6 New Things In My Beauty Routine

Affiliate links are marked with [*] and gifted items marked with [gifted].

Like many of us, I've taken the time to focus more of my energy on my skincare and beauty regime(s). With more makeup-free days than ever before, my skincare has become a top priority and something that I look forward to doing daily in both the mornings and at nighttime. I've also been focusing more on other aspects that I usually ignore or don't fuss over such as my hair and body care too. These are 6 of the latest things I've tried that I wanted to share with you.

*links below are affiliate links

1. *Lipocils Expert Eyelash Gel, Talika [gifted]

I finally opened this up after decluttering my beauty drawers a couple of weeks ago (I filmed my full beauty declutter which you can watch here!) I took some photos of my eyelashes on the first day I tried this to track my progress so I may go into more detail about this in a blog post in the future if you're interested in my experience.

The reason I was particularly keen to give this a go is because I've noticed my eyelashes, particularly on my left eye, are very weak at the moment and often fall out when I curl my lashes which is an integral part of my makeup routine. So as I've been wearing much less makeup at the moment, I've been trying to strengthen my eyelashes and Lipocils boasts conditioning, repigmentation and curl for your eyelashes so it does sound pretty amazing!

2. *Silk Epil 9 Skinspa Epilator, Braun [gifted]

Admittedly, I wasn't really sure about epilators and how to use them but I had this one sitting in my bathroom and decided to give it a go (as I was getting a bit bored of being hairy in lockdown but couldn't quite bare the efforts of shaving my entire body) Epilating is somewhat similar to waxing in that the hairs are pulled from the root but it's easier to get done by yourself at home with this handy little device and it's able to pull out much shorter hairs than waxing.

I'm still very new to epilating so I can't provide lots of tips or tricks but I'm getting to grips with using my epilator on a weekly basis for now, as recommended to get yourself used to it. I've been using mine dry and I won't lie, the first time I tried it was SO painful. I did my legs first which was ok but then I moved onto my underarms which hurt so much! I would say my underarm hairs are thicker from more frequent shaving and generally speaking, I find my underarms are quite sensitive even when waxing. I'm hoping that by the time we're out of lockdown and able to spend more time outside responsibly, I will only need to use this every few weeks (3-4 weeks) and I'll get accustomed to how it feels.

3. *The Thick Trick Volumizing Styling Foam, Cake [gifted]

When it comes to haircare, I'm lazy. My hair is naturally very straight and it isn't dyed so it doesn't require much upkeep to be honest. Usually, I wash my hair and then blow dry it - that's the extent of my hair routine. However, I've been trying out more products recently and I've been really enjoying The Thick Trick by Cake. Firstly, this smells amazing and secondly, I've actually noticed a difference using this!

I use about 3-5 pumps (which is way more than the recommended pea sized amount) on my damp hair after the shower and then I rough blow dry as normal. It doesn't feel too heavy or sticky at all in my hair and I've noticed some added volume in my roots which is always good as with naturally straight hair, usually comes pretty flat hair too.

4. *Australian Emu Apple Dreamy Glow Drops Serum, Sand & Sky [gifted]

I've really struggled with serums and oils over the past few weeks as every new product I've tried hasn't really worked for me for one reason or another so I've been testing out a few including the Sand & Sky Australian Emu Apple range which I instantly loved. After shaking to activate, I pop a few drops onto my face and pat into my skin. I wake up with super glowy skin which is exactly what I'm after!

5. *Clear Purifying Clay Mask, Paula's Choice [gifted]

I've been struggling quite a bit with my skin recently which has been annoying as it seems like everyone around me's skin is thriving with the additional no makeup days. Mine is not. I've had recurrent breakouts on my chin which I wouldn't say is abnormal - my chin is the area I mostly suffer with - but it's been pretty bad for the past few weeks. I started using the Purifying Clay Mask by Paula's Choice and whilst I haven't noticed a huge change just yet, I really love how this feels on my skin so I'm hoping to see some results soon!

6. *Bio Oil [gifted]

Following on from the above, my chin has become a problem area due to the frequent breakouts and I've been left with quite a lot of scarring as a result. We all know Bio Oil is one of those wonder products that helps with scarring so I've just recently incorporated this into my routine. 

I'm trying to use this twice daily on my chin to reduce scarring and although I have forgotten a few times, I'm hoping I will eventually start to see a difference. I'm awful at sticking with products long enough to see results but I know I need to.