The Beauty Products I've Been Trying

Recently I've had quite a few new additions into my beauty box that I've been testing out, a few of which I've totally fallen in love with. I'm someone who always likes to try new brands, new products and new routines so you can guarantee my drawers are full of make-up, skincare and haircare products that I'm in the midst of trying so I thought I'd share some of my new recent favs with you.

SKINCARE

Last week it was #NationalMudPackDay (yup, that's actually a thing and I am totally here for that) and HQ Hair sent me a PUR Dirty Girl Mudd Mask over to celebrate it. I absolutely love face packs. There's nothing quite like getting your pyjamas on on a Saturday night, ordering a takeaway and truly pampering yourself with a face mask - it's literally one of my favourite things to do. This one is perfect for my skin which is combination and being honest, it's very temperamental. Recently it's been quite dull and dehydrated but I've still been getting a few huge under the skin spots (and we all know how awful they can be) and basically, it's just needed a total refresh. 

The PUR Mud Mask contains salicylic acid which is great for combatting spots and it's actually quite a gentle mask so I don't feel like it's dried my skin out at all. It's one of those masks that leaves you feeling completely chilled out and rejuvenated and as it's quite a thick mask, I love how it left my skin feeling. I'd actually never heard of the brand before but like I said I'm always looking for new brands to try out and HQ Hair have absolutely loads of PUR products I'm adding to my list!

Technically, this next one isn't "skincare" but it seems the best fit out of all the categories here and that is the Pearl Drops Pure White 3 Step Whitening Treatment. I actually normally use the Pearl Drops tooth paste so I was looking forward to seeing if this would deliver but I haven't included a photo of my teeth here because I'm a little bit self-conscious of them if I'm being totally honest so please forgive me but this has been great for my teeth. My teeth have been a little bit dull since I had braces as a teenager and as I can't afford to get them professionally whitened, I depend on home whitening kits. This one was different to any I've used before with no palette or light - instead, you simply apply the Brush On Brightening Serum for 30 seconds, apply the Activator Serum for 30 seconds, rinse and then brush with the Tooth Polish. I did this for 10 days as recommended and I definitely noticed a difference in my teeth. I wouldn't say it was a "crazy" difference or that it suddenly turned me into Rylan overnight but my teeth look naturally brighter and whiter which I love. I'm so bad with all of these tooth "shade charts" so I couldn't tell you how many shades brighter my teeth went but what I can tell you is that this definitely worked for me. It comes in at £24.99 which I think is really good for a whitening treatment too! 

MAKE-UP

So no biggie but KAT VON D IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UK!!!! I picked up some of her liquid lipsticks in New York earlier in the year so I couldn't wait to try more when they finally became available here and my wish was granted in last month's Love Me Beauty box. In case you don't know, Love Me Beauty is a monthly box with a twist; you get to choose what you get in the box (or you can have a surprise if you wish!) meaning that you can get the products you want for a fraction of the price you would have ordinarily paid and praise the lord they have Kat Von D products available. My absolute favourite thing I got in this month's box is the Kat Von D Tattoo Eyeliner. I'm not normally a fan of pen eyeliners but this let's you easily create the sharpest cat eye flick you have ever seen and it stays on for hours too so I'll definitely be buying the full-size version of this. I think I've found a new fav.

*pssst* you can get 20% off Love Me Beauty (and therefore your Kat von D products!!) by using the discount code amyelizabeth20

Secondly, we have another new brand for me - Chantecaille. This is the Ultra Sun Protection Anti-Glycation Primer from HQ Hair and I cannot find the link to it on their site! Anyway, I've tried so many primers over the years and have yet to find one that I've repurchased so hopefully this is the one! I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and so far, so good! It's so different to any other primers I've used and instead of having a thick/gel consistency, it's actually very thin and I would say it was a little bit more like a moisturiser. It's such a great base for foundation and it also has an SPF of 45 so it also helps your skin out along the way, providing moisture to reduce lines. It's oil free so hasn't made my skin overly oily like a lot of these sort of products do and although I'm not too keen on the smell (personal preference, nothing to do with the actual smell!) it has been a really great primer that I think I'll continue using every day. It is a little bit on the pricey side but it has been fantastic for my skin so if it continues to do wonders for me I wouldn't hesitate to spend! 

HAIRCARE

So you'll all know by now that I'm a huge fan of the messy bedhead look. You know that look that looks like it doesn't take anything to achieve but in actual fact it can be the hardest look to achieve ever? Yeah, that. Well, I have quite natural "bedhead" hair anyway but I do need some product to kind of usher it along to stop it falling flat on me. Anything that says "beach" in the title catches my eye so the Redken Beach Envy range got my interest immediately. The conditioner is really light but adds so much texture to your hair, getting those effortless woke up like dis vibes without actually having to do too much. I haven't been using this every wash though because my hair is quite dry and this isn't a deep, nourishing conditioner so I've been using it every few washes and I love it. The Redken Beach Envy Wave Aid is what won my heart though. Spray it on, scrunch it up and leave to dry naturally or with a diffuser and that is it. This is absolutely brilliant, adding texture and a bit of oomph without coating your hair or weighing it down. Total thumbs up from me and my messy hair!

What products have you been loving recently? 

Amy x

*post contains PR samples. All words and views remain my own.