Silver Serum Review

After reading some great reviews about this revolutionary cream I was excited to give it a go and kick my acne's butt once and for all. Word of mouth had already spread about this amazing product meaning it was in high demand and was out of stock for a long time. I had pre ordered it however so had to wait a few impatient weeks before the little package arrived through my letter box. I ordered it from Skin Shop, which is one of the very few places you can purchase this sold out serum. 

The Science of The Silver Serum. 

The cream allegedly uses a special silver ingredient (MicroSilver ™) to banish bad bacteria but all the while helps the good bacteria or "skin flora" ensuring your skins natural goodness is not stripped off which is usually the result of other skin products. It claims to help reduce bacteria related infection and inflammation (redness) of skin conditions. This means it diminishes what is already on the surface of the skin rather than the cause. To tackle the cause you will have to take care of other areas of your lifestyle that might account for your skins condition such as your diet, hormones, lack of hydration/exercise etc. 

You should apply twice a day, morning and night, after cleansing your face and it lasts on the skin for up to 8 hours.

My Skin History.

I have suffered from acne since I was about 15, and have never been without one or two spots on my face, it's rare that it will be completely clear. They can be quite big lumps sometimes, so large that they might not make it to the surface and will protrude under a few layers as a red mass, untreatable and uncoverable. Topical solutions like this one will help the spots on the surface but will not tackle the cause, that's a bigger issue. I always like to try new products however to see what level they can go to to get rid of them.

My Experience of using Silver Serum.

When it arrived, I couldn't wait till bed time so I could start smearing it all over my make up free skin, to wake up the next day spot-free. As you can probably guess, this didn't pan out like I'd planned. 

Being the intolerant soul that I am, I was a bit miffed when I didn't see dramatic results after the first day of wear. The tube does not give much instruction as to how to apply, so I just winged it for a while and applied it probably more than I should of but continued to see no results. After a bit of Googling I discovered it does take a couple of weeks to work, so I persevered. Three to four weeks later I started to see some improvement (pictures below). It initially brought out the blemishes, or rather my skin got substantially worse for a week, but the redness finally started to subside and the bumps got smaller. This only began working as I started to use moisturisers in conjunction with cleansers and make up removers as well as the cream as I felt using the serum alone dried out my skin before applying make up. It is easy and smooth to apply, leaving your skin feeling instantly softer which was nice. I was also intrigued to find that it didn't have much of a scent. Overall, I am pleased with the product and will continue using until the bottle is empty, however being on a beauty budget I don't think I'll be continuing to buy this cream because of its £12.95 price tag.

Progress in Pictures: You can see over the course of 4 weeks the significant improvement to my skin. 

Week 1, Week 2 and Week 4.

So that's my review of the Silver Serum. Everyone has different skin and therefore will have a different experience of this product, so if you can I would recommend trying it out for yourself to see how you get on. I hope this review has helped some of you!

Babyliss Pro Perfect Curl

I got my hair done today, finally. I hadn't had it highlighted since May, so yes, I was sporting the badger look with my roots which as we all know is never very attractive. 

When my lovely dresser was done blowdrying, she said "I'm going to show you my new toy". Now I was slightly hesitant as we never want to be experiments in the hair department, those of you who are very attached to your locks would sympathise. Anyway, she bought out this long black plastic thing with a cylinder on the end, explaining that it was a curler. 

In fact, (after a bit of investigating) I found out it was the Babyliss Pro Curl curler, which costs a whopping £165!!

Apparently, it's going down a treat in the UK, (we're a bit behind the times here in Jersey) and have sold out practically everywhere, and I can see why!

My hair is so thick and so long that it usually takes a good hour to curl the whole thing, but with this product, it took roughly ten minutes. 

I have posted a video below so you can see how it works, but the device sort of traps and wraps your hair, heats it in the cylinder and when you release it, theres a curl!

Now Babyliss haven't always had the best track record with these sorts of things, especially with this product, as you can see how your hair could easily get caught whilst being wound up, but I was actually very impressed! 

Here are some snaps of my hair after using the Babyliss Pro Perfect Curl. 

Have you tried this product? What did you think? I would love to hear feedback from others.

Thanks guys!

Tan in a Can

I got this new 'tan in a can' by Glotanz the other day so I thought I would do a quick review. 

I've done a self ten review before for Vita Liberata, and although I don't use the stuff much its always useful to compare and contrast. 

This one is a bit different to the rest. 

Its a straight spray on tan. 

This can seem to be a bit tricky because the key to tan is making it even and not streaky, but I found the wetness (ew) of this made it easy enough to spray on. 

