Fiona Brackenbury

When your love of skincare and beauty gets a little out of hand… 😂🧀🍇

I absolutely loved making the most beautiful seasonal charcuterie wreath. Of course, you can’t take the skin expert out of me it’s all I think about 😂

On tonight’s charcuterie beauty menu:

🍇 No7 Pro Artist Soft Glow Cream Bronzer
🧀 Liz Earle Superskin Advanced Nourishing Cleansing Balm
🍓 Soap & Glory Velvet Cherry limited edition body butter
🥨 No7 Lightweight Day Cream
🍇 Liz Earle Cleanse & Glow Brightening Cleansing Balm

Which one would you have dipped into? 😂

For entertainment only. Obviously these are definitely not edible!

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A little peek at what made it into my bag for my weekend to Sheffield.

A mixture of some of my most loved, some newness I’m currently testing and, obviously, probably far too much skincare.

✨ I can’t be without Shower mist
✨ very excited to be try the NEW Gua Sha Retinol Cream
✨ I have just started taking the hair nutrient tablets so will keep you posted
✨ Collagen tablets as I will never be with out collagen
✨ And of course the NEW Jelly Milk Cleanser created by

And of course, something to read… 📖

FLAWLESS by Dr Sam Bunting. Because even a skin expert never stops reading about skin. 😂

Let me know what you would like to know more about.

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I test skincare so you don’t waste your money.

No hype. No loving everything. Just honest, properly tested skincare and over 30 years of working with skin and qualified facialist and skin expert.

If you’re skincare obsessed and want to understand what’s actually worth spending your money on, you’re in the right place.

Follow for more honest skincare reviews, expert tips and skincare education.

And tell me… what should I test next?

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You asked for my thoughts… so here they are!

My FIRST impressions of the RENEWAL ULTIME™ Multi-Acid Resurfacing Pads, and there’s something about these that really surprised me…

Watch to find out what I thought.

Have you tried them? I’d love to know your thoughts.

How would I use them? At night, followed by a skin barrier-boosting routine I’m thinking the Gatineau Collagene Expert™ Ceramide Soothing Cream is an absolute MUST over the top.

Also, Gatineau… can we PLEASE have a Collagene Expert™ Ceramide Serum next? Because now I really want one! 😂

And if you’re new here and skincare obsessed, and this was helpful like and follow for more honest skincare reviews, tips and education.

What would you like me to review next?

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6 things I would NEVER do to my skin as a skin expert…

1. I would NEVER cleanse my face without washing my hands first.
Think about everything your hands touch throughout the day, plus what can sit underneath your nails. Wash your hands BEFORE you touch your face.

2. I would NEVER rush my cleanse.
Give your cleanser time to actually do its job. I aim for at least 60 seconds. Set a timer because I promise you, 60 seconds is MUCH longer than you think!

3. I would NEVER wash my face with really hot water.
Skin doesn’t love extreme temperatures, so I stick to lukewarm water.

4. I would NEVER use actives every single day.
I always take 1–2 nights off skincare actives. You don’t have to hammer your skin with strong actives seven nights a week. I use those nights to concentrate on hydration and supporting my skin barrier.

5. I would NEVER pick a spot in a public or work toilet.
I KNOW it’s tempting. But wait until you’re home, where you can wash your hands and properly cleanse and prep the skin first.

6. And I would NEVER go through the day without knowing the UV Index.
Here’s a FREE hack I wish everyone knew…

You can add the UV Index to your phone screen, so you can see the UV intensity throughout the day WITHOUT even opening your weather app.

It takes seconds to set up and costs absolutely nothing.

SAVE this and tell me… which one are you guilty of?
And follow for more.

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Everyone is going CRAZY for the new eye masks in a grinder but as a skin expert and facialist, I have questions.

They’re clearly inspired by the cleansing balm grinders we’ve seen everywhere, and if I’m honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of that format, purely because of the additional plastic involved. So that’s the first thing that makes me question whether we really need our eye masks in a grinder too.

Secondly, I haven’t gone through the ingredients of all of these yet, so I’m not judging the formulas. But looking at some of the patches, they don’t appear to be absolutely drenched in product, which makes me wonder why not just use reusable eye masks with your favourite hydrating product underneath?

If I’m using an eye mask, I want that under-eye area to feel properly hydrated, plumped and cushioned afterwards.

Of course, I will test them for you.

But meanwhile, I’ll continue applying my ANUA eye cream in a slightly more generous layer and using it as an overnight eye mask because it’s brilliant.

Am I being a skincare killjoy or are you also questioning the grinder eye mask craze?

And if you’ve tried one, I REALLY want to know what you thought. 👇🏻

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Before you buy the viral grinder eye masks… I have questions.

Everyone is going CRAZY for eye masks in a grinder, but as a skin expert and facialist with over 30 years’ experience, I’m not immediately convinced we need another new skincare format.

They’re clearly inspired by the cleansing balm grinders we’ve seen everywhere and, if I’m honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of that format purely because of the additional plastic involved. So that’s my first question: do we really need our eye masks in a grinder too?

Secondly, I haven’t gone through the ingredients of all of these yet, so I’m NOT judging the formulas. But looking at some of the patches, they don’t appear to be absolutely drenched in product, which makes me wonder: why not use reusable eye masks with your favourite hydrating product underneath?

Because if I’m using an eye mask, I want that under-eye area to feel properly hydrated, plumped and cushioned afterwards.

Of course, I WILL test the viral ones for you. 👀

But meanwhile, I’ll continue applying my ANUA eye cream in a slightly more generous layer and using it as an overnight eye mask because it’s brilliant.

Sometimes the best eye mask might already be sitting in your skincare routine.

Am I being a skincare killjoy 😂 or are you questioning the grinder eye mask craze too?

And if you’ve already tried one, I REALLY want to know what you thought. 👇🏻

Follow for tried-and-tested skincare advice from a skin expert who isn’t afraid to question the hype.

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I keep seeing people wearing those long-wear collagen masks and then pushing a pipette underneath the mask to add MORE serum. And my brain can’t cope. 😂

Firstly, please stop touching the pipette directly onto your skin and then putting it back into the bottle. You could potentially introduce bacteria and other contaminants back into the product.

But secondly… you really don’t need to do this. 😂

The concept is actually good. Layering a hydrating serum underneath an occlusive mask can absolutely make sense. The mask creates an occlusive environment, helping to reduce water loss and keep all that lovely hydration against the skin.

But just apply your serum ALL OVER your face first… then put the mask on.

It’s that simple. And your whole face gets the benefit rather than trying to feed serum underneath your mask with a pipette. 😂

I would be careful what you layer underneath an occlusive mask. This is NOT the time to put your retinol or retinal underneath it. Occlusion can increase the pe*******on of some actives and potentially increase irritation.

Hydrating serum ✔️
Mask ✔️
Pipette gymnastics ❌
Retinoids ❌

Please tell me I’m not the only one watching these videos thinking WHY?!

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