Summer Skincare: Facial SPF's

So as the heatwave continues in the UK I've lined up some tips for upping your skincare routine to accommodate the higher temperature - that's right, we're talking about SPF again.

1. Apply a good layer of a high factor SPF to the face. I personally always wear SPF on my face (even in winter) since I'm really fair skinned. I'd normally reach for a factor 10-15 but in the summer months I never go lower than factor 45 on my face and my favourite is the Kiehl's Ultra Light UV Defence. I'm sure I don't have to go on about why I up my SPF in the summer months, but it's especially important for you if your skincare routines involve any products which contain retinols or chemical exfoliants.

2. If you're wearing makeup in the sun (which a lot of us will be - the sun will still be out when you're walking from the car park to the office and so on) find touch up products with SPF in them. If you're not the type to reach for powder products frequently, I'd just top up with another thin layer of SPF tinted moisturiser. For those who like a matte finish, there's actually a good number of SPF face powders on the market these days. For product suggestions I would recommend Benefit's Hello Flawless Powder Foundation SPF 15 and Esteé Lauders Double Wear Light Stay-In-Place Makeup SPF 10.

3. If you're really concerned, just try to keep your face out of the sun. All kinds of hats have come back into fashion recently, from caps to big rimmed sun hats, so it's easier than ever to keep your self out of the sun. It's recommended that you try to avoid being in direct sun between around 11pm-4pm as this is when the sun tends to be strongest.

4. So these last two tips are less about avoiding getting burnt and more to do with how SPF can wreak havoc on your skin if you're not using it properly. Firstly, use an SPF that is designed to be used on the face. In the same way that it's not ideal to use your body lotion as a facial moisturiser, SPF body oils and lotions aren't formulated to be ideal for the more delicate skin on your face. If you want to know everything there is to know about SPF I'd recommend you head on over to this video that Caroline Hirons did with Marko Lens of Zelens.

5. And finally: remove your SPF properly. A lot of people seem to be of the opinion that SPF products break them out, and they will if you don't take the time to properly remove them. I always double cleanse if I've applied any products with SPF in to make sure my skin is completely clean before I start with my evening skincare routine and I only ever have problems if I get lazy with my cleansing routine.

So I've Fallen Out With Suncream...

...But there's some other SPF formulas that I'm loving right now.

The sun has (finally) started to show it's face in Manchester, and it's actually been almost too hot. When I went on my annual trip to stock up on suncream I decided to stray away from my usual traditional suncreams and my P20 options in favour of some newer formats and I'm really impressed.

The format that I've been enjoying the most is one that been around for a while: oil. I like oil-base sun protection because generally they're even more moisturising than the traditional cream/lotion based formulas and they're basically goof-proof when it comes to white-casts and streaky application. The oil I've been enjoying this year is the Golden Protect Protective Oil Enriched with Shea Butter from Garnier's Ambre Solaire range. This is a light, non-greasy formula that is water resistant and moisturising on the skin. It comes in multiple sun protection factors, personally I generally go for a factor 30 across the board. I also like that this formula has a subtle sheeny finish to it that gives the skin that glow that we all want in the summer.

Nivea have a brilliant range of sun protection products and the one that really caught my eye was the Protect and Refresh Cooling Sun Mist. This is a super fine formula that is applied to the skin via an aerosol spray can. At first glance I thought that this product would be the perfect answer to the problem of topping up facial SPF throughout the day without disrupting makeup but I was a bit disappointed to find that the directions specify that you can't spray this directly onto the face. I'll still get enough use out of this since it's nice and refreshing on the skin for reapplication but I'd love to see something along the lines of this that is completely safe for use on the face.

The last sun care product that caught my eye this time around was Nivea's Lip Care Sun Protect SPF30. Again, I love Nivea's sun protection range and they're also known for their lip balms so I figured this was a pretty obvious choice. The formula is light but nicely hydrating and the scent/flavour is nice but not overpowering as well. I even really like the packaging with the pop of summery yellow and it's a great one to slip into your handbag.

