If there's a type of beauty product that I've tried almost everything of, it's skincare. I have naturally blotchy skin that requires quite a bit of TLC to keep it in its place. You'd think with as much skincare as I've tried over the years I'd purchased it all by now. Nope, there's still plenty of new finds for me to pop into my shopping basket. 

Because I buy so much skincare it's probably easier if I do little round-ups with mini-reviews and leave full reviews of one product for times where I have a lot to say. So here's four skincare purchases I made recently and my thoughts on them. 

Pai Skincare Copaiba Deep Cleanse AHA Mask

I did like this, I really did. It was soothing on the skin, it calmed down my redness and my skin felt cleansed but soft afterwards. However, it is £30 and I'm just not okay parting with that kind of money unless absolute miracles happen. My favourite facemask of all time is Lush Cupcake with is much cheaper and is pretty much the same standard of quality. If none of the Lush facemasks do something for you and you've ran out of other high street options I'd say give this a try but if you've got a budget version that works for you stick with it. 

Tea Tree+ Anti-Blemish Stick

I know tea tree is hailed as a saviour for spotty skin, however me and tea tree have never quite got along. I found this in Tesco while visiting my parents in Aberdeenshire and thought I'd give it a try. It made my spots worse but that's maybe just my skin. 

B.Clean Melting Gel Cleanser

I've said before (numerous times) that I really dislike the make-up offerings from B.Cosmetics but love the products that take off make-up. I've previously reviewed their 4-in-1 wipes and micellar water highly, so thought Id' give their cleanser a try. I do like this product and it does remove make-up (including mascara and eye-liner without stinging the eyes) but it still ranks behind the the wipes and water. 

Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash

Pacifica is a brand that gets raved about a lot in vegan circles. While I love their perfumes I've never been too keen on their make-up range and this was my first skincare purchase from the brand. I'll be honest: I didn't really like this. While the descriptions on the bottle sound lovely and it smelt gorgeous, I didn't see any changes to my skin. I'll continue to use this on days where my skin isn't looking too troublesome but I doubt I'll re-purchase once the bottle is finished. 

As I hit my teenage years it became clear I had what is known as oily skin. 

Even before I finished primary school I already had black-heads and the odd break-out. Thus, began the teenage search for skin care. At the time I tried what was aimed at teenagers and what the age-appropriate magazines were telling me to buy, plus because my mum was still responsible for my spending it was also largely her decision what products I tried. 

This led to me not using very good skincare products. It was Clean&Clear and Clearsil etc. Stuff I wouldn't even touch these days. As an adult I very much have discovered that natural is better and that even the oiliest of skin needs can still be stripped of natural oils if washed too much. My mum used to buy me scrubs and encourage me to use them daily saying my skin needed it, which is not what I'd recommend. My skincare these days is a lot gentler and works wonders for my skin type. 

I'm still sceptical of scrubs. So when Botanicals got in contact offering me a tub of their Mandarin & Chamomile Facial Polish* I accepted it with a bit of hesitation. It's a company that prides itself on being natural, but the word polish brings up memories of my teenage skincare routine and overdoing it with harsh scrubs (you know that St Ives scrub that gets raved about - I hate it). 

But when I opened up the tub I was pleasantly surprised that the scrub itself is very smooth and has a high cream to exfoliant ratio. The exfoliant of choice is oatmeal, so it's very gentle and won't harm the environment when it goes down the drain either. The smell I would say is a very typical natural skincare smell, which might not be the best description ever - but effectively it smells like a natural health shop and I have loads of products that smell the same. Nothing distasteful, but nothing to rave about either. 

As for the after-effects, this is a great product to use to perk-up skin for a few days but not one to use if you're looking for longer-term improvements. I've been using it weekly, as per instructions, and afterwards my skin is smoother and much softer, but I'm yet to spot any real ongoing changes. It's a great skincare product to use before a night out or an interview to help you look more awake and help your make-up go on a lot smoother. I personally like to use before I head out for a shift at the bar. 

The product also lasts a long time. I only have a 30g tub, but I imagine it'll do me a very long time as so little product is actually needed (especially as it's only a weekly or when needed product). Being a natural product it does come with a sell-by date and my particular tub is October 2017 - which isn't bad for a natural product.

Pros: brightens skin and perks it up
Cons: only offers short terms improvements for the skin
Ingredients: Helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, glycerine, cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, sesamum indicum (sesame) seed oil, decyl glucoside, cocos nucifero (coconut) oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, rosa canina seed poweder, avena satvia (oat) kernal meal, calendula offcinalis leaf extract, tocopherol, zea mays seed flour, parfum, lavendula angustifolia (lavender) flower oil, anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower oil, citrus nobilis (mandarin orange) peel oil, geranoil, limonene, linalool. 

