Surviving the World Cup

World Cup Widows Pamper Box*

As I'm writing this, it is half time in the Brazil vs Germany game and the former team are 5 nil down... there goes my final chance of winning any money in the sweep stake I took part in! So it is a rather nice treat that I got sent this lovely box of goodies to relax and block out the drama of the World Cup (and my boyfriends commentary) which I took advantage of tonight.

First I ran myself a warm bath using the Simple relaxing bath soak which is perfect to help you unwind in the evening and prepare you for bed due to it's lavender and chamomile notes. After watching an episode of Girls I got out the tub and  made a big mug of luxury hot chocolate with the stir in hot chocolate block and popped on the anti stress Montagne Jennesse mud mask to detoxify my skin. One of my favourite pamper products are face masks and this brand is so affordable and effective. I'm saving the popcorn for another game but couldn't resist popping on the Nivea lip butter after finishing my drink and removing my mask as I love these so much! I was so excited to see this as it is the only flavour I don't have of the range.

Not only is the box packed full of goodies to give yourself a great pamper night, a World Cup Widows bingo card is included so you can have a little bit of fun yourself while your partner is engrossed in the play (you can download one here). So far I have managed to cross out 'the fridge is suddenly full of beer', 'you have to ask which team a player plays for' and 'partner panics after losing remote'. I don't think I will be able to complete this card though as although Matt loves the football he is quite good at including me and doesn't take it too seriously.

The second half of the game has just started but I really need an early night so those ear plugs are definitely looking appealing tonight...

What products have you pampered yourself with during the World Cup? Are you a World Cup Widow? xxx

*This is not a sponsored post but I was gifted the box of products

All Used Up #5

There isn't too many products in the fifth installment of this series even though I have used up other things but have failed to keep them in order to write a post. I'm going to try a bit harder though to find somewhere safe to keep them as I think they are a great way to do mini reviews and enjoy reading other people's (link me in the comments if you have a recent post of your own!)

001. La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution: I've been trying out a few micellar waters to take off the excess of my make up before cleansing properly, which I used to do with face wipes before. This was one of the better ones I have tried but did not take up all of my make up so I wouldn't recommend cleansing with just this. It was nice in the mornings though to freshen up and left skin soft and without any residue. I'm not sure if I really 'get' the hype over micellar waters to be honest - I'm using a bottle of Bioderma which is supposed to be the best one on the market, so once that is all finished I think I will have formed my final opinion on this type of product.

002. Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub: This has been hanging around for a while so I was pleased to finish it. It is an effective scrub without being too harsh and a good scrub/cream ratio but it didn't blow me away. I am looking at other scrubs and ways in which to exfoliate my skin instead at the moment.

003. Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub: Another scrub, this time for the body. The scent of this is amazing: citrus and brown sugar combined together smells like Rowntree's fruit pastel lollies :) I'm a big fan of all things Soap & Glory and I am slowly working my way through their products but this particular scrub wasn't the best I've tried from them. As I said the smell was amazing so I am definitely looking into getting the shower gel of this range but the scrub wasn't scrubby enough for me and found that meant a lot of product was needed to get the desired results. Flake Away lasted a lot longer than this and I preferred the texture so it is still the top scrub for me!

004. Superdrug Blonde Colour Enhance Conditioner: Like the Simple scrub this has been in my bathroom for ages (I'm talking years) as I didn't really like it too much. I ended up using it for shaving my legs which it was good at but for its actual use I wouldn't repurchase.

005. Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush: Yet another dry shampoo as I always use this in between washes. I've never really tried another dry shampoo as these are cheap and do the job.

006. Tresemme Heat Defence Smooth Spray: I don't use any other products from this brand as I heard from hairdressers that it isn't actually good for your hair, but their heat protectant is lovely and I always repurchase it. It smells lovely, doesn't weigh hair down and lasts ages so is very cost effective too. My favourite aspect of this product is the spray function as it delivers a very fine mist. I've kept the bottle to transfer some other heat protectants that I've got to use up into as its the best spray I've found. A definite repurchase.

Have you tried any of these products? xxx

My Current Skincare Regime

At the moment I'm trailing some new products to mix in with old staples, trying to find the best routine for me. My skin has been a bit up and down recently - blemish prone, scaring and oily some days and really dehydrated the next, it doesn't really know what its supposed to be doing. I'm putting it down to stress and the weather, but while I'm trying to figure it out I've been switching up my skincare to remedy the problems and also try to make my diet more healthy (essays are healthy eating's worst enemy!)

