Product Review - Korres Cleansing Face Mask

Whilst doing a little payday shopping, I decided to look for a face mask. My skin has been unfriendly as of late and in desperate need of a little soothing. I found this little number on feelunique.com.

It's a Pomegranate Cleansing Face Mask by a Greek brand called Korres, which I've never encountered before, but am pretty sure I'll have a further peek at what goodies they produce. The masks come in a range, for all different skin types, but I picked up the one for my oily skin, and it completely surpassed all my expectations, which was a fantastic surprise!

It's made with clay and pomegranate and smells really delicate when applied, so if you don't like a lot of fragrance in your face masks, this would be good for you.

I used a tiny amount and can easily cover my whole face with it, you could probably get a good few uses out of it. The consistency is really creamy as well which I love in a face mask. What I was most taken by though is the finish it leaves on the skin. I have okay skin as far as things go, apart from it being oily, so it's rare that I see a significant difference after using a face mask, but this made my skin look and feel really fresh, and evened out some slight discolouration around my brow bone, which was greatly appreciated.

Pros:
- Cute simple packaging
- Creamy consistency
- Delicate scent
- Bright fresh look left on skin

Cons:
- Could do with more product in the tube (but hey, when isn't this a con?)

Verdict:
Will definitely re purchase!

You can buy the Korres Face Mask here. RRP £7.00/16ml

P.S. They do some nice sets which be fabulous for festival season!

Sherry x

Anti Blemish Week #4 - Covering the buggers up

Whilst we're all so ready to preach on how to get rid of blemishes, it really doesn't help whilst we have them on our face. So follow my easy step guide to covering up the cheeky blighters flawlessly!

But firstly, the big question; before or after?
In all honesty, it doesn't matter when you apply your concealer, whether it's before or after your foundation, personally I like to apply mine after, because then I can see what spots are still showing through, it it ends up with me using a lot less product than I would have otherwise.

So without a doubt, applying cover up like a pro:

1. Put your base on. Foundation, BB Cream, or just a bit of moisturiser. Whatever you use on a day to day basis as your face base.

2. Pick your poison. Here you have to choose your concealer, go for a thicker one like Benefit's Boi-ing, Mac's Studio Finish Concealer or Clinique's Even Better Concealer.

3. Next you'll want to apply the concealer in a patting motion. This prevents it rubbing back off on to your fingers - N.B. Applying the concealer with your finger helps to warm the product up, but make sure they're clean!

4. Setting. Pick a loose translucent powder. I say translucent, you can use a tinted one if you want, but translucent ones are less likely to make the skin look cakey. Brush powder lightly over the top. Wait five minutes, then set once more. This second setting will make sure the make up stays put.

So, songbirds. Go forth and apply make up like you were born to do it!

Sherry x

Anti Blemish Week #3 - Eat Your Way To Clean Skin

I'm a bit under the weather today, I have a horrific cold and a bout of reoccurring ulcers on my tongue which I cannot shake. I've also just started a new diet which is boring me to death, because I've got to limit everything, agh. So I've decided that if I talk to you about food instead, then it'll satisfy my cravings.

In all honesty, the best thing you can do for yourself and your skin, is to improve your diet. The more you look after your body on the inside, the better it'll be on the outside. 

So here's some foods that you can include in your every day diet which you can drink in teas, pop in salads or just eat for dinner.

Teas
Nettles - Anti inflammatory
Peppermint - Aids digestion, which often causes spots on chin
Fennel - Anti inflammatory and antioxidant
To pop in your salad
Beetroot - Vitamin A and E, essential for epidermal health and healing
Red Grapes - Anti Inflammatory
Acai Berries - Antioxidants
Fennel - Anti inflammatory and antioxidant
Tofu - Rich in iron, good for the blood flow
Tomatoes - aids collegen production
Avocado - Moisturising and anti inflammatory
Kale - contains all of your daily nutrients
For dinners
Brown rice - keeps blood sugar levels balanced
Garlic - Bacteria killer
Broccoli - A real super food, anti oxidant, anti inflammatory, and full of fatty acids to help heal the skin
Egg yolks - Full of skin clearing selenium, zinc and protein
Salmon - Full of omega 3's, good for healing.

A lot of studies show that dairy products increase the likelihood of getting spots, so try replacing your milk with oat milk and cutting down on cheese.

