Skin Brightening Products

We all want to know the secret behind bright, healthy looking skin and whilst I can't promise to offer you a complexion that resembles Zoella's, I can offer you some tips and recommendations to help you on your way. From creams to highlighters, there are plenty of products out there that claim to aid you in your efforts to brighter skin but I've chosen some of my favourites to share with you all today. 

To start your morning, use Soap & Glory's Face Massage Mini Mitt. You can either use it on it's own or with a cleanser/face wash. I like to use it with my regular face scrub (Superdrug's Deep Action Daily Scrub). The instructions tell you to massage upwards in circular motions to help stimulate the skin and helps increase blood/oxygen flow to help your skin look brighter.

The next step in my routine is to use the Origins Ginzing Energy Boosting Moisturiser as well as the Origins Ginzing Eye Cream which claims to brighten and de-puff. The moisturiser is lovely - it smells so good and feels really refreshing on the skin. Again, massage into the skin in circular motions. The eye cream, well, I can't talk highly enough about it! You can see results as soon as you put it on and its pearlescent quality means it works a treat if you have dark circles under your eyes (i.e me, always.) You can read my full review of it here.

Makeup-wise, the B. Illuminating Serum is amazing for brightening up your complexion. If that's the sole purpose for using it, put it on without any foundation and it'll give you a lovely looking healthy glow. If you can't part with your foundation, use the Illuminating Serum as a base and work your foundation over the top which will still give you a glow, just more subtle.

If you want to go one step further in brightening your eyes, a little white eyeliner in the corners of your eyes or along your waterline helps to brighten their appearance. I use the Rimmel Soft Kohl Eye Liner because it is just that, soft. So it's good to use on your eye where the skin is a bit more fragile.

What are your favourite products to help brighten your complexion?

Review: Beauty UK Baked Blush 'Halo'

When you're having a good skin day, especially in summer, a good blusher can be the icing on top of a very lovely looking cake (i.e your face.) I'm sorry, that was terrible. Your face looks nothing like a cake. But the point is that the Baked Blush from Beauty UK is perfect for the summer months and lately it's been my go-to beauty staple for when the sun is shining.

Beauty UK claim that this blusher captures 'sun-baked summer bliss' and 'healthy, holiday-glow skin'. I can vouch for all of these claims. It's shimmery enough to add a lovely highlight but not too shimmery so that your face looks like a disco ball. One sweep over the product with your blusher brush is enough to pick up (probably more than enough) product. I always dab my brush on the back of my hand just to get rid of any excess and then sweep across my cheekbones. It gives a lovely, healthy pink colour and highlights in a subtle but noticable way. I've had a few compliments about how healthy my complexion looks when I've been wearing this product and I never get compliments on my complexion.

The only thing I don't like is the packaging. It's so big and bulky for a product that takes up hardly any of the space inside. Plus it's a cardboard, magnetic box so it never feels secure in my makeup bag. If I was travelling long-haul with it I'd probably tie an elastic band around it just to keep it together. But on the plus side it does come with a mirror. Handy.

It only costs £3.99 so it's a complete steal. You can get it from the Beauty UK website and it comes in four different shades. It used to be sold in Superdrug but they're no longer available to buy on the website but it might be worth popping into a shop if you're out and about to see if they stock it!

What's your favourite highlighting blusher?

Nude Nails: Lottie London 'Hit Refresh'

I have a bit of aversion to the colour red in the makeup/nails department. I can't really pull off a red lip (although it doesn't stop me trying) and it turns out I can't rock a red nail polish either. Who knew? I much prefer nude nails on an everyday basis because I think they just look cleaner, much more subtle and you can wear them with anything. So over the next few weeks I'm going to share my favourite nude nail polish shades starting with my favourite: Lottie London 'Hit Refresh.'

I jumped on the Lottie London bandwagon as soon as the range was released because the range looked different from anything else on the high street. You can read about my initial picks here. When I was planning my graduation outfit I knew I wanted to wear a nude nail so I had a browse through Lottie London's huge 60 piece nail polish collection and landed on this one. I think it's the perfect barely there shade and it is all I've been wearing lately. Well, aside from the red nail disaster from earlier in the week. But let's forget about that one.

The Lottie London nail polishes are such good quality too. I have real trouble making a nail polish last more than 24 hours without chipping but I got away with this one for a couple of days before I started noticing any chipping. And with a nude polish you can sort of get away with a few chips on the tips as it's not bright enough to be truly obvious. And at £5.99 a bottle you can't really go wrong.

Have you tried this nail polish or any others from Lottie London?

Battle of the Hand Creams

A good hand cream is essential in any woman's handbag. Somehow over the past year or so mine have accumulated massively (I blame half of that on my Superdrug discount... Sometimes temptation is just too much! I mean, I really needed all the new release mascaras and hand creams, right?) So today I'm sharing with you some of my favourites!

Boots Botanics All Bright Hand Cream

This is one of the best in terms of value. You get 75ml of product for £2.89 and it comes in a really sturdy tube so it's pretty handbag-proof too. The product itself is lightweight, has a light cream-like smell but nothing overpowering and it is most definitely fast absorbing so it's a good one for those who quickly want rid of that greasy feeling. The only claim that I'm not sold on is the brightening qualities but I'll probably go on living just fine without it.

Superdrug Hand Therapy 2 in 1 Hand & Nail Cream

This one is probably my favourite of the bunch just because it works so well at strengthening my nails and making them look super healthy. Like the Botanics one, the product is lightweight and soaks in pretty quickly. I always spent a bit of extra time with this one massaging it into my nails and by that time the product has soaked in everywhere else. This one is really good value for money at £1.49 for 75ml (if you click the link don't worry about the packaging, the product is still the same).

The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry Hand Cream

This one wins by a long shot on the scent-front. Unfortunately the Frosted Cranberry was limited edition at Christmas but The Body Shop still do a good range which you can check out here (I've got my eyes on the satsuma one). I can't fault the product here either, it's a bit thicker than the others and it feels really luxurious but at £3.50 for 30ml, I'd expect something a bit higher quality. My issue with this is the packaging. If it gets abused by anything heavy at the bottom of my handbag it tends to squeeze the product so when I take off the lid the product just seeps out. What a waste! But oh my, the smell...

Nivea Smooth Nourishing Hand Cream
This is a more heavy duty product for dry hand-related emergencies. It's a thick cream (with a very heavy cream smell) but works well to give a more intense treatment. I bought this one because it was just a handy handbag size which cost £1.50 for 30ml. I like it but don't love it. It's probably my least favourite of the four but for the sake of convenience and nourishment, it gets a spot.

What are your favourite hand creams?