What I've loved in February....

 

Anything that was kindly gifted to me, with obligation, is marked with a *

This month has really flown by and I am so here for Spring! Hearing the birds in the morning and seeing the Spring flowers bloom, makes me so happy. I just feel that it brings hope and I look forward to the longer days to come. We're still in lockdown and will be for a good number of weeks, but I personally am happy with that because I fee safer. My mother got the first dose of the vaccine, which is brilliant, as we hadn't expected it so early, but she got a call and a few hours later, had her jab and without any side effects. It just feels like progress, which is great. Hopefully my Dad will be called soon. I have no idea if or when I'll be getting it (due to my illnesses), but I am hopeful. I need to have a good chat with my GP, but for the moment, I'm just so grateful to be on medication to control the pain, reduce the inflammation in my body, and to help my breathing. I would urge you all to take the vaccination, because I can tell you that my personal story of Covid has been hell - a year later, I am still suffering. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Spring brings hope, as does the vaccination! Anyway, back to what I've loved this month.

Essences - are they necessary or gimmicks?

 

Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me, without obligation.

The first essence I ever tried was gifted to me - had it not been, I'm unsure that I would have tried one as I wasn't sure that I actually needed one in my routine - how wrong was I? You can read that post here. I have gone on to repurchase Omoressence many, many times and am still using it almost five years later! So what is an essence and do you really need it? An essence is a kind of toner-come facial mist-come serum, so why would you need to use one if you already use these products? It kind of sandwiches the products together, which enhances the protection of the skin barrier and helps to banish dehydration. It's probably not what most people would consider an essential step, yet if you use an essence regularly, your skin will thank you in the form of looking plump and juicy. I have three that I love and want to share with you today.

REVIEW: Lumene Face Masks

 

Lumene* is a skincare brand that was on my radar for most of last year and the more reviews I read, the more I thought I would enjoy it. It's a Finnish brand, which uses Pure Arctic Spring Water in its products (which will make them soothing), which are all reasonably priced and most are currently reduced on Look Fantastic. There are different lines, depending on what your skin needs, but the main aim is to replenish the skin. I was kindly sent two masks to try back in November, and am ready to share my thoughts on them with you now.

Review: Banish Skincare

These products were kindly sent to me, without obligation.

When I was first asked if I wanted to try Banish skincare*, I hesitated as I don't have acne, however the more I read about the range, the more intrigued I was, because the products also deal with scarring and texture, both of which are issues that I deal with. I have never had professional micro needling (although I have a voucher for a facial, which I'll use whenever lockdown is lifted and we can visit salons again!), but it has always intrigued me. I was kindly sent the complete Banish Starter Kit* to try, without any obligation, which I have been trialling since October, and I want to share my thoughts with you today. Just to add, you don't need to buy the whole kit, you can purchase the products that you think will suit your skin best, individually.

My makeup staples from 15 years ago - have they stood the test of time?

 

I've always loved all things beauty - some of my earliest memories are looking through my mother's makeup bag (and probably ruining some of her products), but my mother has always been more invested in skincare and that meant that I was the same. I probably started wearing makeup at age 13/14 - just some mascara, and got more into it at 16/17. Before blogging, I got all of my info from magazines, and was a marketer's dream, so I always bought the latest "best thing", particularly in skincare, until I settled into only using Dermalogica for years (still a staple in my collection), before adding in Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair, as another staple. Rather than having whole drawer units of both makeup and skincare, I had a makeup case and a consistent stash of skincare in my bathroom. I did try new products, but I had core products that I loved and knew I could rely on, but 15 years on, would (or do) I still use them?

How to deal with backne and bumpy skin

 

Both of these products were kindly gifted to me, however I buy from both brands myself too.

