Actually Honest - skin care and make up reviews

[Practically Perfect]

ladies, Ladies, ladies

I am 47 and have been told by every beauty counter lady that I have amazing skin, what on earth do I use??!!

I do have slight wrinkles around my eyes but 47; but I do remember being 'carded' when I was 36 trying to buy Guinness in Tesco. I am often mistaken for my daughters' sister rather than mother (ooohhh get me) and no-one I have ever met believes my age. (granted i am a fruit loop too)

I am not bragging but setting up my amazing skin care routine................

Approx 25 years ago I was watching This Morning and Judy told the day's guest she looked amazing and what was her secret. The guest was Joan Collins and she simply stated "Nivea"

From that day on this is what I have used - the little blue pot 99p. I have tried Drunk Elephant, Clarins, Elemis et al but nothing makes my skin as happy or better looking than Nivea. Apply liberally every night and on days you dont wear make up (your make-up will slide off or at least wait a good 10 minutes) and voilá lovely skin.

 

[Sabbie]

I developed rosacea about six months ago and tried all kinds of crap from a dermatologist. Nothing worked and a lot made it worse. Then I caved in and bought niacinamide, azelaic acid, and hyaluronic acid from The Ordinary. Used the niacinamide for about a week and it cleared all the redness completely. The Azelaic acid helped clear up the bumps and break outs. The hyaluronic acid healed the dryness. I am so relieved and it was a very cheap solution for me.

 

[BostonFernGreen]

I'm on the highest tier Beauty Pie membership and think I've tried most of their products at this point (considering a downgrade soon; there's only so many beauty products you can use!).


My faves - skincare:

- Japanfusion cleanser (really like feel of this, though IMO not great at removing eye makeup)
- Japanfusion serum
- Japanfusion moisturiser
- Plantastic cleansing balm
- Super Healthy Skin daily moisture lotion (good basic day moisturiser)


Makeup - multiple repurchases:

- False flash lash mascara
- Lip oil (the single tube rather than the trio; trio is fine, but with exception of red, not as pigmented as you'd expect from the looks of them, and it could be psychosomatic, but the formula doesn't feel as nice)
- Lip colour balm stick
- Superbrow fine precision pencil
- One Powder Wonder


Things that I've tried that I haven't been sold on:

- Japanfusion hydra prep lotion (don't notice this adds much to the routine)
- Qi Engergy serum/moisturiser (found it hard to get past the scent and didn't notice great results)
- Massive fan mascara (very understated on me, hard to build up)
- Their matte lipsticks don't wear well on me
- Ditto foundations (possibly just haven't found the right colour match, despite ordering the sample set)

Other BP stuff I like but not yet permanent in the routine:

- Love their candles
- Recently tried the foot peel. Wasn't expecting much, but a couple of days later the peelage was satisfyingly gross and my feet are now impressively soft - will repurchase
- Fan of the One Palette Wonder (think it's a CT dupe)
- Just bought their body exfoliator and moisturiser - first impressions really good (especially the moisturiser texture) - most likely will repurchase

Thank you for this detail! Such good timing because I did a huge BeautyPie order at the weekend. I’d let my allowance roll over for a few months.

Really pleased with the texture of the eye cream sticks - can’t wait to try one tomorrow.

Body cream also love everything about so far - texture, smell and size of the tub.

I heard a lot of good things about the ordinary products but didn’t know if it was influencers with #gifted #ad so wanted some honest reviews really, they seem reasonably priced too. I have quite dry/ combination skin and also want to start with eye creams now I’ve reached my 30s

I’ve seen a lot of professionals recommend le Roche possay (am I spelling that right?!) so might research further!

Do you want to try to smooth out lines and even skin tone? The ordinary have retinol products and vitamin c which might not suit you long term but are affordable enough to trial and see if you get on with those ingredients.

Here is a simple outline of key ingredients to look for and what they do:

Niacinamide - evens skin tone, soothes irritation, can help with acne

Retinol/Tretinoin - can smooth wrinkles and superficial scars, even skin tone, increase collagen and thickness of skin, making it appear plumper, reduce acne.

AHA acid - chemical exfoliation increases cell turnover, smooth skin tone, fade pigmentation, brighten, very slightly smooth wrinkles, appearance of pores and scars

BHA acid - chemical exfoliater which can get into pores and clean some gunk out. Can help with acne and prevent pores from stretching if used long term.

Vitamin C - can fade hyperpigmentation, can be a booster alongside SPF to protect against photoaging, can help with brightness.

(Sorry if you knew all of that!)

The acids, vitamin c and retinol can all be irritant so it’s a good idea to introduce one at a time until you can use with no problems and then introduce the next. You’ve also got to be clear about how many steps you’re willing to do as they work best long term. So that’s why it’s good to see if there are ways to use products that are two in one or whatever . Like CeraVe is a moisturiser with niacinamide and it’s affordable so you can add it in with no drama and you’ve already included a very helpful ingredient.

