Balm cleansers have been a staple in my skincare routine for years now. In my teens, I'd always used foaming washes which promised to rid my complexion of spots, yet aggravated the issue and gave my face the texture of sandpaper. Looking for something to nourish, smooth and balance my skin, I turned to using cleansing oils and balms and I haven't looked back since! On my search to find the best, I've worked my way through a lot of tubes, bottles and jars, so I thought I'd do an edit of some of the best and worst balm cleansers of those currently residing in my skincare stocks.
I always tend to think about gift guides most around Christmas time, always forgetting that I buy birthday presents all year round. And boy, I seem to know everyone born during the summertime! Recently, I've had quite a few gifts to buy and the great range of L'Occitane gift sets have definitely come to the rescue. So, I thought I'd put together a little edit of my favourites, that should suit all budgets and tastes.

In the spirit of the season, I recently had a beauty stash spring clean: getting rid of expired and unused products, organising my collection and repurchasing essentials. Forcing myself to be really strict, I got a bit carried away and ended up chucking out of over half of my older, well-loved makeup brushes, with the idea of replacing those that I use regularly. But, instead of buying more from the usual suspects such as Real Techniques and MAC, like I always do, I finally decided to purchase a few from a brand I've intended to try for ages - Zoeva.
As my obsession with skincare has grown over the years, my cleansing routine has also evolved considerably. During my teens, I simply used my fingers to work cleansers into my skin and to remove them. Then, I introduced muslin clothes into my regime, thanks to the recommendation of Liz Earle and her famed Cleanse & Polish (spoiler - it didn't work for me). After a brief dalliance with a certain sonic cleansing brush, which left my skin in a horrific state of dry rashy patches and painful breakouts, I finally settled on the humble flannel being my perfect cleansing companion. Then, recently, I sampled the new range of konjac sponges from the Konjac Sponge Co and they've become my new favourite tool of the trade.
BEAUTY
featured
milani
Milani Conceal + Perfect Foundation & Make It Dewy Setting Spray Review
11:45Alice Grace
Makeup envy is the worst. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing an amazing brand being raved about by every beauty addict on the planet, but their range isn't easily available in your country. At least without the shock of extortionate customs charges that you're landed with if you make an order from overseas! One unattainable brand that I've been most eager to get my hands on, has been Milani, the affordable American favourite. Fortunately, Just My Look's Milani range is now available online, so they're products are finally more accessible for those of us in the UK! They kindly offered me the chance to try some of their products, so I picked the Conceal + Perfect Foundation and Make It Dewy Setting Spray.
As well as mixing up my wardrobe and picking up some new style pieces for Spring, I also like to switch up my beauty routines. With the new season ahead, I'll hunt down any products that will boost radiance, intensify the glow factor and keep my skin as juicy and plumped as possible. With that in mind, here are the products on my radar, at the moment.
BEAUTY
featured
la roche-posay
La Roche-Posay Respectissime Range For Sensitive Eyes
10:17Alice Grace
La Roche-Posay are by far my favourite, more affordable skincare brand. I just love how stripped back their products are and everything I try from them does wonders for my skin. Although my face and body aren't too sensitive for the most part, my eyes are a different story. Even the slightest breeze causes them to stream and I need to be careful when applying makeup close to my lash-line, or they can get red and irritated. For anyone that wears contact lenses or suffers from sensitive eyes, La Roche-Posay have come to the rescue with their new Repectissime line, which features a waterproof eye makeup remover and a range of mascaras, eyeshadows, liners and brow products. I've tried a couple of the high-street brand's makeup products before, including their Effaclar BB Blur, so I couldn't wait to give their new releases a try!
BEAUTY
hair
natural world
Natural World Brazilian Keratin Smoothing Therapy Shampoo, Conditioner & Treatment Oil Review
18:30Alice GraceMy favourite aspect of beauty blogging is sampling products from brands that wouldn't necessarily catch my eye when shopping. I admit - I always gravitate towards the usual suspects and big beauty names when looking for something new. So, when I was contacted by Natural World to see whether I'd like to try their Brazilian Keratin range, I was half intrigued and half dubious about how the products would perform considering I'd never heard of the brand. Honestly, I have never been so surprised by a haircare range in all my life. With this review, you'll really want to read the whole post!
As soon as the weather starts to feel slightly milder, blue skies are a more regular occurrence and the sunshine starts to creep through the clouds, I can't wait to change my makeup. In Winter, I tend to go for more matte finishes, so in Spring I like to amp up the glow factor and go for more dew. I don't want anything heavy, but I want to look polished and still need a little more makeup than I do when summer has fully flourished.
Whilst I'd love to glam up to the max every single day and look like an Instagram queen, that's not realistic. But, even on lazy days, rushed mornings and weekends when I don't want to spend hours on my makeup, I still want to look put together and polished. I never quite feel myself without wearing some sort of shadow, whether it's super subtle and simply evens out the skin-tone, or a bolder shade that packs a punch. Either way, I always have a few individual eyeshadows on stand-by that I can use alone for a quick, yet effective, finish.
BEAUTY
featured
used up
Used Up #8 Featuring Oskia, Sarah Chapman and La Roche-Posay
17:18Alice GraceIt's been a long time since my last Used Up #7 post and the drawer that stores my empties was starting to overflow, so I thought it was about time I put together a post. Actually, this is only about a third of the stash of finished products I've accumulated, but I didn't want this post to get out of control!
Clarins' Beauty Flash Balm is an iconic cult products that has has been around for years and is forever featured in magazines. It's won multiple awards and is a best-seller for the brand, thanks to every beauty editor singing its praises. Despite this, on the blogging and vlogging scene, it seems to be overlooked and that's such a shame. From the plain packaging, it may not seem as exciting as a new Hourglass palette or as attention-grabbing as a garish Too Faced collection, but it's what's inside that counts. And this little tube has the capability to perform skin miracles! Seeing as I've been obsessed with it over the past year especially (it even made it into my 2016 Makeup Favourites), I thought I'd throw it in to the spotlight for this post.