Skin and Beauty

End Of The Range Review: Boots Botanics

I have decided to take skin care a little more seriously as you may have seen by a couple of my facemask reviews here, here and here. But a facemask does not make a skin care routine, it is but one essential part. If you actually read the back of products they always say they are best used with other products within the same range and whether that’s true or not, in my newness to taking this seriously, I decided to buy a set of products from the same range, the Boots Botanics All Bright range to be precise. I thought I would play it safe because who doesn’t like Boots.

I bought the Gentle Cleansing Cream, Cleansing Toner, Hydrating Day Cream, Purifying Face Scrub and Cleansing Face Wash. The only thing I thought was missing was a night cream but as they didn’t have this on the shelf I bought two day creams and that’s how I ended January, with plans for a fresh, clear, smooth face. The plan was to use it until I finished at least one thing in the range and then do my review. First to go was the face wash, almost 4 months later (end of January to early May).

This range pushes forward “The Power of Plants” so I was very excited to see what the star ingredient, hibiscus, could do for me. I didn’t know anything about hibiscus except that when I type it takes about 10 seconds and I have to sound it out really slowly every time because it just doesn’t sound right. According to Glitter Naturally there are many benefits from the hibiscus plant such as firming and lifting the skin, evening skin tone, they are rich in antioxidants and have a slight exfoliating quality. And to make it even better (and make me want to buy some in its raw form) there are benefits for hair too such as preventing premature graying of hair, thickening the hair and reducing hair fall.

So with all that in mind, I was a bit disappointed to see the hibiscus so far down the ingredients list on each of the products but it would not be the first time a brand has extolled the virtues of a miracle ingredient and then only put a drop in to satisfy trading standards! Not to say that’s what Boots has done and it’s possible you don’t need a lot to feel the power of this plant.

The first thing I tried was the day lotion. I have to admit day creams aren’t something I’ve ever really used or if I have, I haven’t put any thought into it. The reason you use a day lotion versus a body lotion or night cream on your face is because day lotion has sun protection in it and I guess I never realised how important that was. So my poor face has been subject to years of unnecessary sun damage which is a shame. Those are years I’ll never get back so unfortunately my black has cracked…a little.

One of the problems I suffer with is dry skin and if it’s not a thick cream like Cetraben or E45 I find that it just isn’t moisturising enough. I was happily surprised when I started using this. It’s thinner than the lotions I’ve just mentioned and that normally translates to a greasy feeling, non-moisturising lotion fail but my skin felt great. I did find that it made my eyes sting a little because I just rubbed it all over as I normally do even when creams say to stay away from the eyes, it’s never been a problem before, it just was here but the flipside is the parts of my skin it wasn’t stinging felt soft and alive!

I’ve never used a cream cleanser before and the first few times it felt like the stupidest thing ever. I was putting lotion on, then wiping it straight off…to clean my skin. I’m still not 100% convinced that it’s a thing but I’ve used it faithfully for a few months and I’m now used to the cold cleanser touching my face. When looking at the cotton pad, it is removing the dirt, grime and gunk that builds up on your face during the day and the toner afterwards just finishes up the job. As a duo, they don’t sting at all like other cleansers and toners from my past and my skin does feel good. I would say that I’m not convinced about it removing make up easily, which I’ve never been able to do anyway, but it is something you would want out of your cleanser. I don’t know if it’s because my make up is so dark and this makes it harder to remove but this is not my miracle makeup remover that I’m looking for but for daily buildup, it’s a thumbs up.

The face wash, like all of the products in this range having the hero ingredient of hibiscus, the floral scent is very subtle and honestly, you’d need to be sniffing with the power of a vacuum to even get a hint. The wash leaves your face feeling clean. What more do you want from it?

The face scrub has a nice consistency. Some scrubs feel a little slimy and the actual exfoliating bits make no impact whatsoever or they are extremely gritty and feel like you’re sandpapering your face. This has a bit of roughness to it, which comes from the crushed apricot seeds, that suits me just fine but I know it could be too harsh for some.

I almost forgot, even though I bought two day creams, I actually started by using the Boots Tea Tree  and Witch Hazel Night Treatment Gel at night which is in the same range as the Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Peel Off mask I reviewed a little while ago. A gel isn’t the first thing you would think to use on your face but considering the consistency, it was really moisturising but extremely light at the same time.

And then just as my trial was coming to an end I spotted the Hydrating Night Cream in my local Boots, buy one get one free at £4.99. As I’d been getting on so well with the Day Cream, I decided that I should give it a go and buy one of each. It was BOGOF after all! Turned out it was an extremely good decision because it went through at £2.50 and still BOGOF, which means an amazing £1.25 each. My bargain senses where obviously tingling (or it was an error on their system)! I was so happy, as happy as you can be about a face lotion, as this was the product that I wanted to buy again. As much as I liked the other products, I was not so impressed that I won’t keep looking for my skin care holy grail but the lotions, day and night are in the running. My skin feels soft, my breakouts have reduced and it feels smoother. I’m not ever going to get to perfection but I am in a much better place now with my skin than I was in January of this year. I have been drinking more water but I think my new skin care regime, and these products have made a huge difference.

Let’s keep glowing together!

xx Lee xx

Comments welcome below.

Please note all comments are my own and I have not been paid/ sponsored /gifted with products for this review.

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