Five Skincare Essentials For Combination Skin

My skin is well and truly combination. My t-zone can get extremely oily at times with under the skin spots making an appearance now and then whereas my cheeks, jawline and under my eyes can get quite dry and look a little bit dull. Now, I've made a lot of mistakes with my skincare in the past. I'll admit that before I started blogging I had absolute no clue about skincare and because I considered myself to have "shiny" skin, I just went for anything that had the word "mattifying" in it. Now I know my skin a lot better and have read a lot of blogs on the matter and have gotten a lot of advice of some lovely people on Twitter and I finally feel like I know what is good for my skin. These five products have now got a firm place in my skincare collection and although I switch up my skincare routine quite a lot, these are the five that I truly love at the moment.

I've talked about the Bravura London Salicylic Acid before on this blog. It was recommended to me by the wonderful Ellie and I cannot thank her enough. I won't blab on too much about this one as I've talked about it before but I literally could not live without this now. It stops virtually all under the skin spots from appearing at all and I know it works because as soon as I stop using it they gradually come back again. I use it every other night and this bottle has lasted me months - it's a tenner well spent!

Secondly we have the Lush Mask of Magnaminty. I've used this for quite a while now and it's one of my favourite face masks out there. It's self-preserving so there's none of that pesky keeping it in the fridge business and I just find it's really great for cooling my skin down and getting rid of excess oils. The mint really makes my skin feel refreshed and calms down any angry spots that make an appearance but like all Lush facemasks it isn't too harsh or drying out. Overall it's really great for my skin and it's a mask I've repurchased a number of times!

Next up is the Decleor Paris Awakening Cream. This is a 15ml size sample that I got in the House of Fraser goodie bag from the event at the Metro Centre last month and I'm over the moon I got to try it. Like I said above I used to be terrified of things that wouldn't mattify my skin so once over I wouldn't have gone near this but it's done wonders for my skin. My skin may be combination and rather oily, but it was looking rather dull and this is just what I needed. The ingredients are specifically made to brighten the skin and give it a bit of a boost, while moisturing and rejuvinating to prevent wrinkles too. This is a bit pricier than I would normally pay but that's the beauty of getting a sample first; you get to try the product out first before spending the full amount. Now I know that I wouldn't regret splashing out a bit on this because I know I'll like it.

The next one isn't facial skincare but care for your hands and it comes in the form of the Body Shop's Honeymania Hand Cream. I never leave the house without this in my hand bag, especially at this time of year, and whenever my hands are starting to feel a little bit neglected in the cold a little splodge of this does the trick. It smells absolutely divine; it's so sweet and is just what you need on a chilly day and it's an absolute bargain at just £4 as this one has lasted me for ages! 

Finally, we have the newest addition to my skincare routine: the No 7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator. This little tube of greatness has done wonders for me and my skin and I noticed a difference the first time I used it. Containing aluminium-oxide micro-crystals, the exfoliator is to be used on damp skin twice a weak to get rid of marks, fine lines, blemishes and discolouration and I got it primarily to get rid of red marks left by spots. After only using it for a few weeks, I absolutely love it and couldn't recommend it enough. It's feels really gentle on my skin (though I don't have sensitive skin at all so I'm not sure how harsh it would be on less tough skin) and I noticed a difference not only in the red marks, but in the whole appearance of my face. My skin just looks a lot healthier and smoother all round since starting to use it and I'm absolutely over the moon with it!

What are you recommendations for combination skin?

Amy x