please note: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything using these links, a very small percentage of the product's cost will come to me at no expense to yourself. This helps with the running costs of my blog, thank you!

I was meant to finish writing up my Kiehls Turmeric & Cranberry mask draft and post it next in my Turmeric Tales series (read my first post describing Turmeric benefits here), but life has massively got in the way of blogging as consistently as I intended for this year and recently I’ve been using this Disciple Good Skin facial oil-serum (due to my skin reacting to something), so I felt it deserved to be bumped up the Turmeric Tale list as I haven't been using much else (in a bid to make my skin return to normal).

I haven’t yet tried the Dreamy Skin facial oil in this Discovery Set that I bought, so I am focusing this blog post on the Good Skin Facial Oil-Serum, but the Dreamy Skin sounds amazing and I always look for sets when purchasing new products from brands, so I’d recommend buying this one to see if you like both, as it works out better value for money.

Read on to see what my thoughts are on the Good Skin facial oil-serum and why it may be good for you too..

Turmeric Tales: Botanical Lab Turmeric Blemish Control Clay Mask

Hi everyone and welcome back!!

I've decided to start a new series of “Turmeric Tales” after the popularity of my Instagram post last year (here) featuring the Botanical Lab Turmeric mask, so I've been scouring the internet since then, collecting some turmeric containing products to test and review for this series, which I'm so excited about!

Seeing as my grandparents were from India and turmeric is heavily used in South Asian food/culture, it made sense to start this series, especially as it has recently gained much popularity in the Western world, so read on to see my first instalment in this series and a little background information on the wonder ingredient that is also known as "haldi".

please note: this post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything using these links, a very small percentage of the product's cost will come to me at no expense to yourself. This helps with the running costs of my blog, thank you!

Saturday Skincare: Ramadan 2018 Skincare - Clinique Moisture Surge

Ramadan is once again here and this year I was ever so kindly sent the most thoughtful PR package I've probably ever received from none other than Clinique.
If you guys remember my "Thirsty Skin" blog post last year in Ramadan, you'd remember me writing about a host of ideas for dehydrated skin, which is very common for those of us fasting as we are of course not eating or drinking water for up to 18 hours+ here in the UK.
This year, Clinique sent out care packages of their Moisture Surge skincare range to a couple Muslim bloggers and I was pretty touched, as even to this day, many brands and non-Muslims in general still don't know that we don't drink water in daylight hours!
Most brands have at least one product or skincare ranges for dry/dehydrated skin (as you probably saw in my blog post last year), but the fact Clinique were so thoughtful about sending their hydrating range this year to Muslim bloggers, it really spurred me on to write this post and of course explain the MS range which I was familiar with but didn't realise included this many products.
It's only been about a week and a half of trying these but read on to check out the Moisture Surge products sent and what I think so far!

Saturday Skincare: All 6 Glamglow masks review

Hi my lovelies!
It's been a while since I've posted, I started this year with this 2018 Goals blog post and knew it would be hard to try and aim to do both "traditional" blogging and videos but man it's been even harder than I thought!
The video front has been good in terms of instagram but my blog has always been my baby and I refuse to neglect it, so in light of the short IG video I created for the new Glamglow #Multimasking set, I've decided to use it as an opportunity to review all the masks in this one post as many of you voted, rather than separate posts.

screenshots from my mini IG video of this multimasking set (click here to watch)

As you guys read in my Self Love blog post, masking is the simplest form of self love that a lot of us do, so I knew the Glamglow Multimasking set would gauge a lot of interest especially as so many of us bought the Christmas set on sale at the start of the year, which was an absolute bargain!
This set is of course great for it's main purpose of multimasking (which is perfect for combination skin types), but it's also a great way to try all of the Glamglow masks without the hefty price tag of buying all of them full size, so read on for the lowdown on each mask!

