Favourite Body Shop Products

I've been super busy with Uni & work lately that I haven't been able to upload a post! So I thought as I sit here running my bath, i'd jot down a little!

I've been a huge fan of the Body Shop products for a few years now & am always super exciting to buy something new! I have to admit, the Body Shop isn't super cheap, as when I was younger I always used to think £14 for a body butter is completely ridiculous.. However, for the amount, and the quality of the product, it's totally justifiable. I also have a loyalty card for the store which honestly is incredible, you receive 10% off every purchase, getting free gifts, and at least once, if not twice a month they email me with 40 % of any order I choose, online and in store, with free delivery! Really impossible to complain.

Anyway ... enough of me promoting their loyalty card and on with the post!

So although I own many more Body Shop products than shown in this photo, I just wanted to share my most favourite or we would be here forever! 

I've decided to stick to skin care - even though their candles are to die for!

Firstly is the Peppermint Intensive Foot Rescue.

Now I absolutely hate the smell of mint, however this is bearable. The smell is strong, but not overpowering and you cannot smell it once you have massaged into your feet. The cream is very rich and nourishing, I like to apply every evening right before bed and will usually wear socks to lock in the moisture.

Next is a favourite of every Body Shop lover, their body butter.

Available in hundreds of flavours, however this is a recent buy of mine & it's definitely made its way to my favourite! I believe this is limited edition in the flavour Early Harvest Raspberry, and my god, incredible is the only way to describe this. Incredible.

Next is a cleanser I have spoken about before. The Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter. This is so luxurious and calming on the skin & eyes. I use this on dry skin and wash away with a Body Shop Muslin Cloth. I have very sensitive skin, and this does not irritate at all. It's also very good at removing hefty eye make up!

Again, something i've spoken about before, Hand Cream. These little beauties are everywhere in my house, I currently own 8, in every flavour & I love each and every one. I won't ever leave the house without one of these!

Lastly on this mini favourites is the Strawberry Body Puree, which is similar to the body butters but lighter and comes with a pump which is a little less messy! The puree's are a lot cooler and much thiner which makes them very easy to rub into the skin. I believe they are also a fair bit cheaper than the butters!

And thats it for my favourite Body Shop products!

All products mentioned are available at The Body Shop, but don't forget to join their loyalty system too! It's so worth it!

What are your favourite Body Shop items? 

Holly x

Dealing With Eczema

At the age of 21, eczema is something i've been dealing with for around 3 years.

Now, I know people suffer from eczema all their lives, from the day they are born. Now i'm lucky enough to have only been suffering the last few years, but I have developed a rare form of eczema which is very severe and affects me in many ways other than just dry skin, in ways that make me very self conscious, and have ruined many experiences in my life.

So much in fact, i've kept it a huge secret from most people I know. Little people know the extent of my condition. However, i'm not yet ready to disclose my condition so early on in my blog posts, but i'd like to share my tips to dealing with any kind of eczema, and dry skin conditions, which I hope helps everyone ready.

I have photographed the products I find work best in moisturising my eczema, from left to right, Aqueous Cream (a recent find, I was given to use around my eyes when I have an allergic reaction and my eyes became extremely dry), Neutrogena Deep Moisture Comfort Balm (daily face moisturiser), Aveeno Moisturising Cream, E45 (typical, and features twice in the image), Sudocrem, and The Body Shop Strawberry Fraise.

Now although the Body Shop is not the most amazing on the eczema, I included it to say that you CAN use nice products. Eczema doesn't restrict you to the boring continuous line of emollient cream, but you can treat yourself and have lovely moisturisers in your collection too. 

My top tips for trying to deal with eczema include :

♥ Don't let your condition stop you from doing anything. If your conscious of your skin, there are always ways to cover it, so i've learned. May it be on your body,or your face. Mine is mainly my body, and to give myself confidence I ensure I wear appropriate swimming wear to cover my biggest insecurities.

♥ The most obvious, moisturise moisturise moisturise! 

There are hundreds on the market you can use to help control your condition, including prescriptions. Remember everyone is different, and different products will work better for some conditions and some people, but may not work for you.

♥ Persevere. Don't give up. If you feel nothing works, keep looking. Keep searching until you find something you love. Saying that, don't give up straight away! Most products will need a good period of time trialling, before you can really know if it works or not. 

