My Top Beauty Picks.

Oh Hi! Wow I have been seriously lacking in the blogging department. Lets blame that on having a full time job, moving house and general laziness shall we? I am back writing again and this time I want to keep at it. Think of it as a (very) late new years resolution. So anyways, the topic of todays blogpost is a round up of my favourite beauty products of the last while, shall we say. Clearly I have not kept up with monthly favourites *slaps wrist. 

1. Soap and Glory - Smoothie Star "The Breakfast Scrub"

This stuff is no joke when it comes to ridding your body of any rough skin. It contains a mixture of bananas, oats, shea, almond and honey extract and "cupuacu bio scrubs" which I have googled and still do not know what it means. I do know, however, that its brilliant for helping to get rid of those awful bumps on the back of your arms, and any where else you might be suffering from dry skin. I use this once or twice a week in the shower and I have really seen the difference in my skin. Its not too harsh either which is always a winner. It also smells like maple syrup in a tub. Mmmm...

2. Indeed Laboratories Facial Powdered Exfoliator

Sticking with the exfoliator theme, this next one has been doing the rounds of beauty blogs for the past few months. When a product gets so much hype built up around it, I am always a little sceptical as to whether or not it actually works. I should not have worried though as when I eventually did find it I was not let down. This is a new type of exfoliator, for me anyways. Its basically a powder that you apply to the palm of your hand (two shakes is recommended) and you then mix it with a little water. It turns into this white foam that you then apply to your face in circular motions, rinse and your done. It contains ingredients like rice bran powder, pineapple enzymes, hyaluronic acid and many more wonderful things to slough off dead skin cells. YAY.

3. Boots Botanics Hydrating Eye Cream

I will admit that before purchasing this product, I had stopped using eye creams. I had previously been using the Vitamin E one from The Body Shop, but I found that it used to make my eyes sting and I stopped using it. I hadn't really spotted any I wanted to try until this one. I love the Boots Botanics range anyways and I have mention a few items from them before, so when i spotted this eye cream I said "Feck it", I'll give it a go. This product is 80% organic (which is great). It also contains Rosehip which the seeds contain Omega oils which we all know are great for your skin. This cream is great day or night, its not too heavy for under makeup and sinks in great, leaving my eye area softer and fine line free *thumbs up.

4. Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip balm

Here we have a product that, again, has made its way through beauty blogs and Youtube videos alike. It would seem that this is where I find new products to try out, more than anywhere else. Who could blame me? Now lip balms would probably be my favourite kind of "skincare" product to try. I forever have dry lips whether its Winter or Summer. I have always been a Carmex girl until I spotted this in my local pharmacy and decided to give it a go. Wow. its filled with honey and oils and my god is it a great product. I use it day and night and everything in between. Its just fab. 

5. Lee Stafford Treatment to Repair, Build and fix hair

This is a relatively new product in my beauty drawer as I have had it just over a week, but even in that short amount of time, I can tell its amazing. Its basically a deep conditioner that you apply to damp hair all over (yes even roots). Once you rinse it out you can really feel the difference to your hair. My hair is a hot mess after washing. Its dry, its tangly and generally just not great. This stuff has changed that for me. I can actually brush my hair after washing (Hooray!) and my hair just feels so much healthier. It doesn't leave your hair greasy at all and its just one of those products I can see myself using for a very long time. 

6. Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protection Cream Plus SPF 50

Its a mouthful, I know. I picked this little gem up on FeelUnique.com as it was coming into summer and I needed a good SPF for my face. If you don't know already I am white as a ghost and need to wear SPF or I will burn. This product is quite light but yet moisturising which is nice to see. It looks nice under foundation and although I can't physically see if its protecting my skin, I still recommend you wear SPF, especially if you have fair Irish skin like myself. Skin Cancer is not a joke. 

