October Favourites

Anastasia Beverly Hills Concealer
The Anastasia DipBrow Pomade is my HG brow product. Nothing can compare to it in my opinion. I've recently noticed that a lot of people who use it like to carve out their eyebrows using concealer. This gives you an even cleaner line & highlights the brow bone. It can also hide eyebrow regrowth if you can't be bothered to pluck! Thick full coverage concealers are best for this job so I bought this one which is also from Anastasia. I got it in shade 0.5 which is actually light enough to work as a highlighter on my skin. It's really creamy & blendable but the concealer is solid in the pot so it's still easy to control. I also use it as a normal concealer on any blemishes & it covers everything beautifully. It doesn't work so well under the eyes as it can look a bit cakey in that area but if you want to carve out your brows to perfection then this is a great concealer to go for.

Salcura Bioskin DermaSerum*
As an eczema sufferer the combination of icy winds & central heating can wreak havoc on my skin & cause unsightly flareups. I've always been an advocate of natural solutions for this skin condition. In my experience they are 100% more effective than anything you can get from your GP. I mainly get eczema on my body but as the weather gets colder my face often becomes drier & more sensitive too. Whether you have eczema or not it's important to look after your skin & give it the hydration it needs at this time of year. I've been trying out a couple of products from Salcura's Bioskin range & their DermaSerum has really helped to nourish my dry skin. The gel serum feels very lightweight & has a strong herbal scent as it is packed full of high quality natural ingredients. It quickly targets any dry patches & soothes irritation. Unlike a lot of eczema treatments it isn't greasy or heavy so I feel comfortable using this on my skin every day. Although DermaSerum is aimed towards those with eczema & psoriasis it would also be ideal for anyone with dry or dehydrated skin as it helps to support overall healthy skin growth.

Scott Cornwall Precolour Protein Spray*
Anyone who dyes their hair on a regular basis will have compromised the condition of their locks. It doesn't matter if you have a full head of bleach, a few highlights or just dye it a slightly different shade, any chemical process damages your hair. Once the damage is done there are two things that your hair needs: protein & moisture. The combination of the two will keep your hair strong & soft. Protein is especially important as it can repair weak spots in the hair shaft, reducing the risk of breakage. However too much protein can also cause breakage so it's important to get the balance right! To add more protein to my hair I've been using this Precolour Protein Spray from Scott Cornwall. It's a leave-in conditioning treatment which helps to strengthen & protect damaged hair. You can just use it as a regular hair treatment but it is especially effective before dyeing your hair. It prepares the hair for any chemical treatments, limiting damage whilst giving you longer lasting colour. I used this spray before I dyed my hair grey & it definitely made the colour look more even as the protein filled in the parts that were over-processed. My hair looks much healthier now as the spray makes it feel super soft & gives it a wonderful shine. This product is an absolute must have for anyone who colours their hair!

Eucerin AQUAporin Active Revitalising Eye Care*
Eucerin are one of my all time favourite skincare brands. Their DermoPURIFYER & sun protection products are utterly fantastic so I was keen try out some of their other ranges. All skin types can become dehydrated so they created the AQUAporin Active range for anyone with dehydrated, sensitive skin. These products provide intense, long lasting hydration to keep the skin looking & feeling it's best. The most interesting & innovative product in this range has to be the Revitalising Eye Care. This is a moisturising eye cream that helps to reduce puffiness & the appearance of dark circles. The skin around our eyes is particularly thin & therefore more likely to display signs of tiredness. With regular use of a deeply hydrating eye cream like this one it is possible to make your eye area look fresher & by prepping the area properly your concealer will go on better as well. Along with lots of hydrating ingredients the Revitalising Eye Care also contains ginseng which really helps to cool & refresh the eyes, reducing any puffiness. What really makes this eye cream stand out is the cooling applicator tip. It feels incredible on the skin, like a mini massage for the eyes & it helps to distribute the product evenly. I like to keep all of my eye creams in the fridge so they're extra cold but you don't really need to do that with this one. The tip somehow stays cold so it's always ready to go! I think it's a truly brilliant product & it definitely makes me feel more awake first thing in the morning.

