oils

As the dry weather rolls in, it's important to protect all surfaces that come into contact with cold wind, so here are some of my oil saviours.

1. Boots Botanics Facial Oil

I've already talked about this here, and I pretty much stand by what I said before. I haven't really been using this on my face but more on my cuticles and it seems to be doing the trick as we have started to settle into the autumn weather.

2. Caudalie Divine Oil

This, as the name states, smells absolutely divine. It smells so good I wish there was a perfume with this scent -- it is amazing. Though I've only used it on my skin so far, it's also a great multi-use oil, you can use it on your body, face and hair and I'm fairly confident it would work well on anything. This absorbs really easily and doesn't leave any sort of a greasy film which the Boots one tends to do sometimes. Love this stuff.

3. Bio-Oil

This was my first oil purchase ever and though it's not my favourite oil now that I've tried others, it still does a decent job and is a decent price. I have a few dry patches on my various limbs that I've been using some of this stuff on, and they seem to be less dry but they're still there. I tend to use this on my cuticles and feet before bed, to really hydrate everything and again, it's not my favourite but works well enough.

4. Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Penetrating Oil

I've already done an initial rave about this stuff here, and after having used this for quite a while now, I really do think this stuff has saved my split ends. My hair is nowhere near as dry and split-end-y as it used to be even though I have been heat styling a fair bit, and I'm fairly certain this is what's been saving it.

5. Ole Henriksen Pure Truth Youth Activating Oil

This was one of those mini free samples from Sephora, I can't quite remember whether I redeemed it with points or whether it was completely free, but either way the packaging is surprisingly good. This oil is supposed to be anti-ageing for all skin types and I really have to say I like it so far. I slap this on at night when I feel like my skin is looking a bit 'meh' and when I wake up the next morning, I do feel a little more radiant than I normally would be. I do have to mention though, that this smells very strongly of citronella, so if you don't like that sort of scent you should probably pass on this or at least give it a whiff in the store before purchasing it.

boots botanics facial oil

Certain drugstores in Hong Kong (such as Mannings in IFC) have started to carry some of Boots products and it was on a bit of a whim that I decided to purchase this Boots Botanics Facial Oil. Having mentioned how much I like the Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil and realising how amazing oils are for your skin, I spotted this amongst the shelves and figured it could help out my bizarrely dry skin.

This facial oil is a bit of a mix of a bunch of oils including rosehip, sweet almond, bergamot and lemon peel to name a few, and as part of Boots Botanics' collection, it is 100% organic and was also developed with Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. It has that quintessential spa smell -- the sort of calming, clean, herbal-y scent. Unlike the Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil it isn't quite a dry oil, it can feel a tad oily when you go a little crazy with it, but not greasy like you've covered your face in actual olive or cooking oil. It's also said to be scientifically proven that it locks in moisture for 8 hours, but really who can prove that? Anyway, I've been using this as an added step before my various moisturizers or occasionally even mixing a drop into my moisturizer, and it seems to be giving my skin a lovely boost of hydration without actually making my skin oily, it's just extremely nourishing.

Although this is said to be a facial oil, I've also been rubbing a bit on my perpetually dry cuticles, (I have a bit of an issue with flaky cuticles even though I moisturize my hands and feet like a crazy person -- I swear you will never find me without some sort of hand cream), and this has literally become my miracle cure to stop annoying hangnails from happening and to keep everything pleasantly moisturized. All in all, it's a good facial oil, not the most revolutionary or life-changing -- it does the job, but personally, I think it makes a better cuticle oil.

organix renewing moroccan argan oil

After realising that the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner (briefly mentioned here) did wonders for my hair, I decided to venture into the whole Moroccan hair oil fad with another product from Organix's line, as the traditional Moroccan Oil brand isn't readily available in Hong Kong. This was pretty much a whimsical purchase, I hadn't read about this in the blogosphere or heard about it at all but people have always raved about products containing Moroccan oil when it comes to haircare so I figured why not try this one.

Personally, I think the packaging looks great aesthetically; the clear bottle allows you to see how much you've used and the fact that the oil is golden makes it seem so luxurious (might just be me being a bit odd and kind of trivial but whatever). However, in terms of practicality, I find the flip-top dispenser to be quite messy -- sometimes product will leak over the edge and me being quite the OCD person I am, it drives me a bit insane.

Anyway, moving on to the product itself: it's a dry oil for your hair that is supposed to "renew your hair's cell structure" all whilst "sealing in shine and creating lush softness" and I find that just a few drops rubbed into the ends of my hair seems to do exactly that. It smells lovely and isn't greasy, unless you go over the top and put a crap ton in your hair. I dab a one or two drops, (because a little goes a really, really long way), into my finger tips and just run it through the ends of my damp hair post-shower and it seems to make my hair gloriously soft and silky. It might be helpful to mention that over the last few years, I've gotten a lot of split ends probably as a result of too much heat styling, which no matter how much conditioning, hair masks, or heat protectant I put in my hair, just won't seem to stop forming. Over the last couple of days that I've used this, I've noticed that my hair looks a little less dry and crazy at the ends, so here's hoping that this product will rescue my dying hair and make it just that bit healthier.