The products that have 'saved' my skin

I've been getting more and more into skincare recently, any post that pops up on my Bloglovin feed that is about moisturisers, toners and summer skincare I've been there! Since the start of the year I've been trying to get my skin into a better place. It's never been totally horrendous but there have been times where every time I woke up there was a new spot that took FOREVER to leave. So after researching various products and giving my skincare a bit of a shakeup I'm finally in a place where I'm happy with things! So I thought I'd share the products which I feel have helped my skin get to where it is in a big way.

Let's start off with the product that got the ball rolling, a serious serum. I've been using The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane for the past three months and it's been doing wonders for my dehydrated skin.  I think that having a product that gets right down into the skin and hydrate the heck out of it. I use this every night after I've taken my makeup off and put some eye cream on. I leave it in to sink in for a couple of hours (it's quite thick and oily so needs a long time to sink in) and then go in with some moisturiser for an extra moisture boost.

Mask wise there are two that I think are essential for me to keep my skin in check. The first is the Epoch Glacial Mud Mask, something that works wonders when I'm having a bit of a moment and can feel a load of spots coming. It does a great job at pulling all the badness out but not sucking my skin of all life and moisture. I try to use this once a week, especially when I feel a bit meh. It can be a bit messy but it definitely gets the job done and is the best detoxifying type mask I've tried. On the other end of the mask scale is the Glossier Moisturising Moon Mask. This thick cream is so intensely moisturising that you can feel it working for the 20 minutes it's on. If my skin is textured then this is my go-to. Together these are the dream team and can combat pretty much any issue I'm having.

Last but not least is the Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen. Despite hearing "wearing an SPF daily is super important" I've never really paid attention to that (slaps wrist). BUT I do think that this has made a massive difference to my skin because since I've been using it my face has been pretty good. It's so lightweight and now I'm in the routine of putting it on everyday, it doesn't feel like a chore. As I said, I think this has made a big difference to the way my skin is acting nowadays and I will now continue to wear SPF everyday, promise!

What are you go-to skincare products?

I didn't need to spend this money | Beauty Bay haul

I can't stop buying beauty products. It's becoming a problem and I need serious help for it. There's no way I'd spend £50 on an item of clothing but I have zero issues with spending that on Beauty Bay - and that's exactly what I've done! I've shopped from Beauty Bay before and they have a great way to get you to spend more money! Great service (ordered it at 10pm on Friday and it arrived at 12pm on Saturday) and tonnes of brands to choose from.

Here's a run down of everything I got:

St Tropez Self Tan Express Starter Kit: This is such a good buy! I got this last year when I first dipped my toes in the tanning pool. It was £8 (on special offer from £12 I think) and you get a mini of the Express Tan, a moisturiser, a scrub and a tanning mitt. The little bottle was great for me, I think I had about ten applications of this over the course of the summer for various outings and special occasions which I think is great for the price. I was expecting to only have a couple of gos at it but it's just the gift that keeps on giving. The scrub is pretty good and does the job and same with the moisturiser. If you don't go ham with your tan and just need something to get you through the summer I would definitely recommend this.

Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops: Such a hyped brand and, in my mind, a bit of a pricy product for what it is. These little tanning drops are to mix with your moisturiser to tan up anything that needs a bit of glow and I got these to use on my face. I've just used this the once so I'll report back when I've given it more of a test and it seemed to work okay. I only used two drops because I was terrified that it was going to turn my face bright orange and be streaky. It didn't give my face much colour (probably because I didn't use enough) but it was just giving me more of a glow.

The Ordinary Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil: I've used an Ordinary oil for the past three months and it's been doing wonderful things for my skin. I fancied trying the rose one this time around because the reviews said it was good for redness and scarring - something I'm in need of. So affordable and hopefully it works for me.

The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors + HA: I hadn't planned on getting this moisturiser but my Body Shop Drops of Youth one was coming to an end and I thought I might as well pick one up whilst I was shopping. This was such good value for money - just over £6 for 100 ml, margin! I haven't had chance to give it much of a road test but so far, so good. Thick and hydrating but not greasy, ticks all the boxes.

