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?

Origins Face Masks

Don't you just love it when you discover a bargain because I do! The other week when I was doing my usual blog stalking session I saw that someone had bought three Origins Face Masks, a brand which I had previously not tried, for £20 instead of £50. So I was straight onto the Boots website and before I knew it they were in my basket. I couldn't wait to use them so each night for the next three nights I gave them a road test and all of them are insanely good.

Starting with the Charcoal mask this is the one that I'd heard most about. This is what I'd call a 'traditional mask' as it does the whole hardening so that you can barely move your face and you can really feel it working. It claims to draw out the badness and open the pores and it definitely does. After using this my face is left soft and in the days afterwards considerably clearer. Next up is the Overnight Mask. I was a bit weary before using this as I have oily skin and the thought of leaving something on my skin for a long time made me think it could become a little greasy. However, this is anything but. It smells fruity (big bonus) and has quite a thick consistency. When I wake up in the morning my skin feels fresh and soft and is great after a night of drinking, a real life saver. Last but not least, is the Out of Trouble 10 Minute Mask. I think that this one is my favourite as it's super thick, smells like menthol and clears my skin up like no other. It's a quick fix for when my face is going through a bit of a bad spell. I lather this onto my face and neck, leave it for, you guessed it, 10 minutes and feel the magic happen. After washing it off my skin feels soft and tight, in a good way.

I'm so glad that I bought these, they work so well! Hopefully they do my skin some good and I don't get too addicted because I don't think I could afford to buy them again at normal price.