Body Shop Haulin'

Just throwing it out there...I love The Body Shop.  Who doesn't?!  I don't think I've bought anything from there that I haven't really, really liked, and whilst I'm not keen on their prices, I am keen on the fact that there is always an offer on.  And the offers are usually pretty damn good.  I got a £25 gift voucher for Christmas to spend there (from my dog, Ronnie...he's a good dog!) and I am pretty surprised that I managed to hold off spending it for so long!  I was a bit disappointed to see that I couldn't spend it online, but hey ho, a trip in store it is - which by the way, was brimming with all of the Christmas stock!  There's hardly anything Christmassy left online, but there was practically all of the Christmas bits in store from the limited edition products to the gift sets at bargain prices!  Definitely worth popping in store if you missed something!

Despite all the Christmas stock, I didn't buy any of the sale bits really.  It was a pretty focussed shop actually and I must have been in and out within five minutes!  Onto the haul and it's going to make for a fairly long post...

Okay first off, I picked up the full size Chocomania Shower Cream as mentioned in my December Body Care Empties post.  I really liked using the miniature that I got, and couldn't resist picking up another!  At £2, it's hardly bank breaking either!  I also picked up a full size version of the Vitamin E Moisture Cream which I've been really liking lately.  I haven't finished the miniature that I've got, but I couldn't let it run out and not have one as a back up - seriously nice to use.

I went on a bit of a Vitamin E spree as I also picked up the Vitamin E Hydrating Toner and the Vitamin E Overnight Serum in Oil.  I've not tried either of these bits, so I'm definitely looking forward to slipping these into my routine.  I've not ever really managed to religiously use a toner in my skincare routine, but quite fancy using this Vitamin E one in the evening alongside the Serum in Oil.  When it first came out, I heard lots of raving about the Serum in Oil but that died out pretty quickly so I'm hoping it's as nice as everyone once said it was.  Of course I'll report back on it!

I really have been loving using the Soothing Aloe Day Cream lately, so thought that I'd add a second toner to my routine - I've really gone for it with toners guys - and that's the Aloe Calming Toner.  There's something about the Aloe Day Cream that I think has really calmed my skin down - I rarely break out anymore, and my skin just seems so much better recently now I've started focussing on skincare.  I even think I'm breaking out of the full on oily skin type and breaching the combination skin type!  Hopefully this will keep the good skin comin'...

I picked up the Tea Tree Cool and Creamy Wash as I'm running a bit low on my face wash stash.  I'm really looking forward to finishing my current ones so I can wack this one out - I can just imagine this feeling so soothing and nice on my skin!  I'm currently using a gel cleanser, so this cream will be a nice change!  And finally, I picked up a Facial Massager!  Facial Massages are actually really important for the skin as they aid moisture absorption, can lead to firmer, younger looking skin, and my main reason for getting one, they can help with lymphatic drainage.  I often get quite sore lumps along my jaw line, which I assumed were just annoying under the skin spots, but reading about facial massage made me realise that it might just be trapped toxins from the lack of blood circulation around my face - so...massage, circulation boost, no more sore lumps?  Fingers crossed.  Plus, Caroline Hirons recommended it so for £6 it's no biggie.

Better yet, the offer on at the minute is spend £50 and get £25 off!  Which meant I got £50 worth of product for my £25 gift card!  Well I went £4 over my gift card, but oh well...Hurrah!  Good times all round!

Have you picked anything up from The Body Shop lately?

The Sick Day Skin Care Routine

This week hasn't been a great one as I've been plagued with the dreaded flu that has been making the rounds.  I've spent two days in bed watching the world go by from my window whilst watching a ridiculous amount of Friends.  Ten hours yesterday to be exact.  That's actually a little sickening writing that out.  But y'know.  Ill times and all that.

You might be thinking that fitting in a skincare regime when you feel so crap is a bit OTT, but I found that looking after my skin really helped in making me feel better in myself.  Don't get me wrong, I have spent the last three days completely make up free, and wearing very minimal make up on the days I made it into work, but my skin is feeling pretty peachy.

After cleansing, I started my day of lazing by applying my favourite eye cream which is the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream.  I've raved about it here before, but it checks all of my boxes; smoothing, hydrating and brightening - brightening being the key here when we're severely lacking in energy.  I've been using The Body Shop's Soothing Aloe Day Cream for quite a while now, so kept it in my routine.  It's thicker than your usual day cream, but once applied feels really light and super hydrating.  I topped off my skin with Bioderma's Atoderm Cream but only applied it to the really dry patches on my skin which was mainly around my nose.  It really helped take care of the skin which had gotten sore from too much nose blowing!  I topped off my morning skin care with a swift application of LUSH's Lip Service Lip Balm to my super dry lips, ensuring that I did this straight after washing my hands seeing as it's a finger dip lip balm, and I don't fancy swiping my flu germs back into the pot.

The evening routine was also a pretty quick one.  I started the evening how I do every evening by using the Yes To Blueberries Eye Cream.  I like using this one in the evening as it's a bit richer than the Balance Me one and really helps to hydrate the areas around the eyes.  I follow that with the Vitamin E Moisture Cream from The Body Shop.  I haven't had this miniature too long, but I've already repurchased the full size!  It's really hydrating, but so light I could use it morning or evening and it smells really nice!

Following the Vitamin E Moisture Cream, I've been alternating between these two; the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask and the ESPA Optimal Skin Pro Serum.  The Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask smells incredible and will probably always be a staple in my skincare stash.  I absolutely love using it, and my dehydrated skin is always thankful by the morning.  The ESPA Pro Serum is one that I don't see getting spoken about too much, but is a product that is a real skin treat.  I'm going to link you straight to the ESPA website to read up on the benefits of the serum as there are so many skin loving oils in there that my post would be ridiculously long if I tried to list them all, but it brightens the skin, enhances radiance, moisturises, soothes and protects just to name a few.  It really is an amazing product and one that I'll definitely be repurchasing despite its £48 price tag...  Finally, I slapped on some more of the Bioderma cream where needed - I'd definitely recommend picking one of these up, it's been amazing at sorting out my extreme dry skin areas.

So there we have it.  I'm feeling so much better today and have even ventured out of the house!  I'm back to work tomorrow, and hopefully having carried out these routines I won't look too grey and lack lustre...hopefully much better than I did on Thursday anyway!

Do you have a sick day skin routine?