black beauty bloggers

Etude House Sunprise Airy Finish SPF 50 Review

You guys know I have been obsessed with Asian skincare since I discovered YesStyle! I’ve been getting through my kbeauty stash (slowly) and reviews are getting on the blog now. One of the most exciting things I am discovering is affordable high factor sunscreens that are invisible on the skin! I got a few to test out for dark skintones.

Today’s post will be a full review and demo of Etude House SPF50. This promises to protect the skin from premature ageing and has plant extracts to help the skin from sun exposure. It contains 100% mineral filters, so they say it makes it suitable for sensitive skin. They also promise a non-greasy non-sticky finish which dries matte and doesn’t leave a white cast.

Experience

This has a very watery and light fluid consistency with a mild scent which I do not find pleasant. This was a total miss for me and a hit & miss for a friend. Let me explain.

I found this sunscreen extremely matte and drying on my skin. it has a powdery feel when its dried down. The first time I tested this product, it left a white cast on my skin. I did watch and read some reviews who said it was invisible on their skin and my friend also heard a lot of good reviews about it which is why I bought it in the first place. So I take this to my friend for her to test out and she tells me its 100% invisible on her skin, mind you, she’s probably half a shade darker than me so I told her to keep it.

A few weeks later I asked her how she’s getting on with it and she tells me after using it for the first 3 days on holiday it suddenly started leaving a white cast on her skin so she’s returning to me LOOL. The picture below is how it looks on my skin you have to shake the product before application ( see the bags under my eyes-I could take it on holiday!)

Verdict

This is a miss for me but there are a lot of reviews out state its invisible on skin including dark skin. In terms of the promises, it does feel very light on the skin and it’s not greasy or sticky. It dries matte, very matte but it definitely leaves a white cast on dark skin! I don’t like it because I think its matte and drying so even if it was invisible I don’t think I would be using it.

A little bit disappointed as I heard great reviews on this product. Let me know if you have this product and how it’s working for you.

Etude House Sunprise Airy Finish SPF 50 is £8.69 on YesStyle*

Use my code SARAHF1for ££ of your order

Winter Skincare Routine

I realised I been banging on about skincare but haven’t shared my routine lol. So here goes. I’m sharing my current evening routine as there’s more to say about it than my morning routine. But first…

Why Evening Skincare Routines Are Important

Why bother with a whole routine at night?! As my bro would say ‘you’re going to sleep anyway!’ but that’s exactly the point. Your skin does extensive repair work as you sleep so it’s important to give it the right products to get the best results.

Additionally, think of all the things your skin gets in contact with during the day, you want to make sure you wash off everything before hitting the deck, otherwise, things get clogged and the end result isn’t pretty.

Should I do a disclaimer? Here goes

It may be a lot to some but this is what I do and my skin is in the best shape ever. It may take an extra 30 mins or so but its time I am willing to spend even when I am super tired. You don’t have to do this but don’t come to me when your pores are visible from Hawaii P.S that place is so beautiful! I went there in October and your pores said Aloha!

LOL

My Current Evening Routine

I love to rotate products because I’m a blogger and I gotta do my reviews but generally this is the order I would use my skincare items and what I do

Daily

I follow the double cleansing method every night to ensure all my makeup is off. I am currently using the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser (a review will be up soon) then follow it up with the Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel. I have just started using the Vanity Planet Spin For Perfect Skin Face Brush.

After cleansing, the pores are open so it’s the perfect time to treat the skin. I love acid based products for this stage as they really help take your skin to the next level. I share the impact acids have on the skin in my skincare ingredients post.

I use NIP&FAB Daily Fix Glycolic Pads followed by an acid serum. I am currently using the Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel. This step is optional. I like to follow the acids with a water spritz to neutralise /balance my skin. My current spritz is the Vichy Thermal Spring Water Mist

I let my face dry whilst I think of what to wear the next day or work on my blog or watch YouTube tutorials

After wards, I go in with an oil which will be my Ziyanda Kalahari Facial Oil then night cream which is Nivea Regenerating Night Cream. Then my eye cream which is Declor 2 In 1 Eye Cream.

Finto!

I love my skin routine so it doesn’t matter how tired I am, I always do this. I just love how my skin feels in the mornings and how much my skin has improved since I started doing a proper routine.

