Comments Off on Sephora Melting Cleansing Balm Review
hihi everyone, I hope all is well, Autumn has arrived in the UK after a very cold & brief summer lol
Today I’m talking about the melting cleansing balm from Sephora. This one promises to remove even waterproof stubborn makeup and oils and dirt from the skin.
Experience
oh gosh I havent used a bad cleansing balm in a while. This balm just isn’t it. Firstly it doesn’t spread easily across the face and it struggles against makeup, even just everyday simple makeup. Against mascara and waterproof mascara you need a few good rubs to remove them and even after that it doesn’t completely remove waterproof mascara. It does emulsify well I have to give it that but that’s just about it
Verdict
I’ve really tried to stick with it and to finish it but its a massive tub and I just cant anymore lool. Its not a good cleansing balm period, I’m going to have to throw this one away.
Hi hi everyone, I hope all is well. Today I have a list of my fav sunscreens for you, these are across different price points and brands but the best thing about them are that they are all 100% invisible on dark skin! Check out Part 1 of this post with more suitable sunscreens here
Paula’s Choice RESIST Anti Aging Skin Restoring Moisturiser SPF 50 £39 – this is one of my top 5 sunscreens because its simply amazing! An SPF moisturiser with broad spectrum protecting and feels light on the skin with a dewy finish? Paula’s Choice did their thing with this
Garnier Ambre Solaire Ultra-Light Sensitive Sun Protection Face Fluid SPF50+ 40ml £13 – this is a dupe for La Roche Posay shaka fluid but the reason why I like the Garnier version more is because I don’t find it as matte. This is also frequently on sale and very accessible. This is a great option for oily skins. Its very watery and light weight
SuperGoop Play SPF 50 £22 – My first every SPF from Supergoop and I loved it! another SPF moisturiser that you don’t need to use a cream underneath. 100% invisible on the skin
BeautyPie Super Healthy Skin™Featherlight UVA/UVB SPF 50 Sunscreen + Primer £15 or £50 – If you are a BP member then you really should try this! This was one of my fav products from them when I was in the BP club. This isn’t for everyone though because it is very very dewy and does sting the eyes a little bit lol. I still loved it though and went through many bottles of this stuff. Its £15 for members or £50 for non members( it is not worth £50 though in my opinion)
I hope you found this helpful. I have a lot of sunscreen videos and reviews under my Dark skin sunscreen tab on the menu above
Comments Off on Paula’s Choice Advanced Sun Protection Daily Moisturizer SPF50 Review
hihi everyone, I hope all is well. Today I have another sunscreen review and try on for dark skin tones. I’m very passionate about encouraging black people to wear sunscreen more so I have to make sure to find suitable options for us. Please check out my Dark skin sunscreen menu for lots more options. I have videos on my insta too
I love Paula’s Choice as a brand and I have tried a few of their sunscreens too. This one is a new sunscreen that came out last year (I think). I got the travel size as a gift with purchase and Ive been using it for a while now.
This is SPF moisturiser which makes it very convenient as you don’t have to layer over a morning moisturiser. It promises high factor broad spectrum protection for normal & dry skins with a ultra sheer finish. This one has a high PA rating and added antioxidants
Experience
It’s a very lightweight lotion texture, that feels light and silky on the skin with no oily/greasy feel. I did not experience any irritation with the SPF and it did not sting my eyes. It leaves a dewy finish but nothing that is too shiny. I use the standard 2 fingers full to get the correct amount for my face and neck
Is it 100% invisible on dark skin– NO! Although it promises an ultra sheer finish, it does leave a slight white cast on my skin. Its not the worst cast I have experienced, but its still there and I wont be able to leave the house with this only without a bit of powder. Its pretty difficult to see in my pictures below but if you look on my neck, you can see piling and a cast on my skin.
So the other issue I have with this SPF is pilling. As you can see it piles and settles in the lines on my neck. It also sticks to the hairline.
Verdict
This is a no from me and I’m disappointed as PC is one of my fav brands. infact one of my fav ever sunscreens is from them! This one leaves a cast AND it piles! I can easily cover a white cast with makeup but the piling? makes applying makeup difficult! sigh. I do not like the sunscreen at all and if you can believe it, I still haven’t finished that 15ml travel size! I’ve switched to something else.
Comments Off on RAMOSU – Bifida Ferment Lysate 100 Review
hihi everyone, today’s post will be a full review on the Ramosu 100 Bifida ampoules I got from Stylevana. If you want to see the other items I picked up, read that post here
I wanted to experiment with k beauty dupes for the Estee Lauder ANR serum. I absolutely LOVE the ANR serum, its pricey but its so worth it! I usually bulk buy it when they do their buy 1 get 1 free promotion but the problem is they haven’t done this in 2 years and my stash is down to the last 1, sigh. I worked it out that they run this promotion when they update the ingredient list so that they can quickly get rid of the old stock. the last update I feel was 2022 when they did the promotion.
Anyways the promotion hasn’t be run in the last 2 years so I decided to find some k beauty dupes I can use whilst waiting for the promotion to come back or a really good offer on. Estee Lauder do have some great offers from time to time so really its only a matter of time LOOL.
Criteria for Estee Lauder ANR dupes
This is the current full ingredient list for the ANR, what I am looking for in a dupe is something as close to this OR has the key ingredients I have put in bold, but the main ingredient I look for in dupes is the Bifida Ferment Lysate since its the 2nd ingredient in ANR therefore in high conc
It is well known that k beauty have a lot of products with Bifida Ferment Lysate in them so I turned to the k beauty world for dupes. I picked up 3 for my 1st round of testing and I started with the RAMOSU – Bifida Ferment Lysate 100.
