Sanctuary 4 in 1 Restoring Body Elixir

4 in 1 Restoring Body Elixir is a new product from Sanctuary's Sleep range. It contains a quartet of luxurious oils - coconut, sweet almond, sesame and olive oil, as well as ylang ylang, Frankincense and Patchouli fragrances to help calm and reduce tension and apparently help you drift off to sleep.

I normally don't have too many problems with sleeping. I generally find it fairly easy to relax and tend to drift off quite quickly, but I've been having trouble over the last few weeks. I feel really tired and sleepy until I actually get in to bed and suddenly I'm wide awake and just can't seem to relax. The more I try to doze off, the more uptight and stressed out I seem to get which results in lots of tossing and turning and a fair amount of huffing and puffing. A couple of weeks ago, when browsing through the Sanctuary range at Boots, I spotted the new restoring Body Elixir and decided to give it a go in the hope that it would help me and the boyfriend (I've been keeping him awake too) get a decent nights sleep.

Sanctuary 4 in 1 Restoring Body Elixir

The Elixir is described as a 4 in 1 product because it can be used in a variety of different ways. You can add it to your bath, use it as a massage oil, apply it to damp skin for extra hydration and it can also be used as a hair conditioning oil. I've tried it in all of the above ways apart from the hair conditioning one. My hair's quite fine and heavy oils never work well and tend to leave it looking lank and greasy, so I decided to give that one a miss. Used as a bath oil the warming, soothing, ever so slightly spicy scented Elixir works really well to relax and calm and leaves skin feeling soft. When it's applied to damp skin, the oil really helps to hydrate and leaves skin feeling smooth and soft without any horrible greasiness. The way I've been using the product the most though, is as a massage oil. Although the above two application methods are nice, I do find the scent fades quite a lot so I've been applying a small amount to arms, chest and various different areas just before bed so I can really get an intense hit of the aroma.

So has it helped me to drift off to the land of nod? Well, the lovely scent has definitely helped me to relax before bed, which in turn has helped me to nod off a lot more quickly than I have been without the oil. I can't say the Elixir is completely responsible because I've also cut down on the copious amounts of tea and coffee I consume everyday which I suspect may have playing quite a big role in my sleep problem. I still feel the oil has helped me though and the hydrating affects are an added bonus.  

Looks like Mouse may have caught a whiff of the soothing, relaxing aroma!

All in all, the restoring Elixir is a lovely product and the warm, soothing scent is a nice change to the usual lavender scented relaxation products which are available. I'll be continuing to use it before bed and as a moisturising product and will be keeping a bottle handy for the colder, winter months when I want something warm and comforting to apply after baths.

4 in 1 Restoring Body Elixir is available from Boots and sanctuary.co.uk where it costs £8.25 for a 100ml bottle.

Do you have any favourite products which help you drift off to sleep?

Quick Review: Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask

I recently purchased a couple of cleansers from the Sanctuary range at Boots and was really quite pleased with them so I also decided to try one of the masks from the range. I have oily skin that's prone to break outs and blocked pores and I've found in the past that clay based masks have been pretty effective at deep cleaning my skin. Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask contains charcoal and kaolin clay and is aimed at oily, congested skin that's prone to blemishes. It's a self heating mask that's designed to gently warm skin and open up pores so the charcoal and kaolin can draw out impurities. It also contains essential oil of myrrh to sooth and calm and according to Santurary, it rebalances the skins oil levels and leaves skin silky soft.

Sanctuary Mask

Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask

I've used the mask a few times over the last couple of weeks and I've really enjoyed using it. There's something incredibly satisfying about slathering a thick layer of clay based mask over your face and the warming feeling makes it even more enjoyable. The mask really does get quite warm when it's applied and massaged in to slightly damp skin but not uncomfortably so and it quickly cools. The instructions suggest you leave it on for five minutes which I did the first couple of times but I decided to leave it on slightly longer last time I used. During this time the mask stays quite gloopy and doesn't harden or dry which seems to make rinsing off easier.

So what are the results like? Quite good actually, I've noticed an improvement in the amount of oil my skin produces since I started using and my face feels lovely and clean after rinsing. Moisturiser and serums seem to penetrate and soak in much faster after using too. The mask doesn't magically get rid of blocked pores but it does make them a lot easier to cleanly extract and i have to say, my face does feel soothed after I've used it.

Overall it's a pretty good clay mask and at £10.20 for a fairly large 100ml tube it's quite reasonably priced too!

What are your favourite deep cleansing masks?

Quick Sanctuary Cleanser Reviews

Sanctuary is a brand I often spot  when I'm at Boots stocking up on essentials but never really take much notice of. I've tried quite a few of their body and bath products in the past but I'd never tried any of their face/skincare products. Last month I picked up a couple of £5.00 off vouchers at Boots and decided to give a couple of items from the line a try. The two products I picked up, Polishing hot cloth cleanser and Fresh faced purifying wash both had pretty good reviews online and with the money off vouchers I had, were a bargain.  I've been using both for the past few weeks now so thought I'd share my thoughts.

Fresh faced purifying wash is a gentle foaming wash enriched with vitamin E and glycerin to help balance the skin and increase moisture levels and chamomile, cucumber and witch hazel to cool and sooth. I've been using this ever day in place of my normal wash and so far I really like it. It smells quite fresh, foams up well and removes any traces of make up left behind by my make up remover. My clog/spot prone skin doesn't seem to be complaining either and I've not had any break outs, sensitivity or dryness since I started using it.

Overall a pretty good cleanser considering it costs around £7.00 for 140ml.

Polishing hot cloth cleanser is designed to open up pores and deep cleanse your skin. It contains Beeswax and Cocoa Butter to hydrate, Chamomile to calm and Gold of pleasure oils to replenish deep down moisture. I've been using this a couple of times a week in place of the purifying wash and I have to say, it feels really nice. I haven't noticed any major improvement in skin tone or texture but my face definitely feels cleaner, softer and hydrated after using and the lovely scent makes it a pleasure to use.

I can imagine the 125ml bottle will last ages considering I only use it twice a week but I think I'll be repurchasing when it runs out. 

Both of the cleansers are available from Boots and The Sanctuary site and they cost £7.14 and £10.20.