It's no secret that I'm always on the hunt for the newest vegan beauty product. Whilst I love to shop local and support small Scottish businesses I'm always excited to discover a product from an exotic location. So when Argonauti, a vegan cosmetics company from Italy, got in contact asking if I wanted to try some of their range I was more than happy to add this to my beauty collection. 

Argaunati are based out of Milan and have a range of skin and body products which are free from mineral oils, silicones, parabens, wheat/gluten and any animal ingredients. Whilst I'm still personally researching the science of these ingredients (and the jury still seems very much out if consumers should be avoiding them) if you are in the market for high end but natural this company seems like a good bet. 

First off I received a full sample of their Sedna body cream*, which I have been loving. It's gorgeously thick which has been perfect for my feet which have been taking a bit of a battering since starting my trapeze lessons. It's however a bit thick for the rest of my body as my skin is naturally soft. The packaging, as you can tell from the picture, is also gorgeous. 

Secondly I received a full product of the Talia face wash*. Skincare can be very objective and difficult to review, however for my skin type I would say this was a very average product. It didn't make my skin worse, but I didn't see any improvements either (even on my chest and back where I also test out cleansers). It's a foam and you only need one pump of it, however my skin also lacked that 'clean' feeling you get after cleansing. The jury's a little bit out on this one. 

I was also sent a collection of their cream and cleanser samples*, and whilst it's difficult to write a review on something I could only get one sachet of use from, one product Iwant to mention is the Jason Eco Mousse Body Cleanser. For me personally I love a smelly shower gel and I've always got my eyes (or nose?) open for something a bit different that I can use to shake up my morning routine. The was a perfect addition as it gave me a new scent - which reminded me of a forest. Standing on my shower whilst using this reminded me of being outside in a pine forest. 

Sedna ingredients: Aqua, Citrus Medica Limonum Fruit Extract, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Glyceryl Sterate Citrate, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Pursea Grattissma Oil, Argania Spinosa Oil, Sodium Gluconate, Phytic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium PCA, Sdium Lactate, Moringa Pterygosperms Seed Extract, Lecithin, Mannitol, Maltodextrin, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Parfum, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol, Limonene, Citronellol, Linalool

Talia ingredients: Aqua, Citrus Medica Limonum Fruit Extract, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Glycerin, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Sodium Gluconate, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Cocoyl Glutaate, Sodium Lauryl Glucose Carboxylate, Panax Ginseng Extract, Magnesium Sulfate, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Phytate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, Lecithin, Mannitol, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum, Dehydroacetic Acid, Linalool, Limonene, Citric Acid.

I'd recommend this for you if: you like to avoid certain ingredients such as parabens and silicons, you have dry skin on your feet (for the body cream) or you have normal skin with no major complaints facially (for the cleanser).

I wouldn't recommend this for you if: you have skin concerns or complaints on your face. 

You know when you've been wanting to try a brand for ages and finally feel the joy of getting round to purchasing something? This is how I felt about buying something from Conscious Skincare. They came onto my radar in 2013 when they achieved Leaping Bunny certification, and in June I finally got round to looking at their range properly and settled on their Neutralize Facewash. 

The Neutralize Facewash is designed to combat spots and excess oil without drying the skin out. The formula contains lavender as an anti-inflammatory and lemongrass as an astringent, and the company is certified by Leaping Bunny, The Vegetarian Society and PETA.  

I started using this about a month ago as my daily cleanser, and whilst my skin did feel like the perfect balance between cleansed and softened I didn't notice any long term changes to my skin. However, my skin didn't get any worse either - stayed the same. In positive news, like all cleansers I buy, I also tried out on my back and chest (as the skin is thicker and different there) and found it worked a charm on my pimply back (I'm not putting pictures up cause my back is so naturally spotty that I don't wear dress/tops with a low back - just take my word for it that it improved whilst using this).  

Another big plus about this product is the sheer size of it. It foams up nicely too so you only require a little bit each time. Will do me a while. 

I was also sent a free sample of their make-up melt, but it stung my eyes. Not recommended...

I'd recommend this for you if: you have a spotty back or chest, or have skin that is only mildly oily. 

I wouldn't recommend this for you if: you have skin that is very spot-prone. 

Ingredients: aqua, potassium sunflowerate*, potassium cocoate*, glycerin*, potassium chloride, potassium citrate, cymbopogon citratus*, lavandula angustifolia*, citrus grandis seed extract. 

* denotes organic 

Morag x