Saturday Skincare: The Body Shop Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask

If you're not following me on Instagram, you may have missed just how excited I was for the release of this new Body Shop Expert Facial Mask: The Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask.
As soon as I saw the preview pictures, I knew I had to have it; I've never been this excited for a skincare product launch, but I was for this one because anyone who knows me knows I'm pretty matcha obsessed and have been for years ever since discovering it.
I feel quite proud when followers tag me in matcha related posts on social media as I I feel like everyone should know about it and at least try this superfood once in their life! You can read about it's health benefits in my matcha chiller/frappe blog post.. considering it's the only food related post I've written on the blog, you know the love is real lol.
I was super thrilled to have received the mask from The Body Shop before it's release date and even held a first impressions demo on Instagram Live, also using one of the two new facial toners (Chinese Ginseng & Rice) which was pretty fun to do with my followers.
Read on to see my thoughts on the mask and your chance to win a mask for yourself!

Saturday Skincare: Thirsty Skin

Since my last skincare post, my routine has changed considerably; mainly because it was very basic (you'll know if you caught my Instagram Live a couple months ago!) and also because I've received a fair few new skincare products through PR packages, so I've been giving them a whirl and thought I'd share my new routine/suggested products for this month of fasting when our skin is most likely lacking in hydration!
I try to wear even more minimal makeup in Ramadan than I usually do because I like to use it as a detox monthand focus my saved time elsewhere either spiritually or at least focussing more on skincare.
I've followed the Spend/Save theme as before where I could below, suggesting both affordable and high end options for you to check out if you're feeling spendy.
Read on to see what steps I'd recommend for parched skin; some of these are suitable for combination to oily skin types too of course 💗

Ramadan 2017 - The Body Shop Eid Treats Beauty Calendar!

So Ramadan is upon us once again and despite recent incidences in the news I'm hoping this month teaches us the true meaning of peace and patience as well as general reflection on ourselves.
This year will be another hard year as the hours of fasting are 18+ here in the UK and like last year, ironically the weather has decided to finally become hot again in time for Ramadan. If you missed my matcha milkshake recipe last year on the blog, be sure to check it out here if you'd like some extra health benefits when breaking your fast and an alternative refreshing drink with a quick caffeine fix if you're a tea/coffee drinker.
Despite this and the 24 hour job of being a mother to a boisterous 3 year old (and toilet training atm!), I have a couple blog posts planned that I hope to get up this month, including an Eid gift guide and hopefully some more foundation reviews to add to my Foundation Files database! 
Be sure to also check out my Instagram too as I will be opening this calendar every day and plan to do a few giveaways as well as a special Instagram takeover too 👀
I thought I'd start this month by sharing this absolutely stunning and well made "Eid Treats" Beauty Advent Calendar especially made for Ramadan/Eid ever so kindly sent from The Body Shop.
Read on to see more!

Saturday Skincare: Face Masks - Save/Spend

It's been a while since I've written a Saturday Skincare post (see previous posts here) and after last week's Instagram Live topic of masks, I decided to write up my most favourite masks right now and am planning on doing more Save/Spend dupe style posts soon!
So this post is featuring my most used masks: the GlamGlow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment and The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask; read on for my thoughts on the two!

Saturday Skincare: Toning Pads

Following the last skincare post about Cleansers, it only makes sense that this post should be about Toners. This week's Saturday Skincare post is by yours truly and is about a fairly new type of product: toner pads. Read on for a little intro to toners and what I've learned about them over the years!

Saturday Skincare: Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser

This week's Saturday Skincare post is another guest post by Sam (blog here) and will be featuring the ever-popular Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser.
I quite like this cleanser personally, and would recommend it mainly for dry (but unsensitive) skin types; Sam will be giving her thoughts on it below, let me know if you've tried it too!

Saturday Skincare: Summer SPF

If you've been following me on SnapChat, you would have seen I mentioned starting a semi regular post on the blog: Saturday Skincare.  Although my blog mainly concentrates on make up reviews and make up looks, skincare is also very important to achieve flawless looks (as well as nutrition of course). As a makeup artist I always get asked what skincare I recommend and to be honest I find it is a very personal thing, however it is important to find the right product for your skin type in order to achieve great make up finishes too.
As it's (somewhat) officially Summer, the first Saturday Skincare instalment will be covering the following two SPF 50+ products: Bioderma Photoderm Aquafluide and Filorga UV-Defence.

