Liz Earle Skincare Review, Routine and My Top Tips

The background

Throughout my late teens and into my twenties, the condition of my skin was a source of constant frustration for me. I had mild acne when I was about 16 then pretty frequent break outs and scarring. As you'll know if you've been following me for a while, I've tried pretty much everything over the years to clear it up - Soap & Glory, La Roche Posay, Sudocream, Simple, Clinique... the list goes on. I wouldn't say I was on the confidence lowering or extreme end of the bad skin scale. Because I discovered blogging and makeup tutorials around this time, I did a pretty good job of covering it up over the years. Also, I came round to the belief that it wasn't so much external factors (skincare, makeup) which affected my skin but internal (hormones, diet, stress etc). 

Fast forward to about a year ago, my skin was alright but I'd still get breakouts on a weekly basis. My friend who had been working at Liz Earle at the time told me while I was moaning that I should give it a go as it had transformed her skin. A lot of my other friends piped up at the same time saying its what they used and loved it.

To be honest, I was a bit sceptical.

I had tried Liz Earle when it first became a thing years ago when I was young. I can't remember exactly when, but to give some perspective, it was when it was all the rage among my mum's friends and she let me try hers. It stung my eyes. Because of this I then swerved the blogger blow up of 2012ish when everyone seemed to be raving about it. I just wrote the whole range off as overpriced and overhyped. Also, I didn't really understand the whole cloth thing. I mean, wasn't that really unhygienic?

So what happened?

I reasoned that if everyone was raving about it maybe it was worth another go. 

Basically, since I bought my first cleanse & polish in November 2018, I haven't looked back. 

I managed to get a great Black Friday deal from lizearle.com - £41.65 including P&P for 200ml Hot Cloth Cleanser (i.e. big bottle), moisturiser, 2 cotton cloths, Superskin Concentrate for night (face oil), skin tonic (toner) and a set of travel minis which came in super handy this year when I went away on holiday with only carry on. Considering the 200ml Hot Cloth Cleanser retails for £27 a bottle, this was a great deal. The long and short of it is: you can get great deals if you shop around. Don't be put off by the stand alone prices. I buy deals when they come up on QVC or lizearle.com and never pay more than £45 for P&P, my 3 step routine and at least 2 other products (usually full size). 

I certainly can power through the products, especially the moisturiser, and I'm conscious of not buying it too frequently. I'm trying to just have to buy my supply twice a year. So, I've been getting innovative. When I got the Superskin face oil for night I was terrified of using it on my face lest it break me out. But I run out of moisturiser while I was hanging out for another Black Friday so I swapped in the oil to my routine. My skin didn't react at all. In fact I loved it!

What's my routine?

1. At the end of the day I take about a 20p size amount of Hot Cloth Cleanser into my hands and rub all over my makeup. I do my face and neck first then eye makeup. It doesn't sting my eyes at all now. This takes about 10 seconds.
2. I run the cotton cloth under warm water then remove the cleanser from my face. I rinse the cloth then use the other side to remove any remnants. This whole thing takes about 30 seconds (if that) and my face is squeaky clean. I used to use multiple cotton wool pads with Micellar Water then Simple Cleanser to remove my makeup. Not only is my new way more environmentally friendly (I think, because I'm not throwing away lots of Primark cotton wool pads every day), its more effective at removing my makeup, involves less rubbing of eyeballs and takes less than half the time.
3. I can take or leave the toner. I like the spray one in summer.
4. I pop the cloth in the washing machine.
5. After showering I put a 5p size of the Skin Repair Normal/ Combination Moisturiser or 3 pumps of the Superskin Concentrate for Night on my face. I apply in upward circular motions.
6. Once a week I use the Balancing Gel Mask. This is a clear gel that I apply after cleansing, leave on for a couple of minutes then remove with a fresh hot cotton cloth. My skin is freshened, cleared and moisturised.

My essentials are the Cleanse and Polish and Skin Repair Moisturiser.

What's so good about it?

• It's so easy
• It's so quick
• Everything smells natural and fresh
• It's great value for money
• A small amount of product goes a long way
• No break outs or spots
• My skin tone is much more even and smooth
• My skin is moisturised even in winter, meaning my makeup goes on much better and I've never had flaky or irritated skin since using this
• I can really trust the brand. After my experience with the Superskin Concentrate, I feel like my skin is used to the ingredients of the brand so any product I switch up won't cause upset

Top tips for great value

• Look out for discount codes and multi-item deals from Liz Earle and QVC
• Only buy products you know you'll use. For example, I'm not a big fan of hand cream generally so always opt for bundles which have alternatives
• When you think you've finished a tube - you haven't! Like toothpaste and countless other tubed products, there's so much left in there. If you're paying this kind of dolla, you'll want to scrape every last drop out that you can. Hack: cut the hot cloth cleanser tube in half and voila - at least another 5 nights' worth. To prevent the cleanser from oxidising (solidifying), put it in a small plastic bag to stop the air getting to it.
• I tend not to get the 100ml Hot Cloth Cleanser. One, because generally you get better value for money the more millilitres you buy at once and two because I don't think the above tip would work with the bottle.

Less hyped products worth a mention

As is the case with the bulk deals, I've been able to try other Liz Earle products that I wouldn't have otherwise bought. I absolutely love the Balancing Gel Mask and the Superskin Concentrate for night. I do also have the Cleanse and Polish for body. This smells great and is a novelty, but I wouldn't buy it for its own sake.

The verdict

My skin is far from perfect, which I think is normal for a lot of reasons: pollution of living in a city, a diet that could be better, genetic factors and wearing makeup most days. I will also admit that the price of Liz Earle products is pretty high, and every time I run out of one of my essentials I may or may not look up Liz Earle jobs in Glasgow for 4 hours a week that I could do on a Saturday or Sunday just for the staff discount. I totally don't do that. (But er hmu if you're Liz Earle HR and have such a position available). Overall though, for the improvement it's made to my skin I think it's totally worth it and I don't see myself using anything else in the future. 

If you're looking to try a new skincare routine, or have always wondered if Liz Earle is worth the hype, I would totally recommend giving it a go. 

If there's anything else you're wondering about the products or anything I haven't covered, let me know in the comments below and I'll be happy to pour out more spiel. Honestly, I don't know how many words I've written here, but I can't help but think how much easier uni would have been if I could analyse literature as freely and speedily as I can write about my skincare regime.