Some Things To Note

Acids will make your skin more sensitive to the sun so if you think of using them please follow up with SPF during the day even in the winter and at least SPF 30
I go in with a face mask at least 3 times a week, one of them been a sheet mask. To know all about face masks and why I use them check out my face masks post. My favs are Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean Mask & SM African Black Soap Mud Mask. Currently testing out one from Mary Kay
Also, it’s important to wash your hands before starting to do anything to your face. We don’t want to transfer the dirt onto the face
If you are using face brushes please replace them every 3 months to maintain its effectiveness and wash them properly after every use to prevent bacteria build up.
I drink a lot of water and started drinking fruit infused detox water to help flush out toxins (I eat crap most of the time teasers chocolate are my weakness but I am trying to change! lol). I also take multi vitamins.

Alrighty! That’s my evening skin routine. I LOVE seeing skincare posts on Instagram! They gives me more ideas and products to try! Make sure you tag me in yours so I can have a look! You ARE following me on insta right? (sarahfynn if you aint)

Want to see my morning routine? I.e. before makeup?

Here goes

LOL. I don’t do much because I need to be out the door! I just use African Black Soap Gel (mixed with lemon essential oil- it smells so good) and my Sapoh (African Sponge!) for cleansing.

if you want healthy skin, you have to invest time and effort into it. On the most basic level, you want to make sure you are taking off all your makeup and cleansing properly then moisturising. Use products for your skin type. If you want to take things up a notch, then you can start introducing different stuff depending on how much time you want to spend in the evenings and be realistic too! For instance, my sister asked me to recommend stuff to help with her skin. My first question to her was, how much time do you want to spend each night? There’s no point recommending a bunch of products and stuff to do if she can’t do them or doesn’t have enough time. If it’s too much it will probably demotivate you. Start with the basics and as you start to notice improvements it will be the motivation for you to do more.

Don’t let the world change your smile

Dinki Belle Nail Wraps Review

Dinki Belle was one of the new brands I discovered at the Bloggers Summer Hangout event and I was lucky to be gifted one of their nail wrap designs! There were a lot to choose from but I decided to go with the Mint Dream Nail Wraps. I have now used the pack and can share my thoughts on it!

The pack came with 20 nail wraps in different sizes. It also comes with easy to follow instructions on how to install them. I found it quite useful as it was my first time trying nail wraps. They sizes are pretty spot on too, I didn’t have to cut most of them to fit the shape of my nails. I also like the length of the wraps, so they can fit both short and long nails! Once I got the right shape and size, all I did was cut and file it to my nail length and stick it down! Once it was down it didn’t move. You can choose to use a top coat on it afterwards to ‘seal’ it in but I didn’t do that.

I am really impressed with them. I washed my hair a couple of hours later after installing them on the first day and they survived! None slipped off during wash day and it survived other wash days too. At the event, she said they can last up to 14 days but I took them off after 5 days because they looked quite dirty at the time. To take them off all I did was peel it off, quick and easy! My nails didn’t look dry or damaged afterwards. The pack has 20 designs which will be enough to 2 installs. I have installed them twice and still have a few wraps left over.

Verdict

I am really impressed with the nail wraps and I think they will be perfect for going on holiday! (Then you won’t have to worry about your manicure chipping/smudging during your holiday!) They come in a variety of colours and designs (they have glitter/sparkle nail wraps), you are bound to find something! I will definitely get some more!

Dinki Belle Nail Wraps are priced at £6.99 and available from the Dinki Belle website

Love

Sarah

Psalm 91

Revlon Ultimate All in One Mascara Review

Hey party people, I hope everyone is doing great. This is post will be the Revlon Ultimate All in One mascara Review I got in my May Glossy Box. This mascara is one of the 5 new ones in the Revlon Mascara collection.

Revlon Ultimate All in One Mascara (Red top)

This one comes in 3 shades: Blackest Black, Black and Blackened Brown. The 5 benefits are Volume, Length, Definition, Lift and Intense colour. It also features a mini brush which has been designed to reach every lash and deposit the formula for mega lash impact.

Experience

I really do like the mini brush and it makes it easier for me to catch the lashes in the corners of my eyes and also apply to my bottom lashes without smudging. The brush also delivers a lot of formula to the lashes which meant I had to careful to prevent smudging. I also like the packaging, compared to your normal mascara tube this is slightly flatter. The matte black and red combo make it look nice as well. The colour is really intense: I have the Blackest black shade.

I use this when I don’t want to wear lashes because it gives so much length and volume to my lashes. I don’t have the longest of lashes, I actually think it’s quite short so I really like the length this gives me.

Verdict

I think it’s a really good mascara. It reminds me of the Benefit They’re Real Mascara in terms of the length it gives to my lashes. I like small mascara brushes because I think they are easier to work with so the mini brush was a breeze to use. The mascara is also quite easy to remove.