My morning routine is pretty simple. I start by washing my face with Simple's moisturising face wash, which I've had for a while and am trying to use up, followed by Elemis Balancing Lavender Toner that I got for Christmas. It smells lovely but doesn't match up to my favourite Boot's Botanics and I don't think its done much to balance out my skin so far. A full review will be up soon though once I've trailed it a bit further. Then a nice layer of much hyped up La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo to tackle the blemishes is applied as a day serum/moisturiser, followed by a little Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream if my skin is feeling really dehydrated. Finally a blob of Clarin's Eye Contour Gel for dark circles and prep the area for make up applied with my ring finger.

The evenings are a bit more complicated but my favourite time for skincare. The majority of my make up is removed with a micellar water and cotton pads, at the moment I'm using one by La Roche Posay. Then the Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser which came with the matching toner is used to thoroughly cleanse all traces of make up and dirt in conjunction with my new No 7 Cleansing Brush, my first foray into facial brushes. There will be a full review of this at a later date but at the moment my impressions of it are good. After using the aforementioned toner, I mix a few drops of Clarins Lotus Oil in with the Neal's Yard moisturiser for extra hydration. I am in love with this oil and cannot wait to give it a full review! Finally, any blemishes are zapped with Origins Super Spot Remover.

What are your skincare staples? xxx

All Used Up #2

This is my second post of this type and I feel like I've used up quite a lot this time around! I'm trying to use up more before I buy even more but that is easier said than done. A lot of these products as you can see are bath things which I find easier to use than make up etc, so they will probably be the most recurrent throughout these posts. I love reading other people's posts like this so I hope you like mine :)

Simple Soothing Toner: This took me forever to get through and I liked it but I didn't love it. I like to feel that a toner is doing something special for my skin and this doesn't really cut it. It is refreshing though and takes takes off any cleanser/make up residue but that's about it. I'm currently using a travel version of this as I am on the look out for a new toner so suggestions would be welcome please :) (I am oily/combination).

L'Oreal Elvive Colour Protect Caring Shampoo: I enjoyed using this as it nourished my hair while cleansing it effectively at the same time. Since I colour my hair I'm always looking at labels for added UVA/B  protection on my hair products to combat fading and this shampoo includes it. I've since purchased a Bedhead shampoo for some variety and also because I have repurchased this before and you are meant to rotate your shampoos after a while, but I would recommend this for a bargain price.

Palmolive Irresistible Softness Showercream: The skin on my body is dry so I always try to get moisturising/nourishing shower gels to combat the dryness. I think I got this on offer and it had a lovely smell and lathered up nicely. There isn't much to say as it is just a bargain shower gel but I thought it was great for the price.

Schwarzkopf got2b Sparkling Hairspray: I love the packaging of this product and the product was ok too. I wouldn't say it gave my hair loads of shine but it gave a nice hold and was good to use on a night out. I would probably repurchase this.

Dr Bronner Pure Castile Liquid Soap: In a recent Joliebox I received 3 samples of this: an unscented baby mild, a citrus one and a peppermint. The scents of this were incredible, they were quite strong but not artificial in anyway and were a treat to use. The citrus one was very zingy smelling and great for mornings and the peppermint made me tingle all over so would be great for summer (similar to the Original Source mint one). I was also surprised at how much they lathered up. The only downside is that because they are soap they left me with a slightly tacky feeling on my skin but all soaps seem to do that to me.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Wild: Love dry shampoo and love Batiste! I always try to have a back up can of this as I use it quite regularly. I tried a new smell with 'wild' and really liked it so will definitely repurchase :)

L'Oreal Elvive Nourishing Cream Conditioner: This took ages to use up too and I liked it but it didn't do anything spectacular. My hair was left soft after using this but this wasn't sustained until my next wash. I also used it on my legs for shaving which left them silky smooth!

Lush Tea Tree Water Toner and Catastrophe Cosmetic Facemask: I've already written a review on these which you can read here. But a quick update on the toner - I had a feeling that it was breaking me out so I stopped using it before it was finished. My skin cleared up a lot afterwards so my suspicions seem to be confirmed. It was a shame because I loved the spray and it was a refreshing toner but products with tea tree in seem to break me out instead of help cure the problem!

Have you tried any of these products? Do you agree with my opinions? xxx