This SPF skincare post is a guest post by one of my original blogger friends Sam (of SamRam1214) who's become more skincare obsessed over the years and encouraged me to look at more skincare products and their ingredients; so I thought it's only fitting she starts off the Skincare Saturdays post. Read on for the full review and let us know what you think!

Tuesday Takeover: Chocoholic Hijabi

This weeks Tuesday Takeover is by Asmaa from Chocoholic Hijabi who is a fellow blogger friend and of course a chocoholic as her name suggests!
I'm not usually much of a skincare blogger but I've personally been interested in trying products from GlamGlow as I've heard great things about the brand, so I asked Asmaa to guest post her review of the YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Mask which she recently tried.

GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Mask [review]

Hello FrootiBeauty readers! I'm Asmaa and I blog over at Chocoholic-Hijabi. Today's guest post is a review on the very well known GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Mask, which I received a sample of in the February You Beauty Discovery box.

YouthMud Tinglexfoliate promises to leave your skin with a 3 day glow, soft and smooth and with tightened pores. Also known as the 10 minute facial in a jar, it claims to leave your skin camera ready immediately. It's supposed to leave you with younger looking skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, but seeing as my skin isn't quite mature, I wasn't sure what to expect.

First of all, the texture of the mask is grainy and contains particles of leaves, which I wasn't too keen on. You only need to apply a thin layer of the mask over the face, there's no need to apply loads as the smallest amount will have an impact.

Texture of the mask. You can clearly see the 'bits' of leaves in the mask (which did clog the tube a little).

The dried mask is more chalky in colour whereas the mask that is still wet, is less apparent on the skin.

Within seconds of applying the mask, I could feel my skin tingling and (slightly more worrying) burning. I know that the mask is supposed to tingle (it's in the name), but it really was a bit extreme on my sensitive skin. Nevertheless, I did leave the mask on until it had dried. I noticed a tightening sensation where the mask has started drying and the burning/tingling did decrease as the mask dried. After 10 minutes, I used lukewarm water to wet my face again and then, using circular motions, started to remove the mask (and also exfoliate at the same time).

Results: After removing the mask thoroughly, my skin felt extremely smooth and taut, and I'm happy to say that there are no lasting effects from the burning/tingling that initially occurred. True to it's word, the mask definitely has the effect of a facial and great for when you're in a bit of rush, but want to treat yourself. There is a visible difference to my skin, I'm not quite sure if it's glowing, but there is definitely something (and it's stayed smooth and soft). Overall I don't think this mask is best suited for me and I'm going to try out the SuperMud Clearing mask (hopefully with equally good results) =)

GlamGlow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate is available from a number of retailers (such as HQhair, LookFantastic and Beauty Expert), priced at £25 (15ml) and £50 (50ml). It is pricey, but I do believe that there is a 'Try before you buy' sample set available on the GlamGlow website, which allows you to try all of their products before purchasing any full size product.

I hope you found the review useful and thank you for reading! You can find more of my ramblings over at chocoholic-hijabi.blogspot.co.uk =)
 

Twitter: @asmaamangera

Instagram: @asmaa17

Sunday Skincare: Bioderma UK launch & mini reviews

Last Tuesday I attended the launch of Bioderma in the UK (well London for now!).
If you haven't heard about Bioderma yet.. Where have you been?!
The Crealine H2O Micellar Solution (or water with oil solution) has been something of a cult product in the beauty world, with one bottle being sold every 6 seconds and it has the status of "best makeup remover". In the UK it's named Sensibio instead of Crealine but its essentially the same product.

I've always wondered what the hype was with this product but never got round to trying it, so when I got the invite for the UK launch I was overly excited to finally learn (and try) this cult product.

I attended the launch with blogger friends MangoWhirl, Tanzina and Asmaa, and we learned that the French brand Bioderma stems from Biology + Dermatology. Coming from a biological/science background (well nutrition, physiology and the like in my degree!), I'm always a fan of products that actually take into account that whole side, as things such as hormones, diet etc affect the skin. Dermatology is also important and great for when your skin is going through some changes so the fusion of the two in this brand is excellent in my opinion.

