Danielle's Beauty Blog

I have been absolutely loving this since I got it a couple of months ago! I tan most weeks but I usually favour lotion formulas (I have the Bondi Sands Dark Lotion too and really like it!) however I saw Lily Pebbles using this and loved the colour it gave her so decided to pick it up! It’s a lot messier than the tans I’m used to as it’s a spray and I find I have to lay a towel in the bathroom to make sure I don’t spray it everywhere. It also has no guide colour so I have to be careful that I spray it evenly then buff in with my tan mitt. I leave it to develop overnight and I am left with the most gorgeous golden glow! I would say it’s a medium colour but then I would say that even if I was using something that said it was very dark! I do have to be careful round the sides of my hands as I tend to miss a few spots there but they are easily covered and blended in! I am so impressed with how this wears off too! It lasts around 5 days on me before I feel the need to scrub and reapply and where I usually have to top up the tan on the back of my hands throughout the week when using other brands, this wears off so evenly I don’t feel I need to!

Nivea Daily Essentials Crème Care Facial Cleansing Wipes* (RRP £2.99)

Skincare snob that I am, wipes don’t register too highly on my radar and I generally much prefer a cotton pad with a cream cleanser followed by a balm/oil and muslin cloth makeup removal routine. Wipes do however come in handy and I always tend to have a pack for when I am too tired, drunk or lazy to do my full routine and these work perfectly to remove my layers of makeup effectively. They are well soaked but I like to store them upside down so the moisture gets to the top wipe ready for use and these ones smell amazing! You all know I love the Nivea scent and these are scented with the recognisable, clean, fresh fragrance. I have very temperamental skin that can play up when I switch products but I haven’t found any increased sensitivity since using these!

Nivea Daily Essentials Crème Care Cleansing Lotion* (RRP £3.29)

I was also sent the new Nivea cleansing lotion to try and being a huge fan of the original I was excited to see how this one compared. I am happy to say that it works just as well as the older version I talked about in this post! This is my absolute favourite product to use as a first cleanse every evening as it does such a good job of removing the bulk of my makeup while feeling hydrating and not pulling on my skin. It doesn’t remove eye makeup for me as I wear waterproof mascara so I find I need to use an oil based makeup remover for my eyes but for skin this is amazing! Again it is scented with Nivea’s recognisable fragrance and again it doesn’t irritate my skin! Both products are available from most leading retailers!

Khairpep Hair Repair Serum* and Khairpep Hair Repair Masque*  

I was recently offered the chance to try these leave in hair treatments by Khairpep and although my hair isn’t damaged by colouring, I straighten it every day and have my fair share of dry and split ends. I also have a horrid habit of picking these split ends when I’m bored/procrastinating/stressed so jumped at the chance to try some new products! So first for the science bit - Khairpep was developed by a team of European scientists who discovered a long chain peptide – K18Peptide. This peptide is so small it can penetrate and bind to the inner cortex of a hair strand returning strength and elasticity to it. Both products in the range are leave in treatments and this is the only range of products to contain this ingredient that claims to repair hair damage permanently.

The serum (although it is more of a spray I would say) is recommended for those with fine hair while the masque is for thicker, drier hair and damaged ends. I have found both to be super lightweight and they have a lovely subtle fresh scent. To apply, I shampoo my hair and DO NOT use conditioner then towel dry as normal. I’ll split (no pun intended!) my hair in two then spray the serum evenly through the ends of both sections or work the masque in through the ends depending on which product I’m using. I then leave the product on for about 5 minutes and style my hair as normal.

Since using these products I've noticed a massive reduction in breakage! I used to get those little white dots at the ends of my hair that break off so easily and these are virtually gone now. I still have split ends but we all know the only thing that gets rid of those is a haircut! My ends look much healthier and thicker since using these two and I love how lightweight both products feel especially since the masque is targeted towards those with thicker hair. I can imagine these would be perfect throughout the summer when people are generally causing more damage to their hair whether it be through colouring their hair, chemical treatments, sun exposure, chlorine or just heat styling! The only negative is the price – I have the sample sizes but the full size 50 ml products are £47.50 – you don’t need much product though so definitely an investment if you are struggling with hair damage and want a long lasting solution!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? 