And finally - the main product for anti-ageing is sun protection and the Asian market is years ahead of the UK in terms of cosmetically elegant formulations.

An example could be:

From The ordinary:

Retinol with squalene (as it’s gentle on dry skin for an intro)
Vitamin c ascorbix acid powder
Glycolic acid

Then order from Boots:

Cerave moisturiser in the tub
Cerave hydrating cleanser
Cerave lotion in the pump

Then from YesStyle

Biore Aqua Rich water essence SPF 50

All of that would probably be under £50 all in!

You can use all of those products close to the orbital bone instead of an eye cream and enough active ingredient will migrate enough to be effective around the eyes (I use tretinoin around my eyes with no probs but it gives some people dry eyes)

I can go into detail about which thing to use when and so on if you’re interested but I wil leave it there as I’m rambling a bit!

 

[theghosttown]

Hands down cannot beat the ordinary.

I have a skin care regime from them but also use body shop cleansing balm and then run a pad with miceller water over the top. I also use nip & fab glyclonic cleanser in the morning.

 

[Meg1912]

Well, I don't even know when to start, but basically pretty much all of us are always on the look out for new products which actually work and we can them add them to our skincare routine. I've stopped listening to the products bloggers and Youtubers recommend for obvious reasons. So I would always look up reviews online ahead of purchasing! Thought we could something along those lines on here and share the love of products we love!
I live in Portugal, which does have glorious summer, going from May until November. Sorry, who lives in the UK! [emoji87]
Anyways, I've aaaaaalways loved sunbathing, flipping the pancake and then go home, take a shower, put some after-sun and soak up all that Vitamine D!
I then moved to London and I couldn't cope with the depressing summers, so I started going to a sunbed and I loved it! It felt so good and I was feeling and looking great with my golden tan. Of course I told everybody else, I had gone to the park for a bit and just tan really easily! [emoji23][emoji23] My skincare routine up to this point, if you call it that was a shit foam and moisturizer from the supermarket, period. I never ever wear make up, maximum of 5x a year tops. And to be fair, I really credit shit foam and mouisturizer for being 34 and completely wrinkle free!
Recently I had a huge scare due to my years of wreckless sunbathing, had to have a mole removed, but thankfully I don't have skin cancer!!!
This has really opened my eyes in terms of how important it is to look after your skin, so I went to a brilliant dermathologist, who suggested the following. Oh important to note that I have pigmentation over on my forehead, little bits on each cheek and rosacea, oh and oily and sensitive skin!
Anyways, this is what she recommended for me: This first 2 are specifically for who has rosacea and prone to overall redness:
Photo 1. Uriage Roseliane to cleanse, remove make-up and soothes. Apply with cotton pads.
Photo 2. Bioderma Foaming gel, which soozes and mouisturizes. Apply after washing face with water, gently apply foam, rinse and clean carefully!
Photo 3. Uriage Roseliane Mouisturizer cream, hydrates, apaises, decreases redness and soothes - APPLY ONLY IN THE AM
Photo 4. Caudalie Vinoperfect Dark Spot Correcting Glycolic Night Cream - APPLY ONLY AT NIGHT. My sister and so many other women have raved so much about this cream! I'm loving it too!
Photo 5. This one is a stronger cream for rosacea, Metroderme metronidazol. Only from pharmacies, but it's miraculous. One dose and the difference is shocking!.
Photo 6. Vichy Idealia Eyes, anti-fatigue eye care. It's wonderful and my overly sensitive eyes react really well to it!
Photo 7. Lastly, most important of all is very high protection! Foto Ultra 200 ISDIN Active Unify Fusion Fluid Colour
This is the bomb! It's such an incredible cream, not thick at all and has a slight tone to it, which perfectly hides blemishes!

Now I can't wait to hear your recommendations and skin struggles, if you have any?

 

[DCICassieStuart]

Yes, Tropic is definitely an MLM.
Don't touch it with a bargepole.

 

[CynicalV]

St Ives Apricot Scrub - just a classic I cannot live without. I have used it for over 20 years.

I would recommend to stop using this personally, it has walnut shell which is generally too abrasive for the skin on your face, and long-term effects include scarring as the walnut shell can cause microtears in the skin. Especially since you're already using an exfoliating product, you could be over-exfoliating and actually making the scarring worse. If you do want a replacement I'd recommend a direct acid AHA to aid in exfoliation, something like lactic acid

 

[Jelly Bean]

A reviewette on two new products (to me anyway).
(Note - I rarely buy new products as am a) Lazy b) Stingy but was in a big Boots recently and was tempted so no idea if these products are old news).

