Tag Archives: acne

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation | First Impressions

Posted in Beauty, Makeup by

Hey!

I know it’s been a while since my last post on my holiday to The Canaries, but I’m back in the game after much relaxation and ready to share my first impressions of one of the most talked about, iconic, luminous and weightless foundations out there – Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Foundation. After walking into Selfridges and collecting a few samples to play around with myself at home, I felt that shade 9 was the perfect match for my skin tone and decided to buy it on my next visit which was yesterday! When I was matched at the Charlotte Tilbury counter, I felt at first that it was slightly more on the warm side, but after wearing it throughout the day, the colour grew on me more and more, and the luminosity that was brought out by the foundation, totally overpowered that slight mismatch in colour – so for me, this is the perfect shade!

Magic foundation is heralded as miracle in a tube with it’s flawless, powerless and long-lasting coverage, I can definitely say, it lives up to it’s promises! As a full coverage girl, who has some scarring – I’m always looking for that extra bit of coverage and after a first buff of this foundation into my skin, I can instantly see my skintone looking more even and with it, a subtle glow, blurring out my pores and covering my scars.

The finish of this foundation is demi-matte on me and I have a combination skin type. I feel like I don’t need to wear any concealer on top of the Magic Foundation to cover up any blemishes or scars, I would just add a touch of my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in the shade Caramel to brighten up my undereyes for that highlighted effect. It feels comfortable on the skin and stays on for a long time without transferring. Although the end result is a radiant, luminous finish, it sets into a gorgeous, velvety texture.

One of the reasons, I was so drawn to this foundation was because of one of the main ingredients in the formula – Hyaluronic Filling Spheres – For a long time now, I have been researching a solution for minimising acne scarring and the pitting caused by this, and although hyaluronic acid acts as an anti-aging property, it’s a great product for plumping the skin by increasing the collagen production around problematic areas on the face. This is something that immediately drew me in and I was also very intrigued by Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream also containing hyaluronic acid as well a number of natural magical ingredients. Retailing at £70, I thought i’d try out the foundation before I made the splurge, but I may be enticed to make the purchase very soon.

Previously, I would wear MAC Studio Fix Fluid (SFF) in NC44.5 and this has been my holy grail foundation for so many years now! In comparison to the SFF, Magic Foundation definitely has a deeper and fuller coverage, and minimises the look of pores really well. I feel like SFF can have a slightly drying effect on the face as the finish is matte rather than demi-matte like the Magic Foundation, which can sometimes result in flakey-ness around blemishes. The Magic Foundation is great at preventing a dry look and leaves the skin feeling hydrated and luminous all day!

The swatch above shows the Magic Foundation in shade 9 with no blending and the swatch underneath shows how it looks when blended. As you can see, I’m still rather tanned on my arms from my holiday so the colour of the foundation doesn’t match too well on my arms, however i can assure you it looks like a perfect match on the face haha.

Have any of you tried the Magic Foundation or any other products by Charlotte Tilbury? I can’t wait to get my hands on the Magic Cream!

Sachita x

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Amazing Beauty Tricks with Coconut Oil

Posted in Beauty, Lifestyle, Skincare by

Hey!

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You may have already made the switch to virgin coconut oil for use in the kitchen, but did you know you can also switch up some of your beauty products for this wonder oil? This do-it-all ingredient can be used as skin moisturiser, makeup remover, exfoliant and so much more. It’s been around 2 to 3 years since I’ve been using virgin coconut oil and about three jar-fulls to be completely convinced of it’s benefits! Here’s the ways you can incorporate virgin coconut oil into your beauty routine 🙂

Make sure to use Virgin Coconut Oil for the best results as its 100% natural. I usually use Tiana The World’s Premier Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

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Hair Mask/ Deep Conditioning

Applying a tablespoon-sized dollop onto your hair and really working it into those ends and the scalp, leaving it on for around 20 mins minimum (the longer you leave it the more nourished your hair becomes – I tend to leave it on overnight) and washing it off with shampoo, will add moisture and shine into those limp locks.

Alternatively, after shampooing apply the oil to the ends of wet hair and leave on for around 5 minutes before rinsing giving you a great quick fix with a more hydrated and shiny look.

Frizz Fighter

Rub a pea-sized amount between your fingers to warm it up and apply it to the ends of your hair for all day frizz protection. It also leaves hair super soft and hydrated!

Body Oil

Coconut oil tends to come as a solid in a jar and because of this, it’s creamy, light texture makes for the perfect moisturiser to apply all over your body. Just by taking a finger-full amount for each part of the body and letting it sink into your warm skin when coming straight out of the shower, makes the perfect hydrant for your skin. Using this routine every other day and switching with a cream based moisturiser, would give the oil a couple days to penetrate through the skin before applying it again.

Body Scrub

Mix half a cup of sea salt or brown sugar and an equal amount of coconut oil and use your hands to circulate it around any dry patches on the skin. It removes all the dead skin cells, leaving your skin feeling baby soft and its super inexpensive! Add a few drops of vanilla extract, or your favourite essential oil to give your scrub a gorgeous tropical scent.

To Remove Eye Make-Up

One of my favourite, go-to eye make-up removers and yes, it works on waterproof mascara too! I usually remove the make up on my face first with Micellar Water and then move onto the eyes. Taking some liquified oil onto my fingertips and slathering it over my lashes and eyelids, I leave it there for around a minute and watch the makeup melt away haha. Taking a cotton pad, I gently sweep it over my eye to pick up all the make up and it really does come off in one swipe! Rinse with warm water and your done!

