Wednesday 21 August 2013

Olay Essentials Complete Care Sensitive Beauty Fluid

My mum is in her 50's (Let's hope she doesn't read this and slap me for putting that on the internet!) and her skin is amazing. No spots, minimal wrinkles and is always looking hydrated and taken care of. Her secret? Water and Olay. No scrubs, cleansers or toners .. just one product (Or two, if you count eye makeup remover).

Being a beauty blogger testing a number of products is a given, which obviously doesn't do my skin a world of good. I've written countless routine posts, but I fail to mention that i'm also trying out a new blush, powder or facial wash every other day to search for the next best thing - queue the irritation.
With that being said, I knew there was no better time than the present to have a skincare detox.




Olay is a multi-award winning skincare brand dating back to the 1950's, specialising in beauty creams for all ages and skin types.
I chose the Essentials Complete Care Sensitive beauty fluid, due to its light consistency that will provide no irritation to my sensitive skin. Containing delicate aloe vera, it also comes with added SPF15 and skin-softening vitamins B3 & E and Pro-vitamin B5. You simply apply after your morning wash, although i've been using it in the evening as well.

It's been a month since I ditched my cleanser, toner and serum and so far i'm seeing excellent results. My skin feels rejuvinated and my spots are at an all-time minimum. My skin isn't oily in the morning and its reduced redness around my T-zone. It's refreshing to use a single product, which makes it a lot less taxing getting ready for bed when you've had a long day. I understand that ditching a heavy skincare routine isn't for everybody,  so this product is designed to come after a cleanser, but for me it was just a bit too much for my skin at this point to use multiple products.

Olay is simple, straight to the point and delivers excellent results, all at the reasonable price of £3.99. Why bother with overally expensive exotic creams when such a monumental brand gives you everything you need for under £5. Sometimes you need to strip your skincare back to basics to give it a break and Olay helps me do just that - and I have a feeling that's all i'm going to need from now on.

You can purchase Olay Essentials Complete Care beauty fluid for £3.99 at your local Boots counter or online here.

Friday 9 August 2013

Need help matching a foundation? Try Findation!

Ever wanted to buy a foundation online but didn't want to take the plunge without testing first?
Yeah, me too. As addicted I am to online shopping I don't trust the swatch pictures and I certainly don't trust the airbrush faces modelling the products. But when a sale is on and there's only limited stock left, wouldn't like to be assured that the product will match my skin?

Findation is a website that allows you to see what shade of foundation you're matched to by simply inputting your existing foundation shades. By adding all of your current foundations it uses an algorithm (Don't ask me what it is, I have no idea!) to reveal your shade in hundreds of both high-street and designer brands.


You start by searching for the existing brands out of the hundreds listed, followed by selecting the right product and shade - the more products you register the more accurate the search will be.


With the added advantage of thumbnail images it makes the search easier, and even includes some discontinued products if it's been a while since you've updated your foundation.


From there you're presented with a lists of 'recommended matches', which you can filter if there are certain brands you aren't keen on buying. Each product comes with a detailed description of its finish, ingredients and stockist. There's also an option to share your list with friends on Facebook or Twitter, and save your matches to look back on later.


It's incredibly detailed and includes every brand I can possibly think of and more! When testing it with my existing foundations, I found that the majority of the matches were correct - though some made me out to be a darker shade than I know I am (I always need the palest foundation shade in everything!) .. but overall it produced good matches. There are some tips in order to produce the best results - such as not relying on an accurate result for a heavy foundation if you only input BB Cream shades - so be sure to use them to make sure you get the right shade. This is perfect if you want to speed up the process of testing the products in store, or if you just can't be bothered to visit the counter at all!

Findation is an informative catalogue of brands that makes shopping for foundation online so much easier and i'm now definitely more inclined to try out new brands without the added fear of it being too dark on my pastey skin.

Click here to visit Findation and find your matches today!