Danielle xx

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Eucerin AQUAporin Active SPF 25 UVB + UVA Protection* RRP £16.50

As a big fan of Eucerin skin and body products I was excited to give this a try when it arrived a few weeks ago! It promises to provide deep 24 hour hydration to dehydrated, sensitive skin. This is right up my street this time of year when my usually oily/combination skin starts to play up with the change in weather/heating etc. and dry patches pop up! I recently took a reaction to a face tanner I used and my skin got really dry and flaky and none of my usual moisturisers were working so I gave this a whirl and have been so happy with the results! At first, although this moisturiser has SPF I though it would be too rich for me during the day but since my skin was so dry I piled it on anyway and was surprised by how well it soaked in, soothed and smoothed my skin. I didn’t use a primer and felt it gave a good base for my makeup too! I love the fact it has both UVA and UVB protection and will definitely be taking this on a short trip away next month (thank God for hold luggage)! There is a whole scientific explanation as to how this hydrates involving the skins aquaporin’s which you can read about here. The Eucerin range can be found at Boots, Look Fantastic, Escentual, Feel Unique and some independent pharmacies!

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask RRP for 100ml is £23

I got this in a set last Christmas and its one of the first Origins products I've tried and loved. The activated charcoal in it is meant to act like a magnet to draw out anything clogging your pores like dirt and pollution through daily life. I like to use this about once a week for a real deep clean and my skin always feels amazing afterwards! It really softens it and seems to draw out any impurities by drying up spots and blackheads! Plus I love how quickly it dries in! I like to rinse this off just in the sink with my hands, I found when I used a facecloth it stained really badly and didn’t come out in the wash but other than its great! I’ll then follow up with a moisturiser like the Eucerin one I’ve mention above as I find it can dry my skin out a bit but it’s totally worth it!

Avene Triacneal RRP £23

This has become my Holy Grail spot product! It’s pricey at £23 but it lasts ages! The product itself is a yellow paste that is not greasy in the slightest and helps eliminate severe imperfections. I use this over active spots at night where it helps to dry them out and also over old acne scars which I find it helps to fade. I have a funny feeling this is being discontinued as unfortunately as it’s out of stock on a lot of sites, this seems to have happened to a lot of products I love over the past few months! Avene did just bring out a new product called Triacneal Expert and their Cleanance Expert is also targeted towards spot prone skin so they would work well too!

Alpha H Liquid Gold RRP £33.50

This is one of my favourite treatments and I have gone through various bottles of it! It’s an overnight chemical exfoliator and I bloody love it! It claims to resurface the skin and help to diminish wrinkles, pigmentation and sun damage. I totally bought this because of the hype and its one I’m happy to say completely delivers on its claims! I can’t quite put my finger on it but my skin just looks better the morning after I’ve put this on. It’s clearer, more even, and plumper and my old acne pigmentation doesn’t look as pronounced. Couldn’t be without this now! Available at Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty and Look Fantastic among others!

Have you tried any of the products I've mentioned? What are your skincare saviours?

P.S. I also just got Twitter and Instagram and they are embarrassingly empty at the minute but links are below if you feel like saying hello :) 

Danielle xx

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Garnier Ultimate Blends The Strength Restorer Shampoo

To me, this shampoo smells almost more like vanilla than honey which is maybe a good thing because I know some people hate the smell of honey! I found this shampoo to lather nicely and clean my hair well giving it a nice shine that didn’t make it go greasy any quicker than other shampoos I use.

Garnier Ultimate Blends The Strength Restorer Conditioner

This is a really creamy conditioner that feels more expensive than it is. I put this through the ends of my hair before shampooing as my hair can be quite oily and this way I can thoroughly rinse it out. It leaves my hair feeling lovely and soft and makes my hair nice and swishy!

Garnier Ultimate Blends The Strength Restorer 1 Minute Treatment

I really like the fact this is not a 10 minute treatment because if I’m in a rush I won’t usually do this step as it takes so long. This 1 minute treatment does the same job in a lot less time. I find this product to give my hair an extra boost in hydration and make it even softer than if I had used just the conditioner.

Garnier Ultimate Blends The Strength Restorer Serum

This serum is really runny but lightweight, I put it through the ends and mid lengths of my hair where it seals my split ends and makes my hair look way healthier than it actually is! The thing I am most impressed about with this serum is the fact it doesn’t make my hair greasy which I can find with some other serums I have tried!

I was also generously given an extra One Minute Treatment which I gave to my aunts and cousins to share and they also loved how soft it made their hair in such a short time and felt it was a generous amount of product in the tube!

Overall I think this range is great for those on a budget and I would especially recommend the serum for those with damaged split ends to make them look a little healthier without weighing your hair down! There are lots of different “blends” in the range that will appeal to people with different hair types too!