The Pre-Holiday Pamper

Weekends tend to be one of those times I indulge in a spot of pampering, which usually involves some sort of face mask, nails and a bit of fake tan. Before I'm off to Ibiza tomorrow I opted for the morning at home to pack and do some last minute pampering. Here's what I got up to...

Firstly as soon as I woke up I tried something new, the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Eye Mask, which I've had my eye on for a while. They are a funny little contraption with a separate cucumber infused liquid and cotton eye pads. To use, one must press firmly on the fluid chamber, wait for eye pads to soak up the water and follow by keeping them under eyes for about 15 minutes, of which I daydreamed about doing absolutely nothing in the sun! After 15 minutes of depuffing and hydrating my eyes looked brighter as well as feeling more refreshed. Having only four in a packet these should definitely be saved for when eyes need a major pick me up and I've already packed one saches in my suitcase as a post party saviour!

I then continue to wet my hair in the sink purely to apply my favourite hair mask, Fekkai Advanced Salon Technician Rapid Results Moisture Mask, which smells incredible, feels really nourishing and helps maintain coloured hair, but more on that here. I kept this in for as long as possible with my hair up in a bun. Before I started packing some Ren Invisible Pores Detox Mask (my all time favourite mask by the way - would highly recommend) covered my face with some Lierac Eye Contour Balm and Mask in a thick layer around my eyes.  I then continued to decide which bikinis to bring along for around half an hour until the face and eye masks were ready to wash off. 

After washing off the masks I hopped in the shower to remove my hair mask and exfoliate my body head to toe. Of course no surprises here I whipped out my favourite Soap & Glory scrub, all of which are amazing, but after finishing Some Like It Hot! recently I decided to try out Pulp Friction and let me tell you it was no disappointment. Smells much more fruity than the usual Soap & Glory scent, was much less emulsifying yet much more gritty - perfect for a hard scrub!

Normally after scrubbing I would reach for my moisturiser or Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe but this time I went over to indulge in a St Tropez tan with a professional. I'll let you know how that gets on but I'm currently in all black baggy clothing smelling a bit like a biscuit. 

Lastly, after getting out the shower I reached for my tweezers and got rid of a couple of stray hairs on my eyebrows, just to make sure everything was very neat, slapped on some nail oil, Neals Yard hand cream and Dr Lipp (post here) at this point was all pampered out.

Of course with all of this going on I had my Neom Candle - link to post here - burning in the background, helping my turn my room into a mini spa. Just writing this post makes me want to do it all again...perhaps a post holiday pamper too?


I'm off to finishing packing but before I do, what does your pamper regime consist of? Anything I need to add?

Oh and ps - I narrowed it down to eleven bikinis for a week...is that too much?

How To: Pedicure At Home

With exams on the way there's no better way of procrastination than a good pamper session    . Seeing as I hate people touching my feet I tend to give myself pedicures from time to time. This ritual starts with a good soak, followed by some scrubbing and ends with a lovely moisturiser to finish. Plus some useful tools in the middle. Since my feet have been in hiding throughout winter and summer is approaching (hello open toe shoes!) now is the perfect time to be indulging in a bit of feet pampering. 

To soak my feet I normally start by filling up a little tub with warm water and adding a couple of drops Aromatherapy Associates Bath and Shower Oil in Relax into the mix to get the aroma of a spa going. After letting my feet soak in the mixture for a while I then take one out and rub The Body Shop Peppermint Smoothing Pumice Foot Scrub all over my foot, it has a gel like texture which is really soothing and includes little exfoliating beads to help get rid of all that accumulated grime. Lovely! After letting that dissolve for a little bit I then go in with my trusty Boots Botanics Foot Pumice and scrub my heels, which are usually the most rough. This is quite an aggressive little tool so it gets reserved for severely bad days! I then place my foot back in the little tub and repeat these steps on the other.

The Star of the show really is this Rio Rapid Heel Smoother, a little machine which gently, and not tickling may I add, removes dead skin. There's also two different tips, one for your heel and one for around your toes. I'm constantly looking for time savers and this little machine is total genius as it does all the work for you! I found it works best on damp skin, so as I take my foot out the tub I wipe it with a towel, so it's still moist just not totally wet. As I mentioned it comes with two tips, the smaller one for toes is made for me as I can never seem to get rid of those annoying bits of skin round the nail and this helps me buff them away. This is a great little tool that I would recommend to anyone going on holiday while wanting to keep their feet looking pretty! Anyway back to the pedicure, any bits of cuticle left I then remove with a Tweezerman Cuticle Nipper. After all this exfoliating I then wash my foot a little bit, cover it in The Body Shop Hemp Foot Protector. Having my new best friend ingredient, hemp, means it's perfect for dry skin & adding in tons of moisture. For my cuticles I then take a little bit of cuticle oil, my latest favourite being Solar Oil, which I wrote about here if you fancy some extra reading :) other favourites include Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil and The Sanctuary Nail and Cuticle Oil. 

After this procedure, which usually takes around 10 minutes, I then pop some socks on and wait for all the oils and foot cream to absorb     

Hope you enjoyed this post! Do you ever give yourself pedicures? What do you use?