And then of course we come to the tips that everyone knows, but no one ever seems to stick to:
-Drink water
-Get your vitamin D
-Exercise
These, more than anything with clear your skin up and increase your confidence, which, more than anything will help you.
So make sure you get some of these down you, you'll be doing yourself a favour.
Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to curl up with a hot water bottle and a lempsip, and watch Monday's Skins.

Tarah x

Anti Blemish Week #2 - Tried and Tested Products

As the second part of anti blemish week, I'm going to share with you some of the products I absolutely know and love and think are absolutely fantastic for blemish prone skin. 

You'll see that quite a few of them are from Lush, now I am in no way a hippy dippy natural product enthusiast, but I do believe that Lush Cosmetics have a good ethic. I christmas temped with them a couple of years ago and trialled a whole load of products, and I found that they actually worked, so I wanted to share some of the gems with you.

N.B Remember, you can try all of the Lush products before buying! Just pop in to the store and ask for a sample, that way you know you'll love it!

Up first is are the Lush Cosmetics Fresh Face Masks:

Now if you haven't seen these before, basically they're a mix of fruit and natural clays and essential oils, all blended up and kept in pots on ice in the store. There are two I would particularly recommend for blemish prone skin, firstly Cupcake which is great for younger, oily skins. It contains cocoa powder, peppermint extract and rhassoul mud which work really well together to absorb grease and cleanse the skin, fighting away any bacteria. And it smells absolutely divine, which is always a plus.

The next one I would recommend is Cosmetic Warrior, which is for real spotty skin. It's a garlic face mask, which sounds like the worst thing in the world to put on your face, but it smells very clean, of honey and grapes and tea tree oil, rather than garlic. I also occasionally use this on my back if I ever get a couple of spots there.

You can get them from the Lush website, or in store. They're £5.95 a pot, and you can get 6-7 uses out of them which I think is pretty good. You have to store them in the fridge, so when you apply them on your face they're nice and cooling, brilliant for summer.

Face washes:

Lush Cosmetics Angels on Bare Skin £6.25/100g 

This is a slightly strange face wash, and a bit of a novelty in the bath room. It comes in a pot in the form of what feels like putty, you break a small bit off and mix it in the palm of your hand with a bit of water to form a paste, then wash your face with it. I'm assuming they do it like this so you can get more product in the tub? Which is fine by me, as this is a go to face wash of mine, I've used it for five years and I still love it. It's slightly granula so exfoliates without being too scrubby, and is so gentle on my sensitive skin. It smells nice and fresh, but my absolute favourite thing about it, is that it makes my skin brighter, which I rarely get from products. Again you can get this from the Lush website or in store.

St Ives Apricot Blemish Control Face Scrub £3.99/150ml 

I sometimes get a bit of congestion around my chin, but I can use this for two days and it's cleared up. This is a great scrub for those who like to exfoliate on a daily basis, it's slightly more granula that I would personally use on a daily basis, but it's fantastic for when your skin's looking a bit lacklustre. St Ives is a Swiss company, and the Swiss always seem to have bright clear skin, so obviously they know what they're doing with this. You can buy it from Superdrug or Boots - link.

Body wash:

OxeDerm Anti Blemish Body Wash £9.97/100ml 

This is the only body wash I will use for blemishes, especially in summer time. I used to use Mud Flats soap from Lush, which is the best body/face product I've ever used, but they discontinued it. Boo. So this is a bit of a replacement. For a small bottle it's a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way, especially if you use a shower puff, it foams up beautifully as well. It contains salicylic acid which speedily clears up spots, and with regular use prevents them! Unfortunately you can only buy it from Amazon, but since it's free delivery that's not too much of a burden. They also sell a spray which has a few good reviews. 

Moisturisers:

Lush Cosmetics Vanishing Cream Moisturiser £17.50/45g 

Without a doubt, this is the best decision I ever made for my skin care routine. Admittedly, the price tag is huge, but the product lasts me for a good 2 - 3 months, and when I love a product this much I feel like I can justify it. It's a 'low fat' moisturiser, which doesn't clog up the pores and skins in to the skin easily, making a perfect base for make up without the need for primer. It has witch hazel, lavender and rose oils in it as well to help cleanse and balance the skin. It's an absolutely beautiful product. - link.

