Cruelty-free current skincare routine

This is a bit of a cop-out of a post, because it's a video. I much prefer to dedicate detailed blog posts to products I'm really loving and would wholeheartedly recommend, but I wouldn't necessarily wholeheartedly recommend every product in my current skincare routine, so I thought I'd do a video of it and talk you through what I'm using at the moment. If I ever do really love something though, you'll know, trust me, I'll probably talk about it on here at length.



MORNING ROUTINE

• Superdrug Clearly Youthful Cream Cleanse
• Boots Essentials Cucumber Moisturising Cream 
• Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum
• Superdrug Vitamin E Eye Cream

EVENING ROUTINE

• Superdrug Simply Pure Micellar Water
• Superdrug Vitamin E Dual Phase Cleansing Oil
• Superdrug Simply Pure Calming Cleanser
• Boots Essentials Cucumber Facial Toner
• Boots Essentials Cucumber Moisturising Cream
• Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum
• Superdrug Vitamin E Eye Cream

I also didn't mention this in the video, but my lip balm of choice is Carmex Original. However, even though I do really like this one and would recommend it, I am on the lookout for a new one so if you are aware of one that doesn't test on animals (and if possible, is vegan) I would much appreciate!

What are your favourite skincare products?

Drugstore Beauty Haul - Superdrug and eBay

It's been a long time since I did a big splurge on makeup, but as my exams have now finished I figured it was a good time to go out with my friends and buy some more. I had one of those situations where everything runs out at once, y'know how hard it is going into an exam with a weak eyeliner game because your holy grail ran out? Pretty damn hard I tell you, so it was time for a spree.

Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights - £3.00
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 220 - £7.99
Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara Cat Eye - £7.99
Revlon Colourstay Concealer in Medium Deep - £6.99
Collection Pressed Powder in Translucent - £1.99
Makeup Revolution The One Blush Stick in Matte Malibu - £5.00
Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner in Black - £2.99
Maybelline Forever Strong Nail Polish in Mint for Life - £4.49
Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick in China Rose - £2.99
MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder - £2.50
MUA Pro-Base Prime and Conceal in Peach - £2.00

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lip Balm - £1.89
Simple Kind to Skin Moisturising Face Wash - £1.75
Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner - £1.59

24pc Cosmetic Brush Set - £8.95

What beauty bits have you been liking recently?

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May favourites

Another month has gone by, I feel we're a little older, a little wiser, a little closer to our inevitable deaths and all that malarkey, so here are my monthly favourites . . .

1. FaceTheory C1 Cleanser*

I've only got the sample size of this because it was a PR sample, but I really like it! It really evened out my skin and left it feeling soft. What I really like about the FaceTheory products in general (I've got a moisturiser and toner sample too) is that you do a quiz on their website to establish your skin type and what works best for that, then you can buy skincare to match that. I didn't think much of the moisturiser and toner but they definitely worth bad, and it's definitely worth looking on the website.

2. Essence Waterproof Liquid Liner (review here)

I actually tried this out ages ago and I remember really liking it but for some reason I hadn't really used it since then, but at the moment I've been in some what of a rut with my makeup, I just really want to shake everything up products wise and try new things (I think it's because I'm stuck inside revising so I can't go out and buy or swatch things, roll on 16th June when my exams end!) so I've been shopping my stash and rediscovering products, and I've been using this nearly everyday - it's waterproof, very black, easy to apply, and it only costs about £2.50, brilliant!

3. Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish in Double Decker Red (review here)

As I said in the full review of this product, when I first tried it about a year ago I really didn't think it was anything special - this was due to my own mistakes, I thought it was so opaque it only needed one coat and obviously this meant it chipped really easily - my stupidity really. However, I've tried it again and I'm having somewhat of a love affair. It's a bright red colour that's really nice for summer (although all year round would work too, it's just for me the brighter colours come out in the summer) and it lasts me 3-5 days which for a pianist is pretty decent. I only paid £1 for this as well because I got it from a market near my house, basically you get an even finish, longevity, and a nice bright summery colour.

4. L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Bois De Rose

I bought this a while ago but I hadn't really mentioned it on here before because I hadn't majorly used it until this month. It's a sheer, mauve, moisturising lipstick that I hadn't really worn much since buying it because I was very into my matte Kylie Jenner-esque lip colours, but now it's coming up to Summer I am just so off matte makeup whether it be lipsticks or foundation, so I decided to try this out again and I have been loving it. It's such a lovely everyday lip colour, it doesn't last all that long on the lips and I have to top it up throughout the day but that's to be expected with sheer lip colours. The packaging is also super classy too.

