CRUELTY FREE SKINCARE

Like I said in my first post of this vegan 'journey', I'm on a mission to transform my range of makeup, skincare and toiletries into a cruelty free range, as well as vegan. (I think cruelty free is my first goal, however I intend to near enough reach the goal of them both at the same time - and all of these products happen to fit both criteria so it really isn't going to be that difficult). In my mind I assumed cruelty free and vegan skincare would be ridiculously expensive, and something I wouldn't be able to afford as a student on a tight budget - but I was wrong, as Superdrug's skincare range is entirely cruelty free and vegan (and as far as I am aware their other own-brand products all are too!). This makes it incredibly easy and accessible to get your hands on a full skincare routine without breaking the bank.

The first step in my routine is the Superdrug Naturally Radiant Hot Cloth Cleanser, which I cleanse my face with. If I don't have a micellar water (which I didn't at the time of planning this post) I tend to use this to melt away all my makeup - which it does really well - and then go in for a second cleanse to actually cleanse my face, usually with a flannel or muslin cloth. I prefer a creamy cleanser like this rather than a foaming cleanser as I feel as though a foaming cleanser strips away the moisture from my skin, whereas this doesn't.

For a moisturiser I have been reaching for the Superdrug Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream, which I prefer using to the day cream as it is far richer and nourishing - and as the weather is getting colder my skin is needing something more hydrating. Because it has no SPF in it I would put that on separately. I really recommend this to anyone looking for an intensive moisturiser as it does the job so well.

Now for some treatments and serums - which I don't use every day but thought were worth mentioning as they do work well and also fit into the vegan and cruelty free criteria - so it shows your options. The first is The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% which I tend to use when my skin is breaking out, or just needs to be cleared and smoothed a little - and it does a pretty good job. Only thing is that it is slightly drying for me, so I need to make sure I go in with the moisturiser. Finally, the Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel which is ideal for using every now and then to make the skin more radiant and glowy - I don't use this too much as I don't want to strip my skin too drastically, but I usually go for this the night before a night out just to give me a little boost.

I hope this proves that being cruelty free is not as expensive as people assume, and even more so considering the Superdrug range is more often than not on offer for buy one get 2nd half price, or save 1/3, so really nothing is stopping you.

L'OREAL INFALLIBLE MATTIFYING PRIMER

I never used to make the extra step of using a priming base for my makeup, until a few Chirstmas' ago I received a sample of a Smashbox primer, and I've never looked back. I've tried my fair share of high end and drugstore, with my favourite being the Benefit Porefessional, but last time it came to restocking my primer it was a while off payday and I couldn't justify the price so I settled for the L'Oreal Infallible Mattifying Base. 

One thing I praise this primer for is its ability to smooth the skin - it pretty much perfects the skin for foundation and helps product to settle really flawlessly into the skin. In terms of the mattifying claims, it does reduce the shine initially, however isn't something that lasts all day as I do tend to have to touch up my shine. Despite this, it does make my makeup last far longer in the day.

One gripe I do have about this is that if you apply too much and straight after moisturising it tends to form into little pieces (I'm sure you know the ones I mean although I can't quite explain it) so bear that in mind. For £7.99 though, this is a pretty impressive primer and is rather similar to other formulas I have tried from higher end brands, and is really worth the try.

I've heard great things about the matte foundation too, and I'm kind of eager to try that out too - does it live up to the hype?

HEATWAVE ESSENTIALS

I'm pretty sure all the British public have been talking about for the past week is the 'heatwave' that hit us - and it was some of the best weather we have had in years, so, I had to prepare myself pretty quickly and this checklist-esque post should spare you the panic when the sun next hits.

