Bath and Body Favourites

I don't talk about bath and body bits often here, I guess they strike me as a little mundane. But the fact of the matter is we all (hopefully) use them, and I've found some real gems over the years. And when better to talk about these things than a Sunday, when (hopefully) we're all having a little pamper sesh.

I've never really fallen for a scrub before, until I tried the Frank Cacao Body Scrub. Made from coffee grounds and packed full of essential oils, my skin has never been as good as when I've been using this. I like to slather it all over my body and leave it for a few minutes for the oils to work their magic. It's pretty messy and it'll leave your bathroom smelling awesome for a good few days, but I'm hooked, and I wouldn't be without it.

Razors are a pretty personal affair, but I feel the need to mention the Wilkinson Sword Intuition Razor, a chunky old thing with a giant soap bar around the razor. If you're like me and you can't shave your legs without getting all rashy afterwards (sorry, TMI I know), you'll be needing this. The bar negates the need for shaving gel, it's incredibly sensitive, and the razor head is hinged so it flexes to the curves of your body, minimising the chances of cutting yourself. This is holy grail for me!

I love a good bubble bath as much as the next beauty blogger, and whilst I've been through my fair share of bath products, I always come back to the same few. Day to day, I love the Lush Brightside & Comforter Bubble Bars, which give big deliciously smelling creamy bubbles, but for a little more luxury, you can't beat the Aromatherapy Associates Bath Oils. My favourite is Relax Deep!

I'm not a big fan of body moisturiser, but when I can be bothered, I tend to reach for The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter. It's thick and hydrating, and it smells of peach, which is my favourite thing ever. For when I can't be bothered with all that, I go for the awesome combo of the Nivea In Shower Moisturiser and the Original Source Skin Quench Moisturising Oil Spray, and that does the job.

What are your bath and body favourites?

18/52

Can you guys believe we are now at the end of April? I feel like the month has just flow past and I honestly couldn't tell you what I've achieved, it's been a weird few weeks!

This week has been kinda crappy since I've had the worst cold I've had in forever. Typically, I managed to go all winter without getting a cold, and as soon as the weather warms up, I get knocked for six. I'm pretty sure it was a combination of finally finishing my magazine, and the all nighter I had last Sunday, where I didn't go to bed until 10am cause I was getting work done. I pretty much spent all of the week in bed catching up on sleep and blowing my nose. Oh how lovely. I was particularly gutted that I had to cancel a spa day I had planned for Saturday! I'm hoping to be able to reschedule, but that was a pretty sad moment! 

Other than that, I've enjoyed spending my sick days with The Boyfriend since he finally handed in his main project on Monday. We've hardly spent any time together over the last couple of months, so it's been nice to catch up on some lazy time together!

Let's talk about happy things!

1. Picking up a box of Krispy Kremes with The Boy to celebrate me finishing my magazine and him handing in. They were delicious and I have no regrets about the exorbitant calorie intake. 
2. Finally getting a chance to catch up on Game of Thrones. We were a WHOLE SEASON behind and it was so painful.
3. Finally getting my mitts on the Kikki K planner I've been lusting after for months. I didn't want to pay the awful import fees you get when buying direct from the site, so when a friend of mine was selling hers in mint condition, I jumped at the chance! It's so pretty, expect to see 1001 instagrams of it.
4. A cheeky Ikea Meatball dinner with Con midweek. You can't beat them.
5. I could literally buy every postcard in Paperchase. They're all amazing. I managed to leave with just two but I wanted every last one. 
6. Is it just me, or do tomatoes taste SO good right now?! I've been eating them all chopped up for lunch with a drizzle of oil, fresh garlic and onions, and a little Himalayan Salt. Delicious.
7. A Friday morning breakfast meeting at Trade in east London. I had a giant chunk of lemon and poppyseed cake, and a big pot of fresh mint tea. There's very little in this world better than fresh mint tea. 
8. My parents are staying near London this weekend and we spent a lot of yesterday out exploring London. We visited Borough Market where I picked up my favourite Donut in the world (the Bread Ahead Vanilla Cream) and drooled over the fresh fruit and veg, before taking a stroll along the river. We ended up in Covent Garden, having a late lunch at the little sister restaurant of the infamous Ivy, The Ivy Market Grill. It was so lovely to have a relaxed lunch, a bottle of wine and delicious food with my parents!

I'm aware that a lot of this week's happy things are food related. What can I say, it's been a slow week.

Have a great week! x

5 Things To Buy In May

Another month, another round up of what I think is worth parting with your pennies for in the beauty world!

This month, the picks are decidedly summery. I always feel like May is a bit of a turning point, hopefully we'll get the weather to reflect all my summery makeup and wardrobe picks!

