Winter Skin Saviours

With winter creeping up on us there are a few products that I like to have on hand to avoid things getting dry and all sorts of unappealing. Dry skin and chapped lips are probably one of the most dreaded things about Winter for me so with the help of these few bits I plan on avoiding it as much as I can! It's all about the prep and maintenance in my books so here's what I keep on hand for the chillier months.

Moisturise and repeat! The key in Winter for body, face and hair so for this I turn to Aesop's Body Balm for a fabulous all over moisturiser that smells amazing, absorbs quickly and moisturises deeply. A bedside table essential is L'Occitane's Dry Skin Hand Cream which I find a bit too thick for during the day but perfect for overnight. If things are looking quite dehydrated, try putting some cotton gloves on once you've moisturised to let it sink in even deeper and work twice as hard while you sleep. For super dry patches on my face or body I turn to Vitamin E cream, a fantastic natural option and a multitasking product which I use for dry patches around my nose when I'm sick, on my elbows and just anywhere that needs a surge of moisture. 

A newish duo to the routine is a match made in heaven from Kiehl's- their Midnight Recovery Concentrate and Ultra Facial Cream. If you follow me on Instagram you would've already read my praise for these two but together they have made such a difference to my skin in recent weeks. As a gal with combination skin I've always been a bit weary of using heavy moisturisers especially for the daytime but my skin has just been calling for it but even though this is quite a thick and intense moisturiser I've been wearing it during the day under foundation and it hasn't mixed badly with my makeup at all. Long term I don't think ill use this day and night but it was just what the doctor ordered in the past few weeks and I will continue to use it together with the Midnight Concentrate in my evening routine. 

Last but not least, how could I discuss my skin saviours and not mention Lush Lip Scrubs! Whatever season this stuff is the bomb.com and I really don't know what I did before I used this. I've gone through one pot in no time and I now keep it on my bathroom shelf to remind myself to use it more regularly. Perfect prep for a bold lip and just smoothing out your lips in general really. 

I'm now feeling skincare prepared for the chilly months ahead and hopefully things won't go scaly and icky. (Mmm what a lovely visual!) 

Sunday Saviours

Sunday evenings have become my pamper/rejuvenating night so I can start my week feeling fresh and pampered! Here are a few bits and pieces that I generally like to do and products I love using.

If it's a wash hair day, I'll treat my locks to a hair mask if I haven't already that week and at the moment I'm loving the L'Oreal EverCreme Deep Nourishing Masque which you just pop on for a few minutes after shampooing while you're in the shower. As that's soaking in and working it's magic I like to exfoliate and use either the Soap & Glory Flake Away or Breakfast Scrub exfoliants or if I have a few more minutes, the Frank Coffee Body Scrub. All smell amazing and leave my skin feeling silky smooth but the Frank one is meant to reduce scarring and even out skin texture and minimise all the bits that us ladies hate.

Next I like to moisturise and for an all over option I love the Aesop Body Balms or a more recent find is the L'Occitane Firming and Smoothing Milk Concentrate which is part of their 'Amande' range and boy does this smell good. Well, obviously all of these do otherwise why would I have bought them?! Sunday evenings also call for a good old face mask and at the moment I have a few on rotation depending on my skin's need so I'll use either the Origins 10 Minute Recovery Mask or their Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask which I've sadly just finished and need to repurchase. I'm also loving Lush's Mask of Magnaminty which is amazing for clarifying and exfoliating. A nice hydrating facial moisturiser and eye cream to follow up and I'm done.

Once I'm feeling fresh as a daisy I like to do my nails for the week or at least the beginning of the week. A good base coat like Essie's Ridge Filler or Sally Hansen Bottom Coat then a few coats of whatever colour I'm feeling that particular evening followed by a top coat to protect it and give it extra shine, either Seche Vite or Sally Hansen Insta Dry. When they're definitely dry (key word- definitely. Too many times have I been impatient and not waited long enough and resulted in smudging.. so annoying and definitely #firstworldproblems) I'll use a nice hand moisturiser, generally one of the mini L'Occitane offerings that I have laying around.

And I'm done! Feel ultra pampered, fresh and ready for the week ahead! What do you like to do on your pamper evenings?

Instagram- @beautylocale

The Trend | Lip Lacquers

It seems like a new company every month is launching their version of the lip lacquer that is very on trend at the moment. If I'm not mistaken, I think it started with YSL's Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stains and it's baby sister L'Oreal's entry into the drugstore/chemist market made the whole trend much more readily available to a wider audience. Then with Rimmel's Apocalips, it's like glossy stain mania all around!

Seeing as I have a few from different brands, I thought I would do not so much a review but an overview of what I have in my collection. My first entry into the glossy stain market was a purchase of the YSL because at the time there was such a big amount of hype in the blogoshphere and YouTube arena that I thought, hey they look interesting.. There is very little difference between these and the later released version by L'Oreal except for maybe lasting time but seeing as they're under the same company umbrella, some similarities are to be expected. With these, they look best layered so the first coat appears fairly sheer and creates the stain and one or two more coats creates a beautiful opaque glossy stain that lasts for hours as well as pretty well through eating, drinking and talking.

Rimmel's Apocalips however, are more a one swipe, opaque jobby and aren't as staining as they YSL or L'Oreal. Apocalips have received a ridiculous amount of hype so I'm sure you're aware of their existence but it is definitely well deserved. These things are very good especially for a 'drugstore' product. Each time Priceline or ASOS is having a sale these are one of the first things I gravitate towards and add to my existing shades. They're just too easy to throw in your bag and pop on during the day or throughout the evening for a beautiful, glossy lip in 2 seconds. The applicators on all of these are similar doe foot applicators which make it easy to create a nice curve on the upper lip and get into the corners of the mouth. In fact, the L'Oreal and YSL are exactly the same.

Last of all is Lush's addition with their 'Fresh Handmade Colour' that can be used all over the face so as a blusher, eyeshadow or lip colour. The two shades I have, I've only ever used as lip colours and I bought them with that intention. The launch of these products came with that fun wheel that you and a Lush assistant spin with your eyes closed and you pick colours and those colours have meanings which are meant to be applicable to you and your personality (See, this is where companies get me with gimmicky launches and interactive things like this) So naturally I bought two of the shades which I found completely applicable to me and happened to love the colours as well. These too come with a doe foot applicator and, like Rimmel are opaque within one swipe and are foolproof to apply. They last for hours and because it's Lush are fairly natural and 100% cruelty free so extra thumbs up.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture no. 16, 21

L'Oreal Lip Shine Caresse (L-R)  no. 300, 402, 101

Rimmel Apocalips (L-R) - Big Bang,  Stellar,  Nova,  Luna, Nude Eclipse

Lush Handmade Colour- Decisive, Passionate

From these swatches you can see that in terms of one swipe payoff, Rimmel probably comes out trumps but in terms of lasting power and less transfer then the other three brands- L'Oreal, YSL and Lush would get my vote in that respect.

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