Us second rate diva's love to do everything in pairs. Alice has told you all her beauty secrets... and being a second rate diva, I am going to tell you mine. I don't have many beauty secrets to tell, I'm quite lucky with my skin, I don't break out a lot and my skin isn't that sensitive, but, like Alice, I love to take care of my skin using the best products for the cheapest price I can, so, of course, I have tried many many many products to reach a stage where I can say I am happy with my routine and I don't want / need to change it any time soon...
So to begin, I am very conscious of avoiding SLS in all my products. SLS is a cheap detergent put into many cheap (and expensive) products that has many bad side effects. Like a lot of people; it gives me a rash, so I avoid it at all costs. A lot of people don't realize that a rash is caused by your shampoo, face wash or even body wash, but it's a very real problem. So this is why I use Dr Bronners:
You can buy Dr Bronner's Magic soap at American Apparel. I was introduced to this magic soap while in New York back in 2007, and I've not used anything different since. It cleans, smells great and has no SLS in it at all. Better yet, it lasts forever, I always buy the big bottle, and it literally lasts about a year, no joke!
For shampoo I use Bed Head Superstar - Sulfate-free shampoo, again, for that reason. It's great for volatilizing my hair, and smells like strawberry milkshake, what more could you ask for in a shampoo. My hair always feels extra clean and fresh after each use, and buying the 750ml bottle (about £10) on Amazon also lasts a long time. I always lather, rinse, repeat, with no conditioner (which I just use anything to hand) as conditioner isn't necessary unless you have very damaged hair. I used to use conditioner all the time and got into the habit of having slick-rick hair. However, once my hair got used to just a double shampoo, the condition became so good without the slick hair, I've never looked back.
I also always fash my face, morning and night, with "Scrub your nose in it" by Soap and Glory, and sometimes in it's place I will use face mask "No Clogs Allowed" These two products are my life saver. I have never used a face scrub or mask that doesn't make me itch, break out, or end up with dryer skin that I usually have, and with Boots always doing offers on Soap and Glory products (they're so cheap anyway) I always stock up and enjoy using my products every day.
I am a boy, so I do shave once or twice a week, and, again, I make sure I use the best possible things for my skin at the cheapest price, and this King of Shaves shaving oil is around £3 and works wonders on my skin. I never have a rash after a shave, my skin is always soft and I can see exactly what I'm doing with my razor on my face! The last thing I want to do is shave my skin off, so this is very important for a close shave.
After my close shave I ALWAYS apply Aloe Vera gel, as pure as I can get my hands on, This is, again, around £3 in any Holland and Barratt. Great for use as after shave, rash, sun burn (I've never had sunburn thank god, but it's supposed to be soothing) a hair moisturizer, good for dry, chapped skin, good for everything really. And sometimes If I fell I've shaved a little too close, I apply some Savlon to my face just in case, you might not see anything, but you are dragging a razor across your skin, so it's got to be some kind of sensitive right after a shave. Savlon also helped to heal my tattoo, helps my very dry lips every once in a while, heals my skin extra fast if I pick at any spots (I know, I know, I have to learn to leave them alone) and basically helps to heal anything super fast.
every morning and every night, I cleanse, tone and moisturize. I do this because of my dry skin, it just requires a little extra time to take care of it, and then it's fine, no trace of dry, flakey or ashy skin. Using Boots Original Formula cleansing milk and skin tonic has helped my skin tone and texture so much in recent months, and a Vitamin E cream - from a Natural health and beauty shop - Couldn't find anything online, helps my skin to stay moisturized with the least amount of chemicals as possible, actually, I don't believe there are any in this cream, and being natural, you know it's good for your skin. I try to stay away from perfumed creams as they sit on your skin and can cause my skin to dry out.
And for my eyes I use no 7 Protect and Perfect eye cream for men. Now this product is exactly the same as the women's product except in a handy pump rather than a jar, and it also costs £5 cheaper! don't ask me why, because it's exactly the same product underneath it all. No 7 Protect and Perfect was the only product on the market proven to reverse the signs of sun damage and helps combat wrinkles blahblahblah, so I thought that I would buy into this product early as a prevention rather than a cure. My eyes also get dry sometimes because of the delicate skin around the eye, so this cream has helped to moisturize my eye area and also will help to prevent wrinkles in the long run.
I also moisturize my body with Eucerin - from America though. whenever a friend goes over, or when I go over, I have to stock up on Eucerin. It's helped my skin stay fresh, moisturized and glowing in these winter months... Sometimes I'll also used Palmer's Cocoa Butter, but Eucerin beats them all hands down.
And lastly for moisturizing, I use Elemis Hand and Nail cream to help and soften my cry hands, This is the only product that I enjoy the texture of, the rest feel sticky and I feel as though I need to immediately need to rinse my hands after I apply. This is quite an expensive product, so the search is still on to find a cheaper product to replace my beloved Elemis, but for now, it works. Thankfully hand cream's are easier to try on that face creams because your hands shouldn't really break out in spots if the ingredients don't agree with you, just pop some on your bare hands in a shop and see how you feel while shopping. Easy. I'm gonna be on the hunt for a good, cheap hand cream this summer...
And two products I use every now and again, Mac Select Moisturecover concealer. The best concealer I've ever used as it's available in every shade under the sun, so you'll be sure to find one to suit your skin tone. This concealer does not dry out like most I've tried, doesn't flake off and just looks natural no matter where you apply it. I have covered many spots with this little gem, and peers are in disbelief when I tell them I have a massive spot, as they just can't see it.
And Clinique anti-blemish solutions. This little bottle also lasts a very long time. If I have a terrible spot that I want to get rid of, I just put on a little dab of this solution, and it calms it down straight away. I also do the same thing with With Doctor treatment gel, which is a lot cheaper, at £2 in Tesco, you definitely cannot go wrong. Even Alice switched over to Witch when I forced her to apply some of my treatment gel (I made her wash her hands first and everything) onto an irritating spot she once had, that disappeared over night much to Alice's enjoyment.
And that, my friends, are my beauty secrets / daily ritual. I try to stick to the same products as I know they work best for my skin, They may not work for you, but you have to give everything ago, and if it works, it works. There's no point in getting something because the packaging looks better, or because you want to buy into certain brands. Your skin will thank you when you treat it well.
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