Superdrug Skincare Review;

When it comes to skincare, I'm a very simple girl. I pretty much cleanse my face, moisturise and occasionally use an under-eye cream, which is why I don't really talk about it very often on my blog. But back in April I was in need of some new items and I found out that Superdrug's own brand was both cruelty free and and really well priced. I've been using all of these things for quite a few months and I think I'm finally ready to give a review.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye Cream £5.99
I want to begin with the item I like the least so I can end this post on a high. I picked up this eye cream as it claims to brighten, reduce puffiness and dark circles and awaken your skin's natural glow.
My under eyes can get dry when not moisturised and are quite often puffy with pretty hefty dark circles from staying up to watch endless episodes on Netflix, so I want something that moisturises and brightens. I've used this pretty much every morning and night since I got it. The cream is lightweight and sinks into the skin really quickly and does a good job at keeping my eye area moisturised. However, this does absolutely nothing to make my under eyes look brighter or be less puffy. I've tried quite a lot of cheap eye creams and I find this a running theme throughout. So if you're looking for something that brightens this isn't it.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant 2 in 1 Moisturiser and Serum £5.99
The next thing I had to pick was a moisturiser. This claims to awaken skin's natural glow, hydrate and energize skin. Firstly the bottle to this has a pump which I find really helpful. I was a little confused with the consistency with it being described as a serum. This is a cream consistency. It soaks into the skin quickly and provides a good base for makeup. I have combination skin, most of the times its normal but it gets oily throughout the day but other times I suffer with dry patches. This works well most of the time, but when I'm suffering from dry skin this isn't great. When I don't have dry skin this makes my skin soft and it feels moisturised. When my skin is dry it doesn't provide the amount of moisture I need, so I tend to use my Revolution Baking Oil which helps clear my dry skin a lot quicker. I think this is likely to be a complete miss for those of you with dry skin, but I can see myself repurchasing this when I finish it as it does work so well under makeup and it is a good price.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Hot Cloth Cleanser £5.99
This cleanser is my favourite out of the three things I picked up and the reason I wanted to pick up a few pieces from Superdrug's range as this has been compared to the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I've never tried the Liz Earle cleanser because it is triple the price for less product.
I really wanted to try a hot cloth cleanser as you don't need cotton pads and I'm trying to buy less single use products. The idea is you apply the cleanser to the face and use a hot muslin cloth to remove it. The muslin cloth comes free with a bottle of this too!
This claims to awaken skin's natural glow (I'm noticing a theme with the range haha), cleanse and gently exfoliate. I tend to clean most of my makeup off with a wet microfibre cloth and then I use this cleanser to clean off the remnants any makeup and cleanse my face underneath. My skin looks and feels clean every time I use this and I think this does a really good job. I even use this around my eyes and it never irritates my skin or breaks me out. I think this does what it says on the bottle for a really good price. I've just finished my first bottle and I will be picking up another when I'm next in Superdrug.

What skincare products do you swear by?

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The Body Shop Cleansing Butter Review;

My skincare routine has always been very simple, and as far as cleanser is concerned I mostly use Micellar Water. But recently I've heard a lot about the Body Shop Cleansing Butter be compared to a lot of higher priced skincare brands and I had to give it a try.

The is a waxy feeling balm that melts to an oil when rubbed into your skin. I wasn't sure how to use this at first because I'd never tried anything like it. After having a quick Google (and yes it really came to that) I found out that the best way to use this is to apply is directly to the skin with your fingertips and massage the product into the skin. This lifts any makeup, even mascara leaving you looking like a melting panda. If you have any allergies this can sting a little when you're around the eye area, but its never given me any visible reactions like some products I've tried. Then the product needs rinsing, I do this just with a wet cotton round. At this point this cleanser leaves a slight residue on the skin, leaving your skin feeling a little sticky but not oily. I find this a little annoying, but I always double cleansed with Micellar Water just in case I missed any bit and to cleanse the skin underneath my makeup. When I use this Cleansing Butter for my first cleanse there's a lot less makeup left on my skin when I come to my second cleanse than with just Micellar Water. So I definitely think this does a good job at keeping my skin clean, and my skin  always feels really soft after I use it.
The Body Shop claims that this is indulgent, but gentle on the skin to leave your face feeling clean but pampered. This isn't a product that will completely clears breakouts, or stops my skin from ever being oily. But it is something I've been reaching for a lot, am really enjoying using, and a product that makes you feel pampered, without half of the effort.

