natural skincare | #acleanerlife

holland & barrett aloe vera gel - atlantic aromatics rosewater - dr. organic rose otto eye serum - trilogy lipgloss - dr. organic rose otto night cream - so'bio étic floressance huile universelle - chemins du nil masque visage au lait d'anesse

I started getting into skincare about 5 years ago, which coincided with my arrival in Ireland, and the fact that I got into the 'late twenties' bracket. Any girl living in Ireland will know that the constant change of weather/temperature, coupled with the hard water is rather tough on the skin. I had been pretty careless with my skincare previously due to its oily nature, I rarely felt the need to moisturise and such. Some people might scream in horror after the last statement, but I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't try to substitute to your body's natural functions with artificial ones. I strongly disagree with so called 'skincare gurus' who make it sound like skincare is the be-all and end-all of good skin. Following a good diet should be the top priority, hydration should come from what we eat and drink. That is in an ideal world! We all have dehydrating habits, be it wild week-ends, too much cereal, not drinking enough water, etc, etc... So it's good to rely on a proper skincare when you know you've been a bit on the naughty side. Especially as, when water is distributed throughout our body, vital organs come first, skin comes last.

So during these last 5 years, there had been loads of trialling and erroring in my skincare routine. I knew I wanted to go down the natural route; but some brands' greenwashing marketing techniques often got me astray (I'm looking at you Body Shop and Boots botanics). I was about to either throw the towel or sell a kidney to afford organic luxury brands, when I stumbled upon the brand Dr. Organic in Holland & Barrett and fell in love.

Morning Skincare

To be honest, my morning routine is pretty much the same as my nightly one, but for the sake of precision, I'll detail it anyway.

Atlantic Aromatics Rosewater (7.50€) - this is the very first thing I do in the morning: a good spray of rosewater all over my face. Not only it is incredibly refreshing and helps me to wake up, but rosewater has great properties for the skin. It is moisturising, toning, antibacterial and it is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. If there is one thing I would recommend from this post is to include rosewater (organic if you can) in your skincare regime. First time, I tried it I couldn't believe how smooth my skin felt.

I use it again just after my shower to get rid of any water scale.

Dr. Organic Rose Otto Eye Serum (10.29€) - I apply this eye cream both in the morning and before going to bed as the gel texture penetrates the skin really quickly. It doesn't dirsupt the makeup application whatsoever.

Aloe Vera Gel (8.49€) (+ night cream)  - Aloe Vera Gel is one of those multitasking products that everybody'd find some benefit in having around. Its soothing properties make it a great treatment for irritations and (sun)burns. But it is also moisturising and its vitamins and antioxidants can slow down the ageing process.

It has the side effect to mattify, and the gel texture is pleasant on oily skins. During the summer I generally use it on its own, but when comes the colder months I mix it with my nightcream. It is a brilliant trick if you can't invest in a day cream, especially as you can adapt the parts according to your skin's needs (hydration vs. nourishment).

Do be careful when applying aloe vera gel near your eyes, the 'fumes' can be irritating.

Trilogy Lipgloss - I got this lipgloss free with the purchase of Trilogy Rosehip Oil. It acts brilliantly as a balm as the rosehip oil it contains is nourishing, repairing and hydrating. And it's not sticky!

Evening Skincare

So'bio étic huile universelle - this is the oil I use for cleansing. It is a mix of sunflower seed oil, sesame seed oil, argan oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil and apricot kernel oil. I originally bought it for my hair, but it turned out to be too rich to use it on my ends. It is probably too rich for my oily skin too, but I don't see it as a problem. It's great to take off all make-up (waterproof mascara included) and it nourishes the skin at the same time. I then remove the oil with a flannel soaked in hot water. It cleans the pores and gives a light manual exfoliation.

Once this bottle is done, I think I'll be making an oil concoction better suited for my skin type (or maybe a balm, if it's not too taxing) so keep your eyes peeled for that DIY coming soon.

Atlantics Aromatics Rosewater - A spray of rosewater all over my face to get rid of any water, oil and makeup traces. It also acts as a toner.

Dr. Organic Rose Otto Eye Serum -  See above

Dr. Organic Rose Otto Night Cream (9.79€) - Can I say how much I love the Dr. Organic brand? I think it's amazing that there's such an affordable, organic offering available. There is so much choice as well, creams, lotions, deodorants, shampoos, bodywashes, everything you could think of really. And so many ranges! Lavendar, Honey, Vitamin C, Olive Oil, etc... I've tried several products and I've never been disappointed. The only negative point for me is the packaging of the face creams. Because the jar is made of clear glass I found that the active ingredients lose their properties quicker than they should. But considering their low price, I don't think it's too bad.

I picked up the nightcream from the Rose Otto range (is it obvious yet that I have an obsession with rose?). The cream claims to be anti-ageing, moisturising and rejuvenating, which are known benefits of roses.
By consequence, rose-based products are a good fit for older skin types. Another reason I picked it up is that it contains rosehip oil. I had recently finished my bottle of Trilogy Rosehip Oil and I'd been so impressed with its effect on my skin, I knew that I wanted to keep some form of the oil in my routine. 

Trilogy Lipgloss - See above

Once a week

Chemins du Nil masque au lait d'anesse (5.90€) - it is not the perfect mask (it contains some fragrance), but I like the fact that it performs the double duty of moisturising (thanks the asses' milk) and cleansing/shrinking my pores (thanks to the kaolin clay).
I don't know which mask I should go for next, so if you have any good recommendation for a natural mask, I'm all ears! Or maybe I could whip up some DIY mask for this series, if you're interested?


Well for a simple skincare regime, that was a long post! I try to keep everything easy and if there's something I don't understand on the label, I tend to skip the product altogether. I quite like the 'if you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin' motto.
What about you? Do you mind the presence of parabens in your cosmetics? Do you find natural products disappointing? I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject as well as any recommendations!