Ben Nye Cameo Luxury Powder
No matter how much or how little concealer I use underneath my eyes it always collects in the creases. I don't even have any wrinkles yet, it's just down to the shape of my eyes. After watching several YouTube videos on the subject I decided to try baking my concealer & I bought this Ben Nye powder to do it with. This stuff has the same formula as the infamous Banana Powder but the colour is more appropriate for my skin tone. Instead of using a brush I've been spritzing a triangular makeup sponge with MAC Fix+ & then dipping it into the powder. I can then push the powder into my skin before sweeping away the excess five minutes later. My base is left looking matte & smooth without a crease in sight. I didn't think that baking my makeup would be so effective but the first time I tried it I was completely wowed by how good my face looked. It is slightly more time consuming but if you want your makeup to look flawless all day long then you should really give this process a go. I would highly recommend the Ben Nye Luxury Powders for baking your makeup as they are micro-milled for a superior matte finish.

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Eucerin Sun Protection

With the current UK heatwave, there's no better time to talk about sun protection! I often ignore the expiry dates of products but when it comes to sun cream it's especially important to buy a new bottle every year. This Summer I've turned to Eucerin to keep my skin safe from the sun. Their skincare products are incredibly effective & I'm massively into their lactic acid-heavy DermoPurifyer range. Knowing that my skin reacts well to their other products, I was keen to find out how their sun protection range measures up. The product lineup is very impressive with different sunscreens for normal, dry, oily, sensitive & even blemish-prone skin types. I have combination, blemish-prone skin & also react quite badly to the sun. I always get heat rash & my skin is incapable of tanning. SPF 50 is essential for my lily-white complexion but they also have products with SPF 20, 25 & 30. All of the Eucerin sun products feature licorice extract which helps to further protect skin cells against sun-induced damage alongside the highly effective photostable UVA/UVB filter system. No matter what your skin's individual needs, Eucerin have got you covered.

Facial sunscreen is a must for me, whatever the weather. I frequently use skincare products that can increase sensitivity to the sun so I always make sure that my face is adequately protected. Over the years I've really struggled to find sun protection that my skin can tolerate. Most things would either look greasy, feel sticky or smell horrendous. Products with SPF often cause me to breakout & I hate the white cast that physical sunscreens give you. I normally reach for the Soap & Glory Sunshield Superfluid SPF 50 but more recently I've been loving the Eucerin Sun Fluid Mattifying SPF 50+*. This sunscreen is suitable for normal to combination & sensitive skin. It's a very lightweight fluid with a slight yellow tint. It doesn't make your skin look oily & it feels very comfortable to wear. What really makes this sunscreen stand out is that the finish is very matte. The sun can make you look sweaty enough on it's own so you don't want your sunscreen to make you look any worse. It also sits nicely under my makeup & doesn't make it any more likely to slide off your face during the day. The only downside is that it doesn't smell quite as a nice as the Soap & Glory one but the scent soon dissipates after application. Otherwise this is a lovely high SPF facial sunscreen that will keep any shine at bay.



Personally I prefer to use transparent sprays to protect my body. They are easy to apply, quick to dry & less likely to ruin your clothes. The Eucerin Sun Spray Transparent SPF 50* is a really fantastic sunscreen. It doesn't feel greasy or sticky at all. The product doesn't pill on the skin after reapplication either. It is also water resistant. This spray is suitable for all skin types including those with very sensitive or blemish-prone skin. People tend to think of spots as a problem that only affects the face but as someone who has suffered from bacne in the past, it's important to use a product that my body can tolerate. Sun cream can be hard to apply to your entire body without someone to help you out but this spray is able to reach every area without difficulty. You can also spray it on your scalp if you've forgotten your sun hat!




