So these are the products that I have really enjoyed using this last month, 2 skincare and 2 makeup, seems about the right balance to me.
Bioderma Hydrabio Creme - I first heard about this moisturiser on Caroline Hirons blog bought and thought it was a bit rich for my oily skin and put it away. It was not an expensive mistake, I think I bought mine during one of the "1/3 off French Pharmacy" promotions which Escentual do every few months or so and it was less than £10 but generally it is around the £15 for 50mls. However as the autumn/winter progressed nothing seemed to touch my rather sensitive, weather beaten skin, but this did.
There is no scent to my nose, the texture is sort of bouncy thick, a bit like butter icing, importantly for me, it does spread but it doesn't disappear. I use it as a day moisturiser and am really liking it. Ruth (amodelrecommends) likes it too.
Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Pressed Powder - Again another product which I bought and didn't like initially and now am delighting in. I have oily skin and feel as if much of my life has been spent trying to erase the shine, pressed powder has played a considerable role in this. Trouble is that I am not someone who touches up their makeup during the day, I just am not that bothered really, or I forget, and now as my skin is older, I can easily look over powdered. This is very fine textured. I have the shade "white" which is more of a worn out faded white tee shirt white than a brilliant dulux white, and it is really very good. I apply with a brush and sort of stipple/press it on rather than use the supplied puff.
Pai Rosehip Bioregenerate Oil - My skin really has suffered over this winter, thread veins and red patches more frequent, dehydration more prevalent, spots more frequent, sensitivity heightened. I have used rosehip oil and Pai's rosehip oil in the past, but I found the scent a bit much and other facial oils with rosehip oil as an added ingredient rather than the only ingredient took precedence. However in the face (ha!) of increased sensitivity I went back to this and have found that it, I was going to say "soothed" but that would be untrue because this is quite a dry oil on my skin, and sinks in quite quickly, a more accurate word would be "repaired" - I found that my skin looked better after a couple of days use and was more tolerant of other products. I use it immediately post pm cleanse, wait a bit, then apply any other serums and oils, and then reapply before I go to bed. Maybe overkill? But currently it is working for me.
Zoeva 110 Face Shape Brush - Lisa Eldridge uses this brush regularly in her videos. I bought it purely on her endorsement, and promptly realised that I am not Lisa Eldridge, it just didn't work for me, I put it away. I always apply my foundation/TM with my fingers and whilst I can see the sense of stippling product in with a brush to cover redness or open pores, I tend to use a flat concealer brush for that. But I persisted and I find that as a sort of finishing brush, to blur the edges and make sure everything is blended evenly, this works very well. A bonus is that it washes quickly and well, and is quite robust.
