Latest skincare & beauty reviews, end of summer
Let’s have a quick roundup of some of the best skincare and beauty products I’ve tried recently, including new releases from Geek & Gorgeous and CeraVe.
We have reviews of sunscreen, serum, and moisturiser. All worth a peek, and all representing good quality at sensible prices. First up, we’re looking at a new SPF.
Geek & Gorgeous 101 Zero Feel SPF50 | ยฃ11.75 for 75ml
This is an excellent quality facial sunscreen with new-generation filters giving broad UVB and UVA protection. The base cream is incredibly light, and once it’s dried onto the skin it doesn’t leave a sticky or heavy feeling – genuinely zero feel. This settles down to a natural matte finish on the skin, has no white cast, and doesn’t look shiny, artificial or greasy.
It’s a generous 75ml tube, bigger than most other facial sunscreens. The filters don’t sting me around the eye area, which is something I often experience with other SPF. It’s also free from perfume and denatured alcohol, so it’s great for sensitive skin. Makeup applies nicely over the top, if you wear it. In addition, I haven’t found it to block pores, which is another bonus.
This has rapidly become my go-to daily sunscreen over the last few weeks, and I think a lot of other people will like it too. Probably best suited to normal, combination or oily skin types, but doesn’t seem to upset rosacea-prone skin either.
FIND AT >> Geek & Gorgeous UK
PG’s Tip: This should hopefully start arriving in their partner stores soon, such as Superdrug and Amazon UK. I’ll update when this happens.
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CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Water Gel Moisturiser | RRP ยฃ19.50 for 48g
This new non-greasy aqua-gel moisturiser is a nice addition to the small range of light moisturisers you can find on the high street. If your skin’s feeling a bit frazzled and dehydrated after holidays, too many actives or the long hot summer in the UK, it’s a gentle way to hydrate and repair the skin barrier without overloading it.
It’s a well thought through product and its main purpose seems to be adding water to plump the skin back up and get it feeling healthy again. Useful ingredients include humectant glycerin, cell-communicating niacinamide, plumping sodium hyaluronate, and CeraVe’s usual three-ceramide blend. Supportive and gently active, without going over the top.
Yes, this is relatively simple, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need when your skin’s having a wobble. Fans of Vichy Mineral 89 Cream or Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost range might like it. CeraVe’s offering has a more complex ingredients list than the Neutrogena and it has the skin-barrier benefit of being fragrance and alcohol free, plus it’s a good bit cheaper per ml than the Vichy gel cream.
FIND AT >> Boots, Lookfantastic (for best offers)
PG’s Tip: This one looks like it’s regularly going to turn up in payday and multi-buy offers, so I’d suggest hunting/waiting for a discount rather than purchasing at full price.
Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum | ยฃ22.00 for 30ml
I hesitated to try this serum for months because of all the excessive TikTok hype around it, but it’s actually a very nice product so there you go. I guess TikTok influencers are occasionally right (apart from all those undisclosed paid product placements, but I digress. #NotAllInfluencers, I know, I know.)
Anyhoo, let’s review. It is indeed soothing, lightweight and elegantly formulated, but of course always do a patch test first in case you have a sensitivity to anything in it. There’s a long ingredients list, including a moderate amount of azelaic acid, which is potentially calming and can have anti-acne and anti-rosacea effects. It isn’t a clinical dose, which would typically start at around 15% concentration, but for most people it’d be enough to take gentle effect over time.
Other soothing actives include: panthenol (B5), allantoin, licorice extract, neem flower extract, aloe vera, beta glucan and various centella ingredients. There’s also niacinamide, green tea and zinc PCA in there, amongst other things. A good serum to layer under a simple moisturiser at night, or under SPF in the morning.
FIND AT >> Lookfantastic, Boots, Cult Beauty
PGs Tip: I’d personally avoid buying this one via Amazon or eBay as there seem to be quite a few K-beauty fakes out there. Best to stick to large, reliable retailers.
If you’re looking for some new makeup, these reasonably-priced little goodies have caught my eye recently too.
e.l.f. Halo Glow Silky Powder Highlighter | RRP ยฃ9.00
Okay, this one’s a pretty obvious dupe of the Rare Beauty highlighters, but at less than half of the price. There’s a decent shade range, and it performs well. Goes on smoothly when applied sparingly with a highlighter fan brush, and doesn’t have a gritty finish or unflattering chunks of glitter in it. Very pretty.
This is nice for adding a subtle glow, and I’m pleased to say there’s a light pearly shade option in there in case you have a very fair skintone, as well as more than one good option for darker skintones. PS don’t overdo it or your cheekbones will be visible from outer space and/or look like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.
FIND AT >> e.l.f. UK, Boots, Amazon UK
PG’s Tip: Regularly turns up in offers, especially on Amazon UK. If you’re buying directly from e.l.f., join their Beauty Squad perks scheme for free and collect points to save on future orders.
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There you have it, a new review of Geek & Gorgeous Zero Feel SPF50 sunscreen, CeraVe Dry Touch Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Water Gel Moisturiser, and Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum.
Let me know if any of these end up in your skincare routine.
