The perfect partnership: skincare, makeup & confidence.
It goes without saying, the secret to looking and feeling your best comes from inner self-confidence, not what products you have on your face. You can wear all the makeup in the world but if you don’t feel good, you won’t look good. This statement right here is why I’ve loved partnering up with Cetraben who have created a beauty bible to help you embrace and love the skin you’re in – whatever your skin type.
This amazing beauty bible is filled with tips and tricks that cover skin preparation to manage skin conditions and enhance your best features. It’s all about looking and feeling your best! I loved the sound of this campaign so you can imagine my instant YES when I received the message.
Although my skin is pretty ok/ good most of the time, I still have my flair-ups with drying and excess oil. So trust me, there’s something for everyone in this bible. Especially just useful makeup applying tips!
So today’s post I’m selecting my top 10 favourite tips and recommendations from the guide. Plus reviewing the products they kindly gifted me and how they have become part of my current routines.
The Beauty Bible top 10 tips:
- Apply cleanser all over your face and neck but leave on for a few minutes to absorb. Dirt and makeup will break down and melt away impurities more efficiently with little effort. Massage residue gently with fingers and rinse using lukewarm water.
- Foundation sits better on well-moisturised skin, so always prep properly to get the best results. Try a soothing nourishing moisturising cream as a primer such as the Cetraben Oatmeal cream for 24-hour hydration.
- Avoid powder foundation if you suffer from chronic dry or eczema-prone skin. This grabs onto dry patches and can exaggerate lines and wrinkles.
- Opt for CC creams if you want a more breathable, natural, luminous coverage. Most now offer full coverage so can easily replace your foundation and has much more hydrating, nourishing skincare benefits.
- Instead of powder eye shadow, try cream or liquid shadows. They are super hydrating, lightweight and buildable, use fingers for less agitation to the eyes.
- Apply a highlighter on the cheeks in a ‘c’ shape above the eye and across the top of the cheek. For a plump radiant smile – apply to the apples of the cheeks.
- Choosing set or spray: If you have oily or combination skin then loose and press powders are preferable for long wear. This absorbs oils and reduces excess shine. If you have more dry or sensitive skin, setting sprays work more favourably to offer a dewy finish. Go for ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerine to help draw moisture.
- Mixing wrong products whether makeup and/or skincare could make matters worse. Always research the best ingredients for you at what you can introduce or avoid. Remember less is more, so keep your skincare simple.
- Keep bacteria at bay – when was the last time you cleaned your mobile phone? Use alcoholic wipes to sterile your phone screen. This will prevent the spread of bacteria and you will notice an improvement in the texture of your skin.
- A silk pillowcase prevents friction and irritation allowing your skincare to absorb whilst you sleep. It’s a Hollywood beauty secret!
Beauty bible: my verdict
I’m sure you’ll agree there are some great tips and recommendations from Julia. Some you may know, some you may need a reminder of or something new you’ve learned. The best one for me was definitely cleaning my iPhone more and using more creamy eye shadows.
So as well as the beauty guide, I was always gifted an array of products to accompany the booklet. All handpicked to help improve my knowledge and application of my skincare and makeup. The first item that impressed me straight away was the reusable cotton pads which I can honestly say has revamped my makeup removal process. I’m ashamed to admit I was using wipes as well as your standard remover and cleanser. But these work great and you simply put them in the wash to use again.
As mentioned in the tips above too, they also sent me a silk pillowcase and a new face cloth. It’s actually amazing waking up with no marks on my face where my pillow has been. I’ve also noticed an improvement in my hair, it’s not as frizzy on a morning.
Cetraben skincare products
Onto the important stuff now – Cetraben. I’ve known this brand for quite some time but never used their range before. My readers know I’m usually combination skin so I’m fortunate to not have had any major issues. Don’t get me wrong I still have odd flair-ups especially eczema on my body. So I was keen to see how these would work more on a day-to-day basis. Especially following Julia’s tips and tricks.
My favourite item out of the three has to be the Cetraben Ointment. This hydrating balm actually works great as a primer and helps give you that dewy glow. It’s not sticky and sits well underneath the foundation. Its recommended for this time of the year too to shield skin from the weather changes such as frost, wind and even central heating. This ointment is definitely a multi-purpose product and it actually helped my partner a lot with his dry hands. He’s been using it at bedtime so that the fingers and palms absorb. It didn’t take long for his dry skin to clear up.
The Cetraben Oatmeal Cream has become my go-to body moisturizer, especially on my legs. I’ve been using this before getting dressed after shaving and it’s stopped me from getting shaving rashes. My legs do tend to go dry in the winter so this will work perfectly for keeping them moisturised. It also helped prevent tanning products from drying out my skin too.
Finally the Cetraben Cream I’ve used as a general face moisturiser either on a morning or night. It’s actually the no.1 GP recommended cream in the UK. Enough said! I think everyone should have a pot of this just for general hydration.
To round up I’ve really enjoyed using these products and referring to the beauty bible. I think it’s a great idea for a skincare brand to refer to makeup so much. I’ve not seen that before. The three products I’ve sent do exactly what it says on the tin and they are super affordable too. I’ll certainly be purchasing once emptied.
