Tag Archives: beauty

SPF & Suncare Staples

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I know. I KNOW. It’s October. What am I doing, blogging about SPF?! But apparently, some people still like to travel in winter, whether that’s running away to somewhere hot or heading skiing, ya’ll need SPF. And let’s not forget about the readers of my blog who live on the other side of the world! Where summer is just about to kick in. Or perhaps you live somewhere like the sunshine state, AKA California. You get what I’m saying? There’s always a time for SPF.

Whilst the British summer this year felt way too brief, I have had a small stint in the Spanish sun where I really got to put these to the test. Being pregnant in 30 degree heat I was super paranoid about catching any sort of sun as I know you can be more susceptible to these sorts of things. So it was really important to me to find a good SPF to protect my skin when I wasn’t covered up with the worlds biggest hat and floaty dresses.

I started my search early and ended up taking the above products for all my suncare needs. All three are carry-on friendly and vegan-friendly, too!


Odylique Natural Sun Screen, SPF 30, 50ml – £15


This thick and creamy SPF is incredibly moisturising and a great choice for dry, sensitive skin types. This was the SPF we would use first thing in the morning to give us protection for a good portion of the day until we needed to re-apply and then I would use the biosolis for convenience. This was too thick to use on my face, but great for the all over the body. Like a standard thick moisturiser, it took a few moments to work into the skin, and my boyfriend wasn’t 100% keen on applying it to his hairy legs ha! but other than that it was perfect and one I would purchase again as it’s so gentle and can be used on babies and children.

Biosolis Sun Spray SPF50, 100ml – £22.99


I actually found it really difficult to find vegan-friendly SPF’s – my choices were incredibly limited but I’m happy with the two I got in the end. This Biosolis spray caught my attention thanks to the high SPF and the promise of being a thin, easy to work with formula. This is the SPF I ended up using on my face and taking out with us for easy reapplications during the day and after going into the water. The formula is white, and does take a little working into the skin, but the thinner consistency means it does eventually absorb and disappear into the skin without leaving a white cast. It doesn’t leave a greasy typical SPF residue but it also doesn’t dry matte either. But when the sun is so hot, it does become hard to tell what’s SPF and what is just sweat, glam 😉 This also didn’t cause me any breakouts and worked really well under any makeup I wore!

Organii After Sun Cream, 50ml – £3.50


Bargain ALERT! Yes, that really does say three pounds fifty pence. This little tube of after sun combines aloe vera and shea butter to be soothing and moisturising for skin that’s spent all day crisping up in the sun. It would also be perfect for windburn and chapped skin from the cold I imagine. It’s a lovely thick cream and I smothered my skin in this each day after a shower. I didn’t burn at all thankfully but my boyfriend caught a little sun on his arms and this helped take the redness away and prevented the skin drying out and peeling, perfect! I would definitely purchase this again next time I need after sun, it’s an absolute bargain for a product that contains organic ingredients.

Have you used any of these products or brands before? This was my first time trying Biosolis!

A Serious Splurge On Dry Shampoo…

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I never imagined I would be using a £30 bottle of dry shampoo, but here we are.

When I think of dry shampoo I think of cheap, colourful cans of white/clear aerosol that make your hair feel matte and disgusting and often promise volume but fall flat.


The Rahua Voluminous Dry Shampoo comes in an aerosol-free, squeezy tube and is nothing like traditional dry shampoo. It’s clay based, and as such can feel a little heavy if not used correctly, but with practice, I now know just how much to use to give my hair volume, remove any oily roots and just generally refresh 2 or 3-day old hair.

To use I simply give the bottle a little shake upside down and then squeeze little puffs of the powder into my roots. I then work the powder into my hair to distribute it where it needs to be and leave it to soak up any oil for a few minutes before giving my hair a quick brush. I also really like the natural vanilla scent that comes from the addition of vanilla powder, it removes any other scents clinging to my hair.

