Today I decided to go for a quite different post. I usually myself take little interest in beauty products but I decided that I can’t keep on only publishing posts where I complain about life. I don’t think that will get me far.

So I just submitted half of my dissertation, which is really exciting but also refreshing to finally have a moment to think about something else than uni. And since it’s the new year I kind of felt like writing a post which is very new for me and unlike anything else that I post.

I decided to go for beauty products for a couple of reasons:

1. I get a lot of questions about this and as I’m very bad at remembering names of the products I use (or even caring much about them) I thought it would be easier for everyone if they will just be here in one place
2. I kind of embarked on this cruelty-free journey some time ago, which still for me is a process, where I learn and educate myself about everything). And I kind of thought that everything would be so much easier if someone would have given me a guide to like a starter pack of cruelty free skincare products. So I thought it would be nice/useful for some of you who are in the same situation as me, to create a post like this.
3. I really felt like taking some cute photos of my new Glossier stuff haha

Just an FYI: I currently use much more products than the ones shown here, mostly stuff I got as gifts from brands some time ago etc. unfortunately these products are not cruelty-free so I didn’t want to show them to you. I’m the kind of person that hates wasting things (I’m one of these crazy people that will get really mad, if you were to buy a plastic bag while grocery shopping), so naturally even though I would never buy these products, I believe it’s just better to finish them + I’m saving loads of money (which I don’t have anyways).

perfume

After having trouble finding cruelty-free perfume I just kind of went and made my own. I kind of went for it because I didn’t have many other choices, but it turned out be a really fun experience. I loved realising what were the scents that I like, and then combing them to create a smell supposedly perfect for me. The scent that I created is very fresh, with hints of green tea, white flowers, black currant, cucumber, basil and other funky stuff that atm I can’t remember. In the end I love the smell however there’s one thing that I can’t identify that slightly annoys me in it.

As a reference my favourite perfume ever is the Marc Jacobs – Cucumber which I’m using very sparsely as it’s so precious to me and unfortunately not cruelty free. If you know any perfume brands which are cruelty free, let me know down below.

cleansers

GLOSSIER – milky jelly cleanser

This is my newest purchase which unfortunately disappointed me. I think this is one of the most talked Glossier products ever but I didn’t find it that special. However, despite this I still enjoy using it as it has a very pleasant texture and doesn’t irritate my skin. I must admit that at first I hated this product, but the more I use it, the more I like it.

PRO’s – the jelly like texture

CON’s –  a very unoriginal smell & the price

 

BURT’S BEES – cleansing oil

My all time favourite drugstore product. Bought it by complete accident, and it was kind of an experiment as I never associated Burt’s Bees with anything else than chap sticks. I never used an oil cleanser before therefore it was hard to get used to the texture, but honestly this is the best fucking thing ever you can put on your face. It has coconut & argan oils and also removes makeup.

PRO’s – the smell & texture + it moisturizes your skin without giving you breakouts

CON’s –  if you’re very clumsy like me, this product can get your hair greasy + get’s used up very fast

 

skincare

GLOSSIER – super pure serum

I think that’s my favourite Glossier product. It’s very much overpriced but guys just look at the bottle… AMAZING. I was a bit sceptical about trying this as it’s a regular zinc and niacinamide serum, which is widely available, but after reading reviews it felt like a good choice. So I have been using it for more than a week now after insanely breaking out from stress, exhaustion, not eating or drinking enough (the typical busy life stuff), and it didn’t work for two or three days but after that everything suddenly calmed down. No new breakouts, older stuff started healing and I was simply amazed. This is a product I would stop using as soon as the problems disappear but because my period is about to start soon (yay fun times), I’ll keep on using it just as a precaution.

PRO’s – super cute packaging and the fact it works well

CON’s – the price

 

BOOTS BOTANICS – facial oil

Another oil favourite. It’s very delicate on my skin and I love to use it especially after removing large amounts of makeup. It moisturises very well but doesn’t get too sticky.

