Christmas Giveaway Day 13 (and Winner of Day 12) CLOSED

THE PRIZE: Meet Dermalogica. Does exactly what it says on the box and this box contains... special cleansing gel, daily microfoliant, multivitamin, power firm and skin smoothing cream.

HOW TO ENTER: What is my favourite Dermalogica product? Leave me the answer in the comments below this post! (Clue - it was one of my Products of the Week recently). I'm afraid this is only open to UK residents.

YESTERDAYS WINNER: Is Ross Beardsall. Congratulations - please email me your address and I'll post this out to you as soon as I can x

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant - Product of the Week

For the past couple of weeks my face has really taken a hit. Firstly I used some beautiful Eldora lashes for Halloween and was too lazy to get my Duo glue from my kit so used the Eldora glue instead. Big mistake have had an inchy, sore patch under and around my eye ever since that seems impossible to fix. It opened the floodgates for the change in temperature to make my skin incredibly dry and bumpy and to be honest my whole face has felt pretty awful for the past week.

Then I remembered my Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant and have used it a couple of times in the past five days and my skin has really taken a turn for the better which is a relief. An incredibly gentle exfoliator this has removed the dry, bumps from my forehead and chin and meant my moisturiser can actually mositurise my skin rather than sitting on top of it sadly unable to penetrate. I'm not a huge fan of Dermalogica but I recommend you try this.

What you need to know - Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

•  £37-£42 for 75g
• Available in the UK from Look Fantastic, Selfridges, Beautyflash

Spending Ban

I am on a self-imposed product buying ban. We are thinking about moving at the beginning of next year and it has been brought to my attention that our bathroom is heaving with beauty and make-up stuff and I really don't need to be buying anymore. So I thought I'd share with you my bathroom cabinet and a few of the things in it. Bear in mind this is just the front row of things - there are about five rows in most places. And I have two big plastic boxes of other things and none of this is make-up... please excuse my terrible writing...

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

I moaned and whinged about my terrible skin throughout the whole time I was pregnant, and to be fair it was pretty dreadful, then to make up for the horrors of childbirth (not that bad this time round) my skin was amazing for about three weeks after Ned was born. Now it's dull, sensitive and prone to the occasional spot popping up out of nowhere (which never used to happen!). I have been using the lovely Rich Balm from Embryolisse and Origins Make a Difference + which are fantastic for the dryness and sensitivity but not really doing anything for the dullness.

My usual go-to exfoliator of choice is Origins Never a Dull Moment - rough enough to do the job but gentle enough to not remove all the skin from your face - but even this hasn't been brightening me up. I put it down to sleep loss, Ned is pretty good but 5 hours max in a row is not really conducive to looking your best. More out of nosiness (it's a sort of make-it-yourself exfoliator) I decided to try Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant and not for nothing is it their number 1 exfoliant. And you don't have to take their (or my) word for it. 98% (that's 251 or their 256) of their reviews on the site would recommend the product to a friend and it gets a full 5 star rating.

This rice-based exfoliating powder reacts with water releasing Papain, Salicylic Acid and Rice Enzymes to get rid of dead skin cells leaving your skin noticeably smoother and brighter. You pour the powder into your wet hands, rub them together to make a paste and rub all over your face (avoiding the eye area), massage gently for a minute or so before rinsing. I could really see and feel the difference after one use which is impressive.

Face Time

I don't think I've ever had a facial before. I'm trawling the dim reaches of my mind and nope I don't think I ever have. Apparently it is essential for brides-to-be. I was unconvinced but didn't want to be behind the curve and regret it later so I had a look on the internet for what other brides-to-be recommended and had had done. Dermalogica seemed to be highly recommended and I know the Mumma B loves it so I booked myself in at St James' Beauty. Again I found St James' by chance just by looking for Dermalogica facials on the internet and I was won over by what seemed to be the very (comparatively) reasonable £65 price tag.

The experience itself was fantastic. I got chatting with Rosie so it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been. That sounds bad. I was voluntarily chatting and it was very relaxing but it wasn't 'oh I think I just dropped off' relaxing. Which it would have been if I had shut up!! My face was cleaned, scrubbed, masked and moisturised over the course of the next hour and felt great when I left. I bought a sort of Dermalogica starter pack for £20 to continue the good work at home. Which I haven't started yet... I want to use up what I have now so that I can really see the difference with the new Dermalogica stuff but having realised that by that time I'll have been married for months I'm going to start this evening.

The whole experience was fantastic but what was really gratifying was that at least three people told me how great my skin was looking the next day. One girl even went away after chatting and came back to say 'what have you done to your face your skin looks amazing - it's glowing!'. So I'm now a complete convert to the way of the facial. I've got my next one in a month!! xx