Raindrops of Sapphire
Beauty

My Invisalign Journey Review For Straight Teeth

My Invisalign Review at Aquae Sulis Dental with Dr. Rachael Hampton I have finally started my teeth straightening journey! I have spoken about it a few times over the last few months, and have wanted straight teeth since I was a teenager. I actually went to an orthodontist when I was about 13, but they wanted to remove two teeth, and I’d have been wearing the train track metal braces for at least two years. I decided not to go ahead with that as I didn’t want two healthy teeth pulled out. As I’ve gotten older though, I found my teeth were getting more crowded and I found out that’s because they continue to move over time, so it was time to finally get them straightened! I did a lot of research on Invisalign, I watched a tonne of YouTube videos, I googled everything I could. I made sure that I found the best place that I could, and that happened to be Dr. Rachael Hampton, at Aquae Sulis Dental, who in my opinion, is the best Invisalign orthodontist in Bath! I looked up her before and after photos on Instagram (click here to see those) and was beyond impressed with her work. I wanted a dentist that took their job as a passion, and creates art, and that’s what Rachael does, in order to get the most perfect teeth! Rachael was perfectly suited to me as she believes in promoting dentistry that adds to the teeth, and doesn’t take healthy tooth away, like veneers and crowns do. After researching her work and seeing how good she is with aligning,…

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Beauty

The Importance Of Beauty Routines At Home

It’s no secret that since Covid-19 hit us all, around the entire world, things have not been the same. They have been increasingly difficult, especially for those of us who are in countries where the pandemic is rife and we’re in lockdown’s. For us here in the UK, we are in our third lockdown, and it means that no beauty salons, hairdressers, shops, restaurants etc. are open, and I don’t know about you, but it’s been very frustrating and difficult on my mental health. Not being able to just pop out for lunch and to browse the shops is an upsetting thing, but not being able to get your hair cut or anything else to make you feel better is even more upsetting to some of us. This is why it’s so important right now, for our mental health and well being, to focus on our own at home beauty routines, if that’s something you always enjoyed at salons. I know first hand that if I’m taking care of my body and making myself look as good as I can, then I feel a boost of positivity and happiness. There’s something to be said about looking in the mirror and liking your freshly washed hair and seeing how well you did your make-up. It really gives you good vibes and doesn’t make you feel so lethargic and down. It’s funny because people think that wellness and health comes from just eating healthy and exercising, and of course you do get a large amount from that, but taking care of your beauty routine does wonders for your health too (your mental…

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Beauty

Jan Marini Holiday Exfoliator – The Only Scrub You Need

The Best Exfoliator I Have Ever Used As you know, I’m incorporating more beauty posts into Raindrops of Sapphire as I know a lot of you are interested in them. I frequently get asked about my skincare, so I thought I might share with you one of the best exfoliators that I have ever used! I have tried many in my time, and while they’re good, none have come close to how the Jan Marini Holiday Exfoliator makes my skin feel! It’s literally amazing. Now this isn’t sponsored in any way, neither have I worked with Jan Marini or with a beauty store that sent me their products, I’ve always purchased this product every year! You might remember my review on the Jan Marini skincare from back in 2014, but I stopped using it a long time ago as I couldn’t keep up with the expenditure and I found other products that suited my skin better for a daily regime, but this scrub is something I kept in my weekly routine and will never be without. So what is the Jan Marini Holiday Exfoliator? It’s a facial exfoliator that the brand releases as a special edition every holiday season! When I first got one, it was Orange & Cranberry that was the featured scent, then the next year it was Sugar Plum, this time around here I have Sugar Cookie, but there’s also Chocolate Truffle and I am super excited to see what is released very soon for Christmas this year! It combines physical and chemical exfoliators with antioxidants for a silky smooth, glowing complexion. Proteolytic enzymes and glycolic acid…

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Beauty

Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse & C-Tetra Serum Review

Medik8 Cleanser & Serum Honest Review As I am adding more beauty reviews and content to my blog, I thought it would be good to share with you a couple of products I have been using every single day for the last month. I tend to stick to one face care regime for a good long while, and up until recently I was still using Liz Earle, but what I have found is that it’s good to switch it up sometimes because your skin gets used to it and you stop noticing the results. I’d heard great things about Medik8 as one of Adam’s work colleagues had mentioned it was really good for her skin, so I set about trying it and have been testing the Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse and C-Tetra Lipid Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum for about 5 weeks. I’m extremely pleased with the results, so here are my thoughts and reviews on the products below. Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanse This product was previously known as Pore Cleanse Gel, so some of you might know it as that, and it’s the brand’s best selling cleanser. It’s designed to gently renew and purify skin to reveal a soft, radiant complexion. It contains an exfoliating AHA/BHA complex of mandelic, lactic and salicylic acid as well as glycerin for deep cleansing and pore refining, without any stinging or dryness. The gel is infused with mangosteen and raspberry extracts to provide natural antioxidant protection and increase skin barrier function, but the best thing is how thoroughly it removes impurities to decongest the skin. I use it morning and night by wetting my…

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Beauty

Odourless Nail Polish By Little Ondine Review – It Has No Smell!

