Current Hand & Nails Loves!

Hi Ladies,

When the weather gets a little bit colder, for some reason I tend to take more care of my hands and nails.

I thought I'd share my hand and nail loves with you all. As you know, I'm obsessed with hand cream so quite a few will be mentioned!

The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector:

I love love love this hand cream! It's really thick and great when applied to the hands in the winter months. Soaks in immediately and lasts a long time before you have to reapply.Great value too!

Soap & Glory Hand Food:

You've probably all heard about this! It smells delicious, it's really moisturising and is light on the skin. I keep this on my desk at work and need to reapply 2-3 times per day. Great for conditioning nails too and lasts a long time.

Clarins Creme Jeunesse Des Mains:

Hand on heart, this is my favourite hand cream of all time. Smells lovely, really smooth and moisturising. This strengthens my nails and is the one that I always go back to.

Estee Lauder Treatment Base Coat:

Vitamin-rich treatment for nails, enhances growth, diminishes discolouration and forms a smooth base for varnish. Can be worn alone too and still looks polished and pretty.

For my cuticles I usually use By Terry Baume De Rose, Number 7 Nourishing Nail & Cuticle Treatment or The Body Shop Almond Cuticle Oil (smells yummy!) I'm also trying OPI Nail Envy (Matte) so I'll let you know what I think.

What are your Autumn/Fall varnish recommendations? I'm absolutely loving the old favourite OPI Lincoln Park After Dark and Chanel Frenzy!

Thank you for reading.

Lots of love,
Amy
xxx

What I Do When I Feel 'Blah'

Hi Ladies,

I hope that you’re having a good day.

With the nights drawing in and everyone feeling so cold and ‘blah’, I wanted to write about what I do when I’m feeling a little bit rubbish and either need to relax or need perking up!

Firstly, I go home and put the heating on. Then I run a hot bath and light some candles (any from Yankee or Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir.) When this is running, I’ll grab my trusted Tangle Teezer and brush through my hair for a minute or two then take off my nail varnish on fingers and toes. At this stage, sometimes I’ll add a pre shampoo hair mask. I really like Organix Self Heating Coconut Oil and pure unrefined coconut oil for this. I’ll apply to my hair and put in a turban or hair band.

After this, in the bath, I’ll thoroughly cleanse my face with Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish (I’ll double cleanse if I’m really pushing the out) then apply Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It to my t-zone. Sometimes I leave this on for a few minutes as a mask.

I’ll scrub my skin with whichever scrub is lying around. I really like the Soap & Glory Flake Away scrub, used with exfoliating mitts, as it smells delicious and leaves a lovely moisturised sheen to the skin.

I’ll move from the bath to the shower to rinse of the residue of the body scrub and the pre-shampoo  away. I’ll follow with the current shampoo and conditioner of choice (at the moment it’s Herbal Essences) then I’ll apply Palmers Protein Pack to my hair.

Leaving the bathroom now in a fluffy robe/dressing gown, I’ll usually make a cup of tea, catch up with blogs or watch some trash on TV (usually Keeping Up With The Kardashians) while the Protein Pack works its magic. After an hour or so, I’ll rinse the hair mask away, detangle with my Tangle Teezer, apply either Moroccan Oil or Organix Argan Oil along with Aussie Lucious Long Leave In Conditioner, then brush through again.

Hair will be left to dry partly naturally and nails will be cut, filed, cuticle cream will be added (loving Number 7 at the moment) then Estee Lauder Base coat will be applied.

I’ll blow dry my hair in sections then will usually run my straighters over the hair (GHD’s)

Eyebrows will be tidied using Tweezerman Tweezers and Liz Earle Tonic will be used on the face with a cotton pad followed a spritz of Caudalie Beauty Elixir then a moisturiser, mask (Origins Drink Up Overnight Intensive) or face oil (Clarins Blue Orchid.)

OPI Nail Envy will be used and nails will either be left natural at this stage or painted (loving Chanel Frenzy and Nails Inc Baker Street polish at the moment.)

I’ll slather myself in Xen Tan in Dark and pop off to bed, quickly shower in the morning and use a lovely body moisturiser such as Bath & Body Works Winder Wonderland, Laura Mercier in Fig or The Body Shop Body Butter in Coconut, Satsuma or Mango.

I hope that you enjoyed reading!

Lots of love,

Amy

Must Have Repurchases!

Hi Ladies,

I hope that you're all keeping well.

I felt inspired to write this post today. What would you repurchase straight away if your make up/beauty essentials were stolen and you had to start ALL OVER AGAIN?!

Now, we can't be too excessive here, we need to keep moderately sensible. The items I've mentioned below are products that I use most days, if not every day. Now with some of them I will sound like a broken record, but you know me!

So here goes....

Foundation/Tinted Moisturiser - Chantecaille Tinted Moisturiser in Glow

I just love this little beauty. You only need a tiny amount for your whole face. I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to stipple in to my skin. On bad skin days or when I feel I need a little more more coverage, I mix with a tiny bit of Mac Pro Longwear. Worth the price tag of £57? The jury is still out.

Corrector/Concealer - Bobbi Brown Corrector/Mac Studio Sculpt Concealer

It would have to my my trusty Bobbi Brown corrector. This makes a massive difference to my under eyes especially after a late night. For reference, I'm shade Light To Medium Bisque. I always follow with Mac Studio Sculpt concealer then use a little around my nose and on my chin too.

Bronzer - The Body Shop Honey Bronze Gel

I've tried every bronzer in the whole world. Literally. You name it, I have tried it. For some reason though, whenever I want to look a little more glowy and natural, I always pick this up. I use a tiny amount and dab on my head, nose and top of the cheeks. Highly recommended if you haven't tried.

Lip Balm - By Terry Baume De Rose

For me, this is heaven in a perfect little pot. I use it every single day and wouldn't even think of picking up another balm now. I use for my cuticles too. Worth the £35 price tag? ABSOLUTELY.

Mascara/Mascara Primer Dior Maximiser Primer and Benefit They're Real Mascara

Useless apart, heavenly together! Being really honest, I haven't noticed a difference to the condition or length of my lashes since using the primer but with the mascara it just WORKS. I wouldn't dream of putting mascara on without using this first.

Highlighter - Dior Amber Diamond

Just beautiful. And cost effective! I have had the same product for two years now and there is hardly any sign of usage!

Blusher - Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine

Without question, this is my ALL TIME favourite blusher. All the Mac and Chanel blushers have been left in the drawer. I honestly think I'll use this for the rest of my life.

Lipstick - Mac Politely Pink

I love this lipstick. It looks so polished and pretty for day time. I do find it kind of moisturising in a weird way too. Looks lovely for the day with a little By Terry Baume De Rose dabbed over it, or with a gloss.

What wouldn't you repurchase if you had to go back to basics?

Thank you for reading.

Lots of love,
Amy

xxxx