REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream Review

Ren has long been one of my favourite brands for skincare, and many of their products I have repurchased quite a few times over the years. The Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream is one of them.

When I was first introduced to Ren, I was recommended the line for sensitive skin which this moisturiser is a part of as at the time my acne-prone skin was quite a mess with dehydration, inflammation and just generally quite unbalanced.

The ingredients in the Hydra-Calm cream really help to combat these issues as it contains arctic blackcurrant seed and arctic seabuckthorn berry oil which contain Omega 3 and 7 to help with the inflammation, Bisabolol to help soothe and reduce redness, and also a 'Global protection complex' with anti-oxidants to help protect against UV damage.

The texture of this is lovely, it feels creamy and smooth but without being oily or greasy and it applies very nicely leaving the skin feeling well hydrated and comfortable without any heaviness. It feels very much like a 'proper' moisturiser and pleasant to use.

When I first started using the Hydra-Calm cream, I had issues with flakiness on my forehead, and this completely got rid of it, and I've not had this problem since. It does have a slight calming effect in that it helps a little with redness too.

Ingredients:

Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Cetearyl Ethyhexanoate, Myristyl Myristate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cetearyl Glucoside, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Triheptanoin, Oryzanol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Bisabolol, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract, Cassia Alata Leaf Extract, Pueraria Lobata (Kudzu) Symbiozome Extract, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Cinnamomum Camphora Linalloliferum (Ho Wood) Leaf Oil, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Oil, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, Tocopherol.

This is £27 for 50ml which I think is very reasonable for the quality, and I find that this usually lasts me around 4-5 months (I only use in the mornings), as you don't need too much and also the airtight pump dispenser allows for good control and less product wastage.

Latest Manicure Must-Haves: Orly Cutique & Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat

As much as I am obsessed with nail polish, I don't pay much attention to my cuticles and they are often neglected as I think to myself, 'they don't look so bad', so it's a part of the manicure I tend to skip but that was until I came across Orly's Cutique Cuticle & Stain Remover. Now I can't believe I didn't get on to this sooner.

This looks like a some sort of base coat, but basically you apply it on the nail for 30-60 seconds and then use an orange stick (or similar) to push back the cuticle and then rinse with warm water. It removes stuff I didn't even know was on my nail and gets rid of stains from previous polish really well, overall leaving a perfect base to start a new manicure.

After that I apply Essie's ridge filling base coat. I was in the market for a new base coat and spotted this in TK Maxx in a little set with a polish, I had already been thinking of Essie so took this as a sign to purchase (plus it was a bargain!).

It's great for smoothing the finish of nail before applying polish and dries quickly.

What I have noticed the most since using these products is that my polish lasts longer than before, and gives a better level of finish to my manicure.

These have really become staples and I am keen to explore some more Essie and Orly base/treatment products.

Dermaquest Daily Enzyme Cleanser Review

Dermaquest is a range found in professional skincare clinics and one I was introduced to when I had the Agera Oxy facial at DestinationSkin several months back.

I purchased the Dermaquest Daily Enzyme Cleanser when I had the facial as I quite liked the sound of enzyme exfoliation so thought I'd give this a go. I finished this bottle towards the end of May and have had time to reflect on it as sometimes I find I don't like something to begin with, but when I'm coming to the end I think actually, I rather liked using that.

This cleanser is a clear gel texture, that has a light lather (it is SLS free) and rinses off easily with water. This has mild exfoliation properties from the enzymes in the pineapple and papaya in the formula. I have acne-prone, combination skin so I was hoping this would help to clarify the skin more gently then a product with AHA/BHAs like Glycolic or Salicyclic Acid as I was using other active elements in my skincare routine so didn't want to bombard it with something else that was too active.

When I initially started using it, I did find it a little drying at first, but nothing uncomfortable but nevertheless I cut back to using it once a day in the mornings and then after a couple of weeks went back to using it twice a day, and that seemed to be fine.

In terms of exfoliation, I think this on it's own was rather mild to slough away my cloggy pores and it didn't do a great deal in terms of helping acne but it didn't aggravate the skin either.

I think this would make a nice cleanser for the summer months when sometimes I tend to crave gel cleansers to help cleanse away the build up of warmer weather skin ickiness, and leave it feeling freshly clean. I quite liked this, but I'm not sure if it's something I'd repurchase as I want to see more results and I have used other products that have been more effective.

Ingredients:

Water, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Polysorbate 20, Caprylyl Glycol, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit ) Peel Oil, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) 

It is slightly pricer at £27, but it is a 236ml size which lasted a good 3 months.

I bought this from DestinationSkin.