Hi guys! Sorry for such a late post, I did mention ages ago that I would do an updated skincare routine. This has been working very well for me and I have been using this routine for almost 2 months now so I can give a reasonable judgement on the products. If you remember I wasnt happy at all with the last regime I had so I had to change it ASAP!

A quick recap of my skin condition, I have normal to dry skin which gets oily on the tzone when I get hot, so its combination-ish! I suffer from the odd acne which is probably hormonal. Its not too serious but the only problem is the scarring I get after the spots have gone down, they turn quite dark and are quite prominent on my golden skin. Which makes my skin look blemish-full and unclear. I also have hyperpigmentation on my forehead and around my mouth.

Ok, now for the routine, I really have been loving this regime because it leaves my skin looking and feeling soft and smooth and healthy. Since I do have pigmention problems, I feel it's necessary for me to always include Aha's etc in my regime to keep it from looking dull and dry.

The cleanser which I use is still the Dr Darren Aha Radiance cleanser, I havent stopped using this since I bought it and this is still my first bottle! The only difference from my last regime is that I use it in conjunction with the St.Ives Daily Microdermabrasion. Honestly when I first used the Dr Darren cleanser I wasnt 100% happy with the result, I expected my skin to feel much more smoother but it didnt.

I bought the St.Ives Daily Microdermabrasion because I needed a scrub. At first I didnt like it because the mixture was too dry and didnt move around the face evenly or effectively so I thought of mixing it in together with the Dr Darren cleanser to make it more easier to manage and THAT was the best brainwave I had. My skin felt sooooooo smooth after I washed the two off, like butter! My nose gets really dry and flaky quite quickly and that mix had softened it soo well. I look forward to using this combination every morning because of how smooth it makes my skin feel and look. Like I'm having a facial every morning!

I bought this product because it recieved so many good reviews so I had to try it myself, its the No7 Microdermabrasion exfoliator. If during the week my skin is feeling quite dry and raggedy I use this to bring it back to life and give it a boost of softness and get rid of the rough texture on my skin. And I really like it. It gets rid of all the flakies, it does leave my skin a little red but that goes down after a while. I use this 1 or 2 times a week. I have a couple of sample sizes and theres still loads left since you have to use a small amount.

The two neutrogena face washes is for taking off my makeup during the day when I have some makeup on and have to take it off quickly to perform ablution and pray. I dont want to use my expensive cleanser for this so thats why I use these cheaper ones. It does the job and it tackles the acne too. Its really good at removing makeup. I use the scrub for tougher makeup and the gel for lighter makeup. I've gotten so lazy I dont use a makeup remover for my makeup I just use face wash and I always double cleanse. Though I do use makeup remover when I have a lot of eye makeup on.

For my moisturiser I have restarted using Fade Out, I have been breaking out and they've left some stubborn scars, and since Fade Out worked quite effectively before at removing them (even though it took a couple of months) I decided to give it a go again. BUT I never was too fond of the texture and feel of this cream, it was kinda heavy, sticky and didnt absorb well which made it look greasy. SO I mix it with my Cyclax Vitamin E cream which I love love love! The vitamin E cream is light yet moisturising and sinks in soooo well. Brilliant for combination skin like mine.

Last in my skincare regime is Sunscreen! I have finally started using sunscreen! After a pointless delay I decided it was time I started using sunscreen for my problematic hyperpigmentation. To ensure my hyperpigmentation marks dont get any darker since I've realised that I'm quite sensitive to the sun. Sunscreen is soo important guys, if you want your skin to stay looking younger for longer then you must must use sunscreen regularly, especially if you have pigmentation problems. Even in everyday British weather. In fact I wear sunscreen even when I stay indoors because the suns rays still come through the windows and it still has its effects. This particular sunscreen is anti wrinkle and anti dark spot enhanced so it's perfect for me. I apply this after my mousturiser and pat it on.

I am looking to buy a serum once I've done some research on potential products for my hyperpigmentation scars. Will let you know once I've found a good one. I also use a variety of face masks regularly but this needs a post of its own as I'm quite fond of face masks and have a bit of an obsession!

So this is what I use for my skincare regime. I'm quite content with it and won't be changing it any time soon. Along with my skincare I do (try to) drink a lot of water regularly, exercise regularly and eat good stuff and stay away from naughty or processed foods. Having a good skincare regime is very important, it doesnt even have to be the expensive stuff either! I dont have perfect skin but I really see the difference between my skin and some others around me who dont have a regime or dont cater to their skins needs and they'll ask me ''what products do you use?''. I do explain to them that its years of care and attention and diet and lifestyle habits that result in having healthy looking skin and not just a miracle product! I'm grateful to God that hes blessed me with decently healthy skin, I may have acne scars and hyperpigmentation but my skin still retains a healthy glow which many people point out to me and thats because I do treat my skin properly with specific products and methods that my skin needs or that I want for my skin, and I'm so grateful that I had the knowledge and understanding of skincare from a young age, so that I could start from an early age to keep my skin looking and staying healthy.

I hope this was of help guys, if you have any questions do ask me, I dont know if I have many readers, so please do leave comments too. Peace and love xxx

 

It has a slight shiny finish, not glossy shine but a healthy kissable plump shine, if you know what I mean. It honestly looks really natural on my nc35 - nc42 skin. It covers up the hyperpigmentation on my lips so naturally and doesn't wash me out what so ever!! For anyone who is lighter skinned, it will look more reddish pink on them. Like they've sucked on a red lollipop, not as nude and natural as it will look on someone darker. Such a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous rosy shade! 

