[…] If you want to hear some more about the products I was using, make sure to check out a couple of my last posts about Upping My Skincare Game and Update On My Acne Scarring Pre-Wedding. […]

It’s feels good to have a post ready to roll this week after missing my usual Friday evening post, so apologies for my needing some time to look after Gaby and wedding prep – we’re under 3 weeks away now and shit is getting REAL!
A while back I wrote a post about upping my skincare routine where I shared some new bits I’d introduced to my skincare routine to improve my skin in readiness for our wedding. My skin had a lot of acne scarring after a bad bout of adult acne during a stressful time last year and I was hating it.
Anyway, I’m back to talk about the progress I’ve made since then and a couple of changes I’ve made to my routine since then!
New Additions
L’Oréal Pure Clay Brightening Mask
I can’t give much more than my initial impressions as this is really new into my routine and I’ve only used it once, however I really enjoyed using this mask – it smelt very zesty, tingled on my skin (not in an “OH MY GOD I’M BURNING ALIVE” kind of tingle, just an “Ooh, this feels like it might be doing something” kind of tingle) and my skin felt refreshed after using it. I decided to apply this on my cheeks, nose and forehead, whilst applying the anti-blemish clay mask on my acne prone areas. So far so good!
Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Radiance Balm
This was one product I purchased the old fashioned way – not after hearing anything amazing about it or being influenced by one of my fave blogger friends; just having a mooch through Superdrug when I needed to re-purchase a moisturiser!
It smells AMAZING – I’m not very good at describing smells, but Aaron always thinks I’ve just come out of the bath after applying it (which isn’t always the case 😉) and it’s very nourishing. I wouldn’t say it’s done amazing things for my skin, but I have cut out the use of my foundation on an everyday basis since I started using it (I’m a concealer, setting powder, bronzer and mascara kinda gal right now – saves me a lot of time in the morning and I’m trying not to clog up my skin too much before the wedding). Whether it’s down to this moisturiser or everything else I’ve been doing, I can’t tell; but I’ve enjoyed using it!
Formula 10.0.6 Picture Perfect Day Moisturiser with SPF 15, Guava + Vitamin C
Another moisturiser I hadn’t heard of before mooching around on ASOS trying to find a moisturiser that had SPF in it (it’s so hard to find a good SPF!) and on first impressions, the SPF works well! I’ve only used this once when the weather really improved over the bank holiday weekend; Aaron and I popped out for a pub lunch in the beer garden, did some last minute wedding shopping and went to his parents house to let their little pooch Jake out (I bloody adore this dog) and sit in the garden for a while.
SIDE-NOTE: Aaron pointed out that Jake had his lipstick out in this photo AFTER I’d uploaded it to Instagram – I’m all about keeping it real 😂
Anyway, my skin didn’t burn, didn’t look rosy and I had a natural “just woke up like this” glow after a day in the sunshine. Impressed so far!
The Ordinary EUK 134 0.1% Serum
I picked up this serum during my first ever shop with Beauty Baywhilst picking up the Jeffree Star liquid lipstick that I featured in wedding makeup trial post – I’d been looking for something that could help my skin look more vibrant with less scarring, so was intrigued by the sound of this one and also loved that you could filter products by the kind of skin you have or are experiencing.
I fucked it up the first time I tried it out; it’s oil-based and doesn’t mix well if you apply a water based product after using it (I’d usually apply all of my serums first before plastering on the moisturiser) so it was very oily and took ages to sink in properly – I didn’t read the packaging of my moisturiser to check if it was water based first, rooky mistake! Luckily I’d applied it at night and by the morning my skin felt great, but I did now know how to try it out the following morning.
One thing I’d say about this product is it’s best to only use it at night, unless you’ve got a load of time for it to sink in before you apply your makeup in the morning.
Overall, it’s really brought my skin back to life and continued to improve the scarring on my cheeks – definitely recommend giving it a go!
Continued Use
Simple Replenishing Moisturiser
I stick to using this one at night since I’ve been using a day cream, but this does the job well! Nothing fancy, just Simple 😉
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2%
This has been great for clearing up any breakouts I’ve had and it’s definitely staying put – my spots don’t hang around half as long as when I wasn’t using it!
L’Oréal Pure Clay Blemish Rescue Mask
I love this still and it’s lasted me really well – I tend to use this once a week on a Sunday when I have a little pamper before work the next day, it smells lovely, doesn’t irritate my skin and calms down any harsh bastard spots that might have crept up over the weekend!
L’Oréal Fine Flowers Gel Cream Wash
I love this face wash, it’s so gentle, doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin and keeps my skin feeling clear – firm favourite that’s here to stay!
In the bin
The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% Serum
I loved this serum, but was absolutely gutted when ASOS gradually stopped stocking The Ordinary (possibly because The Ordinary were struggling with keeping their stock replenished at the time – I had a look on their website and there was a long delay for getting hold of this serum) so once I ran out of this initial bottle, I didn’t end up replacing it. I’d still highly recommend this as it worked wonders on my skin, but I needed something to continue using!
Before & After
Now it’s all well and good me telling you how great my skin’s been, but it’s better to actually SEE the progress right?
Well, here are a few before and after snaps from my last post to today;
How typical is it that I break out with the biggest spot on my chin the day I choose to take photos for this post?! 😂
Let me know what you think in the comments below, for now I’m going to go and enjoy the rest of this beautiful bank holiday!
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Your skin looks so glowy and healthy, I’m going to need some of this in my life! I’ve been struggling with breakouts and scarring a lot recently so we definitely have similar skin types and I’ve been trying to find a good moisturiser with SPF in. I’m always getting told that I don’t realise just how important it is so I need to really!! Love how honest your reviews are, I really want to try that The Ordinary arbutin but that’s crap that it was out of stock. I might still try and find it anyway as I’m needing a miracle for my face right now!
Alice Xx
http://www.blacktulipbeauty.co.uk
Ahh deffo have a look for it – Beauty Bay might be a better bet! And thank you lovely, I’ve got a couple of beasts on my face right now, but glad the rest of it’s a lot better than it was 😂 xxx
I really want to try at least one of the L’Oreal face mask’s! I also want to try a couple of bits from The Ordinary xo
Char | http://www.charslittleblog.co.uk
Ahh they’re lovely and so gentle considering they’re quite fragrant! Xx
Great post Gabs! Looks like these products are definitely helping! xx
Thanks lovely – I think they are! Xx
The before and after is amazing, there’s definitely such a difference! I love the Superdrug own skincare, especially the Naturally Radiant stuff – so much cheaper than other skincare and it does a bloody amazing job. Your skin is absolutely glowing! I really wanna try The Ordinary stuff, I need to have a proper look to figure out what everything does. I’d love to know if there’s any products you’ve used that didn’t work for you at all, that would be so interesting! x
Alice | http://www.accordingtoalicex.com
Oooh thanks for a good post idea!! I’m sure I’ve got loads of stuff I haven’t liked thrown in a drawer somewhere! And deffo recommend having a look at the Ordinary – it’s a bit of a task figuring out what everything does, but deffo worth it! Xx