Tag Archives: skincare

Haru Haru Wonder 30 days Skincare Challenge

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hey hey everyone, happy new month! I hope this new month brings you joy! I’m so happy longer brighter days are coming!

This new month signals the end of my 30 day skincare challenge with Haru Haru Wonder! As you know, I started my challenge on 1st Feb, using mostly HaruHaru wonders in my skincare routine! I have so many thoughts on the products so lets get started!

a bit about my skin – i have normal to combo skin which is slightly drier in the winter. My main concern is hyperpigmentation. My goals for this challenge were increased radiance, fading of dark spots and maintaining barrier function. I was also looking for hydrated and smoother skin and overall health improvement.

What are my top 3 products

Coming to the end of my challenge, my favorite 3 products from the range are

  • Black rice deep cleansing oil- this product is 10/10 for its gentle but effective cleansing power! Its affordable and works really well against waterproof mascara and makeup! I have a full in-depth review next week!
  • Black Rice Moisture Airyfit SPF50- you know I love a good sunscreen! This chemical based one feels velvety on the skin and its lightweight! best of all 0 cast on dark skin- my demo & full review is be posted later this week
  • Finally I have to give it to the soft gel cleanser! I loved this since first use. it feels soft on the skin, and I really appreciated the unscented product. Im currently doing laser on my face and my therapist was happy when i mentioned this as my current cleanser as it would be very gentle on my sensitized skin! It doesn’t dry out my skin!
  • I have to give a shout out to the black rice toner too! its not listed in my top 3 only because I wanted to pick items from the new products I was using and the toner isn’t new to me. my full review will be posted next week.

Did I achieve my goal?

I think I achieved some of my goals. My skin has remained hydrated and healthy throughout the month. In terms of radiance, I switched to a new vit c serum at the beginning of feb and i hated it the texture so much but i don’t see a huge difference. In terms of fading hyperpigmentation the dark spot serum was ok i don’t think it made a huge difference but I want to reserve my full thoughts in my review when I finish the product. here’s the before and after pictures( after taken 3 weeks into the challenge)

Overall thoughts

I think the products are very gentle and suitable for all skintypes. I think that their products are good for skin care beginners because they do not contain high concentrations of active ingredients, they focus on barrier repair and hydration. Everything I used was very easy to incorporate in my routine. One thing I have to comment on was how well the products layered on top of each other! I had ZERO pilling during the last month and I really enjoyed that.

As a more experienced skincare user, I found some of the products didn’t quite hit the mark for me and its because my skin is used to higher concentrations of active ingredients. This isn’t a negative thing and Haru Haru’s more gentle approach is great for skincare beginners or sensitive skin. For instance the new retinol serum is mainly for retinol beginners as the conc is very low- great for beginners. As someone who has used tret & is on Medik8’s CR 20, the retinol serum is a step back for me. I did really like the texture & hydration the serum offered but I wont purchase it because Im on a higher retinal product but i will happily recommend for retinol beginners.

Overall I’m very happy with the brand and I want to thank HaruHaru for partnering with me for this challenge. I’m still using the products and will bring full detailed reviews as I finish them! I have a few reviews coming up next week-be sure to check those out! The only product I’m going to stop using ASAP is the eye cream because my eye area is a huge concern of mine and their eye cream isn’t doing much for me, everything else Im using up ????

Speak later!

Happy new month!

Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum Review

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hey hey people! I hope all is well with you.

Today’s post just highlights the importance of 2nd chances and why we should be giving people and products (lol) one * within reason lol

Today I will be reviewing the vit c serum from Naturium. This came in the Spacenk 2024 beauty advent calender

Let’s begin

This is a vit c complex serum which is formulated with highly stabilized l-ascorbic acid vitamin C complex, sodium ascorbyl phosphate and a bioactive fruit blend that helps defend skin from environmental stressors, promoting healthier-looking skin ( from website)

I started using this on 22nd Dec and run out of it on the 2nd of Feb so it lasted 6 weeks. I mainly used it in my am routine but also a few times in my pm routine. I experienced no irritation with it.

Experience

This is a lightweight serum that feels hydrating on the skin. I really like that it sinks into the skin with ease and doesn’t have any stinging sensations you can get with vit c serums. The brand directs users to use a pea sized amount but I have to tell you I used more than that- 2 to 3 pumps over my face neck and chest then hands with whatever was left

Performance? yes it delivers! I love vit c serums because they work to brighten the skin whilst protecting against environmental aggressors! This serum feels nice on the skin and a pleasure to use. After 2 weeks of use, my skin was glowing and overall my complexion just looks healthier! The serum is a combo of different types of vitamin c: ascorbic acid & SAP and fruit blends also known to have vit c. It also has aloe vera leaf juice which I have come to love for its hydrating properties esp for my hair! Look at my skin!

