Danielle's Beauty Blog

I’m never organised enough to have these up at the end of 2021 so today I’ve got my best hair and makeup discoveries of last year and next week I’ll have my skin and bodycare! Not everything was necessarily released last year, 2021 just happened to be when I tried it for the first time! 

 

Starting with makeup, and blush and lip balm are my weakness so it’s no surprise that my makeup discoveries are made up of them and you have probably seen them featured on the blog before too! At the end of 2020 I bought a couple of blushes in the Cult Beauty sale and I have used them non-stop since! The Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blush in Love Glow RRP £30 was a blush I deliberated over for ages, I had swatched them years ago in Sephora and couldn’t make up my mind but I finally bit the bullet and I am so glad I did (especially as there was 20% off!). This is a gorgeous pearlescent pink shade that is easily buildable leaving a beautiful healthy glow and colour to my skin. The lasting power is great too and I ended up picking up another shade in the Cult Beauty’s recent sale as I love this one so much! Full review here! 

 

 

At the same time, I got the NARS Blush in Behave RRP £27.50. I am a huge fan of NARS blushes but I’ve only had minis before and they come in limited shades so after looking at some swatches (thank god for Google images and YouTube lol) I went with this one – a warm pink, matte shade that, like the CT, is buildable and lasts all day for me. Another one I haven’t put down all year! See my full review and a swatch here! Rounding off my trio of blushes is the Pixi On-The-Glow blush stick in Juicy RRP £18* and one I would not have bought for myself as I thought cream blushes wouldn’t last on my skin and would disturb my base. How wrong I was! This formula is amazing and as well as being a blush, it can be used on lips too. The shade Juicy is a gorgeous subtle coral on my skin and makes me look so healthy and dewy and the wear time is great too (my skin is normal atm). Full review here with all three shades and swatches! 

 

Moving onto lips and the NARS Soft Matte Tinted lip balm in Unrestricted RRP £23 definitely needs a mention! These are billed as limited edition but most shades are still in stock and I really hope they make them permanent! This applies super smoothly and feels so comfortable to wear despite being matte. Unrestricted is a pink nude shade and I just think it looks so chic and understated being matte, LOVE! Full review and swatch here!

 

Continuing with lip balms (I can’t remember the last time I wore a lipstick but I still love a tint of some sort) is the Charlotte Tilbury Hyaluronic Happikiss RRP £25. Part lip balm/part gloss, I gave this a pretty meh review if I do say so myself but it has definitely grown on me since then! I stand by what I said about the packaging – it’s awful but the product itself is lovely, it really does keep my lips hydrated and I love the shade – a classic my lips but better.  

Moving onto haircare now and most of my staples have stayed the same but there are a few that I have fallen in love with! The Inkey List Caffeine Stimulating Scalp Treatment RRP £14.99* and The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density RRP £15.80 are essentially very similar products aimed at increasing thickness in hair as well as decreasing hair loss and optimising growth in the Inkey List’s case. The ingredients list is similar for both of these and I have been using The Inkey List on my left hand side and The Ordinary on my right and I can’t tell much difference between the two. My hair has dramatically reduced in hair fall – I was seriously worried at how much hair was coming out every time I washed it – I know its normal to lose some but this was a lot for me). I was worried these would make my hair very greasy as I have an oily scalp at the best of times anyway and while it definitely does look like I have something in my hair I wouldn’t say its greasy looking. I have only been using these for just over a month so I have no hair growth updates but honestly for the price and how much less my hair is shedding I can’t recommend them enough! The Inkey List caffeine treatment is currently £1.49 in Home Bargains too but beware it’s the awful old packaging so no nozzle and it’s a smaller 50ml! I picked up four to refill this one when it's done!  

 

Finally, along with extra shedding this year, my hair has been super frizzy too which is unlike it and I originally thought it was humidity in the summer but now I’m not sure if its hormones/aging but it’s been driving me crazy! I tried loads of different serums and sprays and while they worked nicely at making my hair soft, the frizz was still poking out around the top of my hair. Queue me dumping some Heritage Store Castor Oil RRP £6.99 onto my scalp as a makeshift hot oil treatment (except it wasn’t hot). I thought it would be hard to wash out as it felt pretty sticky but surprisingly it wasn’t and when I dried my hair I was left with zero frizz! I only need to leave it on for about an hour too but so happy with the results!

