Love/Hate List - January

Last month I tried lots of beauty products, some lovely and some not so lovely. I thought I’d do a little round up of my best and worst of January, enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jurlique Balancing Day Care Cream

I’ve started using this as a day moisturiser and I absolutely love it. It’s soothing, rich without being greasy, and keeps my skin hydrated and supple throughout the day. It absorbs quickly and you can put makeup straight over the top of it. You get a huge tube of it as well, making it good value for the money you spend.

Any downsides? It smells very floral which may not appeal to some, and it though its good value, it isn’t cheap. 

 

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study

This is such a gorgeous eye product and its multi-purpose, which makes me love it even more. I like all MAC’s paint pots but this champagne colour is my favourite. Wear it alone for a subtle creamy shimmer on the eyelid, or use it as a base/primer for your shadow.  You can also dot it into the inner corner of your eye to make your eyes appear more awake, and use it to highlight the brow bone.  

Any downsides? May crease on greasier skin types but I haven’t found it to be a problem so far.

Superdrug Tea Tree Spot Stick

This is a fantastic targeted blemish buster. It has peppermint oil and tea tree oil in to kill the bacteria in the blemish. Plus, it is a gel, so it won’t go crusty or dry a weird colour, it goes on transparent. It’s the best one that I’ve used in a long time, and it’s cheaper than the chips that gave you the spot at about £2.  

Any downsides? No!

Benefit High Beam

I feel like sometimes Benefit get a bad rep as a brand for being a bit gimicky, which isn’t really fair because there are some products that they do really well. High Beam is one of the best highlighters I’ve ever used and I rediscovered it after I got it for Christmas. I’ve been mixing it with Touche Eclat and buffing it  around my eyes and cheekbones to get rid of dullness and dark circles.

Any downsides? It may not work on some skin tones, I find as I am quite fair it works well on me. Try Moon Beam if you’re more olive.

THE BAD

Elizabeth Arden Peel and Reveal Revitalizing Treatment

Maybe it’s just me, but this did not work on my skin AT ALL. It stung, and it made me break out. There are lots of enzymic fruit extracts in here which may have been too much for sensitive skin. Also, it looks like a layer of skin when you peel it off, which quite frankly is gross.

Any positives? More resilient skin types may get on better with this than I did.

St Ives Apricot Scrub (Gentle)

I tried this once or twice and banished it from my face to my bottom because that is the only place I felt it deserved to exfoliate.  I broke out really badly after using it. It’s a classic so I thought I’d give it a go when my Lush scrub ran out, but I was not impressed.

Any positives? It smelled nice. But that was little consolation.

La Prairie Foaming Cleanser

I received a tester of this for free (no way could my student budget afford to buy the real thing!) and gave it a go for a couple of weeks. It was so drying I had to stop using it, and it stung painfully if I got it near my eyes.  I’m not the biggest fan of foaming cleansers anyway, but if you are, I’m sure you could find a much nicer one for a fraction of the price.

Any positives?  No.

MAC Face and Body Foundation

I respect that this has a bit of a cult following and I do think that it’s lovely on the body. On the face however, I find that it has little staying power even when powdered. It’s very light coverage but thickens when you work with it, however I find the consistency still too light, and too wet. Also, and this is just me, I don’t like the smell of it, it smells a bit plastic-y.

Any positives? Lots of people love this product. Also, if you already have perfect skin and no blemishes or dark circles, it does the job well.