I hope some of you find this helpful, and if you have any particular products you use to rid yourselves of those pesky blemishes, share them below!

Anti Blemish Week - Aspirin and Honey Face Masks

Pinch punch, first of the month!
Today is the official start day of anti blemish week on Sherry Darling's Things. Since it's summer time, we're all looking for ways to spruce up our skin, making it just a tad more pleasing to look at before we dare to bare all.
Yesterday I talked about Seventeen's new On The Spot Foundation which I'm trialling to see if it makes a difference, preventing spots. I just wanted to say, I really love the foundation, I've only used it twice but it wears really well with good build-able coverage.
I also mentioned Aspirin face masks, and ladies and gents - if there are gents, you're in for a treat because that's what I'm going to talk to you about today!
You can give yourself a whole body make over from your kitchen cupboards, which you probably already knew.
This is one of my absolute favourite face masks to make when my skin feels like it needs some TLC, but it's a bit too late in the month for me to splurge on a face mask.
Aspirin and Honey Face Mask:
2 Aspirin
1 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Sugar (Optional)
1. If you have a pestle and mortar ground up the aspirin until it makes a powder. If you don't have a pestle and mortar, use something else, ha. I tend to use the end of a rolling pin and grind it into a small bowl - this works just as well.
2. Add the honey and lemon juice and mix it all together.
3. If you want this face mask to be a little scrubby, add some granulated sugar to it.
4. Slather the mixture all over your face, make double the amount if you want to cover your neck as well, leave for 10-15 minutes.
5. Wash off with warm water and a cloth.
N.B This mask doesn't dry out, so just wash it off when you've had enough.
The aspirin and the lemon juice work together to clear your pores of any bacteria, and the honey ensures your skin stays comfortable and moisturised.
It's a great mask which you can slather all over if you get chest or back spots.
Keep that summer skin coming!

Benefit's Triple Performing Facial Emulsion - Oil Free SPF 15

I'm undecided about how to review this product. I received this free after picking up the 'Tropicoral' set, which I LOVE and will review as soon as I can. Anywho, this came in the cutest packaging, it was a sample size, so the bottle was a miniature version of the big one, which makes it oh so endearing. Like when they used to do those really tiny bottles of cola, and looking at them filled me with warm fuzzies, this bottle is similar. However the actual moisturiser is a pain to get out. Well not so much yet, but I can imagine that when the product is close to running out, you'll be banging this bottle on the palm of your hand until it's sore. So cute packaging, but not so practical.

The moisturiser though, I am really really fond of. My skin oozes oil all day every day, and I look like a swamp monster within hours of putting make up on. I cleanse with Clinique's three step formula, number three for oily skin, and this works in perfect combination with it, when I want a change from the moisturising gel. Also, it smells divine.

The finish on it is a matte finish, but it makes me skin feel so healthy and glowy that I'd consider not using a primer if I were to put make up on, which is a nice change for summer.

However, it leaves a bitter lingering taste around my lips, which is bizarre to encounter after moisturising.

I would without a doubt purchase this again, awkward bottle and all, if it weren't for the price tag, a hefty £20.50 for 50ml.

So maybe, one day, if I ever make it as an actress, they'll send me it free.

You can buy Triple Performing Facial Emulsion here.

Review: Emma Hardie Professional Facial Starter Kit

What better way to start off a blog than with a review of my favourite new things.

N.B This is a lengthy post - so scroll down if you're just looking for a review of a specific item!

If you're a fan of Pixiwoo or Caroline Hirons at BeautyMouth, you may have heard them talk about their love for the Morninga Cleansing Balm which they both rave about. After reading a couple of reviews I thought I'd bite the bullet and purchase – with my ever depleting bank account – the starter kit, which includes the Morninga Cleansing Balm, along with Rosehip Exfoliation Seeds, AM/PM Hydrating and Firming Treatment Moisturiser, Firming Eye Serum and a Dual Action Buff and Polish Cleansing Cloth, which, and not to rain on your parade, is pretty much a glorified flannel.
But I was super excited anyway because I always use my hands to wash my face, and haven't used a flannel since I was six.
They also kindly gave me some Lifting and Firming Face Cream for all of my wrinkles – which unfortunately I have none, so I can't really review that – and a flannel headband, so my hair doesn't get sticky.
 On first appearance these are beautifully packaged in tiny little frosted pots with gold accents, which make me feel very elegant and christmassy. But most of all, they smell fantastic.
I opened the box to a beautiful waft of lemongrass and some kind of delicious floral scent, that made me want to empty the lot in to my bath and wallow around in it until my skin went pruney.
However, I refrained, and decided to savour the lot for a skin treat.

