Superdrug/ Simply Pure/Oil Balancing Serum

I've only recently started using a serum as part of my daily skincare routine and I do think it's a great product as it really does make skin feel incredibly soft, the only problem I find with serums is that seem to be quite pricey for a small amount of product.

So imagine my joy when I found a whole range of serums for the purse pleasing price of £3.99 in Superdrug!

There were 4 to choose from in their 'Simply Pure' range and I opted for the oil balancing version, which is specifically for combination skin.

 

The serum is in a pump dispenser bottle in the typical combination skin colours of white and green, its quite simple packaging but to be perfectly honest this doesn't matter too much to me, the nicest packaging doesn't always mean the product is the best!

 

At 50ml its quite small and compact so it would fit nicely in a toiletries bag if you're off on holiday or having a weekend away.

 

As with most products aimed at combination skin the serum contains Witch Hazel but there is also a surprising addition of Willow, which I don't think I've ever seen in a skincare product before? Especially not a budget one!

 

It's also, oil free, fragrance free and paraben free (a must these days in the world of beauty!)

 

The serum itself is a slightly thicker consistency to the one I've used previously, but its dead easy to apply and blends and soaks into skin well

 

In fact a couple of minutes after applying the serum I'm fine to pop my moisturiser over the top as its already settled into my skin.

 

Although it is fragrance free it does have what I'd call a natural scent about it (anyone who's used tea tree or witch hazel based products in the past will know exactly what I mean!) but its not overpowering in the slightest and I actually find it quite refreshing.

 

Its certainly helped with my oily t-zone, it doesn't seem as bad and make-up certainly seems to be staying put!

 

I would happily purchase this serum again, in fact I'm keen to see how this holds up in warmer months when the sun plays havoc with my skin!

 

Have you tried any of the other products within the Simply Pure range?

 

 

Kimberley x



Benefit - The POREfessional

WARNING: This is a photo heavy post!!!

 

 

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Benefit and my make - up bag is home to a lot of their products.

 

Porefessional was something that I was keen to try but even though I'm a big fan of their products for some reason I just couldn't bring my self to spend £23.50 on a 22ml bottle of primer.

 

 

After a bit of searching around, I found this one being sold for £10, as it was the old packaging so I decided to bite the bullet and give it a whirl.

 

 

 

 

In typical Benefit style the packaging is cute, quirky and a little bit vintage, I'd actually been using the product for about a week before I realised that there was a 'door' on the front of the box that opens to reveal some text.

 

 



 

 

The product itself is housed within a long and thin squeezy tube, but enough about the packaging, is it any good? 

 

I started using primer probably about a year and a half ago, so far I've tried No7, Rimmel and Nivea, I suffer from combination skin so I do find that using a primer before applying my make up enables my make up to last a little bit longer through the day without needing quite so many powder touch ups.

 

Now, I think it's important to mention that Porefessional is actually a balm, rather than a primer.

 

On the packaging itself it is introduced as a 'pro balm to minimize the appearance of pores'

 

It is also 'oil free, lightweight, translucent and silky'

 

 

 

Although Porefessional isn't a primer I was still surprised to see that it was coloured and I was worried this would be too dark for me as I thought it looked a bit like a liquid foundation.

Instructions are simple enough:

To use under make-up:

Apply to moisturised skin to help make-up stay put.

Focus on problem areas and blend well with fingertips.

 

 

Interestingly enough it can also be used over make-up,

 

 

To use over make-up pat on lightly over make-up and blend.



Once applied though it does blend into the skin tone pretty well, considering that I'm quite pale!

As promised it is lightweight and does have a silky feel but I wouldn't exactly call it translucent!

It also claims to be oil free, while it doesn't feel oily on my skin, I can feel it there but it doesn't feel like its clogging my skin either.

Now it's probably worth noting that I don't have massive pores, I do have pores which are visible but they are pretty small, nevertheless I was intrigued to see whether this would actually cover them.

 

 

For reference this is my skin before make - up, as you can see I've got a smattering of small pores on my t-zone.

 

 

 

 

This is after applying Porefessional after moisturising.

 

 



 

 

This is after applying make-up, I think it does make my make-up look and feel smooth but I don't think it completely covers my pores, so if someone with large pores was thinking of trying this to cover their pores then I'd probably advise them otherwise.

 

While it is quite nice I don't think it lives up to the hype, and sadly for me, I feel quite underwhelmed by this product and if I was to repurchase I would certainly begrudge paying full price for this.

 

 

Has anyone else tried this product?

 

x



New Year, New Nails!

I can't believe this is my first post of 2013! Better late than never eh?


So what better way to kick off a new year of blogging than with a glimpse of the nails that I've been rocking over the festive period,

 

 

Okay, so technically these weren't 2013 nails as this was what I had on over Christmas but I loved it that much that I just wanted to share it.

 

 

I'm a big fan of red in the winter and I love anything glittery so I plumped for 17 'Ruby Slippers' and 17 'Shimmy Shake' nail polish on my ring finger.

 

 

I already had a collection of nail gems so I stuck a few red ones on the bottom of my accent nail for a bit of a different look.

 

 

 

 

 





These were my nails the first week of January, as you can see I'm still carrying on the glitter theme but after wearing red for the best part of a month I decided to wear something completely different and went for grey.

I find that grey is a good neutral Winter colour and not quite as harsh as black, I painted the glitter tips in a diagonal style rather than the typical 'french mani'

This look was created using Barry M 'grey' as the base coat and Rimmel 'Diamond Dust' for the glitter tips.


I got some new nail varnishes for Christmas so keep your eyes peeled for some new posts coming soon! :) x