After months of experimenting with so many different products and years of neglecting my skin, I decided to finally invest in some decent skincare products.
During my two years studying Beauty Therapy at college I learnt one very key rule that I repeated to every client, every day at least twice a session: Cleanse, tone and moisturise twice daily - exfoliate once (or twice) a week.
Even though I was studying Beauty Therapy and I knew this was how I should treat my skin, I still never really took the time to invest in decent products. Instead I relied on spot creams and whatever decent make-up I could find at the time to cover up my blemishes. Using cheap exfoliators. Simple make-up wipes to remove my make-up and occasionally a toner from The Body Shop (which I won't bash, because honestly I still do adore this product).
It's safe to say the way I treated my skin was, quite honestly, appalling.
While every student at college was very skeptical about how well Eve Taylor worked - we had our reasons at the time - for some reason, I really decided to invest a lot of money into the products to make sure I have all of the essentials.
Of course all of the products in this post are for a combination skin, which is my skin type. However, the alternatives to suit your skin type are listed at the bottom of this post!
I can tell you right now, that that was one investment I will never regret!
With a combination skin, the products I am best suited to are "balancing" products. These products help to nourish your dry skin whilst removing excess oil and reducing the excessive sebum production from your oily skin. Basically... It balances your skin - just what it says on the bottle!
I'm going to talk you through each of the products that I've purchased, explain what they do and give a little review on them too!
Balancing Cleanser - Lavender & Jasmine
£14.80 for 200ml from Eve Taylor
The Eye Taylor balancing cleanser contains:
- Lavender and jasmine; to soothe and balance the skin texture
- Basil, rosewood and vitamin rich avocado; to help improve the skin's natural barrier defence
- Cucumber and lettuce; to extract, soften and cleanse gently
This product is hands down beautiful. I can't really describe the scent of this product other than it smells "fresh", it's so light and beautiful! The feel of this product on your skin is so soft and gentle.
The purpose of cleansing is to remove all of the the makeup, dirt and oil from your skin. Usually, you cleanse twice. An Eve Taylor Purifying Wash is the pre-cleanse and really removes most of it and prepares the skin for the cleanser, but if you have a sensitive skin then the alternative pre-cleanse, Eve Taylor Clear Cleanse, is much more gentle with your skin. I found that the Purifying Wash was quite harsh on my skin and it made it sting a little. However, myself and the girls at college used the Cleanser twice as these products never irritated our skin!
The Eve Taylor Cleanser really makes my skin feel so much cleaner and removes everything from my skin! I absolutely love this product.
Facial Cleansing Brush
£8.29 from Eye Taylor
During the Facial Treatment at college this included a thorough cleanse of the skin, which meant a mini massage with each cleansing product to really get into every nook and cranny on the face. This is because the massage stimulates the circulation. When your circulation is increased in an area it helps to repair and renew the skin cells, improving the texture and tone of your skin!
However, when I read up on the Facial Cleansing Brush on the Eve Taylor website, it claims to be more effective than using your hands alone. Given the little rubber bristles on the brush, this seems to be an obvious thing to state, it just means that it'll more effectively increase your blood circulation! Eve Taylor also states that the product is perfectly suitable for more sensitive skin too. Perfect!
The Facial Cleansing Brush is more hygienic than a facial cloth or sponge, it can be used with all facial scrubs and washes, it helps to tone the skin and promotes a healthy complexion, it doesn't stretch or drag the skin and as I've said, it helps to improve your blood circulation.
Using this product I find it absolutely wonderful. I can still get into the nooks and crannys just fine, and I really feel like it's doing something! I always use this with my Cleanser. The brush it to be used in small circular motions and a facial cleanse should really last for a few minutes. So take some time and care to give your skin a proper, gentle cleanse!
Exfoliating Scrub - Bamboo & Soya
£17.50 for 200ml from Eve Taylor
Exfoliator - the one product I have always struggled to get right! I've recently read up that you shouldn't purchase exfoliators that have plastic beads in them as these actually cause tiny scratches on your skin's surface and make your skin more prone to bacteria!
The Eve Taylor Exfoliating Scrub contains natural bamboo beads that gently remove the debris and impurities on your skin. The soya in the Exfoliating Scrub leaves your skin feeling soft and much more refined.
