Hangover Heroes

As seen from my previous post it was my 23rd birthday recently. I went out with a few friends to celebrate last weekend and I must say that heavy drinking is just not for me anymore. I don't seem to have a middle ground in between being slightly tipsy and full blown drunk and always end up feeling terrible the next morning, with a hangover that seems to last the whole day. An arsenal of super effective skincare on these occasions not only makes me feel better but also look a lot better too.

I am pretty good at taking off my make up before bed even when I'm totally sloshed and my skin always looks so much better in the morning if I remember to apply Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair Serum (which I didn't this time doh!) It honestly makes you look like you've had a good nights sleep and helps battle the dullness, dehydration and blemishes that all arise from a late one.

The first thing I do in the morning is wash my face and apply a good clay mask, my favourite at the moment being Una Brennan's Pore Purifying Clay Mask, to mop up the oilyness in my skin due to dehydration and clear the pores from the extra layers of make up. It makes me feel a lot more awake and clean once I've properly cleansed with a good clay mask and makes my pores less obvious and my skin looking refreshed, balanced and more even.

I tend to not wear make up the next day so will put on a layer of Origins Drink Up Intensive mask which is so hydrating and soothing. If I do have to be somewhere and need to put on minimal makeup then I will normally reach for Una Brennan's Rose Radiance Day Cream which is deeply hydrating while giving a very nice glow and radiance to the skin. This stuff really works and looks lovely by itself or underneath make up. I've also been trialing Hydraluron from Indeed Labs which is a thin serum that sinks in very easily before your moisturiser and helps to lock in hydration as pure hyaluronic acid holds up to 1000 times it's own weight in water.

To soothe sore and achey eyes, I have been reliant on the Eye Refresher Roll On from Tropic Skincare. The roller ball is ridiculously cooling and soothing and also helps to depuff the eye area while nourishing with a thin formula.

Lastly I pile on the Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm, an old firm favourite that is more of a lip mask than a balm. It's super thick so protects your lips as well as hydrating them deep down.

What are your hangover heroes? xxx

Delights for Dehydrated Skin

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair // Origins Drink Up Intensive // Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish // Boots Vitamin E eye cream // Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief // Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream

A few weeks back, I noticed that no matter how I applied my make up I always ended up looking cakey. Even the most moisturising of my bases were no longer dewy and just weren't sitting right on my skin. I realised that together with being ill, the colder weather and central heating, my skin had become dehydrated. As I have a relatively oily t-zone I would usually shy away from hydrating products, but I have learnt that there is a difference between dry and dehydrated skin. Combating the problem of dehydration can also help to balance out oilyness which is a plus point for me! I had a few products already in my arsenal but picked up a couple more to get me through the colder seasons.

For cleansing, Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish is a great natural choice for all skin types to take off make up and cleanse skin with a creamy formula including cocoa butter to nourish skin. The two part system keeps skin soft and radiant - this is my second bottle and will definitely always have a spare in my stocks. Advanced Night Repair is my serum of choice as it delivers hydration yet sinks in quickly and easily. It has quickly become a holy grail product for me and I alternate it every other night.

Over the top of my serum is a new purchase. My first product from Neals Yard (after hearing Hannah rave about them!) is the Frankincense Hydrating Cream, which I use as my night cream. It is rich and takes a little while to sink but a little goes a long way and I've been impressed so far. For a lighter alternative or as a day cream, I've been using a little pot of Clinique's Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief which I was previously using over the Summer. As it is a gel like consistency it is light yet hydrating and leaves skin smooth and primed for make up.

For an intense boost once a week or so I bought Origins Drink Up Intensive mask - I tried the original formula before and enjoyed it but thought this one would really suit me for winter. It smells amazing and again a little goes a long way. Finally, for my eyes is another new purchase, however this one is more purse friendly! Boots Vitamin E eye cream is my first eye cream in ages and I have been using this morning and night to help my concealer sit better under my eyes. Not the most amazing of creams but definitely not the worst.

