Danielle's Beauty Blog

Sunday, 10 May 2020

Product Empties #25

products empties reviews Nivea ole henriksen dr bronners skin accumax

Oops, I let my empties get out of hand again, I swear every time I go to do one of these posts I won’t have so many products but by the time I get round to taking the phones my box is always overflowing! Anyway, onto the products!

Bodycare

Nivea Irresistibly Smooth Body Lotion

It wouldn’t be an empties post without some Nivea products! This was a great moisturiser, it sank in quickly and smelt clean and fresh, will repurchase soon!

Nivea Rich Moisture Shower Cream

This was so creamy and a dream to use, love the scent and only £1, will repurchase soon!

Soap and Glory Heel Genius

A cult classic, this works really well to moisturise my feet. I was shocked when this ran out and I didn’t have a backup already haha, I do get sick of this one as I’ve gone through so many so repurchased a different foot cream this time but I will come back to this in the future!

Soap and Glory Hand Food

Another cult classic S+G product and one I always come back to – it smells great, moisturises well and sinks in quickly! Again I’m not sure what’s going on with my stash at the minute as I was all out of this too but I did get a set of three M+S hand creams for Christmas so I’m going to try use them up before repurchasing this!

Aurelia Aromatic Repair and Brighten Hand Cream

Part of the birthday gift from SpaceNK a while back I believe and this was such a rich hand cream! I didn’t love the scent but it moisturised well and I used at night as it didn’t sink in as quickly as hand food! Won't repurchase.

Skincare

Ole Henriksen Glow2OH Dark Spot Toner

A potent toner that worked so well at fading pigmentation! I don’t think I even realised how much this was doing for my skin until I finished it and started noticing marks taking longer to fade. This lasted me an age aswell – will repurchase!

Alpha H Liquid Gold

One of the OG skincare products for me – this has been a staple in my routine for years now! It’s a wonderful overnight treatment that smooths, firms and reduces pigmentation (can you sense a theme) – one I always have in my collection and I already have my back up opened! Read more about why I love it in this post!

Caudalie Grape Water

This was nicely cooling and refreshing but I have other mists I love more so won’t repurchase!

Nivea Double Effect Eye Makeup Remover

The best waterproof eye makeup remover. Fact. Already have a backup.

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

One of the best budget skincare items out there! This is great for blemish prone, oily skin and niacinamide is one of my favourite ingredients because of it! Purchased the Inkey List version to try it out but will be going back to the Ordinary as its better! See more here!

Good Molecules Hyaluronic Acid Serum*

The best budget Hyaluronic Acid I have tried! This is miles ahead of the Inkey List and Ordinary’s versions! Sinks in quickly and doesn’t feel sticky, setting my skin up nicely for serums and moisturiser! Will repurchase in the future. See my full review here!

111Skin Bio Cellulose Facial Treatment Mask

This was a lovely mask that fit well and was very saturated in product. My skin felt plumper and looked brighter after use but overall I find sheet masks a faff and this one is £20 so I wouldn’t repurchase!

First Aid Beauty Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer

I don’t normally include little samples like this but I got three uses out of each sachet and really enjoyed it so wanted to mention! I wouldn’t say it’s the best primer I’ve used but it gives such a beautiful healthy glow I would repurchase it!

Paula’s Choise 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

I knew after one use of this I would need the full size. No idea why it took me so long to get on the Paula’s Choice hype train but this really is one of my best skincare discoveries in recent times! It’s exfoliating and blemish busting and my skin always looks clearer, less congested and calmer after use! If you haven’t tried it what are you waiting for! Already repurchased the full size and you can read more about it here!

Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance*

Absolutely loved this moisturiser – it’s richer than the Skin Smoothing Cream but it sank in quickly and kept my skin hydrated all day. It sat well under makeup and I will repurchase this for winter! Read more here!

Fresh Black Tea Kombucha Facial Treatment Essence

This was nice and soothing and hydrating but I didn’t notice anything lifechanging and there are other essences/lotions I prefer so wouldn’t repurchase!

Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream

Super rich and expensive cream but again not life changing so not a repurchase for me!

Dr Dennis Gross Professional Grade Resurfacing Liquid Peel

A really lovely two step system exfoliation system that made my skin look smoother, fresher and brighter! £102 for the full size so not justifiable for me when I already have so many other exfoliating products that I get results I love from but one to revisit in the future!

Haircare

Schwarzkopf got2b Fresh it Up Volumizing Dry Shampoo

Loved this dry shampoo, fresh scent, no white cast and made by hair look less greasy! Super affordable too, definite repurchase!

Grow Gorgeous Scalp Detox

I am loving scalp scrubs at the minute, this one wasn’t as gritty as I would like but did feel invigorating. Didn’t love the scent, wouldn’t repurchase.

Makeup

Note Mattifying Extreme Wear Foundation

I hated this foundation, it was patchy, wore off badly and certainly not matte. Would not repurchase! Read my full thoughts here!

Beauty Blender

The best makeup sponge out there! Nothing else blends my foundation like it and while its pricey at £17, it’s well worth it in my opinion! Full post on how much I love it here!

Milk Hydro Grip Primer

I had high hopes for this but I just don’t get the hype. I have another mini so will open that up soon to try out and while this is nice, I have used better primers so this wouldn’t be a repurchase.

Miscellaneous

Advanced Skin Nutrition Skin Accumax

Struggling to tell whether these are working for me or not but going to continue the two a day course until June then move down to one a day. Have repurchased.

Dr Bronner’s Pure Castille Soap

The best brush cleaner there is! Makes washing makeup brushes a dream! Already repurchased! See a full post here!

Lush Bubblegum lip scrub

I love Lush lipscrubs! They are the prefect consistency and do an amazing job of gently exfoliating my lips before lipstick! I can’t get to Lush right now due to lockdown so purchased a Barry M one to try but I would repurchase this in an instant!

Bite Beauty Agave lip balm

A super hydrating lip balm, I loved this and wish I could get it in the UK!

Extra

Yu Ling Medium Roller

I need to give a special mention to my roller which finally gave up after three years a few weeks ago! It was a sad day but this guy had been tossed in a cosmetics bag every day for months last summer while I road tripped and he was used pretty much every single day over the three years I had him! Highly recommend one, it’s so relaxing and cooling and depuffing and I have bought myself a cheap eBay one to fill the gap for now as I want the double ended version of this which is currently out of stock on Cult Beauty! Read more about how much I loved it here!

Congratulations if you got through that and thanks for reading! Let me know if you have tried any of the above and what you thought!

*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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A Chat about Foundation and my Current Collection

Morning everyone! I want to have a chat about foundations today and hopefully you will get involved and tell me your favourites too! I used to be on the hunt for the perfect foundation to the point where I would have up to 10 bottles in my collection, only to be disappointed with half of them and regret wasting my money! I have very difficult, acne prone skin that is combo/oily so I always look for full coverage foundations that are long lasting and transfer proof!

Estee Lauder double wear revlon colourstay foundation review

My current collection is above - the two I love, repurchase regularly and use every day are Estee Lauder Double Wear (Desert Beige) and Revlon ColourStay (Buff when I am pale and Sand Beige for when I have tan on). If you have followed my blog for any length of time you will be sick of hearing about these two but Double Wear in particular is my holy grail foundation and one I always have a backup of. It’s my go to if I need to look my best and I trust it 100% to stay on all day, cover all my imperfections and magically this seems to look better as the day goes on. I know people have a love/hate relationship with it but if you have combo/oily skin and like full coverage look no further!

Revlon ColourStay is my budget pick – I don’t like wearing Double Wear if I am just going to work as it’s a waste so ColourStay fills the gap nicely, again it’s full coverage, comes in two different formulas (one for oily skin and one for dry skin) and its super affordable! It’s not quite as long lasting as Double Wear but as it’s got everything else going for it I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend!

