SANCTUARY SPA MATTE PERFECTING HYDRA-LOTION REVIEW

Hi lovelies! Today I wanted to share a recent find with you, as it's something that ties into my last post, 'Beauty and Blogging Resolutions'. If you read that post, you'll know that I have resolved to stick to a proper daily skincare routine in 2015. While I've not been terrible at this, I've definitely not been as good as I should be, I'd often take my make up off with micellar water then call it a night, so now it's double cleanse, tone and moisturising all the way! 

So, with this in mind, I set out to find a new moisturiser, as I have a great one for the night time, but I wanted a nice, light one to apply before make up in the mornings. Looking around Boots and Superdrug, I felt pretty uninspired, but then I wandered into Savers on a whim and spotted this little lovely! This is the Sanctuary Spa Matte Perfecting Hydralotion. Despite this being a Sanctuary product, I'd not actually seen this in Boots and I think it may have been discontinued in stores, but you may be able to pick this up in your local savers if you have one, or online. I think they sell it on allbeauty.com so that's worth checking! 

The reason I picked this up was because it claimed to be both mattifying and hydrating, which perfect for me, as I like a matte base, but my skin also needs hydration too. As you may be able to tell from the image above, this isn't a particularly thick moisturiser, so if you struggle with very dry skin, I doubt this will be for you, but if like me you have fairly normal skin, or you have oily skin (oily skin types need hydration too!), then this will be fab for you. As I said, I use this as a day moisturiser, as I do need a little extra moisture at night, but it's perfect for use under makeup. The lotion is very light and sinks in quickly and doesn't leave any greasy residue. 

Despite being a mattifying product, this doesn't leave your skin with that dry feeling that a lot of matte products do, your skin still feels smooth and hydrated, it just simply reduces shine. To be honest, the mattifying effect isn't huge, I would say it helps to keep oil at bay, which does help to combat shiny skin and it does give a slight matte effect, but if you really struggle with shiny skin, you will need a primer, foundation and powder that help with this. I wouldn't say it doesn't make your skin matte, as it definitely does, just don't expect miracles if you have particularly shiny skin, but it's definitely still worth a try if you want a moisturiser that's nice and light and leaves a slight mattified effect.

I have noticed that my make up has been sitting better throughout the day and whole I can't confirm that it is down to this product alone, (as I have upped my skincare game as you know!) I have noticed that on the days that I've been using this, which has been for about a week now, my foundation and powder have seemed to last longer without needing touch ups during the day. I don't know if this is because of the moisturiser itself, or just the fact that it's helping to improve the overall condition of my skin, but either way, I'm definitely impressed!

As I said, I got this this in my local savers and it was just £2.99 for 50ml and as a little goes a long way with this product, that was an incredible deal! Online, this seems to go for around £5-6, which is still pretty inexpensive for a fab moisturiser that works as well as this does. So, if you have normal, combination or oily skin, I'd totally recommend this as a day moisturiser (or day and night if you're particularly oily!), as it hydrates the skin without being heavy or greasy. If you can pick it up as cheaply as I did, I'd still recommend giving it a go if you have dry skin, as its in no way drying, I'd probably just use it once in a while when you want a matte base for make up.

What do you think? What are your favourite skincare products? Let me know!