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It seems like only a few weeks ago that I guest posted on Happy China Doll to tell her all about my favorite beauty products, but in reality it has been almost three years! I reviewed the post recently and I still love those products, but have changed some of them. I still love the beauty products that I wrote about that day, but had a really hard time finding it when I first moved to England. If you remember, I moved to Huddersfield first and neither the Luv Luv nor I were working – so I was looking for cheaper alternatives so I started searching and searching. Unfortunately, that meant I tried many different products, and as you know, I am a bit of an allergy queen, so perfectly decent and even amazing products do react with my skin, whether it’s due to the gluten containing ingredients in these products or some other type of allergen, I cannot be 100% sure. Regardless, now that our situation has changed and I’m gainfully employed, I believe I have found a series of products that are suitable for my life (and most of my allergies)….and yes, some of them are still the ones I discovered all the way back in Canada.
Let’s go through the whole process of a lady’s daily routine in the morning (and maybe the evening too)…..oh, and I’m not being paid to promote any of these products in any way – they’re just the ones that have worked for me in the last little while….and hopefully would help you out too.
At first, I continued to depend on (and sometimes still do) the gluten free products that I discovered from the frequently updated gluten free product list by the Gluten Free Makeup Gal. I particularly loved the Suki skincare and Ecco Bella products. They were gluten free, gentle and worked marvelously – it’s just that I had to import them across the Atlantic, so was forced to look for something different.
Cleansing Products:
Currently, I’m investing in Dermalogica products. Now, I was first introduced to this brand when I attended a beauty talk by Loose Button at the Dermalogica HQ in Toronto years ago but did not try it. I was intrigued, but I allowed my fear of trying new beauty products to keep me back – because when I react, I REACT (if you know what I mean!). It wasn’t until just before Christmas, when my sister showed me that she was using Dermalogica for her skin (she had switched earlier in the year because she was getting married and needed flawless skin…). I went for a face mapping at a nearby spa and bought a sample pack and then, after loving the samples, have been replenishing my stock and using it as religiously as I do (I am so bad with these types of things).
Anyways, so I’m absolutely loving a few of the products in particular – the Special Cleansing Gel is awesome, as is the Multi-Active Toner, Skin Smoothing Cream and (especially) the Skin hydrating masque. I think out of the four of these, the latter is my favorite because my skin and entire body has become SO DRY since moving to the UK, this infuses an amazing amount of moisture into my dry skin – and has helped me amazingly! Also, the thing I like about all the Dermalogica products that I have tried, is that you only need to use a little of the product at a time, so one bottle lasts a few months. In fact, my first sample of Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel is about to finish and it’s lasted almost 3 months! So although the price point of Dermalogica seems to be a bit high, it’s actually worth it because you only have to buy it so infrequently. The products are light to touch and on the skin, and not greasy in any way. I also love the smell of them – that is, gentle and almost a lack of smell – not sure how else to describe it…….
I haven’t mentioned exfoliation, because, although Dermalogica has a perfectly intriguing cream exfoliant, I have always found that physical exfoliants work better for me. I mean physical as opposed to chemical…and cream exfoliants are chemically based… Anyways – what I do use is an exfoliant that my cousin introduced me to, that is made right here in Surrey, UK! The Naturally Thinking Lavender and Geranium Exfoliating Face Polish has been my lifesaver recently. I use it once every two days on average, and it works amazingly. I do an especially good scrub on weekends and then put on the Dermalogica hydrating masque and feel like a queen afterwards! When I was a teenager the popular exfoliant was apricot scrub, but it soon came out that the physical exfoliants in apricot scrubs were too harsh for good skincare – the Naturally Thinking has done something remarkable – they use crushed olive seeds – which are much softer and gentler while still being effective. I’m dying to try the different flavours – I’m thinking the francincense and myrhh one next…or maybe the citrus one. Each “flavour” has a specific skin improvement property, however, so as much as some sound absolutely yummy, it may be best to stick with the one that is specifically for your skin type. I have to admit, this product is possibly the one I’m most excited about on this list (can you tell?).
Makeup:
I still use my Vasanti face base (V8 or V10 depending on the time of year…although I’m suspecting I may have to go to V6 soon due to lovely British weather!), and of course, MAC makeup is one of my go-to products (many people don’t know that it is a Canadian brand!!) wherever I am. I especially love their blush and when I do wear lipstick, I tend to rely on colours they’ve produced! I just love the smell and creamy texture of MAC lipsticks (some of them smell like chocolate!).
I also am still in love with my liquid liner – I used to use Annabelle Liquid Liner, and love it so much that I haven’t even attempted to try any others since I’ve moved here! Now Annabelle is a Canadian brand out of Montréal, and is not known here in London at all, but I have stocked up – and every time I will be seeing someone from Canada I continue to top up. I’m in love with this liner – from the definite black color to the stiff brush applicator that helps me to apply it perfectly, it floats my boat!