'Garnier Rose Micellar water cleanse and glow' - I picked this up expecting it to be a standard micellar water but it is so good. Really leaves my skin visibly brighter and glowy (which I was not expecting) removes makeup very easily and thoroughly, doesn't feel sticky and smells pleasantly of rose. £2.50 for big bottle - 400ml I think?

Boots own brand Vit C brightening moisturising cream (bright orange packaging) - again a lovely product. Very moisturising. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and really think I can see my skin is brighter. It does leave your skin quite glowy for a while upon application - maybe a bit too much if you have oily skin or don't like that but suits me. I read a review that it compares very well with the Ole Errikson Skin Brightening gel in similar packaging which is considerably dearer. No idea as haven't tried it. £4.

(Disclaimer - I haven't been paid to give these half arsed views. I purchased these products myself. The cat in the picture is mine but quite old. She was free).

 

[bubbletea123]

The main piece of advice I have, is wear SPF every day on your face. I don't mean a moisturiser or foundation with added SPF, I mean a pure one.

I wear Vichy SPF 30 (https://www.vichy.co.uk/ideal-soleil) daily and have done since I was 18. A cheaper favourite is Garnier Ombrielle's face SPF or Hawaiian Tropic face SPF (https://www.boots.com/hawaiian-tropic-silk-hydration-airsoft-face-spf-30-10242738). I am 27 and look young and with minimal skin damage. Former high school classmates of mine who I know used sun beds and drank/smoked a lot, look years older than me.

Also, I really recommend products with hyaluronic acid. My favourite is La Roche Posay hylau b5 serum.

And also Pixi glow acid.

For cleansers:
Vichy one (https://www.vichy.ca/en/purete-ther...cgid=Face-Cleanser#start=9&cgid=Face-Cleanser)
The Body Shop Chamomile cleansing butter: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-ca/f...ous-cleansing-butter-makeup-remover/p/p000186
Garnier Micellar water gel wash: https://www.garnier.co.uk/skin-care/beauty/garnier/micellar/micellar-cleansing-gel-wash

Moisturiser:
Vichy: https://www.vichy.ca/en/aqualia-the...ace-Moisturizer#start=5&cgid=Face-Moisturizer

 

[Deleted member]

Hands down cannot beat the ordinary.

Good to hear this. I’ve just ordered 5 products. I’ll be 40 in July,my skin is in decent condition because I’ve always cleansed and moisturised religiously and never been a sunworshipper. Living in Scotland probably helps It can tolerate pretty much any product and does lean to the drier side of normal I would say. More in tightness if I don’t moisturise than actual flakiness.

I swear by Pixi Glow Tonic- I notice such a difference in my skins texture when I use it. I also LOVE Clinique Moisturesurge intense. I used to think I was quite wrinkly around my upper cheek/eye area but then I used this and realised I must have a dehydrated skin. This really plumps it up. Hylauronic acid really is my holy grail ingredient. I also rate the Cerave hydrating cleanser.

 

[Jelly Bean]

If it makes you feel any better I’m in the same boat. It’s exhausting, isn’t it! Check out @carryonnursing’s comment further up this thread with recommended products and what they do. It’s a great start.

Same here tbh. I think it is the approach to menopause (in my case anyway) that really messes with your head amongst other things. I am fine now but for a while felt totally adrift regarding my looks after being fine - almost overnight. My body felt quite alien and I just forgot how to look 'nice', clothes, face, hair, everything. I lost complete confidence. I suspect (I obviously don't know) that you are looking at yourself hypercritically and you haven't changed much. Your mind is terribly good at playing games. It is sort of like puberty all over again. I then started thinking I wasn't even worth looking after so it got worse.
In my case it was baby steps back to self care - dying my hair again after letting it get grey roots, drinking lots of water to rehydrate, cheapy face masks, just getting into a routine again (amongst other little things).
Good luck!

 

[Shineyshine]

Just been reading this thread and it’s opening my eyes

I literally just cleanse, moisturise and spf and now I’m realising I should really start thinking more seriously about my routine. I don’t even know what half these words you’re all using mean

Your routine is totally fine if you’re happy with it and it’s working for you. No need to go and buy loads of extra products to add in if you don’t need them. If you have a specific concern you want to address then perhaps you might want to add in an extra item, but otherwise I’d say you’re fine

 

[BostonFernGreen]

Would you mind linking to it?

Sure yes, the pharmacy or some evidence about the results? Or both!

This is a nice summary:

The Thing About Retin-A: It Works (Published 2006)

It may not be the foundation of youth, but nothing has replaced it yet.

www.nytimes.com

This is more of a practical guide:

How to Start on Tretinoin (Retin-A) and Retinol | Lab Muffin Beauty Science

I recently started using a prescription tretinoin cream, a generic version of Retin-A (Stieva-A). Tretinoin is probably THE most popular and evidence-supported retinoid (vitamin A derivative)…

labmuffin.com

I will send you a pm with the pharmacy details!