My Top 5 Beauty Tips;

Hello readers, today I thought I'd present you with some of my favourite beauty tips. I've tried to include to stray from the usual 'don't sleep in your makeup and drink plenty of water' so I hope you enjoy! Now of course I am no expert in skincare or makeup, this is just what works for me.

1. Keep it Simple

I think when it comes to skincare far too many people over-complicate their routines, but I find it best to keep to a few products. My skin stays pretty clear and I pretty much just wash, cleanse and moisturise. I find that when I introduce a lot of skincare items my skin tends to react as its sensitive, and I'd probably forget to use half of them. Let's be honest most of just don't have all the time in the world to apply lotions and potions. But I also think you shouldn't use over complicate your ingredients, don't get bogged down by items that seem to be skin loving. Especially when you can brew natural skin remedies at home. A lot of items in your kitchen can make great face masks and witchhazel sticks are great for break outs!

2. Clean Your Brushes

I can't say enough how important I think it is to clean your brushes, I'm probably an over cleaner of my brushes if I'm honest. Most often if you find your application is a little crappy it's just because your brushes aren't clean. And it saves you money as you're not just replacing your brushes, most of mine I've had for over a year and they're still in pretty good nick (and a lot of them came from eBay). Cleaning your brushes can have so many benefits, you're not reapplying yesterday's face germs (from breakouts etc.), you don't transfer yesterday's colours (especially if you don't stick to the same shadows/blushes daily) and it can improve application by so much. Of course your foundation brush will never be bright white again, but it will feel a million times better. Plus there are so many great products to clean your brushes that are easily accessible for a great price! I love the ones from ELF and Makeup Revolution and you can use baby shampoo for the same effect. I also love using MUR's spot cleaner too! It doesn't clean your brushes as deeply but it stops transfer of makeup, disinfects the brushes (the thought of rubbing yesterday's spots on my face really makes me cringe!) and it takes all of ten minutes.

3. Use a Primer and a Setting Spray

I will always say that a good primer and setting spray is worth a lot more than a good foundation. I truly believe that finding a setting spray and a primer that work well with your skin can save you money on your foundation and improves your wear time massively. I use the Bodyshop Instablur as it smooths over any pores and leaves you with a smooth base to apply your makeup as well as helping to keep oil at bay. It improves the wear time of any base, keeping it from from sliding around especially in hotter weather. As for setting spray, it's a miracle worker I swear. In the winter I use it instead of powder as it doesn't cake your makeup, let's your skin breathe and some sprays help keep oil away too! In the summer it keeps your makeup from running away from you in the heat. Plus it prolongs your makeup, and I find that it keeps that freshly applied look for longer. The setting spray I use is from Makeup Revolution and only costs £5!

4. Try New Things

One of the things I love most about makeup is experimenting, it's good to step out of your comfort zone every now and again. I'm trying to wear coloured eyeshadows at the minute to shake things up. Quite a lot of products can be used in multiple ways and it feels great to find a new use for your not so new makeup. I also find some of my favourite products becoming 'not so holy grail' over time so I think it's good to switch them out for something new, even if just for a little while. At least this is what I tell myself when I'm shopping...

5. Read Reviews

I think my all-time, top beauty tip is read reviews before you buy. Although we all want to be the Blogger that finds a revolutionary product, I don't see the point in not doing your research beforehand. If a product is rubbish, there's no point two people wasting their money. I usually try to read atleast two reviews for most things I buy, and there are so many beauty blogs out there to utilise and you can usually find someone with similar colouring or skin type to you, use it to your advantage! Plus it's a great way to find diamonds in the rough of brands you wouldn't usually buy from, not to mention the best way to find dupes. It can save you a lot of money and time wasted picking up makeup or skincare that doesn't work for you. Plus some Bloggers are lucky enough to receive PR Samples and get paid to blog and I trust their opinions a whole lot more that TV Ads. 

Do you have any tips to add?

June Favourites;

It's that time again! I have been loving quite a few things this month but only a few of them are beauty related. I thought I'd include a few lifestyle-y faves for those of you that are as nosey as I am.

I'll start with those few beauty bits, I've been using this Mango & Papaya Body Lotion from Natural Collection at Boots. My skin has really been through the wars this month as its burnt and is still peeling now, but this has really helped! Its slightly thicker than your average moisturiser, but doesn't take long to sink in to the skin. There is no residue, it just leaves your skin smelling lovely and feeling moisturised all day long. This came in a Christmas gift set and I'm actually pretty impressed.