That being said, I did pick up a recent new eyeliner from Benefit in the case that I run out of Annabelle eyeliner *gasp and knocks wood*. It’s a gel eyeliner, supposedly easy to apply (I haven’t actually put it on myself yet, but had the lady selling it to me do so, and it lasted all day and then some!), called They’re Real! Push-Up Liner with the Accuflex tip. It is pretty spectacular for a really dramatic eye, especially if you want a heavier sixties type look – definitely not for the natural look I think…but then again, I haven’t gotten around to trying it. Serena, if you haven’t tried it, why are you including it on the list of cosmetics that you use? Because I believe in Benefit as a brand that knows what they’re doing – especially for emphasizing eyes (I haven’t even looked at any of the other Benefit products!). I used their They’re Real Mascara for years and have even gotten my sister, a few friends, an aunt and even my Mom to switch over to this mascara! Just as I was gloating about switching everyone over to this magical mascara, Benefit came out with this new one – the Roller Lash Mascara. Now I haven’t bought one of these myself…but I know it works well because Elle UK had a promotion where it had a sample on sale with one of its magazines prior to the retail launch of the product. I don’t buy fashion magazines (much to the boredom of my sister when she comes by), but I headed out and looked for this one – and got it…so I have been using the sample and I’m loving it, even more than that They’re Real. I also love the black and pink textured case – completely up my alley. I was finding the They’re Real was making my eyelashes a bit too goopy for what I wanted as a working girl…wow that came out wrong….as a lady who is now working daily. Nope. Whatever, you know what I mean …right? Anyway, so I was about to start looking for alternatives when Benefit brought out the Roller Lash – so the timing was perfect, adn the new pink and black brush does everything that “They’re Real” did for me plus some. It’s advertised as a mascara that makes your lash curler unnecessary…haveing never used a lash curler in my life (and frankly, being slightly terrified of those medieval torture like devices), so I cannot say it does that, but I can say it makes my lashes long, opens up my eyes like nothing else and IS NOT GOOPY, so it is definitely going to be my next mascara choice!! Try it if you can – it’s pretty amazing.
Hair Products
For my hair, which I usually choose to spend more money on than anything else, I have been using a few new products. Back in 2012 when I did my blog for Happy ChinaDoll, I used Goldwell shampoos and conditioners, bought in bulk….but I could not find them when I first moved here, and switched to another brand I had started to investigate back then. I was experimenting with the Kerastase leave in conditioners way back then, and I’m still remaining faithful to Kerastase hair products – I even buy the shampoo in bulk and have a pump – like the professional hair salons…and even if I shampoo twice every time, each large bottle lasts me at least a year if I wash my hair 2 to 3 times per week. Of course, I still use the Kerastase leave-in conditioner (mixed with my Moroccan Oil) prior to blow drying or when I want to infuse my hair with moisture on a weekend. I use the Nutritive range, but the Réflection range is also excellent if you have coloured hair (which I do (who me?!) but I just love the Nutritive range).
And of course (I cannot remember if I mentioned this in my guest post with Happy China Doll) I rely on VO5 Hot oil treatments when I’m at my last straits with my dry hair. It’s an oldie but goodie – and I mean the HOT OIL not the cream treatment (although I’m sure that’s fine). There are just times (usually mid-winter) when your hair just goes nuts and decides to give up (I mean what doesn’t give up in winter?!) and needs a boost. This hot oil treatment is like that well-needed spa weekend, you know? Just relaxing, revitalizes and regenerating. What I love is that they’ve completely dressed up the box in an attempt to make it more modern, and whoever did the branding did an amazing job – it’s beautifully girly and pink and fun even!
Oils
Other than that, completely independent to the blogger trends in Canada, I became a bit obsessed with essential oils (thanks again to my cousin who introduced me to Naturally Thinking). I believe the brand that all the bloggers are currentlly raving about in Canada is DoTerra, but I have been buying and using essential oils for a bit before DoTerra exploded on the Canadian scene – and thanks to my pal, Raj from Pink Chai Living, I use Sweet Almond Oil for moisturizing my skin, together with my E45 cream. It was because I’m horrid at doing my own mani/pedis – I always cut too far and end up bleeding. After a particularly bad self-mutilation (read manicure) session, I tweeted about it and Raj was nice enough to tell me that Sweet Almond Oil really helps the healing and moisturizing of beauty “mistakes” such as an overzealous mani. I went and picked up a bottle immediately and tried it. She was right – and you know she ‘s so full of other little simple beauty tips that it’s completely worth it to browse her site if you have some free time!
I’ve used oils for much longer though, and particularly love the Opi Avoplex cuticle oil when I’m going to bed and when I am dressing for work (if I have time) on my toes and my fingers, as well as Moroccan Oil in my hair after I wash and whenever it needs a blast of moisture..which is…almost daily here in England. I did say that this damp country has made me ridiculously dry somewhere in here, right?
I hope that this list has introduced you to some new (and not so new) products that would help you out on your daily beauty routine – do let me know what your favourites are?
- ...just trying to navigate through this obstacle course called life...
