Boots Simply Sensitive - gentle on the face and your bank balance

I have always struggled with skin care because my skin is so sensitive and very dry.  I suffer from eczema and if my skin disagrees with a product, the skin around my eyes will quickly flare up.

As a result, I have had limited success with facial moisturisers and cleansers.  I have reacted to products ranging from Liz Earle's much-raved about hot cloth cleanser, right through to moisturisers specifically designed for sensitive skin, e.g. E45 and Avene.

The only two facial moisturisers I have had success with are Aderma and the La Roche Posay Toleriane range.  Both are specifically designed for sensitive skin and definitely kept my flare-ups at bay.

But I had niggly issues with both - Aderma was very thick and had a rather unpleasant whiff to it and La Roche Posay was (in my thrifty opinion) quite expensive for a daily moisturiser.  At £16 a tube (a small tube) I was shifting through a lot of it as I moisturise at least twice a day.

The products I now use were definitely a bit of a miracle find for me.  It is the night moisturiser and face cleanser from Boots Simply Sensitive range.

I am guessing this range was brought out as Boots answer to the incredibly successful 'Simple' range.  I use Simple's eye make-up remover and would never switch, I love it.  Boots had their range on offer when they first launched it, so I decided I'd try it.

Boots Simply Sensitive Night Moisturiser

The night moisturiser comes in a little pot which is easy to store and use, and being a pot rather than a tube, you can make sure you get every last bit out of it.  It is fragrance and colour free and contains typical sensitive skin ingredients such as aloe vera and mineral oil.

It is completely fragrance free, there is no scent to it at all other than a basic 'cream' smell. For a night moisturiser it has quite a light consistency and I find it rubs in very easily.  No stinging at all.  Sometimes if I apply loads it can leave a bit of a sticky residue but that doesn't last long.  I find it to be a good base for my foundation, and my skin feels soft all day (despite working in an air conditioned office!)  I use it both mornings and evenings, despite it being designed for night only. I did buy the day moisturiser but it just didn't provide enough moisturisation, it was far too light and thin. 

I have been using this product now for over a year and, although my skin isn't perfect, it is definitely calm and moisturised!  I haven't (touch wood) had any skin breakouts or reaction to this product and it has seen me through wind-induced chapped skin in the winter and sunburnt (naughty) skin in the summer.  At £3.79 (and regularly on 3 for 2 or 30% off offers) I'd highly recomment it to any dry, sensitive skin types out there.  The price tag means that if it doesn't work you haven't wasted too much money, but if it does, you've discovered a very cheap way to moisturise your skin!

Boots Simply Sensitive Cleansing Lotion

For your £2.79 price tag you get a big bottle (200ml) of this stuff.  The neck of the bottle has a plastic stopper so it is easy to control how much you pour out, and again I find you can use all of the product up.  I squeeze a bit onto cotton wool pads and wipe over my face until the pads are clean.  I wear quite a bit of foundation and this cuts through it easily.

Because it is a lotion, it doesn't dry my skin out at all.  If you suffer from greasy or combination skin you may not like this product as it does feel as if it is leaving a slight film on the skin.  I wouldn't say I get that 'squeaky clean' feeling you get with some cleansers, but then I find the cleansers that make my skin feel clean, also dry it out. So it doesn't bother me that this cleanser doesn't leave me with that clean feeling.  Don't get me wrong, you feel you have lifted the products and 'muck' of the day from your face - it just feels fresh rather than squeaky clean.

Again, I have used this product for over a year and have had no reactions or flare-ups.  I still get spots, but not on a regular basis, which makes me confident that the cleanser is removing my make-up etc.  Once again, for the price, it is worth a shot

Overall
I love these two products and it will take something pretty impressive to drag me away from them!  For the price, I think you couldn't really ask for much more.  Is my skin glowing and flawless? No.  I still have prominent large pores, I still get the odd spot and angry blemish and my skin tone is generally still pretty uneven.  But based on my previous experience with skin care, it's the best results I have found so far.