Hi guys, long time, no beauty post…. but I’m back to share my April 2022 Beauty Favourites! There are quite a few reasons why I haven’t shared a review or beauty favourites for a while. The biggest reason is probably the fact that in the last few months, since coming off the contraceptive pill, my skin has gone haywire.
I know I’m still capable of testing products when my skin is bad. However, there’s something in my mind that keeps telling me people won’t take my reviews seriously if I don’t have good skin. I know it’s not rational. Actually, if I were testing a concealer or foundation’s coverage, it might be quite useful to see how well it covers acne. But, I’ve had pretty low moods about it and haven’t worn makeup as often recently. It’s one time I’ve been thankful about masks as it covers the worst of it.
Since I’m currently not able to get out two posts a week, I’ve been prioritising recipes because I felt like I could do that more enthusiastically. Recipes aren’t affected by my skin and I still wanted to create content, so beauty took a back seat. My love for beauty never left, I’ve still been buying new makeup and skincare. There’s a bit of a backlog when it comes to testing the products I’ve been buying!
When it comes to why I’m not able to get as much content out, it’s mostly due to ill health. If it’s not one thing, it’s something else. I’m continuously getting new diagnoses and having tests. It’s exhausting keeping up with the appointments, let alone the actual conditions. What used to take me two days, is taking 4 as I just don’t have the energy. It’s so frustrating as I’ve always worked a lot. Not being able to makes me feel crappy. But, I know that I have to listen to what my body is telling me. I hope, once we have a fuller picture on some of my conditions, we’ll be able to manage them better and I might have some more energy!?
Anyway, you came here for beauty, so let’s get into my April 2022 Beauty Favourites!
DISCLAIMER: Product links are affiliate. This means I earn a small commission if you buy through my link, but it costs you nothing extra. Thank you for supporting my blog, so I can continue creating content!
BIODERMA PHOTODERM AR TINTED CREAM SPF50+ – £17 from Escentual
I’ve been after a tinted SPF that I can wear daily for the longest time. I didn’t want a tinted moisturiser, I didn’t particularly want coverage, just something to even my skin out. Bioderma is one of my favourite skincare brands, but I hadn’t tried any of their SPFs until this. First off, the tint is light enough that I can use it. It’s very sheer, but gives you a slightly radiant glow and evens your skin out. There’s no coverage, just some magic happening in which your skin looks much better!? I can’t work it out haha, you can still see my acne, but my overall skin will look better with this on.
My skin can be very reactive and a lot of sunscreen breaks me out, so I was so happy after I’d used this for a few days and found my skin was fine. I’ve now been using it almost daily for the past 2 months. I LOVE it. It is super easy to apply, doesn’t take much rubbing in, you can easily add a little cream blush, lip balm and mascara and be ready to leave the house. This SPF has no scent, no white cast, it doesn’t sting on application. It’s not greasy or drying… it’s that perfect, Goldilocks product I’ve been looking for!
ULTRA VIOLETTE SUPREME SCREEN HYDRATING FACIAL SUNSCREEN SPF50+ – £34 from Cult Beauty
I’m not sure I’ve ever shared two SPF products in a favourites post before! Mostly because, like I said, I find SPF pretty tricky with my skin. However, I’ve found 6 SPFs that my skin likes in the last 2 months! So this doesn’t become a post just about sunscreen, I picked my top 2.
I actually shared a post all about choosing the right Ultra Violette sunscreen for your skin last week. I loved them all, but Supreme Screen and Queen Screen were my favourites and I think Supreme Screen ever so slightly pips Queen because it replaces your moisturiser and primer.
This SPF has been specifically created to use under makeup and as your one necessary step before makeup. I’ve worn this under foundations, tinted moisturisers and alone and it works all the time. It feels refreshing when you first apply it and applies very easily. I love the packaging as it comes with a pump and looks cute.
The reason I’ve been so invested in finding great SPFs recently is because I recently started using prescription grade retinol, via Dermatica. Dermatica is an online dermatologist where you get your prescription sent to you each month. I’m about to start my second month of Tretinoin and am starting to see some improvements already. I’m noticing less cystic spots forming and when they do, they either come to a head very quickly or disappear within a couple of days. That initial throbbing pain when they’re under the skin is gone in 24 hours. Before the lumps from cystic spots would be there for weeks. Sometimes they’d never even come to a head.
As this is prescription grade, potent stuff, you absolutely HAVE to wear sunscreen every day. Even if it’s cloudy and even if you’re staying indoors. (This is not an ad by the way, they have no idea who I am, but everyone who signs up gets a referral link. Both me and anyone who signs up using my link will get a £5 credit.)
YSL NU BARE LOOK TINT – £27 from Look Fantastic
FINALLY this product has landed in the UK and it’s gone straight onto my hits list and had to make my April 2022 Beauty Favourites. It’s divine. Glowy, radiant, creamy. Looks great all day and like you’ve got the most amazing, healthy skin. For a tinted moisturiser, it has really good coverage and you can actually build the coverage a bit!