Even though these were some of the first foundations I ever used and loved, I didn’t stop on my hunt for the perfect foundations so I have tried a lot. I’ve kind of calmed down now as so many of them were disappointing to me but I thought I would discuss here and get your opinions on some that are on my wishlist! Before we get to those let’s talk about some others first!

too faced urban decay kat von d foundation review

Foundations I Hate

I wish this category wasn’t so large but unfortunately more often than not, a foundation I have fully researched and think would be perfect for me fails to meet the mark! I wrote a whole disappointing products post about the Too Faced Born this Way, Urban Decay All Nighter and KVD Lock It foundations but in short they are all awful! These were a mixture of patchy, transferable and oily on my skin so all get a huge thumbs down from me! They are all pretty pricey too so for me that’s double the disappointment!

While I was in Canada I picked up the Wet n Wild Photo Focus and The Ordinary Coverage foundation – both budget options that are pretty hyped! Again these did not work for my skin, they both transferred easily and were super patchy especially in my problem areas – my nose and chin so I ended up giving these away pretty quickly!

Most recently, the Note Beauty Mattifying Extreme Wear foundation has been a disappointment and also got its own post. Another one that came highly recommended, it separated on my face, transferred and did not stay matte all day. I was so happy to finish this – again it’s not very expensive but that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a disappointment!

Foundations I Like and would buy again

This category includes foundations I would keep in my collection if I was still in my bad spending habits lol. I have went through a couple of bottle of NARS Sheer Glow and Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte longwear foundation as well as one of the Bare Minerals Bare Pro Performance Wear and these are all BEAUTIFUL foundations! I really enjoyed wearing all of them but they are pricey and on my skin they do not last all day so I tend to have to top up. Saying that however, they do not wear off badly at all like other foundations I have mentioned and their finish when they have just been applied is amazing!

Foundations I like but wouldn’t repurchase

More foundations that I like but these didn’t wow me enough to feel the need to purchase again! Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation has one of the most beautiful finishes ever, it’s so skin like, but I need more coverage and that, combined with the price, is why I wouldn’t purchase again! NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint is another nice one and even though I found the coverage impressive for a tint, the staying power wasn’t great on this one. Vichy Dermablend* had good coverage but was tough to work with as it’s so thick and didn’t look great round my nose and MAC Studio Fix Fluid is just not the longest lasting for me either, sometimes my face just seems to eat foundation! The most recent foundation I tried was my mum’s Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless and this would fall under this category for me too - it’s another one that’s love/hate for a lot of people but I was just a bit underwhelmed by it, the staying power seemed ok but it did end up clinging to some dry patches and fine lines.

I have tried some other fan favourites like Rimmel Lasting Finish and Loreal True Match and Infallible 24-hour Matte but it was so long ago and I don’t think I ever had a quite right shade match and I didn’t wear them much so don’t have a full opinion on them!

Foundations I want to try

Even though I have wised up a little with my foundation spending I still have a wishlist of those I would like to try and top of that list is the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 hr foundation and NARS All Day Luminous and Radiant Longwear foundation– I have heard such good reviews about these but haven’t taken the plunge yet! Also on my list is the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin as well as the Armani Power Fabric high cover foundation and on the more affordable side of things I would like to try the EX1 Cosmetics Invisiwear and the Milani Conceal and Perfect foundation and concealer at some point too!

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post, I just had a complete brain dump about foundations haha! I would love to know your thoughts on any of the foundations I have mentioned and if you have tried any that are on my wishlist I am even more interested! Let me know you full coverage faves!

*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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Five Things I’m Loving | April 2020

coverfx blush foreo pineapple exfoliating powder review

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well! Today I want to talk about a few products I have been loving lately! Most of these are pretty new additions to my skincare and makeup regime over the past three months but I’m starting with one that’s been a firm favourite for three years now and that’s my Foreo LUNA go for combination skin cleansing brush!

