Day 7! Bath Time

Hello everyone!

So tonight I have decided to give myself a very long pamper session with some of my favourite products. It has been a rather long week and I wanted to refresh myself ready for tomorrow, as it is the regional Christmas Do tomorrow night, fun fun fun!

I generally find it best to give my hair a day or two of wear before styling it. Freshly washed hair that is as thick as mine is a nightmare to try to style in any vintage fashion when it is all fly-away, so the tiniest bit of wear gives some staying power. Here below are my favourite hair products at the moment...

I use the Bumble and Bumble Colour Minded Shampoo to look after my colour and keep my hair in the best condition possible. I am quite conscious of the effect that lots of colouring can have on your hair, this is part of the reason I choose to spend a little more money and get my hair coloured professionally as they use higher quality ingredients and apply the products properly. These two products come at quite a high price (£20-£25 each) however they require about 1/3 as much as a cheaper brand, and also prolong your colour for longer. I like to think this is justification! You can purchase from online beauty brands such as Active Beauty, Look Fantastic or Feel Unique, which generally have free UK delivery. I do know that bigger Boots stores stock them, I got mine directly from Simon Webster Hair who has a range and the expertise to recommend the best product for your needs.

Pictured here are three things I find particularly useful for styling my hair. You will see more of these tomorrow, Loreal Elnett hairspray, Avon heat protector and the Tangle Teezer which is amazing for getting knots out of my hair!

I also then gave my skin a pamper to get it refreshed and looking healthy and dewy. I have been using four of these for well over a year and keep coming back to them as they give me wonderful results. I highly recommend them to you!

 

The green tube in the back left is my Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanse and Polish. I can't recommend this cleanser more, and you can read all about it and Liz's background in the book from my other post here. It comes with full instructions for how to use it to get the best results and really is excellent for cleaning and looking after your skin 100%.

The next step in my cleanse, tone and moisturise routine is the darker green tub to the right of the Liz Earle tube. This is Dr Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Mushroom Skin Relief treatment lotion. If my skin is ever inflamed or irritable, a small wipe of this across my face soon calms things down and brings everything back to normal. I use it as a toner as it is specifically designed for sensitive and redress prone skin, which mine really can be. I do find that a collaboration of the right products does reduce this irritability, however these products actually go further and improve my skin.

My final step is the purple pot in the bottom right. This is Neal's Yard Remedies Frankincense Hydrating Cream which I use as a moisturiser. This keeps my skin from being dry and doesn't over hydrate it either. This is quite pricey at around £23 but again lasts for ages and really does work a treat. I got my first pot of this in November 2011 on my very first visit to Brighton so this brings back some nice memories too!

I think the key to all of these products is following the recommended instructions and using all of them in moderation. Whilst it feels very indulgent to cover your face in moisturiser, this is not going to help matters and will only block your pores and unfortunately make things worse. If your skin is dry, as is so common at this time of year, give it a gentle exfoliate with Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant face mask (leave on for around 20-25 mins), followed by a light application of moisturiser.

Also in the picture are two new finds- Avene Gentle Eye Make Up Remover (I am still to be decided on this one) and La Roche Posay Targeted Breakout Protector which I love. I have recently suffered from some spots that just don't seem to budge, but a few nights of applying this has cleared them up so I am a very happy customer! Both are available from Boots for around £10. Do any of you know any better eye make up removers? I think I need a more oil based one as this really struggles to remove my long lasting eyeliner :(

I finally wanted to add that all of these products are being recommended wholeheartedly to you, by me! I am not sponsored in any way and would definitely tell you not to buy something if I found fit to. All of these products I have searched the market for and have been using for over a year so would definitely recommend trying them if you are searching for a new product to help your skin or hair this Christmas.

On that note, I had better get this face mask rinsed off and hair washed!

With lots of love,

Hannah xxx