The most obvious would be SPF. I love the La Roche Posay Anthelios XL for my face as it is super lightweight, and has an SPF of 50 so makes sure you are fully protected, and works well under makeup (the most makeup I manged during the heat was brows and mascara, but for a daily basis). I also have the Ultrasun Ultralip balm, an SPF lipbalm because I had sunburnt lips once, and I will take all costs to ensure that happens never again. For my body, I'll tend to use whatever we have in the house but I quite like the Boots Soltan Dry Touch Lotion for reference. I picked up the Sephora Softening Face Mist last year in Madrid, and it is still very handy for when you need a quick refresh.

Another pretty clear essential is sunglasses - and I have quite the stash for when they are needed, but at the moment this lightly rounded giraffe/tortoise shell framed pair from Primark are my current favourites, and cost a mere £2. This bandeau bikini is also from Primark (£6 in a set with corresponding bottoms) and is pretty good at maximising the tan in the garden - and the slightly slimmer centre makes it really flattering.

The headphones are pretty self explanatory, but when in the garden I like to listen to music either on Spotify or some of the songs I have on iTunes (they have to be pretty special to be purchased and the majority of my playlist is Kanye West albums), but at the moment I'm quite enjoying the slightly older album from him - Graduation. Another pass time is painting my nails in a bright nail polosh, I've got Color Club Bright Night and Ciaté Play Date shown here; great sandal colours. I also have a hair oil there, because my thick hair tends to suffer a little when it gets hot (more so on holiday and near pools/beaches, but it's best for me to keep the moisture up anyway), and its the Got2B Oil-Licious one, and is super softening to the hair.

What have your beatuy/fashion essentials been recently during the heat surge?

THE TWO GO-TO PRIMERS

Ask me a couple of years ago, and I would have told you I didn't wear primer, but as time goes on I've grown a bit of an obsession. Recently I've nearly made my way through a Bourjois Luminous Primer Serum, and in conjunction with the glow I like to use something a little more shine absorbing down the T-Zone for a longer lasting finish, and that comes in the form of one of these two on a daily basis.

The first is the Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Primer, one I hated at first but my skin got used to it rather quickly and I began to use it daily. I would like to point out that these two are rather silicone based, so bear that in mind as well as your personal preferences. This completely smooths the skin and fills in any pores, so that my chosen base goes on seamlessly. It definitely helps my makeup last much longer especially in the school day where it tends to slide off and on days I forget in a rush I do feel and see the difference.

The PoreFessional by Benefit is not much different, and is the newest to my collection in the primer family, and it's been almost a battle between the two as they are both so similar. This one is slightly peach tinted but doesn't translate onto the skin at all, and it does just a good job at keeping makeup on, and it has the same silicon consistency - something that does not bother me and works for my skin. It's another staple, and I will be sad to see these minis run out and I recon there will be a repurchase on the cards.

To be honest, I recon I will go for whichever option is the best value/cheapest when it comes to repurchasing as honestly, side by side on my hand I cannot tell the difference between them. Which do you prefer, or do you have a budget alternative?

TODAY'S FACE #3 - A SWITCH UP

Dr Lewinns Anti Ageing Primer / Dr Lewinns Illuminator / Rimmel Matte BB Cream / Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer / Rimmel Stay Matte Powder / ELF Pebble Eyeshadow / Soap and Glory Archery / Avon Eye Primer / Nars Laguna Bronzer (all over lids) / Milani Glimmer Stripes Honey Shimmer (inner lid) / Urban Decay Half Baked (lower lashline) / Stila Smudge Stick in Moray / Benefit They're Real / Sleek Face Form / Gosh Soft n Shine Lip Balm in Barbie

Last weekend I was certainly feeling experimental in the makeup department as I found myself applying a look I'd never tried nor considered in the past, after a root around in my Ikea Alex drawers and discovered a couple of disregarded products.

I actually really liked the khaki liner alongside the strong gold on the lower lashline. The skin was left pretty natural and I tried the Rimmel Matte BB Cream as I had a mini from somewhere lying around but it was actually rather nice, and wasn't what I would call 'matte' just less dewy than other BB Creams that tend to slide off my face anyway.