I haven’t tried any others from the collection, but it seems you are getting the best of all with this mascara so I will definitely recommend this one if you want to get one in the collection.

Revlon Ultimate All in One Mascara is £10 at Boots

Follow me on Instagram to catch up with all the latest products I am trying out!

What’s your favourite drugstore mascara?

Love is not boastful

Konjac Sponge Review

Konjac sponges make big claims: gentle on the skin, gentle exfoliation, deep cleansing and many more! I hadn’t heard of them until I received it in my Chocobelle box and I have been testing out since then! I love trying new products so I put it to the test straight away.

The sponges are HARD when you 1^st received them but become soft once they get in contact with water. They go slightly hard when dry but not as much as when you 1st get them. You can use them with/without a cleanser, both ways promising a gentle cleansing and effective experience. I have used it almost every day since I got it and I must say it is very GENTLE on the skin however I do not like them.

First of all I prefer the feel of ‘scrubbing’ myself clean(Hola if you’re from Ghana or you know about them African bathing sponges LOL) so this been very soft and gentle on my face felt weird ( I usually use a face brush to wash my face, see it in my current beauty favourites). I also used it without a cleanser and I just felt like I was passing a wet sponge over my face. In terms of my complexion, I haven’t noticed any difference at all. I mean it gets the job done, I prefer to use it with a cleanser which is my African Black Soap but I am no realllyyyy impressed by it.

I think this will be perfect for sensitive skin types or people who do not like the feel of a face brush. I really wanted to like this however I just don’t. I will carry on using it for a while to see if it changes my mind but for now I don’t like it because of how gentle it is lol (Is that weird?)

You can purchase the for £8.99 at Cult Beauty

Do you guys use Konjac sponges? Let me know!

Current Beauty Favourites!

Hey people, I hope everyone is doing great. Can you imagine it’s almost the end of January? This post will be for my product junkies! As the title suggests, I will be talking about my current beauty products which are the products I have been reaching for the most this month with mini reviews with where to purchase

Let’s get started

Pure Sensitive Micellar Cleansing Wipes, £1 (on sale) from Superdrug

You guys know I am obsessed with micellar water for removing makeup (did you read the micellar water post? Catch it here) but I find they hardly last – one bottle lasts me two weeks lol. So I have now switched to micellar cleansing wipes. I bought this one on impulse- it was on sale for £1 and I decided why not? And I am so glad I did! It removes everything and feels really soft and gentle on the skin! (I even went back to purchase more: it’s now buy 1 get 1 free!!! Thank me later)

Ultrasun Face 50+ SPF, £34.52 from QVC

Its winter and I have dark skin, do I really need that high of a SPF? Yes! Dark skin or not, summer or winter, skin needs protection all year round! Maybe I don’t need a very high SPF but I really love this one because it has anti pigmentation properties. This is perfect as I am working to get an even skin tone and on hyperpigmentation and it is imperative I use SPF! I got this in my goody bag from the QVC ss16 event in November last year and I have been using it ever since! It’s a bit tricky to use because it leaves a white cast on my face lol but I always use it on top of my Sukin Rosehip oil day cream ( which hasn’t got spf) before I apply my foundation.

Dr Dennis Gross extra strength alpha beta peel, £15 from Cult Beauty

Another favourite from the QVC ss16 goody bag. I have recently used one treatment and I loved how my skin felt afterwards! I will definitely be reviewing this once I finish the pack. I got the 3 pack treatment but you get the 5 pack treatment from Cult Beauty. Watch this space!

Face Brush, £1 from Primark

I love this brush for many reasons: it’s cheap, double sided and gets the job done lol. I use to it apply my face wash (currently using Lush Coal face soap, did you read my epic LUSH series? Search for lush on my blog for all the LUSH goodness!). The bristles are not hard and it gives a gentle deep pore wash. The pink side can be used as a massager

Rogue by Rihanna EDP, £43 from Boots

I LOVE this perfume! I hardly ever get a perfume twice or buy a bigger size ( perfume collection on fleek) but I run out of my smaller bottle and seeing I loved it so much, I was gifted it for Christmas! This perfume is everything! Perfect for everyday and every occasion! And I always get compliments when I wear this too, basically you guys need this perfume!

George contour kit, £4 from George

I love the highlighter shade in this kit! I got it in my blogger box swap (read it here) and I have been using it ever since. The contour shade is way too light so I don’t bother with that but this highlighter!! I do have to be careful and use a light hand as too much can look chalky but it looks really beautiful on.

