text: Ok. Real Talk. Last week I had the chance to try out the Dusty Girls ‘Sunshine Bronzer’, and raved heavily about it in this post here. I had never heard of the brand before, but with them having an ethos of ‘kind to skin’ with ‘an all natural approach’, I’m so very glad that I managed to hear about them.
  A quick recap of why I enjoyed the bronzer is this. I have very spotty skin. I went to a dermatologist a year or so back and he said that I have a degree of adult acne which needed sorting out. I wasn’t seeing much change from the expensive approach of peels that were recommended, so decided to go down the “self help” route, with calming down on the amount of makeup I was using, and also choosing my products in skincare and cosmetics more wisely.
  A wise approach for me, for skincare and makeup choices, is finding the right ingredients. My skin reacts badly to talcs and silicone which appear in a lot of high street cosmetics. This can be down to my already congested skin being even more suffocated by the clogging effects of such ingredients, thus a vicious cycle of “mask to hide, but aggravate by masking” kind of thing happening.
  It’s not the easiest thing putting your big, blemished moon-face out there in a blog post, but girls and women have been doing it pretty proudly for the past couple of years now, which is pretty cool. Never the less, I still feel a bit weird about it, but oh well. How else are you going to see the effects of what I’m telling you is awesome, right?
  So to the left here is me, of a morning, scruffy and relaxing out on a weekend. My hair is up, and my skin is left to breathe (I mean I had my eyebrows tinted, but yeah).
  As you can see, I have uneven skin tone issues, redness, and quite large pores. There are also some little clusters of flat pimples, and one raised one down on the side of my chin.
  These guys come and go, they’re nowhere near as bad as they used to be, and thank goodness for that.
  Believe it or not, I’d be happy if my skin stays this way actually! It’s far from perfect, but at least I can “manage it better”, with lighter concealing and lighter coverage.
  Previously I was attacking the problem directly with some rather harsh punches with lots of products containing Salicylic acid, Glycolic acid, and all sorts. These are all fine for most people, but for me, my gosh they dried me out. I had itchy redness, enhanced combination patches, but hey, the spots did look a little smaller.
  I also believe that I was terrible at knowing how to keep moisture in my skin alongside using these formulas, which is entirely my fault of course. Most moisturisers just didn’t cut it though, and had fragrances in them causing more irritation, and honestly, I just wasn’t educated enough to know what to grab.
  You might know, I ADORED Heal Gel, and wrote all about my love for it here, but after 4 tubes, it just stopped working. Well, I don’t think IT stopped working, more like my skin got “used to it”, as skin sometimes does, and that was it.
  “Dusty Girls Makeup is farmed by MooGoo Skin Care. We have the serious job of making skin care for people with skin problems or very sensitive skin. Our makeup range adapts the sample principles. We have developed makeup that doesn’t damage our skin but provides you with a natural and healthy coverage- without the chemicals.” – Dusty Girls
  “Here at MooGoo, we seem to be known best for two things {apart from our fabulous cow puns of course!}. 1. – We’ve created products that help people who have sensitive, troubled skin, and 2. – we have a reputation for offering an effective alternative for people who want skin care without all the nasties associated with many commercial skin care brands. We often get questions from people in this latter category wondering where to begin! If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place!” – MooGoo
  Oil Cleansing Method, Combination (£16.90) – This version of the MooGoo oil cleanser has an equal amount of drawing oils and moisturising oils. The essential oils are suited for TZone skin types. I use this as a fantastic makeup remover too – See more.
  Blemish Cleansing Moisturiser (£12.50) – Almost all Acne Creams use Benzoyl Peroxide Bleach. This is why hair will bleach to an orange colour when in contact with most Acne creams. Bleaches are cheap but not the first choice in keeping skin looking young and healthy. Acne is usually around for a short time, but the skin on our face is forever. So we need to take care of it. – See more.
  Earth Cream – Natural Tinted Cream for Acne Prone Skin 50ml (£11.00) – Tinted Earth Cream provides a lightweight, natural looking coverage so you can achieve a radiant and dewy complexion. Available in two shades that blend into your skin with ease, while delicately concealing blemishes and softening imperfections. We have replaced silicone and synthetic chemicals which are commonly used in cosmetics, for natural moisturising oils and ingredients to ensure your skin stays looking healthy after the makeup comes off. – See more.
  “Chia Seeds” Natural Lipstick (£11.90) – A Natural Vegan Lipsticks are made using a blend of micas for a highly pigmented and vibrant colour, alongside edible ingredients such as Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter and Vitamin E to lock in moisture. With four shades of vegan lipstick available, there is a colour to suit all skin tones and make any pout pop! – See more.
  Natural Mineral Lip Gloss “Sun Shower” 8g (£9.00) – You can be well on your way to a soft and shiny pout with these Natural Mineral Lip Glosses. We use a blend of natural, moisturising ingredients such as Shea Butter and Watermelon Seed Oil to keep your lips hydrated and smooth without the need for silicone. – See more.
  Tingling Honey Lip Balm (£3.00) – Tingling Honey Lips is made to speed the repair of dry and chapped lips. Menthol is well known for its cooling and stimulating effect.Like many of their products, it also has Allantoin which is a skin repair super-star. Combined with a Honey base, also known for moisturising skin, this balm has already performed minor miracles on lips. – See more.
