SAMS MOST LOVED BEAUTY PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR

As it’s the last beauty blog post of the year, I thought I’d wrap things up by sharing the products that I’ve used up to the last drop, and repeat purchased, throughout 2023…

SKINCEUTICALS EPIDERMAL REPAIR, £80

This calls itself, ‘therapeutic treatment for compromised skin,’ and it’s exactly what is is. Over the summer, I suffered a reaction to a skin treatment and my skin was inflammed, irritated, scarred and sore – this saved me. I’m so grateful for it’s existence and I trust it implicitly now when it comes to calming, soothing and repairing skin with a compromised barrier.

LA ROCHE POSAY CICLAPLAST BAUME B5, £18 and LA ROCHE POSAY CICLAPLAST B5 SERUM, £39

A sister brand to Skinceuticals, created to a similar skin repairing formula but with lower levels of ingredients, this is a more budget friendly version of the above. Both of which I loved, both of which I also recommend, to soothe and hydrate sensitive skin.

GARNIER MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER, £9.99 for 700ml and CERAVE MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER, £10.50 for 250ml

Tbh, I’m not loyal to a cleansing water – as long as they get the job done – which both of these do, at a fairly low price. Cleans, hydrates and removes make-up without irritating skin or eyes; what more do you need?! The Cerave micellar says it contains three added ceramides, which is great as will help to hydrate and strengthen skin, although if like me you use a micellar as a first clenase, then wash your face with another cleanser, then that’s neither here nor there.

MEDIK8 LIPID BALANCING CLEANSING OIL, £29*

I love an oil cleanser as my second cleanse. There’s something about it that just feels so thorough yet luxe, and this one is a real joy to use. Everything from the scent, to the ‘slip’, to the way my skin feels super soft afterwards. It also doubles up as a make-up remover, rapidly dissolving all traces of a red lip or liner, for those lazybones who don’t do a double cleanse.

*use code thisismothership to make it £22

BLACK LIQUID EYELINERS: BEAUTY PIE DELUXE PRECISION EYELINER, £9 members // £28 non-members, LANCOME LASH IDOLE WATERPROOF EYELINER, £22*, L’OREAL PARIS PERFECT SLIM LIQUID EYELINER, £6.70

These all have one thing in common; they stay perfectly inky black (they don’t go grey as they fade like lots do), they all have a long nib that makes it super easy to create a feline flick by laying it across the eyeliner and ‘swiping along and up’ and I have repeat purchased; I went through at least 2 or 3 empties of each of these over the last year – and for someone who wears a liquid liner about 360 days of the year – that’s good going.

*use code thisismothership to make it £17

SKINCEUTICALS SILYMARIN CF, £165

When it comes to Vitamin C, this is my holy grail. I have skin that still breaks out, yet pigmentation that I want to shift. Lot’s of Vitamin C’s in the past have brought me out in spots, or bumps under the skin, but this one is formulated alongside salycilic acid (a blemish prone girls bff) which means no spots, just glow! I’ve been through two this year.

MASCARA’S: LANCOME LASH IDOLE, £25*, ELF LASH N ROLL, £5.96, MAC MAGIC EXTENSIONS, £22**, L’OREAL PARIS LASH PARADISE, £11.99 and L’OREAL PARIS TELESCOPIC LIFT, £6.83

I’ve always said that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to find a great mascara. Yes, I love the Lancome one, but each of the high street one’s are just as great – they may just need a few more ‘swipes’ to get the same effect (side note: Lancome / L’Oreal come from the same ‘house’ meaning as ‘sister’ brands, they’re more like each other than others may be) so depending on your budget, don’t feel pressure to spend big.

*use code thisismothership to make it £19, **to make it £17

SPF’S: ULTRA VIOLETTE SUPREME SCREEN SPF50+, £34 and EUCERIN PIGMENT CONTROL SUN FLUID SPF50, £15

Now, this isn’t a fair representation as I recycle my sunscreens at the end of each holiday, but these two have been brilliant ‘daily’ SPF’s, sitting perfectly underneath make-up. Not sticky, not greasy, just like applying your regular moisturiser. The Eucerin also comes in a tinted version too.

SERUMS: REOME ACTIVE RECOVERY BROTH, £75, LANCOME RENERGIE HCF TRIPLE SERUM, £99, SKINCEUTICALS PHYTO A+ BRIGHTENING TREATMENT, £94 and TATCHA VIOLET-C BRIGHTENING SERUM, £86

All of these serums are very different, yet there’s a clear theme running through them all – they all brighten, hydrate and even out the skin tone. As I’ve gotten older, these three things are the most important factors to me when looking after my skin, so I always look for ceramides, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C.

Little recap: serums are lightweight, highly concentrated formulas that penetrate deeply into the skin to deliver active ingredients, such as antioxidants, vitamins, and peptides. Face moisturisers, on the other hand, are thicker and work on the surface of the skin to create a barrier that locks in moisture and prevents dehydration.

MOISTURISERS: ELEMIS PRO-COLLAGEN MARINE CREAM, £94*, L’OREAL PARIS REVITALIFT FILLER WATER CREAM, £16, M&S FORMULA ULTIMATE SLEEP CREAM, £22, SISLEY BLACK ROSE CREAM, £165, TATCHA THE SILK CREAM, £123 and TATCHA THE DEWY SKIN CREAM, £67

This is only a small snapshot of the moisturisers I’ve been through this year, there were many more in the first half of the year, but due to space, I can’t keep hold of every empty (although now I’m at the end of this blog post, I’m going to try and do exactly that in 2024) Some of these I’ve loved for year (Elemis), some are new to me (Tatcha) and some have been ground-breaking discoveries this year, and are now permanent features on my dressing table, because I’ve found high street brands that live up to the more expensive ones (M&S, L’Oreal)

*use code thisismothership to make it £74

See you in 2024,

Love Sam xoxo