6 February 2022

MY TOP 13 SKINCARE PRODUCTS 2021 {PART 2}

 Last week I posted part 1 and here is my part 2
 TOP 13 SKINCARE PRODUCTS OF 2021
if you missed that post Click Here
This is an annual post (I've been compiling these posts since 2013)
 of my BEST skincare products that I have personally
tried and reviewed during the year.
As in part 1 you will find several ELEMIS products on this list and non
of these products were gifted, I just love this brand.

If you would like to catch up on which other beauty products I highly
recommend, then click the Pink Links below.







8.

This was another of my long "Lust" products and unlike the 
Laneige Sleep Mask, which appeared on my most disappointing list 2021
this equivalent for the lips did not disappoint.
 LANEIGE SLEEP MASK
This leave-on lip mask delivers on what it promises in abundance and 
it's so deserving of all its awards and accolades.
As I am a "lip product addict" of note, I couldn't love this lip mask any more,
as the softness, smoothness and hydration levels are literally next level.
It's like no other lip product that I have ever used before and for
seriously dry lips its a "must have" without doubt.
My only regret is that I didn't get my hands on one sooner.


9.

I'm a great believer in the use of eye creams and the earlier one
starts the better and I'm talking from experience, I have used 
eye balms, gels, creams since my very early 20's  and in these latter years
I've introduced eye masks and I immediately fell in love with this
ELEMIS PRO-COLLAGEN EYE REVIVE MASK
What I really enjoy about this product is the versatility, as this
 3-in-1 formula can be used as an overnight anti-ageing mask, 
a hydrating under-eye primer and a moisturising rescue balm, during the day.
Personally for my mature skin I find I can quite easily use this as a 
nightly eye cream and I also like to apply during the day, especially
if I've been having too much screen time.
Due to its versatility its fitted perfectly into my current beauty regime
 and I'm reaching for it more often than I first thought I would.



I have two serums that I have really loved during 2021, both
being different, they have really complemented each other and my skin
has benefited very nicely.




10.

I know its another ELEMIS product and it was one of my absolute faves
 of 2021
ELEMIS PRO-COLLAGEN SUPER SERUM ELIXIR
This lightweight oil/cream formula glides beautifully onto the skin and has
an almost silk like feel.
It's not the fastest absorbing serum and that's ok, as it's one of the nicest
serum formulas that I've tried in a very long while.
The clue to how good this serum is lies in its name "Super Serum".
My skin has been feeling "SUPER"and incredibly plump, so much so that my forehead furrows and lines have definitely softened.
I've found it to be very efficient on the moisturising front and post application
the skin has a lovely sheen and smoothness to it.
I highly recommend if you are looking to introduce this type of product into
your beauty regime.



11.


Together at last
 the brightening power of Vitamin C and the correcting power of Retinol
 join forces in one supercharged 
STRIVECTIN 
SUPER-C RETINOL BRIGHTEN & CORRECT VITAMIN C SERUM
I found the formula of this lightweight serum, unlike many Vitamin C serums, 
to absorb quickly without being tacky or leaving a sticky residue, 
making it ideal to layer under moisturiser or makeup.
It was such an easy product to incorporate into my daily skincare regime
and I soon noticed a difference in my skin (around 4-5 weeks). 
The most noticeable improvement was in the brightness and the radiance
 of my skin, whilst over the weeks I could most definitely see a softening
of the lines across my forehead.
As you can tell I highly recommend this serum, as it's easy to apply, 
it's 2 serums in one and most of all it works and is a great product
as an introduction to the wonders of Vitamin C and Retinol... 



12.

What can I say, Its another ELEMIS recommendation and I make
no apologies, as this is another product that my skin responded to
so well
ELEMIS PRO-COLLAGEN OVERNIGHT MATRIX
Part of the Pro-Collagen range, this overnight cream is the 
next generation Pro-Collagen with Smart Technology targets the signs of 
skin ageing caused by stress. 
This clinically proven overnight treatment moisturiser uses ground-breaking 
Drone Peptide Technology to visibly bring back the bounce to your skin, 
so you wake up with a visibly firmer, less creased and a more 
youthful complexion.
As you would expect from a night cream I found the formula to be
 a heavier one, yet it was non oily and not occlusive on the skin at all
and has been a dream to use.
Personally my skin has never felt and looked so smooth, nourished, 
firm, yet relaxed and dare I say it "more youthful" & "bouncy"
 I must also make mention
how wonderful this night cream smells, as it has that beautiful
 ELEMIS
 "Spa in a Jar" aroma.








13.

