I thought I’d share a few products I’ve recently discovered that have been real gam-changers for me.
Lack of sleep and long, busy – but super fun – days for 3 weeks in Australia really showed on my face each morning. What saved it were two new cosmetic buys. The first was IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF50+ (£30). This cult product finally became available in the UK at Boots this year after long being raved about Stateside.
It’s leans more medium coverage than the advertised full, but you can build it up a little. It’s quite thick so I found that applying it with a damp Beauty Blender was the best method. The look is incredibly luminous in daylight (see below pic) without looking shiny. Worth noting is that you only need to apply about a pump and a bit so clearly it’s not going to provide you with the full SPF 50 protection on its own.
Me wearing the It Cosmetics CC Cream
The other product that worked miracles by hiding the ever-present dark circles and dips under my eyes was NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer (£24). The make-up artists at SpaceNK may recommend this for blemishes but if the undereye area is a concern for you – and you apply with a damp Beauty Blender – it can work brilliantly. I use it on evenings out or days when I need a little extra help.
Olaplex Hair Perfector No.3 and Philip Kingsley’s Elasticizer Extreme have both transformed my hair. I colour and heat treat my fine and naturally curly locks, so regular strengthening treatments are an absolute must. Olaplex was a previously only a salon service but Hair Perfector No.3 is now available to purchase from online retailers (currently just £18.70 for 100ml on AllBeauty as opposed to £32 on LookFantastic) .
Now my hair is in much healthier condition I’ve been using Elasticizer Extreme (£32 for 150ml) every other week which makes my mane feel considerably thicker. Both need to be applied to towel-dried hair for at least 10-20 minutes (I do 30 minutes). You then rinse out and shampoo and condition as normal.
The Soaper Duper range of bath and body products have great green credentials and are reasonably priced. I order online but apparently you can find them in larger branches of Tesco. They use 95% naturally derived ingredients and come in 100% recycled plastic bottles. Fragrances include Nourishing Coconut, Fig & Yuzu, Juicy Passionfruit, Zingy Ginger, Zesty Lemon and even Fruity Green Tuberose. I really like the body washes (£6.50 each for 500ml) and intend to try the Non Drying Shea Butter Hand Wash next.
Have you tried any of these or have a favourite of your own to share?
A Bottled Rose 
I love reading about your beauty finds, except for the fact I can’t get to them easily (or at all). 🙂
I did find something lately that I love and it’s Vichy’s serum 89 I think it’s called, it really makes my skin look plumper and therefore healthier.
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Hey Ines,
Thanks, but that must be so frustrating. Things like make-up you have to be able to try in person. Such a pain.
The Vichy Mineral 89 serum looks good. I’ve had my eye on La Roche Posay’s Hyalu B5 Serum.
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I’m having trouble trying to find a shampoo that will not leave my fine, wavy hair looking flat and greasy after a day. Will look into the products you suggested. I don’t treat my hair in any way, but humidity leaves it horribly frizzy and I really don’t want to be washing it every day. Any other tips?
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Hi Tara C,
I think a shampoo without SLS could help (Pureology is good). They are less stripping so your scalp doesn’t product oil to compensate.
As for humidity, it is the bane of my life 🙂 Having a Brazilian Blow-dry twice a year helps, as does using a leave-in product like the Nourishing Cream by Living Proof and finally, a spray-on protector like Oribe’s Humidity Shield or Lee Stafford’s Dehumidifier.
Hope at least one of these works!
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Thanks for the tips, will give it a go!
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Great. Smooth Spray by Quai is also looking good but will report back in my next Favourites post.
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Oh, those two hair products sound like they could be just the ticket for me. Thanks for the info. I’m a big believer in the magic of Shea Moisture’s Extra-Moisture De-tangler. But my hair still needs more help–two years of bleaching on very long very fine hair, and now I’m subjecting it to swimming pools and saunas several times a week and it’s getting a bit fractious. And I’m not ready to cut it shorter yet.