Verdict

oh how I miss vit c serums! I’ve been using the Paula’s Choice super antioxidant serum for a while and I really enjoyed it but I wanted to use Vit c serums again! This serum just reminded me why Vit c is the gold standard for skin brightening and a glowing complexion. The serum is well packaged to protect against the unstable nature of pure vit c, so it didn’t oxidize in the time I was using it.

I’ve used my fair share of vit c serums in the past and I can say this is up there with my favorite ones! I’m genuinely surprised by this product because I HAD written off Naturium as a brand! I have previously tried 3 of their most popular best selling products and they were so disappointing so I thought to never try the brand again. With this coming in the advent calendar I had no choice but to give it a 2nd chance and I’m really glad I did! I’m thinking of trying their peptide serum now ( even though I HATE their peptide eye cream lol) because of this.

I highly recommend this and will purchase this again!

the serum is available from Boots or Spacenk

HaruHaru Evening Routine

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How’s everyone doing? Good I hope!

Next up in my HaruHaru wonder challenge is my evening routine. Does anyone else feel like the evening routine is more exciting and serious than the morning one? lol

I’ve been speaking about my collab with HaruHaru for the last few weeks. You can find more on the challenge here and my AM routine here.

For my evening routines, I like to focus on repair and treating my skin concerns so I reach for the ‘heavy duty’ actives. Of course we have to keep that skin barrier in tip top condition so I also make sure to properly cleanse & hydrate the skin. My current PM routine with HaruHaru is

Double cleansing with the deep cleansing oil & the moisture 5.5 cleansing gel. I double cleanse when needed e.g. makeup days or running errands. If Ive been home all day a single cleanse is usually enough

Tone with the black rice toner

eye cream is the black rice and bakuchiol cream- this is a new product to me so looking forward to how it works on my skin. my under eye is problematic – im hoping for good results

Treatment serums- Im using the dark spot away serum & the new retinol night serum. I’m an experienced retinol user so I can get away with using this on most nights but I’m planning to use this 3-4x a week and stop on days where i use an acid. This is a great one for new retinol users as the conc is low so it feels very gentle on the skin with no irritation.

I’m looking forward to what the dark spot serum would do. I was using the niod multi brightening serum just before this and was getting really good results. hopefully this dark spot away serum can make a different.

for my pm moisturiser I am using the centella phyto & 5 peptide cream. Again i really liked the moisturiser i was using before so I’m hoping this works just as well.

2-3x a week i like to exfoliate so i will be using the triple aha cleanser OR an acid based serum.

its been a week since i started this new routine and so far its going well. With any new treatment serums, I always start slow, so that’s 1-2x in the 1st week spaced out then gradually increase usage. I’m not really expecting any massive differences from these serums now. The products layer well and its been easy to add them to my routine. This is my initial routine and if i feel like changing anything or something is working right i will do another update!

Catch you laterrr

stay safe

Round Lab 1025 Dokdo On The Go Kit Review

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Hihi everyone, I hope all is well

As you know, last year I rediscovered K beauty and ordered from Stylevana for the very first time! Several orders later I’ve been trying so many new (to me ) K beauty brands. One of those new brands was Round Lab. They had a trial set that I thought was the perfect introduction to the brand. In this post I will be reviewing the products in the set

I got the Round Lab 1025 Dokdo On The Go Kit which comes with a cleanser, toner and lotion(emulsion). The set is currently out of stock at Stylevana but the products are available to get individually.

Cleanser

The 1025 Dokdo Cleanser is formulated with hyaluronic acid and ceramides to gently cleanse the skin without disrupting the skin’s barrier. I’m currently using this in both my AM & PM routines. The formula does foam up nicely and I find it to give a thorough cleanse without leaving my skin dry. I really like this cleanser and I’ve had no issues again. A little goes a long way

Toner

a fuss free toner, it was nothing special tbh and I had no issues with it. I didnt experience any brightening as promised but I liked how it felt on my skin. Will I buy this as a stand alone product? probably not as there are other k beauty toners i love

Lotion

This was the star of the show for me. The lotion was lightweight and incredibly hydrating. This has triple hyaluronic acid and promises to provide deep and long lasting moisture and soften rough texture and skin! It delivers on that promise! I didn’t need a moisturiser after the lotion and its something I will definitely look to buy again

Conclusion

I hope this set comes back in stock soon because its the perfect intro to the brand, and the sizes make it perfect for travel. I would buy the full sizes of the cleanser and lotion again as I really enjoyed them. The set is really geared towards all skintypes but I think dry to normal skin will benefit the most. Round lab is available from Boots in the UK if you wanted to get them quicker! Or Amazon

Sephora Melting Cleansing Balm Review

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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.