Wednesday, 24 July 2013

A Few Favourites #1


In this first of many ‘favourites’ posts I’ll be talking about a handful of products that have really impressed me recently. I’d say this little lot are more ‘underdog’ items that perhaps aren’t that glamourous or exciting but nevertheless get the job done and get it done well! Of course there are other products that I’ve been loving this month, but I wanted to feature some that I hadn’t mentioned before.

First up, these two ultra-soothing products smell so lovely - the foot cream contains mint, lavender and marshmallow while the lotion has mint, camomile and wheatgerm, but to me these smell pretty similar and equally good. Both pale green in colour, one is a luxuriously thick cream while the other a lightweight lotion. For the price I really can’t fault these products and seriously recommend giving them a go if you’re into footcare (or even if you’re not). The lotion is great for cooling down feet after a long day, and is also perfect for hydrating my feet when I’m prepping for a DIY pedicure. I and my boyfriend try to treat each other to a foot massage once a week (sorry for the overshare), so we get a lot of use out of the deep moisturising cream which leaves our feet feeling soothed, nourished and smelling minty fresh! I also love the Body Shop Peppermint Intensive Foot Rescue and am itching to try the Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Foot & Heel Cream with avocado oil & shea butter.
NB. For some strange reason the foot lotion has disappeared from the Boots website, but I’d bet my bottom dollar you’ll still find it in store as I got mine not long ago!

This product from the Body Shop has always appealed to me, but I put off buying it for ages because I wasn’t sure what I would use it for, and already own so many other body moisturisers. Recently however, this has become firmly integrated into my bodycare routine. As a lover of gradual tanning products, I recently read that for best application and to avoid patchiness to first apply a regular moisturiser to dry areas - which this gorgeous-smelling solid stick of cocoa butter is perfect for. I now apply this to elbows, knees and feet before tanning, safe in the knowledge that I’ve prevented against any tell-tale orange patches! Also great for chucking in your bag when travelling, and for those days when you just don’t have the time for the scooping, squeezing and smoothing that comes with conventional body butters and lotions.

This is my favourite lazy-day, easy-to-wear, lip-colour-but-better shade in lipbalm form; the soft rose-red shade is so flattering and finishes off a minimal makeup look perfectly. With all-natural ingredients, including soft flower waxes, shea butter, vitamin e and beeswax, this softens and nourishes lips, adds a subtle but noticeable touch of colour, and smells really nice into the bargain! I'm a big fan of Burts Bees lipbalms; I currently have the nourishing mango butter one in my work bag, and also have another tinted one in Red Dahlia somewhere – a gorgeous dark berry shade, perfect for autumn/winter – although I’m not altogether sure where it’s disappeared to at the moment (sad face).

This had been hanging around waiting to be used in my skincare stash for a while, so when my old toner ran out I decided to give it a go in the interests of using things up. This is definitely not a purifying toner, but for the price I wasn’t expecting it to be. The bottle claims to ‘refresh and brighten’, and that it does do; great for perking up my skin after my morning cleanse. It’s been so hot in Bristol recently that when I get home from work (after cycling from one side of the city to the other), I’m dripping with sweat and feeling less than fabulous, so the first thing I do when I get through the door is splash my face with cold water and sweep this over my skin on a cotton pad. No one does scents like Garnier; this one with grape and apple extract is fresh and uplifting and makes me feel human again. I like the smell of this so much I might actually decant some into an empty Simple hydro-mist bottle so that I can spritz it on throughout the day! A really nice, refreshing, affordable product for summer.

What have you been loving recently?

Chandra
x

No comments:

Post a Comment