Another amazing benefit is that it hydrates your under eye area, preventing under eye bags and dark circles and also helps to increase hair growth on your lashes and brows 🙂

Acne Scarring

Coconut oils is so great at reducing the darkness of acne scarring. Taking a pea-sized amount and moisturising it into your face before going to sleep, really shows results in one week! You’re probably thinking, why would I put an oil on my face if I have acne?! But coconut oil mimics your skins natural oil with less of a chance of clogging pores. It helps to cool down the skin and reduce inflammation and therefore reduces the amount of toxins produced, stopping oxidation so the acne scars heal quicker 🙂

Lip Balm

Chapped lips won’t stand a chance against super hydrating coconut oil. Dap some over your lips before you go to sleep and wake up with hydrated, plump and super soft lips! It makes lipstick application so easy!

Highlighter

Now I haven’t actually tried this one, but I’ve heard that it works really well as a highlighter so I thought I would suggest it. Taking the tinniest amount and sweeping it across the tops of the cheekbones, cupids bow and centre of the nose for hydrated skin which glows from within. A lot of natural make-up brands use coconut oil as a base in their formulas, so it must really work!

Shaving Cream

Forget the store-bought shaving creams! With coconut oil’s skin-soothing properties, your razor will glide so smoothly allowing for a close shave and your legs will be moisturised in the process. I would usually shave out of the shower when using this as it can get quite slippery and combined with water, things could get a bit messy haha. It’s inexpensive, antimicrobial and leaves a lovely tropical scent!

Do you guys use coconut oil? What do you like to use it for?

Sachita x

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo [+]|Review

Posted in Beauty, Skincare by

Hey!

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I thought I would share with you guys my thoughts on La Roche Posay’s Effaclar Duo [+]. This is one of my all time favourite face treatments and with my skin type being combination oily and blemish-prone, it’s the perfect treatment!

The Formula

The new ‘plus’ formula has the addition of an ‘Anti-Marks‘ claim compared to the original Effaclar Duo. It’s amazing at reducing the appearance of acne scars or redness on the face, with noticeable differences in no longer than 10 days! It’s a great cream based product and doesn’t leave a greasy residue, containing an effective amount of the topical disinfectant benzoyl-peroxide. It also contains the antioxidant vitamin E which works as an anti-irritant to help reduce blemishes and scars. It has a slightly fresh scent, which I prefer way more than any other benzoyl peroxide based product that can sometimes smell of detergent.

How it’s Worked for Me

As my skin type is combination oily and blemish-prone, this treatment has been a lifesaver! I have been using this for around a year now on an ‘on and off’ basis when I come across scarring on my face. I have seen noticeable differences in my skin and have received so many compliments on my skin with people asking what I’ve been using.

I also find that this treatment works really well as a base for my make up, or as a make up primer. I always use it before starting my make up and it provides a really smooth feel when applying my foundation or tinted moisturiser.

I apply this in the morning after cleansing and also at night after removing my make-up. I feel that it can sometimes be slightly drying so I would add the teeniest amount of coconut oil which helps to moisturise and hydrate my skin.

With its gel-ish formula, it is surprisingly lightweight on the skin and it’s kept my skin feeling well-nourished and hydrated. It has a lovely calming sensation so even if a blemish is about to appear, it will reduce the breakout by keeping the area calm and clean.

The Packaging

I love the tube packaging with a tiny needle nosed dropper making it super hygienic. It’s really easy to apply and you only need a pea-sized amount for the whole face. Each tube has 40 ml of product and it does tend to finish quite quickly if you were to use it everyday, so it can be quite expensive to repurchase.

Pros

  • Contains medicated anti-acne ingredient: Benzoyl Peroxide
  • Reduces redness and appearance of scars
  • Works amazingly as a primer
  • Fragrance-free
  • Oil-free
  • Great spot treatment

Cons

  • Expensive for the quantity
  • No SPF
  • Need quite a lot to use as a moisturiser

Overall

Although I still have a few small blemishes and scars, they have reduced and faded dramatically and there has been a massive improvement in the overall state of my skin. I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is looking to reduce the appearance of scars or dark spots. I love this though, and really haven’t found any treatment which works as well as this does at reducing scarring. Even prescribed treatments from the GP haven’t worked as well as this does – they would always tend to dry out my skin and leave it with a flakey residue.

Other La Roche Posay Products

La Roche Posay ~ 3 Step Effaclar Anti Blemish System

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After experiencing the amazing effects of the Effaclar Duo [+], I decided to try out the Effaclar Anti Blemish System. This comes with a Purifying Foaming Gel, Clarifying Toner and Effaclar Duo [+]. To be completely honest, I felt like the cream worked best on my skin and didn’t seem to notice a huge difference with the other products, which is why I didn’t feel it necessary to write a full review on the whole system.

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La Roche Posay ~ Serozinc

This zinc water formula gives an amazing, calming and hydrating feeling to the face and really helps at reducing blemishes! I’m going to be doing a full review on this soon so watch this space 🙂

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Effaclar Duo [+]? What other La Roche Posay products have you tried that are worth a go?

I’d love to know in the comments below 🙂

Sachita x