September Beauty Favourites
September has been rather a hectic month what with moving out of home and back to uni, a week laid up in bed with a virus, and then the stresses of my final year of university beginning. Throughout all of this, these products have served to make my life a little easier and relieve some of the minor stresses of day to day life.
No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream - £9.00
A few months ago I had a skin consultation which revealed that I actually have dry skin. During my teen years, I suffered from (what I thought was) oily skin and spots, and so I avoided moisturiser like the plague. BIG mistake. My skin was compensating for lack of moisture by creating its own. Ever since, I've been on the hunt for a good, basic moisturiser that is cheap enough that I can layer it on at night without needing to be frugal, but that works well and won't aggravate my sensitive skin. I picked this up in Boots with one of the £5 off skincare vouchers, so it was only £4 (never pay full price for No7 skincare, these offers come round frequently!). I'm still finding it hard to get into the habit of using moisturiser, and often find myself being unnecessarily frugal. However, recently I've been layering it on thick and fast and sleeping with shiny, white face. The cream itself is a very light pink in colour and barely scented at all (faintly playdough-ish?). Although I only wear this at night, I chose to buy the day cream version after reading that it's much thicker and creamier than the night cream version, and is better for sensitive skin. I've been using it for a few months now and have really noticed a difference with the tone and texture of my skin, much softer and smoother. My makeup applies really well the morning after using this, and it doesn't leave my skin too oily, even when I apply a lot, it sinks in pretty quickly.
I've always loved Aussie products for my hair, their Leave in Conditioner is one of my HG products, but I only ever buy them when they're on offer (Boots do a great 3 for 2) as £10 for shampoo and conditioner isn't exactly student friendly. My mum bought this one and found it didn't get on at all with her hair, but I found it worked absolute wonders. My hair stayed clean for a good few days longer than it does normal, and it left my hair really soft, shiny, and full of volume, despite not being targeted towards any of these features. And I'm not even using the Aussie conditioner! It may not work for everyone, my mum has short, curly hair and swears by Tresemme, whereas my hair is long, thick, and straight and Tresemme products leave my hair with so much buildup it's unreal. If your hair has been suffering from buildup, or is looking a bit flat and lifeless I really recommend checking this out.
Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm in 'Grape Vine' - £2.99
I don't think that this flavour is available in the UK (according to Boots' website). I picked this up when I was in the States and wasn't overly impressed with it given the hype, but after using this to combat the dry lips I suffered during my week of lurgy, I am a complete convert. I may have been layering it on 24/7 but it really did make a difference, and left my chapped lips feeling smooth and soft in no time. As for the tint, I'm still not seeing anything...
Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil - £16.50
I featured an entire blog post on this a few months back, and after a summer of use I can safely say that this stuff is a miracle worker when it comes to acne scars. I massage a few drops of this into my forehead, nose, and chin every night post cleansing and pre moisturising. The spattering of pinkish/red spot scars across my forehead have nearly disappeared completely and my skin tone in general looks a lot more even and brighter. It doesn't seem to be doing much for the appearance of my pores, but who knows, maybe a few months more will tell.
Soap & Gory Rich and Foamous Body Wash - £6.50
My sister is a huge S&G fan, and bought me this for Christmas last year but I've only just gotten round to using it. I love how supersize this is, and am expecting it to last me all term at uni. The main ingredients are almond, honey, and oats, and I adore the smell, (not the usual S&G suncreamy odour thank goodness) it's kind of pancake-ish, similar to The Breakfast Scrub but not as strong. The pump bottle is also a great idea, I wish more shower gels would use this.
