Review: The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream

Hello boys and girls. Today's post is about a moisturiser that hasn't left my daily routine ever since the day that I bought it (ages and ages ago - it's lasting forever!), and it is an affordable God send product for anyone like me with skin that is slightly on the oily side; either all over or in patches. One of The Body Shop's best sellers, this mattifying day cream is from their seaweed line which has combination skin in mind as it is supposed to find a happy balance for dry and oily areas of skin.

This 50ml pot costs £10.00 full price, but it is also available in a smaller trial size 15ml pot for just £4.00, and The Body Shop constantly has offers running too; whether it's 3 for 2 across all skin care or 20% / 30% off the whole store, it's unlikely you'd ever be splashing out the full £10 for a tub of this, but even if you did, it's more than worth it!

Having skin that tends to increase in oiliness as the day goes on has always been a bit of a pesky situation with my face and I have never been able to find the right kind of moisturiser than would suit me and in particular my oil slick of a forehead (yeah, nice). For a long, long time I always used to skip the step of moisturising and just more or less never bothered about it but have since learnt the importance of proper skin care and now know that even oily skin needs to be well moisturised! If you have this problem, then let me introduce you to your solution..

A cream than can cleverly moisturise all of your dry patches, whilst also balancing and mattifying the oily patches to give a shine free finish on your face, all while being perfectly nourished and hydrated. Fancy little trick that. 

I'm not sure how clear it is from the image above but this moisturiser is a gel formula and is a little bit sticky in texture but is extremely lightweight upon the skin, feeling refreshing and soothing upon application, and sinks in nicely to reveal an appropriately matte finish upon the skin to be able to use as the perfect base for the day's make up. 

I've got funny skin; some days it's really oily, some days it's like the Sahara desert and sometimes it's a mixture of the two like a patchwork quilt which definitely makes for hard work finding a suitable skin care routine! This is the perfect moisturiser and base to use on the days when my skin is oily and is 'combination', but on those days when my skin seems more dry I opt for a more intensely nourishing moisturiser, also from The Body Shop, from the Vitamin E range.

If you have oily skin and struggle to find something to control your shine throughout the day,

or need a balancing moisturiser than won't allow your make-up to slip and slide,

then this is one product that's worth trying out!

If you're considering it, next time you pass The Body Shop be sure to pop in and grab yourself a small £4.00 tub to test out and see how you get along with it.

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Monthly Favourites | October

~ October Favourites ~

 

 

Just a small favourites post this month - only 4 products.

Here's what I loved and why:

 

Soap & Glory - Scrub Your Nose In It

 

Until recently I was never really 'into' Soap and Glory products; I saw them everywhere and everyone was talking about them but they were just a brand that I dismissed quite easily and didn't really understand them as the price tag is hardly cheap but I think that the packaging makes them look that way. One day I decided to give into the hype surrounding their hand cream 'Hand Food' and because of a 3 for 2 offer I picked up 'Scrub Your Nose In It' too, mainly because it was something Fleur (De Force) had mentioned once in passing and I thought that if someone with amazing skin like she does, uses and loves it then it's good enough for me! It costs £7.50 for 125ml but there are often offers on this brand or Boots in general meaning you could get it cheaper but I think that's reasonable as I've only been using a tiny pea sized amount each time and a little goes a really long way so I can't see me running out any time soon. You apply to damp skin and rub around your face, focussing on the congested areas around the nose and chin - the exfoliating grains in this scrub are so super tiny and gentle you can barely feel them and this is one of the most refreshing scrubs I have ever used. It feels a little bit tingly but I like that feeling, it makes me feel clean! It's also a multi-use product and can be left sitting on the skin for a couple of minutes as a clay mask before washing away. I don't think I've been using this long enough to notice a drastic reduction in blackheads or blocked pores but it definitely feels good to use! This won't break the bank so if you're looking for a new scrub or wanting to try out a Soap and Glory product I would highly recommend starting with this.

 

 Ginvera - Green Tea Marvel Whitening Gel

 

I have done a full and detailed review on this product which you can see HERE if you're interested in reading a little bit more. This exfoliating gel is of Asian origin and boasts 10 benefits to the skin; not only does it claim to reduce blackheads and improve the surface of skin but it also promises to regulate and reduce sebum production to prevent blemishes - wonder product! This slimey green gel is rubbed around dry skin with dry fingers and literally peels away the dead skin cells in a painless and almost enjoyable way ..although it is a little bit gross physically seeing the dead skin come away from your face. I've been loving this product as it brings a new lease of life to the skin, taking away the dead layers and leaving behind new, fresh and glowing skin and also helps with in reduction in the appearance of scars, marks, pigmentation and other blemishes.

The Body Shop - Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream


I didn't really want to buy this, I was talked into it by a very pushy sales assistant but I am now extremely grateful for her pushy ways as this is now my favourite, go to, every day moisturiser. This costs £10.00 a tub which I think is maybe a tad expensive but The Body Shop run offers and discounts all the time so it's very rare that you would ever need to pay the full price for this. It's an extremely light weight moisturiser, almost a gel like consistency and sinks into the skin literally instantly which makes it easy to apply foundation on top almost straight away, and as it is targetted for oily skin is doesn't leave a dewy shine on the skin like other moisturisers do - it leaves a matte finish but nourishes the skin, moisturises dry areas and leaves your face feeling soft and smooth. Why have I never found a mattifying moisturiser earlier?! I normally shy away from moisurisers because I'm scared of how they will combine with my oily skin but this one is the perfect solution.