First off, let's talk about my current obsession, the Revlon Matte Highlighting Palette in Desert Bronze. It's matte, it's not orange, it's pigmented, and yet, you can't go overboard with it. I'm honestly so in love with this, it's the perfect bronze/contour hybrid, and it even works on pale gals like me.

May is when I start to think about upping my sunscreen game, and I honestly can't recommend the Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Sunshield Superfluid SPF 50 enough. This is last year's bottle, I need to pick up a new one this week myself! In terms of affordable, lightweight, high protection face SPF that won't break you out, it doesn't get better than this.

With warmer weather, I tend to find my makeup is more prone to sliding off my face. My favourite primer to keep things intact and looking tip top is the Max Factor Facefinity Primer. It's not greasy or oily, nor does it dry your skin out, it just keeps things looking how you want them.

A less summery pick, but something I think you'll all love, I'm all about the Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner right now, for the evenings, but also as a pick me up if I'm feeling anxious. It's got soothing aloe vera (perfect if you're prone to sunburn like me), as well as rose, geranium and lavender oils, which are not only great for the skin, they're also seriously calming. I'm totally head over heels for this stuff, I wish it came in a handbag size too!

And lastly, of course we needed a nail polish pick. Essie's latest drop featured this unique, greeny-teal shade that piqued my interest. It's so different to anything else I own, and it really pops. I'm so in love with it!

On my shopping list this month? I'm after a new bottle of my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation, and a bright pink lipstick that doesn't wash me out! Feel free to send any recommendations my way.

Skincare for Warmer Weather

As the warmer weather (hopefully) approaches, I figured this was the perfect time to show you a few products I'll be swapping into daily rotation. This is the stuff that's a little lighter on the skin, and more warm weather appropriate.

I'm switching my current morning moisturiser and eye cream for a fresh bottle of the Caudalie Vinosource Moisturising Sorbet, which you all know I love, and the Origins Ginzing Eye Cream. Both are really moisturising but are light and fast to absorb, so perfect for warmer weather. I hate the feeling of thick products on my skin when it's hot!

In the evenings I've added in the Rodial Glamtox Serum, and I'm liking it so far. It's lighter in texture than the Trilogy Rosehip Oil I normally use, so it soaks in quicker, and is nicer on my skin which is a bit more oil-prone come summer. This stuff aims to hydrate, firm and clear skin and so far, so good.

I've upped my usage of the Lush Tea Tree Toner Water in the evenings, it's so refreshing after a hot, humid day, and helps me feel like my skin's that bit more clean, especially if things have been a little schweaty.

I've also switched out my evening moisturiser for the Origins Night-A-Mins, which has a more serum/gel texture, making it altogether more lightweight on the skin.

I'm also planning on picking up a fresh bottle of the Soap and Glory Make Yourself Youthful Sunshield Superfluid SPF50, my favourite facial SPF!

Do you change up your skincare for summer?

My Most Used...

With a beauty stash as large as mine (although admittedly, I've paired it down massively over the last few months), it's rare that I put a decent dent in a product, much less use it up. There are a few old faithfuls though that have got some serious dentage, and they deserve all the praise.

Foundation: This one goes to my favourite drugstore offering, I tend to be a bit more precious with my high end foundations! I'm scraping the last of my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum from the bottle, and for good reason. This stuff has good coverage, a gorgeous not matte but not dewy finish, lasts really well throughout the day and, above all, feels comfortable on the skin. It doesn't smell great but I'm willing to look past that because it's ticks all the other boxes.

Blush: I have a lot of blushes and I never seem to hit pan on any of them. The exception that proves the rule is the Gosh Natural Blush in Electro Pink. I'm not even sure they still make this, but it's fantastic, a beautiful dusky, natural pink. This is the first blush I ever bought, and since then I've used a whole one and hit pan on a second. A real beauty underdog.

Bronzer: I've never been a big bronzer gal, but when I bought my NARS Laguna Bronzer I fell head over heels. Whilst it's probably not my top pick anymore, I still reach for it through the summer months, and I've put a pretty sizeable dent in it.

Eyeshadow: I've got far too many powder shadows I love to ever really be able to tell what's most used, but I can tell you that since I bought it in July, I've totally obliterated the Josie Maran Coconut Watercolour Eyeshadow in Playa del Pink. I'm now about halfway through this pot of liquid goodness, it's just so good. It's the perfect all over lid shade, and my go to when I don't know what to do with my makeup!

Lipstick: Not quite as easy to tell but this just has to go to my beloved Dior Lip Glow. It's starting to look a little misshapen now that I'm about halfway through. This is just a perfect everyday shade, subtle and moisturising too!

What are your most used makeup products?