Skincare Favourite and Flop Ft Soap & Glory and Avon

I’m terrible for constantly trying new things when it comes to my skincare even though I know I would probably be better off if I just stuck to what I know works. I’m a fickle creature. I recently ran out of both my day and night moisturisers so it was time to try two new ones again. One I adore, one not so much...

The Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor with SPF25 is my current day time moisturiser and I LOVE IT. The SPF 25 (UVA and UVB) is fab for this time of year and is contains added goodies like ‘Sun trigger antioxidant vitamin balls’ whatever the hell they are. It comes in a handy dandy plastic squeeze tube and you get 50ml for £12 (usually on some sort of offer though so keep your eyes peeled for bargains!).

What I love about this is that it feels like a moisturiser rather than a traditional sun cream. The texture is rich enough to be moisturising and my thirsty dry patches drink it up but it isn’t so thick that it overloads the oily bits. A win for combination skin. The fragrance is light and fruity. It sinks in within a couple of minutes so it’s perfect for slapping on in the morning before makeup.  Despite being fragranced it hasn’t bothered my skin at all and it leaves my skin feeling hydrated but not greasy all day. You can find it at Boots here. 

Sadly not every new product I try works quite as well for me. I picked up the Avon Solutions Hydra Beyond Extra Hydrating Cream over the winter when my skin was particularly parched. I purchased it online here and at the bargain price of £3.50 reduced from £7.50 for 50ml I hoped I was onto a winner.

The blurb states ‘With Sea Oak complex is a nutrient-packed algae which has the ability to retain ten times its weight in water’ and I will say that as a moisturiser for dry skin yes I do think this works. Certainly after using it at night my skin feels much more hydrated and dare I say it plump. I’m not the biggest fan of the packaging. The jar is very thick, heavy glass which looks lovely on a dressing table but is completely unsuited to travelling. Despite being another fragranced product it again does not sting or irritate my skin on application.

Where this falls down for me is... the fragrance. I know, I know. I just said it doesn’t bother my skin at all. In fact my skin loves it! But my eyes?! I have never had this problem with any product before and I’m completely thrown by it. Immediately after application the product is so heavily perfumed that it makes my eyes start to burn. They turn bloodshot and water horrendously! It is so sore that I’ve taken to applying it with my eyes closed and keeping them closed until the fragrance has evaporated during which time I sit frantically fanning my face like a crazy lady. I wondered if it was just me so I conned my husband into applying some and he had exactly the same problem.

I’m giving serious consideration to just throwing this out despite my aversion to wasting anything. Or perhaps I could use it as a body cream on my legs? It’s a real shame as my skin really does like this but I just cannot handle the fragrance. Oh well, next!