Really quickly I want to give you an overview of the brand because I really like what's happening there. Firstly, it's a British brand – yay! - and whilst I have nothing against American skin care brands, they can be a pain to get hold of in the UK because we're a bit behind the times over here. I paid for standard delivery (3-5 days) and they came the next day, so I'm not complaining in the slightest.

Emma Hardie founded her brand back in 1996 with a new facial technique, creating products that focused on rejuvenation of skin. Since then, she's led workshops all over the world, and is sought after by people everywhere. Her brand won the Beauty Insiders 'Best New Brand - Prestige' award in 2011.
Evidently this woman knows what she's talking about, and is up there in the cream of the crop when it comes to skincare, so I really wanted to try some of the products.

 Firstly the AM/PM Morninga Cleansing Balm: 

 I was intrigued by this as I usually use a facewash to rid my pores of the days make up and grime, so using a balm made me feel very exotic and grown up. And I have to say, I really love it. My skin is way too oily to use this both AM and PM, so I just stick to evening, but it's defitinetely thanking me for it.
The set comes with a little leaflet as well, describing facial massage techniques, which although time consuming would be lovely for a Sunday when you're giving your skin a break and a bit of TLC. The balm goes on like a slightly tighter lotion texture – if that makes any sense, it smells very fresh and zingy and the scent lingers delicately afterwards so that my face smells yummy. I apply it all over with my fingers, give a quick rub starting from my nose working outwards, a little goes a very long way in this case, then take the product over the eyes to get rid of any eye make up, which is does well considering I only wear waterproof eye make up.
Then rinse it off using a towel, or, if you're fancy, a double action buffing and polishing cleansing cloth.
My skin doesn't feel dry at all after using it, just comfortable and healthy. So if you've got dry skin, this would work wonders, since there's no soap in it, and you can layer up with the moisturiser afterwards.

 Exfoliating Rosehip Seeds: 

 I'll admit, this was a novelty, never before have I used an exfoliator which I had to create myself, and I did spend a good five minutes considering what was the best way to go about doing this. I didn't want to scoop out a lump of Morninga Cleansing Balm and mix the two on my hand incase I didn't use it all. So I rubbed the balm over my face first, then tipped a little of the seeds in to my palm, and mixed them with the cleansing balm on my face.
The result was better than I had expected. My go to scrub is St Ives, because the grains are sandy rather than beady, and this was a similar texture. And with this, I feel like I could go back to exfoliating once or twice a week rather than every day.

 AM/PM Hydrating and Firming Moisturiser: 

 As soon as I touched this I knew it was going to be too heavy for my skin. As an oily chick, I need something super light or in a gel formula and this is very rich. Not to discard it though, I used it on my elbows and knees before fake tanning and it moisturised them well.
I would probably recommend this for someone with a dryer skin, as with the rest of the products in this set though, it smells fantastic.

 Firming Eye Serum: 

 Not to lie, I am new to eye make up removers, eye treatments and creams, because well, I'm a little lazy when it comes to skin care. I got a tester of the Benefit Brightening Eye Cream, which was good and noticeably made my eyes look brighter. Similarly, I did notice a different with this Emma Hardie product, after applying it morning and evening for two weeks, the underneath of my eye is definitely firmer and my bags less prominent when smiling, which is always good. I pat this on all round my eye, and down on to my cheekbone, adding more as needed. I especially like the serum consistency, I find it smooths the skin out, making a good base to put make up over.

 Out of all of these, I think the Morninga Cleansing Balm would be my favourite, and once I run out, I'll probably save up and re purchase – the full size retails at £34.00, but is industrial sized and would last forever. My other thought is that these products were designed with a slightly more mature skin in mind than my twenty year old plump face, but I'll definitely keep this brand in mind when choosing future skin care.

 You can purchase the full range at feelunique.co.uk  or the Emma Hardie website.