No Money March: The Budget AM Skincare Routine

We're trying something new today. Videos.

Now I must admit, I'm not going to be able to get a video up every week, but I've decided that every now and then I'll drop on into a regularly scheduled post slot. I'm finding that I have a lot of ideas for content that make for lengthy posts and I figured some people might want to see them in video format. :)

The Friday Review: Esteé Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation

So this isn't a new release by any means, but I mentioned it in a favourites post not too long ago and thought it deserved a post of it's own. Minus my brief stint with the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, I've never been a big spender when it comes to foundation. That being said, I'd been struggling with foundation breaking down on me this summer and wanted to try this to see how it faired.

First off, the shade range on this foundation is pretty good. I feel like brands on the whole have gotten a lot better with their shade ranges as I always used to struggle to find something light enough to suit my ghostly complexion. The packing is also quite nice, both in the sense of it's pretty with the nude bottle and the gold lid but it's also good for travel since it's a plastic squeeze-tube container.

The formula itself is nice, it goes onto the skin like a moisturiser and has a buildable light to medium coverage. It evens the skin tone out well but I'd still go in with concealer to cover up any blemishes or under-eye issues. I like how my freckles peek through this foundation a little and feel like this helps he foundation to look really skin-like. The finish is quite middle-of-the-ground, it's not super matte and it's not super dewy. I still like to set it down with a powder to matte it down a bit, but if you're a dewy girl you could mix this with a liquid highlight to get some more glow.

The wear-time is nice. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't a foundation in the world that can handle my summer t-zone so I always find myself having to touch-up that area but everywhere else wore perfectly through full work days. If you really struggle or you need it to last it pays nice with primers to give it an even more long-lasting effect on the skin. This is the foundation that I reach for when I'm going out after work because it'll only need a tiny bit of touching up to look decent again once I've clocked off.

High Street Heros - Skincare

Part two of the High Street Heros series is going to be focusing on skincare. There's a range of products in here from the products that I'm considering buying back-ups for to the ones that I don't use often but they do what they should.

So I'll get this one out of the way, because we all know it's coming: the Superfacialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Cleansing Oil is my absolute favourite high-street cleanser and it's the product that I use to take of my make-up pretty much every night unless I'm trialling something or trying to use up other products. Love.

Another product I've mentioned a few times on the blog that's become a staple in my skincare rotation is Serozinc by La Roche Posay. It's a spray-mist zinc-sulphate solution that I use in the "toner" stage of my skincare routine and it's great for clearing up the skin if you have any break-outs or blemishes.

One that I absolutely love but I don't mention so much on here is the L'Oreal Revitalift Filler Renew Serum. This is the one that comes in the bottle that looks a little like a needle, but don't be put off by the packaging, it's lush. It's a hyluronic acid serum similar to the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Hydrating Booster and Hydralyron by Indeed Labs and while I must admit that Hydraluron is my favourite of the 3, the L'Oreal is a good pick for those with a slightly tighter budget as it's under £15.

My budget facial oil pick is the B Replenished Facial Oil. Facial oils are one of those products where you get what you pay for and obviously, this oil isn't going to do what more expensive oils do for your skin but it's a nice pick and I do use this on quite a regular basis. If you have a bigger budget a few more pricy picks I like are the Clarins Lotus Facial Treatment Oil, Sarah Chapman Morning Facial and MV Organics Rose Plus Booster.

My go-to evening eye cream is the No7 Beautiful Skin Overnight Revitalising Eye Balm, it's a lovely hydrating eye gel that does the job. I use it overnight because I think it could be a little too thick for under make-up although I must admit I haven't tried it under make-up yet.

A good does-the-job product is the First Aid Beauty Foaming Cleanser, in texture, this is very comparable to the Omoravicza Cleansing Foam and the only reason I'd repurchase the Omoravicza is because for me, smell is a big part of my skincare ritual and that's the one thing the First Aid Beauty version is missing. Other than that, it's lovely.

