Body Shop Haulin'

Just throwing it out there...I love The Body Shop.  Who doesn't?!  I don't think I've bought anything from there that I haven't really, really liked, and whilst I'm not keen on their prices, I am keen on the fact that there is always an offer on.  And the offers are usually pretty damn good.  I got a £25 gift voucher for Christmas to spend there (from my dog, Ronnie...he's a good dog!) and I am pretty surprised that I managed to hold off spending it for so long!  I was a bit disappointed to see that I couldn't spend it online, but hey ho, a trip in store it is - which by the way, was brimming with all of the Christmas stock!  There's hardly anything Christmassy left online, but there was practically all of the Christmas bits in store from the limited edition products to the gift sets at bargain prices!  Definitely worth popping in store if you missed something!

Despite all the Christmas stock, I didn't buy any of the sale bits really.  It was a pretty focussed shop actually and I must have been in and out within five minutes!  Onto the haul and it's going to make for a fairly long post...

Okay first off, I picked up the full size Chocomania Shower Cream as mentioned in my December Body Care Empties post.  I really liked using the miniature that I got, and couldn't resist picking up another!  At £2, it's hardly bank breaking either!  I also picked up a full size version of the Vitamin E Moisture Cream which I've been really liking lately.  I haven't finished the miniature that I've got, but I couldn't let it run out and not have one as a back up - seriously nice to use.

I went on a bit of a Vitamin E spree as I also picked up the Vitamin E Hydrating Toner and the Vitamin E Overnight Serum in Oil.  I've not tried either of these bits, so I'm definitely looking forward to slipping these into my routine.  I've not ever really managed to religiously use a toner in my skincare routine, but quite fancy using this Vitamin E one in the evening alongside the Serum in Oil.  When it first came out, I heard lots of raving about the Serum in Oil but that died out pretty quickly so I'm hoping it's as nice as everyone once said it was.  Of course I'll report back on it!

I really have been loving using the Soothing Aloe Day Cream lately, so thought that I'd add a second toner to my routine - I've really gone for it with toners guys - and that's the Aloe Calming Toner.  There's something about the Aloe Day Cream that I think has really calmed my skin down - I rarely break out anymore, and my skin just seems so much better recently now I've started focussing on skincare.  I even think I'm breaking out of the full on oily skin type and breaching the combination skin type!  Hopefully this will keep the good skin comin'...

I picked up the Tea Tree Cool and Creamy Wash as I'm running a bit low on my face wash stash.  I'm really looking forward to finishing my current ones so I can wack this one out - I can just imagine this feeling so soothing and nice on my skin!  I'm currently using a gel cleanser, so this cream will be a nice change!  And finally, I picked up a Facial Massager!  Facial Massages are actually really important for the skin as they aid moisture absorption, can lead to firmer, younger looking skin, and my main reason for getting one, they can help with lymphatic drainage.  I often get quite sore lumps along my jaw line, which I assumed were just annoying under the skin spots, but reading about facial massage made me realise that it might just be trapped toxins from the lack of blood circulation around my face - so...massage, circulation boost, no more sore lumps?  Fingers crossed.  Plus, Caroline Hirons recommended it so for £6 it's no biggie.

Better yet, the offer on at the minute is spend £50 and get £25 off!  Which meant I got £50 worth of product for my £25 gift card!  Well I went £4 over my gift card, but oh well...Hurrah!  Good times all round!

Have you picked anything up from The Body Shop lately?

Avène Extremely Gentle Cleanser & Soothing Hydrating Serum

I am always on the look out for new bits to try, and a few months ago I was given the opportunity to try something from Avène - the Extremely Gentle Cleanser*.  It sat in my draw of spares waiting to be used, and when the Avène Soothing Hydrating Serum* made its way into my mitts, I decided to pair the duo up and finally give them some attention.

I have been using the Extremely Gentle Cleanser in the evening to remove my make up as my pre-cleanse.  It says you can use this both morning and night, but I don't feel comfortable, or clean, using a formulation like this to clean all my night grime from my face in the morning.  It is a gel like texture which you apply with your fingers, and wipe off any excess using a cotton pad.  I found that the cleanser often just disappeared into my skin, so I never found that there was too much to wipe off which is probably why I never felt particularly clean.  The gel itself though is really soothing, and does leave skin feeling really soft but it doesn't effectively clean eye make up and I'm often left with under eye smudges.

The Soothing Hydrating Serum on the other hand...well, that was amazing.  It absorbed ridiculously quickly into my skin, and left practically no residue.  My skin has been feeling a little dehydrated lately, and I really felt my skin was drinking this up.  I mainly used this in the evening over the top of my Effaclar Duo+ and underneath my chosen moisturiser.  If my skin was feeling particularly dry, I did a couple of layers of the Hydrating Serum to ensure my skin was properly hydrated!  What I really loved about the serum was being able to use it in the morning - it provided a perfect, even base for the days make up.  It isn't heavy, but leaves my skin feeling perfectly smooth.

I don't know if I would personally recommend the Cleanser, but I'd one hundred percent recommend trying the serum!  If you did want to try them, the entire Avène range is currently on offer at Escentual.

Have you tried any Avène?  Will you be trying the Cleanser or the Serum?
*PR Sample.  These Avène products were sent to me for review.