I'm rather glad I've been a bit more inventive with my makeup recently and I definitely will be trialling a few more looks that if they fit the standard will probably be making an appearance in this 'today's face' series.

TODAY'S FACE #2 - ALL MATTE

Rimmel Match Perfection / Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer / ELF Pebble Shadow / MUA Brow Pencil (Blonde) / NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (Milk) / MAC Malt Shadow / Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Colour Shadow (Truffle) / Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner Trio for Brown Eyes (Brown Shade) / Avon Glimmerstick (Blackest Black) / Benefit They're Real / Proactiv Pressed Powder / Sleek Blush (Crochet) / NYC Sunny Bronzer / Soap and Glory Eyeshadow in Vanilla ( - highlight) / Too Faced Perfect Lips Perfect Nude Lip Liner

The other day, I was feeling a simple, matte almost Kylie Jenner inspired face, and so I got to work and had a root around my stash and I was really happy with the finished look, and it's a little odd but I think the blue shirt (post here) and the lightly curled hair really complemented the look too. I liked the brown gel liner as it made things seem less harsh, and surprisingly it actually turned out decent looking, and being someone who swears by a felt tip application that is an achievement.

I don't usually go for a full out matte look because I think it looks rather flat on my face but I really liked the lip colour against the bronzed skin, and it has almost a grey tone to it which I really like. This lip liner really is perfect as the name suggests and is a daily go to. I would have paired it with MAC Faux Lipstick but I've lost it somewhere *sobs*. I really like the simple eyes and I really recommend MAC Malt for either a transition colour or a natural all over the lid shade.

What look have you been wearing this week?

THE BODY SHOP CAMOMILE CLEANSERS

A few weeks back I started to run low of my Origins Clean Energy Cleansing Oil I was on the hunt for a replacement, as the price tag just wasn't selling a repurchase to me. Mum whipped out a £10 off body shop voucher so immediately I went and picked up two of their highly raved cleansing products.

The first was the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, sort of like a balm. This one was £12 (but I only paid £2 and then the full price of the oil), for 90ml of product. I take this on dry skin and massage it in - it takes a matter of seconds to melt into an oil and then can take off all makeup (even waterproof) or just cleanses the skin really nicely if your makeup has already been removed. It's nourishing and just leaves my skin feeling clean, but by no means stripped.

The second offering is that of the Silky Cleansing Oil. This is quite a light consistency for an oil, not thick at all and one pump or so can cleanse my whole face - I did use waaaay to much the first use, but you get used to using the correct amount. This can remove all traces of waterproof makeup too, and seems to leave my skin feeling plumped and nourished too. This costs £10 for 200ml so is realy quite a good value product.

I was wary these would break me out as lots of new cleansers I try seem to do, but these actually have left me with no problems as it stands. I'm impressed, and could see these being repurchased in the future...

QUICK-FIXES FROM ANATOMICALS

Sometimes, you need a quick fix for your face. I for one am a sufferer of big under-eye bags and circles and occasionally some rather groggy looking pores (nice). When these sachets came in my letterbox, you can imagine I was pretty excited to give them a go.

One evening last week left me with a few less hours of sleep I would normally get which left me with dramatic puffy under-eyes and I seriously needed something to sort them out. I immediately cracked out the Puffy the Eye Bag Slayer* (love the play on words there), and slapped them on under my eyes. These are pretty strange to get used to; thick gel pads that stick on your under-eyes that are somehow cold and cooling even though they have been sitting in room temperature – as I said, strange. They definitely did wake me up and reduce some of the puffiness, but I will say the effect wasn’t as incredible as I was expecting, although I will use the rest of the pack.

The World Pore 3* pore strips came into use when I wanted to get a bit of a clarifying thing going on around the nose. These are different from pore strips I have used in the past, as they aren’t sticky so you have to put some water on your nose (I like to make it quite hot to open up the pores even more), then put the strip on as it adheres this way. After about 10-15 minutes, I peeled it off to be left with a rather interesting looking pore strip and a much smoother feeling nose (I’ll spare you the details).

