BEAUTY: SKINCARE FAVOURITES #1

Left to right: L'OCCITANE Pivoine Sublime CC Cream, GOOD THINGS Deep Clean Exfoliator, Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, CLARINS Smoothing Body Scrub, Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask

It's officially Spring (although the weather here in England is saying different), so it's time to share my current skincare favourites of the Spring months. As the weather gets warmer and the sunset gets later, my skincare routine always changes. The elements of the Spring months cry out for a skincare routine that involves cleansing, uplifting and moisturising products!

L'OCCITANE Pivoine Sublime CC Cream: CC (Complexion Corrector) Creams are thought to be the next step on from BB (Blemish Balm) Creams in the industry. This product contains CC pigments and pearly particles that conceal irregularities of your skin and leave you looking healthily luminous - perfect for those bright Spring days! A definite favourite of mine this Spring as I choose to use this CC Cream on it's own for a natural "no makeup" daily look. In addition to this, if you're looking for a fuller coverage, it makes a great illuminating base to your foundation - giving you an uplifting and refreshing finish to your makeup. L'OCCITANE's CC Cream comes in two shades - Light and Medium. These two shades cover a huge skin tone scale as the cream transforms in contact with the skin to adapt to your skin tone - perfection all over! You can find my review on L'OCCITANE's Pivoine Sublime range, including this CC Cream, here. 

GOOD THINGS Deep Clean Blackhead Exfoliator: Firstly, the combination of berries and other fruits in this products ingredients give it a scent that is out of this world! The perfect uplifting, fruity skincare for Spring months. The tiny micro-beads in this gentle exfoliator have placed it in my daily skincare routine this Spring to keep my skin feeling fresh and clear all day. With ingredients such as soothing liquorice and willow bark, this product helps to keep bacteria away from your skin. To ensure your skin is kept healthy this Spring, GOOD THINGS have added papaya extract to this exfoliator to boost your skins radiance throughout the day - woohoo! Tip: This product is to eliminate the build up of new blackheads, not to get rid of existing blackheads.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish: Of course, this is still in my skincare routine this Spring. A product my skincare routine cannot live without! As this product is taking the cleansing world  by storm, I'm sure I don't need to explain why it's made it into this post. For those of you yet to discover the wonders of this product: Ingredients including Rosemary, Chamomile and Eucalyptus help tone, soothe and purify your skin - honestly, they do exactly that! I use Cleanse & Polish every morning (after using GOOD THINGS Deep Clean Exfoliator) and evening to ensure my skin is left moisturised, fresh and radiant both all day and all night. I would recommend always rinsing this product off using a Liz Earle Muslin Cloth for a thorough cleanse of your skin. 

CLARINS Exfoliating Body Scrub: The Bamboo Powders of this products ingredients produce the exfoliating action of the natural micro-beads - incredible right?! This product has made it into my skincare routine this Spring 3 times a week (or when I'm braving bare legs in the slightly warmer weather) based on it's incredible results. I'm guilty of forgetting exfoliation during Winter months so by Spring my skin is crying out for effective exfoliation products - hoorah for this body scrub! As well as removing those nasty flaky surface cells, CLARINS Exfoliating Body Scrub contains Liquorice Extract and Shea to soften, condition and protect your skin for days before your next application. An extra wonder of this product is it's versatility surrounding it's application; you can apply this body scrub on to dry or damp skin - a life saver when in a hurry! Just don't forget to rinse thoroughly before applying your moisturiser. 

Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask: The second Liz Earle product to make it into my Spring skincare routine! Of course, my skincare routine has to include a face mask - I use this one once/twice a week, or when needed on breakout areas of my face. The ingredients of this Deep Cleansing Mask, including Aloe Vera, White and Green Clay and Manuka Honey, help to soften the skin whilst removing all impurities - a must for these Spring months! To find out the benefits of these ingredients for your skin head over to my full review of the Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask here. Tip: If, like me, you have oily/combination skin this mask will do wonders for maintaining clear skin this Spring!

Swatches: L'OCCITANE CC Cream in Light, GOOD THINGS Exfoliator, Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, CLARINS Body Scrub, Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask

Will you be adding these products to your Skincare Favourites this Spring? Or do you have other products you absolute love as the weather gets warmer? Let me know in the comments below! Enjoy treating your skin to the care it deserves this Spring, 

Bea-uty Blog

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BEAUTY: LUSH, HAUL #1

Left to right: Tea Tree Toner Water, Breath Of Fresh Air Toner Water, Mask Of Magnaminty and American Cream Condition

I recently realised I needed to restock my go-to toner from LUSH and of course, as soon as I popped in to my local LUSH store, it happened - a LUSH haul. I feel many of you will agree that it is almost impossible to venture in to any LUSH store without picking up several things, rather than just the one essential you went in to stock up on. 

