review: botanics skin care

hello! i know, it's been absolutely AGES since i last posted (over 3 weeks!). i've been really busy juggling university and my lab project and working part time as well as having a bit of a social life and binge watching game of thrones with my boyfriend and this has all resulted in me neglecting my blog! but i have a bit more free time now so i am trying very hard to get back into blogging on a regular basis.

i'm going to kick things back off with a skin care review, i've switched up my skin routine recently and thought i'd share my opinions on the new products i've been using. as i've mentioned before in posts on here, i am a massive fan of the garnier micellar cleansing water and have been repurchasing it for quite a while. it is such an easy way to remove your make up and has helped shake me out of lazily reaching for a pack of make up wipes every night. i've never really done the whole 'cleanse, tone and moisturise'  thing but as i'm getting a bit older (i'm almost 21 now!) and branching away from 'teenage skin' products i've decided to give a fuller routine a go.

after reading a review on another blog recently (i can't remember which one it was, sorry!) i decided to branch out a bit and try out the brand botanics from boots. lucky for me, there was a 3 for 2 offer on skincare so I decided to purchase a cream cleanser and a micellar cleansing water (i also bought the garnier bb cream as part of the 3 for 2 offer which you can see a review of here). i actually wanted to buy the toner in the range but it was sold out in my local boots, instead i decided to try the micellar water to see how it compares to my trusty garnier one.

botanics gentle cleansing cream and botanics micellar 3 in 1 cleansing solution - RRP £3.99 available here and here

i've been using the botanics all bright cleansing cream by applying it to cotton pads and wiping all over my face to remove my make up. this does require using quite a bit of product and it can be quite messy as the cream is very runny and greasy and tends to get all over my hands, this is probably best done over the sink where you can rinse your face fully to ensure all the product is off. it also takes up quite a lot of cotton pads which aren't ridiculously expensive but i have been getting through them pretty quickly.

i've then been using the botanics all bright micellar 3 in 1 cleansing solution which is a liquid very similar to the garnier water and sort of using it as a toner. i apply this to cotton pads and then wipe over my face again to remove the residue from the cream and any additional make up, it's surprising how much is still on your face even when you think you've taken it all off!

i then finish my routine by applying my olay moisturiser which i talked about in my last post on skin care here. 

now, this isn't a particularly long winded process but it does require a bit of time and patience, something that i haven't always got i.e after a night out at 4am when i just want to get in bed! it also uses up lots of product and cotton pads, i don't wear particularly heavy make up and it can take me 10+ pads to get all of my make up off. i've found the cream cleanser doesn't actually remove all of my make up and i actually need the second cleansing step just to make sure it's all off. i'd say it's probably best to use the cleanser by applying it all over your face then removing with a damp flannel or something rather than cotton pads as i have been doing.

i decided to try using just the micellar cleansing water to remove my make up to compare it to the cleansing cream and see how it measured up. i can say i probably wouldn't use it as a sole way of removing make up, it worked well at removing any left over bits of make up after cleansing but when tried alone, my eye make up barely budged! you'd need to use a lot of product and the bottle isn't a huge size, i think i'd get through a whole bottle pretty quickly.

the double cleansing i've been doing has left my skin feeling very soft and the products smell lovely, quite fresh and floral but only subtle and not overpowering. i do also agree with the claim that the products make to 'brighten skin' as i definitely noticed my skin had more of a glow about it after using these products for just a few days. however, i've found i have had quite a few spots and blocked pores since starting this skin routine. this is obviously something to be expected when using new products but it's something which i didn't get from the garnier micellar water which made my skin incredibly clear. i feel using a cream cleanser and then a micellar water and then a moisturiser is probably blocking my pores as it's quite tricky to wipe all of the product away, i do feel like there is a residue left on my skin even after wiping it all away.

the products are pretty reasonably priced and may suit people with less sensitive, less blemish prone skin but for me, i yet haven't been tempted away from the garnier cleansing water. it makes taking my make up off so much quicker and easier, i use far less cotton pads and the generous sized bottle (400ml) lasts a lot longer than these products have done. it also leaves my skin feeling very clean without the need for double cleansing or using a toner to remove any residue. sadly these particular botanics products aren't for me and i probably wouldn't repurchase them, however i definitely will try other products from the range as the quality and price are really good!

do you have any skincare favourites that you swear by? feel free to comment! i'm always on the look out for new products to try!