Hits & Misses | August 2020

Hi guys,

It is time for my August Hits & Misses, and when writing this post, I realised I haven’t written a Hits & Misses post since March. 😲 It doesn’t feel like it’s been a few months since I did a H&M post.  It’s also hard to believe that I’m writing my August H&M’s, where has the year gone!? It’s been the quickest few months, IMO.

There are quite a few products I want to talk about, mostly skincare and there are quite a few misses unfortunately.  My skin is quite reactive lately (due to one product), so I am mostly sticking to products I know work for me, but don’t cause any irritation or adverse reactions.

My skincare has been fairly minimal too, mainly because I have finished up pretty much everything I had and although I’ve bought a few bits, I haven’t cracked into all of them yet.  I’m trying to finish up products before opening new ones… which isn’t easy. 😂

Because I’ve been wearing makeup a little more due to appointments, I’ve been really loving my HomeMedics Blossom Mini Silicone Facial Cleansing Tool.  I always double cleanse, always.  I like to use a cream cleanser, balm or oil first to break down my makeup (if I’ve been wearing it) and I remove it with a soft washcloth.  I then go in with my Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel or a balm or oil and use this to give my skin a deep cleanse. 

This really helps to dislodge any makeup so I can ensure that my skin is thoroughly cleansed and all traces of makeup and grime have been removed.  It’s extremely gentle and doesn’t take long to do, plus I ensure that my skin is thoroughly clean and there’s nothing left behind.  I got this in TK Maxx ages ago for around €10 I believe.

There are two body moisturisers that I have been using as hand moisturisers (as well as on my body) and they have been fantastic at keeping my hands soft and moisturised and prevented them from becoming super dry due to all the extra hand sanitiser and hand washing and they are the CeraVe Moisturising Cream (not pictured) and the Scottish Fine Soaps Company Sea Kelp Body Butter.

SFSC Sea Kelp butter is quite a light consistency, very like the CeraVe cream and the two mixed together really moisturise my hands.  The Sea Kelp Butter is too light on its own which is why I like to mix it with something else so I can use it.  It has a gorgeous smell and because the CeraVe cream is unscented it’s nice to have some scent from the two mixed together.  I only use a small amount of each and my hands are adequately moisturised and aren’t greasy or sticky.  I used them on my body as well as using them as hand creams.

There are two SPF’s I’ve been thoroughly enjoying as of late and they are the Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Anti-Dust Sun Gel and La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+.  The LRP sunscreen is a gorgeous SPF to use.  It feels just like a moisturiser, doesn’t have that typical sunscreen smell or feeling.  It layered well on top of my other skincare and didn’t pill at all.  I liked how light it felt on my skin too.  Sometimes I find SPF products can feel heavy or greasy, but this didn’t.

Dr. Ceuracle’s Cica Regen Anti-Dust Sun Gel is quite honestly probably the nicest sunscreen I have ever used — and I’ve used a lot of them throughout the years, but this beats them all hands down.  It’s a gel consistency as the name suggests, it comes out light blue, but is transparent on the skin.  This is beautiful and despite being a sunscreen it works really well as a moisturiser and primer I’ve found.  It is extremely lightweight; you can barely feel it on the skin. 

It makes my skin feel moisturised even if I haven’t applied a moisturiser underneath it and my foundations have applied beautifully over it both with and without a primer.  I really haven’t found any primers to make a difference unless they are pore filling or illuminating/glowy.  This doesn’t have a sunscreen scent, there is a scent to it, but it is not strong or overpowering, it is barely noticeable.  This is one I will definitely be repurchasing. 

I posted about the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream on my Instagram (here), and in that post I mentioned that as it doesn’t have any anti-aging properties and is purely a hydrating cream, it needs to be layered with another cream for anti-aging and I’ve been layering it with the Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream, which I am using a mini of. 

I can’t speak for any anti-aging properties of the Shiseido cream as I haven’t been using it long enough, however it is a gorgeous cream to use.  It’s very lightweight, absorbs easily and layers well with the Bobbi cream and also The Ordinary Caffeine Solution.  The three of these together are working really well for me right now.  I know three eye products is a lot and not exactly necessary, but taking care of my skin is hugely important to me and if that means three eye products, so be it. 

I have been relying heavily on both the Avène Tolérance Extrême Mask & the Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume for soothing and moisturising my skin due to it being so reactive and sensitive.  I’ve been using them both so much that I have almost finished the Avène mask and I have finished up multiple minis/samples of it and I will 100% be purchasing the full size. 

These two together have been amazing at soothing, calming and moisturising my skin.  They’ve had their work cut out for them and have done everything I needed them to do, and more!  The Avène mask is something I’ve loved for a long, long time, it is an incredible mask for soothing skin.  It is one of the most soothing and best face masks I’ve ever used and it is something I will always have in my stash as you just don’t know when you’ll need it! 

The Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume is something that is new to me (I’m pretty sure anyway), and I adore it.  It’s a very lightweight but deeply moisturising.  It has a similar consistency to Tatcha’s Water Cream (reviewed here).  It feels so comfortable on my skin and this combined with a hydrating serum are perfect for adding plenty of hydration to dry skin. 

I’ve been favouring my Primark PS….Blush in the shade ‘In The Pink’.  These blushers are fabulous.  They are very pigmented so a light hand is needed otherwise you can very easily achieve the Bosco look.  I have three shades and adore them all, plus, I got them on sale for 50cent each.  A complete steal for that price. 

I love this as a topper for my Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in the shade Pale Pink.  Pale Pink is much more muted and not near as bright as In The Pink is and so it’s perfect for applying over Pale Pink as it tones down the brightness slightly.  I have a full review of the Primark blushes here and Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouge here.

