My skin is a bit sensitive. I try to choose toiletries carefully so I thought I’d give you a list here because I’m 39 and to be honest, my skin needs more TLC as I age..... the emphasis here on the TENDER! I've been writing this periodically for months so I can comment on more than just a day or two using each product ;)
Having to wear masks a lot hasn't done much for my skin. I get more spots and dry patches now where the mask touches my cheeks, or steams up my chin. Plus let's face it, I'm nearly 40 and my skin is changing, so recently I've been on a face moisturiser odyssey. Finding something natural is tricksy, but I'm gonna try to give you a good overview of what I've tested in the hope it might be helpful!
I had been using the same moisturiser for.... how old am I again?! My God, well over 35 years! My parents used it on me when I was a little girl, on pretty much any bit of skin that needed a little bit of moisture or was a bit sore. Nivea cream was my bae. I have yet to find a part of my skin that this doesn’t soothe. Sore skin, red skin, dry skin, just alllll skin. This was my daily routine in terms of moisture. Straight after a shower I slathered this on to my face, neck and elbows. Often my feet too, then rub the rest into my hands. It was also my night cream. When it comes to a cheap and easy to find cream moisturiser for sensitive and dry skin, I cannot recommend this enough. It has served me well and I will probably always have a pot in my room. Plus you can get it easily in the massive tins now so you don't have to stress about the single use plastic pots. They even have the big metal tins in Poundland right now for £4! I find the smell extremely comforting too and was chuffed to see Nivea make a creme perfume! When I look at the notes I can see why I always loved the smell.... freesia, mandarin and rose are very much in my olfactory wheelhouse. So even if I'm using this less often, I can still enjoy the smell. What I'm saying is that if you have dry skin, are on a budget and don't care about natural ingredients, get Nivea Creme... aka blue nivea. It is a true all-rounder and a classic and frankly, it feels a bit disrespectful to swap to something else because it's got my skin to where I am now!
Okay so the whole more natural, less chemical thing has turned me away from my one true love. Fine. But I'm not gonna swap it out for just any old shit! I learnt the following in my research; there are lots of "organic" or "natural" moisturisers out there which range from 'well, I guess you can't get more natural than coconut oil' to 'natural my arse!' in terms of ingredients. And they can be £5 or £150. I also learnt that the name indicates the water content, so lotion has a high water content and is therefore good for greasy skin but crap for dry. Cream has a medium water content so is good for combination or average skin. Ointment has a low water content and is great for dry skin but disastrous for greasy. I used to have combination skin but as I've aged it's become drier. My nose can still get greasy but generally speaking, I need some pretty deep and oily cream for my skin!
The first thing I tried was lush (of course!). Skin drink specifically. It wasn't for me for a number of reasons. Firstly it's so expensive.... £21 for a tiny pot. I wouldn't mind if it worked miracles on my skin, but I actually ended up with little dry patches around my mouth. Possibly the sesame oil wasn't great for me? Not sure, but it seemed to irritate that area so it's a no from me. Plus it smelt and felt like rubbing tahini on my face. Not into it. I returned this for an exchange as it just wasn't the right product for me. On the plus side, makeup stuck to it quite well! Not for me but other people seem to love it. The danger with LUSH though is that they keep discontinuing their products so it's risky to train your skin to love something that might not be available in a years time! I hate their new website too so I'm in a huff with lush right now! I digress! Lush are still using plastic but they used recycled plastic and you can return posts to them when you've finished (or re-purpose them for other things like I do of course!). To be honest I still wish they'd move to glass and metal along with their naked products, because plastic can't be recycled indefinitely!
Dream cream isn't going anywhere though as it's a best seller! It's really supposed to be a facial moisturiser, but replacing Nivea creme requires a thick and pretty hard-core cream. That actually seems to be pretty hard to find in a cream designed specifically for the face! My dry skin was simply not having it with skin drink (the thickest face cream available at lush and according to reviews, the most oily!) So I thought fuck it! I tried dream cream on my hands and it felt incredible so I bought it. Its £4.50 for a pot the same size as the £21 skin drink, so worth a punt! It's awesome. I can see why it's their best selling item frankly! Quite a similar texture to Nivea when rubbed in but more runny in the pot. Not mad for the smell but it's inoffensive. Some people love it! To me it smells like Lush products before they started to make stuff smell fruity or sugary. This stuff is quite gentle. Genuinely usable on every bit of the body I'd say, but certainly the best thing for the hands I've ever tried. I'm tried using this for my daytime cream and it soaked into the skin enough to add makeup to, but still left the layer of moisture I need to to avoid feeling tight and a bit flaky! I didn't have a ny negative skin reactions to using this on my face for a week or so, even thought it'snot advertised as a face cream. Ps, I accidentally got the old recipe and not the self preserving one (which is more natural!) Because I'm a slap dash doofus when in shops! *UPDATE! I now have the self preserving one. Still great. brilliant on any and every bit of the body.
YesTo are a good company if you want more affordable but still slightly more natural products. I love their scrub sticks (even though I wish they would start moving their packing away from plastic) so thought I'd test some moisturisers!
