Five Things I’m Loving | February 2021

It’s been months since I’ve done one of these! Despite being a magpie for new products I am also a creature of habit and it takes me a while to start using things consistently enough to form an opinion on. But, today I’ve got five firm favourites! 

 

 

The NARS Soft Matte Concealer in Light 2 Vanilla has actually featured before in my Best Beauty Discoveries of 2020 post but I just need to mention it again as it’s my new go to! My favourite concealer, the Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer was discontinued and I picked up this and the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer around the same time but I’ve barely touched the MAC as I haven’t found it as good as the NARS! This is matte but not drying and it has great coverage! I don’t experience any flaking even on my drier than normal skin at the minute and the colour match is perfect for me! I was using a concealer buffing brush when I first got it but have switched to my finger tip and prefer this method of application! I think when I use a bit more I will have to go back to the brush to get everything out of the pot but it’s a small price to pay!

The Lanolips 101 Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm also featured quite recently in this brand overview post and it’s been on my lips non-stop since then so deserves another mention! It’s a pet peeve of mine to wake up in the night and my lip balm to have worn off but with this there is no chance of that. Although it has lots of uses - dry patches, cuticles, nasal passages, lips, you name it, I use this mainly for my lips and sometimes I also rub a tiny bit inside my nostrils as they are so dry and prone to nosebleeds at the minute as I’m on accutane and it works a treat! It is so thick and hydrating and stays put all night long ensuring I don’t wake up with uncomfortable dry skin on my lips! 

 

Next up, the Scientia Beauty Dusk Elixir* has filled the face oil void I’ve had in my life since I finished my beloved Trilogy Rosehip Oil last year. It contains a blend of 23 oils including Rosehip, Moringa and Bakuchiol and feels super rich and hydrating. Overnight, this works to regenerate and repair skin and tackle early signs of aging. I wake up to soft, plump, supple skin every time! The scent makes me feel like I am getting a facial and is so therapeutic and calming, perfect for before bed! The products are also cruelty free and this bottle is huge at 50ml and its £32. I have a brand review coming soon with the other products I was sent but this one has really stood out to me so needed a mention! 

 

Now, for another couple of makeup bits that haven’t left my face over the last few months – the NARS blush in Behave being one! I am so glad I picked this up before Christmas when Cult beauty had 20% off. It’s a beautiful, warm, pink, matte blush that is buildable and lasts all day for me. It’s one I don’t need to think about and even though its matte it’s not flat and it adds a little somethin’ somethin’ to my cheeks! This is my first full size NARS blush but I already knew I loved the formula as I have four minis in Dolce Vita, Impassioned, Deep Throat and Orgasm (from most to least liked).

 

The Charlotte Tilbury Superstar Lips in Pillowtalk popped up in my recent Mask Proof Tinted Lipbalms post and has been getting more love than usual now I am back in the office with my mask on a lot more. This is the most long lasting lip balm I own meaning even through mask on/off, tea drinking etc I still have some colour on my lips and most importantly hydration! It’s a pricey option at £25 but once I know I will repurchase when I run out because it works so well for me! 

 

l-r NARS Soft Matte Concealer in Vanilla, NARS Blush in Behave, CT Superstar Lips in Pillowtalk

So, those are my current favourites! Do you share any of the same? Let me know what you have been loving over the last month!

 

*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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Best Budget Skincare #2

 

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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Beauty Spend Report | January 2021

 

I almost made it through January with no beauty purchases but I caved when Boots did a payday offer with 20% off and I thought treat yo’self. With that thought, I decided I might also try to turn this into a blog series and spending diary for myself this year! I have done something similar in the form of my Try not to Buy hauls but it’s been literal years since I last did one and I didn’t go into details on pricing or anything. Since I try not to buy anything full price I’m going to try keep track of my savings and spending with these spend reports – I’m also hoping there won’t be one every month! 

 

The product that started this haul off was the NARS Soft Matte Complete Foundation in Deauville. It’s been receiving rave reviews and curiosity got the better of me. I kicked myself after Christmas as this had 20% off and I didn’t pick it up then I had regrets so I patiently waited for another offer and Boots delivered! Full price this is £28 but with 20% off it was £22.40 and I actually used my advantage card points to pay for this so it was guilt free! I’ve been using this all week and I have to say my first impressions are very good – I think I will do a full review after I have tried it for a while longer but it was points well spent! 

 

I then did a separate order – side note – it is so annoying you can’t part pay on Boots with points and you can’t use gift cards either! This order consisted of the NARS Mini Afterglow Lip Balm Duo in Orgasm and Fast Lane which is now out of stock and I wasn’t expecting it to be in stock for me either but I saw it because was sitting in my saved for later from Christmas and had a third off in the January sale so instead of being £20 was £13.33. I already have the shade Dolce Vita and love it and I am using balms a lot more than lipsticks at the minute so was happy to pick these up! 