I do find I need to apply this either with a sponge or brush. You can do it with fingers, but it takes a lot more effort and you need to rub and rub! This has been one of the only base products I’ve been able to wear while my skin is peeling, dry and flaky. (ahh the stages of Tretinoin!) It evens out any redness you have on your face and doesn’t cling to dry patches. It’s lightweight, but manages to feel really moisturising too. I wish the shades were less yellow, but since it’s lighter coverage, it doesn’t matter as much about getting a perfect match! This product was well worth the wait! Still annoying how the US sometimes gets products months ahead of the UK!
BY TERRY HYALURONIC HYDRA-BALM IN NUDISSIMO – £29 from Space NK
These lipsticks came out a while ago and I had them on my wishlist since launch. However, as always happens, more makeup is released and things fall down the list! I kept looking at the shade Nudissimo as it looked like a peachy pink, perfect for Spring/Summer. I had a gift voucher recently, so decided to finally purchase one of these lipsticks.
Happy to report the colour is just what I was after, the formula is dreamy and it wears really. This formula is slightly more saturated than the Guerlain lipstick I’ll mention next. You can layer it easily and the colour will build to be pretty opaque. While not advertised as a particularly long wearing lipstick, it does wear a pretty good amount of time for something so creamy.
It wears away evenly and first starts to look a little satin, before fading to just a hint of colour left over. I really hope they release more shades as I want them!
GUERLAIN KISS KISS SHINE BLOOM LIPSTICK IN FLORAL NUDE – £32 from John Lewis
I haven’t tried anything from Guerlain in ages! I’ve tried a couple of their base products before and done reviews on them. However, I feel like they’re a brand who don’t have that many new releases that I’m interested in. These lipsticks aren’t new by any means. But, someone I follow on Instagram raved about this particular shade and it looked right up my street!
It’s a slightly brown, pinky nude. The formula is balm like. You can build the opacity up, but it won’t ever be opaque. This formula feels so comfortable on your lips, creamy, doesn’t settle into any lines. I am already after another shade – a coral which will be perfect for Summer.
BY TERRY BRIGHTENING CC LIQUID BLUSH IN ROSY FLASH – £32 from Look Fantastic
By Terry seems popular with in my April 2022 Beauty Favourites! This is a totally different product to anything I’ve tried before. It looks a bit like the YSL touche eclat packaging wise. But, it’s a luminous, liquid blush.
The formula feels like the Brightening CC Serum, but slightly more gel like. Now, it might come with a brush and you’re meant to click the formula up into the brush and apply. However, I don’t find the brush particularly useful. It isn’t the type of brush I’d use to apply a cream/liquid blush, it’s too small for starters and it looks like a flat foundation brush. I prefer to use the brush to apply it to the back of my hand. I then use a buffing brush to pick up the product and stipple onto my cheeks.
The finish of this when you look at it on your hand can almost be metallic. However, once applied to the cheeks it just looks radiant and has a pretty sheen. This blush lasts all day, but does transfer to masks slightly. I was a little apprehensive about using a product like this as I just thought of all the things that could go wrong haha! But, it actually applies really easily and doesn’t set too quickly. You have time to blend it out before it sets.
DANESSA MYRICKS DEWY CHEEK AND LIP PALETTE IN DEW IT FLIRTY – £26 from Beauty Bay
For the final product in my April 2022 Beauty Favourites, I’ve got this palette from a brand I’ve been intrigued about for ages. Danessa Myricks is an Indie brand I’ve heard about a lot over the past couple of years. They do these multi-purpose cream products that can be used on the eyes, cheeks and lips. The range is mostly cream based, with a couple of powders. There are two of these palettes, this one and a deeper one with more bronze/contour shades.
The colourway of this palette was screaming my name! I had looked at their Colorfix creams before, but could never decide on a shade or finish. This palette was the answer to all my prayers as it has shades I love and is in a sleek, easy to travel with, compact.
Formula wise, this is a thicker cream formula. I haven’t used them on my lips as I just prefer bullet lipstick application. However, this has become a go to for blush. You can wear them separately, or mix. They work as a sheer wash of colour or can be built to really pop on the cheeks. The bright coral shade is stunning for Summer, it has some gold flecks in it too.
The dusty rose shade is my most worn, it’s easy when you’re in a rush and just need something to make you look alive. It goes with anything as well. These blend like a dream with an angled, dense brush. I’ve not experimented with mixing them yet as I love the shades individually, but I will. They last alllllll day and barely transfer onto masks at all. There’s no lifting of product beneath, highlighter blends well on top of it and they always manage to look slightly wet on the skin.
If you’re after a palette that’ll cover all the colour bases you could need; peach, coral, pink, mauvey pink, then this is the perfect palette for you!
See my swatches of this palette, along with all the other products mentioned in my April 2022 Beauty Favourites below:
