Mums Know Best: Two Cleansing Classics

No matter how many new weird and wonderful cleansing creations I try, I will always have a soft spot for two creams that have cleansed and removed makeup for decades:

Astral All Over Moisturiser & Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser

These particular products were recommended to me by my Mum years ago. Astral was the staple moisturiser of choice for my slightly dry cheeks and her makeup remover of choice. Her Mum swore by Ponds Cold Cream cleanser for the same purposes and passed down the beauty knowledge!

Astral is a great all rounder that I often use to remove my eye makeup. I apply a generous amount to a soft tissue and wipe away. I was initially concerned about this technique as I really don't want to pull the skin around my eyes, but I found that the cream was thick and emollient enough to glide over my skin. It removes even waterproof mascara brilliantly and doesn't sting my eyes at all.

Although these creams always have prominent placement on the high street shelves they seem to be very overlooked and almost seen as old-fashioned (well you can see why given my comments above!) This is a bit of a shame because they are both original, time tested and cheap! Astral is £2.99 for 200ml at Boots and many other high street stores and it comes in a range of sizes. The one pictured is my mini travel size 50ml pot.

The Ponds Cold Cream cleanser is very similar to Astral and I also use it to remove makeup. I tend to avoid using it directly on my eye area as it stings a little bit, but this might just be me having fussy eyes! When using it to cleanse my face it removes everything brilliantly and moisturises at the same time. I also think this glass jar is lovely.

Consulting Boots again, this cream is £4.49 for 50ml so I think it works out as the slightly more expensive of the two. You'll also note that they've updated the packaging since I bought the jar above!

One thing to note about these creams is that they are quite thick and heavy. I'd probably be wary of them if you have oily skin that is prone to breakouts, but they'd be perfect for normal/dry complexions.

I think I'll always have these as part of my skincare collection. They are comforting, protecting and loved by young and old. Perhaps they'll be recommendations I get to pass down one day!

Give them a go, your Mum would be proud :)

Review: LaylaD Natural Beauty Honey Moisturiser

In my last post I mentioned my slight annoyance at the fact beauty boxes often send out cards within them detailing products that aren't actually in the box. I was quite sad this month when I discovered that She Said Beauty had teamed up with LaylaD and were including their Honey Moisturiser in the boxes. It was however missing from my box :( I'd heard some good things about their products and I expressed my (lighthearted) distress in a simple tweet. Before I knew it they had tweeted back offering to send me out a sample themselves and of course I said yes. Hooray!

I'm @lucicouture on Twitter if you'd like to follow! :)

So this cute little pot very quickly found it's way into my life:

I tried it straight away and adore it. As a general rule I love honey based products (I'm still upset that MAC discontinued their Naked Honey Skin Salve), but this seems perfectly suited to my skin type and leaves it feeling soft, but not greasy despite the seemingly rich consistency. It has a very gentle fragrance and as the cream glides on so well I found that a little goes a long way.

From my experience of the company so far I'd highly recommend them. I really like that their products are organic, paraben-free and not tested on animals. They are also a family-based company and source all of the ingredients for their products locally in the UK.

A full size pot of this moisturiser costs £12.99 and can be ordered online. Check them out at their website www.layladnaturalbeauty.co.uk to browse their full product range and I'm sure they'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. You can also follow them on Twitter (@layladbeauty) for updates!

Let me know what you think if you have tried it!