This was the difference in the colour of my legs after spraying it on one.

Can you tell which one? 

The difference is subtle yet sunkissed and that night I went out baring my legs to the world (my incentive for trying the self tan) and I have to admit I was loving the compliments! 

I'm quite a tanned/olive skinned person anyway so for me it just looked like a few sessions on the sun bed, without the added cancer risk, so I will definitely be doing it again until the sun starts to reappear. 

One thing I will say is, don't spray too close or else this will happen! 

I would also recommend a mitt to just smooth it out, especially for this leg! 

I didn't have one at the time and ended up using kitchen roll (typical student) and got some very orange fingers! Definitely a self tan newbie!

 The above is the end result and below is the result just a few days after, and I have to admit, there is no difference! The tan has stayed well, despite washing every day (obvs) so I'm pleased and hoping it will last another week or so!

(Apologies for my horrible knobbly knees!)

You can have a peak at all of Glotanz products here!

Hello Kiko

Hi Guys,

I'm in Spain and as my family know about my nail addiction, my auntie thoughtfully showed me this Italian cosmetics brand Kiko. They have thousands of colours for only £1.50! Not only that, they have loads of make up and cosmetics for really good prices too! 

They have everything from concealer to blue mascara and their moto is 'be who you want' which is quite nice.

Below are a few of my favourites from them and the colours that I bought. 

Something I've never seen before to test nail varnishes is putting out cellotape for the customers to tear off, put on their arm or hands and paint some of the colours on to it to see what they look like, really good idea.

I've seen crackle before but not in wacky colours, so I got two to try out.

This says magnetic but its metallic pink, a cool shiny silver affect mixed with the colour.

And these three bold colours. I got some shades that I'm missing from my collection at the moment to make it a bit more complete. I really love the orange.

And here are a few of my favourite make up bits. 

Glossy Eye Pencil  

£5.20

Soft Focus Compact Wet & Dry Mineral Foundation

£3.00

Sunproof Powder Foundation 

£5.50

Blooming Eyeshadow Palette

£3.00

Super Colour Mascara 

£5.90

Lip Glaze

£1.50

Smart Lipstick 

£2.00

Skin Evolution Concealer

£3.80

They always have special offers going on but the only shop they have in the UK is in London Westfield. They have a UK website but I'm not sure about the delivery charges. 

Anyway I think its a great international brand and I hope they bring more stores to the UK soon!

Vita Liberata Self Tan Review

Now, I never use fake tan, ever. I always thought it was too hard to put on. Girls are always complaining about streaks and smell. So when my mum told me to try this Vita Liberata 'pHenomenal 2-3 week tan' I was skeptical. When I tried it however I was pleasantly surprised! 

Vita Liberata are all about skin, mostly producing tanning products with this product being their newest creation. Supposedly used by all the celebs to give them their summer tan top up, its no wonder that each bottle costs a whopping £37.50. This is a small price to pay for some pseudo sun but when you're on a beauty budget it's best to get saving those Boots points for this one.

The ins and outs:

The self tan comes in three shades - light, medium and dark.

The bottle pumps out a foam which is easier to apply than the thick cream of usual self tan solutions. All you need is a tanning glove and your away!

This is the foam when it comes out. It's not the most appealing thing to look at but once you lather it onto your legs it feels really light and smooth. It takes a few seconds to settle into the skin, so you can rub out any streaks if you're quick to notice them but as the consistency is different, the lines were no where near as bad as when using fake tan creams.

Although drying quickly, it leaves you sticky for a minute or two so I wouldn't recommend putting clothes on straight away. My mum made that mistake and found her white blouse covered in orange stains after a brisk walk to work!

This a before and after shot, this is after two applications and there is quite a difference! 

Apologies for my scrappy pins!

 However when putting it on for the second time, when pumping out the solution, it didn't come out as a foam. The tan had become very watery and dripped all over a nice cream towel, not really what I wanted to achieve!

This meant it was harder to apply, and did leave a few streaks this time.

As with any self tan's it does leave an off smell on your skin until you shower. 

It's meant to last 2-3 weeks, however I only put it on last week so I can't prove this works yet! But so far so good, even after showering my legs have stayed the same as when applied.

They give you a bit of summery themed thinspiration on the side of the box too!

Overall I was impressed with the product, the price seemed a bit steep, but if it is being bought for me, I can't complain!

I would definitely use it again, it seems a lot less hassle than the usual self tanning ranges, and the compliments speak for themselves.

My mum bought it from boots, but if you order it from the website here you get a free tan mitt! 

