The Game Changer: REN F10 Smooth and Renew Mask

REN F10 Smooth and Renew Mask* £20

REN are my go to skincare brand for fail safe products that I always love, that work for me without irritating my sensitive skin, or breaking me out. Quite a mean feat, I must add. I have tried the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask before, which seems to be the most popular choice for your skin's weekly dose of acids (thank you Caroline Hirons!), however, I felt it was a touch too strong for my sensitive skin and so opted to purchase the F10 instead. I'm SO glad I did.

The F10 Smooth and Renew Mask is part of their sensitive skin range, but acts similarly to the Glyco mask. It has fast become a staple product in my weekly skincare regime. The mask aims to gently exfoliate the skin and reveal a radiant and thorougly cleansed you after use. Omega 3 and 6 act to reduce any inflammation, whilst papain seeks to eradicate any dead skin cells without damaging healthy new ones in the process, and Vitamin C helps in the fight against free radicals and regulate your skin tone and its appearance. All brilliant stuff for a more flawless and radiant skintone.

I apply a couple pumps of this after cleansing and leave to settle in for around ten to fifteen minutes once a week, whilst I potter around or catch up some blogs. The product does remind me of marmalade with its slightly sticky, orange gel formula, but it smells ah-mazing! Even after one use of this I noticed a considerable difference, and with continual use over the past month I can boast a much more even skin tone. Dull skin is given a much needed boost, I just love this mask. For £20 a pop it really is worth every penny and will last you quite a long time.

What are your thoughts, have you tried the F10?

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The Weekend Post: Banishing Blemishes

 REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask, REN Clear Calm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser*, Origins Super Spot Remover

The majority of us have all had our fair share of blemish battles with some of us raging onto near full on warfare when it comes to the not so welcome little pustules...lavley image I'm conjuring up there isn't it? Throughout my teen years I was deemed one of the unfortunate souls that just couldn't get rid of spots no matter what lotion or remedy I tried. I suffered from mild acne; which seemed even more pronounced due to the unwanted redness caused due to the stress of said spots. Thankfully today I only have the odd red bump, y'know the annoyingly sore ones without a head on it, and sometimes a smattering of tiny blackheads because I have quite large pores and uprooting them can be quite tricky. So, I have compiled my top three products that have beat the blemishes to share with you....

REN INVISIBLE PORES DETOX MASK: So the main purpose of this product isn't to rid you of existing spots exactly as it is aimed more towards their prevention. This mask works wonders at unclogging unwanted muck that has buried itself into your pores by drawing out all such impurities and minimising your pores in the process, wonderful! I cannot sing its praises enough, not only have my pores noticeably reduced in size but I have been blackhead free since using it once every week.

REN  CLEAR CALM 3 CLARIFYING CLAY CLEANSER*:  This is my all time favourite skin care product, hands down. I have quite sensitive skin and so many cleansers I have used in the past have been far too rough for my skin and caused breakouts instead of tackling them but the clay formula is oh so soft on my skin and extremely gentle so hasn't caused any flare ups! The Clear Calm 3 Range is aimed for blemish prone skin and works at tackling the main causes of breakouts such as excess sebum, build of dead skin cells, and spot causing bacteria - yuck! I absolutely adore the range as all the products I have tried gently exfoliate whilst deeply cleansing the skin and reducing redness. I use this three times a week, after my skin is clean and all make-up removed, and my skin has never felt clearer or softer. Next on my list to try from their Clear Calm 3 Range is the Replenishing Night Serum which aims to banish redness, soothe the skin, and reduce pigments and scarring.

ORIGINS SUPER SPOT REMOVER:  Origins top seller and beauty blogger favourite, and no wonder why. Although it is only a measly 10ml for £13 you really do need the tiniest amount on the surface of the spot, and not, may I emphasise, the surrounding area. Blemish busting Salicylic Acid is the main ingredient but can also cause some dryness in which case reduce the amount you're putting it on a day as it does recommend up to three times daily, whereas I stick to just once before bed. Reducing redness and eliminating excess oil brings the blemish down a peg or two and normally I wake up with only a slighly red spot that is easily covered by my concealer instead of a mountainous bump that could poke your eye out.. Every time I have used this product the spot has gone within a day and I can get back to feeling a lot happier about my skin.

May I just add that Skincare really is subject to you personally and what works for one might not be the miracle cure for another. I have learnt this the hard way by trying out an array of products deemed miracle cures but really didn't seem to do much for me at all. Also being a beauty blogger it is hard not to stray into the habit of constantly mixing up my skincare regime  and wanting to try out every new fad out there, what I say is if you have something that works for you, stick to it. Using too many products cannot actually make a problem worse or cause one.

Whats number one on your skincare list?

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belated 500 followers giveaway

Okay, so I'm nearing my 600 GFC followers rather than 500 which is when this give-away was promised  but I've been sorting out lot's of university bit's and pieces and kept putting it off till now, so this give-away is to celebrate not only reaching 500 GFC followers but to each and every one of you and for reaching 50,000+ page views. Literally was astonished when I saw that figure pop up on my screen, so here's to me raising an imaginary glass to toast to you all for being such great supporters, especially those whose faces regularly pop up in the comments, it is noted and you really do make my day.

Anyway on to the exciting part, THE GIVE AWAY PRIZE! I've recently fallen head over heels with REN Skincare products and skin care is really sweeping the floor in the beauty world at the moment too. I know plenty of my readers love morrocan hair oils and I thought you'd hopefully love to win a trio gift set of body oils and creams. Currently this Trio Gift Set is out of stock on the REN website so here's a great chance to snap one up!

I know that the Body Wash was picked as In Style's Best Body Wash for the tenth year in a row and whilst researching these products I've heard nothing but the best of things about each and every one of these products and am tempted to snap up another gift set for £17 when they do come back into stock!

Yet again this give-away is international, and I wish the best of luck to you all!

p.s. you MUST be following by GFC, I will be checking ;)



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midweek wishlist

01. Sky Blue Sleevless Top with Gold Tip Collar - Glamourous - 02. Merrily Open Lace Up Shoes - Topshop - 03. Origins Super Spot Remover - 04. Origins GinZing Eye Cream -  05. REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask - 06. Topshop Lipstick in Whimsical

Make-up has been put on the back burner recently, having collected quite a vast array of cosmetic delights recently, I just don't feel like I need to buy much more whilst I already have a fair amount that I could put to good use. Therefore, I've recently got into skincare a lot more than my former naive self who protested 'I'm young so why would I need eye creams and renewal masks yet?!' but now is the time I have realised to take a bit more care and let these act as preventatives rather than miracle cures. 

Both Origins and REN Skincare have been countlessly advised to me and so I took the plunge recently and purchased a few REN facial skin care items which I will review in due course. The Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask did catch my eye and I have read a great review on it by Caroline which added my eagerness to test it out, however, at a handsome sum of £30 I chose to test this product out via 1/2 samples, that I was offered when purchasing the Invisible Pores Detox Mask, before committing to the hefty price tag. I've heard nothing but wonderful things so I'm hoping that it'll improve my blemish prone skin and brighten it up!
Not only have I been suffering from spots lately but dark circles and puffiness has taken over my eye area with a vengeance and that's why I'm hoping to purchase the much raved about GinZing Eyecream, student loan hurry up, please.

I spotted this cheep and cheerful top from Glamourous whilst fuelling my obsession to torture myself by online shopping when I have no money to spend, well done, Lauren, well done. Yet again I was caught admiring the Topshop make-up range of which I am yet to really test out for myself, oh if I was rich..

What have you been lusting after lately?

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