Every year around this time I say to myself 'this is the year I'll start blogging properly again', and every year without fail...I completely fail. Shockingly, this year is no different {new year, not so new me} and the other day when I was pondering which hobbies I could take up to fill my time, I thought why not fall in love with one I already have again? So here I am, putting it out to the world that I'll start to show this little blog some love, in the hope that it'll hold me a little more accountable. 

That being said, I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to blog about yet {probably a little bit of everything!}, so for the time being I'm going to stick to what I know and share all of my favourite beauty products from the past year. I figured this would be quite a lengthy post so I've split it into three hopefully bitesize chunks and today I'm starting with skincare. 

I work for quite a large beauty retailer and one of the perks of the job is that I get to test out a lot of different skincare products, however this year I felt myself {and my skin} getting a little overwhelmed with all of the chopping and changing - my skin was dull, breaking out every other day and over sensitive - so this past year I've really made an effort to stick to a skincare routine, and only use products I know work for me and that I really really love. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that this has worked wonders for my skin, it's clearer than it's ever been {apart from a few hormonal spots but what can you do about them?!}, a little more predictable and generally a lot happier. So without further ado...

Omorovicza Balancing Moisturiser

Omorovicza is a brand I only discovered in 2019, and they've quickly become one of my favourite brands, however there are two products which have really stood out for me {the Moor Mud Mask almost made it into this list too}. One of them is the Balancing Moisturiser, and I'd probably go as far as to say it's my favourite beauty discovery of 2019 {or ever!}. My skin is dehydrated and oily, prone to breakouts and generally just really difficult, which makes it really hard to find a decent moisturiser. A lot of moisturisers that are designed to combat dehydrated skin are too heavy and leave me with sticky, spotty skin and a lot that are designed for breakouts completely strip my skin. The Omorovicza Balancing Mosituriser is the perfect combination of the two, its light enough that it just sinks straight into the skin, it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin, and I've never been so breakout free in my life! When I ran out earlier in the year I really noticed a difference in my skin and I've not been without it since. It's a little on the pricey side but worth every penny in my opinion if you've got troubled skin. 

Omorovicza Silver Skin Saviour

Another Omorovicza favourite of mine for my troublesome skin is the Silver Skin Saviour. Silver has antibacterial properties and the salicylic and glycol acids in this mask help to unclog pores, so if you're acne prone like me then I'm telling you now, you need this in your life. It is quite strong though, so now my skin isn't so terrible I only use this every other week to keep it clear, and it's also quite expensive so I don't want to get through it too quickly! I've also heard rumours that Omorovicza will be adding to the Silver Skin range so I'll definitely be picking up some bits to test out!

Drunk Elephant Retinol Cream

The Drunk Elephant Retinol Cream was a fairly recent discovery for me, I'd never tried the brand before so it was an impulse buy while I was in the states {I can always guarantee this will happen as soon as I step foot inside a Sephora}, but I'm so glad I did. I'd been trying to add retinol into my skincare routine for a while as this past year I've been noticing my skin ageing slightly, but all of the creams and capsules I tried either broke me out or were a little too strong for my skin, leaving it red and sensitive. The Drunk Elephant Retinol Cream combines 1% vegan retinol with fatty acids which help to calm the skin, so I've been getting all of the benefits of retinol without the over sensitivity that comes with using such a strong ingredient on your skin - definitely one to think about adding to your routine if you're looking to start using retinol!

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Cream

For ages now I've struggled to find the right eye cream...as my skin is quite young still, a lot of the thicker 'anti-ageing' eye creams tend to be too much for my skin, leave me with tiny little spots around my eyes and just don't feel great on the skin. The Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Cream is a game changer though, it's creamy enough to feel soothing on the eyes, but not so thick that it feels like it's dragging across the delicate skin in your eye area, and helps to keep my puffiness at bay! 

Sunday Riley Good Genes

Another thing I picked up when I was in America this summer was the Sunday Riley Good Genes serum. I'd heard great things about the brand, and I'd also heard that the american version of this product was better than the UK version as it used lactic acid instead of glycolic acid. Designed to deeply exfoliate the skin and add more radiance to your skin, I've been nothing but impressed by this treatment. I don't use it very often because its quite pricey and I know I won't be able to replace it when it runs out, but whenever I do use it, I always wake up with brighter skin and all of those little texture spots that plague my face are visibly reduced.

Kiehl's The Skin Rescuer

Earlier in the year when I ran out of my beloved Balancing Moisturiser {which was sold out everywhere - nightmare} I rushed down to the Kiehl's counter to find an alternative, as they used to be my go-to skincare brand for pretty much everything. The lovely lady who served me recommended the Skin Rescuer and I loved it so much I ended up going back and buying another bottle. It essentially works to reduce the signs of stress on the skin such as dehydration and redness/blotchiness - both of with I had in abundance at the time. What I loved was that it was super light so perfect for my oily skin and left my skin feeling fresh and looking clear..essentially everything I want from my moisturiser. It's a great alternative to the Omorovicza Balancing Moisturiser too if you're not looking to spend that much on your moisturiser.