The months of November and December can be very expensive. As much as Christmas can be a joyful and fun filled holiday it also isn’t the cheapest! I love giving gifts to my nearest and dearest but I also like to treat myself too. But what did I manage to buy myself with £20.00?
My affordable gifts to myself!
Escentuals Body Mist White Musk & Vanilla
A body mist or five is a must in my household. Not only do I use them daily as a cheap form of fragrance but my daughter uses them as well. So I always need a decent stash of mists and sprays. I bought Escentuals Body Mist inWhite Musk and Vanilla fromBoots. They were on a special price promotion for £2.50 each instead of £3.99 which I thought was a good deal. This was a totally new range to me that I wanted to try and thought I would enjoy the fragrances.
Escentuals Body Mists
Ecotools Gua Sha Kit
I grabbed Ecotools Gua Sha Kit from Home Bargainsbecause I’ve never seen a set like this before. Facial gua sha’s are available in many different stores and shops, but mainly are just for the face. This collection included not only a facial tool but one for the hair and body, which is why I bought it. Made from real jade, great packaging and only cost £3.49.
Ectools Gua Sha Kit
Glow’s Time To Glow Eye Serum
I’ve been on the look out for an affordable eye serum for awhile now and found this in Home Bargainsfor £2.99. It’s easy to grab an eye cream but not a serum so I thought I would give this a go. Designed to brighten the under eye area, it has a pipette applicator for hygienic and ease of use.
Glow’s Eye Serum
Revolution Skincare Vibrating Rose Quartz Face Roller
If you love skincare it would be hard to be immune to buying the occasional facial tool. Although I’m not the most consistent in using them if I’m honest, they at least provide a pampering few moments when I do use them. Revolution Skincare Vibrating Rose Quartz Face Roller caught my eye on ASOS because of ease of use as it’s battery operated not manual. And of the course the price swayed me. It originally was £20.00 and went on sale for £5.36.
Revolution Skincare Vibrating Rose Quartz Face Roller
For under £20.00 I managed to buy myself products that were incredibly priced, perfect for my needs and didn’t send my credit card into meltdown! It just proves you can always treat yourself if needed, even on a budget!
What is the most important thing in a skincare routine? Treat fine lines and wrinkles? Fade dark circles? Blitz away spots? It probably depends on what your skin concerns are. BUT, I think most people will agree that the first step, and possibly the most important part in a skincare routine, is the cleansing stage. Why? Why do anything to dirty skin until it’s clean? How effective will various lotions and potions be on top of dirt and grime? It’s logic really. So a good cleanser for me is important. When a current cleanser is on it’s way out or the seasons change, I’m very open to trying out new ones. I’ve recently picked up Aldi’s Lacura Original Hot Cloth Cleanser. It’s £3.99 for 200ml.
Aldi’s Lacura Original Hot Cloth Cleanser
Why did I buy this one?
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try this product! I’m a massive fan of hot cloth cleansers, ever since using Liz Earle’s iconic and possibly ‘the original’ hot cloth cleanser many moons ago. But with my local Aldi store, the stock of this is hit, miss or maybe. I thought now would be the perfect time to grab one as my current cleanser was running low, and there seemed to be a good flow of stock of this product every time I’ve been instore recently.
What is a hot cloth cleanser?
A hot cloth cleanser is designed to be used with a muslin cloth, so providing not only the the initial cleansing stage but a light exfoliation too. Hot cloth cleansers tend to be rich in moisturising ingredients so not only are they meant to clean the skin, but also nourish the skin. Lacura’s Hot Cloth Cleanser contains Cocoa Butter, Rosemary, Chamomile, White Tea and Eucalyptus which are designed to hydrate, clean, smooth skin and make it feel refreshed.
Packging.
The product itself is housed in a plastic tube with a flip top lid on the bottom. Off white in colour, mint green with silver detailing. The design is simple, clean looking and does the job! The tube comes in a cardboard box mirroring the design and colouring of the tube. In the box comes a muslin cloth.
