The story of Slick Rick and her oil blotting sheets

Remember last week when for a fleeting few days we had sun and warmth? I do.  Mainly because I got to bust out my oil blotting sheets.  These are a godsend if you grease up worse than Victoria Beckham back in the day.

I found them totally by chance in the clearance section in Boots when I blinded myself..

They are brilliant.

They have no "coloured" powder in them and are impregnated with Tea Tree Oil (their words, not mine!) and they really take the oil away.  They remove the oil without telling the world that I've been blotting  They leave my makeup in check and are cheap to boot!  I have tried a fair few blotting sheets in the past and they either didn't pick up all the oil or left behind traces of powder.  The traces of powder is fine if you're not Indian/black but it's a right pain if you are because it looks live you've dipped your face in talcum powder.

I like the fact that they contain Tea Tree as they not only take the grease away but they also lend an antiseptic hand in helping you get rid of spots.

I tend to use them after going to the gym..of course I shower but I don't have enough time to be messing with all my face creams so I just wash my face and use these to pick up the excess oil on the way back to the office (before I get a chance to leg it to the loos to moisturise my face).  I have also reviewed the moisturiser from this range and I loved that too.

They cost me £1.50 but full price they will set you back £3.56 (but they're currently on 2 for £4). 

The New Skincare Routine

Did anyone see The Inbetweeners this week when they went to "Waterside?"

Well that place is actuallly called The Chimes and it was built when I started sixth form and I had my first "proper" retail job in there; good old H&M..which has just recently been refurbished and looks TERRIBLE.  It was nice and bright in there before but now they've brought the ceiling right down and it's really cramped.

All three products here were also bought from that very shopping centre.

The Boots (which was featured behind Will and Simon discussing their cinema plans) is the place where me and the Skin Tonic first started our fleeting romance *sob sob*.

I'm more than convinced that it has been discontinued now because when I went to check the two shelf places where it usually is, there were other products there.

My mixture toner stopped working for me so I decided to buy a new one as I use a toner to get rid of the City grime that builds up on my face during the day.

I've worked it into my skincare routine and I'm quite pleased with how well these three products work together.

I find that the toner removes the grime but leaves my skin feeling moisturised.  I prefer it to this toner as it makes my skin feel plumped up and tingly clean.  I apply the toner both in the morning and the evening.  In the mornings I follow it with the Garnier eye roll on and then the Mattifying Lotion.  I find it easier to use the eye roll on first as otherwise you get a milky deposit around your eyes and you have to remove it with a tissue.

The roll on has finished and I'm testing out a cream at the moment but the roll on is idiot proof (hence the love) and you can moisturise on up without tugging at the skin.

In other news, it's recently turned a lot colder so I've taken to camouflaging myself whilst in bed so that I can score an extra few minutes, do you think it's working?

What's your current skincare regime? Any tips for us combo ladies? Do you try and camouflage in bed during the winter in the vain hope that you will get an extra five minutes?

Review: Boots Skin Clear Oil Free Mattifying Lotion

You know when you buy a product and think "I hope this one is the answer to my prayers"?

That's what I was hoping for when I bought this.

I've used a lot of High Street moisturisers which say they are oil free and will keep you looking matte but most of them fall at the time hurdle.

I used Nivea's Oil Free moisturiser and the Boots Complete Care moisturiser (which was silently discontinued).  They both worked well at first but then gradually let me down..

I've never seen the Skin Clear range in my Boots before..I'm not sure if this Boots is a bit late off the starting block because I've heard that people have been using certain Boots ranges for ages and I've never seen them before until about three weeks ago. 

What do Boots Skin Clear say?
"Boots Skin Clear Oil Free Mattifying Lotion is formulated by Boots Skincare Experts to absorb excess oil. Instant perfect matte finish to your face. Non-greasy formula." 

What do I say?
The problem I have with most of these mattifying creams is that they make my skin matte but only for a few hours..and then the grease comes out in force...my face becoming oilier than it would be had I put nothing on.  Then within a few days time, I've got matte skin for the morning, oily skin in the afternoons and dry skin for the evenings.  Another thing I noticed was that I had to exfoliate a lot more as my skin was a lot more flaky.  Thus, I wanted something that would keep me matte but not make me have to exfoliate more than I currently do.

I've been using this lotion for a while now and it mattifies my skin for ages.  I normally put it on at about half six in the morning and my skin is still matte by 9/10 p.m.  There is a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle oil coming through but it's really negligible and when I look at my face in the mirror, it's not shining like a beacon.  I've been wearing it this past week when it's been super warm outside and the Tube has been even warmer and it's kept my face in check.  I usually get off the Tube, do a sneaky dash to the toilets in Canary Wharf station and put some Rimmel Stay Matte powder on.  I don't need to do this anymore!

I had a really hard exam the other day (that I wouldn't shut up about on Twitter) and I had to run all the way from the train station to the building and I was sure I'd be super greasy but my skin was matte to the touch.

It does everything it says it does and it smells quite nice too..the formula is non greasy because usually my fingers feel a bit tacky after putting moisturiser on but they're totally untacky when I've used this. 

Repurchase?
Too right! The whole range is currently on offer in Boots (2 for £5) and I'm going to pick up more moisturiser.   I can't stress how good this moisturiser is, it does exactly what I would want my moisturiser to do.  If you have oily/greasy skin then pick it up..I swear it will work a charm!