It's also moisturising and doesn't highlight any dry areas. Its very pigmented but because of its slight shinyness and creamyness it will transfer quite easily and wont last very long. I absolutely love wearing this colour, I really do feel pretty when I wear this (bashful smile). Almost like an English Rose...!


So it's great for indian skintones who want an everyday natural pink lip colour. It has the right amount of brown in it to subtle it down. And the right amount of red/pink to give tanned indian skinned lips a fresh flush of colour. 

As I previously mentioned in one of my reviews, the way Velvet Teddy looked was the ultimate way I wanted my lips to look. It has a 90's sort of look to it. Sort of terracotta like. Ever since I was young (90's child) I'd always liked the look of the 90's lips colour. And when I first got into makeup, that was when that frantic search had began for that specific colour. And then it was that day in the Mac store, when one of the mua's had it on, that was when I fell in love, that was when the obsession had started!

I went to the Mac store and I looked for it on the lipstick stand, I'd never seen the lipstick in real life, so I was picking up all the ones that I thought could be Velvet Teddy, scanning the colours, picking them up one by one, checking the labels underneath. I had to recognise it! I just had to! This is Velvet Teddy after all, I have a connection with this lipstick! I considered help, but no this would hurt my ego, I-must-recognise! After about 5 mins of doing this and almost picking up the same ones twice I gave up. I asked one of the assistants if they could find Velvet Teddy for me, she didn't recognise the name ('pffffffttt' I thought) so she asked another assistant, and number 2 said its a beigey colour, 'it's between this one and this one', pointing at Hug Me and Kinda Sexy (if I recall well). So they started looking for Velvet Teddy, then after another 5 minutes, it didn't seem to be there! Hah! My ego remained unharmed! My connection with Velvet Teddy was still intact! So assistant number 2 opened up the storage cabinet underneath and took out a new tube for me... :)

So I walked over to the mirror, Velvet Teddy in one hand and disposable lip brush in the other. I was so nervous yet excited! I was going to try on this much loved and much stalked lipstick for the first time, this was the moment of truth, I had waited for this for a long time...(Cheesy right?). I swiped the colour over my lips and analysed...hmmm...it seemed nice and natural like a nude pink, natural. It was okay, okay enough for me to make it mine, so I bought it! But I'd forgotten, I'd forgotten how much store lighting can be deceiving....

When I got home I tried it on again, and it was a different story.... Da da daaaa! It looked pale on me. A 'little' too pale for my liking. I didnt find it flattering at all. No 90's look, just some fake grey mess with dry dull hyperpigmented lips. I looked over to my sister with a look of grief, I was heartbroken ;( . She took a look and scolded 'dont get disheartened so quickly, you've got to make it work, do your thing, experiment! Try some lip liner or something, add a little gloss.'

I did what she said and played around with it. I rummaged in my makeup draw and took out a reddish brown (terracotta) lip liner, I think it was Jordanas lip liner in Nutmeg. I lined the outer rims of my lips and pressed my lips together to blend slightly, then I applied Velvet Teddy mainly to the centre of my lips and pressed again to blend slightly. I took a step back and scrutinized. My sister then said 'Wow! There! That looks gorgeous on you!'. She was right, it looked lovely! So naturally gorgeous! The perfect balance of beige, pink and brown with a slight hint of terracotta. It was my own 90's lip! It was what it looked like on the numerous girls I'd seen it on. I added a tiny tiny dab of gloss just to the centre of my lips and it was perfection!

Velvet Teddy is from the matte range of lipsticks. Very creamy and very pigmented. It can be a tad drying and chalky on darker skin tones like most nude mattes but lipbalm and gloss helps with this. It's a beige pink nude colour. On fair skins it can look light terracotta-ish, on medium skintones it looks like a nice beigy pink nude and on darker skintones it can look like a pale beigey pink. On my nc40 - nc41 - nc42 skin and hyperpigmented lips it is a bit too pale pinky beige for my liking, I'm not into the whole corpse look. Okay im exaggerating, I didnt look like a corpse but I just wasn't sure about it. But when I have a decent lip liner underneath it gives it a bit more life and looks like a nice beige peachy pink nude. I love it ! Lining my lips and outer rims with a darker lip liner and adding a little gloss in the centre adds plumpness and dimension to my lips.

I really do love it and I want to make it known to those who are of similar skintone to me and are interested in getting Velvet Teddy, that they should give it a try, they should experiment. Its such a lovely colour. I definitely think nc43's, perhaps nc44's too, can wear this and get the same 90's look out of it too and in my opinion Velvet Teddy looks phenomenal on nc30's, nc35's and nc37's. The swatches on my hand can confirm this as I have rather pale NC30/35 hands compared to my nc40-42 face. If it wasn't for the hyperpigmentation around my lips and on my lips it would look great on me too just swiped on straight from the tube, but it doesn't and I need to make it work my own way. Though, I'm content.

As for it being a dupe for Revlons Mauve it over, I will be doing a post on this very soon Inshaa Allah (if God wills) and will discuss the similarities and whether it is actually a good dupe.

Hope this was helpfull, please comment and ask questions if you need any additional info. Thank you for reading this long but informatively meaningful post. Hope I didn't bore you. Peace and love xxxx

31/05/15: New swatches with better camera quality!! You can really see the mauveiness better now!