Author: Sarah Fynn

Hello there and welcome to my blog! My name is Sarah Fynn and I am the creator of this blog. So a bit about me, I LOVE travelling, all things hair and beaut. I love LOVE science! This blog came about as I began to transition to natural hair way back in 2011(Well it isn’t that long ago really lol). This blog will focus on 4 main areas Natural Hair. This area will have a diverse range of topics e.g. product reviews and recommendations, tips, advice and virgin hair review (my go to protective style) Lifestyle. This area is mainly poetry, inspiration and anything that doesn’t quite fit the other 3 areas Events. This is self-explanatory really. I will be covering events for my blog about natural hair, beauty and fashion or the odd event I find interesting Travel. Of course I will be bringing you posts on my adventures around the world! One of my goals is go to every single country! My travel posts may not be as regular as I would like (money problems lol) so in the meantime I will be talking about how to budget/plan and organise a trip! With any area, my aim is to INSPIRE you to either travel or go to an event even if it’s you alone, or to let you know your natural hair journey CAN BE SIMPLE! (Eek! I will try my bestest with that part)! Here you will find simple and straight forward information without the technical jargon or wooh-tah (seriously don’t you just hate that?) So don’t be a stranger and SUBSCRIBE its free. I make sure I post regularly unless I have had a very stressful week/month. Leave any comments or drop me an email to say hi, I would love to hear from you. If you’re a company/blogger and you’re interested in working with me, believe I want to too! Drop me an email if I don’t get to you first lol (I hope that doesn’t sound creepy) Email- sarah_fynn@hotmail.com Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day. Love Sarah.

Vitamin C Serums

I love Vitamin C! The star ingredient is everywhere and does almost everything. It brightens, protects, tackles uneven skintone etc etc

Ideally you want your vitamin c product to be between 8 to 20% for effectiveness. Anything higher will risk irritation although effective but anything lower will produce unimpressive results if any

Pure Vitamin C, Ascorbic acid is what you want however it is very unstable and there are many derivatives of vitamin c available that are more stable and equally as effective

Note- it is important to reduce exposure to light and air with Vitamin C as it can make it oxidise quicker. When your vitamin C goes darker or turns brown- it is a sign of oxidation- it is no longer effective and should be thrown out! For this reason, I do not like to store Vitamin C serums for too long and I never buy backups for this reason.

This is a really basic overview of Vitamin C, for more information visit Paula’s Choice, The Ordinary

Now for the fun part, PRODUCTS

I’ve tried many vitamin c serums, these are my all-time favourites. I tend to use mine in the AM for extra protection in addition to sunscreen. I will frequently update this list as I try new Vitamin C serums:

Ole Henriksen Banana Bright

Timeless Vitamin C

The Inkey List Vitamin C (this is high content 30% Vitamin C so I do not recommend for sensitive skin or beginners. I always mixed mine with Q10 serum also from the brand)

Indeed Labs Vitamin C24

Beauty Pie Double Vitamin C & E capsules

Beauty Pie Superdose C

Peter Thomas Roth Potent C

Medik8 Super C30

The Ordinary MAP- currently out of stock L

Roc Revive & Glow Capsules

Hyperpigmentation Products

Hyperpigmentation is the bane of my existence! My skin is SO prone to it too, the tiniest spot will leave a dark spot that will take weeks or months to fade. It is the reason why I am always shouting about sunscreen lol because it’s one of the ways to protect and prevent it from getting worst.

I’ve tried a TON of products for hyperpigmentation and I have learnt whilst it’s important to fade the dark spots, it’s more important to prevent them from happening (triggers that are in my control) and skin barrier health is also important.

I do want to start getting clinic treatments soon but for now, I’m happy with treating it at home

A word- hyperpigmentation is difficult to treat so please do not get frustrated if it seems nothing is working. Almost everything is a trigger: heat, sun, acne, inflammation etc, so be patient!

Key to hyperpigmentation is sunscreen! Finding your triggers and prevention (this is above my pay grade lol please go to a professional) but I can share products/ingredients I have used that have helped mine

I have a separate list for sunscreens- view this here

This will be a growing list so keep checking for more

Paula’s Choice Treatment serum

The Body Shop Brightening Drops

Roc Revive & Glow Capsules

Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective

Medki8 Crystal Retinal 10 (I found 20 to be more effective but this is on professional advice only & in clinic. You also have to build tolerance to it! Please don’t start on retinal 10 if you have never used retinol before)

Good Molecules Discoloration serum

Good Molecules Daily brightening serum

The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin

Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Serum

All about Serums: the main star of a routine

So you have a routine but how to pick a serum?! The serum will be the main attraction to your routine, it is this product that would target any issues you want to address. They say if you are going to splurge on any part of your routine, it should be a serum ( and SPF).