Review – Little Ondine Nail Polish Has No Smell As you know, I have a severe chemical sensitivity, which means I can’t be around anything that smells. Nail polish is one of those things. I developed my intolerance to the smell of it when I was about 13/14, when my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome symptoms started to get really bad, so the only thing I have been able to do for 16 years is avoid it entirely. That means not being in the same house as anyone using standard nail polish either, as it’s that strong. I found a company called HoneyBee Gardens a few years ago and thought that was great, but the polish would just chip off so quickly and you would only get half a days wear, so it was a waste of time. It didn’t look very realistic either, so I quit wearing it and just stopped looking. I used to love painting my nails when I was young and I love the look of pretty colours, so I was always a bit gutted thinking that I could never have nice nails again. Since then, Adam and I went looking online and we came across a company called Little Ondine, which is a US based nail polish brand that is entirely odourless (it has zero smell!) and made of natural ingredients. I was a little skeptical so I made sure to check out YouTube videos and even watch the demonstrations on QVC, then read the comments after. Everyone said there’s no smell at all, so I ordered my first kit from QVC (this one – on sale)…

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Beauty

Swiss Clinic Derma Roller 2mm – My Experience

Swiss Clinic Skin Renewal Roller + Serum Review I don’t often cover beauty products, but when I do, it’s always ones that I am using and completely in love with. Since I blogged about using Liz Earle as my skincare routine, I still do everyday, but I’ve added in something new within the last 3 months that I can’t get enough of – Derma Rolling. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, in short, it’s a technique of rolling a Skin Roller across your face in numerous directions so that the tiny needles pierce the skin – causing it to renew itself. This may sound scary and daunting and leave you wondering why on earth you would want to do that, along with numerous questions like ‘does it hurt?’ or ‘how does it work?’ so let me get to it! What Does It Do? This Swiss Clinic Skin Roller has 540 micro-needles made of surgical steel on its roller. The idea behind this is after a few minutes of use, going back and forth over the skin on your face, the needles open up thousands of tiny micro-channels in the skin allowing the skin to absorb up to 300% more of your chosen skin care product, as well as causing it to renew and repair itself quicker by prompting collagen creation and stimulating new skin cells – contributing to smoother, healthier skin. It’s almost like you’re speeding up the renewal process! The Skin Roller can be used to treat a number of different skin conditions as well. I’ve personally been using it for my acne scarring, but it…

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Beauty

My Quick Party Time Full Make-Up Look

Something I don’t often cover on my blog is my make-up. I’m by no means an expert with make-up and it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I started wearing it (older posts I have none!) and maybe about 2 years ago that I started really doing my make-up properly with products that I love. I would say the last 18 months have been where I’ve really perfected my signature look, which I find to be subtle, but enough to show that I’m wearing make-up and to make my features pop. I thought it would be nice to share my entire make-up routine with you if I’m doing full make-up which I would wear for going out to an event, or a date night etc. I added party in the title as it would be a party look, but for me I never attend them, that’s not to say that this look wouldn’t be suited to one though. It’s got some glitter to it, bright lips, and contouring as well, but it’s all done with powder as I have problem skin and liquid foundations are no good for me. I use a mixture of Benefit, Illamasqua, and Mally and it’s a really quick, easy routine that even I can do. Base & Face Powders 1. Barbara Panagos Pressed Foundation – Beige 2. Illamasqua Beyond Powder Highlighter – OMG 3. Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo – Heliopolis & Lumos 4. Illamasqua Round Cheek Brush 5. Illamasqua Angled Cheek Brush 6. Bare Minerals Kabuki Brush (not pictured) 7. Illamasqua Powder Blusher – Nymph These are the products that I use on my…

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Beauty

My 6 Tips For Younger Looking Healthy Skin

My 5 Tips For Younger, Healthy Looking Skin I’ve mentioned before that a common question I get asked quite regularly is always about my age. Nobody believes that I’m 28 when I give my age, which can be quite frustrating at times, but I know in the future it will be a good thing. I’ve always grown up with younger looking skin and facial features as I’ve always come across as younger than I am, which has been more of a hindrance than a good thing so far, but I know that will change in time. Hardly any of you know this either, but I suffer from acne due to hormonal imbalance and food allergies, so even though I am able to hide those imperfections with make-up and Photoshop, I’m still very lucky that my skin is plump, soft, smooth, and clear around the problem areas. I’ve only developed one line on my forehead and I don’t have any wrinkles anywhere else, so despite having spots/pimples, my skin is, in my opinion, quite nice, thankfully. I thought it would make sense for me to give you some of my tips that I follow to keep me looking younger for those of you who are interested. I know a lot of it is down to genes and I’m lucky in that department, but it’s also down to how you take care of your body. Your largest organ you have is your skin, and since it’s an organ, it needs a lot of care. For me this combines a mixture of external and internal elements, which count as my whole skincare routine…

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