Birthday Wishlist No.3 - ghd's

After 6 years of dedicated straightening and curling, my beloved ghd's died this morning. Although we're working on repairing them, I know they can last a little while longer, I think its time for a shiny new pair anyway. 

I know there are plenty of other companies and celebrity hair stylists who do a range of heating irons, I've never found anything or heard any better reviews quite like ghd's, they are the best. 

(If anyone has any other recommendations, they would be greatly appreciated! I haven't completely shunned the other brands!)

So after having a browse on the website,  my favourites from the ranges are these below.

If you would like to have a browse yourself, you can do here.

ghd classic Gold Styler

Limited Edition ghd Red Gloss IV styler

Limited Edition ghd Green Peacock 

For more info on any of these please enter the website.

Hopefully 4 months of frizzy hair go quickly!

Wrinkle your way out

A couple of weeks ago, I bought my first pot of anti-wrinkle cream. I'm 20, and I don't have wrinkles, but according to the beauty pages, this is the time to start using it. My choice was No.7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream.

 When heading to the counter to purchase the £22.00 cream, all I was thinking was, 'this is going to do great things for my Boots points' however when I got to the till, the woman serving me said that out of the top range of anti-wrinkle creams tested, this was the only one found to work for wrinkle prevention and reduction. It turns out, she wasn't wrong, as an article in the Guardian stated that a trial done from the University of Manchester resulted in woman and men, seeing and feeling a difference to their skin within 6 months, using this cream. These type of results had not been seen from an over-the-counter solution, and the serum sold out in 2 days. 

There has been so much controversy and hoo-haa about young women using anti-wrinkle creams. Is it right? is it necessary? There are so many websites telling us its not, and for those who agree, here's where the science bit comes in. Wrinkles are caused by a loss of collagen, as this happens the skin starts loosing volume and starts to fold, causing a line or a wrinkle. This process is long, so even though nothing may seem to be happening, collagen is still decreasing in the skin. By using anti-wrinkle cream in your 20's, you're starting the re-production of the components needed (including collagen) to reduce the onset of wrinkles by 5 or 10 years.

Despite knowing that its already working to prevent wrinkles, every time I put it on at night, my skin feels revitalised, smoother and its done wonders for my blemishes. I was surprised at this, I didn't think I would see effects for weeks, or even years! But my skin feels refreshed in the morning and I look forward to putting it on at night. 

Your 20's are the most important time to be looking after your skin, a good regime and knowing what works best is going to save you in the future. This cream has finally given me a skin regime and as long as I keep at it, and drink lots of water, I'm hoping for a few extra youth years. 

Yes, it is pricy, but lets face it, your not going to use the whole pot in one night. With just a small dollop, this cream could last up to 6 months, this includes full face and neck coverage. That to me spells a good investment. 

Face Mask Heaven

Recently I've been looking for some kind of skin regime as I've never really had one and my skin is terrible. Yesterday I was complaining about my oily and blocked pores when my dad saunters off to his room and comes back with a tube of Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed Deep Pore Detox Mask and simply mutters the words 'Don't Ask'. I was impressed with his choice, and pleasantly surprised as I love the Soap and Glory range but have never been able to afford it, so I couldn't wait to try. 

Just before bed I decided to give it a go. I loved reading the instructions, as with any Soap and Glory products, they are always funny and quirky. After applying and scrubbing into my face the 'grape-sized' amount needed, your skin quickly gets a heated sensation as it starts to take effect, this was intensified by the tiny exfoliating beads and 'skin smoothing scrub stuff' as they put it. This was very weird but oddly pleasurable as it felt like a reaction was happening, in a good way. After leaving it on for about 4 minutes, it had dried and gone a funny blue colour, which was supposed to happen apparently. I washed it off and gently towel dried my face. Although I couldn't see much difference to make skin straight away, the feel of my skin was instantly softer, not oily, and refreshed. 

I asked my dad how much this miracle face mask in a tube was and of course he didn't know, so after a bit of scoping on the Boots website my heart dropped as I found it was £11. This may be a bit of a dip into the student pocket but as my dad rightly pointed out, a 'grape-sized' amount used each time is hardly much so it will last a good few months which made it seem more worth it, especially thinking about how much nicer my skin will become with every use. 

Today I head back to Uni, upon giving the tube back to my Dad he said 'no, its alright, you can have it,' I was ecstatic. 

Moral of this story, if you can fish around for £11 I would definitely invest in this product, my skin feels illuminated and my pores feel unblocked and minimised (well, on their way) and if you can't, why not see what your Dad has in his bathroom cupboard, you might find something worth trying!