 

[Mumdrum]

I'm a beauty therapist, have over 30 years in the industry and worked and trained with nearly all the big skincare companies. My advise us keep it simple. I recommend everyone using a face cloth to remove cleanser thoroughly and always use an SPF. You don't need to spend a fortune, I love and use the ordinary and beauty pie products. If you have spots use a product with salicylic acid. If you are worried about aging retinol and hydraulic acid for extra moisture.

 

[SummerLeaves2004]

So i am gutted and could cry! I ordered some more Charlotte Tilbury flawless foundation as i had run out. It arrived, and i put it on and it looks shit! It seperated on my forehead, nose and chin. And generally looks cakey and like a cheap drugstore type foundation! I wonder if they have changed formula as it never used to do this to me, and i havent changed my skincare or primer. So i wonder if they have changed anything in it.

On the plus side, The Charlotte Tilbury contour wand is amazing! It is the perfect neutral 'contour colour'. Im quite funny when it comes to contour as i hate using the warm bronzer type products for contour, and the CT wand is perfect imo.

I couldn't agree more! The Charlotte Tilbury foundation is absolutely shit. I have bought two of them and they are awful. I am an absolute make up junkie and it is by far the worst foundation I have used since my teens! (And that was 20 years ago!)

I like Urban Decay All Nighter (full coverage),
MAC Studio Fix is an old favourite,
Tom Ford is good for a splurge,
Nars has a lovely finish,
Primark foundation is also fab for a cheaper alternative, heavy coverage foundation.

Best beauty tip ever is SPF - EVERY DAY

 

[DCICassieStuart]

What is MLM??

Multi level marketing. Basically a pyramid scheme and generally only the person at the top of the pyramid makes any money out of it.

 

[Meg1912]

The main piece of advice I have, is wear SPF every day on your face. I don't mean a moisturiser or foundation with added SPF, I mean a pure one.

I wear Vichy SPF 30 (https://www.vichy.co.uk/ideal-soleil) daily and have done since I was 18. A cheaper favourite is Garnier Ombrielle's face SPF or Hawaiian Tropic face SPF (https://www.boots.com/hawaiian-tropic-silk-hydration-airsoft-face-spf-30-10242738). I am 27 and look young and with minimal skin damage. Former high school classmates of mine who I know used sun beds and drank/smoked a lot, look years older than me.

Also, I really recommend products with hyaluronic acid. My favourite is La Roche Posay hylau b5 serum.

And also Pixi glow acid.

For cleansers:
Vichy one (https://www.vichy.ca/en/purete-ther...cgid=Face-Cleanser#start=9&cgid=Face-Cleanser)
The Body Shop Chamomile cleansing butter: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-ca/f...ous-cleansing-butter-makeup-remover/p/p000186
Garnier Micellar water gel wash: https://www.garnier.co.uk/skin-care/beauty/garnier/micellar/micellar-cleansing-gel-wash

Moisturiser:
Vichy: https://www.vichy.ca/en/aqualia-the...ace-Moisturizer#start=5&cgid=Face-Moisturizer

Oh I will definitely purchase the La Roche Posay serum, it seems incredible!
Yeah you're right, it's soooo important to apply SPF every single day, including colder months! On that topic, I watched this video the other day and thought it was so interesting! "UV camera reveals the best way to apply sunscreen"

 

[Yel]

I love this thread! I don't have much to offer - I really mean to stump up the money to see a dermatologist with my rosacea next time I have any spare cash. I've tried everything over the counter and Metrogel (very well might be what you posted @Meg1912 but applying twice a day didn't make much difference) on prescription but the thing that's kept it at bay is this creme and balm.

Rosacea Cream - Sea Buckthorn Anti Redness Treatment: Amazon.co.uk: Amazon.co.uk:

Rosacea Cream - Sea Buckthorn Anti Redness Treatment: Amazon.co.uk: Amazon.co.uk:

www.amazon.co.uk

Anti Redness + Rosacea Balm: Amazon.co.uk: Amazon.co.uk:

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders of £20 or more. Buy Anti Redness + Rosacea Balm at Amazon UK.

www.amazon.co.uk

Along with avoiding the sun and strenuous exercise. It's so frustrating having something where they recommend not to exercise with. The pain annoyed me more than anything else and an office with AC on year round really aggravated it.

 

[Mercedes12]

I am 29, and don’t have any wrinkles around the eye area, but I am forming them on the forehead... particularly frown line / between eyebrows. I don’t think that there’s anything you can do to prevent them here as it’s due to frowning... I’m interested in getting Botox soon to soften and prevent them from getting deeper.

I've been getting botox for a few years and would highly recommend!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

You want Korean SPF IMO. Non stingy, make up doesnt pile, non greasy.

Thank You Farmer or Biore