  After just 2 weeks I can honestly say that I do see a huge difference in my skin, especially from the cleansing oil and moisturiser. My skin is DEFINITELY smoother, with almost no spotty bumps left, and the tone (as in colour) is more even by miles. My nose is still catching redness but it is pretty pesky.
  The tinted “Earth Cream” I feel has definitely stifled my skin less, allowing it to breathe much better under additional makeup favourites like contour and blush, however I just stick to the Dusty Girls bronzer now for colour on my cheeks.
  The Mineral Lipstick in ‘Chia Seeds’ is a lovely smooth texture, and more of a buildable product with first application being quite sheer, but then the second instantly pops, and the mineral lipgloss compliments it perfectly for a cute sheen. The Earth Cream in terms of consistency is thick, but cooling, and absorbs into the skin cleanly in just one fell swipe.
  For the Moogoo Skincare products; the “leave on cleanser” is a silky smooth cream which again, cools and soothes immediately on skin contact.
  The Oil Cleansing Method is PERFECT for make up removal, dissolving away every trace of eye and lip makeup easily. I love that this product comes with a pump dispenser too, for convenience and hygiene.
  Oh! The Honey Lip Balm is super great too, It’s no lie, it really does tingle, and the results with an overnight application are super. Soft, bouncy lips in the morning. Something like this is also perfect for layering under your favourite matte lip colours, and also for your handbag in the pending frosty winter.
  And here I am! 2-3 weeks later, still loving my products and wearing them all in some photos for you below.
  So thankful that at last I can get comfortable coverage from a well thought out tinted moisturiser! This colour I have on is again, Medium.
  Skincare Routine: I remove all makeup effortlessly with the MooGoo Oil Cleanser, and apply a thick layer of Blemish Cleansing Moisturiser before bed, as well as a thin layer under makeup. Overnight, I like to wear my MooGoo lip balm for extra plump lips when I wake up.
  I was lucky enough this summer to be included in a day trip out with the local Garden Committee (you heard me) in my village, for a whole £14 return trip, plus entry to the gorgeous RHS Wisely.
  For anyone not familiar with the ‘RHS’, it stands for The Royal Horticultural Society, and their aims are as follows:
  “The activities of the RHS are focused on delivering a real benefit to all those involved and interested in horticulture and gardening in the UK” – RHS About Us
  That’s a very tiny summary, but this includes ensuring all of our greatest areas of horticultural interest are maintained and accessible, with staging fun events (think Chelsea Flower Show), education for schools, community campaigns (like regional “In Bloom” campaigns), horticultural science and advice, shops, and so much more.
  You can become a member for an annual fee of £42.75 per individual, or £62.25 for a joint membership, which offers you a range of benefits like event discounts, unlimited access to all RHS gardens for your annual subscription, access to partner gardens, and a nice magazine in the post too. You can read up more on the deal here (I’m not sponsored, I just genuinely have so much respect for organisations like this).
  So Wisely is an RHS Garden and costs non members £14.50 to get in as an adult, and £7.25 as a child (free for members, as I say). It just so happened that this particular weekend, Wisely was hosting an Arts event, where there were many craft stalls, musicians, dancers, actors, you name it. Anything of the Arts!
  Throughout the gardens you’ll find some amazing little places to eat. One main establishment is the on site restaurant which offers hot and cold sesonal “sit down meals”, with yummy desserts and drinks.
  The portions are almost “fine dining” in size, however very pleasant and filling. My choice was the mozzerella salad with red pepper and tomato. Utterly divine, and so very, very fresh. My friend, Trina, had the same.
  Tastes similar in main, yet differed in dessert. Trina opted for a loaded chocolate cheesecake, and I went for the good old British Strawberries and Cream in a glass.
  Both puddings were light, again fresh, and very generous in portion size. The entire meal, plus drinks (a diet coke, and a raspberry lemonade with 2 teas) came to around £27.00.
  As I mentioned earlier, this weekend hosted an arts festival. Here you can see some of the fun on offer, which most you could even get stuck in with, like pottery and knitting.
  As expected, the gardens themselves were immaculate. Perfectly cut lawns, with not a weed in sight. Gorgeous little streams and ponds throughout, with all flowers bordered into their own little families. The rose gardens were some of my favourites, along with the Bonsai Trees.
  There are also areas mapped out for senory gardens, so the really smelly stuff like honeysuckles and again, roses, with even sections simply for fruit and veg enthusiasts, with raised veg borders, fruit under netting, and an orchard. Everything covered.
  Another lovely experience is the wildflower meadow, and the great glass house with some of the more unusual species of plant and foliage on offer.
  As well as the main restaurant, there are very conveniently spaced out cafes and even BBQ stands throughout the gardens, with one of my favourites named “The Honest Sausage”.
  These places stocked your drinks (cold, tea, and coffee), with little snacks like ice cream, cakes, sausage sandwiches, and other BBQ treats for example. Just the kind of thing to keep you going as you move, as oppose to sitting down properly at the restaurant.