RAMOSU – Bifida Ferment Lysate 100 – this is a 100% pure bifida ferment ampoule with nothing else added to it. I had never heard of the brand Ramosu until browsing on Stylevana and I got it because it was on clearance. You get 5x10ml bottles, I have finished 3 so far out of 5. This ampoule promises a special skin feeling in 28 days
Experience
This was an easy addition to my skincare routine, it layers well with other products and pairs well with other actives. I have used it with high strength retinol, acids, peptides with no irritation. I started using this on the 20th of March after I had just finished a bottle of ANR. I finished a 3rd bottle of the Ramosu on the 2nd of May before taking a 1 week break to use ANR then back to Ramosu.
Is it similar to ANR? In terms of ingredients, this product only has the bifida ferment so its lacking the benefits of other ingredients in a well rounded serum. To combat this I just layered other products with some of the ingredients in ANR e.g peptides, glycerin etc. The serum itself is not hydrating.
Results: I think that the ampoule has helped maintain a healthy glowing complexion like ANR but I can see a difference. ANR makes my skin feel smooth, soft and radiant and the results are literally overnight. I just didn’t get that from this. In the pictures and ignore my spot treatments, I feel like there is a slight difference in terms radiance and feeling of my skin. My skin looks great but I can feel the difference
Verdict
Is it a dupe for ANR? Well it has the main ingredient which is the bifida however the lack of other ingredients means you are not getting full benefits so I would say its not a dupe.
Is it a great product? absolutely, if you are the type to layer on skincare then the lack of other ingredients wont bother you so much because you will be getting them elsewhere. The only time this was annoying was when I wanted a lazy pm routine, the lack of hydration from ramosu meant I couldn’t just use this plus a cream because it wont be enough
Do I recommend it: yes and no- yes because for the price you pay for 100% bifida its amazing, its well packaged and it actually leaves the skin great but no because there are no many other dupes that are well rounded in ingredients and may work better.
Bottomline: it doesnt hurt to try this, its £10 for 50ml but it is not a dupe for ANR. Get it to try as a product because you want to experiment with bifida but not as a dupe for ANR
I have 20ml left of this to use up then its onto the next dupe!
hihi all, I hope all is well. Spring is fully here and we are finally getting some sun in the UK! I know for a lot of people, the spring summer season is when their SPF is finally out so I’m here with a post with my tried and test sunscreens from Boots to help you out.
We should be wearing SPF every day of the year even in the winter and reapplying especially when the sun is out and we are out and about. I think the key to ensuring you wear your SPF as frequently as possible is to find one you like. I have tried a lot of SPFs and here are some of my tips to finding one you will like
Find a white cast FREE/ invisible option
A lightweight sunscreen that layers well with your other beauty products
Suitable for your budget
Suits your skintype
Easily accessible
If you are able to tick all 5 boxes, then I am confident you will find something you will like that wont be a chore to use. If you are looking for a starting point, my sunscreen recs are below. I have tried each of them and have video links either here or on my Insta darkskin highlight, instagram- sarahfynn. These sunscreens, can be purchased from Boots, Superdrug, LookFantasic or even ASOS so they are very easy to find.
Facial Sunscreens
Garnier Ambre Solaire SPF 50+ Sensitive Advanced Face & Body Serum £15– I have tried many of Garnier’s sunscreens, but I keep coming back to this one. It is hydrating and leaves a dewy finish but it doesnt feel greasy or heavy on the skin. This one can also be used on the body and comes in a massive 125ml tube. Its suitable for all skintypes but if you have really oily skin, you will prefer the Garnier UV Anti Dark Spots & Anti Pollution Face Fluid SPF50+ £13 which is a dupe of the La Roche Posay Shaka fluid
No 7 Future Renew Damage Protection Defence Shield Spf50 £24.95 – this is the latest one I tried. I got this for holiday and let me tell you it was love at first use! The lightweight watery lotion sinks into the skin very easily, It feels hydrating & lightweight with 0 cast. It layers so well on top of each other, I layered this many many times in the day whilst on holiday and it did not pill, not once! It works so well under makeup too. I have to admit I went looking for another SPF to buy but the sales lady said it was £10 off and I was able to test it, it also helped that it was a black lady who said the SPF was also invisible on her. I purchased it and the rest is history
Bondi Sands Face SPF50 £7.99 – Bondi Sands is an Aussie brand where SPF is taken very very serious so I tend to trust them. Bondi Sands is a fav. of mine. I have used both the ‘face’ and ‘body’ sunscreens on my face and I love them both however the body SPF on the face feels slightly heavy. This is a very dewy finish SPF so if that is not your cup of tea, please stay away from these lol
La Roche Posay Shaka Fluid SPF50 £20– one of the OG SPFs out there, shaka fluid is a semi matte finish with great SPF filters. La Roche Posay is an amazing French pharmacy skincare brand, well known for their sensitive skin products
For body SPF, there is only 1 for me and that is the Nivea Dry Protection SPF 50 mist, £12. Its a cooling SPF so it feels so great when applying in the heat its really cold tho lol. The finish of this is very dewy so if thats not your thing, you can use the Garnier or the Bondi sands mentioned above for your body.
How to remove SPF effectively
After a day of multiple SPF reapplications( btw I will do another post of easy SPF reapplication products!), I like to triple cleanse to ensure every last bit of SPF, dirt, oils is off. I use whatever balm cleanser I’m using at the time( post on this soon) twice, emulsifying well & removing with my wash cloth then finishing off with my gel cleanser. This can dry out the skin a bit depending on the cleansers I am using but I always go in well hydrating products in my pm routine so I dont have any issues after.
I hope this post is helpful if you are looking for a new SPF to try. Please check out my insta for video reviews on the SPFs mentioned. Catch you later
