IGK - MY HAIR HEROES

IGK was a brand that was introduced to me through YouTube. Many youtubers were posting about them a few years ago and their packaging always stood out to me. With SpaceNK being one of my favourite beauty shops ever, I was delighted to find this brand there. After browsing around for a bit I was so stuck on what to get, because quite frankly I wanted to buy everything. Their scent was what sold me on their products initially, a gorgeous coconut-y smell that isn’t overpowering or too much, it’s more like a fresh coconut scent on a hot summer evening after the beach when there’s a cool breeze. Did that even make sense? Over the last few years I have tried a lot from the brand but here are my top 3 products. 

I’ll start with the product I use first after washing my hair, their Thirsty Girl Leave In Conditioner. This comes in a spray form and you have to shake it before spraying onto damp hair. I personally like using this as detangling spray as I find that it does an amazing job of getting rid of tangles and makes me brushing my hair a walk in the park. But it is very hydrating and helps inject some serious moisture into your tresses.

I then go in with Mistress. This used to be marketed as a leave in conditioner but is now marketed as a hair balm which I think is much more suited to the product. It does come out as a balm and it gets rid of any frizz and smoothes out the hair while giving it shine and hydration. I use this both on damp hair before styling, but also on dry hair after styling to smooth out any unruly bits. The smells of this product is just beyond incredible! I’ve had so many people compliment me on how nice my hair smells when I use this. What can I say, I'm in love with the coco!

And lastly, their First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo is a delight to use after a workout. Not gonna lie, being a cabin crew, the name of the product is what made me buy it haha, but it’s actually so amazing. It feels very heavy duty at first, very thick and dry, but that feeling quickly goes and leaves my locks feeling smooth and smelling like coconut-y goodness. 

I love that most of their products also come in a smaller version which is great for travel, but also for people who want to try the brand and don’t to commit to a full size. What have you tried from the brand? 

Lots of love, 

SFS.

A MINI, SPENDY, BEAUTY HAUL

If you read my previous post you will know that all I’ve done during this lockdown is spend money. I can’t help myself. It’s the only ‘normal’ thing I have left. I can’t go into the shops and browse, I can’t hang out with friends and family, so shopping online has really helped me through this time and brought a smile to my face. It also gives me something nice to look forward to. Have I excused myself enough yet? Ok, so here is post on some orders that arrived this week. 

Let’s talk eye cream. The one I am currently using is from Clinique as much as I like it, I don’t love it, so I wanted to try something new. Rodial is a brand I haven’t tried a whole lot from, but the few bits I have tried, I loved. I had a cheeky £10 Incentive on SpaceNK and used it towards this eye cream as it’s a hefty price tag. It’s their Vit C Eye Soufflé. I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t even touched the cream. I’m waiting for my current eye cream to finish before I dabble with this one. I don’t even want to ‘swatch’ it as it’s so pricey that I don’t want to waste it. Because of this, I can’t report on how it feels/first impressions, but as soon as I start using it, I will report back.

Since we’re talking of eyes, I wanted to buy some eye patches. I have used eye patches in the past and loved how they felt, but I always bought a single pack and wanted to get a pot with a few of them inside so that I can treat myself whenever I fancy it. I mainly like eye patches to deal with puffiness around my eyes, which is why I went with the Pixi DetoxifEye eye patches. It has 60 patches inside, so 30 pairs and it also comes with a spatula that makes it easier to separate and remove them. I have tried them and they felt very cooling and refreshing around the eyes. I love Pixi as a brand, so I wasn’t surprised when I loved this product from them.

Now here’s a thing I never thought I’d say, but I am very much into slicked back hair. I usually love volume and normally hate seeing my hair flat, but I am getting into sicked back low ponytails and buns. Again, usually I’d be more of a high top bun and a high ponytail kinda gal, so this is all new to me. But to aid my new slicked-back-hair-dreams, I bought a Texture Clay from Moroccanoil, just to help my hair stay in place and keep a matte finish. I fear that if it’s glossy, it might make my hair look greasy and that’s not the look I am going for. I am yet to try this, so hopefully I will have nice things to say about it in a future post.