You may know from previous posts that I have an extremely sensitive (and reactive) scalp and a while back I picked up a new shampoo and it irritated my scalp no end.  The irritation was so awful that I ended up ordering the Philip Kingsley Flaky/Itchy Scalp Shampoo from Look Fantastic as a last resort and I can safely say this is without a doubt the best shampoo for a sensitive and reactive scalp.  This has been incredible for my scalp, for soothing it and lessening the sensitivity I have been experiencing with it.

I use it in conjunction with my OGX Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo, these two shampoos are working amazingly well for me.  The OGX shampoo leaves my hair feeling so clean but not stripped.  My hair is soft and shiny too.  This combination is working really well for me right now and while the Philip Kingsley shampoo is expensive, it’s worth it for me for how well it works for me. 

There are quite a few misses, most are from Drunk Elephant.  Their Babyfacial, B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum (not pictured) and Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil are the three DE products that I didn’t get on with.  Their B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum and Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil did nothing, absolutely nothing to my skin. 

I had a couple of minis/samples of each to use so I was able to use them over a few weeks (almost two months) and I didn’t notice any difference to my skin.  Their Babyfacial caused my skin to become extremely sensitive and reactive, which it wasn’t before.  My skin was almost mildly sensitive, but nothing compared to how it is now. 

Whenever I used this, the tops of my cheek bones were red, stingy, sore and they also felt warm for two days after I used this.  It really sensitised them and when I used it a second time (a few weeks later) it did the same thing, but it also sensitised the rest of my skin too.  I used it as directed and had done a patch test first without any negative reaction, so I was surprised when I had the reaction that I did.

I wouldn’t use this again and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.  Thankfully the sensitivity and reactiveness is starting to ease, but it will be quite a while before it is fully eased, assuming it does fully ease that is. 

There are two Lactic Acid’s that I’ve been using (well, until I used the DE Babyfacial) and neither of them worked for me.  They are The Inkey List’s Lactic Acid and Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Lactic Acid.  In the past I have used The Ordinary’s Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% and found it wonderful for instant results. 

It was so gentle but so effective and caused no issues.  It was so light on the skin and once absorbed, my skin felt slightly hydrated (thanks to the Hyaluronic in it) but there was no tingling, stinging etc. yet the following morning my skin was baby soft and looked radiant. 

The Inkey List and Sunday Riley Lactic Acid’s did nothing for my skin at all.  There was no exfoliation, no smoothness, no anything.  They are a stark contrast to The Ordinary’s Lactic Acid which worked from the get-go.  I had several minis/samples of Sunday Riley’s to use so I got a good idea of how they didn’t work for my skin and it wasn’t a case of needing a few weeks use to see a difference. 

The Inkey List’s I had been using for a few weeks also and again, there was no difference.  It was so inexpensive so it’s not a big deal, but The Ordinary’s is inexpensive too and works far better.  Sunday Riley’s is quite expensive I wouldn’t repurchase either or recommend them.

Charles Worthington’s Moisture Seal Shampoo is the shampoo that caused my scalp to react as it did. I used the leave-in conditioner from this range for years and loved it and I never had any issues with it, but the shampoo was a whole other story and ended up costing me a lot more as I needed to purchase the Philip Kingsley shampoo, which was almost €30. If you have a normal, non-sensitive and non-reactive scalp, this could be a good moisturising shampoo for you, but if your scalp is sensitive and reactive, I’d avoid it.

De Mammiel Botanique’s Dewy Facial Mist (not pictured) is something I had gotten in a Mintd box ages ago and had forgotten about, so finally started using it this year and while I loved the mist, I didn’t like the scent and I didn’t like how it felt on my skin. I felt it didn’t absorb fully and sat on top of my skin. I loved the mist though, it was extremely fine, it was without a doubt the finest mist I have ever used, it was just the product I didn’t like. If it had a different scent, I amy have liked it, but it smelled strongly of essential oils, which I wasn’t a fan of. Perhaps if it was milder I may have been okay with it.

No7 Intense Volume Mascara is one I thought I had used previously and liked so picked it up again but either I confused it with another mascara and hadn’t tred it or else it was and perhaps the formula and wand had changed, but this did nothing for my lashes. My lashes didn’t even look like there was mascara on them. I wouldn’t repurchase this, although there are some other No7 mascaras which are good.

Superdrug’s Solait Sport Lotion SPF30 2-in-1 Face Lotion & Lip Balm is one that I got for free with an order and I was excited to try it because it’s a 2-in-1 and it’s affordable. This for me was a huge miss. It pilled terribly on me. It pilled when I used it in conjunction with my regular products, with new products and even when I used it alone with nothing over or under it. Every time I used it I ended up having to take everything off and start from scratch because I couldn’t deal with it. When I tried to remove the little white bits, it ended up creating more. It did the same on my lips so I just gave up and ended up binning it.  

I probably shouldn’t include the Yes To Primrose Lip Oil because it was so cheap (€1.49) but it is a disappointment, so I will include it.  I’ve been on the hunt for an affordable lip oil and when I saw this in Mr Price, I figured it was worth a try and it was, but for me, it doesn’t do anything.  It absorbs pretty quickly, which I don’t mind, but it absorbs so much that it doesn’t feel like I had applied anything to my lips at all.  My lips literally didn’t feel or look any different.  It was cheap, but it’s not something that I’d repurchase personally.

That rounds my August Hits & Misses.  Phew! There were quite a few more products to write about than I realised until I sat down and started writing this post.  Hopefully my next one will be shorter. 😂 If there are any products you been enjoying or that you didn’t like/didn’t work for you, let me know, I would love to hear from you. 

Thank you for reading, until next time, take care xx

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