Speaking of First Aid Beauty, their Ultra Repair Cream, is available in a generously sized tube for under £15 and it's my miracle cream. Whenever my skin is sore or irritated or generally unhappy, I reach for this and it brings my skin back to normality. Can't be without the stuff and have recommended it to lots of people. Love.

The First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads would have also had a place in this lineup, but unfortunately, they were slightly outside of my £15 budget for this post, but a very comparable product that's even more affordable is the Nip & Fab Glycolic Exfoliating Pads. These are so similar to the First Aid Beauty version but come in under the budget for a good amount of product, they're a pre-soaked acid toning pad that exfoliate the skin gently.

Another pre-soaked-pad product from Nip & Fab that I've been enjoying lately is their Dragons Blood Hydrating Pads. Now I'll admit, being a Targaryen fan girl (sorry for all non-Game-of-Thrones fans for that reference) I may have seen the Dragons Blood reference and been intrigued on the name alone, but I did notice that these also contain hyluronic acid, which we've already established is an ingredient that my skin particularly enjoys. For me these are a hydration layer that I'd use if my skin was more in need of moisture than exfoliation, I wouldn't use them in conjunction with an exfoliating toner.

I've been enjoying the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask for a while now and was keen to find a dupe and with me being a big fan of Una Brennans Superfacialist products already, I picked up their Rose Hydrate Mask to see if it was comparable. While it's not strictly an overnight mask if you apply it thinly it soaks into the skin and wont need removing but I just use it as a 5-minute-fix and it works well. Not quite a dupe but it's still a nice pick.

And then the rest of these are products that I don't necessarily use in my rotation all the time, but if you fancied a new budget item these are pretty good. I've actually gone through 2 bottles of the Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser before developing a love for facial oils that has left most of my once-loved moisturisers feeling a little unloved. This is specifically for an oily skin and it was great at keeping you hydrated whilst also providing some oil control.

While I really love the Omoravicza Deep Cleansing Mask, it's eye-wateringly expensive and I'm currently trying out a lot of clay masks at the moment but a budget option that works well is the Aroma Actives Skincare Deep Cleansing & Purifying Clay Mask. It's an almost skin-coloured clay mask that feels cooling and slightly tingly on the skin and dries down quickly. It doesn't leave my skin as dry or tight feeling as other that I've tried but it does leave me wanting to apply some kind of moisturising product afterward but it's a nice pick for around an 8th of the price of the Omoravicza.

When I'm feeling lazy and a proper cleanse isn't on the cards I have 2 products that I whip out. The Garnier Micellar Warer is great for those mornings or evenings where you just can't be bothered, it's gentle on the skin and not stripping at all but it removes make-up and general grime from the skin quickly. I do have a confession to make here. While I don't agree with using face wipes to cleanse all the time, sometimes, a good old face wipe is just what you need. Maybe your on the road or maybe it's just been a late one and you just want to get straight to bed, but when I'm reaching for a face wipe, I'm reaching for the Soap & Glory Off Your Face 3-in-1 Daily Purifying Cloths. Remove makeup nicely, gentle on the skin but still have a slight bit of an exfoliation to them. A good one to have on hand for emergencies.

And finally, while I normally use a moisturiser/facial oil and then a separate SPF, for days when I'm in a rush I like the Sainsburys SPF 15 Day Cream. It's a light moisturiser that plays nice with makeup and has a decent amount of SPF in for the weather we usually get here in England, and it's super affordable at around £2 a tube.

Sainsbury's Do Skincare

I was recently browsing the beauty isles in search of a few budget beauty buys for an upcoming series of posts Im working on when I spotted the sainsbury's own line for skincare. Everthing I could see in the range was £2 or less and the whole bunch were on 3-for-2 so I picked up the 3 products that looked like they'd work for me best for me to see how I liked the range.