What’s more amazing than how well it works for me? How long I’ve had it and how much my boyfriend likes it too! I purchased my bottle back in January(!!) and I still have just under half of the powder left, a little really does go a long way, and that’s with two people using it on the regular. My boyfriend likes to use this in two ways, as a styling powder, he finds it gives his hair some grit and hold and he can style it in his carefree ‘I’ve done nothing with my hair but really spent a few minutes trying to look like this’ look. And he uses it as a traditional dry shampoo to remove grease. He has a very sensitive head so I’m glad this has such simple ingredients that haven’t irritated his scalp.

The ingredients list is incredibly simple; Fuller’s earth (Clay), Organic Tapioca Starch (Cassava root), Illicium Verum (Star Anise), Vanilla Planifolia, Citric Acid. 


So why pay so much? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you, it’s like paying £40 for luxury natural toner that has the main ingredient listed as water! It’s a luxury purchase, and as I’ve often found with purchases like this you tend to convince yourself that the price means this must absolutely be better than the version that costs half the price.


I haven’t tried a cheaper version such as the Acure Dry Shampoo, and when my bottle of Rahua finally runs out (I would guess in another 4-5 months, giving me a full years use out of one bottle!) I will be torn choosing between a tried and tested product that lasts us ages and ages, to something new that we may not like as much. What would you do?





Would you spend £30 on dry shampoo?

New-In Beauty & First Impressions

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I’m in a real funk when it comes to makeup and you know what? I’m really ok with it. I’ve reached a point where I know what I like and I’ve got a daily uniform of products that I’ve used for yonks, love dearly and perform well. New stuff in the beauty department just doesn’t get me as excited as it used to. Now that’s not to say that it doesn’t get me excited at all – there are always a few bits here and there that tickle my pickle – so I’ve been hoarding on to a handful of items that I’ve discovered recently that have made me ‘ooh‘ and ‘ahh’ and today’s the day that I finally get to have a play with them.

You know the set-up of these kinds of videos by now. I take five new items, throw them on my face and give you my first impressions of them. Then I take you around for the rest of the day (on my new vlogging camera – ooooh fancy! Now I can finally see myself in the flip-up screen) and let you know my final thoughts after a solid 12 hours plus of wear. This time round there’s a new foundation from Hourglass which promises to bring coverage without the cake, an eyeshadow palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills that I’ve been dying to get my hands on, a liquid bronzer and highlighter from Cover F.X that I purchased because I completely fell for the hype and then some limited edition lip beauties from Clarins, which I know I’m going to be crazy about already.

That’s it for the new beauty hauling from me for a while. Time to get back to purchasing copious amounts of workout leggings. So have a watch and let me know what you think. What’s been tickling your beauty pickle recently?

The Hydration Dream Team.

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John Master’s is most well known for their killer haircare range. It’s certainly how I was introduced to the brand and it was quite awhile before I realised they also had a range of skincare! The range is fully established with several options for different skin issues and skin types, they use mostly all organic ingredients (70-100% of the formula), and also include no irritating preservatives such as phenoxyethanol (which I try to avoid).


I had wanted to try some of their skincare for quite a while, and when looking for some good hydrating products for my dehydrated skin a few months ago I liked the look of these two rose based hydrating products.

I’ve been using both serum and mist daily now in my routine since the very beginning of May and finally need to share the love!

The Rose & Aloe Hydrating Toning Mist was a no-brainer purchase, I do love a good toner, and as I wasn’t too impressed with the one I was using at the time I was relieved to find that this was everything I was hoping for.


The ingredients list is simple with aloe, rose and glycerin being the main trio. All great for dry, dehydrated, stressed, tired, hormonal and spotty skin. Yes, it turns out it’s possible to have that many things wrong with your face at once. The mist is great (always very important) it doesn’t shoot water at your face and spreads a fine mist evenly so that I need only 2-4 spritz per use. Used day and night since the beginning of May I’m now on my last 1cm of toner in the bottle, so I feel like it was pretty good value too, as I do tend to use toner up faster than the speed of light.

Ingredients:


Aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice*, rosa damascena (rose) flower water*, glycerin*, leuconotoc ferment filtrate, oryza sativa (rice) extract*, camellia sinensis (white tea) leaf extract*, centella asiatica (gotu kola) extract* 

*Certified Organic Ingredient

I was less sure about what I was getting into with the Green Tea & Rose Hydrating Face Serum as I didn’t read any reviews and just went off of the description and ingredients list. It sounded like a great match for the toner and something my skin would benefit from. Luckily my gamble paid off and this fit into my routine perfectly and has also been used daily ever since. 