We also learned that there's actually a lot more to the Bioderma brand other than their H2O Micellar Solutions (shock horror!). They will be releasing 5 skincare ranges in the UK, and these pretty much cover the most common skin concerns/types:

1) Sensibio - for sensitive skin
2) Sebium - for oily/acne prone skin
3) Hydrabio - for dehydrated skin
4) Atoderm - for dry and atopic/eczema prone skin
5) Photoderm - for skin in need of advanced sun protection (well that's everyone in my opinion!)

One thing that stood out to me was that the Photoderm range covers protection for all skin types too, within it's sun protection range; so sun protection for acne, rosacia or damaged skin too, which isn't usually found in suncare ranges.  

Bioderma will be sold in leading pharmacies like John Bell & Croyden and Bliss Pharmacy. Now a lot of people may be disappointed that it won't be in places like Boots or Superdrug but after speaking to the ladies from Bioderma, they said that they'd rather have their products sold correctly by consultants first rather than people picking up the wrong products for their skin. 
I'm happy with this reason personally; I'm more prone to buying makeup and particularly skincare from department stores as I like the correct consultation and don't like standing at Boots' small displays reading everything on the packaging and then proceeding to try out the product on the hand, as my face usually has makeup/my hands are unsanitary; the list could go on! 
When a product has a cult status however, I do like to read up on it online and then buy it from Boots etc, but generally I don't like loitering around by myself at the displays, swatching a million products without a tissue at hand like you would on a counter!

Anyway, I found the Sensibio H2O Micellar Solution to be great at removing my makeup, particularly eye makeup. In one swipe it was gone and felt like I was removing it with water, despite always wearing primer. I struggled slightly with my waterproof eyeliner on a cotton pad but just removed it with my cotton buds on the inner eye; amazing!

I've also tried the Sebium Pore Refiner on two clients already who have oily/acne-prone skin and found it to mattify it amazingly, whilst also minimising the pores. I'm sure it made the skin softer to apply the foundation onto too.

Sebium Micellar Solution & Pore Refiner

The Sensibio H2O Micellar Solution is priced at £9.99 for 250ml and the full range is available at leading pharmacies such as John Bell & Croyden (behind Debenhams in Oxford Street, London), Bliss Pharmacy Gloucester Road, Beauty Mart at Harvey Nichols or online at Escentual.com.

Have you tried Bioderma before? Which would you recommend?

 

Monday Mask: Montagne Jeunesse Break Out Mask

I recently received a couple masks from Montagne Jeunesse's new Skin Heroes range to try and this week I got down to trying the Break Out Mask as my skins been a tad "off" of late.

In all honesty I barely use face masks these days, my usual routine just literally consists of a St Ives/Clinique scrub, face wash, toner and moisturiser.. If I get a spot I use a bit of Origins Spot Remover and that's it.

However, I thought I'd give these masks a try as it's been a while and I remember trying Montagne Jeunesse in secondary school (peel off mask).

The Skin Heroes masks range come in two steps mostly - mask and moisturiser.

Break Out Mask

Ingredients: The main ingredients in this mask are Witch Hazel (spot-fighting/calming) Tea-Tree (calming), Canadian Willowherb (soothing)

Colour: Pastel Green

Texture: Slightly thick clay.. hardens slightly when dry so you can't move your facial muscles! When washing off, I felt a warmth on my face when using warm water; not sure if that's good or bad but I finished off with cold water anyway.

Ease: I still prefer peel off masks for ease!

Scent: Very fresh, clay and minty.

Price: For £1.50 it certainly won't break the bank and is worth a try if you're unsure of which of these masks to pick!

Break Out Moisturiser
Ingredients: Again, Tea-Tree & Canadian Willowherb
Colour: White
Texture: Didn't absorb very easily into the skin.. using a little goes a long way cos of this.
Scent: Fresh, minty 
FrootiFactor: 

Overall I'd give this mask a 1.5 out of 5. It certainly felt fresh on my skin but I found slight red patches on my dry areas (cheeks), despite this mask being for combination and oily skin. The moisturiser did help calm the redness down a bit but wasn't very easily absorbed.

I look forward to trying the peel off mask, so stay tuned for that!

Have you tried Montagne Jeunesse masks? Which is your favourite?