The scent of this product is very subtle and very gentle. The beads in the Exfoliating Scrub are very fine and don't at all irritate your skin or cause any soreness. I find that this product is just incredible, it makes your skin look so much brighter and really does everything and exfoliator should do for your skin! It helps to clean my skin, aids in desquamation (the natural shedding of dead skin cells), stimulates the blood circulation helping the renewal of skin cells and stops my skin from appearing dull. It's incredible!
Also, a massively important tip when it comes to exfoliating that SO many people get wrong - as I found with every new (and some frequent) client's at college:
If you have DRY skin, you should exfoliate TWICE A WEEK. If you have combination or oily skin, you should exfoliate ONCE A WEEK. This is because dry skin sheds dead skin cells more frequently and the skin can become dull quickly, whereas oily and combination skin does this less often. If you exfoliate too hard or too often you can actually cause broken capillaries in your skin!
Balancing Toner - Rose Otto & Neroli
£12.98 for 200ml from Eve Taylor
The rose otto in the balancing toner firms and tones the skin tissue and the aloe vera helps to soften the skin. Neroli soothes and maintains the balance of the skin's natural oils (sebum).
The smell of the toner is again a soft, gentle scent and it's a really beautiful scent too. The product is gentle on my skin and really does remove every last bit of dirt that the cleanser hasn't quite taken off (which more than often, the cleanser has already removed the good majority of it).
Toner is used to help just remove that excess oil gently and, after you've stimulated the blood circulation so much which will help open the pores, the toner will then help to close the pores again after they've been cleansed to prevent other dirt getting in there!
Balancing Moisture Lotion - Geranium & Basil
£14.80 for 200ml from Eve Taylor
The Balancing Moisture Lotion contains the essential oils of geranium and basil. These help to encourage the proper oxygenation of your skin.
I always struggle to find a suitable moisturiser. Most are too greasy for my skin, leaving my face feeling oily and often make my skin break out, others can be harsh on my skin and can actually make my face sting unbearably. However I find that Eve Taylor's Balancing Moisture Lotion actually works a dream. It's such a light moisturiser and it stretches a long way, so don't feel the need to pump loads of the product out! Usually one pump is actually took much!
The scent is similar to that of the cleanser and I find it beautiful, and kind of relaxing in a way. It sinks into my skin amazingly and doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or heavy. It's such a light product and helps my skin in feeling soft and well nourished!
Seal and Protect Lip Balm - Low Protection (SPF 10)
£4.79 from Eve Taylor
I have to say, I'm not really a lip balm kind of girl. So, this was a bit of an unexpected purchase for me. I do like the product, it does what it says on the tin! It's very moisturising, it lasts a long time so there's no need for re-application every hour. However I would have much preferred if the product was available in a stick form. This is purely because I find these easier to use and less messy. The product is good, however I don't think it's something I'd purchase again.
Advanced Eye Complex
£29.99 for 15ml from Eye Taylor
While The Eye Taylor Advanced Eye Complex isn't an essential skincare product, this was the last Eve Taylor product I decided to invest in.
The product is an advanced skin therapy product that provides intensive repair and has anti-inflammatory properties. The soy proteins, rice bran and tripeptide 5 targets the dark circles and fine lines you can find under your eyes. The moisture lock system of botanicals and silicones help to regulate the moisture exchange between your skin and the environment around you. After all, the environment can have a huge impact on your skin. This product also contains an antioxidant known as CoQ10 and vitamin C, which both ensure that the damage from free radicals and the environment are kept to a minimum.
During the use of the product I have noticed that the dark circles and bags under my eyes have definitely lifted, it is a small change, however this was only over a short period of time and so the difference was wonderful.
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Thank you very much for reading everyone, I really hope that I could help out with any questions you may have had about skincare products or about the particular Eve Taylor products listed above.
Of course all of the products in this post are for a combination skin. However, the alternatives to suit your skin type are listed below:
If you have DRY or SENSTIVE skin:
If you have OILY skin:
The Purifying Wash is really ideal for this skin type as it's very strong in lifting the grease and dirt. This is used instead of a cleanser, however if this bothers your skin, you can use the Balancing Cleanser!
If you have HYPER-SENSITIVE or SEVERELY DEHYDRATED/IRRITATED skin:
Let me know how you find the products and how you've found this post!
Twitter: Pip__Girl
Thank you for reading, until next week!