5. All Ways Natural Instant Oil Moisturizer Leave-in Conditioner

Something I get asked about a lot (more so in YouTube comments) is my hair, and I have been requested to do a hair care video so if you want that please let me know, I'm a bit on the fence about it because I don't do much, but something I have been using a lot for the past month (even last month but I didn't put it in last month's favourites for some reason) is this leave-in conditioner. Going to say right now, this would only really be suited to people with dryer hair or hair on the afro hair spectrum. My hair is a mix of afro and caucasian hair so I can get away with using this but I have to be careful not to go overboard, basically this is just super moisturising and just leaves my hair feeling soft. If I use too much, the next day it might feel a bit greasy and weighed down, but if I put it on my hair over the weekend and don't go out (revision life, ugh) then by Monday it's super soft and feeling healthy generally.

What have been your favourites this month?

*PR sample

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Empties #3

It's been ages since my last Empties post like seriously, in that time I've gotten a much better camera and I've learned that resizing my photos is the best way forward - that, my friends, is character development.

1. Derma v10 Innovations Revitalising Toner

I bought this toner simple because it was cheap, I'm pretty certain it only cost about £1.00. It didn't break me out and it did a very basic job, but it had such a strong alcoholic scent and left my skin leaving a bit sticky. I  don't think it'll be a repurchase for me, the strong scent of alcohol made me think it wasn't very good for my skin and there are ones that don't contain alcohol for only £1.00 more so it's not a repurchase for me.

2. Garnier Simply Essentials Soothing Toner

I quite liked this toner. I've never tried out a toner that blew me away, but this is one I've purchased several times before and I'll purchase several again as it does the job and it's alcohol and perfume free so it's suitable for even the most sensitive of skin.

3. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

You've probably heard countless people rave on about this, I really like this and I have repurchased it. I mostly like it because you get quite a large quantity and it just does the job, I don't think it's as amazing as everyone claims like I still have to rub on my eyes to remove mascara, but it's pretty good and I'm yet to find a better product to remove my makeup, and the bottle is so big that they last a pretty long time (which I like, saves me from leaving the house more often than I'd like)

4. Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream

This is such a lovely, cheap moisturiser. The amount you get in the tub is massive like it literally took me about 8 months to finish (using it twice a day) and it only cost me about £3 from Savers, I think that's reason enough to get it. It sinks in fairly quickly and can be used all over the body as well as the face, I have already gone and repurchased this and I probably won't be in need of another moisturiser for another 8 months which is nice, I like when I can buy things in large quantities for an inexpensive cost.

5. No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Cleanser Oily/Combination

I'm pretty certain this is discontinued (Mum gave it to me because she had never used it and it hurt me that she just wanted to throw it away). This was a gel type of consistency which I liked, although I'm not sure that Oily/Combination was the best match for me. My skin is combination so it wasn't too bad, but I feel that's something to mention. This lasted me a really long time so I would repurchase it if it weren't discontinued, but I'm definitely open to similar alternatives.

6. Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Toner Normal & Combination Skin

I don't really find toners differ than much from each other but this didn't break me out and it was pretty inexpensive so I would buy it again.

7. Boots Essentials Cucumber Cleansing Lotion

I love this. This leaves my skin feeling so soft and I love the scent plus this whole cucumber range from Boots works so well with my skin, on top of being pretty cheap. I've repurchased this loads of times in the past and I will repurchase it in the future.

8. Classic Carmex Moisturizing Lip Balm

I loved this when I first started using it and I do still quite like it, although now I'm about a quarter into my second tube (which is the repurchase) and I don't feel like it's really working for me anymore. So I have repurchased it and it's pretty cheap but I'm not sure if I'll purchase it for a 3rd time as it's not really working for me anymore.

9. Sanex Dermo Sensitive Anti-Perspirant Deodorant

There'll always be some sort of deodorant in these types of posts and this is one I've used time and time again. It does keep me pretty fresh feeling all day and it's not expensive so I'm sure I will repurchase it again.

10. Alcohol Free Colgate Plax Whitening Antibacterial Mouthwash

I know this is a very strange one to mention, but I was so close to putting it into my April favourites so I can't not mention it. This is the best mouthwash I've ever tried. In all fairness, I've not tried out loads and loads but I have played the fields in the dental hygiene area, and this is one of the few products that I feel actually lightens my teeth (I don't want to say whitens but this as close to white as they can be on English dental products) - I will definitely definitely repurchase this, my teeth have been looking so much better since I've been using it and I'm actually feeling confident enough to smile showing my teeth which is nice because I have never felt confident enough to do that.

What products have you used up recently?

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