2012 Favourites - Part 5: Skincare and Haircare

Okay, I know this is possibly the least exciting post of the 2012 Favourites series, but I wanted to do it anyway because now that I'm getting older, I'm finding it increasingly important to have a good skincare routine. Mine isn't really complicated, especially because I'm always so late going to bed, I never have the energy to do a lenghty routine. I do have a good cleanser and make up remover, and also a good serum, night cream and eye cream, with the occasional scrub and mask thrown in, so that's fine. In the mornings I just use a face cream having washed my face in the shower with clean water. I don't have time for more, it's as simple as that.

I did a video about my skincare routine back in April and although some products I'm not using anymore (have run out or have decided to change), it gives you a good idea about which products I enjoyed using in 2012. Check it out here. 

I'll start with cleansing. I usually use Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover (old style, this has now been rreformulated) followed by Simple Kind To Skin Facial Cleansing Wipes. The two together work very well for removing make up and dirt from my skin. I haven't found a cleanser I am that chuffed about, I just can't really get excited about a cleanser, but every one I've used so far does a good enough job. I'm currently using a L'Occitane cleanser with the longest, most complicated name that I refuse to copy. I also really like Lancome Bi-Facil and will probably use it instead of the Boots one because I've heard that the new, reformulated version isn't very good.

See which other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

My Skincare Routine Video

I decided to do a short video about my skincare routine and products I use. Check it out below!

Last Month I...

Following on last month's post idea here are the things I did / liked / loved / hated / finished / threw away / etc. in the month of March beauty wise. So here you go:

Last month I...

• finished 6 beauty products including a fragrance (The Body Shop Cherry Blossom perfume) which is especially great because I have put myself on a fragrance no-buy until I finish at least 5 fragrances since I have about 50 bottles on my cupboard and I need to get through them eventually. I didn't actually like the Body Shop Cherry Blossom perfume anymore, which is a shame especially as this was my second bottle because I initially loved it and I bought a back-up, but never mind, finally it is gone!
• having finished one I didn't like so much I gave some love to my all time favourite perfume, Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, in particular one of the limited edition springtime variations: Jardins Romantiques. I have loved Paris for so long now and I used to buy the limited edition springtime fragrances in the past, but they seemed to have stopped releasing them which is a shame. The bottle's massive though (125 ml), so it should last me through a couple of springs though. And just how pretty is it?

To find out what else I did last month, carry on reading after the jump!

2011's Favourite Products: Part 4 - Skincare

This is the last part of my favourites post for this year, and this one contains skincare. As I'm getting older and wearing more make up than a few years ago, I'm trying to take care of my skin better. I used to go to bed without taking off my mascara and used not to own any make up remover just a few years ago (I know, shock horror!), and I also didn't use any face creams at all. Of course that was a while ago and now my bathroom cabinet is full of skincare products. So let's see which ones I really liked this year. By the way I have reviewed most of these products before, so I will link them to the more detailed reviews.

First off, make up remover. My go to make up remover used to be Estee Lauder's Gentle Eye Make Up Remover, but I have discovered an even better one which is Clinique Take The Day Off Make Up Remover and I can happily say this is my new favourite. The Estee Lauder one doesn't remove waterproof mascara and neither does this, but it removes regular make up much more quickly. I use Lancome Bi-Facil for waterproof mascara that I only wear very occasionally, so for my everyday needs this is perfect.

Keep reading to find out which other skincare products I loved this year!

Finished! The September edition

Not too many things this month I'm afraid as I finished an awful lot of products last month and there are quite a few products that I've been using every day and they refuse to die. Hopefully there'll be a lot more next month.

First up is actually a product that I was planning on including in last month's Finished! post, but it simply refused to run out. I used it pretty much every day and it still lasted another month. Actually it still had some life left in it, but since I'd actually had it for about 2 years already, I decided it had to go. It's Givenchy Phenomen'eyes mascara, one of my HG mascaras, I love it, it really works for me. I have reviewed it already, so read this post if you want to know more about it.

See which other products I've finished this month!

Finished! The June edition

I'm afraid I only have 3 products to show you this month, although there are another 5 or so products that literally only have 4-5 uses left in them, so expect a bigger turnout next month.

First up is Lancome Genifique, an absolutely fantastic skincare product. I have reviewed this here already, so won't repeat myself, but I still love it and have now purchased a 30 ml size version (this was a gift with purchase). I find that I use approx. 1 ml a week (I only use this at night), so although it's pricey, 30 ml should last a long time.

See what other products I have finished this month!

Finished! The April edition

Despite thinking I might not have many empties this month, I still managed to finish 7 products, so that's pretty good. My first one is Avon Clarifying Toner Pads which are basically pads soaked through with toner that's supposed to help keep your skin blemish free. They were okay, but I always forgot to use them, it took me probably more than a year to use up 45 pads, and I don't think I'll bother with buying them again. I don't normally use toner and these pads didn't seem to make much difference to my skin.

See what other products I used up in April after the jump!