My skin has been a constant source of drama for the past few years, I've had a sudden turn for the teenage despite edging closer to my thirties and I've decided my current routine needs a reboot.
After hearing many things about how amazing Ultrabland is at removing make up and calming problem skin I decided to give it a go, and with new cleanser I also decided to grab a new toner too and knowing that rose is great for red skin, a big problem for me, this is the one I went with to replace my current but nearly empty No 7 cleanser and toner that I've been using for years and years but to be honest wasn't overly blown away by.
No 7 is Boots resident brand, and is known mainly for the protect and perfect serum, they are very anti animal testing which is a plus, and also is the more affordable skin care brand that has been well loved by many, and I usually get given bits of it by my mum each birthday and xmas as she's such a big lover of the brand.
The cleanser and toner I use is the soft and soothed, the more gentle cleanser and toner in the range, but after reading the ingredients which include so many I couldn't pronounce, and chemical colours I wondered how something that unnatural could actually be good for my skin.
Both contained alcohol too which can be quite drying to skin.
If this is the gentle stuff, whats in the others?!
Lush cleansers and toners are a little more pricey, but as I'm now working in Lush (I was so addicted, I've now become integrated) I'm more keen to try out items I've never tried before and see if they really are as amazing as I hear.
Lush is a mostly natural company, I've heard people complain about them not being 100% natural, but as a company that is clear about that, with even the website ingredient listings being clear as to what is natural and what isn't using colour coding, the fact that only two out of ten ingredients listed for this Ultrabland are not natural still wins over 12 out of the 15 listed on my 'gentle' No 7 cleanser.
The toners available at Lush are also referred to as aromatherapy water, as you can use them either spritzed onto a cotton pad, or spray directly onto the face for a cooling calming extra clean after cleansing.
I again went for one that has rose water in for redness, but also lavender which works as an antiseptic so this would help calm any irritated skin, especially after a deep cleanse to get rid of night out make up.
So let's put them to the test!
I applied my usual make up and removed from one side of the face with each cleanser to really show the difference, with the No 7 you apply it to the pad and then remove, whereas with ultrabland you apply directly to the face and then wipe off.
This can seem messier but it really helps you ensure you've worked it right into every bit of your skin, even those hard to reach places like your nose creases.
You can see the ultrablend took a lot more of the make up off the skin, even removing the mascara that didn't seem to budge with the No 7 cleanser.
For fairness I applied both toners to the pad, usually I spritz the roma water onto my face before cleaning off, but the No 7 toner has gone a little way to removing more make up after cleansing than the roma water.
This may be however due to ultrabland removing more previous to this test but I will generally use ultrabland twice to ensure all the make up is fully gone and as it's full of such good stuff for your skin you can actually use nothing but ultrabland for one week to soothe and add some slight moisture to skin too if you need some rapid relief.
Out of all the tests it does seem like the first ultrabland swatch removed more than the No 7 combined, and I have noticed a vast improvement to my skin over all after just a few days and I will keep using it in the hope of seeing some further improvement down the line.
Although the No 7 stuff does do it's job fairly okay when I finished off with a last dab of ultrabland there was still make up on my skin and I just wasn't getting as deep a clean which explains why I kept having break outs as my pores clogged with make up and dirt that it wasn't shifting.
Although ultrabland isn't completely vegan, using beeswax to help remove make up, and honey which also works as a natural antiseptic, I know that these ingredients come from beehives from well looked after bees located at the Lush factory, and as Lush are super kind to animals I'm sure these are some pretty well looked after bees, and with the bee population diminishing it's quite nice that there is a safe home for them, and even jobs!
I know not all vegans are keen on using honey (some are however, it depends!) so this may not be the one for you, but there is the 9 to 5 light cleanser which is vegan, and I may also add this to my routine after ultrabland and before roma water to make sure my skin is as clean as it can be.
I have also started to use their moisturisers, and with ten different options available I am currently varying between these two, British Nanny for days where my skin isn't being the best which is a lovely and very thick moisturiser, and Enzymion which I don't believe is available in every store, but it is online, to help wake up and brighten my skin with a light moisturiser to fade away the on coming winter grey.
Just when you thought my Lush addiction couldn't grow any more, I have now rebooted my whole skin care routine with their familiar little black pots and bottles, and my skin is thanking me for it.
Sorry No 7, but until I can pronounce Phenoxyethanol (a chemical preservative found in both their products featured here that is actually toxic to infants, but used in loads of similar products) I shall be sticking with these rather more natural (but not 100%!) methods of skin care.
It may cost a little more, but your skin is worth it.
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