I've never been overly into beauty, however since my skin has been going through a hard time these past few months, I thought I would take a deeper look into skincare to try and help it out.
I've tried many products in the hopes to give me blemish, pore and spot free skin; but I've come to accept that my skins never going to be picture perfect and learnt that those 'imperfections' are what make my skin, skin! I've also used some products that I would not buy again. And remember, these are just my personal picks, and some may have worked completely differently for you. So, here we go...
Skincare picks:
This is a cleanser that skincare icons such as Skincarebyhiram love. I had used up my previous cleanser and when I watched CeraVe be promoted on Sheerluxe.com, I bit the bullet. This product is a foam cleanser, so not a texture I was used to, and definitely not one to use on the eyes which I learnt the hard way. But wow, I've now gone through a bottle, (which has lasted about 4 months) and I've repurchased another one. This definitely smooths the skin out and removes any annoying blocked pores which cause bumps, and is slightly exfoliating without being irritating. 4/5, I just wish it could remove eye makeup!
This is another product I had seen have great reviews online, and came out of nowhere. Those who recommended claimed it brightens and hydrates skin with the 96% snail mucin. I've tried it for the past month and can confirm it does just that, no smell, not sticky and soak in so nicely to the skin and leaves it feeling soft with a subtle sheen. It hasn't blocked my pores of made my skin any oilier, but provides great hydration throughout the day. I use it both morning and night, and so far is looking to become a holy grail in my skincare routine. 5/5, can do no wrong!
My skin became quite dry over the winter which it hasn't been before, and so I wanted a moisturiser which was slightly thicker and was going to provide hydration throughout the day. The inkey lists 'peptide moisturiser' had great reviews, especially with its pump design, so I thought I'd try it out. I personally thought it was very hydrating and helped with the dryness of my skin, but not much more than that. It is meant to be a dupe for Drunk Elephant's 'Protini Polypeptide Cream'; so great if you love that product but don't fancy spending almost £60 per moisturiser! It didn't break me out, has a neutral smell and soaks into the skin nicely, not sure its anything that I would write home about but definitely a lovely moisturiser. 3/5.
I wrote a previous blog post on the Cult Beauty Lip edit, which is where I found this lip butter. Since then, I have pretty much used it daily and fallen in love with it. I love how it doesn't leave my lips dry after its worn off, which I've found many lip balms do. The stick is quite large, which has turned out to be quite useful as its easy to just throw on and go, and overall will last longer as there's a lot of product! 4/5.
What I wouldn't repurchase:
1. Paulas Choice BHA Liquid Exfoliant.
I wanted to love this product so much. I've personally seen nothing but raving reviews for this toner, and so I bit the bullet. I purchased the smaller size, just incase I didn't see much of a difference; but I only used it 3 times before I had to return it for a reaction. My skin is acne prone, but not overly sensitive to anything such as perfume or SPF. But, this burnt my skin when applying and still felt tight the next morning. Safe to say I won't be repurchasing this. 0/5.
2. The Inkey List Spot Treatment
TikTok convinced me to buy this product with both amazing before and afters from both consumers and the brand. I had got to a point where nothing seemed to be reducing the acne I thought why not! It is a great product for slightly calming the redness of the larger spots down, and can be blended in nicely to wear throughout the day under makeup or alone. I didn't however find the product lived up to any of the claims it made, which are: 'gently reduces blemish size, reduces oil levels and unblock pores'. I wouldn't say I noticed a huge difference in the size of blemish or oil levels in my skin. So whilst I will use it up, I wouldn't repurchase. 2.5/5.
Beauty picks:
1. Dior Lip Tattoo
I really like Dior's Backstage makeup selection, in particular their lip products. I've tried the Dior Lip Glow, gone through multiple of the Dior Addict Lip Maximiser and most recently bought the Dior Lip Tattoo in 'Natural Peach'. It is the perfect 'my lips but better' shade. The formula wears so nicely and has no transfer that I've found, and doesn't leave you with any patchy colour left over. There isn't really any smell which I actually love, sometimes a smell of a lip product can make or break it! When I went to pick up this product, I tried it with the Dior Lip Glow Oil In '012 Rosewood' so when the opportunity came to purchase it with 20% off, I took it! I'll let you know if that lives up to the other products... 4/5, I wish it lasted jut a little longer on the lips.
This Clinique Chubby stick in the shade Fuller Fig is my holy grail lip product. The colour, product payoff and overall hydration is perfect. The twist up applicator is really useful, and because the colour is slightly sheer you don't even have to use a mirror when applying! It wears great, doesn't leave a weird 'lip liner' effect when doing so and can be layered for a more intense colour. This is a product I can see myself repurchasing time and time again. 5/5.
What I wouldn't repurchase
I wanted to love this product, as I have yet to find an amazing brow product. With one end being the wax and the other a brush, I thought this product would be amazing. However I find it has no holding power, the brush isn't able to brush through the brows and overall its a bit of a non-product. After about an hour the brows are back to their original state, and as the wax doesn't set, they just look shiny and feel sticky. 1/5, great if you just need a quick brush in the morning but no shaping. (I've found a dupe from Collection here which may be worth trying!) 3.5/5
2. e.l.f Cosmetics monochromatic multi-stick.
This blush looked amazing online, I even went to store to pick out the specific colour. However when applied it has a small almost glitter like highlight to it, which I wouldn't mind, but instead of a 'glow' its more iridescent, and almost chunky. The colour is really nice, and if it didn't have the added shine I think I would really love it, as it blend well and the colour is easily buildable. 2/5, nice colour just too much shimmer.
This brow gel does a great job of holding your brows in place all day, so much so I now use it when wanting to do a sleek hair up. What let's the product down is that when it dries it leaves a white finish, or I have found it too anyway. It means that you really have to brush it through or else it balls up and dries opaque. I have tried the tinted versions, so can't say the quality of those, but I won't be repurcashing this product..at least not as a brow product. 3/5
I'd love to know your favourite products at the moment, or if you have tried anything lately and immediately known it isn't for you! Let me know in the comments. Grace