Thanks to self-isolation/working from home and not having to rush out the door every morning I have been spending a lot longer on my skincare routine including using this a lot more often and it has really reignited my love for it! This feels super gentle on my skin and the pulsations last for 1 minute with a little pause to let you know when to move to the next section of your face. After this, you can turn it round for another minute on a lower setting which concentrates on the anti-aging in wrinkle prone areas! After use, my skin feels clean, smooth and plump! It’s size makes it the perfect travel companion, it works well with all my cleansers (I tend to use this in the morning or as a second cleanse in the evening so I’m using gel cleansers mostly!) and it’s rechargeable so well worth the investment at £85 in my opinion!

More recently, I was sent two exciting products through PR, the first of which is the Dermalogica Invisible Physical Defence SPF 30*. I am the first to admit that I can be pretty slack with SPF especially in the winter so this couldn’t have been sent to me at a better time! Despite not being out and about as much due to the current lockdown, I am loving getting into good habits and wearing SPF is one of them! This is a physical sunscreen (protects against UVA and UVB rays by sitting on the skin and scattering the UV rays away from the skin) as opposed to chemical (absorb UV rays, change them into heat then release from the skin).

Dermalogica invisible physical defence spf30 review

Like the name suggests, its main selling point is that is it invisible! Now when first applied there is definitely a white cast but upon massaging it into my face it does turn invisible – yay! The SPF contains protective zinc oxide, soothing bioactive mushroom complex and antioxidant green tea, this is perfect for sensitive skin, even on babies! I apply this after my moisturiser and find it to sit really well under both primer and foundation which is amazing as a makeup wearer and there is absolutely no pilling! An SPF 30 is perfect for me and I am really impressed with this! It’s £49 for 50ml which I think is a fair price point for the quality and amount of product! As with all Dermalogica products this is cruelty free, vegan, paraben free, gluten free and free from artificial fragrances and colours!

Around the same time, the Good Molecules Pineapple Exfoliating Powder* also dropped into my mail box and this is a brand that has impressed me so much since using their products! The products, ingredients, packaging and pricing are just too good to miss! This one comes in glass packaging like most of their other products so they are not great for travelling and that is the only negative I have! The product itself is an exfoliating powder made from rich starch and pineapple enzymes as well as Vitamin C to gently exfoliate and brighten. I just pour about a teaspoon sized amount into my hand, add water and then gently massage the paste onto my face before rinsing with warm water. This is gentle enough to use in the morning, it never makes my face look red or inflamed and my face is smooth and free of any dry flakes of skin after use! It reminds me of the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant which is another favourite of mine but this one is much more affordable at $16 for 60g. Good Molecules are cruelty free, gluten free and never test on animals! See my review on some of their other products here!

Another exfoliation favourite is The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution which I got in a Cult Beauty GWP a few months ago and have been loving ever since. It’s a blood red mask that you leave on dry skin for no longer than 10 minutes and let me tell ya this one tingles! I tend to use this once a week and I’ve been so impressed with the results – it really smooths my skin making the texture look much better, pores less congested and blemishes less prominent. Oh, and the best part? It’s £6.30 for 30ml!

coverfx cheek duo blush review mojave mauve

Finally, I have one new makeup favourite in my daily rotation and it’s the CoverFX Cheek Duo Blush in Mojave Mauve which you have probably seen floating about as it’s so instagrammable! Naya first drew my attention to these and I knew I had to have one! Despite being on a try not to buy (because I obviously can’t manage a full ban on spending) I couldn’t fight the urge and picked this up when Feel Unique had 20% off. It was a toss-up between this shade or Pink Dahlia but that was out of stock! Mojave Mauve is a super pretty mauve pink shade and I love that there is a matte shade and shimmer shade as you can use these individually or together! The compact is very weighty so feels luxe and though the outside white packaging looks simple it’s what insides that counts! The blush is pigmented, long-lasting and the finish on both shades is beautiful so I’m impressed and can see myself picking up one or two more shades in the future and it’s £30 for 14.5g!

Anyway, that’s my most recent favourites! Congratulations if you got to the end of this blogpost! I’d love to know if you have tried any of the above and what you though or if not please let me know your current favourite blush, SPF or exfoliating product!