I really can't believe I haven't spoken about this Maybelline Color Drama in Keep it Classy, I picked this up when there was a big hype surrounding it and I didn't want to write 'just another review'. But these are great, they are dubbed as a Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil dupe. Its basically a matte lip colour, that feels creamy and doesn't dry out the lips, and lasts for a really long time. All this is pencil form too, which is my favourite for application. Keep it Classy is a berry-pink shade, but I actually prefer it when its faded a little on the lips as a more natural stain. I still love this as much as when I bought it and these are so worth the hype.

My favourite new lip products are the I Heart Makeup Lip Lavas. These have the pigmentation of a lipstick, at first are glossy but fade to a matte colour that lasts so long! These do everything they say on the tube, and everything that everyone says they do, and you can get the whole collection of 5 for the price of 4 on the Makeup Revolution website.

This month I have only used one thing on my brows this month the Brow Define Tinted Brow Mascara in Dark from MUA. This does a pretty good job at keeping my brows in place and adds a little bit of colour. Luckily I have some pretty beastly eyebrows so I don't really need to fill them in when I use this which skips an entire step, but I can't imagine its for everyone.

First up in the non-beauty category are these sunnies, they're blue and green and I love the blue tinge to the lenses. They also little penguins, I am obsessed with these and they were only £3! I bought these when I took part in Slide The City which I blogged about here. So they're also a wicked reminder of an awesome day!

Next up is my FitBit Charge, this little guy has slotted right into my life. This is a Bluetooth pedometer and sleep tracker. It tracks steps, flights of stairs as well as calories burned. It's so interesting to see how many steps I walk when I totter around at work, and it gives me the oomf to get off my arse and move from in front of the TV on days off. I'm not sure if pay the full price for this, but I managed to get this for free when my boyfriend bought the Samsung Curve.

Speaking of days in front of the TV I need to tell somebody about the shows I've been watching! Pretty Little Liars has been my favourite show, I bulk-watched the first 5 series in a couple of months but they have really upped the amp in season 6. I'm obsessed with the liars, as well as they're outfits, boyfriends and the mystery of the show. I've spent hours browsing the #PLLTheories tag on Tumblr, but I'm still not entirely sure who A is. I have been suspicious of Aria for quite some time (even though she's my favourite Liar), but I don't think the writers are that cruel. I kind of hope its Wren, but mostly so I can see Julian Morris back on the show.

I've also been loving Once Upon A Time. I love myself a fairytale and this is all about fairytale characters in the real world (minus their memories). I love watching each of the backstories and they're full of twists, you'll never guess who the pied piper really is! I'm currently on season 3, but its such an easy show to binge watch, and Julian Morris stars again.

My Mad Fat Diary has just returned for its 3rd series and the second episode came out this week. This show is just as great as ever, the 90's setting makes everyone a little nostalgic some of those clothes were a little cringe but thank god for dungarees! It deals with teenage issues such as insecurities and 'the University debate', as well bringing mental health to the light. And it still manages to be funny, you need to watch this!

What have you been loving this month?

May Favourites;

2 months have passed since my last favourites post, one of which was my birthday month. So its safe to say I treated myself to a few new things, so I have a lot of things to share with you and my god did it take some whittling down to keep this post short(ish) and sweet. But look forward to a lot of upcoming new product reviews.

I have a new little shower goodie to share with you first, the LUSH Shower Jelly in Sweetie Pie. This is a quirky shower gel, jelly hybrid. The instructions read; 'rub our wobbly bit all over you wobbly bits'. Getting the jelly out of the pot is a bit of a challenge, but I add this to a shower puff and it turns into lather. It lathers up so well that a little really goes a long way. 'Sweetie Pie' is a purple, glittery jelly, thankfully the glitter doesn't seem to stick to my skin. I don't think the Edward Cullen look is too 'this season'. This smells kind of like glacier cherries, or sugary berries, and its a scent that fills your bathroom when you use this, and I'm really enjoying it.

I picked up this Rich Moisture Face Cream from Avon a little while ago for about £3 as I was suffering with some dry patches and my usual face moisturiser just wasn't cutting it. Seriously this stuff cleared them up straight away. Its a little thicker than your average cream and so doesn't sink in straight away, but I've been using this daily and it works well under makeup, doesn't make my skin more oily and is continuing to keep my skin soft. It doesn't smell of anything much, and hasn't irritated my sensitive skin, all in all a £3 well spent!

