The How To | Understanding Your Spots

I've always been one that gets spots and breakouts and I've never really known what to do about them. I knew a couple of things such as around the mouth is hormonal but otherwise I'm a bit oblivious. Surely if you know what is causing them you can do something about it? That's my theory anyway. So I spent an evening doing some research and decided to pop this post together so that I have something to reference back to, but also so you guys can get a little more in the know as well - I've done the leg work for you! I also thought it is the perfect post to along side the recent trend that is no makeup selfies for Breast Cancer... if you haven't already done this please do so! It's for an amazing cause... You can see my no make up selfie here... Or just look above - this is my very brave and scary no make up face with a DSLR... Why lisa why!? I promise I haven't edited (apart from popping the numbers on my face) or put a filter on this picture. I'm sorry... Anywho, enjoy the post!!

1) FOREHEAD

It's quite rare that I personally get any breakouts over my forehead, but it does happen and I know a lot of people that it happens to fairly regularly. It's quite a problem area! From my research I've found that when you get breakouts on your forehead it is usually triggered by stress of sleep deprivation.

2) ABOVE BROWS
I tend to get some little spots above and in the brow itself, incredibly annoying and irritating to my skin and I actually hate them. These breakouts represent your immune system. They tend to pop up before, after or during a cold or flu.

3) BETWEEN BROWS/NOSE
I'm surprised I don't get too many around this area when I read what it's down to - really I should be exploding from this area (nice image for you guys!). Basically, this is down to overindulgances, so if you've been on a night out or just eaten a load of suggary snacks recently, that's why they've popped up.

4) CHEEKS
I don't get a lot of breakouts here at all, probably ever really. The only time I seem to ever get them here is if I'm using a foundation that doesn't agree with my oily skin. However, apparently if you get them here it's down to your lung quality - basically either you smoke or you're breathing polluted air, eek!

5) CHIN
Now this is where I get the majority of my breakouts, not fun in the slightest. Basically your chin is affected by your hormones, in particular the sides of your chins. What I find really interesting is you can see which ovary you're releasing your egg from by which side of your chin is flaring up - yup, definitely the most interesting thing I've found out in a while.

I honestly believe that if you know what is causing your breakouts you can combat it. I think that's what I find really annoying about mine is that it's all hormonal and I can't really do much about the fact that I'm a woman... But I can keep my skin as clean as possible!

This week I'm going to be doing all about skincare - face and body. Tomorrow I'll be looking at my blemish busting products.

Where do you get your spots from?

The How To | Reducing Blemishes

ITEMS USED: ORIGINS SUPER SPOT REMOVER & LUSH TEA TREE WATER

Combating breakouts is one thing, but those really annoying and painful blemishes are a whole other story. I've always struggled with aways to get rid of them, or even just to reduce the appearance, swelling and pain. You may know I've been overhauling my skin care somewhat these past few weeks and through this I've found a nifty little way of helping to sort this out. 

It's so easy and just involves two little products and two steps. So you can't really go wrong!

ONE

Grab a cotton bud. Soak one end of it with your Lush Tea Tree Toner Water. Rub over in inflamed area. This product contains antibacterial properties so it cleans the area like nothing else and keeps it clean and free of dirt. I've found this helps reduce soreness and redness.

TWO

Take a squidge of Origins Super Spot Remover and put on the inflamed area with a clean finger. Rub in. I've found this dries the area out reducing the swelling. It gives a little gel overlay on the top of the blemish so also protects it from any nasties trying to find their way back in.

I've found this way is amazing at reducing the appearance of your blemish. You do still need to moisturise otherwise the Origins gel will dry the area so just follow your usual skin care routine. After a couple of days said blemish is history! I'd love to know if you try this and if it works, or if it's just me going mad!

What's your blemish busting routine?

Skin Care | Spot Busting Treatments

I am one of those people that is highly sceptical of anything that promises to get rid of your spots. From experience very little actually delivers on that promise and I've spend so much money trying different things with little success. However, there are two products I've discovered that I always go to when my skin decides to play up. What rebellious skin I have!

Both of these are treatments, so an addition to your cleanse, tone and moisturise routine. I use either one of these, depending on my mood, after toning and before moisturising. La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is the first of the two that I tried. Very gel like in consistency I've found this is really good at calming redness and spots down, reducing them. It's quite drying so tends to dehydrate the spots so I guess that's why they shrink. The second of the two is the Origins Make a Difference Plus + which is amazing when you're having just really bad skin weeks. It just clears the skin up and keeps them at bay. Whereas the Effaclar Duo is good at diffusing them once they are here, the Make A Difference Plus + is good at keeping them away. I use this most days and then the Effaclar Duo for days when the Origins is losing it's battle against my naughty skin.

Either of these two is definitely worth getting. Effaclar Duo I would recommend if you're one a bit of a budget, however if you want to dish out a bit more then grab the Make a Difference Plus+ as it's definitely worth it.

What spot busters work for you?

Skin Care | Origins Make A Difference Plus

ORIGINS MAKE A DIFFERENCE PLUS+ REJUVENATING TREATMENT

So, I've been debating for months as to whether or not I should buy this little pot of good skin promise. It's not the cheapest thing to buy if it doesn't work out, but there's been so many good reviews. Eek! Well my skin decided it was going to be a frigging nightmare a couple of weeks ago and just wouldn't let up - no matter what I did it just wouldn't clear itself so I convinced myself it was time to take action.

I'm always really impressed when i order something from Origins. It arrives so quickly and always comes with little samples which is a really nice touch. Anywho, it arrived and I've been using it for around two weeks now so decided it was time to pop it up on the blog. Honestly - how the hell did I live without this for so long? There is no product that has ever made as much of a difference as this.

