new favourite: revlon colorstay 24hrs foundation

REVLON COLORSTAY 24HOURS FOUNDATION for COMBINATION/OILY SKIN in TOAST | EBAY | BOOTS

For a while I have been looking for a cheaper alternative to my usual MAC Studio Fix Fluid with SPF 15 in NC44, as spending £21.50 each time is kind of not looking nice for my student bank account anymore. After a bit of research, I saw that a lot of people were saying that Revlon Colorstay in Toast was the equivalent colour of NC44. I also really liked the fact that there was two varieties for different skin types - Normal/Dry and Combination/Oily - perfect for me having combination skin. So I riskily ordered it off eBay without trying out the colour in the shop first (this was mainly because the Boots and Superdrug near to me didn't have the shade Toast in stock and also because it was about £5 cheaper buying it from eBay) and when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised at how well it matched my current skin colour.

PROS:

+ Has a lovely medium coverage, it doesn't feel super heavy or sticky on my face and I don't feel so much of a cake face

+ It's advertised as being 24 hour and long lasting and that it is for sure! I feel like I can go through all the challenges of the day and it would still look as it did when I first applied it

+ My skin doesn't get oily throughout the day, it generally stays nice and matte and I don't feel like I have to apply my translucent powder at all

+ At £12.49 in most high street stores and only as little as £7.25 on eBay, it is a steal for such a high quality foundation

CONS:

- I didn't find that a little goes a long way with this product, I felt like I use more of it on my face than I did with my MAC Studio Fix Fluid

- It doesn't contain any SPF in it, meaning that I'd have to put on suncream in addition to foundation, but I guess that's not the worst

REVIEW: la roche-posay effaclar duo [+]

LA ROCHE-POSAY EFFACLAR DUO[+] 40 ml | FEELUNIQUE £15.50

I've used the original Effaclar Duo almost religiously for about a year now, and when I somehow stumbled across Effaclar Duo[+], I thought why not give it a go! Apparently the main difference between this new formula is that it contains Procerad -- a type of Ceramide. After doing a bit of research I found out that Ceramides are found in the top layer of the skin helping to stop excess water loss, therefore retaining moisture in the skin. At the time that I bought mine, FeelUnique were doing some sort of discount meaning that I got two for around £20, and they were also doing another promotion where if you spend £20 or more on La Roche-Posay products you get a free La Roche-Posay Thermal Spa Water, which is pretty cool because who doesn't love a refreshing free gift.

HOW I USE THE PRODUCT: 

I use this everyday, once in the morning after I've cleaned my face with Lush's Tea Tree Toner Water and then once at night after I've taken a shower, used a make up wipe and St. Ives Apricot Face Scrub. 

GOOD FOR: Oily skin, acne prone skin (it's non-comedogenic), skin prone to marking/scarring, sensitive skin (it's hypoallergenic)

PROS:

+ It is really hydrating (I'm guessing due to the Procerad) and moisturising -- when I use this at night, my face still feels soft the morning after.

+ It blends into the skin nicely, it doesn't feel heavy on the skin and when it's all soaked in it feels like you're barely wearing anything.

+ Just like it says it most definitely fights against marks and corrects the appearance of imperfections. + Ever since I've started using it I have noticed a huge difference in the healing of any spots -- the marks left aren't as dark and if there are any then they clear up completely within a week or two, when it used to take months!

+ One of its main active ingredients is Salicylic Acid -- it encourages the natural process of shedding dead skin cells promoting replacement skin cells to 'grow' thus helping to unclog blocked pores.

+ Not too too pricey for something that works so well, I think it's worth the money

CONS:

- Compared to the original standard Effaclar Duo, it hasn't made a drastic difference to my skin.

- When I don't use it for a few days, my skin does act up a little bit, so it's the type of product that once you start using it you can't stop.

SCORE: 5 out of 5 I would highly recommend if you haven't already!

Q. What do you think of Effaclar Duo or Effaclar Duo[+]?

REVIEW: lush cupcake fresh face mask

I think I picked up this product about a month ago now and have been using it about 2 or 3 times a week. I went into the shop planning on buying Love Lettuce, but after talking to the lovely Lush worker and telling her that I tend to get oily skin, she convinced me that Cupcake would be better for me.

HOW I USE THE PRODUCT:

- I use it in the evenings only as I never have time to use a face mask in the mornings. I apply it evenly across myface with my fingertips, mainly concentrated on the areas that are more oily than others, such as my T-zone. I leave it on for around 30 minutes to an hour and wash it off either in a hot shower or in my putting my face in a basin of warm water.

PROS:

- at first I was out of by the price as it's almost £6 for something quite small, but I've been surprised at how long it lasts! Considering I've had about 10 uses out of it already (plus my mum having a couple here and there), there's still half the pot left.

- it smells absolutely gorgeous, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate and I don't like that sickly sweet chocolatey cupcake smell, but this is much more if cocoa buttery/mild hot chocolate smell, which isn't too overpowering at all.

- it does work wonders for oily skin as advertised. I'm not surprised seeing as it contains rhassoul mud and the majority of mud masks are amazing at soaking up excess oil on the skin.

- the consistency of the product is pretty much perfect. It's a very solid mask that will stay on your face for however long you choose to keep it on their for.

- it leaves your skin feeling so super soft, smelling great and moisturised, which I'm guessing is down to the cocoa butter

- I also love that Lush do have a recycling scheme of "bring back 5 clean full-size Lush pots or tubes & get one fresh face mask free".

CONS:

- it has a short lifespan because it is freshly made with fresh ingredients so it's expiry date is only about 3 weeks after purchase and in order to keep it fresh you have to keep it in the fridge pretty much all the time, as it will grow mouldy like any food that is meant to be refrigerated. However I've been using mine after the expiry date and it still works well, my mum always says that as long as it's been in the fridge it's all good.

- it says it's meant to help with spot prone skin and to be honest I haven't seen much of a difference spot wise although it has kind of helped keep breakouts at bay. It might be due to the mask being quite rich and because my skin is sensitive as well, it might be too much for it to handle, I'm not too sure.

I think I'll be trying Mask of Magnaminty next, seeing as that's better for sensitive skin as well.

SCORE: 4 OUT OF 5, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WITH OILY SKIN