My next recommendation is a range of products rather than 1 item
AVÈNE TOLÉRANCE CONTROL
This dermatological skin care range has been a long time in its formulation 
and promises to control the skin reactivity of hypersensitive, 
intolerant and allergic skin types.
A hypersensitive/intolerant skin reacts to everything, and anything can 
trigger a reaction.
The daily life of reactive skin is literally governed by the unexpected and the 
most unpredictable things. 
Stinging, redness, tightness: these are manifestations of skin discomfort
 caused by stimuli to which it shouldn’t normally react. 
This is what’s known as skin hyper-sensitivity. 
As the name suggests both products help you and your skin , over time
 take back CONTROL
 and I'm sure there are many people who have been waiting 
for a break-through range like this.
The Soothing Recovery Balm is a rich soothing balm, that hydrates dry,
 hypersensitive, reactive, intolerant or allergy-prone skin and calms the skin 
in 30 seconds and was my personal favourite of my "hubby", whilst
the The Tolérance CONTROL Cream is more lightweight and
 immediately soothes stinging, tightness and hot flushes. 
It hydrates dry, hypersensitive, reactive, intolerant or allergy-prone skin.
Having tried both of these Avène products I can't say I prefer one over
 the other, as it really would depend on the season, as to which I would opt
 for in my time of need.



I hope you find my 2021 recommendations helpful and let me know
in the comments below if you have used any of these products
and your thoughts...




3 February 2022

MY TOP 13 SKINCARE PRODUCTS 2021 {PART 1}

I'm rather late in announcing my annual
 TOP 13 SKINCARE PRODUCTS OF 2021
As I did in 2020 I'll be splitting this post into 2 parts and I've
decided to increase it to 13 products this time.

For me 2021 proved to be a great year for skincare, as I've tried 
some great products and in my opinion all of these 13 skincare items
 are worthy of a place on 
this list and equally as worthy of a purchase.

You may also notice that my list of 13 products, feature one brand
more than any other and that's ELEMIS.
It's been my 2nd year of discovery with this British Luxury skincare brand
and I've been loving every product, as it just delivers on the needs of
my mature ageing skin and my skin responds so well, its a
brand that I highly recommend.
I must have reviewed around 14 ELEMIS products and the fact that
only 2 were PR gifts and the rest were regular purchases, speaks
volumes about both the brand and my unbiased reviews.

I do however highly recommend that you read my original reviews on
 each product below to find out all the product info and more on my thoughts.

I have already posted the following "TOP" lists, so if you would
like to see what else I highly recommend.


Always a good place to start, here are my Cleanser recommendations
and no surprise here, as I have included 2 products from ELEMIS.



1.

As the first product in the Pro-Collagen skincare routine the
 ELEMIS Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm 
is also a much loved award winning cleansing product.
This cleansing/treatment balm, for me, offers a triple experience for the skin, 
it's a very luxurious and effective deep cleansing oil,
 it also nourishes the skin like you
 would expect a balm to and finally it hydrates the skin like a cleansing milk 
and this along with its divine menthol/herbal fragrance just adds to the
 appeal of this product.
This cleanser turns the mundane cleansing stage of your skin care routine 
into a what feels like a super indulgent "spa like" deep cleanse.
 I Highly Recommend if you are a lover of Cleansing Balms as they 
don't come much better than this..



2.

My 2nd cleansing recommendation from 2021 is the
ELEMIS PRO-COLLAGEN ENERGISING MARINE CLEANSER 
and it's a recent addition to their hugely popular PRO COLLAGEN range.
This energising gel cleanser effectively removes daily grime, 
make-up and impurities, whilst leaving skin with a youthful glow.
I find it to be invigorating and cooling and perfect for my morning cleanse.
It made light work of make-up and worked well with my cleansing milks, 
if I used as a pre-cleanse.
The gel feels luxurious, as did the lather that it created and I enjoyed
the convenient pump, as it enables you to control the amount that you
 dispense and a little goes a long way.
If you are prefer a gel type cleanser then this is one I suggest you check out.






3.

Next up is a Micellar Water and being a huge fan of the iconic
Bioderma Micellar Water, so it's not easy to find one that I can recommend
 that beats or even matches the Bioderma one, but this product from
 French brand NUXE is worthy of a mention and a Beauty Shout Box recommendation.
NUXE VERY ROSE 3in1 SOOTHING MICELLAR WATER
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this Micellar Water as much as I did.
I suspect I was misled, as to the efficiency of this product, by the 
delicate pink packaging and soft rose scent, but don't be fooled as
 this Micellar Water is up there with the best 



My Top skincare recommendations would not be complete if i didn't
 include exfoliating products and during 2021 these 2 seriously
impressed me. 



4.

I love to try new skincare brands and this is my first product
I'm trying from the French skincare brand PATYKA.
PATYKA DOUBLE ACTION SMOOTHING SCRUB
is a multi-purpose care product that can be used either as an enzyme mask to
 gently exfoliate the skin thanks to its fruit acids or as a mechanical scrub to 
be massaged onto the skin.
Its one of those large granular type of exfoliators, which personally I prefer, 
as it leaves your skin feeling 
super clean and incredibly soft, smooth and bright, it also preps the skin 
to receive whatever face mask or cream you chose to then apply.
I even go as far to say that I rate it a tad better than my 2 much loved
Luxe exfoliators from La Prairie and Exuviance.



