Category Archives: ukbloggers

Estee Lauder Advanced Cleansing Balm Review

  , , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Estee Lauder Advanced Cleansing Balm Review

hey hey everyone, if double cleansing is on your list this summer then this post is for you! I finally finished the Estee lauder cleansing balm and Ive been wanting to share my thoughts on it.

I love Estee Lauder so i was very excited to try something new (to me) from the brand. The cleansing balm came free as a gift with purchase sometime last year (or the year before) but I started using it in Jan this year and just finished it last month.

Experience

This is a balm cleanser that transforms into a oil once warmed up then into a milk when emulsified. The balm is buttery soft and is very easy to massage onto the skin. The oil it transforms to is slippery and it works well to breakdown makeup, SPF and dirt. it also becomes milky very easily with water and finally rinses off easily, leaving very little residue on the skin.

I was using this as a first cleanse in my routine for removing makeup and layers of sunscreen. it works well for that. i think it struggles a bit against waterproof mascara and lash glue, I find i have to use a little bit extra around the eye area or massage for slightly longer compared to other cleansing balms but it isn’t a big enough difference that i think the Estee lauder balm isn’t good. A little goes a long way with this product and i find when I’m heavy handed with it it leaves a bit of a residue when rinsing away

Verdict

This is a nice balm cleanser. Its the first balm cleanser I’ve used for a while after switching to oil cleansers. Is it the BEST balm cleanser I’ve used? No and Ive also used better cleansers from Estee Lauder.

As much as i love Estee Lauder for the ANR serum, I would not spend £46 on this cleanser especially when you can get much more affordable k beauty ones that are slightly better in my opinion.

I enjoyed using it, very happy i got it for free but I wont purchase this.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Cleansing Balm with Lipid-Rich Oil Infusion is £46 at Boots

Josh Hair & Beauty Salon Croydon

  , , , , ,
Comments Off on Josh Hair & Beauty Salon Croydon

hi hi everyone, I hope all is well with you.

Im back with a new post in my salon series. My goal this year was to visit at least 2 new hair salons, I went to Elevate Brixton back in January, you can catch my full review here then I went to Josh Hair and Beauty the very next day lmao. So yes another very late post HOWEVER, I’ve been to Josh 2 more times since then with the latest visit in April so this will be a full review of all the services I’ve done so far with them. Might be a long post, grab a snack!

My first visit to Josh was for a weave with closure and my stylist was Bimpie. I absolutely loved the service and my weave but gosh I forgot how long weave is lool. I really loved my stylist, we spoke about what I wanted and I wanted to try a new technique I had seen on TT for sewing on the closure, instead of using the elastic band, use weaving net instead and she was very happy to oblige! (btw this technique is 10/10 especially for less tension on the hairline). I was seen right away, I had a mini consultation with the owner Sharon before my service started. I went already wash, blow-dried and trimmed thanks to my visit the day before at Elevate Brixton lol. The salon does offer these services but I had already booked Elevate way before I decided( on a whim btw) to get a weave done lol. I used 1 and half bundles of coarse kinky straight from Curlsqueen and a matching closure. We used a weaving net for the base, my cornrows weren’t extremely tight and my edges were left out as requested. I didn’t have to pay extra for the loose curls. The hair was already layered from a previous style. The weave was £170 I believe

I went back to Josh 3 weeks later, on vals for a weave wash, condition and style with the same stylist. Again I was seen quickly and my service was great. My weave was washed, conditioned and I went again with loose weaves. My closure was also retightened. I was done in about 2-3 hours with no issues. This service was about £80 or £85 I think.

My recent visit to Josh was last month for my routine wash, blow-dry, treatment and trim service. This is my usual service I have at all new salons to really get a feel of the place. I had booked the owner Sharon but on the day she wasn’t in so I had 2 stylists: one that washed and blow-dried my hair and the other for the trim. My hair was lightly detangled before washing with the creme of nature argan leave in. I cant remember if she clarified my hair but she did recommend a restructuring treatment instead of a moisture one as my hair had some damage. I sat under the dryer for a while maybe a little bit longer than necessary. The salon was busier that day at least compared to my previous visits. She also did my blow dry using the Keracare silken glaze and the leave in. I did ask for a dedicated heat protectant even though the former products did offer heat protection simply because my hair is very fine so she used the Keracare Thermal wonder. I cant also remember if my hair was detangled prior to blow-drying but I wasn’t too happy with the way my hair was handled during the blow dry. It wasn’t rough or anything but I just felt the technique could be better compared to other blow dries I’ve had. I also feel like she used too product. When I look at the pictures comparing the Josh blow dry and Elevate (Jan 26) I can see my blowdry at Elevate left my hair smoother and sleeker and the Josh blow dry was fluffier. My trim was done by the 2nd stylist and was fine. She recommended some treatments i could use for repair. This service was £100 or £90 i think

Verdict

Will I go back to Josh hair and beauty? YES. Overall my service has been good. its so convenient for me as well and cheap parking lmao. I definitely go back for weave with Bimpie.

I’m testing out trimming my hair on a 4 monthly schedule instead of 3 or I will be heading to a new salon in the 1st week of August. I already know where I want to go, I will be back with a (timely) review for that lol. Honestly I cant really tell if I’m retaining length because the length looks the same even though I cant really think of something I’m doing wrong. I think I will book a proper consultation at my next salon visit to discuss this in depth.

Summer is almost here!