♥ Don't let it ruin any thing for you. Everyone has their insecurities, it doesn't define you. 

♥ Baby bubble bath. If your anything like me, eczema skin can be pretty sensitive. I always use baby bubble bath (except for lush products - impossible to resist) as its extremely gentle and will not irritate your skin, or your eczema. It also creates amazing bubbles and smells lovely too! Not to mention a super small price tag.

I hope this has helped anyone dealing with eczema or any dry skin conditions. It's an on going battle for me every day which is definitely something that gets me down when its having a bad day, but it also has its good days. 

If your suffering with any dry skin conditions, please leave comments with your favourite treatments, it could help benefit the rest of us. 

♥ 

Shopping Haul

Welcome back, and to my first ever haul video!

For the first time ever on my shopping trip I didn't buy any beauty related items! This is a mixture of clothing and a few other little goodies.. 

So the first place I went to was Primark. Now I went to Primark with the incentive to buy pyjamas. Now I'm really not one to shop in Primark, I can never find any clothes at all, and to be honest, I cannot stand looking in there with the hundreds of people. However, I think their pyjamas are amazing value, and super soft and cozy. 

I picked up a navy flowery pair which sinch in at the bottom (as you can tell I put them on as soon as I was home - before I even had time to take a photo!) a grey pair with a super cute pattern, a short checked pair, and a simple grey vest. I'm on the hunt to find plain tops to wear with the other 2. 

I also picked up 2 candles, which were AMAZING value at £2, and smell incredible. They had hundreds at amazing prices and all smelled lovely, I'll let you know if the smell pays off when they burn. 

Next I went to Jack Wills, which I haven't been to in years! I picked up this super soft cosy hoody, and an umbrella with anchors. The umbrella really caught my eye as it has a really sturdy handle and I knew it would be good quality! 

The Body Shop was the next on my visit and what a bargain I got! I picked up all of this for under £10! The set includes raspberry shower gel, scrub and butter, shower scrub, and I also picked up a new muslin face cloth. The set was an INSANE £12.60 (bare in mind the body butter alone is £14..) and as this was an outlet store I got an extra 40% off. So thrilled with my find!

Next I went to Lush, which I love. I resisted and only picked up 3 items, I got the Experimenter, Intergalactic, & the Comforter which is my most favourite Lush product ever, as you get so many uses out of it, which makes it amazing value.

Lastly, Topshop. I picked up this gorgeous white shirt with a jumper over it, in a Petite size 4, for £49, a new leather jacket in a size 6, for £55, and this amazing grey coat in a Petite size 4, for £59. I've wanted a coat like this grey one for ages and finally found one the perfect fit and colour!

And thats the end of my shopping haul. I hope you enjoyed, and i'm sure a few will be included in this months favourites!

♥

July Favourites.

The first of this months favourites is taken from my previous MAC post. MACs Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade. Pop over to that post to read more about it! :)

The next one is a new make up brush I purchased to use with the new highlighting powder just mentioned! For my highlighter I use a Crown Contour Brush as mentioned before. However as I now have 2 highlighters to go between during the week I didn't want to have to wash the brush each time I used a different one.

I picked up this one by Seventeen from boots for a BARGAIN £2.99! I'm pretty sure no brush in my collection is as cheap as this & I brought it totally on a whim. I thought for that price, it isn't going to be excellent. If I'm honest, the only reason I brought it was because the Real Techniques Setting Brush I had my eye on to use with this product was out of stock. Now i'm so glad it was, saving myself a good few £££!

Its super super soft & excellent quality. Maybe as good as my real techniques, and is definitely better than a few MAC ones I own! 

I also love the cute packaging and love the colours and writing on the brush! Really recommend. I may have to purchase other brushes from this collection. 

I'm a big Body Shop & Handcream fan. So put the 2 together, and The Body Shops hand creams are amazing. I love their packaging as it makes it super easy to ensure you get every last bit of product! I've gotten through 4 already, and have these left in my collection to get through & probably purchase more!

They are super non-greasy and soak into the hands within seconds leaving no residue. They also smell incredible! They are the perfect size for any handbag & also fit into my apron at work. 