How to describe this Yesto Grapefruit moisturiser..... the texture is very similar to the E45 you get in the pot. And it feels similar when you rub it in too. Cooling and sort of thick, wet, watery and oily at the same time. It smells very lovely though! Light grapefruit scent. I like it but it stings a bit due to the citrus but it's good for tightening the skin and shrinking the pores. I've been using it occasionally in-between my more oily moisturisers but it's not thick enough for every day use on my thirsty skin!
I took a bit of a chance with this one as I knew it would be a bit lightweight for my skin in it's current condition, but my god I'm glad I bought it. It smells fabulous.... just like watermelon sweets! It's so fresh and cooling and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my day moisturiser during the really hot summer days. Let me explain why! *update.... it is great on extremely hot days!
So it's a gel. A thick-ish gel that goes on well, feels watery and leaves a very slightly sticky residue. That makes it a brilliant primer! I tried it with a more matte tinted moisturiser and it looked too matte! I like dewy so I then tried it with my garnier tinted bb cream that I use in summer and it was perfect! This will be wonderful when I'm more sweaty but still want my eyeliner to stay on. Into it.
This one is harder to find but it might be worth your while tracking a pot down! It's much thicker and sits on the skin more but it's gentle and fragrance free. It also has SPF15! I like this a lot. Ps I originally ordered it from Beauty Bay and it never turned up. I've made a few orders from Beauty Bay and thier customer services are shit so I don't recommend getting any of the Yes To products from them even if thier prices are a tad lower than elsewhere (unless you're cool with a slow "not my fucking problem" sort of response when your delivery gets messed up or the product has exploded all over the parcel!)
This is the thickest Yes To moisturiser I've tried and it's certainly good for dry skin. All the Yes To pots are £10 for a small 50ml pot, which is okay for the quality and cheaper than Lush. I really do hope all these companies trying to be more natural do something about the amount of plastic they use soon though! It sits on the skin and feels more spf-ish but I wore this to Kew Gardens Recently, my make up went on fine and stayed put and I didn't get burnt (although obviously I has a spray SPF for my face too because it was 28 degrees and I'm not a dumb-ass!
I read about this in an article about natural moisturisers recommended by dermatologists. One of the Drs wrote that this was wonderful for people with dry skin. So I ignored the baby element and just focused on the natural lotion. It's a similar price to the other moisturisers I've tried but at £8.99 for 210g (210ml) but is in a much bigger pot, so better value! Oh and it smells wonderful. Sweet and honey-ish (obviously!).
Texture-wise, this is the closest to Vaseline of the bunch. It's thick and unctuous and feels so intensely moisturising. Very gentle. Doesn't sink in for ages so not one to be used in the morning before putting on makeup, but this will be a great night cream when I'm feeling particularly dry. Also will be fabulous on all dry areas of skin that need some tlc, so an all rounder really. Obviously no good for vegans but I think this one is a must have for anyone with dry skin conditions.
This is one I found on google when searching for natural moisturisers. There are a number of things to love about this moisturiser. Cheaper than lush. Made in the UK so low carbon footprint. Totally natural ingredients. Glass pot with metal lid. Finally, a face cream without plastic! It's not a large amount for for £10 (60ml), but that's still cheaper than lush face creams and that was what I was aiming for!
This smells delicious, like banana foam sweets! Texture-wise it's actually not too far from nivea. A bit greasier but still quite thick. Somewhere between a cream and a lotion. I wasn't sure how well this would work in the morning after shower / before makeup, because it is pretty oily. Buttery might be the best description! It dries down a bit, but not completely. However my makeup actually went over this without issue! It didn't tingle or sting or itch or irritate me at all, apart from if it got too close to my eyes (which you have to be careful about as it's oil based and can easily get in your lashes and melt down, then it stings!). It's super gentle on the skin though and feels wonderful. This was my new bae for a few months so I got better at not rubbing it into my eyes(!) and my skin liked it a lot. It works with make up if you don't use much of it, but I was using this as a night cream for a month or so and it's very lovely. I even got a second pot to keep at my parents house for when I visit! The only thing I'd say is that the oil forward nature of this cream made my skin more thirsty in-between applications. I would feel pretty dry in the evening and very dry first thing in the morning because the oil had totally soaked in and my skin wanted more. That is where the next product came in handy.....
This oil is like a lighter version of the face cream. It's lovely! It actually sinks in and dries amazingly. This is going to come in handy for me when I just feel a bit dry in-between showers. I need something that sits on top of my skin a tiny bit more after a shower, but I really do like this. Like the cream it's gentle so perfect for sensitive skin. It also has a banana scent but it's stronger than the cream and a bit faker. I love it but some may find it a bit odd. The smell doesn't really last long on the face though so I don't think anyone should be put off by this. I've been trying to put my finger on it and I think it smells like banana liqueur! It has that banana candy thing going on, but with more of a tangy hint. Hope that's a helpful description?!
