and for the less extravagant:: NEUTROGENA

On a separate trip to Boots, I decided to venture into the world of Neutrogena, I am usually a Vaseline kinda lady but it's stopped working for me lately.

I bought and have been using the following for two days:

Neutrogena® Visibly Clear® Pink Grapefruit Cream Wash 150ml £4.49: This smells very citrusy and fresh, is of a nice non greasy consistency and is pale pink in colour. Having first wet my face and neck thoroughly with warm- hot water and then put a small ish blob onto my fingers and massaged gently on my cheeks, t zone area (forehead nose and top lip) and my temples while my skin was still wet. I then wet some cotton wool pads, squashed them between my palms to drain and swept upwards and outwards and gentle motions until my face was clear of face make up, grime and general dirt. NOTE: I didn't use this product or the next mentioned toner on or close to my eyes. I have a separate cleanser. It felt nice, fresh and tingly on my skin. It also did not leave my skin feeling tight and dry like some cleansers do. TIP: I cannot explain often enough how it is also incredibly important to wet your cotton wool BEFORE using it with product. It doesn't drag the skin as much as using it dry and also makes your product go further.

Neutrogena® Visibly Clear® Oil- Free Moisturiser 50ml £4.07: After towel drying my face I applied a blob of moisturiser about the size of a thumb nail to my fingers and rubbed between them, I then applied using individual fingers to areas of my face, excluding the eye area. It felt very zingy- which is why I was at first cautious and then definite to not apply it to the eye area. TIP: This feeling can often be mistaken for being allergic to the product, if you cannot get samples of a product or you have already bought it anyway perform a skin allergy test. This is crucial for all products you use on your skin and should be performed at least 48 hours before you are to use it properly. A small patch of skin either on the inside of your elbow or behind either ear can be used for this. Any redness or reaction and pop yourself along to your Doctor/GP asap. It was blended into my skin really nicely and left my skin feeling soft and hydrated for around 9 hours. - I have notoriously dry and dehydrated skin so this was lovely to feel!

Verdict: Very surprising, it was a lovely and convenient product to use, fairly inexpensive, nice textures and kept my skin feeling lovely for a while. It got rid of my drier patches for a few hours. It's a definite if you are on a lower budget!