Hello everyone, and welcome back to Anni’s Beauty Boutique. Today I am going to be looking at the very important components of your morning skincare routine. Now if your anything like me in the morning things can be a tad chaotic, even when a certain little lady gets me up at 4:30am I still seem to have a million and one things to do ten minutes before I leave the house. I’m always on the lookout or something that can improve my skin and save me time in the morning, and maybe someday get me a few extra minutes in bed.
A few weeks ago I was having a chat with my friend Megan a Body Shop consultant about some of her lovely products and I mentioned how abysmal my morning skincare routine is and how I need to up my game. I told her all about my skin needs and she said she would get back to me with some bits that could help. Then a little while later I got a lovely surprise package at work. A complete new morning skincare routine for me to try in my bag I got:
- Vitamin E cream cleanser
- Aloe Toner
- Drops of Youth – Youth cream
- And a little bath Lily for Tilly.
I don’t know about you but I always get excited to get new products and my little goody bag nearly tipped me over the edge, I made myself wait till I had all my other blog posts out the way so I could give my morning skincare full priority. For the past week, I have given these beauties my full attention in the morning and used nothing else on my face. At the moment my skin is going through a fairly happy stage so I haven’t had an outbreak in weeks and the dryness seems to be holding off so I was very intrigued to see what would happen to bring three new products into the mix. I’ve never tried these before so I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ll run through what I thought of them individually first and give you a little bit of information before I run through them as a skincare trio.
Vitamin E- Cream Cleanser: So let’s kick off with the first part of my new morning routine before I started using this I had a little look on the Body Shop website and it promises “A light creamy cleanser with Vitamin E and moisturising wheat germ oil that effectively remove impurities and make-up. Leaves skin feeling clean, softer and more supple.” Now I must admit I have been mainly using it in the morning but I did test its makeup removing abilities one evening too and I must say it did the job well, as it is such a smooth and gentle cleaner it didn’t irritate my face or eyes from rubbing my makeup off. I have also been using it a little differently than what it recommends online 
but like I said I need to save time in the mornings, it is recommended that you massage into the skin and remove with dry cotton pads, however I tried this is and it didn’t quite fit in with my routine that well so I started using it every morning in the shower and washing off with a flannel. Saved me time but still had the same result. It’s suitable for all skin types and didn’t dry my skin out in the slightest and left it feeling hydrated. This product is extremely good value for money at £8.00 for a 250ml bottle as I only had a small sample tube, and its still going a week later. This is quite a light cleanser so is more suited to morning use but that’s perfect as this is all your face really needs at this time of the day. It’s a very smooth cleanser to use and didn’t sting at all like some other cleanser in the past have done and has left my face every morning feeling clean and refreshed. The cleanser is only a very small part of the entire Vitamin E Body Shop collection so if you like the product you can build up an entire skincare routine from this lovely rejuvenating cleanser.
Aloe Calming Toner: In the past, I have always used different brands of rose water toner in the morning but I have seen what the power of Aloe Vera can do in other Aloe products I have used so I was very intrigued to see if I would notice any difference in my skin. Firstly I normally just spritz on the toner and go ( I thought that was good enough) but with the Aloe toner you just need to pop a little onto a cotton pad and wipe all over your skin, I know this is lengthening my routine buy boy is it worth it. My skin has honestly never felt so fresh and clean before, I thoroughly clean my face day and night but it still manages to get some leftover dirt from somewhere. So ladies if you don’t use a toner already I very highly recommend getting this and
giving it a try you’ll be amazed what it can get off. I’m so pleased this was a full-size bottle because I need this freshness every day. Another important reason for using a toner is that it primes your skin for moisturizer and then make-up and it definitely did this I could feel my skin tightening up and my pores shrinking, a slightly bizarre but nice feeling after using this my makeup applied flawlessly. Out of the three products I’ve tested this one I feel has caused the most improvement in my skin and is by far my favourite. With no added fragrance, colour or alcohol it is specially formulated to refresh and clarify sensitive skin. This is also part of an entire Aloe collection so you can treat your face to the whole Aloe experience I will certainly be getting something else from this range as I’m so impressed with this toner.
Drops Of Youth – Youth Cream: Finally we have the drops of youth air whipped youth enhancing cream, this comes out at £22 for a 50ml pot. Which I think for a good moisturiser really isn’t bad at all. A tub of this will go a long way as you only need a little. In the past, I have always had to slather moisturiser on to my face to try and combat the dryness I was very happy that a pearl-sized amount more than happily covered my face. So what makes this formula so good? First off it is non-comedogenic (it doesn’t block pores) so if you’re susceptible to breakouts this is a good cream to consider. It has a blend of three plant stem cells that address the first signs of ageing and after nearly a week of use my skin does feel more fresh and youthful, I’m excited to get the full sized version of this so I can see what protection it gives my skin over the winter months. I have a little look at some of the other products in the Drops of Youth range and I’m very excited to try The Bouncy Sleeping Mask next. 
Overall I’m very happy with the differences I’ve seen in my skin from the three products. I thought before I started testing that my skin was in very good condition anyway but I’ve noticed my skin much softer and generally looking flawless than when I started. My favourite product by far was the toner and that definitely now a staple in my morning skincare routine. I didn’t feel like I was going out of my way every morning so follow these simple steps. I didn’t necessarily save time but I didn’t add any on either so for me, the benefits I’ve seen in my skin will definitely make me keep this up. You never know one day I might actually be on time for work.
Thank you for reading and if you are interested in trying any of these products or getting a tailored skincare routine perfectly suited to your skin then drop me a little comment and I will put you in touch with the lovely lady whose given me glowing skin. And if you can take anything from this INVEST IN THE TONER your skin will thank you!
Anni xx
Sweet-Pea 