Guest Post : Skincare Routine for Oily Skin

Hello all, I’m Alex from www.alwa.co.uk and Katie was kind enough to let me guest post on this lovely blog whilst she’s away! I thought I’d tell you all about my current skincare routine and share with you what products I’m loving at the moment.

As someone with an oily skin type, I’ve been using the Seaweed range from The Body Shop as this range is specifically catered towards those with combination/oily skin. I’ve been using the Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion in the morning and the Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment in the evening. I’ll admit that the moisture lotion is not something that I’ll be purchasing again as it is quite greasy on my skin. I do find myself reaching for the blotting papers about an hour after using this moisturiser but I have stuck with it over the summer as it does moisturise my skin and it also has SPF15, which I find is a rarity amongst products for oily skin and is ideal for summer. The night treatment on the other hand is lovely and I’ve been using it for a while now, I think this is my third or fourth bottle, I’ve loved it that much. It’s got a more serum like consistency and absorbs nicely into the skin, and best of all, it’s not greasy at all!

Another little gem from The Body Shop (can you tell that I love The Body Shop?!) is the Tea Tree Cool & Creamy Wash. It’s from the Tea Tree range which means that it’s suitable for blemished skin which is ideal as I do find that my skin is unfortunately quite prone to a few blemishes. This stuff is amazing because after having used it, your skin feels squeaky clean! The tee tree leaves a slight tingling sensation which I can only describe to you as that feeling when you chew minty gum and then drink some cold water after and it feels like your mouth is so cool and fresh because of the gum? It’s like that aha! What I’m trying (and failing) to say is that it really does leave your skin feeling clean and refreshed.
I’ve currently been using the Pixi Glow Tonic Exfoliating Toner, which I’m sure you’re all familiar with (thank you Caroline Hirons!). I like to use this to really get the last scraps of make up off my face before bed, and it has a pleasant smell to it which I believe is the ginseng. I haven’t seen amazing results with this but I would recommend it and probably purchase it again as it does seem to calm my skin and help even out my skin tone. It is fairly pricey but you do get plenty of bang for your buck with this as it seems to have lasted me a good while considering I use it nightly.

Despite using the Pixi Glow Tonic Exoliating Toner, I do like to use a more abrasive exfoliator as well every week or so. I’ve been loving the St Ives Apricot Scrub as it not only smells delicious but it has a nice balance in consistency, by which I mean that it’s not so abrasive that it’ll rub your skin raw, but it will get rid of any dead skin cells on your face. Perhaps not a great option for someone with sensitive or overly dry skin.
I like to use a facemask every now and again and I think that the Botanics Ionic Clay Mask a lovely find. It sets into a hard mask and you can actually see all the dirt that’s drawn out from your pores (ew I know but it’s actually really satisfying to see!). It washes off easily and leaves your skin feeling super soft afterwards. This mask is definitely more suitable for those with an oilier skin.

The final product that i’ve been using in my skin care routine is the Soap and Glory Dr Spot Super Strength Breakout Clearing Gel. This stuff is a lifesaver! I discovered it quite a few years ago when the packaging was in a pump form and have stuck with it since as it really does work! You only need a little dab and it will work wonders on your blemishes. It contains Salicylic acid which is a well-known spot treatment and is completely clear so you can literally apply this whenever you want. It lasts a while as a little bit really does go a long way and it’s honestly such a good product to have if you suffer from blemishes.

Thanks so much for reading and thanks to Katie for letting me guest post! You can catch me at alwa.co.uk or @alwablog on twitter ☺