The serum is a very light cream texture that sinks into skin very easily, I’ve been using 1-2 pumps of this mixed with some moisturiser and two drops of cacay oil for my morning skincare routine. I much prefer mixing everything I want to use together and applying in one layer rather than layering up my skincare. It seems to overwhelm my skin less and helps the oil sink in too, making the perfect base for my foundation that doesn’t develop into dry patches as the day goes on. 

I wouldn’t say this serum is the be all and end all of serums, I’ve used better, but I’ve also used worse! For £25 it’s an absolute gem and totally helped my skin rebalance itself over the past couple of months. I’ve used about half of the bottle now and will continue to use it as a hydrating little boost for my face. 

Key Ingredients:

  • green tea – rejuvenates skin
  • rose flower oil – nourishes skin
  • rice – softens and heals while helping to prevent wrinkles
  • sea algae – soothing and nourishing to skin
  • sunflower – retains moisture and protects skin
  • aloe vera gel – anti-inflammatory; soothing
  • radish root – new all-natural preservative; protects against harmful bacteria

Ingredients:

Aloe barbadensis (aloe) vera leaf juice,* helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil,* glycerin,* coco glucoside, coconut alcohol, rosa damascena (rose) flower water,* leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate, borago officinalis (borage) seed oil,* oryza sativa (rice) extract,* camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract,* spirulina platensis (algae) extract,* butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter,* rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract,* lecithin, cananga odorata (ylang ylang) flower oil,* rosa damascena (rose) flower oil,* anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower oil,* boswellia carterii (frankinscense) resin extract, sclerotium gum powder, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate

*Certified Organic

What do you think of John Masters Skincare, have you tried anything from their range? I’m definitely interested in trying more and really like the look of the Bearberry Oily Skin Rebalancing Face Serum and the Moroccan Clay Purifying Mask! Maybe you’ll see a review for those on the blog one day 😉 *hides purse*

Fake It Till You Make It; The Sleep Edition

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When I choose an eye cream, I tend to skip the cream part altogether and look for a gel or serum formula. I just don’t like the feel of an extra layer of cream near my eyes, preferring a soothing gel near my peepers to keep them feeling fresh and actually awake, if only temporarily 😉

I had looked at the Trilogy Age Proof CoQ10 Eye Recovery Concentrate a couple of times in the past, (anyone else window shop online an unhealthy amount??) and finally a couple of months ago I decided to take the plunge and try it out after noticing some serious dark circles thanks to a new job (and, even though I didn’t know it at the time, early pregnancy!).

The Trilogy Eye Recovery Concentrate comes in a teeny little glass bottle (it is only 7.5ml’s of product) with cooling metal rollerball on the top. Trilogy describes this as a ‘small and mighty’ product, and I would have to agree! With regular use, I feel like my eye area perked up and the deep purple bruise-like shadows under my eyes look significantly better these days! I am *yet* to suffer from fine lines and puffiness under the eyes, so I can’t comment on the effectiveness of these claims, but I strongly feel prevention is better than cure when it comes to these sorts of things, so a little CoQ10 TLC for my eyes may keep any lines at bay for at-least a little bit longer? But I’ll get back to you on that theory once I’m a sleep-deprived mum 😉

I have only one niggle/minor complaint and that’s that the roller ball is sometimes tricky to get going, but I’ve found a really good shake and running it on the back of my hand helps the serum start to flow and I can then apply it to the eye area. Other than that, the serum is perfectly textured, it sinks in quickly without any tacky residue left behind and it cooperates well with makeup and any other skincare applied over the top.

The serum is priced at £26.50, which I think is very reasonable for a natural eye product with high-tech ingredients. Not everything in the Trilogy range is vegan, unfortunately, but what I have tried has always been fab. I’m currently also using their newest body oil to hopefully prevent stretch marks as much as possible, and I’m loving the gentle, fragrance-free formula! It’s really been helping with any tight, stretchy feelings and itchiness!





Have you tried anything from Trilogy?