The key to success is picking one for YOUR skin concerns instead of what your fav tiktoker uses. What works for them, may not work for you. There are general ingredients everyone can benefit from, but if you have more specific concerns please choose a serum especially for that

I love serums and I have tried a lot! Most target hyperpigmentation as that is my main skin concern.  I have also used a lot of general/ skin barrier support ones.

This list will be updated frequently and I will do a separate post on hyperpigmentation products

Check out my favourite serums here

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair– my all-time favourite serum and repurchased several times

L’Oreal Midnight serum– the closest drugstore dupe to the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair- I recently bought this and I LOVE IT

Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Serum

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Ampoules

Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating serum– by far the best serum under £5 I have used for simply hydrating and softening the skin

Shisedio Power Infusing Concentrate

Medik8 Super C30

The Ordinary amino acids serum

The Ordinary Niacinamide serum

Your Good Skin Balancing Skin concentrate

The Inkey List Q10

Ren Glow & Protect

Farmacy Honeymoon Glow

All about Moisturisers: Lock in Moisture!

Do you use a moisturiser in your routine? I love a good moisturiser to lock in all the hydration I have layered on but I have also gone many times without it.

The key to getting a good moisturiser to getting one that works for your skin type: too heavy and it will feel oily and too light and your skin feels parched.

I have normal to combo skin so this allows me to try a lot of different textures, here are a few of my favourites, I will frequently update this list so keep coming back for more

Note: I haven’t included SPF moisturisers! Check out my Dark Skin sunscreens here

Nivea Q10 Night Cream

Clinique Dramatically different lotion

First aid beauty Ultra Repair Cream

Superdrug Vitamin E night cream

L’Oreal Hydra Genius Aloe Water Moisturiser

Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Moisturiser

All about Cleansers- The first step to a routine

Cleansing is an important first step in any skincare routine for all skintypes!

Cleansing not only helps with a clean slate for your skincare, but also gets rid of excess oil, dirt and makeup! I’ve used many cleansers so this post will be updated frequently with any new ones I fall in love with

Double Cleansing- basically cleansing your face twice. You don’t have to do this every time you wash your face but it is recommended if you are wearing a lot of makeup, reapplied SPF several times and have been out in about in the sun etc.

The first cleanse is usually an oil or balm which breaks down makeup and dirt easily and the second cleanse is your usual face wash. You can also use the same face wash twice if you prefer or micelle water as the first cleanse (it doesn’t have to be fancy!)

Olay Foaming Cleansing Jelly Review

Here are my all-time favourite cleansers:

Shiseido Clarifying Cleansing Foam

Fenty Total Cleanser

Your Good Skin Refreshing Cleanser

Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Gel Cleanser

Farmacy Green Clean

Junco Clean 10 Balm

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter

Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel

Omorovicza Cleansing Foam

Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser

Evening routine with Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Collection

Hi everyone, I hope all is well and making use of the bout of sunshine we are having in the UK at the moment.

Today’s post will be my full evening routine featuring the new Anti-Dark Spot collection from Nivea (gifted).  For full details on the collection & claims, read my previous post here

My evening routine is easy and straight forward:

I start with cleansing with – Roc Skincare Vitamin c cleanser (gifted) (I do a double cleanse if I’m wearing a lot of sunscreen/makeup) then its layering my serums. I’ve started using the Boots Polyglutamic serum which I am really loving so far and pleasantly surprised with. Then it’s my trusted Lancôme Advanced Genifique serum then the Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Serum, I have listed these in order of application. I finish off with Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Even Tone Night cream.  My skin has been feeling a little dry lately so I have been using the Clinique 72hr Moisture surge OR Sleep mask right before I sleep for extra hydration. I also intermittently use the Estee Lauder ANR Ampoules which I absolutely adore.

Then voila, that’s it

This has been my routine for the last 2 weeks and the Nivea products were very easy to add to my routine. I will bring a full review on the products after 4-6 weeks!

See you later!

Some affiliate links used

Check out my morning routine here

Morning routine with Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Collection

Hi everyone,

Today’s post will be my current morning routine with the new Nivea Luminous 630 products. Check out my previous post for introduction to the new collection.