7. XO Beauty Brushes

Ever since I bought these brushes (about two months ago) I have used them everyday. I will link my previous blogpost on these brushes below. I have even used them in my kit and I always get comments on how soft they are. Thank you Shannon for taking the time to make amazing affordable brushes. I now need them all in my life. My favourite of the ones I purchased has to be the little Kabuki brush. Its too cute! It applies my powder so lightly and buffs everything in nicely. Winner. 


8. The Body Shop Mango Body Sorbet

The reason I love this is simple, its light, its moisturising and it smells like mangoes. Lets just keep it real here. 

Ooh La Lou x

Previous XO Beauty Post:

http://oohlaloux.blogspot.ie/2014/05/xobeauty-makeup-brushes.html

My Pamper Evening Essentials | Sunday Blues

Who doesn't love a good pamper session? Especially after a long day at work on your feet, running around doing this, that and the other. A pamper session is just the remedy for this. I have been feeling a little run down lately and stressed so I decided that I was going to treat myself and have a girly night in with myself. I have not had one in a very long time and this was definitely needed. This is where the pampering begins. I begin by taking some Pure Coconut Oil and warming it in the microwave, I then apply it to just the ends of my hair for a deep conditioning treatment. I leave that on for about 30 minutes. I have recently started dry brushing before every shower which if you are not familiar with dry brushing is when you take a body brush and you run it over your body in long strokes towards the heart. This helps to get rid of dry skin, cellulite, boosts circulation and lymphatic drainage (ew) which ultimately rids the body of toxins! A winner in my book! You can and should be doing this twice a day, before you hop in the shower.

Next up is the actual shower itself. Now I am pretty sure I don't have to tell you how to shower.. :) Although in the shower I love to exfoliate. The body brushing does exfoliate the skin but I love to redo areas such as my knees and elbows. I use The Body Shops Peach Body Scrub and I LOVE it. It smells amazing, is amazing at leaving your skin super soft and is just an all round great product. I use this just before I turn on the water as its better to use this on dry skin as its more effective I think. Then I rinse it off and use my favourite shower gel which is either the Original Source Mint and Tea Tree shower gel (which is great for the morning time, super refreshing) or the Soap and Glory Foam Call (which no joke, lasted me a year). Then I move onto shaving. I personally love Gillette and think they are the best razors so I always use them. Now on pamper evenings I like to make sure I am squeaky clean, so I use a clarifying shampoo on my hair. My favourite one, and probably the best one I have ever tried is the Toni and Guy Cleanse Shampoo. I have reviewed this before so I will link it here if you want to read up on that. I then apply another conditioner (double conditioning ftw!) I use the Schwarzkopf Deep Nutrition Conditioner which is another never ending product! I apply this to the ends of my hair and then rinse.

Once out of the shower I towel dry my hair and apply a nice body moisturizer such as the Vaseline Total Moisture Cocoa Glow (review here) or my new Jergens Body Lotion which is brilliant stuff! Then pop on some fresh pajamas (and deodorant..) I like to let my hair air dry for a while so I reduce the amount of time spent blow-drying it. While its drying I begin on my nails. I file them into shape, apply my OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener then whatever colour I am loving which at the moment is BarryM's Matte Polish in Vanilla which is a gorgeous taupe colour. I then apply my Avoplex Nail and Cuticle Oil all over my nails and they are done. I will then light a candle, my fave this month being the Yankee Candle in Blissful Autumn soon to be the new Salted Caramel one, once I get my hands on it.. I then apply a face mask, I used the REN Glycolactic Face Mask all over my face and relax with my book (Melissa Hill: The Truth About You..if your interested.) or my favourite magazine Stellar! Rinse of the face mask, blow-dry the oul hair and et voila the pampering is complete! :)

I hope you enjoyed reading this mighty long post guys and that maybe you will treat yourself to a pamper evening as well. It really does work wonders and after a good nights sleep, you are sorted. :)

What is your favorite way to wind down after a long day?