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?

Post-Shoot Damage Control

Yesterday my hair was washed multiple times, pulled left right and centre and heat was applied more than I have every used in my life and by the end of the day I could hear my hair crying. Makeup was applied and reapplied and reapplied some more. Yes, if you haven't seen on my twitter or instagram feeds already, I was on a shoot (more on what I was doing at a later date      )

On returning home it was a jump in the shower to detangle the backcombing and time for some self pampering..

As my hair had been shampooed over 4 times that day  I opted out of shampoo but hair was given a seriously good condition,  I slathered on Bumble and Bumble Creme De Coco Conditioner and made my way though my backcombed locks with a brush. This really helped smooth hair out and avoided me tugging against my hair - a fantastic conditioner for those with long locks! After washing that out it was time for some extra moisture, I applied L'Oreal Professionel Mythic Oil Nourishing Masque and left it to soak for 5 minutes, this is quickly becoming one of my favourite hair masks as it just makes my hair look and feel incredible. 

After cleansing my skin with Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm (post here) I toned and applied my latest skincare love, Darphin Purifying Balm (post here) to calm any redness and help avoid any breakouts. On top of that it's also fantastic for hydrating my skin! 

Still feeling like I needed an extra boost it was time to cleanse from the inside, I went natural with Thalgo Les Infus'Oceanes Bio Draining Organic Infusion tea in Red Fruit flavour, which smells amazing and feels calming too!
So there you have it, my post-shoot damage control. I think I'll be applying more than one hair mask this week       ....In the meantime here's a sneak peek of one of the looks we shot! 

Instagram Username @AmeliaLiana

Spot Zapping

Once a month lurkers, I'm sure some of you ladies know what I'm talking about. Those horrible under the skin, take a week to kick, blemishes. Every grey cloud has a silver lining they say - and this particular cloud lurker brought about the discovery of something truly amazing...

Unfortunately deciding to try out the Origins Super Spot Remover was a mistake, I absolutely love Origins but this left my skin looking so red, irritated and dry that not only was it twice the size it started off it was also impossible to cover up! A big thumbs down from me...

Time for damage control and bring out the big guns, I decided to try something Caroline recommended, Darphin Purifying Balm, which I'm sure you've seen me sing it's praises on twitter all week - spoiler alert: it's a total healer! Massaged in to the affected area and left overnight I noticed my blemish looked less angry, redness had significantly decreased and was much easier to cover as it was less dry and flakey! (Lovely details I know...)

After this positive experience I continued to apply Darphin Purifying Balm all over my face for that double whammy of keeping blemishes at bay and hydrating my skin. The aftermath was incredible, hydrated plump skin, lurkers significantly decreased and skin looked much less dull. It's a small pot for £41 but a little goes a seriously long way. I've been pairing it with Overnight Refining Lotion, which I've also been using as a primer before concealer as it leaves skin so smooth and makes it much easier to cover. The two have been a killer blemish combatting combination! Conclusion: Darphin Aromatic Purifying Balm = miracle worker, but you already knew that from this post      

What do you use to combat blemishes?