it's on offer in Superdrug at the mo).

To use, I apply this cleanser to a cotton pad or ball and wipe it across my face and neck. I'd say a tube lasts me about 3-4 weeks, depending on how much make up I'm using. Even if I'm not wearing make up, I usually use this as my evening cleanser as it leaves my face so clean, I feel it really gets rid of all the London grime that you can't see but know it's there! Especially great in the summer when it's so hot and sticky. I do follow with a toner however as I don't like feeling as though there is any cream residue left on my skin.

There are some other cleansers I like but none as effective at removing make up. I love Cleanse and Polish for example, as it gives such a lovely radiance to the skin afterwards, but I don't find it good enough for make up removal - more of a morning cleanser for me.

Overall I love this cleanser and think it's one of the best cream cleansers out there - I don't like to spend a lot on cleansers as essentially you just wash them off your skin (I feel the same about body wash). This is at the higher end of the range I'd normally spend on a cleanser but it is more than worth it. It leaves my skin super clean, soft and in great condition - what more can you ask for from a cleanser?

Would love to hear about your cleansing routines and favourite drugstore cleansers!

Boots No 7 - My new must have skincare

It all started innocently enough - I needed a new cleanser, and was feeling uninspired by the selection on offer in Boots. My eye fell upon the No 7 display, where they had an impressive range including a cleansing balm and also a hot cloth cleanser. As they had a free gift worth £22 if you spent over £20, I decided to buy the Age Defence Cleansing Balm (£8.50), Purifying Toner (£7.50) and the Cleanse and Care Eye Make Up Remover (£7). I also picked up the Total Renwal Microdermabrasian Exfoliator (£10.50) as I needed a new scrub.

So far, I've been impressed with all of these products, however it was something that came in the free gift pack - the famous Protect and Perfect Intense serum (the newest version of the cult product) - which has really wowed me.

We've all heard the raves about Protect and Perfect and the scientific research that proved its effectiveness - for some reason I'd never got around to trying it, but now I totally understand the hype. It glides on and absorbs in an instant, and really does leave my skin velvety soft and radiant. I've been using it for two weeks now, under my SPF moisturiser in the daytime and on its own at night, and I think the condition of my skin has improved visibly. It looks smoother and, dare I say it, younger, though it's too soon to assess impact on lines. I far prefer this to my Estee Lauder Night Repair, which is double the price (Protect and Perfect costs £19.75 for 30 ml wherease Night Repair is £36). The No 7 serum seems to work with my skin much more than Night Repair, controlling shine and acting as a perfect base for make up.

Anyway, huge thumbs up from me and I'm going to purchase the full size asap. Has anyone compared the Protect and Perfect Intense with the original version? Would be interested to see how they compare.

The other products I've tried too I rate very highly. The Cleansing Balm feels lovely to apply and cleans well - although it does NOT remove make up adequately - the only way I can get my make up off completely, especially eye, is with cleansing milk and cotton wool pads. The eye make up remover is good - on a par with Clarins, Lancome ete - personally I find them all much of a muchness and again prefer to use cleansing milk or even vaseline, but it works okay. The toner is fantastic, far better than the Clarins one I used previously and definitely seems to be controlling my shine. The Microdermabrasian exfoliator is excellent - my skin looks clear for days afterwards.

After using and liking these products I then went back to purchase the Hot Cloth Cleanser (£8.75).  I adore the Liz Earle cleanser - it really does make skin radiant and squeaky clean - but I find it expensive considering it doesn't last too long - I always find after a few squooshes it's almost empty. With the No 7 you get 200ml for £8.75 - the Liz Earle costs about £23 for the same amount! Admittedly, I don't think the No 7 is as good as the Lize Earle - it doesn't leave my skin quite so fresh looking - and it doesn't have the glorious smell of the LE. However it is a good, effective cleanser - I'm not sure I'll be forking out the extra £15 for the Liz Earle in future. Again though you'll need something separate to take all your make up off - I like the cleansing balm and the hot cloth cleanser in the morning when my skin is quite clean anyway, but always use a cleansing milk and cotton wool in the pm.

If you're thinking of changing your skincare routine it's definitely worth checking out Boots No 7 - especially when Boots have their offers on - at the moment you get a £5 No 7 voucher when you spend £5, so you could pick up a cleanser, toner or even one of their make up brushes which get excellent reviews for just two or three pounds (I have the foundation and concealer brushes and love them both). Overall, very pleasantly surprised indeed.