An Ode to Hydraluron

Recently I have been taking a keen interest in making sure I take good care of my skin. I have quite problematic skin and have been trying out products to get it on the road back to normality.

I have always wondered why my skin has soaked up my foundation and it has always extremely frustrated me when my foundation does not last past 12pm.

After much research and lots of help from one AMAZING blog by the skincare goddess that is Caroline Hirons, I have found out a lot about my skin and I thought it was about time I shared this with you.

You know that problem I mentioned earlier? Turns out it's dehydrated skin AND there is a way to get rid of it!

If you want to know more about Dehydrated skin and how to get rid of it, you can find out in the article I wrote for Fashion North last week - Dry or Dehydrated Skin: Do You Know The Difference

So, Caroline has mentioned many times of her holy grail product: Hydraluron. This is a rehydrating serum from Indeed Labs. It is packed with hyaluronic acid. This is an ingredient which is vital for rehydrating the skin. It holds up to 1000x its weight in water.

Now onto the effects. Is this really working?

The answer? YES IT IS. This tiny little product that I have added to my skincare routine has completely changed my skin for the better. My skin is a lot more rehydrated. It is more plump and holds make up really well. I no longer experience any flakiness of the skin.

Because my skin is now more rehydrated, I have noticed that the overall condition of my skin has improved and, slowly, it is on the road to normality. Because there isn't as much flakiness, the skin isn't over producing oil to compensate for the dryness... Longer lasting make up HOORAH

All of this is down to this one little product. My opinion? The best thing I have found for my skin in a long time.

Would I recommend this product? ABSOLUTELY YES.

Recently Indeed Labs have released Hydraluron moisture boosting masks. What are your opinions? are they worth the hype? I would love to hear from you

Katie

xx

BIORE DEEP CLEANSING NOSE STRIPS - ARE THEY REALLY WORTH THE HYPE?!

Hello there my little boutiquers! How are you?! It's been a while, hasn't it! I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I have just been busy, busy, busy! But, fear not, I'm back again!

So, I have recently been trying out the Biore Deep Cleansing Nose Strips and I have to say, I am still very unsure about them!

Now I had seen loads of people raving about them and I noticed they were on offer in Superdrug so I took the chance and purchased them! You may have seen them in my Beauty Haul Video! The first thing that I didn't like was that personally, I thought that they were a little on the pricey side for just six nose strips. I know that they were on offer but they were only reduced by £2! They usually retail for about £7.

These nose strips look a little bit like plasters when you take them out the packaging, as the side that is facing up has the same feeling to surgical tape! I find it so weird that when I find something, I associate them with the most weirdest of things! So they are fairly straight forward to use, you wet your nose, peel the strip off it's backing and stick it onto your nose, one thing I do like about the strip (omg she likes something about them?!) is that they have little slits in them so that it helps them to mould to the shape of your nose more easily. This then gets wet which activates the magic of the strip! oolala! I think the water turns the sticky back into a gel that sticks to all the impurities on your nose, clogged pores/blackheads. (I'm finding this product so hard to describe!) You then have to wait about 10-15 minutes for the strip to dry like concrete. It goes so hard but I guess that is the only way for it to pull all of the mess out of your nose! When it comes to pulling it off I thought that it would be absolutely fine and easy to do but guys if you have a very low pain threshold like me, then you will find this so painful to the point where (I'm not even joking) your eyes will water so much you will look as though you have been crying your eyes out at Titanic, or the fact that you have just finished watching Skyfall and you are so upset that Daniel Craig will not be visiting our TV screens again for at least another 2 years. I was actually really shocked at what I saw on this little nose strip. It looked like loads of little spikes had been pulled out of my nose!

Now, I was so pleased with the result and my nose felt really clean afterwards, although very dry, which was very weird!

Now onto the after effects. Since using them my skin has changed completely, which I am not happy about! I used to have normal/combination skin and now it is just so oily! I guess because my nose isn't clogged up anymore, the oil just keeps coming out of my open pores! I am really dissapointed about this and I hope that my skin will go back to normal some time soon. I have found that I have had to change my skin care, daytime moisturiser AND foundation! And you all know that I hadn't had the Laura Mercier Silk Creme for very long at all!