Take care

Solo Diaries: Peter Harrison Planetarium & Lunch

  , , , , ,
Comments Off on Solo Diaries: Peter Harrison Planetarium & Lunch

Hey hey everyone, I hope all is well.

Today’s post will be the start of my new series: solo diaries! This year, I set myself a goal to do 2 solo outings and so far I have crossed one of these off! Actually, I did 2 things in 1 outing but it still counts as 1 haha.

Dear diary

For my first solo outing, I went to the Peter Harrison Planetarium which has been on my list for so long! This place reminds me of Raj from Bang Bang Theory lmao. I went for the meet the neighbours show, a show about our solar system. It was much too short but very interesting, and I think I will go back for the sky tonight show.

So how did I feel doing this? I felt a bit awkward at first but not lonely but this feeling quickly disappeared as I reminded myself why I was doing this. After the show I went for a solo lunch at Miller and Carter, the lunch set menu is amazing btw! 3 courses including a steak for £23! I thought lunch would be a bit more of a challenge but girl I never thought I would enjoy it so much. I enjoyed my steak, watched a show, then some random man walked by and said hello? LOL. I enjoyed it so much Ive booked another solo lunch at a place that’s been on my list for at least 4 years!

Tbh even though I set these goals for myself at the start of the year I never really took steps to doing them. I am used to going out alone mostly for makeup windowing shopping etc but not to do an actual activity( my last solo activity was 2023? I think!) anyway what prompted me to book this was Tracee Ellis Ross talking about her solo travel experiences. It just reminded me of my first solo trip years ago which lead to so many wonderful experiences and meeting lovely people, I don’t know what happened along the road for me to loose that and become dependent on going out with friends. Anyways I glad Tracee’s video came on my fyp because it’s reignited my passion for solo experiences again.

The planetarium was great, and it seemed really popular for families and kids. You then after Greenwich Park right outside so you can easily have a walk or picnic afterwards. Parking is abundant close and very cheap. Well, cheaper than what I thought it would be!

Im really glad I did this and looking forward to my next solo outings!  As much as I love planning things with friends, it was so freeing to juts decided what I want to do and went and simply GO.  I can finally start to cross items of my list and not feel guilty adding new places lool.

Love always

Sarah

2024 Skincare Favorites

  , , , , ,
Comments Off on 2024 Skincare Favorites

hello hello everyone, you good? I hope all is well.

A new year is usually the time people take a look at their skincare routines and plan for a change! If you are taking stock or have a new year’s resolution to take better care of your skin, then this post is for you!

Today, I will be taking about some of my favorite skincare products from last year. Some are new products I tried and fell in love with and others are my holy grail loyal products I have been using for a while.

Let’s goooooooooooooooo (in no particular order)

Day Mallow Aquaron Watery Emulsion- this is a new product I tried last year from Stylevana & I loved it so much! its super lightweight and watery and deeply hydrates the skin. It was cheap too and the large 300ml lasted about 5-6 months! Its on Yesstyle here as its sold out on Stylevana

Naturie HATOMUGI Skin Conditioning Milk – This is my current emulsion/lotion after I finished my day mallow one. It’s so lovely, a nice lotion that also deeply hydrates my skin. full review coming soon. Another large size that will last ages. if you have dehydrated or oily skin and you prefer a lighter textured moisturizing product try this one. It’s available on Stylevana.

Haruharu Black Rice Toner- have you noticed a trend? I got back into k beauty big time last year! This product is so hyped in the skincare community and its worth it! I got the fragance free option and I love it. Its gentle and hydrating and just pleasant and easy to use. Highly recommended.

I have 2 items from Tatcha! The Tatcha Camellia oil cleanser and the rice cleanser. My full thoughts are here. Ive purchased the Tatcha Mini favorites gift set as it’s so worth the money and the sizes last a while as well! plus you get a free makeup/skincare bag

Estee lauder advanced night repair- ahhh my loyal serum! Ive been using this serum for years and Im never going to stop. It’s hydrating, brightening, leaves the skin looking so rested and healthy. I hope Estee Lauder brings back the buy 1 get 1 offer because its my way of stocking up lool and they havent done that for ages!

Ramsou bfida- another k beauty product? Yes! Last year I spent 6 months looking for a k beauty dupe for my beloved night repair serum (can’t blame a girl for trying to save some coins!) and this was the 1st one I used. whilst its not a 100% dupe, I did like it. Review here

No7 Future Renew SPF50- This is such a beautiful and lightweight SPF that leaves 0 cast on the skin! My full review is here

The Ordinary Buffet- for the last 2 years, I’ve been using peptide serums in my AM routine! This one from the ordinary has been a staple and the only one I have repurchased several times. Its hydrating and leaves the skin plumped

Farmacy Honey Potion- if you are looking for a hydrating mask that leaves the skin looking smoother and healthier then this is what you want. It just leaves my skin radiant and well rested. A staple in my routine.

What are some of your standout products of 2024? Wishing everyone a happy skin year!

This year I’m focusing on clinic treatments to deal with some long standing issues and I’m hoping to document most of these on here! Last year I tried looking for some dupes for my well loved products and whilst I found some nice ones, most of them were so disappointing. I decided then to stop looking for cheaper alternatives for these products. I was wasting more money trying to find cheaper alternatives that didn’t do anything than if I just saved and purchased the expensive product I loved and worked well for my skin! I don’t need to find a dupe for every product!

Anyways I hope you found this post helpful, if you have any questions, drop me a mail!

catch you laterrrr