Some gorgeous, soothing moisturisers for skin that’s on the dry or sensitive side or that’s beginning to feel the effects of the slightly cooler weather. All of the face creams and lotions above are very calming, I find, and though they each vary in their density and richness, the final results are the same; happy, moisturised skin that feels fully guarded against the Autumn chill. They are brilliant moisturisers all year round, of course, it’s just that a couple are a little too rich for my summertime skin and so I’ve been waiting for October so that I could write about them with renewed experience and full enthusiasm and vigour! If you have sensitive, dry, flaky skin that simply won’t behave, these are all your friend, all of the time. I tend to use them (as I don’t have particularly dry or sensitive skin) when I’ve been doing a makeup shoot and my skin is feeling raw and irritated; makeup off, a quick spritz of something lovely, just for the soul (usually it’s Queen of Hungary Mist or the Spray-On Moisture from This Works) and on with a big layer of soothing moisturiser. I leave that on overnight – obviously you don’t have to go overboard with the application, you don’t want to end up with more on your pillow than you have on your face!

Pai’s Chamomile & Rosehip Calming Day Cream is a dream product for sensitive skin. Pai specialise in creating skin care that can be used by the most temperamental and needy of faces; they list every tiny ingredient so that you can spot anything your skin might not agree with (not that it’s likely,  with everything so very nicely formulated) and they have quite comprehensive product guides and interesting blog posts to help you find the right routine. Their Calming Day Cream does exactly that; the rosehip helps to repair and the chamomile and other ingredients help to reduce redness and irritation. It’s nourishing and hydrating without sitting too heavily on the skin, there’s no residue and very little in the way of scent. £32 at Pai Skincare.

More skincare for sensitive skin….

MV Organic Skincare’s Rose Soothing Protective Moisturiser is an interesting one; it feels very light in comparison to the others – it doesn’t have that “plumptious” kind of feel – but it’s very effective as a moisturiser and it’s a joy to use. High quality organic oils together with Vitamin E make this a great skin healer if you feel you’ve overdone it with your exfoliating regime or your skin is wind-battered and sore. I find that this one is the best choice for my combination skin – it’s not at all rich – but you could mix it with one of MV’s Boosters if you wanted extra moisturising power. Ironically, it’s the one best suited for my own needs but it also happens to be the priciest! It’s £70 at Cult Beauty, but you do get a whopping 70ml, so the cost for comparison would be £50 for 50ml (genius, me) and you can also get a little 15ml travel size for £22.

The Calendula & Rose Damask Moisturiser from Elemental Herbology is just ever so slightly on the rich side for my skin on a normal day, but I slather it on if I’ve been travelling or my skin is feeling particularly dry. I’m careful with it because it contains shea butter, and every now and then shea butter makes my skin produce monstrous spots, but it’s a gorgeous cream. Heavier than both options above and containing patented ingredient complexes to help with redness and sensitive skin protection. You can add it to your ASOS order here – it’s £37 for 50ml.

More moisturiser reviews….

Finally, the Coconut & Roses Face Cream from Suti. Suti’s skincare is based around the idea of energy healing; the ingredients are selected for their energetic qualities as well as their skin-enhancing ones. In this case Rose, Queen of Flowers, has been selected not only for skincare benefits but for the “power to refresh soul, mind and spirit”; then there’s Coconut to protect the skin and Date Seed Extract for its anti-wrinkle and antioxidant effects. The idea behind the cream is honour; to honour the “divine feminine within”. Not everyone’s cup of tea, the more holistic side of things, but this is a thoughtfully put together cream and out of all of the four, it’s the richest if you have very dry skin. £47 at sutiskincare.com

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