Mask

Give Origins This Christmas

- Vicki 6 Comments

Give Origins Origins Christmas Gifts

This Festive Season Origins are proud to be stepping up their commitment to the environment and during this period of high waste they have decreased their use of paper and cartons in all of their Christmas packaging and have created more sustainable Christmas packaging. Its nice to see a global brand reaffirming their commitment to the environment & making it a priority.  As always their beautiful gift boxes can be reused & repurposed, so if you’re crafty I’m sure you can think of many uses for them.

Origins are a brand I really like and have used their products for many years, I thought I would do a round up of my favourite Origins Christmas Stocking Fillers & Gift Sets. These eight gifts are the ones that caught my eye.

Origins Christmas Selection

1. Go Ginger £22. – This is the perfect Winter Scented Gift Set, you get 3 ginger treats including, Ginger Souffle Whipped body cream 50m, Incredible Spreadable Smoothing Ginger body scrub 50m, Ginger Burst Savory body wash 50ml. This is a great affordable set & would be ideal for an indulgent treat for any loved one.

2. Let Us Glow £30 – This set comes in a pretty makeup bag & contains everything you’d need to keep your skin glowing and energised this Christmas. You get 4 products including, – GinZing Brightening mascara 14ml, GinZing Energy-boosting moisturizer 30ml, GinZing Refreshing eye cream 5ml, Drink Up Hydrating lip balm and Berry Splash 7ml.

3. Masks To Go £8 – This set of four travel sized Clear Improvements Charcoal Masks. What a fab stocking filler or if you’re travelling this Christmas perfect for taking with you & keeping your skin looking clear & party ready.

4. Souffle Trio £30 – This set of three pampering body souflees will keep your skin super soft during the colder Winter months. This set contains Ginger Souffle Whipped body cream 125m, Gloomaway Grapefruit body souffle 125m and Calm To Your Senses Lavender and Vanilla body souffle 125ml. This set is an online exclusive.

5. Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Set £60 – This is my favourite range from Origins, its calming and hydrating and its an absolute skin saviour. This is an excellent value set and it contains 4 products & a lovely makeup bag. Full size Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Advanced Face Serum 50ml, Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Face Cleanser 50ml, Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Soothing Treatment Lotion 50ml, Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Soothing Face Cream 30ml.

6. Christmas Bauble £12 – Every year Origins bring out their popular Festive Bauble & it sells out so quickly This is a Selfridges Exclusive & it contains 5 mini best selling products.

7. Super Star Minis £35 – A great mini indulgent set that contains 7 of Origins best selling skincare products. Including GinZing Energy-boosting moisturizer 30ml, Make A Difference Rejuvenating hand treatment 15ml and Clear Improvement Active charcoal mask to clear pores 15ml.

8. Moisture and Be Merry £40.00 – This Make a Difference Set is such great value & its a very popular range at Origins. This set comes with a makeup bag and 4 Make a Difference products including, Make A Difference Plus+ Skin Rejuvenating treatment 50ml, Make A Difference Plus+ Skin Rejuvenating serum 15ml, Make A Difference Rejuvenating cleansing milk 50ml and Make A Difference Plus+ Rejuvenating treatment lotion 50ml.

These are just eight of my picks from the Origins Christmas selection, they have many more available and they’re all great value. Quite a few are limited edition so if you want to buy them as gifts, or even as a gift for yourself make sure you’re quick.

Put on Your Mask

- Vicki 6 Comments

Face Mask

I don’t have a huge collection of Face masks and looking at this photo I seem to have a few similar ones. These are what I am using at them moment and the only one that is a repurchase is the Origins Drink Up Intensive.

Face Mask

First up is the Boots Botanics Ionic Clay Mask £6.99 – This was in my stocking at Christmas and I’ve only used it a couple of times. Not because I don’t like it but because I seem to have a few Clay Masks at the moment. I tend to use this if I need my makeup to last all day. So I use this the night before as it helps keep my skin less greasy and as it says in the tube keeps the shine away. This is a really thick mask that you allow to dry and I then wash it off with a flannel. It seems to do the job and I am a huge fan of these Clay Masks. If you have combination or oily skin then I would recommend this.