We hear a lot about maskne at the moment, which for a lot of people is hard to avoid, if they have to wear masks all day for work - or for some, it's for any amount of time. (Just remember to wash your mask if you've worn it for more than 20 minutes, or at the very least, as Luke O'Neill says "treat them like your underwear and wash them daily". But you don't see people talk about backne very much, even though it affects a lot of people. So, what is backne? As the name suggests, spots on the back, which may not bother you now, as we're all covered up (it has been sooooo cold here, recently!), but it probably will bother you in Spring/Summer. Also, a lot of people suffer from spots on their chest. I tend to use my skincare from the boobs up, so my chest is fine, unless I am extremely run down, in which case, I may get a spot or two on my neck. Back to backne (excuse the pun!) - I have two brilliant products, which will help to treat backne and bumpy skin, in general.

21 Questions: Makeup Edition

 

Tags were so popular when I first started blogging, but not so much nowadays, however when the lovely Parie from Class & Glitter tagged me to do this, I knew I had to, because the questions are fun (and I'm nosy, so I enjoyed reading her answers, and Hannah's too). I'd love to hear your answers to any of these questions!

Shopping online since Brexit began for those outside the UK......

 

I don't think that I'l ever forget the morning I woke to hear that the Brexiteers had won the referendum! I thought that anything could happen in this crazy wold after that (and it did - Trump was president for four years - will it get any crazier than that because I don't know if we could cope with it, on top of Covid?!). My first thought was "what the f*ck?", my second was that surely there would be a second referendum - surely this couldn't happen, but on December 31st last, it did. For those outside of the UK, this now means that purchasing from UK stores/sites, means that the buyer may now have to pay additional import charges and VAT (depending on where the product is manufactured and if the value of the product is more than 22 euros including delivery). It also means that your EU rights are void. There are so many things to consider, which I want to discuss today.

Five moisturisers that are perfect for dry skin in winter (plus a bonus product!)

 

Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me, without obligation.

Regular readers are definitely aware by now that I have very dry skin, but by keeping on top of my routine, it doesn't necessarily always cause me problems. I have curated my skincare stash and know what to do for my skin to keep it soft, supple and plump. Of course, there are times when it needs some extra help - most of my regular readers will know that I have suffered badly since contracting Covid last year - illness, medication and lack of energy/motivation can cause my skin to suffer, but there are some products I know I can rely on to get the moisture back into my skin. Rather than run through my entire skincare stash, I thought I'd share five brilliant moisturisers for dry skin, and one bonus product, that has really helped my skin over the past few months.

Express Tan Comparison: St Tropez VS Tanologist

 

I bought both of these myself.

I don't know about you, but I love applying some tan as a pick me up - I just feel better when I'm tanned, healthier even? And I need all the help I can get in that department at the moment! I'm generally a weekly tanner - #tanthursday is a thing in my life! That said, there are times when trying a new tan, I find that it doesn't last as long as my usual one and I'll need a top up - this is where express tans come into play. I'll say upfront that, in general,  I'm not the biggest fan of express tans because I just don't believe that they will give a deep tan in 1 hour, but they are useful if you have a last minute occasion (in 2022!!), and you have forgotten to tan. I can't fathom how people can get dressed and go out wearing them, because no mater what people say, they smell like biscuits as they develop! The only exception is the St Tropez Purity Gel, which smells like a fruit cocktail, but that isn't marketed as an express tan. Today, I'm comparing Tanologist 1 Hr Express Tan Mousse in Extra Dark with St Tropez Self Tan Express Bronzing Gel. Will either of them win me over?

Brand Focus: Summer Fridays

Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted, without obligation.

Over the Christmas break, I was looking back at what were my most popular posts, not just last year, but it previous years too, and standing out overwhelmingly, were my Brand Focus posts so naturally, I've decided to bring them back! I've done a lot of mainstream brands, so this time around, I'd like to do some newer brands, starting today with Summer Fridays, which is a brand that was created by two bloggers who had tried almost every product on the market, but wanted to create their own streamlined range of effective products, so they teamed up with experts to do just that! It started with just one mask and has steadily grown, which I personally love, because I'm not a huge fan of new brands releasing a whole line at once - I feel that focusing on one product and doing it right, is the best way to go and then add further products when you know that the first is a success. I've tried all but one product from the brand and want to share my thoughts with you today. I'l start by saying that I love the aesthetic - simple, pastel colours with the logo and product names. Simple, but pretty. Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me without obligation, but I bought most products myself.