If you want to try out these kinds of products, I definitely would recommend Anatomicals. They are pretty budget friendly, with good advertising and witty slogans, and is a brand that always leaves me wondering what else is in the range. 

GARNIER MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER

After a long day, most of the time all I want to do is get my makeup off, and as quickly as possible. I’m not exactly a face-wipe fan, so generally I go for micellar water for the face followed by a separate eye makeup remover. I finally got my hands on the Garnier Micellar Water and I have been using it nearly daily since I bought it so I thought it was the prime time to give you the low-down.

It definitely does the whole speedy removal thing well, I soak a cotton pad, and within a couple of swipes over the face, the bulk of my makeup is gone. I have tried this on my eyes too, and it doesn’t do too badly of a job on waterproof makeup on the eyes, but it takes a couple more swipes than your general bi-phase remover.

It claims for no rinsing afterwards, but I am one for a second cleanse with my Origins Clean Energy Cleansing Oil, so I haven’t tried it out on that aspect, but I will say you don’t have too much of a sticky residue after, but for me it’d feel odd to just go straight in with my night cream afterwards. If you are really desperate to jump into bed however, this would be a good option to go for if you can’t be dealing with the full on cleansing routine.

For something short of a fiver for what claims to be 200 uses, this really isn’t a bad product, and if you haven’t tried it out I would definitely give it a shot in your skincare routine.

SEPHORA WATERPROOF EYE MAKEUP REMOVER

For me, I like my makeup removal to be as simple and speedy as possible, so when I saw this bi-phase eye makeup remover in Sephora in Madrid for something around the 2-3 euro mark, I couldn't resist giving it a go.

I always find the bi-phase removers such as this Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover, or 'makeup eraser' to work better for me, the oilier half makes for quick removal whilst the other part allows the greasy feeling to be diminished after you have removed everything.

I actually really like this, even more so than the Nivea Double Effects offering which I have used a good 4 bottles of. This leaves no oily residue on the eye area at all for me, whereas the Nivea one does a little - something I never took notice of until I tried this product out. I also find this is a lot quicker and holding the cotton pad for a couple of seconds then sweeping away leaves me with clean eyes and a very dark cotton pad.

I am using this 50ml bottle sparingly, and I can't help but kick myself that I didn't pick up a bigger size, so for now I will have to put up with my Nivea bottle...

PRE-SPENDING BAN BEAUTY HAULING

Yesterday, I went shopping - bad idea, I know. But, in the next couple of weeks I am starting my spending ban in order to save for my trip to America in the next few months so that I can try out some of the beauty items from there, but of course I had to pick up a couple of things I could try out so I wasn't totally beauty purchase deprived up until I step into the airport (read: Duty Free).

I restocked on the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in the shades 1 Fair and 2 Cool Medium as I caught the sun a little recently and so I thought I could mix the two of these together to find a match. I also got a new Batiste for those bad hair days in the Floral & Flirty Blush scent.
Sticking with the hair products, I also thought I would give the VO5 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray a whirl and on first impressions, I'm a little unsure - how do you use this product?

In the trusty Boots clearance I found the Botanics Face Brush which I plan to use occasionally to cleanse, and this was £2 anyway so I thought it'd be a good time to try it out. As well as this, I found the Soap and Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil in Brownie Points for £4 (after peeling back the sticker apparently it's expired but if it's unopened I don't see the issue - I'll report back), but this is something I have been wanting to try for a while now so when better than for when its selling for something short of a fiver.

In TkMaxx I found this Orly Nail Polish in Va Va Voom (a vibrant neon pink in which the picture just isn't doing it justice) but this was a bargainous £2.99 so I couldn't pass it up and I thought it'd be a good summer shade. Finally in Topshop I got these simple gold shape earrings in the sale for £2.50 and thought they would be nice to wear everyday.

What have you been buying recently, and what are your tips for saving money?