The range was really small and was made up or 2 sub-ranges, the "Tea Tree" range and the "Vitamin E" range. Both ranges contained a foam cleanser and a scrub and then the vitamin E range also had a cleansing lotion and an SPF day cream. Despite my oily complexion I know that tea tree on my skin can be a little stripped so I picked up a few pieces from the Vitamin E range instead.

The first product I picked up was the cleansing lotion as I know this is a formula that normally works for me so I figured I was giving the range a fair chance by giving that product a try, and my verdict? It does the job. It's by no means a luxury but it cleans the face and doesn't seem to leave my skin feeling dry or tight afterwards.

The product I wasn't sure I'd like was the foam cleanser, but I gave it a go anyway and I as expected, it's a tiny bit too drying on my skin. It doesn't contain any sodium laryth/lareth sulphate and it isn't particularly foaming on the skin but it just left my skin feel a teeny bit tight.

My favourite product from the range is by far the SPF 15 day cream. It's light and scent-less and is just enough moisture for my skin so it doesn't feel heavy and it works fine under makeup. I'd normally use a day cream and a separate SPF but for days where I'm in a hurry but need that SPF protection this is great.

All in all? A slightly hit-and-miss range, but for the price-point, I'd say it's probably worth a try.

SFP For Dummies

As a fully-fledged member of the paley-and-proud club, it might be unsurprising to hear that I am an absolute SFP fanatic. My sun-worshipping mother seems to question where she went wrong with me every summer when she finds me in the garden, reading a book, under a towel... Sorry mum! But the good thing about being an SPF freak? Getting to know what formula's you really get on with, and since the weather in the UK is looking pretty nice lately, I figured I'd dedicate a post to my not-so-secret obsession. Here's 3 of my must-have SPF formulations.

The first SPF I apply on a summers morning is my facial SPF. My current favourite facial SPF is the Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense SPF 50 PA+++ UVA (long name there) which, despite the name, does provide the user with UVA and UVB broad-spectrum protection against the suns rays. It's a super light formula that you can use alone or on top of a regular moisturiser and it doesn't have any weird smells/colours to it. Being the super pale girl I am (seriously, the back of my hand is essentially the same colour as the white tube the product comes in) I can't really comment on whether any of these products leave a white cast as a white cast never shows up on my skin, but with the light feeling of this product, I can't imagine it would. If the Kiehl's is out of your budget, try the Piz Buin Allergy Face Cream, it's SPF 50+ (so, again, very high protection) and while it's a little heavier and greasier on the skin than the Kiehl's, it's at least half the price and still sits well under makeup.

For my body I like to double up on the SPF. When I'm getting ready to leave the house, I'll apply a generous amount of Riemann P20 Once A Day Sun Protection to all of the parts of my body that may be exposed to the sun during the day. It's a watery oil-y texture that can feel a little film-y on the skin when first applied and does take a good few minutes to sink in (so i'd apply this, do my skincare while it dries and then get dressed) and it's waterproof, sweatproof etc and will stay on all day. You can get it in a whole load of factors so I usually get a low-medium 20 and then a high-very high 50 to cover my bases and switch out depending on the levels of sun exposure. I like this because it's waterproof, so on holidays if I'm in the pool or whatever I still have some protection at all times. Although I'd never rely on a "Once a day" formula completely.

The thing with SPF is that it multiples the time that you can spend in the sun without getting burnt naturally by the factor you're using. This means that if you get burnt in 10 minutes, an SPF of 20 would mean it would take 200 minutes, so 3 hours and 20 minutes of sun-time. This in mind I like to take something to reapply throughout the day with me so I don't end up looking like a beetroot. For my on-the-go SPF I love dry oils like the Calypso Dry Oil Clear Protection, they're easy to apply and because they're a clear oil, they never leave a white cast on the skin, meaning you can layer them up without worrying. The Calypso one smells lovely too (like coconuts and holidays) and it's super cheap in most places too.