Sleek Luminous pressed powder, £7 from Sleek

I got this during their 50% off sale (girl you missed out if you didn’t take advantage lol) and I am so glad I did! It looks very shimmery but you don’t get all the glitter on your face when you set your whole face with it. It gives a subtle glow and looks very nice on. Lately I have been using it as a base for other highlighters (I’m all about that glow!)

Sleek Bronze block, £7.49 from Sleek

Another steal form their 50% from sale! The powder really warms up your face and that pink hue looks amazing as a blush alone! I usually swirl the colours together and use on my cheeks and down my nose.

L.A girl orange corrector, £ 3.99 from Beauty by Zara

Suffering from hyper pigmentation means colour correcting and this cheap and cheerful one does the trick! It’s very orange so it’s best to be used lightly but it does a very good job of cancelling out greyness/darkness. Orange correctors are perfect for darker skin tones!

That’s all folks! Which products are you absolutely loving at the moment?

For more of my fav products check out my Best/ Worst of 2015 Beauty products and Best/Worst of 2015 Hair products

See you soon!

Mac Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour

I must admit, I love liquid lipsticks! I don’t have as much as I would like (budget issues lol) but I have a few really good ones from brands I love. No surprise then when I found out about that Mac has joined the trend and released liquid lipsticks of their Retro Matte Collection. The colours are not the same as the lipstick colours (obviously), nooo, you get 15 new colours to play with!

The shades are your everyday shades and will suit most skin tones. There are nudes, pinks, purples/berry and reds too. Depending your skin tone (WOC) you can either get away without a lip liner or have to put in some work especially with the nudes, they look super light. I’m not super excited about the colour range, they’re all standard colours we have in our collection BUT one stood out and that was Oh Lady, a deep wine. I don’t have a colour like that in my collection (honey even if I did, I really wanted to test out the formula lool)

They are priced at £21 each (Not cheap) and are available on Mac online, I’m not sure if they are in stores. Online, you have to search for it on the site because it’s not under lipsticks, but because I love you guys I got you the link straight to them! << click to go straight!

Since I only got one shade, I found a video for you guys (Thanks babe! Lol) on swatches for all the colours! I can’t wait for it to come and test it out! ( I ordered it on the 28th and I am still waiting for a dispatch email, seriously Mac get it together lol, I ordered Sleek Makeup on the same day and I received those!)

Will you guys be trying this? Let me know!

P.S- you can get 10% off Curl Harmony products using my code SARAH at checkout!

Best & Worst Products 2015: Beauty

2015 is quickly coming to an end! Eek! I thought it would be fun to review some of my best and worst products of 2015! After all, it’s been the best blogging year to date and I tried lots of new products and brands. Some of the categories are funny lol but they are so relatable, I mean how many of us have fallen for the hype of a product? Exactly lol!

This will be in two parts so the post is short and sweet (After all, you have to read your outfits ready for NYE).

Best Product- Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist and MakeUp Forever Ultra HD Foundation!

Not only do these two work perfectly together but the foundation is so light on the light it’s almost as if you are wearing no makeup at all!

Worst Product- Simple Revitalising Eye Roll on

I love the Simple Brand but this eye roll on did nothing for me! Its supposed to reduce bags, dark circles etc and I suffer from them quite badly and it made no difference at all.

I fell for the hype and it was worth it- L.A Girl Pro Concealer and Corrector

I try to stay away from buying hyped up products but I was looking for a cheap and cheerful concealer and decided to give this ago! Yh its totally worth it! I even have a back up on deck smh

I fell for the hype but it was okish- L’Oreal Miss Manga Mascara

To me this wasn’t worth the hype. I do not like the flexible wand at all and I find it picks up way too much product and makes my lashes look clumpy. It’s an ok mascara but I don’t get the hype about it

Best new brand I tried- Bagsy Beauty

I love everything about this brand, its British and they have really cute packaging. The colours are really pigmented too.

Brand I have been stalking for a while and finally got something from it- NYX Cosmetics

Seriously, I have known about NYX for a while but their website is always, ALWAYS out of stock! I found out you can get some of their products on Boots and went straight for the kill. Anyway, I am prepping myself to get some more lol

Other favourite brands that didn’t make the list are

Lush

Sukin

Sleek

Dermalogica

What have you guys been loving this 2015? Which products have you regretted buying? Remember you can find most of the reviews for these products on here, look through my product index for links

Happy New Year people! New Year new blessing and hopefully new products to try!

Watch out for part 2- for the best and worst hair products of 2015!

Love

Sarah