Boots series #2 No7 skincare - my picks | Ayesha

You know sometimes Boots do an offer where you can get £5 off No7 skincare and £3 off their makeup? Sometimes I wish they did this voucher for other brands too - but hey ho. I enjoy £5 off their skincare, because I think their skincare is very good. 

My skin is combination: dry cheeks and an oily T-zone. My skin is also a little bit dehydrated but I am trialling a product by Kiehls (blog post coming soon!) to target that dehydration. On my right cheek, I used to suffer from something that I am unsure what it was but it resembled scales (as in a dragon or a fish or something) and no matter how much cream I applied, the scales wouldn't go away! I am slightly digressing so I will do another blog post on how I de-scaled myself.

Here is my current line-up of No7 skincare products.

Now, my most favourite No7 product is the radiance exfoliator (on the right). It actually does what it says on the tin. After using this, my skin looked so much brighter! It literally transformed. It doesn't have too many beads in it, so it is less harsh than some other scrubs out there, but nevertheless does a good job. I tend to use this every 3 days or so. 

The cleansing lotion (middle) is great at removing all traces of face makeup, but I haven't used it on eye makeup. I'm a bit unsure about whether or not to so I decided against the risk. It leaves me skin feeling clean and soft, without a hint of tightness. Some cleansers are very harsh and strip your skin of its natural oils, hence the tight feeling, so this one is a lovely choice to go for. 

Finally the toner (left). I do like this toner to make sure every last trace of makeup has gone from my face. Despite liking it, I don't see the point of toners in general. I have heard lots about them and how they get your skin "ready" for moisturisation but I've not noticed any difference! Oh well. 

Here's a cuteness break as this is a bit of a wordy post! I love owls, and baby ones in particular. In fact, babies and mini things in general.

image from pinterest

In the past I have tried their eye make-up remover which is a good dupe for Lancome's Bi-Facil remover. It felt very gentle and removed all traces of makeup. It is also oil-based and does leave an oily residue, but I quite like this feeling of extra moisturisation!

I have also used the essential moisture moisturiser which melted into my skin and lasted a long time. It is quite a rich cream so it would definitely suit drier skin times, without making your skin look shiny.

Lastly, and I almost forgot about this, I have also used their hot cloth cleanser. Now, I've not tried the Liz Earle version to compare, but this one is lovely and even comes with its own muslin cloth. The most noticeable thing, like the cleansing lotion mentioned above, is that it doesn't leave my skin feeling tight as some cleansers usually have in the past. 



Hope you found this useful! Let me know in the comments what you use your No7 vouchers for!

Boots series #1 New things by Collection | Ayesha

Hi all! 

School's out for summer! It's actually been 2 and a half weeks, but again I find myself being too busy to post.

Anyway, after perusing the shelves at Boots many times these past weeks, today I found myself drawn to the Collection section. The only thing I buy from them is a clear mascara which I use as a brow setting gel, and tend to walk away thinking the other things wouldn't have staying power or be pigmented enough. However, just look at these:

I don't know why, but I have never seen these before! I was SO impressed by the swatches. They felt very soft and were highly pigmented, so much so that they would give the Naked palette by Urban Decay a run for their money. There were three palettes in total. One was called Nude which had lighter pinks and browns; Nude Bronze which is the one I bought; and Nude Grey which had cooler toned neutrals like greys, taupes and cooler shades of brown. 

The shadow sticks in particular made me literally say "wow" as I applied them; they are way more intense than they look in the pictures. The one labelled VB is called 'Vintage Blush' and is a pink shade with gold undertones. V is called 'Vanilla Sky' and is a very light shade of gold; almost like platinum. This looks like liquid gold.

Another thing to note is that when I wanted to clean the shadow sticks off my hand, a baby wipe just didn't work. They claim to be waterproof and long lasting which I now believe! However, I have very oily eyelids so I will test them out to see their true longevity.

If you are into shimmery shades then these will be for you. The Nude Bronze palette is definitely all shimmer, however I am unsure about whether the other ones contain some matte shades!

There are some other new things by Collection here.

All in all, on first impression, I am super impressed and as everything is less than £5 each, it is definitely worth it!

Which palette or shadow sticks would you go for?

The most amazing moisturiser I have ever tried ¦ Ayesha

I have been through a LOT of moisturisers. I have been reading a lot about whether you should pay more for a moisturiser, as some people (e.g. Caroline Hirons, check out her blog!) say you get what you pay for with a moisturiser. I'm not sure I believe this as yet, I am too afraid to fork out £300 for a moisturiser that claims it can make me stay looking youthful until well in my 60s. Hmm. 

So anyway, I was browsing in Boots the other day when I discovered a new range by Indeed Labs. One called 'Hydraluron' caught my eye, and in particular, the one called moisture jelly. I have read a lot of reviews about this brand so I was keen to try it out. Full price it is £24.99, but there was an offer for £16.66. This is still expensive in my eyes but I wanted to try it anyway. 

I am IMPRESSED. 

My skin is normal to dry, but my cheeks are driest in particular. I have been using a concentrated Vitamin C serum from the Body Shop to target the scaly dry patch on my right cheek in particular, which works well, but using this cream has meant I have not had to touch up at all. I applied it once yesterday and my skin felt hydrated and smooth ALL day up until I washed it in the evening. 

It's a bit new fangled, I didn't know how to apply it at first. I was shaking it upside down before I realised you have to push the white bit down to release the jelly. The amount you see here is enough for your whole face so a little goes a long way, which is good for longevity. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this product if you have similar skin to mine. I am still yet to find an amazing moisturiser as this one in a cheaper price bracket, but at least I'm not paying an extortionate amount for this. 

Which moisturiser do you use?