Carex Hand Sanitising Gel



Bit of an unexpected favourite really but I thought I'd throw something different into the mix. I'm not an avid user of these hand sanitising gels as I'm not particularly a germ freak, but I have been using this more over the past two weeks as I've been ill (sniffly runny nose with a cough and a cold, nothing serious!) and thought that everytime I cough or sneeze (nice) I don't want to continue spreading my germs around for other people to catch, so I've just been squirting a bit of this onto my hands every now and again in attempt to keep myself a bit more sterile. I've recently been using it before touching my face when applying make-up too as no one wants grubby fingers on their face. This particular gel is a lot better than any others I have tried in the past as normally I cannot stand them. This one smells lovely and fruity (no hint of alcohol like some do), absorbs really quick into the skin (many promise this but fail to live up to the claim), it doesn't sit on the skin and feel greasy or feel like there's a layer of 'something' on them that needs washing off, it's got a handy pump dispenser to not waste product, and best of all it's cheap and cheerful - £1. I can't comment on how well it kills 99% of germs but let's just assume that it does and here we have a winning product!

Getting Sucked In By '3 for 2' Offers!

Aaah I am such a bad shopper! I am one of those super gullible people who walks into a shop and only wants and needs just one item, but spots a big shiny '3 for 2' sign and suddenly has to make a 30 minute decision on which three products I neeeed to have. Hannah, just pick up the one you wanted a walk away! They're not doing you any favours, they're not saving you money, they're making you spend more than you originally intended to. 

The two shops that yesterday I fell victim to this '3 for 2' trap in were Boots and The Body Shop. I went into Boots looking for Soap & Glory's 'Scrub Your Nose In It' because I'd heard good things about it and was in need of a new exfoliater for my face. The packaging of Soap & Glory is to die for and this scrub claims to 'help refine large pores and prevent blemishes, leaving skin looking brighter and more radiant'. Sounds fab and I can't wait to use it. So I could have just walked to the till with this in my hand, spent £7.50 and then walked out of the shop. But noooo, I had to spot a miniature 'Hand Food' infront of me, and the part of me that melts whenever I see anything mini thought 'you need that mini Hand Food in your life'. However, the '3 for 2' sign pointed out that miniatures and sachets were not included in this deal. So what did I do? ..Picked up the full size bottle of Hand Food! Logic? No. Then I needed a 3rd item to complete the deal but there was quite limited stock in this branch of Boots and I'm pretty stocked up for body lotions and washes at the moment so it was a difficult decision choosing this 3rd product. In the end I chose a second bottle of Hand Food, which doesn't make sense because I only wanted the Hand Food in the first place because the miniature tube was cute!

So, I walked away with 2 'Hand Foods' and 1 'Scrub Your Nose In It' for £12.50, instead of just one 'Scrub Your Nose In It' for £7.50. Not the end of the world of course, but a little bit unnecessary.

Unfortunately, I was a sucker for the very same trap just 5 minutes later when I walked a few doors down to The Body Shop. I wasn't going to fall for it again but the I was the only customer in so got the sales assistant's full attention and she was extremely persuasive. I'm forever falling for the 'Oh I use this and it's really great' line that they always seem to use. The one thing that I was after was the 'Tea Tree Pore Minimiser' (£7.50 for 30ml) as my teeny sample of Benefit's The Pore-fessional is coming to an end and the price tag is a bit too high for me to be purchasing the full size and I have heard that this Tea Tree Pore Minimiser is quite a similar product, and it's also targeted for blemished skin which is a bonus for me and my pesky spots. This was it, this was all that I wanted, I was SO close to walking away and paying, but then the lovely sales assistant starting asking me about my skin type and suggesting all these products that would suit me and my oily skin - damn her for making them sound so amazing! She tipped me over edge into buying the Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream (£9.00 for 50ml) which has actually caught my eye a few times in the past, but she told me all about how it's great at keeping her oil at bay underneath foundation so I went for it. And then here I am again, standing with 2 products in my hands knowing that I can have a 3rd one for free and the decision is always so hard! I was swaying between the Vitamin C Skin Reviver (£13.00 for 30ml) or the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion (£8.00 for 30ml) and as my skin is especially blemished at the moment I opted for the Tea Tree product.

Ah, how did this happen to me! This would have totalled £24.50 but I saved £7.50 because of the '3 for 2' offer (isn't it funny that the one thing I wanted was actually the one I got free), and I also have a 'Love Your Body' Card which saved me 10% too, so in total I saved £9.20 (not bad) and the total came to £15.30. (She also threw a 1ml sample of Tea Tree Oil and a voucher for £10 off my next purchase when I spend more than £25). So, I ended up paying double what I intended to but I got quite a good bargain and some lovely new products that I can't wait to try, fingers crossed that they work and make a difference to my skin!

Tell me I'm not the only one who gets needlessly sucked in like this?!

♥