This has been my routine for the last week and half, and the products were super easy to add to my existing routine.

My AM routine is super quick and easy to do. After cleansing with – Roc Skincare Vitamin c cleanser (gifted ), I go in with the Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark circle Eye cream,  I then pat gently pat on my serums in: Inkey List Q10, Ole Henriksen Banana Bright and the Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Serum, I have listed these in order of application. The Nivea serum has a powdery smell and feels great on the skin. It doesn’t pill (my full review will come after 4 weeks of use)

Next is the most important part- sunscreen! I work from home however I sit close to a window so I make sure to apply (and reapply) sunscreen daily. I switch between the Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot SPF50 OR Supergoop SPF50. The Nivea SPF has a matte finish, at the moment my skin needs more moisture hence why I reach for the Supergoop sunscreen which I absolutely adore.

That’s it! After this I just go about my day until it’s time to take it all off (current evening routine coming soon)

My quick and easy routine feature the brand new Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Spot collection. My full review on the collection will be after 4 weeks when I have had enough time to test it

See you soon.

Some Affiliate links used

New Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Collection

Hello everyone

I hope all is well. Today’s post will be on the new Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Collection that promises a lot! Read all about it and details on my new challenge

The new Nivea Luminous 630 Anti Dark Spot Collection features Nivea’s patented luminous 630 complex that promises visible results in 4 weeks. The complex works by lightening old dark spots and prevents new dark spots from forming. It also promises

-Visible results in dark spots in 4 weeks

-50% reduction in dark spots in 8 weeks

The collection features 5 main products:

-an SPF50 day moisturiser

-treatment serum

-Eye treatment cream

-Evening moisturiser

-Handcream

About my skin

I am very excited to test these products out. I will be testing everything except the hand cream for now.

I have normal to combination oily skin which is prone to hyperpigmentation. I get breakouts occasionally and no matter what I do, it leaves a dark spot which sometimes take months to treat. I mainly get spots on my cheeks, so this is where my pigmentation issues are concentrated.

In my next post, I will share my full routine using the products, it’s been a week so far and I have had no issues

For more information on the whole routine, check out Nivea’s website

La Roche Posay Anthelios Shaka SPF50 Review

If you’ve been using sunscreens for a while, I’m pretty confident you would have heard of the La Roche Posay Shaka fluid and probably even tried it. La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF50+ Shaka fluid is one of the best mid-range SPFs in the market. Its broad-spectrum, high PA rating and has antioxidant protection.

Experience

This would be my 2nd tube of the Shaka Fluid SPF. The texture is very fluid and it feels light on the skin. It has a sunscreen scent but no more than the others I have tried. Shaka fluid has a semi matte finish and it’s non-perfumed.

For me, I’m not the biggest fan of this SPF. Its 100% invisible on dark skin but I find it takes a while to fully dry on my skin. Because of the finish, I prefer to use this in the spring/summer when my skin is oiler. Also because of the ball inside it, it makes it slightly harder to get the last bits of the sunscreen out. Sometimes it pills

Watch my demo of this product in my insta reels below:

Verdict

I would still recommend the sunscreen. If you prefer a semi matte finish this is a good one. It also has high PA rating and a high SPF.  It doesn’t feel greasy on the skin. It’s mid-range priced at £18 but it does go on sale often on LookFantastic. Shaka fluid also has a tinted version so you may prefer that (the tinted version may not invisible on dark skin). The Anthelios range in general have some good sunscreen products

La Roche Posay Anthelios Shaka SPF50 is £18 on LookFantastic

*affiliate link

Catch you later!

Supergoop! Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50 Review

Hello everyone, it’s been a while but I have a new sunscreen review for you!

Today we are talking about the Supergoop Play SPF50 Everyday Lotion. This is a chemical based suncream.



Experience

The first thing I look for in an SPF is invisibility on dark skin and this one is completely invisible on dark skin! The lotion is lightweight, feels good and comfortable on the skin and doesn’t sting my eyes. The finish is non greasy and doesn’t pill on the skin

It feels moisturising on and has a dewy finish. I can’t recommend this enough.

See the demo of this suncream on my Instagram below



Verdict- I’ve been wanting to try Supergoop’s range of SPFs for a while so I am very happy to finally try it and love it! They have a few different ones so I will be happy to try them all later!

Supergoop SPF is available on CultBeauty