 

So those are my standout makeup and haircare discoveries from this year! See last year’s here! Let me know what your favourites were from last year too!

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

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It’s been close to a year since my last best budget skincare post and when I looked at my dressing table I realised I had quite a few new additions so thought I would do round two! Budget is different for everyone but most of these are around the £10 or under mark with a few exceptions which I will explain when I get to them! There are quite a lot so I will try to keep this short and sweet but I’ve linked to their full reviews too! 

 

First up, the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution* RRP £11 – a cult classic and one I can see the hype with now I have tried it for myself! This is great for removing most of my makeup before going in with a balm or oil and it works perfectly with sensitive skin too! I have a full review of it in this post! Sticking with cleansers, the Cerave Hydrating Cleanser RRP £9.50 is another top notch budget pick! It’s so simple, packed full of ceramides and hyaluronic acid, doesn’t foam up too much and leaves my skin feeling clean and hydrated! I am kicking myself for not getting on The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser RRP £5.50 hype train sooner! Another lovely, hydrating cleanser, removes makeup well but also lightweight enough to use as a second or morning cleanse! Will be getting the jumbo size once this is finished! Both of these also made my best beauty discoveries of 2020 post!  

 

Next up, a product that is a little over budget – the Hada Labo Tokyo Super Hydrator Lotion RRP £17.45 – I’ve included it because its always 1/3 off on Superdrug so can be picked up for £11.59 on offer! It contains 3 different types of hyaluronic acid and really helps keep moisture locked in all day for me. It also comes in a huge 150ml bottle so will last forever! Full review in my Roacccutane Diaries Month One post! The Garden of Wisdom Hyaluronic Acid Serum RRP £10 is another hyaluronic acid I really rate. Again, my skin feels hydrated all day long when using this!

 

I am a big fan of a facial mist and I have two new budget faves! The Sukin Original Hydrating Mist Toner RRP £7.95 (I have a mini that was £2.50) is perfect for misting throughout the day to cool down and hydrate with and I have a full review in my last current face mists post! The Heritage Rosewater and Glycerin RRP £7.99 is newer to me but again perfect for a quick burst of hydration as a skincare step or throughout the day over makeup! The only thing I don’t love about this one is the pump action which isn’t so much a mist but a violent spray!

 

Moving onto serums now and this is the second bottle of Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum* RRP $12 I’ve been through! Containing tranexamic acid, niacinamide and glycerin, this is a beautiful serum that sinks in quickly and targets uneven skin tone and pigmentation. The results for me have not been dramatic as my pigmentation from old acne is quite bad but being on Roaccutane means I can’t use retinol or glycolic acid right now which are my normal go to’s and this has been so gentle and brilliant at evening out my skin tone (full review here). The Inkey List Q10 Serum RRP £4.99 has been a revelation to me as I find their products quite hit and miss but this one is most certainly a hit! It’s a hydrating antioxidant that minimises the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and I didn’t even realise how much I liked it until it was empty! The price is insane and if you are worried about early signs of aging or environmental stressors what are you waiting for, pick it up! One budget moisturiser I have been loving is the Cerave PM Facial Moisturising Lotion RRP £12. Containing ceramides, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide this is a lightweight but still nourishing overnight moisturiser. It sinks in quickly but my skin doesn’t feel dried out! 

 

 

Finally, budget eye creams seem to be my thing! Another from Cerave - their Eye Repair Cream RRP £12 is such a simple lightweight hydrating cream. Like the cleanser and moisturising lotion it contains ceramides and hyaluronic acid and it’s great for puffiness and dark circles and sits under makeup very well too. This featured in a recent forever repurchased post too and Cerave is always 1/3 off or 3 for 2 at Look Fantastic or Boots! The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG RRP £5.80 is a lightweight watery serum that feels so cooling and instantly refreshes my under eye area, reducing puffiness and dark circles. The last product I have is also the newest to me! It’s the Good Molecules Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel * RRP $6 and it is a beautiful gel formula that sinks in quickly and hydrates my under eye area. Yerba mate is an antioxidant and the eye gel contains three forms of hyaluronic acid. Like the other two, it also helps with puffiness and dark circles and brightens and the packaging is cute to boot! 

 

So that’s my most recent budget skincare picks! If you want to see my thoughts on my last batch (see above) of best budget skincare click here! Let me know what your favourite budget skincare is!

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

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