The next is something I was sent free from Feel Unique. This is the REDKEN Diamond Oil. I've been loving the traditional and well loved by many Moroccan Oil. I've been using REDKEN shampoo and condition for a good few years now, so as I was sent this I thought I may as well give it a go!

The bottle is so heavy and so glamourous. Its very good quality packaging and is all glass. The product itself doesn't smell as nice as Moroccan Oil, in fact it has little smell at all. I apply around 4-5 drops in the end of my hair before blowdrying and it keeps my hair super soft and shiny. 

Lastly is a moisturiser. This is the Nivea Firming Body Moisturiser. Its very rich and leaves my skin feeling very soft. It absorbs quickly which is good for any moisturiser as I hate feeling sticky and wet.

It is a firming moisturiser which is the reason I brought it before a recent holiday. It really did make my skin feel firmer and tighter within the 2 weeks which it claims to do. I've been using an after sun lately as i've been on holiday & i've defiantly noticed a difference since I stopped using this and I can't wait to start using it again. 

What are your July Favourites?

♥

Facial Skincare.

This post is dedicated to my 'skincare routine'. 

My skin type is pretty normal, I am not acne prone and am grateful enough to say I very rarely get any blemishes. I think due to my age, and my hormones sorting themselves out, i'm lucky enough that stage of my life is over. 

Firstly in the morning I use St.Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Scrub in the shower.

I use this 2-3 times a week. On the days which I wash my hair so that if it gets into my hairline it doesn't matter. 

This scrub smells lovely and is very gentle. It doesn't cause any breakouts and removes any dead skin or dry skin that I may have. Its also very good if I have fake tanned my face, to wash away any 'orangeness' or 'patchiness' leaving a lovely tan. 

Next is my favourite step. Moisturiser. 

Depending on how my skin is, depending if its dry, I always use Neutrogena's Deep Moisture Comfort Balm or Origins GinZing.

GinZing is amazing & very lightweight. It leave the skin feeling very satin and only the smallest amount is needed. 

Deep Moisture is a hell of a lot cheaper, for a hell lot more of product. It is huge, and again only a very small amount is needed. It is much more rich than Origins, and is very moisturising is my skin is feeling dry. 

I prefer Origins as it is more lightweight, more satin and is a better base for make up. 

Next I apply eye cream. In the day I like to use this Bobbi Brown Repair Cream which is super rich & thick and keeps my eyes feeling hydrated.

As for removing make up I am a big fan of Garnier products as they work well with my skin.

To remove eye make up I always use Garnier Express 2 in 1 eye make up remover. I soak a cotton pad and hold onto my eye for a few seconds before wiping my make up away. It does not irritate my eyes at all & they are super sensitive.

It also removes all my eyeliner which is super tough to remove any other way. 

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is also very good. It removes all makeup and ensures my skin is left cleansed & clean. I usually use a cleansing butter, which I will get onto in a moment, but this is great when I need something a little quicker, without the need of water. 

For toner I love Garnier Softening Toner Goodbye Dry...

This really is good and doesn't make my skin dry just like it says. It smells gorgeous too. 

As for the cleansing butter I mentioned. I use the Body Shops Camomile Cleansing butter. 

I apply this all over my face when dry & really rub it in. I then use a muslin face cloth with warm water to help to wipe the make up away. I repeat again for a double cleanse to ensure my skin is super clean. 

The cloth I use is from the Dirty Works brand in Sainsburys, where you get a pack of three for £3. Bargain. They are super soft & very quick drying. 

When it comes to bedtime I use No7 Early Defence Night Cream and Early Defence Eye Cream. Both are very light & leave the skin feeling super soft.

Even though I don't have any 'wrinkles' as such, it has definitely reduced any fine lines starting to appear  & hopefully is helping to prevent further in the future. But obviously only time will tell with that! 

Lastly, I know this may not seem very helpful for those of you who are acne prone, and are looking for a drugstore solution. But this is DUAC which I was prescribed by my GP when I suffered with some bad hormonal spots last year. Now they have cleared I use this when I feel a spot under my skin, or if not a few times a month just to keep them away. 

& I must say, it's been over a year since i've had a proper spot. Which seems ridiculous, and I know it may sound unfair, but this stuff has just really worked for me & my skin. 

What skincare products do you like?! 

♥