Look & Texture
White in colour, smooth but quite thick in texture. When I squeeze this out of the tube it holds its shape like a really thick body lotion.
Fragrance.
I quite like it. The fragrance isn’t strong but has a slightly antibacterial element to it because of the eucalyptus. It does have a softened herbal smell to it too. But the scent overall is pleasant, fresh and non offensive.
How to use.
Take a small amount and massage onto dry skin. Pop the muslin cloth in warm water and wipe cleanser off skin. Splash face with water. Allow cloth to dry naturally and wash regularly.
In use.
I used this pretty much as suggested and over a 10 day period (still using this now by the way). Sometimes morning and night, sometimes just night time. I took a decent amount of the cleanser and rubbed it into my face and neck for roughly two minutes. Easy to do and the fragrance was nice enough and not overpowering. What I did notice was this cleanser started to lose slip, and it felt as if it was sinking into my skin rather than sitting on the surface. Looking into the mirror, the once white residue on my face was disappearing and pretty much got drunk up! At this stage I wet my muslin cloth and wiped it off hoping it would still do the job of being a cleanser rather than a moisturiser.
What was left on my skin was removed quickly and easily. Skin felt ok after removal. It felt clean but a touch on the tight side, which I sometimes get when using a product for the first few times. This seemed less noticeable the more I used this.
My face after.
It looked ok. It didn’t look dirty, but it didn’t look or feel particularly fresh either. Normally when I use a cleanser, especially one with a texture to it, I enjoy the process. Not with this. It was just ok and I found it slightly underwhelming if I’m honest.
Did it clean my skin though?
Most definitely! I used a toner to swipe over my face to check and no dirt on my cotton pad, clean as a whistle!
Would I buy this again?
For myself? No. If I use a hot cloth cleanser I want to enjoy the few minutes I use it and I didn’t when using this. I also didn’t like the idea of this soaking into my skin so quickly, so felt as if I had to rush this stage. That wasn’t something I wanted to do because Summer is the time you are sweaty, have more product on your face like sun cream, so more time maybe is needed to cleanse the face and neck area. So overall not for me.
Recommended?
Although this wasn’t for me this does have some good points to it so definitely worth a go if you want this type of cleanser. The price. £3.99 for 200ml and a muslin cloth is good value. Decent hot cloth cleansers I’ve noticed are available from £3.99 up. So if you check around you can get something comparable in price or a little more dearer but still won’t break the bank. If you shop in Aldi anyway it’s an easy purchase to make while grabbing your milk and bread so convenient. Scent was fresh and texture was nice. Easy to use, cleaned well so did what it was designed to do. This is a decent hot cloth cleanser for many people, just not one that I felt was the best for me.
Not available online at the moment, but if you want to add this to your Summer skincare collection, visit your local store to purchase.
I love skincare. It’s not something everyone is interested in but I am. I’m not a make up wearer, it’s too much faffing about for me. But in the same way people drool over eyeshadows and mascaras, I gasp over cleansers and eye creams. I want my skin to look good, and spending a little time and a little money on it won’t kill me in fact it brings me joy. So my current face scrub I’ve been using in my routine, along with trying out their cleanser, is Tesco’s Kind & Pure Face Scrub. It costs £1.50 for 150ml.
Why did I buy this one? I picked up the Tesco Cleansing Face Wash and realised for a total of £3.00 I could get the scrub to match it too! I actually needed a face scrub at the time and needed something affordable so thought I would see what this was like.
Tesco Kind & Pure Refreshing Face Scrub
What is this supposed to do? This range from Tesco focuses on sensitive skin. So this is designed to be kind and gentle. It helps to soften and smooth the skin thanks to it’s exfoliating action without causing irritation.
Packaging. Ties in nicely with the rest of the Kind & Pure range. Colourings are the same which is mint green, white and silver detailing. Scrub comes in the same flip top lidded tube as the wash, with all details on the back e.g ingredients.