As if ordering eight lipsticks wasn’t enough, I decided to order one more. If you don’t know what I am talking about, read my previous post. I’ve been obsessed with Lorna Luxe’s morning instagram stories where she does her makeup and she sold me on the Nars Afterglow Lip Balm in the shade Torrid. It’s a beautiful warm coral shade. It’s ever so sheer, that if you have slightly more pigmented lips like I do, you’ll barely be able to see it, but it’s there and it adds a beautiful something, something. It also smells amazing and the packaging is beautiful. This product requires no mirror, so you can apply this on the go and know that your lips will look juicy and plump. 

And last but not least, I bought the Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser in the shade Glow. Again, a Lorna Luxe influenced purchase. I have had this product in the past, but I bought such a dark shade back then that I ended up giving it to my mum and never thought about giving it another go. I was actually under the impression that I didn’t even like this, but I decided to give it a go again and I am so glad I did! The shade Glow is perfect for me at the moment. I am quite yellow and this has a lovely golden undertone, so it suits me just fine, however I do think that I could’ve gone with a slightly darker shade as I know that I tan easily. But I’ll just mix it with a darker foundation or some bronzing drops later in the summer. The coverage is light but it has a gorgeous glow and makes your skin appear so healthy. 

So that’s it… for now. Let me know your thoughts on these products if you’ve tried them and let me know if there are any others I should try.

Lots of love,

SFS.

IN LOVE WITH ORANGE

Lockdown is doing things to me guys. It’s making me gain weight for one, but the main thing it’s doing is making me spend money. I’m supposed to be saving for my wedding, but here I am splashing out cash on makeup and skincare every other day. I’m surprised I still don’t remember my card details and still need to do the walk of shame to my wallet in front of my fiancé every time I’m checking out.

Any who, spring is amongst us and that to me just means one thing, orange lipstick season! I have been a lover of orange toned lipsticks for many years, be it a true orange, a red-orange, a grapefruit, coral, whatever, I don’t care as long as it has some sort of orange in it. This year I went crazy and bought eight new orange lipsticks. Eight! When I swatched them all side by side the other day, I honestly couldn’t tell some of them apart. Oops! Having said that, I don’t regret a single purchase and I am very much in love with my new lippies. I will eventually post about them all, but for todays post I thought I would keep it simple and show you my current top three. 

(Stain the Matte Shaker leaves once rubbed off)

Let’s start with the Lancôme Matte Shaker in the shade Magic Orange. I heard a rumor recently that this line is getting discontinued. Don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, it’s a real shame! I love the packaging, it’s like a little cocktail shaker. You do actually need to shake the lipstick and when you open it it has a little sponge that is soaked with product and you run this over your lips. It feels a bit like water on your lips which is so refreshing. The colour payoff is also great considering how wet it is. After a few minutes it sets to a lovely matte finish. No stickiness or uncomfortable dryness. Just a lightweight formula that looks and feels really fresh. The colour is also beautiful, not really a true orange, it definitely has some hints of pink in there, but I love it nonetheless. The best part about this formula is that it fades so evenly and leaves behind a stunning stain. It’s quite hard to get rid of it, but I love that I don’t have to worry about reapplying and I can just pop a lip balm over it.

Another Lancôme offering and probably my favourite of the three, their L'absolu Lip Lacquer in the shade 515 Be Happy. I saw this on so many YouTube videos and every time I saw someone wearing it, I would head to the description box and find that it was shade 515. This formula is interesting, still very lightweight and wet, but feels like a balm at the same time. It’s also really long-lasting considering the amount of shine it has. It’s versatile in its wearability. What I mean is that it’s very buildable. You can apply one coat for a fresh, dewy lip, two coats for intense colour and shine, and three coats for even more shine and pigment. If you’ve tried any nudes from this range, please let me know which you’d recommend as I am very interested in trying some more. 

And last but not least, the Givenchy Rouge Interdit Vinyl lipstick in the shade Orange Magnetique. The whole thing that got me started on this massive lipstick shopping spree was the fact that I am so into lip stains and balmy, comfortable lipsticks. I’m not so much into mattes and heavy formulas anymore. This lipstick was the first that I ordered and it did not disappoint. Once again the formula is beautiful, so creamy and glides on the lips like a dream. It doesn’t settle into any lines and feels so moisturising. The packaging itself is also worth a mention, because wow, would you look at that?! The colour is more of a grapefruit shade, but I bloody love it!

Any brands or shades you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments.

Lots of love, 

SFS.