*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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Disappointing Products #2 ft. Soap and Glory, Note Cosmetics and Glow Recipe

Morning guys, it’s been a while since I did one of these posts! Generally, I do my research before buying products so I am not disappointed by a lot but when I am it stings! Here are my most recent disappointing products and you can see my first post in this series here!

coty airspun powder note mattifying extreme foundation glow recipe mist you madly review

The Primark Glow Setting Spray was actually a gift from my aunt for Christmas and after spraying on my hand I was pleasantly surprised by how subtle it was so, after doing my makeup, I sprayed on my face. Oh what a mistake that was. Now, this is nothing to do with the formula itself but this is in a spray bottle with one of those little balls and after shaking vigorously and spraying on my face I checked my refection and was horrified to see lots of little white spots of liquid all over my face – if you know you know. The worst thing was that I was running late for work and not about to redo my makeup so I had to just powder over it and hope for the best but I could see it all day, thank god I work in an office where no one is looking too closely at me! I think in this case I have a faulty nozzle but the experience has put me off it completely and I won’t be using again!

The Soap and Glory Mist You Madly body spray is one of my favourite scents in the world and has been a staple in my fragrance stash for well over 10 years so I was slightly worried when I could not find it online anymore. I did however see it had been repackaged on a trip to Boots so I picked up a bottle as I was running out. On first sniff this is very similar to the original version however whilst wearing it I find it is not as musky, it dries down to a different scent and it lasts nowhere near as long on my skin as the old version. From a quick look at the ingredients I can see that some are in a different order and some aren’t the same so the formula has definitely changed unfortunately. I am absolutely gutted about this one – I used to get my mum to ship this over to Canada to me as I loved it so much and they didn’t have this scent! I also loved how they did a mini and a big bottle of it as the mini was 100ml so fit in my liquid bag! Soap and Glory are in my bad books now as this is the second scent they have messed with – they discontinued their Original Pink perfume too L

Next up are two heavily hyped makeup products and I didn’t get along with either of them! I picked up the Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder in Walmart this summer after hearing how much people loved it but I just can’t get on with it. Aside from the old lady/powdery scent that I would be willing to get on board with if this worked for me, it is cakey, drying but not mattifying and clings to any dry patches accentuating them. I saw this in my friends makeup bag too last time I was visiting and asked her what she thought and she said it was alright but not deserving of the hype it gets!

Sticking with makeup, the Note Beauty Mattifying Extreme Wear Foundation was recommended by a couple of friends when I said I needed an affordable full coverage foundation. Unfortunately this was another one I didn’t get on with. After struggling to pick a shade as they all leant quite pink or orange this one didn’t last the test of time throughout the day. I found at first the coverage was good and it only needs a thin layer, however throughout the day this wears off so unevenly it looked awful! My skin is combo but on the oily side of things and I tried this with so many different primers and powders to try to help make it work but honestly I was so relieved when I used the last pump! It separated on my t-zone throughout the day and if I touched my face it would transfer – not good!

Finally I want to include the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask. I have gone through quite a few minis of this product now as it always seems to be included in my beloved Cult Beauty GWP’s and honestly it makes me feel so meh! Based on the ingredients I would expect a lot more – it contains hyaluronic acid and AHA’s, some of my favourites! I hate the texture - it’s like a greasy gel that leaves a film – and usually with these ingredients I see a noticeable difference in my skin the next morning whether it be plump, glowy, smooth etc but with this I see nothing discernible! I’ve passed the last 2 I received along and hopefully the recipients will like it more than I do!

I hope everyone is doing well at home in these crazy times! Do you like these types of posts or have you tried any of these products? Let me know your thoughts!

Danielle xx

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

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Danielle's Beauty Blog

Sunday, 10 May 2020

Product Empties #25

Tuesday, 28 April 2020

A Chat about Foundation and my Current Collection

Monday, 20 April 2020

Five Things I’m Loving | April 2020

Wednesday, 8 April 2020

Disappointing Products #2 ft. Soap and Glory, Note Cosmetics and Glow Recipe