As I write this, I am officially in PMT Skin Week, which is the one week in each and every month that my skin is in danger of going completely haywire. If anything is going to go wrong with my skin then it goes wrong now. Angry, bumpy jawline, weird forehead dryness, little sore patches…
This post could also have been called My Most-Used Autumn Moisturisers but I dicked around with the title for so long that my hair grew and the leaves began to fall and so I settled on the original title. Does what it says on the tin. My Current Favourite Moisturisers. I have around a dozen pots and tubes…
Those searching for an uncomplicated cleanser with spotless credentials need search no further: Dr Sam’s Flawless Cleanser is as straightforward and effective as they come. I’ve been using it for a few months and it has gradually become the face cleanser I grab when I can’t be bothered to think about which face cleanser to grab. When…
(links marked * are affiliate links, for more info see disclaimer below post) It’s taken me four years to get around to writing this post. I often think that it’s the products you use the most – the unglamorous workhorses – that never get enough attention, but I’d be doing you a disservice if I…
Fans of La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar Duo rejoice: they have released a new version of their highly effective spot treatment, this time with an added SPF. Effaclar Duo+ SPF30 has the same basic formula as the original, helping to minimise the size and appearance of spots and blackheads, controlling shine and reducing the marks that stubborn spots tend to…
I feel as though Chanel are always going to be on a bit of a losing streak with me, when it comes to bringing out new foundations. And that’s not because they’re bringing out bad foundations (Chanel do excellent face bases); it’s because I’ve already found perfection (quite literally) in the form of their Perfection Lumiere…
Do you find that your foundation slips or goes patchy on your nose and forehead, where your skin is oilier? There are some brilliant primers for oily and combination skin out there – used after moisturising (or straight after a hydrating serum, as you prefer) a good primer will create a smooth base for your makeup…
The last few weeks of pregnancy have not been kind to me, not in terms of peace and restfulness, anyway. Firstly, my nesting instinct kicked in, but instead of me polishing and sorting out drawers I’ve been on a crazy work frenzy, sending emails at midnight and editing video footage in the small hours of the morning….
Well this is an unusual one: a moisturiser that feels velvety to the touch but seems to melt into fresh-feeling perfection the moment it hits the skin. And then, despite this gorgeous fresh feel, manages to keep oiliness in check as well as hydrate. What is this marvel of a formulation? It’s Clinique’s Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer! The Pep-Start HydroBlur…
I’ve been using these extra-special cleansers on rotation, recently, as a bit of a winter kick-start for my skin but also as a proper “time out” sort of treat. They’re not cleansers in the traditional sense, you see – you wouldn’t use them to remove your makeup and then just rinse them down the plughole….
I’ve already written about my marvellous Lime Wood Hotel mini-break (see here) but I promised that I’d talk more about their spa (The Herb House) and – more specifically – the gorgeous Pai Skincare facial that I was treated to. I haven’t had a lot of facials in the past year (not enough time) and the last one I…
As promised, my edit of the best budget (high street/drugstore) foundations. This has been a long, long time in the making – I’ve tried some really shockingly bad face bases and some excellent ones and the four that follow are, I think, outstanding. I hope that there’s something for everyone – prices range from £7.99…
I wrote about the Ultra Repair Hydrating Serum a little while ago for my post on dehydrated skin, but I’ve tested it far more extensively since then and it most definitely deserves its own write-up. It’s made by First Aid Beauty, a US skincare brand who make very effective, yet easily tolerated products that are nicely priced. If ever…
There are perhaps a couple of familiar things in this month’s favourites video; the l’Oreal Revitalift SPF25 is a new discovery and the review very recent, so probably still fresh in your minds, and the Hylamide Glow, a liquid face serum that imparts the most gradual of gradual tans, was a firm favourite at the end of summer last year. I…
For regular readers, this video is just something a bit extra; I’ll be doing far more in-depth reviews of the foundations shown on the video here on the website. You know how I like to keep you all in the Youtube loop! See all recent videos… There are quite a few new foundations launching at…
I think you’ll agree that the below “before and after” photographs are pretty epic: no light or computer trickery has been used. (I don’t ever retouch my images, by the way – or Facetune or whatever people use to whiten their teeth and get rid of wrinkles and spots!) What you see is what you get. La…
Well this is a nifty little number: a non-cakey, long-lasting, matte-but-not-flat foundation that comes in at less than seven quid. I don’t usually get on with a lot of the cheaper foundations, but the L’Oreal Paris Infallible Matte applied and blended beautifully on me and left my skin looking perfected, but not “masked over”. I must…
**UPDATE: chosen testers are Harry (h.nortonshaw), frances.barcelos, bethanrabjohns, dianalloyd5 and Andrea Lutton. Thanks to everyone who left a comment, I wish I had hundreds of these sets. (I’m working on it!) Testers; you’ll receive an email shortly from La Roche-Posay. La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar Duo was an absolute skin-saver for me when I had my bout of adult…