Texture. It would be easy to mistake this for a body lotion. It’s white, opaque and came out of the tube with a little hold to it. A decent thickness consistency wise but not solid. You can’t see visible grains or pieces in this, but only when you spread it out do you feel and see the smallest white specks.
Fragrance. After using the co ordinating face wash, I expected there to be no scent to this, but there is one! It’s not highly fragranced and quite delicate, but there it is. This has a slight plant like base to it. I won’t say floral as it’s not that, but plant with the smallest sweetness to it. Fresh, clean, neutral. It’s quite unisex, not age specific and non offensive.
How to use ( as stated on packaging ). Wet face with warm water. Use a small amount, massage into face using upwards and outwards movements. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.
In use. As per usual I probably used more than I should have which was a bit bigger than a 10p coin in size. But I did use this as suggested on the packaging. It felt very creamy on the skin, but I could also feel the grains and there was enough in the scrub for me to feel as if they were doing something. They didn’t hurt or irritate.
Skin afterwards. My face felt very refreshed after use. Clean, smooth, not stripped away of vital moisture so not dry. My skin didn’t look dramatically different, pretty much the same as if I had just washed it as usual if I’m honest. But it did feel good.
Tesco Kind & Pure Cleansing Face Wash and Refreshing Face Scrub
Recommended? Definitely! It’s a great budget friendly product that is easy to use, doesn’t dry out the skin and leaves it feeling smooth to touch. Some people might find this very basic but for the price what more can you ask for? Again, like the wash, nice starter face scrub for a young person e.g pre teen. Someone who wants to get into skincare but unsure what to go for and wants something simple. Those with sensitive skin and of course those who want to go for something inexpensive! Would I buy and use this again? I actually would! It did what it was designed to do with a nice fragrance to it. I would happily slip this in and out of my routine and great if on a serious beauty budget!
Want to cheaply scrub your face? Like the face wash this should be in stores ( possibly selected ones ) but definitely available online here.
Do you purchase designer fragrances regularly? I can’t remember the last time I bought a branded/fashion eau de toilette or eau de parfum. It’s a considered purchase for me. Despite the fact I love to smell nice, I purchase fragrances that are affordable. Lower cost means I can buy a wide range of fragrances at a fraction of the price of just one designer branded one. This gives me a variety of scents potentially at my disposal. Body mists are a great way of getting a fragrance hit without breaking the bank. I recently added to my collection Zoella’s Gelat’eau Body Mist from Home Bargains at £1.49 for 45ml.
Why did I buy this?
It was a few days before my family holiday and I thought it would be nice to take a new fragrance with me. The packaging caught my eye first, then the price. I didn’t get a chance to smell this but I guessed this would be quite a youthful and uplifting scent.
Who is Zoella?
Zoella is a social media personality. She has a beauty range on the high street which is very popular, so already has solid background in this field.
How doe this look?
Simple and sweet in look, but looks more expensive than what it costs. White bottle, copper coloured lid, peach, grey and copper/gold coloured writing. This screams to me something aimed at a younger market. Even though this is a body mist, it’s presented more like a perfume which I like.
Zoella Gelat’eau Body Mist
Fragrance
Its an effervescent, fruity and sweet fragrance. This is similar to things that are scented with one of my all time favourite smells, which is rhubarb ( but not quite! ). Not sickly or overpowering, and somehow remains quite fresh and quite clean.
Strength & Longevity
Strength wise this is light to medium. This is my go to fragrance to wear for work and this does have to work quite hard as my job is quite physical. If I spray this on in the morning I can still smell it in the afternoon. Although it’s not as strong as when it’s first applied, it’s still there. So this lasted very well.
Recommended?
Definitely! If you love your fragrances to be fruit or sweetie based, this one is for you. It’s youthful, energising and perfect to wear during the Summer months and for day time use. If you are lucky to see this for the price I paid in a discount store, its worthwhile buying a few of these as its not a regular stock item on the high street.
