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!

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! 

17 Lip Stain Review

The other day I bought some Lip Stain by 17 in Berry Crush. After having run out of my free sample of Posie tint by Benefit, I had to opt for a cheaper option, and this was the choice. This lip stain has two sides, one to stain the colour onto the lips using a brush, the other is a balm to give it a shiny glow. 

I picked what I thought was a light colour to suit my skin colour, however when I brought it home and tried it out, the colour was much darker than I anticipated and maybe me look a bit like a transvestite, never good!

I also thought the applicator looked good in the shop, but again when I got it home, and tried it, it felt like I was colouring in my lips with a felt tip pen. 

However, after applying evenly and putting the balm over the top, the product stains the lips for up to and including 3/4 hours, which if wearing for an occasion isn't bad, not having to constantly re-apply. 

However the cons out weigh the pro's in this case, and although it was reasonably price, I haven't yet found anything better than Posie tint! 

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!