So sorry that I am posting a little bit of a bad review, I just thought that I should let you know about my experience when using this product!

If you guys have any advice on what I should do about my skin or any new products I should try out for oily skin, as I am new to having it, just let me know!

Have you ever used the Biore Deep Cleansing Nose Strips before? Let me know.

Also if you would like me to do a post on how I have changed my skin care and make up routine to suit my oily skin, let me know as well!

See you soon!


Katie x

I GOT A NEW FOUNDATION

I GOT A NEW FOUNDATION

with
Laura Mercier

SCHOOL/ MINIMAL MAKE UP TIPS

Hello! I hope that you are as excited about the snow as I am!

Anyway getting on with todays post!

Today I thought that I would talk about minimal make up that is natural looking and can be acceptable in your school (that's if make up is permitted!)

When it comes to picking your foundation I would go for a tinted moisturiser or a light to medium coverage foundation. You want to try and stay away from the heavier foundations as I believe that when you choose to wear them, they do not look good on your skin and your skin won't thank you for it either! I would also say the same goes for concealer!

When doing eye make up, you really want to try and keep it simple. Try to stick to just one to two colours. When I do a minimal make up look I like to keep my eyeshadow to a light colour with a hint of shimmer to brighten up the eyes. Occasionally I would take a soft dark colour underneath the eye to define the eyes.

Curling the lashes really helps to brighten and open the eyes making them standout even more.

For blusher I go for a soft looking colour and apply it to the apples of the cheeks, I think that it makes the skin look lovely and fresh for the day ahead. I prefer to use a cream blush as it looks loads more natural on the skin and gives a nice dewy finish to the cheeks.

If you have a drier skin type I would avoid powdering the skin as I believe it really isn't necessary for a minimal look but if you find your skin tends to get oily throughout the day I would add a little powder to the skin to help prevent oil breaking through and melting your make up away.

As for lips, stick with a neutral shade that compliments your skin tone! I would go for a tinted balm or a lip gloss.

I will be uploading a tutorial for a minimal look on a budget later on in the week to show you guys how I would do a natural look!


Thank you for reading guys and I hope to be back again soon!

What make up products would you recommend for natural looking make up? Let me know, I always love to hear from you!


Katie x

SKINCARE ON A BUDGET

Beauty on a Budget!

with
Simple, Soap & Glory, Dior

MY DAILY LOOK

Could this be a Wonder Tub?! Ultimate Skin Saver

Hello everyone.

So, I have been suffering from really bad eczema on my hands and around my ankles and I had tried everything. Medication from the doctors, prescribed creams, drugstore creams, you name it, I've tried it.

All of these creams that I was trying were absorbing into the skin nicely but once absorbed in, the skin was dry and cracked again.

So, I'd been reading reviews online of the Liz Earle Superbalm and most of the reviews highly recommended the product and said that they have had some really good results out of it. So, I thought, 'Why not?!' I might as well try this product as well.

I bought it from a John Lewis store in Newcastle as unfortunately for us northerners this is the only place where Liz Earle is stocked! I paid £16.25 for a 30g tub. I thought it could only be used on areas like dry skin and eczema but NO it can be used almost everywhere for different things! This literally is the ultimate skin saver.

Because the product only has naturally active ingredients in it, it did not sting my skin when applied! Woohoo! It doesn't feel hydrating when applied, more like greasy and quite dry but once it absorbs into the skin, my dry areas started to feel more hydrated and the redness was going down! It can also be used on the lips as a hydrating lip balm, perfect for the winter months, and it can even be used on your scalp to help cure dry frizzy hair!

I have been using this product since last night and I have seen a massive improvement in my skin already and it looks like it is on the road to recovery! AT LAST!

£16.25 to cure my eczema? I'm sold.

Quick Beauty Tip!

Hello everyone!

It is almost the weekend, time to pamper yourself!

I am going to leave you with a quick beauty tip this evening, just before bedtime! Surprisingly you can do this whilst brushing your teeth!

Once you have brushed your teeth, lightly buff your tooth brush over your lips to get rid of any dried dead skin. This will leave your lips feeling as soft as a baby's bottom! Apply your favourite lip balm to keep them feeling moisturised and you're ready to go!

Thanks

Katie x