My Evening Skincare Routine With Origins

There are two products that feature in my evening skincare routine and I think they work brilliantly together.  Before I go to bed, I always remove my make-up, wash my face and then apply one of these two products:

Origins High Potency Night A Mins Mineral Enriched Renewal Cream which is a bit of a mouthful, is the one in the brown glass jar and I was introduced to it back last year at a Company event in Central London which you can read about HERE.  

Described as follows:

"Put dullness to rest. Wake up radiant & refreshed. Now nature's famed night cream is newly fortified with a system of time-released resurfacers plus Vitamins C, E & H, minerals & moisture-rich replenishers. While relaxing aromas lull you to sleep, skin sloughs away dry, dead layers. Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins™ helps the appearance of dullness.

98% of those who tested it agreed - used regularly, skin was renewed and refreshed in the AM. Helps the slumber deprived wake up on the bright side of the bed. So why face dull skin. Sleep it off tonight"

The cream itself, which is bright white in colour is also quite thick which means you dont need to use too much of it to cover your face. I find this cream really hydrating and with the weather constantly changing my skin is in need of a little TLC and I like that I can apply a night cream and when I wake up in the morning, I have lovely soft, smooth supple skin. I was told that this cream had a funny scent to it, but I actually quite like it, quite fruity, not quite orangey but definitely a hint of a citrus scent for me.

The cream is said to work best for people who have combination/dry skin and as I have combination skin which is oily but with dry patches, I tick all the boxes for this cream. I wouldn't hesitate to repurchase this when it runs out, a full size 50ml jar costs £34 and is available with free delivery from Origins' website.

The second product that I have been using is the Overnight Drink Up Intensive mask, which I read so much about on other blogs that it soon rose up my wishlist and I bought it.

Described as:

"Origins Drink Up™ Intensive Mask makes skin feel smoother and hydrated

Skin depends on water for its youthful functioning. But all day long, skin loses vital moisture. And the busier you are, the more it loses. This intense moisture replacement mask deeply quenches compromised moisture reserves and builds a reservoir for tomorrow. Japanese Seaweed repairs skin's barrier to prevent future dehydration and signs of premature ageing.

This again is a cream with a fairly thick consistency and a little really does go along way.  I use this as instructed which is is twice a week currently and I simply complete my bedtime routine as mentioned above and then instead of using Night-A-mins cream, I use this in its place.

To apply, you are supposed to literally slap it on ensuring that there is a thick layer on your face, which is what I was told in Boots where I bought mine from, then leave it on your face overnight to sink in and work its magic.  With ingredients like Apricot Kennel Oil (which is amazing for keeping your skin hydrated) Avocado oil and Mango butters, all of which have moisturising qualities that help your skin to retain its moisture, you won't be surprised to find that it is absolutely amazing.  Every time I use this, I am always surprised to find how soft and smooth my skin is the following morning, especially if I have been suffering some dryness on my cheeks or forehead which is where I have problems.

A 100ml tube retails for £22 from the Origins website and again, once mine runs out, I won't hesitate to repurchase it because I absolutely love it and I love knowing that if my skin does need a little more TLC than the cream above can give me, this is just brilliant for doing that.

Both of these products have left me wanting to try more from the Origins range as I absolutely love both products.  

Have you got any favourites from the Origins range?  What would you recommend trying?

Ruby Red Cosmetics Natural Skincare

Ruby Red is a company I came by after an opportunity arose in an email and I have to say, if you want a product to make you go "Wow" then read on.

The brand Ruby Red is a combination of Mike’s surname (Ruby), the owner and Red for their London roots. Ruby Red as a company believe that healthy, radiant skin needs vital nutrients from the outside as well as the inside. Their Skin and Body care ranges are full of plant nourishment combined with distinctive pampering aromas made from oils without SLS, parabens, sulphates, petrochemicals and dyes as well as never tested on Animals.  

I was sent two products in the form of a Reviving Body Cleanser** and a Renewal Shea Skin Cream** which as you can see below arrived really well packaged and inside two very different containers.  

The Body Cleanser, which was a finalist in the Best Shower Gel category at the 2014 Beauty Shortlist Awards is described as follows:

"Botanical glucosides found in sugar and coconut makes an effective cleansing agent which does not irritate the skin; botanical extract of Aloe Vera soften and soothe the skin. A warm, invigorating, citrus aroma of Lime, Red Mandarin, Coriander and Cedarwood boost circulation while toning and refreshing the skin"

The first thing about this cleanser is the scent, it is absolutely phenomenal, one of those scents you need on a morning when you feel really sluggish, annoyed that you have had to leave your bed and a morning when no amount of caffeine is going to wake up - well this product will! To use you simply apply a generous amount onto your hands or onto a cloth and then massage over your damp skin whilst in the shower, as soon as the clear looking gel leaves the bottle the scent wakes you, but when it hits the steam you become more alert than you probably have done in a long time, after wahsing you simply wash it off, again using a damp cloth and it leaves your skin not only squeaky clean but smelling so good and the scent lasts pretty much all day, even as it fades it is still wonderful. it is also worth noting that this Reviving Body Cleanser can also be used as hand cleanser, something I am yet to try.

The second product is the Renewal Shea Skin Cream which is in this 60ml glass jar and when I first removed the jar, I didnt find what I was expecting. I was expecting to find a runny cream not a solid, so I was very much intrigued to use this. It comes with the following description:

"The healing enzymes in Lemon and Honey work together to improve cell renewal while Vitamins A, E, & F in our pure, hand processed organic Shea butter help to restore the skin’s elasticity lost through dryness or sun-exposure. A small of cream amount will moisturise, softening and smoothing the skin".

Even though this skin cream contains lemon and honey, the scent isn't as strong as the body cleanser, but it is subtle enough for me to absolutely love it. To use you simply warm a really small amount in your hands and on the Ruby Red site they make a point of stating that by small they mean no bigger than a raindrop, the reason being that as soon as it comes into contact with your skin it begins to melt, so it literally absorbs without no amount of effort on your part and as you massage it into the skin, the lemony scent comes to life and reminds me of sherbet lemons, a scent I happen to adore. Once massaged onto the skin, within a matter of minutes there is no trace that anything was actually there, instead you have soft, smooth skin. If like me you spend a lot of your working life, days and sometimes evening dealing with paper, I find it dries my hands out, hence my love of hand cream, well I have been using this for the last 2 months and it is a perfect remedy for my dry hands, not to mention I use it on my shins, elbows and feet as well.

These products I cannot rate highly enough, they have caused no adverse reactions to my skin, they smell more wonderful than I can give them credit for and I absolutely love using them.  You can find more information about Ruby Red on their website which is HERE and their products can be bought online through the Ruby Red shop or from places like Amazon, Fortnum and Mason and soon to launch in Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.