Basically I pop it on in the morning after a quick cleanse, no moisturiser, and then make up. Then again in the evening before bed after I've removed all my make up. It has a very strong scent to it so if you're not a fan of scents you may want to be wary. It's a very orangey scent I think - I'm still deciding if I like it but Adam loves it so hey. Within two days my skin was visibly clearer. Any spots that were threatening to come up disappeared overnight and my skin just looked healthier. I've not had to moisturise as much either since using this.

There was one day I forgot to take it with me to Adams so didn't use it and you could see a difference instantly, my face didn't seem as clear or clean and instantly a couple of spots appeared. 

I am over the moon with this product. I don't know what I'm going to do when it runs out - buy another? I'm just going to have to swallow the cost as there is no way I could survive without this now. If you are having troubled skin I would definitely recommend this as it's a winner.

What treatment works for your skin?

Lazy Girl Guide to Skincare

I'm ridiculously lazy when it comes to skin care. My philosophy tends to be the less time the products take me, the happier they make me. So, this is my skincare regime at the moment - or as I'm putting it, my lazy girl's guide.

Morning
So, my alarm goes off, I hit snooze, it goes off again, snooze - this goes on for a while until I drag myself out of bed and grimace at my face in the mirror. O joy! The first thing I do is use my Natio Gentle Cleansing Wipes* to give my fave a quick refresh and cleanse. It's full of natural products such as green tea and chamomile and it just helps to get rid of whatever make up residue may be left from the day before.
Next comes my La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo - I know, it's not on the picture (I left it at the boys like an idiot) but this has become a real staple is spot busting for me. I pop it on everyday in the morning and it works at cleaning my pores as well as minimising the blemishes I do have. Not only that but it works as a fab make up base. Then I moisturise with my Fade Out White Original Moisturising Cream* to replace all moisture that my Effaclar Duo has taken out and to brighten up my face, ready for the war paint.

Evening
Here comes the laborious task of taking my make up off. I hate doing it and it always makes me a bit sad. The best make up remover I have found has to be Bioderma Crealine H20, it's a micellar(?) cleaner, so water based, great for your skin and a genius at removing make up. I use this with a huge baby cotton pad so not to waste pads - one will do my entire face. If I need an extra dose for eye make up I use the usual round pads.
Then comes the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, just to double cleanse and remove all horrible grit and dirt. I don't double cleanse every night, mainly every other otherwise I feel it's a bit harsh on my skin so I try to keep it to a minimum. Again, an all natural cleanser and probably the most hyped in blogger world. Then lastly I pop some more of my Fade Out White Original Moisturising Cream to pop some much needed moisture back into my face. Poor face!

So that is my routine, it's not a huge one and it's definitely not a religious one - hence the lazy girls guide! This tends to be working really well for my skin at the moment. The Natio Cleansing Wipes* are a new addition that have restored my faith in face wipes. They are really gentle and really fab at cleaning your skin and keeping it nice and refreshed. I would definitely recommend them.

I do use other bits and bobs every now and then, for example every two weeks I use Origins Out of Trouble Mask and the weeks I don't use that I use an exfoliator, such as The Body Shops Vitamin C Microdermabrasion. Just for those times my skin needs an extra bit of help.

What's your tips for speedy yet fab skin routine?

Effaclar Duo

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo £13

This is quite possibly my most favourite new discovery. My skin has been a bit ridiculous of late and I needed something that was gonna stop any more break outs. I had read about this product on Kat's blog a few months ago and I wanted to try it then, but I thought I should do my research first.

After finally caving and using this, I'm very impressed. I used it every morning before I put my make up on, and every evening after I remove my make up. I had been warned that it was quite a harsh product, but I haven't found it so. I do need to moisturise after use, but otherwise I love it.

Since I've been using it, I've had no more major breakouts, apart from hormonal buggers. Not only is it amazing at clearing up my skin and controlling my oil, but its fab at being a make up base. Nothing has ever held my foundation on longer and kept the oil at bay.

As you can tell, I'm a bit in awe of this product. I will definitely be repurchasing, it is a definitely can't live without item. I will say, as I always do with skin care, all skin care products are subjective. What may work for me, may not work for you. So do your research first!

Have you tried La Roche-Posay products before? Which would you recommend?

Spa Find Dermal Extract

Spa Find Dermal Extract*

The lovely people over at Spa Find and Dead Sea Spa Magik sent me over a load of goodies to help me with my acne, this is one of them.

It's an intensive anti acne treatment which helps reduce inflammation and sebum production, leaving skin free of imperfections and leaving it clear and soft. It's to be used for one week every month and you get three 6ml vials in a box which costs £29.50. You can also use it for three weeks in a row for an intensive treatment, just make sure you use an entire vial in one week.

So, every morning and night I have been massaging this liquid into problem areas for a week now and I have noticed quite a big difference in my skin. This is actually a little miracle product, and if I'm honest it outperforms Origins Super Spot Remover for me (see review here). The smell isn't the most pleasant smell I have ever put on my face, but the thing works so who am I to argue with scent!

With regards to price, yet it seems like a lot. However, if you think you get three months worth for £29.50, that's around a tenner a month to use on acne products which I don't think is actually that bad. Can you tell I'm justifying this to myself as well as you?! I will be continuing to use this product every month until I run out, and then I will almost certainly be myself myself a new box.

I'm very grateful that I have been introduced to this new line of natural products, it really works and I'm loving trying them all out so keep an eye out for more reviews on products from these brands!

Have you tried Spa Find yet? What do you use for your acne issues?