Winter Skin Fixers

Leaving the house with plump glowing skin and returning that evening with skin that resembles the Sahara Desert. Sound familiar? With Winter quickly approaching it's time for me to get involved with nourrishing creams, body oils and hydrating sptirz;s to give dry skin a kick up the backside...

Legs are the first thing to look a bit chapped, for everyday use I've been slapping on Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Vitalising Body Gel Oil, which, if the name didn't give it away, has a gel to oil texture that leaves skin glowing and moisturised. If my skin is in need of an extra boost I'll reach for luxurious Aesop Intense Rejuvinating Body Balm, which coats the skin, hydrated and leaves it smelling of vanilla and orange. Heaven! (I seriously need this in candle form) This intensive moisture routine extends to my shower, using the only shower gel I will ever purchase L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, which I've raved about countless times before, it's an oil that lathers up in the shower, leaving skin feeling nourished and smooth.

After hearing Miranda Kerr was a fan of Coconut Cream I recently jumped on the bandwagon, I've been using this RMS Raw Coconut Cream as a do-it-all cream, body moisturiser, knees, elbows, cuticles you name it. It's a solid formula but when warmed up in hands becomes an oil. I'll use it once a week for a skin boost only to later discover it's labelled as a cleanser!

The cold weather takes it's toll on my hands and lips the most, I've been using L'Occitane Magical Leaves Hand Cream which is part of their Christmas Collection, according to L'Occitane one hand cream is sold every three seconds worldwide! I can see why - rich, nourishing and easily absorbed. For lips, it's Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm For Lips, a thick cream I use as an overnight treatment to bring dry lips back to smooth. 

There are a couple of new face items I've added, firstly Darphin Purifying Balm, (post here) which has got to be one of my favourite product discoveries of 2012, is an absolute godsent it hydrates calms redness, blemishes, I absolutely adore this stuff and couldnt be without it!

Ingredient of the moment Hylaronic Acid, which is said to hydrate and support the skin is cropping up everywhere at the moment. I've been using a combination of two products to help add and lock in moisture. Firstly is Hydraluron, a gel texture that's applied before moisturiser or serum, Caroline describes it as a magnet for moisture. So far so good! Less blemishes, less dehydration lines and doesn't interfere with my makeup longevity. 

Next up from one of my favourite brands, Balance Me, is their latest release, Skin Brightening Hydrating Face Mist. Like all face spritz's should this smells incredible, a mixture of rose and orange but more importantly aims to focus on hydrating skin. Despite it being a large and hefty bottle I haven't let that stop me carrying it around on the go for a pick me up spritz.

I think it's fair to say I'm getting my daily dose of moisture! Anything I need to add to my routine?

Gift Idea: Balance Me Sets

It might be a tad early to be talking Christmas Gifts but to get anticipation started I'll share the first of many Christmas Gifts I'll be giving this holiday season...

I'm head over heels in love with the brand Balance Me - cute packaging, gorgeous smells and no nasty ingredients. Their Take Me Away With You sets are the perfect gift, especially for travelling. They contain 4 decent sized mini's. The body collection contains a Super Toning Body Wash & Body Cream and Shiny Clean Shampoo & Conditioner. My favourite out of the set has to be the Shiny Clean Shampoo as it's really cleansing but doesn't leave hair feeling stripped or dry.

The Skin Quenching Body collection is another lovely gift (especially for rose lovers like myself), the beautiful mermaid scaled box contains a Rose Otto Body Wash & Body Cream and a Super Moisturising Body Wash and Hand Cream. The hand cream is one of my favourites ever - post here! 

These have been firmly placed in my travelling bag as they are the perfect size - even for taking on planes!

My favourite out of the bunch is the Radiant Skin Collection which includes 5 skincare mini's from face masks to face balms. Perfect for getting to know the brand or for someone who would like to inject something new into their skincare routine.

Balance Me Take Me Away With You Sets are £16 and available here, and Radiant Skin Collection is £18 and available here. 

Have you tried anything from Balance Me?

Air Bourne Beauty

It's often after flying I land to dry, dull skin so after last weeks long haul fights I managed to put together a routine, that helped me land with even better skin than I boarded with, using the plane time to my advantage. The best part was hardly anyone noticed I was wondering around in a face mask...

Firstly I removed makeup with this mini Micellar Water from Taaj, which is so low maintenance it hardly requires a mirror let alone a sink! I then spritzed some of refreshing Caudalie Beauty Elixir over my skin and applied a thick layer of Origins Drink Up Intensive Mask, which I kept on throughout the flight. Fantastic news that it's clear so appears as though you're just applying moisturiser! 

To keep that fake tan in tact and avoid crocodile skin I applied Balance Me Rose Otto Body Cream, which feels butter soft on the skin and doesnt leave that unpleasant sticky feeling. For hands I would apply some of the Origins Make A difference Hand Cream, dab my temples with Origins Peace Of Mind before I slept and coated my lips in Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm For Lips.

Before landing I removed Origins Drink Up Mask and reapplied foundation and I was a very happy bunny landing to fresh plump skin with no dry patches or irritation. 

Anything I should add to my routine next time?

Nail Therapy

We all have our regrets when it comes to the beauty regime, whether it be not taking makeup off before bed or not applying an SPF. One of mine would be Gel and Acrylic overlay on my nails. I’ve had either one for as long as I can remember, barely giving my nails any time to ‘breathe’ from acrylics, extension tips to gels both bioscuplture and shellac.

They are something I have quite a love hate relationship with as I love the way they last on my nails without chipping but hate the condition they leave my nails in. After I finally took them off a couple of weeks ago my nails were thinner than paper - that's probably an understatement. In fact it's pretty disgusting how much they flake and break.

While I'm away on holiday I've decided it’s goodbye to gels for me and I am giving my nails some TLC with the aim of getting them back to a semi decent state.

To file my nails and even out any breakages I've been using these fantastic Stylefiles, which are curved and make filing nails so much simpler. Something so small yet makes such a big difference! For cuticles I've been applying Neals Yard Remedies Nail Balm at night as it’s a very rich hydrating cream and Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser and Balm in the mornings. I’m not too keen on the Sally Hansen balm but it’s early days and a Sally Hansen product has never failed me so I'll keep ya posted. 

For stumpy little nails I've been applying coats of Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle daily. I'm unsure of the correct way to properly apply this treatment but it seems to be working pretty well just slapping on some coats whenever I feel needs. Another little Sally Hansen treatment is the Nailgrowth Miracle Serum, which I've been massaging into my nailbeds every other evening – I’d say the combination of the two has really helped give my stumpy nails an extra boost as they seem to be growing!

Now onto the star of the show, Dr Lewinns Renunail Nail Strengthener, after having no luck with OPI Nail Envy I got second time lucky. This stuff in an absolute gem, something you’re supposed to apply two coats of and then another coat everyday but I've been applying two coats every other day and have seen a huge difference in the strength of my nails. They aren't as strong as I'd like them to be yet, still a couple of breakages here but definitely a huge improvement.

To top the whole thing off I've been appling a super nourishing handcream by Balance Me, which I've been keeping by my bedside as a lovely treatment.

We aren't back to normal nail strength yet but the finish line is definitely in sight! What are some of your beauty regrets?