5.

As a more affordable option I have been loving the 
RAIN FACIAL EXFOLIATOR
is a relatively new scrub on the block.
As with all exfoliating products they're formulated to remove dead skin cells
and RAIN use ground apricot seeds to provide mechanical exfoliation and
 this product also contains citric acid (AHA) to provide 
natural chemical exfoliation.
If I'm honest I wasn't expecting anything outstanding from this product, yet
once again I have been proven wrong, as I have been pleasantly surprised
 at how effective this exfoliator is and whilst the ground apricot seeds are
 noticeable in texture (which I happen to enjoy) the product is gentle and
does not strip and leave the skin feeling taught and dry.
 This was by far one of the best smelling, the lemongrass & grapefruit fragrance
 is refreshing and positively divine.
Another standout for me is the packaging, it's super slimline tube,
 still houses 50 mls of product, yet it takes up hardly any space and would 
be great for travel.
Overall it's an affordable, easy to use, effective facial scrub, one that would incorporate seamlessly into anyones existing skin routine.





6.


Onto masking and I only have one on this years list and it just so happens
 to be one that I lusted after for so long and I finally got my hands on 
one during 2021
SUMMER FRIDAYS JET LAG MASK
This long awaited product, unlike many super hyped beauty products,
 did not disappoint, as it was all that I expected it to be.
I have tested this product as a mask/leave-on mask and as a moisturiser
and my preferred way is as on overnight face mask (inc. the eye area)
My skin both looked dewy and rested, but also felt perfectly hydrated,
comforted and nourished.
If I was looking to take just one skincare product away with me, then it
would have to be this multi tasking Jet Lag Mask as it makes an 
ideal travel companion.





7.


I do love a facial spray whether it be just mineral water or better still
a treatment spray and in 2021 I fell in love with this
EVE LOM RADIANCE FACE MIST
Enriched with antioxidants that protect against free radicals and other 
oxidative damage that can lead to premature ageing.
An active derived from Wild Indigo provides antipollution benefits to calm skin
 and reduce visible signs of stress caused by air pollution.
It improves skin elasticity and firmness and revives lack luster skin
 and provides a dewy look.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this facial spray and it turned
out to be all that I wanted it to be and then some.
It's serious skin care in a mist format and it's great as a boost 
or top-up for the skin during the day.



I hope you have found this post helpful and please pop back on Sunday
 to read the 2nd part of 
MY TOP 13 SKINCARE PRODUCTS OF 2021






1 February 2022

BEAUTY PRODUCTS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW {FEBRUARY 2022}

The year seems well and truly underway and for February I have 4 beauty 
products to review. 
Three are from skincare brands that I already have tried and love, whilst
the one is from a new "ish" UK brand Skin Proud and having reviewed
 one of their products recently (and I loved)





BYTERRY
UV BASE PRIMER
SPF 50

One of my Beauty Advent Calendar inclusions, I'm looking forward to trying
 this UV Base Primer.
BYTERRY claims to prime, perfect and protect your skin 
with this ingenious skin-shielding primer.
It provides a high level of broad-spectrum SPF 50.
 It can be used by all skin types thanks to it's lightweight and
 non-greasy finish.




ELEMIS
Superfood
Kefir-Tea mist

This was another Beauty Advent Calendar inclusion and as, you may 
or may not know, I'm a huge fan of ELEMIS, so I'm excited to try 
this 4 in 1 treatment mist, as it's packed with anti-oxidant rich
Superfoods for a fresh dewy skin.
It's also been referred to as Liquid Gold for the skin, 
so I'm all over this one...




Skin Proud
Sorbet Skin
Everyday Jelly
Moisturiser

After trying the one product from this UK skincare brand Proud Skin
 I've opted for a 2nd product in the form of their everyday jelly moisturiser.
Whilst this brand isn't aimed for my mature skin, I loved using
the Icicle Cooling Eye Serum Stick as an extra over and above using
my other more anti-ageing and targeted eye treatments.
It was such an easy product to apply often throughout the day.
Click here to read that review, so on the
strength of how much I liked, I thought I would try this dreamy 
pink cream-gel during the day in these hot and humid Summer months.




Dermalogica
Hydro Masque
Exfoliant

I do love a good exfoliating mask and this Hydro Masque Exfoliant
from Dermalogica was part of the Modern Magazine Beauty Edit Box
that I bought mid 2021.
It's a Hydrating and exfoliating five-minute masque promises to
 smooth and renew
for luminous, healthy-looking skin.