If I spent over £50 I got free next day delivery so I picked up the Jordana Contour Stick. I haven't really heard of this brand before but I've wanted to try a contour stick for a while and I was only £4. We'll see how it works! I also got the Yes to Cucumbers Super Eye Mask. Again, I haven't tried it yet but if I end up loving it I'm sure I'll mention it at some point.

What beauty products have you picked up recently?

My evening skincare routine

Welcome to part two of my skincare routine - the evening edition. I love nothing more than getting home from work, taking off my makeup and spending time doing my skincare routine. I have a little box that I keep it in so that in the evening I can easily get it and take it downstairs and chill out, watching tele whilst I spread creams and serums all over my face. For reference, my skin is oily but also dehydrated so my aim is to moisturise but not create grease.

After taking my makeup off with my cleansers and micellar water (read all about my cleansing routine here) I sit down and spray my face with the Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Mist to the point where my face is soaking wet. I love the stuff, I feel like it revitalises my skin and gets it ready for the rest of my products. Five minutes later, after leaving the spray to sink it, I give my under eyes a bit of TLC. I've been using the Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream which does a good job at moisturising under my eyes - I just press it in, do a few taps and wipe the excess on my brow bone. A quick bit of the Glossier Mint Balm Dotcom on my lips and we're onto what I'd class as the main event!

At the end of last year, I didn't use a serum and I didn't really have any interest in getting one, but honestly it's transformed my skin. It gets down deep in my skin and pumps it full of moisture that it definitely needs, something that the moisturisers I was previously using on their own just couldn't do. My serum of choice at the minute is The Ordinary 100% Plant Derived Squalane and it's very much an oil. Although it takes a while to sink in (about an hour to sink in enough to put a moisturiser on top) I love giving it time to work its magic. On days when I need a bit moreof a moisture boost (which is most days) I go in with the Body Shop Drop of Youth Moisturiser. It does a good job, and although I'm not totally attached to it, this is my third tub so I must quite like it!

And last but not least, hand cream. I'm not attached to any specific hand cream but I have been enjoying the Soap and Glory Hand Food in the Sugar Crush scent. The PERFECT summer scent and rounds off an evening pamper quite nicely.

Do you enjoy spending time on your skincare routine?

Dipping my feet in The Ordinary pool

I've been meaning to try out something from The Ordinary for a fair few months and recently I bit the bullet when I was looking for a new serum to test out. I'm very new to the world of oils and serums so I have no idea what I'm looking for, but I took to Beauty Bay and read all of the reviews for all of the oils and serums on offer to gage what might be the best for my skin. I always thought I had oily skin but other the last six months or so I've realised that although that might be true, my skin is also pretty dehydrated and I need products that hydrate my skin deep down but don't make it greasy. So, back to my purchase. After looking at all of the oils and serums from The Ordinary, I went for the 100% Plant-Derived Squaline. Warning: I have no idea what ingredient it is, what it's supposed to do and if it would be any good for everyone, but here's how it's worked on my skin.

When I first used it I was very surprised at how much of an oil it was. As I said, I have no idea what it is so I didn't know what to expect but I thought it was going to be more of a water than an oil. That being said, when I apply it to my skin (I use about four drops all over my face and down my neck) I can feel my face drinking it up. I usually apply this a couple of hours before my moisturiser to give it enough of a chance to sink in. It seems like a long time but I've noticed a major difference in my skin by doing that. Packaging wise it's in a standard 30ml bottle with a pipet (pipet? Is that right?) and a screw top lid. The only problem I've found with this is that the lid doesn't screw back on properly but seeing as though I have a spare mini bottle which I can use when I travel (not that I travel very often!) so it's not really much of an issue.

All in all this is a cracking oil/serum. For £5.50 it's an absolute steal and if you have dehydrated skin and are looking for something to plump it up I couldn't recommend it enough!