Love the Nars concealer.
My current bathroom indulgence is a Tauer soap. They are bloody lovely. I finished a Solar Engineer down to the last scraps, and have just opened a Data Miner. Creamy and smooth and lots of lovely scent. £13 is a lot for a bar of soap, but it actually feels worth it.
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crikey, no need to go for the chop, just invest in one of these treatments and it will make all the difference.
Oh those soaps really aren’t bad value for money when you consider the materials used and work put into the fragrance. Bet they last a while too. Funnily enough I went to an event with Andy Tauer last night which will be up on the blog next week. I should have picked up one of his soaps!
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Oh, I will look forward to that blog entry!
Do consider treating yourself to one of the soaps if you are over at Les S again–I think you might like the irisey Data Miner. You’re right, they last incredibly well. (I would not make the same recommendation for the Oriza L Legrand soaps, sadly. Nice texture, but the scent vanished to nothing in a couple of days.)
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Thanks, crikey. Sounds like a winner.
Post should be up Monday.
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I love reading about this stuff but I never use it. My beauty routine is so basic as to be laughable. Even my Drag makeup has been whittled down over the years to nothing.
Portia xx
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Portia, I can understand that about your Drag make-up. You’ve been able to refine your look and find what work products for you. Saves time and expense.
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Portia’s comment made me smile. I naturally lean to having a basic regime too, but get drawn into exploring a myriad of products through a kind of skincare and beauty FOMO. And also FOPA. Not to be confused with ‘faux pas’, that one is ‘fear of premature ageing’. Though arguably I am far too old for it to even be premature.
Yes, thanks to crikey, I recently got to try the very luscious Emma Hardie balm, for example, and yesterday I took a last throw of the micellar water dice by bagging a huge bottle of Superdrug’s ‘B’ range of the stuff, which Sali Hughes had been raving about. For £2.19! But my heart is Emma Hardie’s. Anyway, I digress.
The CC cream looks great on you. I don’t tend to wear anything heavier than that Paula’s choice tinted moisturiser you know, even though I have numerous archipelagos of brown spots on my cheeks. Or do I mean impetigo?! So really I should cover up far more than I do. Then concealer doesn’t agree with me on account of the wrinkling thing, but I don’t seem to suffer from dark patches under the eyes so much as temporary tiredness wrinkles on top of the usual ones. They do need concealing ideally.
Those body washes look a lot of fun, but I have tons and tons of products still to use up, not to mention a veritable crate of soap!
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V, when I got into skincare recently I went mad buying loads of different stuff but now I’m trying to use it all up and find what works best for me.
The Emma Hardie cleanser smells so good and feels really luxurious. I didn’t know about the B range so I’ll make a mental note to check it out. I’m less drawn to premium skincare than I was. The Garden of Wisdom range at Victoria Health is budget-friendly and supposedly very good for serums.
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As you probably might remember, I’m using that EH’s balm thanks to one of your previous posts – and I still absolutely love it! I just need to find an additional washing cloth rotate.
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This makes me so happy!!!
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Hi Tara,
I love reading about your favorite products. The asoaper Duper looks like Fun. I have a simple and basic routine which is driven by my sensitive atopic skin.
Sandra xo
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Hi Sandra,
Skin conditions are very limiting. I’ve found that out recently myself.
I can use Soaper Duper on the body with no problems though.
It’s fun AND green!
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After developing some unexplained allergies last year, I’ve been extremely cautious with anything that touches my face – or for a couple of days there will be no tricks or products to mask my puffy and red eyelids. But I’m always on a lookout for products with sunscreen that do not agitate my allergy – so I’ll check out if any of the stores around carry that CC cream.
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I’m so sorry about your allergies, Undina. That’s really miserable. I hope you’ve managed to find a routine that works for you. The CC cream has fragrance so do a patch test.
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