*just a quick note about Purechimp. They seem like a genuinely ethical, natural company who strive for zero waste packaging. They're also super responsive to customers! I contacted them via their website (using my private email address and not mentioning my blog fyi!) to say I love their face cream but wondered if they were planning to produce a day cream with less oil so that people could use it under makeup?. I got a super quick reply from Dean - the Purechimp founder no-less - that said it's hard to produce as adding water to face creams tends to mean that chemicals have to be added too (in order to stabilise it), but he would speak to the UK manufacturer! I really hope they manage it because I already feel like they might be one of my favourite brands..... green tea and all! I think if you are like me, then maybe this one will make your skin too reliant on the oils. It's a bit like some brands of lip-balm in that once you start using it you have to keep topping it up more and more! BUT! if you are already used to oil based products then I think this is the winner of this batch and I highly recommend Pure-chimp for your face cream and oil needs! I love their cleanser too, I use it in the shower between my rougher exfoliating sugar scrub days as it's super soft!
I REALLY wanted this to be my day cream even though at £18.99 for 50ml, it's almost as expensive as Lush face creams!. But it has a glass and metal pot, natural ingredients, recycled argan shells and coffee grounds.... that's amazing in terms of zero waste! VERY sadly it just doesn't seem to be hardcore enough for my dry skin. I felt constantly tight when it dried down. Again, maybe good for super hot days but sadly not the one for my daily moisturiser!
It's a typically creamy texture, not thick but not watery or greasy. I think many people would love this and it would be perfect for combination skin. I'm not at all keen on the scent myself but I suspect that's the argan. I've never liked the smell of argan products, but this also has a citrusy smell that makes me think or Bergamot..... another smell I just don't like! So, great company but not my jam. They've won tons of awards though so this is clearly not how many other people feel about it!
Okay so finally is a discovery that I am sooooo excited about because it has truly ended my search for good! I'm not sure I even remember where I saw the good soap company.... my cookies are pretty much all zero waste / natural moisturisers at the moment so it could have been many places, but thank gawd I found them! This concoction (the base ingredients that are in all their tinned moisturisers) is so wonderful! Metal tin. Amazing price point at £5.50 for 85g (85ml) and only a small amount needed for each application. This stuff is absolutely fucking brilliant!
Let's talk scent! These are properly natural and they smell natural. Very pleasant, not overpowering, but not as yummy or exciting as some of the other creams that have perfume rather than just essential oils or extracts. Having said that, they smell quite like you'd imagine! Orangey, lavenderish, vanillafull! The frankincense one is quite citrusy and the rose one straight up smells like Turkish delight! Rose and tangerine are my favorite smells from this batch although the mint one packs a real punch so might be good for very tired days.... would wake you right up(!), but honestly they're all lovely! The website has info on all the balms and what the individual benefits of the additional ingredients are.
It's a balm. It's thicccc like me! The closest texture I can think of is a non-greasy lip balm like texture. It's waxy in a very wonderful way. I ordered the lavender and the tangerine & orange balms first and I was instantly impressed. It feels so good on my face. Intensely moisturising but not oily or greasy. It's super smooth and leaves a layer of slightly waxy moisture on the top of the skin. It's absolutely perfect for dry skin. Amazing. I've been using the lavender at night and the tangerine in the morning. I've had no tightness, hardly any dry flaky skin, no irritation, no new or unusual break outs and no stinging eyes.
I loved the first ones I bought so I got over excited and ordered 3 more! One of which is very similar to what I already had. The frankincense balm has the same waxy feel. Its got a nice scent and it's supposedly good for older skin. Oh and my make up goes over this stuff really well! It's almost like putty primer without the quick dry down, now I come to think about it! The vanilla and rose have a slightly different texture due to the addition of cocoa butter. Slightly more greasy but not in a bad way! These are still great on my face (might be ideal for winter!) But I'm using them mainly for other bits of skin. My whole body loves them!
There's no two ways about it, the good soap make my favourite new moisturiser! Natural, non-greasy, great under makeup, gentle, zero waste and deeply nourishing on my face. Only £5.50 for a decent sized pot?! I have all 6 of the tins now and I ordered a pot of the lavender for my mum! I've now got some of their other products too but I've not tried them yet so won't comment on them all (the lip-balm is brilliant!). They also make moisturiser bars, so 100% zero waste but I struggle with bars as they're just a bit messy no matter how careful you are, so I've not tried those. However, if you want to be a true hero then maybe try one?! The reviews are great.
So for now it's looking like this. I wash my face in the morning (with Yesto tomatoes charcoal scrub for detoxing, purechimp cleanser for gentle cleaning, or homemade manuka honey and brown sugar scrub for hardcore exfoliation) then moisturise with the good soap tangerine skin balm before doing my makeup. In the evening I remove my makeup with Yesto coconuts micellar water and moisturise with the good soap lavender skin balm! Oh and at the weekend if I don't wanna shower straight away I might use 3 drops of Purechimp face oil to rejuvenate my skin so I can lounge around! My skin is feeling pretty happy right now so I think I have finally found my natural alternatives to Nivea Creme (may she rest in peace!)
