Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Sun Shield Superfluid SPF50+

It's quite ironic that for someone that loves skincare as much as I do, that the one element I am laziest is probably the very most important - SPF. The main reason is a lot of the foundations that I use regularly contain it, but I've also had a few bad experiences with facial SPF products irritating my skin and causing breakouts. However most foundations only contain SPF 20 and some have none at all so I decided I needed to up my game - particularly as I use a lot of AHA's that make skin more susceptible to sun damage.

I considered forking out for the highly praised Keihl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defence but when once I read Lily Pebbles post about the far more affordable Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Sun Shield Superfluid I thought I'd give it a go first. Luckily for my finances, this is lovely. Less greasy than others I've tried, this super light fluid glides onto the face, creating a matte finish ready for foundation to be applied. I haven't had any problems with blemishes, irritation or noticed any impact on the wear of my foundation. I'm so pleased that I've managed to find a great product that does the job without having to spend a small fortune, especially as this is something I've been wearing most days.

As usual let me know if you've got any recommendations for me, or if you've tried this and loved it too!

February

I know its only February and definitely not spring yet, but the few beautiful days of sun have made me hopeful that some warmer weather will come our way soon! I'm such a Summer person, I love winter for the Christmas/New Year build up and then I'm 100% done. This was a hard month to find favourites for if I'm honest, as I haven't really switched up any Skincare or body products and have been keeping my Make Up pretty simple.
The thing thats definitely new is foundation, I normally love a glowy, dewy finish but I've been using the Make Up For Ever HD Foundation all month long and have been really enjoying using something more matte. I think its because my skin has been feeling quite oily recently, but I love the flawless, medium coverage this gives that is perfect for nights out or photography.
You can really see that I've been loving a matte finish this month as the next product is a Powder by Bobbi Brown. The only area I usually powder is my T Zone and the Sheer Finish Pressed Powder in Pale Yellow is the perfect shade to brighten and subtly highlight the area while helping to keep my make up in place. It does a great job at preventing any concealer creasing under my eyes or on my lid, and keeps any unwanted shine at bay.
The brush I've been using for my powder is the Real Techniques Setting Brush, its small size is great for applying just a light dusting across the nose and forehead.
As I've been keeping my base really matte, obviously I've been amping up the highlighter to get that healthy looking glow. The Soap and Glory Love at First Blush is a gorgeous highlighting blush in a rosy pink shade. I've been dusting this across my apples and up the cheekbones as a blush and highlight all in one, before sweeping a little across my forehead to warm up the whole face.
I've never really been a hand cream addict before, its one of those products for me thats nice to use but usually gets seriously neglected in my routine. I got a little set of miniature L'Occitaine hand creams as a stocking filler at Christmas and have fallen in love with the Delightful Rose scent in particular. I find the hands is the place my tan starts to fade from the fastest, but using this has been helping to prolong the colour so I think a purchase of the full size is on the cards!

The Winter Glow Givers

Winter is coming and for me I know that means saying hello to a dull, grey, ghoulish complexion. I love dewy skin all year round, I feel a glow can really make you look so much more alive, even if your wearing barely any make up. So I thought I would share some of my favourite products for helping your skin to look radiant through the colder months. Two of these products are more of a primer type thing, where as the other two I would call a typical cream highlighter formula. Though personally, I would use most of these products over or under make up. 

The first is the M.A.C Strobe Cream. This is a product which used to be talked about frequently online, but I haven't really heard anyone mention it in years. It has always remained one of my favourites, a creamy formula which feels moisturising on the skin and leaves an amazing dewy glow. This product really is a multi-tasker, you can use it under, over or mixed in to your base and it never fails to inject some life into your skin! A great cheaper alternative is Hocus Focus by Soap and Glory. Personally I find this a more subtle illuminator, which makes it great for day time. I can imagine this would look lovely on darker skins, as it has a more golden tone to the highlight. Soap and Glory products are reasonably priced and really easy to get hold of in Boots stores too. 

Next up is the NARS Multiple in Copacabana. This is a cream highlighter which is really pretty dabbed onto the tops of the cheekbones, it has a slight shimmer to it that makes it the perfect highlighter for evenings. This product is the only one out of the four that I wouldn't recommend using under your base, as you don't want any shimmer to travel to unwanted parts of your face whilst applying your foundation! 

I have repurchaced the M.A.C Cream Colour Base in Pearl so many times, it is such a perfect all round highlighter for my skin tone. I use this in so many ways... under or over my foundation, mixed with cream blushers, or even as an eye base. The formula is creamy and easily blended, and I find the end finish I get much more natural than a powder highlight.