 

Next up, a gloss that has been on my radar for ages and again while it was 20% off I thought I would take the opportunity to try it! I find Boots more regularly do 15% off Fenty rather than 20% and while it’s not a massive difference it’s all money! I picked up the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fu$$y and one of the newer cream versions too – the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Colour Drip Lip Cream in Fenty Glow. These are both £17 full price but £13.60 with the discount. Finally, the Fenty Skin Start’r Set dropped into my basket. It contains minis of the Total Cleans’r, Fat Water and Hydra Vizor and is £32 full price and £25.60 with the 20% off. I thought these minis were a bit bigger so I’m annoyed as the price does still seem quite steep for the size but hopefully they are good and will be worth the money! Love the cardboard packaging too! 

 

 

As well as the 20% discount, I also had a £5 off voucher I was pleasantly surprised that worked so my total for this haul was £61.13 instead of £114 which I was pretty happy with! I used TopCashback to shop too which sometimes takes quite a while to clear but is pending 56p and 73p for these two transactions (let me know if you want a referral link)! I used to use Ebates as well when I lived in Canada which is the same idea and got cashback through my online shopping!

 

I have a really old blogpost on the Best UK Beauty Sites and how to save money that I would like to do an updated version of this at some point this year but most of the content is still relevant if you are also looking to save on your beauty spending this year! I can’t wait to try out everything here so let me know if there is anything specific you want to see a review on! I always post more pictures on Instagram so do come over and say hello there too! Did you make any makeup or skincare purchases this year yet?

 

Danielle xx

 

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Skincare | What to Try from Lanolips

Today I thought I would do a quick little one brand review of Lanolips – a brand I fell in love with because of one of their lip products and more recently their skincare! They are an Australian brand that uses lanolin (oil that occurs naturally in sheep’s wool) that is cruelty-free sourced from sheep in Australia and New Zealand. There is no petrolatum, parabens, artificial fragrance, mineral oil or sulfates in their products. 

 

The first Lanolips product I got was actually from a gift with purchase on Cult Beauty (isn’t it great when you find something that normally wouldn’t be on your radar and end up loving it!) The product in question is the 101 Ointment Multibalm Coconutter (RRP £8.99) and it is one of the most nourishing, longlasting lip balms I have in my collection! It comes in four flavours, of which I have coconut (I neither love nor hate the scent), and it’s also infused with Vitamin E, known for its antioxidant properties! Chapped lips are a thing of the past with this, it leaves me with the smoothest, flake free lips imaginable, and I also talked about it more in this Five Things I’m Loving post here! 

 

The next product I picked up was the Everywhere Multi-Cream RRP £10.99 and this was on the recommendation of my mum who is obsessed! Like the name suggests, this is made for use everywhere – face, body, hands, under eyes etc! I personally use it as a body moisturiser and it hydrates my skin really well without leaving a greasy feel. I would say though that I have gone through this tube far quicker than I would have liked using it all over my body! My mum uses it as a face moisturiser mostly at night and loves how nourished and hydrated her face feels! They do have a pump version that is double the size of product for £14 so I will be picking that up next time as I love the formula!

 

Unlike my mum, I tend not to opt for the Multi-Cream on my face as I have two dedicated products for that! I picked up the Winter Dry Skin Essentials kit for myself at the beginning of December and I cannot get enough of the face creams! The Face Base Vitamin E Day Cream RRP £20 is a super creamy formula that sinks in quickly but leaves a bit of tack which I find perfect for applying makeup over. My skin is drier than normal at the minute due to being on mediation for my acne but I don’t think this would be too much for my oily skin either! It keeps my skin hydrated all day long and under makeup it also substitutes as a primer helping make sure my foundation doesn’t settle into fine lines so it’s a winner for me! It's perfect for barrier repair too!

 

Also in the set was the Face Base Aussie Flyer Recovery Mask RRP £20 which as well as lanolin also contains coffee to reboot dull skin and mint oil to restore radiance. Neither product is strongly scented to me nor do I experience any tingling with this one! It's not recommended for sensitive skin but I personally haven't had any reaction to it! It leaves my skin feeling plump and hydrated and I don’t bother tissuing off any excess after 10 minutes I just leave it on and sometimes put some oil on top aswell right before bed! I have a mini 30ml in both of them but the full size is £20 for 60ml!

 

Lastly, the Lanolips 101 Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm RRP £10.99 – the original Lanolips cult classic! This is a do it all balm with, you guessed it – 101 uses! – lips, dry patches, cuticles, nasal passages, you name it, so it’s perfect to have to hand for any rough or dry skin emergencies! I use this again mainly for my lips and sometimes I rub a tiny bit inside my nostrils as they are dry and prone to nosebleeds at the minute and it works a treat! It is more dense so much harder to squeeze out than the 101 Multibalm and needs a little more work rubbing in too but the effects are worth it! It stays put all night long so no waking up with uncomfortable dry skin on my lips! 

 

I honestly can’t recommend these products enough! Everything I’m using at the minute is obviously geared towards my drier than normal skin due to the Roaccutane I’m taking but if you are experiencing dry skin due to winter as well these would be perfect! I also think the price point is great for the product as you never need a huge amount (aside from the everywhere multi-cream which I need to the bigger version of!). Have you tried anything from Lanolips? Let me know your recommendations!

 

Danielle xx

 

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