Tea Tree Toner Water and Breath Of Fresh Air Toner Water

I picked up these two toners, both in the smaller size bottles as I sometimes like to carry a toner in my bag on warmer days. I like to include two toners that have different ingredients in my skin care routine as it allows me to adapt my routine according to the change in my skin (blemish prone). The Tea Tree Toner Water by LUSH is fantastic for breakouts/oily skin. Tea Tree has many anti-bacterial benefits, great for keeping the bacteria that causes breakouts away from your skin. On top of this, Tea Tree Water by LUSH contains Juniperberry - an additional ingredient that holds antiseptic qualities, helping to keep your skin clear and clean all day. So, it's getting rid of all the nasties we don't want on our faces but what is it giving us? LUSH have cleverly balanced this toner water with Grapefruit - super high in the vitamins your face needs! If my face is relatively breakout free I choose to use Breath of Fresh Air Toner Water, an option with less of the astringent ingredients and more of the refreshing ingredients. Breath of Fresh Air by LUSH contains many ingredients to soothe your skin and reduce redness, great for those warmer months, including Aloe Vera and Rose absolute. On top of these, it also includes Seaweed absolute - great for calming the skin, leaving you refreshed and cleansed all day! I choose to apply both these toner waters by spraying them 4/5 times onto cotton wool and wiping over my face, but you can also close your eyes and spritz directly on to your face (an option that's great to have throughout the day in Spring/Summer).

American Cream Hair Conditioner

Swatch: American Cream Hair Conditioner - only a tiny amount is needed to save your hair

As I'm a complete addict of LUSH Shampoo Bars (you can find my current favourites here), I thought I'd pick up one of their conditioners too. I went for American Cream Hair Conditioner as I've previously used solid conditioners by LUSH and found them too heavy for my hair. The joy of this thick conditioner is the minimal amount you need to apply (I only apply to the ends and through the length of my hair, this avoids greasy roots during the day).  Not only does this product's scent of strawberries and cream smell incredible, LUSH use fresh strawberries full of vitamin C to keep your hair healthy. To ensure your hair stays moisturised and protected from damage, American Cream includes Honey in it's extensive list of natural ingredients. Honey helps the hair, and skin, to heal whilst locking in moisture (you can find the benefits of honey for your skin here). I love the smell and benefits of this conditioner but am still needing to use a hair serum to give my hair a boost of shine once it's dry!

Mask of Magnaminty Face and Body Mask

Swatch: A thick consistency and a scrummy scent

I'm awfully slow to jump on this bandwagon, I know. But, I thought I should give it a try - some say it works wonders but others say it's overrated! I have often been undecided on how I feel about scented face masks (it's on your face for 10/15 minutes, a strong scent can be highly irritating for that long)! However, Mask of Magnaminty by LUSH has found the perfect balance with it's light and uplifting peppermint ingredient. I choose to apply this mask on just my face but it also doubles up as a body mask, a nice option to have available if you're having a head to toe pamper. A key ingredient in this mask is Marigold Oil. Known for it's benefits of protecting and soothing the skin, Marigold Oil will leave your skin feeling clear of impurities and moisturised when you remove the mask. I choose to remove Mask of Magnaminty using a damp sponge to ensure I remove it all. 13 ingredients in a product leading to the perfect balance for your skin? Woohoo. As well as this, it's thick consistency means application is easy and even all over!

I'm glad I couldn't resist the temptation of these products! Pop in to you local LUSH store if you like the sound of any of them too, their staff are always happy to demonstrate how to use them in store for you. Have you tried any of these LUSH products? Or do you have a different favourite? Enjoy discovering your favourite, 

Bea-uty Blog

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BEAUTY: L'OCCITANE, PIVOINE SUBLIME RANGE

Left: CC Skin Tone Correcting Cream in Light, Right: Tinted Lip Balm in Rose Plum

It's that time of year where we all head out to buy our Spring/Summer make up and skincare. I was delighted to find the new range from L'OCCITANE in my local store - no wonder I left with several products! I'm always so impressed with the service and assistance by L'OCCITANE colleagues so if you have one near you, give them a visit. I tried both these products in store and instantly fell in love, after using them religiously for several weeks now, I haven't lost this initial obsession.

Swatch: Tinted Lip Balm in Rose Plum

Tinted Lip Balm in Rose Balm: I was initially attracted to this lovely product because of it's combination of colour perfection for Spring/Summer and an SPF of 25 - perfect for fair ladies like myself. I almost allowed myself to purchase several out of the 4 colours this balm comes in (Rose Plum, Rose Amber, Rose Nude and Transparent). I must order the transparent balm for super soft lips all Summer. These balms remind me a lot of Benefit's balms but I feel these out do their rivals in the category of 'looking amazing whilst doing an equally amazing job', not only do the colours look great but the balm really works in keeping lips moisturised all day. Apply one layer to keep those lips looking healthy or layer these balms up to create a lipsticks that lasts for hours.

Swatch: CC Skin Tone Correcting Cream in Light, before application

Swatch: CC Skin Tone Correcting Cream in Light, after application

CC Skin Tone Correcting Cream in Light: The first CC Cream I have found that works with Oily skin types - yippee! Since purchasing this product several weeks ago, my foundation has not been worn. A blend of primer, moisturiser and foundation - CC Creams are my new make up must have for Spring/Summer. Not only does this product beautifully even out skin tones, just like it's lip balm pairing, it has an impressive SPF of 20. I apply this CC Cream with my fingers after my daily skincare routine of cleanser and toner, no need for cleaning foundation brushes - woohoo. The miracle makers at L'OCCITANE have created a CC Cream that gives both a mattifying and luminous finish, life complete. Although this product comes in only two shades (lights and medium), they cover a huge range of skin tones so head to your nearest L'OCCITANE to find the one for you.

I could not be more impressed with a new range this Spring, tweet/email me to let me know if you've had the chance to try this range yet and if you're yet to experience the wonders... enjoy the moment, 

Bea-uty Blog

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