I have also caught up (finally) to the hype surrounding Argan oil with this Leave In Treatment from Avon. I run this all evenly through my hair when it's wet and it makes my hair noticeably smoother and visibly shinier. The thing I love about this is that the shine lasts until my next wash and it only cost me £2.50 on an offer which is the cheapest I've ever seen an Argan oil treatment.

Onto the makeup favourites I have been loving this Makeup Revolution Ultra Eyeshadow Palette in Flawless. I raved about this in a full review here so I'll keep it to the point. This has every neutral shade you could need in one palette, the pigmentation and blendability is amazing especially when this costs just £8 for 32 shadows. Another great product from Makeup Revolution, I just wish I purchased this sooner.

Another product I wish I'd purchased sooner is the Sleek Blush By 3 in Pink Lemonade, which I got in the Sleek Party Box which I reviewed here (shameless self blog promotion, I know but I've actually keeping up-to-date on my blog and I'm proud!). These are truly as good as everyone claims, two of shades are powder blushes, which have just the right amount of shimmer. They are so eyecatching yet perfect for everyday, my favourite of the two is 'Pink Mint'. The middle is a cream blush, which I haven't used to much of but it is really pigmented for a cream blush.

Something I've recently rediscovered are my Revlon Matte Balms, I bought them about a year ago. They've spent a long winter in the back of my lip drawer as these shades are more spring-y, but since the sun has decided to make an appearance I've been able to bring them out of hibernation. I have them in the shades: Unapolegetic which is a truly unique, bright coral-pink. But showy is shade that has seen the most lovely recently, it is  a statement blue-toned bright pink. I love the formula of these because they're matte, but not drying. And you don't have to reapply often as when the color fades it leaves your lips stained.
Last is a candle favourite, I picked this up in a little store in St Ives when I was on holiday. This is by the brand Our Own Candle Company and is a large Mason Jar candle in the scent Very Berry. I was first drawn to it because its in a mason jar, and they have teeny, tiny ones which my mum picked up one of that are adorable! Secondly it has 3 colours running through which looks awesome, I hope they smell different but I haven't got that far yet as after burning for half an hour my room is filled with the scent. The scent smells like warm berries, the kind you'd put in a pie, which is lovely for this time of year. Plus when its done I have another mason jar cup, what's not to love?

What have you loved this month?

Simple Spotless Skin Cleansing Pads;

Now I'm not the most clued up person when it come to skin care. I cleanse my face, use moisturiser and the occasional face mask but they're aren't many products that if find make a noticeable difference to my skin. But I will definitely make that claim with this, the Spotless Skin Deep Clean Cleansing Pads by Simple

They look like makeup removing pads, but one side is more bumpy (technical term) to exfoliate. I use these after I've taken my makup off at night using Micellar Water, I use the exfoliating side first and then go back over with the other. This removes any make up you've missed and any dirt hidden further in your pores. I don't use these every day, just because my skin can be sensitive and over exfoliation or deep cleansing doesn't help that. I usually use these every other day. I noticed the difference this makes to my skin in the first week I used it and if I go a few days without it you can tell. I find that if I use this when I have active spots in the morning they've reduced in size and look less red, it even works on those pesky below-the-skin buggers and they're even less painful the morning after using this. I also find break outs and blemishes heal a lot quicker when I'm using this. This is because it exfoliates the skin, it is also nice and gentle on the skin and doesn't irritate mine. The exfoliating also helps to smooth dry patches. I find my skin is over all clearer and better looking just from adding this to my routine.

This costs just £4.99, which I think is brilliant for something you can actually see results from. I've been using these for at least 2 months and I've used just over half so I definitely think you get a good amount for your money.

What are your budget skincare favourites?

Vaseline Spray and Go: Review;

Hello! Today I'm bringining you a little review that I am very excited about. It is the absolutely ingenious Vaseline Spray & Go.

I know I'm a little late on the band-wagon for this, but I think it's the perfect summer product! It is basically a spray form of the everyday moisturiser from Vaseline, but my god does it make my life  easier. Spraying your mousturiser on means you always put the perfect amount on. You can't over-squeeze the bottle and end up taking half an hour working it in. Of course you do still have to work this in a little but it takes next-to-no time. Having the perfect amount on your skin also reduces drying time, give it about a minute and a half and you can pop your clothes! It also irridicates any awkward reaching when trying to reach your back as you can spray all over perfectly. I think this would be perfect for popping in your handbag, taking on holiday or camping. 