If you want a more traditional sun cream then the Sun Lotion Extra Light SPF 50* is a great choice. It feels light on my skin & absorbs right away. The lotion refreshes the skin upon application & feels more moisturising than the spray. Those with very sensitive skin or a skin condition like dermatitis or eczema should get on well with this product. If you tend to get heat rash like me then using an after sun cream is imperative. I feel like most people forget about this step but it's the perfect antidote for allergy-prone skin. The Allergy Protection After Sun Creme-Gel* is a fab way to rehydrate your skin after a long day in the sun. The texture feels wonderful on the skin & sinks in quickly. It features an ingredient called Alpha-Glucosyl-Rutin which helps to strengthen the skin & reduces the likeliness of developing an allergic reaction. This product is free from perfume, emulsifiers & preservatives to reduce the risk of irritation. The calming properties of licorice extract also reduces the redness of the skin. I like to keep my bottle in the fridge to add even more oomph to it's cooling powers!

Have you tried any of Eucerin's sun protection products before?

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September Favourites

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Reverse Pump Bottle
Bioderma will probably always be my favourite micellar water. I've used this stuff for years & I'm not planning on changing that anytime soon. I won't bore you with another rave about this wonderful makeup remover but there's a reason why I've included it in this post. A couple of months ago Escentual started stocking a reverse pump bottle of Bioderma. How cool is that?! It took me a while to finish off my old bottle but I finally got to buy this one a few weeks ago & I love it! I always used to end up drowning my cotton pads in the stuff which was a little wasteful. This pump allows you to control how much product is being put onto your pad so you won't waste a single drop. You don't even have to pick up the bottle, just lift the lid & press down. The lazy girl's makeup remover just got even lazier.

Eucerin DermoPurifyer Toner
Having previously reviewed Eucerin's DermoPurifyer Active Concentrate I was keen to try some more of their products. I'm currently obsessed with reading /r/SkincareAddiction. Like me, they're huge advocates of chemical exfoliation & one product that lots of people seemed to be having great results with is this Eucerin DermoPurifyer Toner. Most of the DermoPurifyer range features lactic acid which is a gentler AHA than glycolic acid. This toner contains 2% lactic acid & would be a fantastic addition for anyone with blemish prone skin. It smells a lot nicer than the Active Concentrate so I much prefer using this product. I only use it at night, maybe twice a week as it can be quite drying. Alcohol is fairly high up the ingredients list so I'm guessing it's down to that. Even though I've only been using it twice a week the results were pretty instantaneous. Some AHA products take longer to work on my skin than others but I really noticed a big difference to my skin within a couple of weeks. My skin is prone to closed comedones & I developed quite a few recently from testing out a retinol product. This toner has managed to clear up my skin completely. It's totally amazing & so much cheaper than the likes of Alpha-H Liquid Gold, Pixi Glow Tonic, Clarins Brightening Toner or P50.

John Frieda Full Repair Touch-Up Flyaway Tamer
For some reason I've been experiencing quite a bit of hair breakage recently. I guess all the bleach & heat is finally taking it's toll :( When my hair is freshly washed I have a few broken strands around my parting which tend to stick up & make me look like a bloody cockatoo. For a while I had to run a comb full of hairspray over those hairs to make them stay flat but I felt like this was drying out my hair & possibly exacerbating the problem. I normally use the John Frieda Full Repair range in between washes with my silver or pink toned Bleach London products. Boots had a 3 for 2 offer on recently so I decided to give this Flyaway Tamer a go. I'm so happy with product & wish I'd found it sooner! It's kinda like a hair serum with a mascara wand to brush the product through your hair. It doesn't make my hair greasy or flat, it just smooths down those awful sticky up broken strands so that everything looks perfectly healthy again. It features inca inchi oil to help repair the hair & gives it a polished finish. The tube format means that I can easily slip it in my handbag for touch ups on the go. I'd definitely recommend this if you've had any noticeable hair breakage or are just fed up of flyaways.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Velvet in Orange-ology
I completely skipped over the original Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers as I was just never that interested in them & I got tired of seeing 50000 reviews of them on Bloglovin'. Boots had a 2 for £10 offer on all Rimmel products a few weeks ago & I was instantly drawn to the new matte Apocalips Lip Velvets. My current favourite is Orange-ology which is a bright tangerine shade. The colour reminds me of MAC Morange which is one of my favourite ever lipsticks. I would also consider this to be a dupe for the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Riviera. Even though these are supposed to be matte lip creams they still have a slight sheen to them. The formula is very silky & creamy, taking a while to dry down on the lips. Many matte lip products can be drying & start to crack on the lips but this lip velvet is so moisturising and feels very comfortable to wear. Drugstore brands are finally getting matte lip products right!

Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner
Now this isn't strictly a 'fave' product as generally I do think it's a bit crap. The tremendous hype around the They're Real Liner was almost enough to put me off buying it but the liner lover in me couldn't resist giving it a go. Used to line the lids I just can't get to grips with it. The formula is far too thick & dry to apply smoothly. Despite being assured by a Benefit counter girl that it wouldn't transfer at all, it leaves me with horrid random black lines above my eyes. For me it's just not as good as a regular liquid liner or a gel liner with a brush. However I hate to see a product go to waste, especially an £18 eyeliner, so I decided to keep using it. I've been using this to tightline my eyes only and for that purpose it works brilliantly. I've always struggled to tightline my eyes as most of my eyeliner pencils are quite hard & it can be difficult to get them to show up. The soft texture & high pigmentation combined with the silicone nib means that it's really easy to tightline with. I never used to bother with this step but it makes a huge difference to the appearance of my lashes & ties in well with my cat flick liner to make my eyes look super defined.

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Eucerin DermoPurifyer Active Concentrate

Eucerin DermoPurifyer Active Concentrate* - £9

If you've been reading my blog for a while then I shouldn't have to explain my lurve of acidic skincare products. If not then you should know that products containing alpha hydroxy acids are fantastic at clearing up all kinds of skin problems, especially acne. The acid that I've found to be most effective on the type of blemishes I'm prone to is lactic acid. My holy grail Elemis cleanser features lactic acid found in fruit enzymes which makes it gentle enough to use every day. However if you're really suffering from bad spots then an acidic cleanser might not be enough for your skin considering you're gonna wash it all off a minute later. So when Escentual introduced me to their latest skincare brand Eucerin, their DermoPurifyer Active Concentrate immediately caught my eye.

The DermoPurifyer range is Eucerin's collection of blemish busting products. They work by fighting against four key factors responsible for the formation of acne & blemished skin which are: excessive sebum production, clogged pores, bacteria growth & inflammation. Most of the products in this line contain either salicylic or lactic acid. The reason I was so interested in the Active Concentrate is because this is a lightweight serum that uses lactic acid. It's a highly potent spot fighting serum making it ideal for those wanting to achieve optimum results in a short amount of time. The acid in this product has a comedolytic effect which means that it unclogs pores & reduces comedones. One of the other ingredients in this product, decandiol, helps to prevent the further development of blemishes so Active Concentrate is also recommended as a preventative measure to keep your skin looking clear in the long run.

The formula is very light & fluid so it sinks into the skin quite easily & makes my skin feel silky. I tend to only apply it where my skin looks a bit congested or is breaking out. I've been using this at night before applying my moisturiser because I'm a bit paranoid about overdoing it with the AHAs during the Summer. If you have really oily skin Eucerin claim that you could get away with just using this instead of a moisturiser. Don't forget to apply sun protection afterwards though! One thing I cannot stand about this product is the smell. It's like a mixture of industrial strength soap & old man aftershave. Luckily it soon dissipates & you can't smell it at all. Pungent or not, the effects are well worth it. I've been using this product for about a month now and I've definitely noticed that I've had less congestion & fewer angry blemishes. I struggle to shift the little bumps on my forehead but this has worked really well on them. It's not quite as effective on my closed comedones as retinol is but this is light enough to use everyday without being harsh on the skin. Plus you can also apply it before your makeup to help fight against spots during the day as well as at night. Active Concentrate is a very affordable yet effective way of clarifying the skin & it's so easy to slip this product into your current skincare routine.

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