That's my round up of what I've been using to treat my skin recently, what products would you suggest for this time of year? xxx

Review: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair

Advanced Night Repair // £44 for 30ml // £58 for 50ml

Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you will all recognise the iconic brown bottle and pipette which represent Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair. It's won numerous beauty awards and is a coveted holy grail product for many, across all ages. I'd seen a number of reviews of this, most notably from Kate who has the same skin type as me who claimed it really helped to sort out her skin 'complaints'. It had been at the top of my wishlist for a while as I knew I would love to try it but as it is rather pricey it would be a rare  chance that I could afford to buy it myself (I am a student after all.)

Luckily, I got gifted it as a surprise by my super generous boyfriend. I was literally so shocked but happy at the same time! This is the first serum I've tried and after using it for around 2 months now, I can understand why it is such a well loved product. Estée Lauder is a luxury, high end brand and I really feel that the packaging and product inside is a representation of that. The medicinal smelling liquid is housed in a brown glass bottle, with a pipette inside making for easy application of the serum. It is quite a novel feature but one which works well. If you are concerned with the smell, it disappears after the serum melts into your skin. You only need a few drops for your face and I find it sinks in immediately.

When I first started using this it was every night, but now I use it every other night under my night cream. Although it is most known for anti ageing, it also great for "younger, smoother, and more radiant and healthy skin" - all great things that my skin type needs help with (bar the younger part). By using "Chronolux" technology the serum helps to "reduce the apperance of past damage" and addresses "environmental assualts" (e.g. UV light, smoke and polution) before they do permenant damage, and also delivers "essential hydration." I can't vouch for the anti ageing but my skin has definitely improved from using this. It is more even toned, plumper, more hydrated, and more radiant. It works wonders especially after a heavy night - the morning after the night before Matt said, and I quote, that my skin looked "radiant". I think that says a lot!

I know skin care is very subjective but if you have the money to spare I would seriously consider investing in this bottle - it may not look like much but I've been using it for two months and it looks like I havn't even used it, so should last such a long time. It would be a great present to give or receive and is one of the best products I have in my routine. This is most definitely a holy grail product for me.

Have you tried this serum? What else would you recommend from Estée Lauder? xxx

Added Extras #1

(Sorry for the not so great picture!)

Since coming home for reading week I've come down with a nasty cold which I've been trying to keep at bay for weeks and just feel generally rubbish. I think the stress of third year is getting to me so I've been trying to chill out as much as possible. One of the best things about being at home is having my own bathroom and having a bath every evening, especially as the weather gets colder. Therefore, I've been taking the time to use this to my full advantage and treat myself a little to make me feel better. These products are something that I don't use every day and are therefore little 'added extras' when I want a bit of a pamper. 

I bought a few lush bath bits before coming back to treat myself and I've been enjoying using the Sunnyside bubble bar to make my bath time a bit more special and luxurious. At the moment the weather and my illness has made my skin look pretty crap - dull and dehydrated with a few blemishes to top it all off (you can tell I'm the picture of health...) so I've been adding some masks into my nighttime skin care routine to combat some of these problems. I began with the fab pore by Soap and Glory to give a deep clean and help reduce my pores, but the jury is still out on this one and I'm not sure if it lives up to my Origins Clear Improvements. I followed this up with Origins Out of Trouble mask which is great for calming down blemishes and leaves my skin lovely and smooth. I've run out of my Drink Up sample though to complete this 'triple threat facial' so will be purchasing this asap to rectify the dehydration issue. For my body I used my favourite scrub of the moment which is Soap and Glory's Flake Away which smells amazing and leaves my skin nourished and radiant.

Once out of the tub I completed my skin care routine and added my serum of choice - Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair into the mix. I received this as an extremely generous surprise present from Matt and boy am I glad! It evens out my skintone and injects radiance and moisture back into my skin. I then slathered on some of the Body Shop's Peppermint Cooling Foot Lotion before popping on some socks to put some moisture back into my feet. For the last step my nails got treated to O.P.I's 'Play The Peonies' with a layer of 'Disco Heaven' by Model's Own to inject a little winter sparkle.

What are your added extras for autumn? Do you have any product suggestions for dehydrated skin? xxx