PRO’s – super moisturizing and doesn’t give me break outs

CON’s – not very efficient

 

concealers

TARTE –shape tape

These concealers were also an experiment. I have major under eye circles, which legit are so dark that people think it’s eyeshadow. If that wasn’t enough, this area is super sensitive to any allergies and irritations, so I often get flaky and dry skin (usually from product that are too strong for my skin or if I’ll eat something that I’m not supposed to). But I saw a lot of people online recommending this concealer so I ordered two colours, in hope of returning one. Unfortunately, when they arrived, both colours were a bit off.

However, I decided to keep the paler tone “light sand” for my under eyes and the darker one “light neutral” for the rest of my face. In the end I’m happy about this because I often use these concealers instead of my foundation for a more natural look and two shades allow me to contour a bit. They have a very nice creamy texture and even with my huge under eye circles, I just need a small amount of the product to cover everything.

PRO’s – very moisturizing and after even a full day of wearing only minimally creases under eyes

CON’s – the price + I can’t find an exact colour that matches my skin tone

foundation

NYX – HD foundation

I was in love with this foundation for the first week I was using it as it felt much lighter than my previous ones. I was specifically looking for a very light foundation which wouldn’t necessarily cover anything but only even out some scars and red spots, and this kind of did the job. In general, it blends in nicely however, after some time I found that this foundation doesn’t adapt well to my skin colour (I got the Vanilla shade). I have days when I look weirdly tanned, and then days when I’m extremely pale, and even light layers of this foundation don’t adapt to these changes. So overall it’s an amazing product if I happen to use it on a day that my skin colour matches the foundation.

PRO’s – it’s quite affordable and the texture isn’t too heavy, therefore feels very fresh on skin

CON’s – the non adapting colour issue and also I feel as if it’s not a very efficient product

 

brows

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS – brow definer in soft brown

This is a product that I use almost each single day and keep rebuying it. I originally found it because I was looking for a replacement of my Benefit pencil (which works in the same way because of the triangular pencil). Overall I’m very happy with it but I much more preferred the Benefit pencil as it was much softer and easier too use. I wish it wasn’t this hard on my skin, as sometimes (especially when it get’s cold and my heating doesn’t work haha), I have to press really hard on my brows to get any colour.

PRO’s – it’s quite affordable, easy and fast to use + they have a crazy amount of colours so I found the exact one I had from Benefit

CON’s – only the fact that the pencil get’s a bit too hard sometimes

 

 

primer

GLOSSIER – priming moisturizer

Ok so this product is not amazing. But I was looking for an alternative for my Mac mineralised lotion or my Maybelline babyskin primer. Both of these products were amazing and worked wonders on my skin. So of course since everyone said Glossier was amazing, I tried the Glossier primer. It’s not extremely bad but I don’t feel as if it’s moisturising well enough. It also doesn’t have this texture which is often specific to primers, it feels more like a regular cream. Anyways I’ll finish this product but I won’t be buying it again.

PRO’s – very efficient and light on skin

CON’s – the price, lack of an interesting texture and doesn’t moisturize enough

 

highliter

SLEEK – Cleopatra’s Kiss & Solstice

Let me just that these are the best fucking highlighters ever. Firstly, because this is a drugstore product (aka it’s super cheap), they are super efficient and make you glow like a fucking queen. Solstice was my first palette and the tones are very fairy like, which match all my pinker/feminine outfits. I also later got Cleopatra’s Kiss as the tones are more mature & natural, and looked amazing during the summer with my tan. Both of these are so much better than the Glossier haloscope which I absolutely can’t use because it smudges everything.

PRO’s – the price + stay on forever and the glow will blind anyone who looks at you

CON’s – the palette has creamy highlighters which I never use as I find they don’t work as well and just make me sticky

 

THE END

PS. I got a -10% code for Glossier from my last purchase if you’d like to use it xx http://bff.glossier.com/hn_rv