The one thing I will say is that the formula is the same as their other moisturisers so if you don't like them you won't like this. I have used the unscented one since I was about 14 and I think is great and doesn't harm my oh so sensitive skin. But it is an everyday mousturiser so if your skin is overly thirsty this probably won't do anything for you.

I also think this is perfect for summer as the spray is super refreshing and I bought mine with aloe vera as it can help calm down angry sunburn, so it even has a dual-purpose.

Being a sucker for a gimmick I've actually been using this everyday without fail, which for me is a triumph in inself.

February Favourites;

Okay, okay. My apologies for the being the crappest blog-writer ever, I will get the hang of regular posting. Anyone who is reading this; I commend you. On to the post! I know its not yet the end of February but I have favourites adding up that must be written about!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

This has to be the single best cleanser I've ever tried! I get quite apprehensive about switching up my skincare routine as I have very sensitive skin and after some nasty rashes bought out by some of the Simple range I'm even wary of so-called suitable for sensitive skin products. But after reading review after review about how amazing this stuff was and how alike it was to Bioderma I just had to give it a try. It is an amazing cleanser it smells and looks just like water, it removes all of my makeup without any scrubbing, waterproof mascara is usually a bit of bugger but I've had no trouble! It doesn't dry my skin out, hasn't given me any break outs and doesn't sting my eyes like most cleansers do. It was £4.99 but for a bottle this size I don't paying that, I've used this 10-20 times and used barely any! Can I give this any more compliments?!

Elf Brush Shampoo

My new Christmas brushes definitely went far too long without cleaning (ew) but when I eventually got off of my arse this is what I used. Aside from my foundation brush which needed a long soak, I simply ran this through my brushes and rinsed it out and they returned to their pre-25th of December state. This did everything it says on the tin... Actually it doesn't say an awful lot on the tin...

LUSH Ocean Salt Facial Scrub

Firstly, don't use this on your face, ever, please. But if you're looking for a body scrub give this a whirl, it has large and small chunks (grains?) of salt which means it gets a tonne more dead skin than any other scrub I've used, hence why I don't let it touch my face ouch. I first bought this during summer and as LUSH can be on the pricey side I tried a few different scrubs but I found none of them did the job as well as this did.

Warning really rubbish photos coming up!

Elf Studio Matte Lip Colour in Tea Rose

After spending early November until mid January in bright, glossy lip colours with matching mini skirts, my lips have gone completely neutral. Matte lip colours in general have become a massive favourite but this Elf studio matte lip colour has taken the crown, the slightly purple shade probably doesn't suit my skin tone but I love it! The grey and brown make it subtle enough to wear in the day, the one negative with Elf is their horrendous online swatching so I had to do some blog-stalking before I bought this but I'm so glad I did!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer

My little trial of Boi-ing came in a sale Christmas box set I managed to nab before they all sold out and I'm so glad I did! This has to be the best item of them all. I didn't know what more to expect from a concealer I'll admit I did they all did the same job, oh but how wrong I was... This makes me look human even under my eyes which completely unheard of before. At £25 a pop I'm not sure I could justify buying the full size on a student budget but we'll have to see.

Fashionista Custom Design Blush

L-R Crimson, Milan, Blushing, Rome

I found out that Fashionista did these build your own palettes via Instagram, they are a great idea. So much cheaper than other brands, I picked out 6 eyeshadows 3 blushes and a bronzer, the blushes are what have stood out to me as the best. The pigmentation is so great for the price and they have such a great choice of colours. I will write a full review on these soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Maybelline Babylips in Pink Punch & Valseline with Aloe Vera

Lip balms in general are a must with the typical British weather at the moment! The Maybelline Babylips was definitely a grower to me at first I didn't buy into the hype and I hated it! I found if I applied this before I left the house it would evaporate leaving my lips even drier, but I tried using this mostly to get rid of it and to my surprize I ended up loving it. I use it underneath my lipstick as I find it keeps my lips silky smooth and moisturised all day. I have the Vaseline lip therapies in every variety as Vaseline is the only thing I find makes my lips soft and actually keeps them that way, but the one with aloe vera is the one I've been reaching for most this month. My Vaseline with aloe vera is my more deep action lip balm as the aloe vera sooths any chapping. Vaseline is the only thing I find makes my lips soft and actually keeps them that way.

Thank you for reading and if anyone could comment decent but cheap (or free) photo editing software I would be very appreciative

Lots of love, GAV

xoxo