Review of Ziaja SenSitive Soothing Day Cream and Micellar Water

Hi Pretty people!


                Once again,I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! It's hard to believe that it's been a week since my last post, but in that time I was shopping in Dublin and have some amazing buys to show you guys in the weeks to come! I also took on foster kittens, who at this moment are having a great time chasing my fingers across the keyboard! If anyone can give a kitten a good home let me know!:) 

                                     

Molly and Charlie helping me write!

       I would also like to dedicate this post to my wonderful friend Zoe who's 21 today. Its such a pain in the a•• I couldn't make it due to stupid train and bus systems, but I hope you've a wonderful day hun:)

        Ok, so on to the review! As the title would suggest, this review is on Ziaja's SenSitive skin day cream and miscellar water. I have done a review on the enzyme peel product from this range before and was so happy with it I decided to try these out. Ziaja is a Polish range, which has several, very affordable lines and can be bought in most chemists and online. I'll leave the link for the Irish online store below.

                 

         

      The miscellar water is €4.99 for 200mls, is ph balanced,dermatologically and allergy tested and has 0% parabens, alcohol or perfume. It's active ingredients are provitamin B5 and allantoin, which is an anti irritant and has moisturising properties. You apply to the skin with cotton pads and there's no need to rinse. So does it do the job? 

        You're still going to need an eye make up remover with this for a start, but it is very good at removing other makeup. When I first purchased this I used it as my general face cleanser, and to be honest I wasn't thrilled with the results. During the day I did notice my skin was looking very oily around the chin area, and I felt had to use the water to cleanse again. In fairness to the product at the moment I am really struggling with blockages and lumps on the right side of my face, and my chin and nose always have black heads. Ironically, I read an article about the bacteria on your phone possibly causing spots and since I have started using my head phones, it has definitely made a difference! Get that anti bacterial wipe now! 

Eeeeeeew!

      So instead of using the miscellar water as a skin cleanser I have just been using it to remove make up and it does a lovely job. I think if you had good sensitive skin this would be lovely for you, as it did leave the non problematic areas of my skin really soft and clean, but its just too gentle to tackle my problem areas. I would defienitly recommend using this in preference of a face wipe if you're too tired to  'double cleanse' at any stage. It's very economical as you don't need to use too much of this product, and it is brilliant at taking off face makeup. Bottom line, I will be repurchasing this as it is an excellent, good value make up remover that leaves behind no residue and isn't full of harsh chemicals. 

                                 

     On to the Soothing Day Cream! It retails at €6.99 for 50ml, is ph balanced,  has no silicones, mineral oil or perfume, has an SPF of 20 and protects from UVA and UVB rays. This product is marketed for sensitive, dry and itchy skin, which it doesn't point out on the front of the box! Due to this it is just too heavy for my skin, and reminds me of a lighter formulation of aqueous cream. I think is not so much for sensitive skin, as for dry skin that suffers irritations and can't cope with chemicals. Unless you actually have this type of skin, rather than just sensitive skin, I wouldn't recommend this product. It is a pity as this product has a lot going for it and if they brought this out in a milk version I would definitely try it. 

                                                   

  So, there's my honest opinion on these products! Has anyone else tried out this range, or other lines in the range? What did people think? Can anyone help me on my quest to find a good moisturiser?! 

   Enjoy what ever you get up to this weekend and lots of love from me, Charlie and Molly!xxxx

Link to Irish store online: http://www.originalbeauty.ie/store/index.php?main_page=index 

Elemis Enzyme Peel VERSUS Ziaja's Sensitive Skin Enzyme peeling mask

        Hi pretty people!


       So I'm back with a sort of double review; think of it as expensive versus affordable.I'll give you a little background on how I wound up purchasing these products. My skin is  quite sensitive, but I also suffer with quite a bit of congestion, (blackheads, little lumps ect, but not spots) around the nose and chin area. Over the years I've tried a lot of products designed for acne on these areas, which was not a bright idea as congestion is not the same as acne, and all this left me with some nasty skin damage. 

      When I got a bit older I started to do some research into products more suitable for my complaint. As a result I tried lots of products; nose strips, tea tree, salicylic acid and did a lot of exfoliation with apricot kernels! I also did loads of home extractions,(with water that was much too hot and never with a tissue!)while really not having a clue what I was doing, and therefore breaking capillaries and probably making the situation worse! I'd begun to hear a bit about chemical peels but it all sounded a bit nuts, and was waaaay out of my price range. Anyways, I'm sure you're sick of my rambling so I'll get straight to it! 

      I eventually came across fruit enzymes. Enzymes are exfoliants which break down the upper dead skin cells but are much kinder to your skin than the likes of scrubs and micro dermabrasion.  Look out for papaya, blueberry and pineapple as ingredients in your peels or cleansers, and no don't go and rub a slice of pineapple over your face, I don't think that works quite the same way!!

     

     I purchased a small sample of Elemis's Papaya Peel mask from E-bay, as it seemed to be the best product on the market for my problem.Many beauty items are seriously expensive and it can be hit and miss, especially when it comes to skin care. So when I got the hang of E-bay I started to purchase travel size products I wanted to try out and have saved quite a bit this way. 

    This stuff smells gorgeous, really fruity with a cream constancy.  I applied to cleansed skin and left it for about 15 minutes, and removed with lukewarm water which is in line with the product guidelines. It's a little tingly on the skin and there is defiantly a glow to the skin afterwards. In the morning however, I had developed a spot and my glow was gone! I tried the mask a few times and sadly the same result every time. I honestly can't say I was that impressed. Coupled with the €38 price tag for 50ml according to the  bliss.ie website, I couldn't justify recommending this. However, apart from the spot it didn't cause my skin any problems. I'll leave a link below as to where you can purchase it online if you'd like to try it out.

                         

    

      Recently I came across the Polish brand Ziaja. As a brand it is generally getting great reviews, and they do a SenSitive Skin range, which has it's own enzyme peel. It has no silicones, mineral oils or perfumes which I thought might make it too gentle to be very effective, but with a €4.99 price tag for 60ml I decided to give it a try. It obviously has no smell and is a gel consistency. It left my skin with a lovely glow which lasted with no clogged pores. I was so impressed with this product I decided to purchase other products from the line, which I'm very happy with and will write reviews on when I have tried them out for a bit longer. This brand has quite a few lines, including one for mature skin and is available in most chemists, but I'll link the online store below.

   

                                     

     I bought these products both to deal with blackheads and as with many products they help temporarily, but the blackheads always come back. I'm not sure if any product can 'cure' blackheads as such, but I am going to try treat them as much as possible with a good skin care routine. Both of these peels cause temporary sensitivity of the skin, so I would recommend using a very simple moisturiser and avoiding sun beds or applying makeup immediately after. 

                                

Oh LORD! Doesn't she have terrible skin?!

      So the inexpensive product wins out this time, and I feel I have discovered a bit of a gem in the Ziaja line. How do other people deal with their blackheads and congestion while having sensitive skin? Has anyone discovered a secret product or method they'd care to share with us all?

         Thank you so much for taking the time to read the article and I hope it was of some help!

Have a lovely weekend:) xx

Ziaja: http://www.originalbeauty.ie/store/index.php?main_page=index

Elemis: http://bliss.ie/elemis/elemis-papaya-enzyme-peel-50ml.html