THE PRIMER COLLECTION

Using a primer is often a step that I miss out in my makeup routine, because I have struggled for a while now trying to find the perfect one, and sometimes I'm just too lazy. I do however have quite the compilation of primers so I thought I would categorize them and ramble.

BRIGHTENING: So, we all have dull skin days at times and on those of mine I quite enjoy the Bourjois Luminous Serum Primer, which doesn't have any shimmer in, but just seems to make the face look radiant. It really is glowy skin in a bottle, and although it doesn't help with longevity it is worth it for the glow.

SMOOTHING: Smoothing primers tend to be quite heavily silicon based at times so I do often experience breakouts after using them. The first is a love hate relationship primer; the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer, which is really smoothing, and keeps makeup on all day (I like to use it just on oily areas when I am using BB Cream or glowier bases), and I have just got back into using it so I will report back if I get any breakouts. I also have the Proactiv Smoothing Primer but I don't use it too often as it smooths but doesn't help with longevity all that much.

BRONZING: In the summer when you want to rack up the tan or in the winter when you are fed up of your pale skin, a bronzing primer is always a good'un to have in your stash. My personal favourite is the Bourjois Bronzing Primer which I also like to use over foundation around the outer areas of the face and on the cheekbones for an extra glow. I also like the Too Faced Primed and Poreless Tinted Primer as it is almost a mix of the Bourjois and Smashbox primers in one.

This post has actually inspired me to use my primers more often, we'll see how it goes tomorrow morning aye?

BOURJOIS HAPPY LIGHT LUMINOUS SERUM PRIMER

Primers are few and far in my collection, as they either make no difference to me, or overly silicon based (they tend to break me out), and since the Bourjois Happy Light release hit the shelves a while back, I have been tempted to try it out myself. Despite my combination skin, I have been obsessed with glowy, dewy skin and powder is always by my side if things get a little shiny so it seemed the perfect time to give this a go.

The texture of the Luminous Serum Primer is really nice, it is very much a serum as the name suggests - lightweight, and skins into the skin quickly leaving a smooth base to begin your makeup. There isn't actually shimmer in this which is a massive plus for me, but it honesty adds so much inner glow and radiance to the skin without it.

In terms of increasing longevity of makeup (although this doesn't claim to do so anyway), I don't see much difference and sometimes I feel like my makeup does disappear at the very end of the day but for the majority of the day with a stunning sheeny glow its worth that sacrifice. Might I add, the scent really reminds me of baby shampoo, but I'm not complaining by any means.

This has easily become a Spring/Summer staple for me, and perhaps we'll be seeing an embrace of even more illuminating products from me...

BALANCE ME RADIANCE FACE OIL

I have always been interested in facial oils, but they either seem to be out of my price range, have things like mineral oil in them, or just don't stand out to me. That was until I received the Balance Me Radiance Face Oil* a week or two back, and I think it's love.

This is one of those products that is hyped and coveted by multiple bloggers (as is a Pai offering), and I genuinely wanted to see what the fuss was about, and honestly - I really get it. First thing first, this mini 10ml rollerball style packaging is not only great for travelling and means for easy application, it is adorable too.

Just a few drops covers the face entirely, which is a huge plus - (I tend to run the rollerball over my fingertips and then pat it onto my face). It smells very natural, perhaps due to its '100% natural origin'. It sits on the skin for a little while, but don't be alarmed - it isn't heavy in the slightest and soaks in leaving plumped skin. Even when you first put it on it just seems to look radiant.

Since using this, I definitely feel like my skin looks healthier and actually a few of my pesky scarring marks from previous breakouts (and when I say previous, I mean from a while ago and I had given up hope of getting rid of to be fair), have actually faded quite substantially. I like to use this regularly in a light application under my night cream, and then maybe once a week I go in a little heavier for an intense moisture boost sans the moisturiser.

Honestly, I think once this rollerball is done with I may have to go and get myself a full size...