I have two Avon Mask’s in my collection, first up is the Pore Penetrating Clay Mask £6.95 this is the second Clay Mask in my collection. This isn’t as thick as the Botanics one but it really helps keep my skin breakout free. I leave it on for 10 – 15 mins and it dries quite tight on the face. I find this to be a really gentle mask and it leaves my skin feeling soft and clean. Next up is the Blackhead Clearing Deep Treatment Mask £4.95 I picked this up for my husband as I tend not to suffer too greatly from Blackheads. Once in a while I will use this just on my nose and chin to keep them at bay and help clean our my pores. It’s a fab mask and as I only use it on those two areas this tube is going to last me ages.

Origins Face Mask

The dynamic duo – I picked these up from The Cosmetics Company Outlet Store it was £17.75 for them both and I have been using them every week for about 3 months and they’re both still going strong. The Origins Clear Improvement Mask is my third Clay Mask. Are you noticing a trend?! This works wonders to keep my complexion clear and also combat excess oil. I only use this once a week and can say it really does keep my pores clear. I also cut out dairy last november so that could also have something to do with it. I leave this mask on for about 20 minutes and wash it off with a warm flannel. I highly recommend this if you suffer from breakouts.

The Origins Drink Me Up Intensive Overnight Mask is my second favourite Mask. I adore this. I look forward to using it and have to stop myself using it too often. I tend to use this if I have had a late night or feel run down. I take my makeup off and put a generous amount of this on. I massage a small amount on first leave that for 10 minutes and pop some more on. You leave it on your face all night smelling nothing less than AMAZING. I wake up to plump, hydrated skin that looks really healthy. I tell everyone how much I love it. I will forever repurchase this. It gives your skin a real intensive boost of hydration and I need that at least once a week

Face MasksUp next is my all time favourite mask. I picked this up whilst in the most beautiful skincare store in Amsterdam. The lovely gentleman in there recommended it too me. I have really sensitive skin on my cheeks and can often be really red esp in the winter and this Aesop Mask is so gentle and hydrating. I LOVE it, it’s my little bit of luxury. This is the Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque £33 I’ve wrote an in-depth post on it here. I will say that this doesn’t dry out my skin and a little bit goes a long way. I am trying to use it sparingly as it costs £33 – but it smells botanical and calming and leaves my skin feeling smooth, hydrated and like I have pampered it.

Last but not least is a lovely sample that I was sent last year its the Dead Sea Spa Magik Delicate Boosting Mask £7.70. I took this with me to my friend’s wedding a few weekends ago as I wanted something gentle and great for sensitive skin I didn’t want any nasty breakouts as I was a Bridesmaid. This was perfect. It left my skin feeling clean and soft and didn’t irritate my skin at all. It’s a really good price and would recommend it if you have really sensitive skin

Let me know if you use any of the same masks as me. Or if you have any recommendations for oily/ combination skin that is also a little sensitive.

Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque

- Vicki 5 Comments

Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque

This is my winter saviour. It’s just the most calming mask I have ever used. I have been getting a few sore spots above my eyebrows (weird place) and along my jaw line. They’re red and angry. This Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque has been the only thing that calms them down.

I don’t think it is a massive help in clearing them up – although it doesn’t hurt. But it really takes the redness out of them. It smells so grown up and luxurious (yes that is a smell). This goes on so creamy and quite thick and dries but doesn’t dry too tight. This is my posh mask and so use it only when it’s really needed, normally once a week.

In short it gives my skin a deep clean, hydrates my skin and takes down the redness of my spots. This really is a lovely mask & I enjoy using it each week. Its become a ritual over the past few weeks.

I bought this Aesop Mask from the nicest skin care shop in Amsterdam called Skins Cosmetics. It was a beautiful shop and the staff gave the best customer service. They knew their stuff.

Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque – £33.00 – 120ml

Have you tried any Aesop products. I am a fan of their Parsley Seed Anti Oxidant Serum & love using that each night. It’s so hydrating. Let me know if you’d recommend anything else.