As some of you will be aware, I’ve been transitioning to using cruelty free beauty over the last couple of years, which has meant saying goodbye to a lot of old favourites and trying many new products. But during a recent tidying of my beauty storage, I realised some of these products have been with me for the long haul and took me right back to old school 2014 YouTube beauty favourites, so I decided to pull a few products out and share some old school beauty favourites I still love.
I don’t remember the exact time I started using every single one of these products, but they’ve all been with me somewhere between eight and ten years. A whole decade. Now, I’ve always had dry and sensitive skin and never had any serious acne, so my skin hasn’t changed much from my mid teens into my twenties, which means that my skincare needs haven’t changed either. And I’m very much aware that saying I’ve been using some of these products since I was still doing my A-levels sounds insane, but they still work beautifully.
Old School Beauty Favourites I Still Love
Sarah Chapman Skinesis
- Hydrating Booster
- Recovery Booster
Sarah Chapman went through a real hype phase then seemed to drop off completely. I can’t remember the last time I saw anything about the brand online, but I still use just about every product I’ve ever tried from the brand. The hydrating booster is my most repurchased item. Granted, it’s very expensive for a simple hyaluronic serum and not notably better than many of the cheaper alternatives, but I love the texture of this one. And the recovery booster is a dream for my extremely sensitive skin in winter. If you’re dry/ sensitive and have skin prone to redness/ irritation, I highly recommend giving that product a try.
And I love the minis that they offer for travel too.
Pai Rosehip Oil
This was on everyone’s favourites list. Whether they were cruelty free, looking for ‘clean’ beauty or simply following a trend, this was the first cult product I think I fully bought into. And with good reason. My skin loves this oil, it always feels fuller and healthier when I use this, it helps with healing any marks/ minor scarring and it never seems to clog my pores.
But please ignore how grubby the pipette gets from the orange oil…
Indeed Labs Hydraluron
My first Caroline Hirons influenced purchase, so I knew it would be good. And I think the item on the list I’ve been using the longest. I love this serum still. It’s everything you could want from a hyaluronic serum, but the packaging is awful and the tube can’t survive cabin pressure without leaking so it isn’t travel friendly.
Skyn Iceland Eye Gels
These eye gels were the first of many. I don’t think they’re available in the UK any more sadly, but they do still make them. As an insomniac, I used to use these all the time as a little refresher and they’re amazing for puffy eyes after a flight. They sound like a complete gimmick, but I’ve always felt the benefit. The Skyn Iceland ones were the first I ever tried, so they hold a special place in my heart, but many brands do them now, from Pixi to cheaper brands like Revolution.
Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm
I nearly forgot to include this one. This was the first expensive cleanser I ever used. I used to think there was no point spending more on something that gets washed off two minutes later but decided to try this one anyway and it turned into my go-to for about 4-5 years. This hasn’t been my everyday cleaner for a while now, but still love the formula every time I go back to it and always grab another one of the Christmas cracker sized ones each year to travel with.
Honourable mention
Kiehl’s Avocado Eye Cream
This one gets a nod at the end because although it is still my favourite eye cream ever, I’m no longer using it due to the fact it isn’t cruelty free. When I started transitioning out my products, this was by far the hardest to say goodbye to, and I still miss it. If anyone can recommend any similar products that are cruelty free, please let me know.
Are there any products you’ve been using for what feels like forever? Which products in your collections have been with you the longest?
Until next time,
Sophie
I want that rosehip oil! You are the umpteenth person praising it. I also like to lean towards cruelty free beauty and love Charlotte Tilbury products even more now that they have a Leaping Bunny stamp.