Monday Skin Treats

Most people will pamper themselves and their skin on a Sunday - preparing for the week ahead. Not me though, nope. I don't have classes on a Monday, so for me its kind of like an extension of the weekend. I see it as giving my body the chance to calm down and relax before the week ahead, so that means I try to give myself a good soak, scrub and moisturise!

Something I love doing - but don't do nearly often enough - is steam my face. Sounds random but trust me, as a first step in a facial pamper it is brilliant! Fill a bowl up with hot water, add either herbs/flowers/ essential oils or a pre made toner tab - the ones I use are from Lush - get your self a towel and steam away from 10 to 15 minutes. I think this makes cleansing or putting a mask on so much more effective as it opens your pores, meaning impurities are drawn out with so much ease. I think there are two or three options from lush toner tab wise, but the ones I use are the Tea Tree ones. They just leave your face feeling so soft and clean, even though you haven't done anything.

My next step would probably be to run myself a nice bath, with either bubble bath or one of the many bath products I have. This time I've gone for one of my Bomb Cosmetics ones, Fresh Berry. Now that my cold has gone, the smell of this is amazing! Before I could hardly smell a thing, now though, mmmmm yummy berry goodness.

When in the bath, I'd probably give myself a "double cleanse". I'd usually first start off with my Botanics Balm Cleanser, then move on to another facial wash - I find that the balm cleanser leaves a little oil layer on my skin that just needs a little help to move off. I tend to also use facial cloths when doing this, I suppose it kind of acts like a soft facial exfoliant? I haven't gone out and bought myself a new facial scrub, so that is the only way I tend to get any scrub on my wee face.

After my face is pretty much the cleanest thing ever, I go in with a mask. I love a good mask, and I personally don't think you can ever have to many! I only have three just now, but I have my eye on a few that in the very near future I see my small collection getting quite a fair bit bigger. One I've been loving using recently though is a Superdrug own brand one, I'm not 100% if this is the name but it says Mud Therapy - so I'm going to guess that's the name. I love when this dries you can see the all the little pores on your face.
 If I'm feeling extra lovely for my face, I'll use some facial pore strips. One for my nose and one for my chin.
Of course my legs and arms need a little bit of loving too. So here comes Soap and Glory's Breakfast Scrub. Oh you little tub of heaven, if you want a really good scrub then this is for you, the scrub isn't so harsh that your skin feels raw afterwards.
The next, and probably final step would be to moisturise!! Facial wise, I'm just trying to use up what I currently have and the one I'm using now is the Simple clear skin oil balancing moisturiser. It isn't anything special, I'm finding now though that it doesn't give me quite as much hydration and moisture as I'd like - maybe I need to invest in some Hydraluron? The moisturiser I've been using for my body is one by Aveeno, I've had it for so long and I basically just want to finish it off. I'm sort of fed up of having things lying around that I never really use, and most of that stuff is skin care - bodily and facially.

How do you pamper yourself at the weekend?

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A Little Lush Haul

I haven't bought myself anything from Lush for quite awhile, and I thought I would treat myself to a few items. I have to say I don't tend to buy different things from what I usually buy, so the things I've bought recently are things I usually buy.

The first thing I've got is You've Been Mango'ed bath melt, this is possibly my favourite thing from Lush - if not my favourite thing then it is definitely in my top 3. This little rectangle of goodness is heavenly, truly amazing. If you haven't tried this, then you really really have to! It costs £3.25, and is worth every penny and more. When you drop this in your bath, it melts away leaving you surrounded in a soft and silky oil. When you get out the bath, your skin feels really soft and silky - not oily.

Another item that is definitely in my top 3 is The Comforter bubble bar, this is probably one of the first items I bought from lush. I always used to use the whole thing, I stopped buying it since it was £4.50 and I thought that was a bit expensive for a one use thing. I've now realised that I can get three or four uses out of it if I cut it up into bits. This is such a sweet and berry smelling thing.  Its almost sickly - so the smell probably isn't for everyone. But I looove it, it smells good enough to eat - but I wont since it probably wouldn't be good for me. Run this bar of goodness under the tap and watch as the bubbles appear. Sweet silky soft bubbles of goodness. Please go out and buy this - you honestly wont regret it!

Next I have another of my all time favourites - The Blackberry Bath Bomb. One of the only bath bombs I buy from lush. The final of my top 3. This big ball of loveliness isn't anything particuarly special, the scent isn't overwhelming - like the other two can be - its discrete but nice. Sweet, but not too sweet - with a nice little hit of fruit. When you let it fizz away in your bath, it leaves your water purple and a silky softness floating about with you. When you leave your glorious bath, your skin feels crazy good - no need for moisturising after you use this - nope not at all. This is a wonder product, relaxing bath and - sort of - a moisturiser eliminator ( for that day anyway). Oh, and its relatively cheap at just £2.95.

The final two things I have are the same, they only cost £1 - so why not get a couple? The Tea Tree Toner Tabs don't quite make it into my top 3 - but they are most certainly in my top 5. I usually buy these in bulk and aim to use them at least once a month - and if possibly I try to use one every two weeks. These make pampering your face that little bit better. Fill a bowl with hot water, drop this in, get yourself a towel and steam your face away. This opens your pores - so for me it makes face masks and facial strips ( chin and nose ones) that much better. It helps them remove so many more impurities from your face. I find that it also leaves your skin feeling healthier and softer. So many plus points to this. I was also told ages ago by one of the Lush staff that once you've finished using it - keep the water and put it in a bottle, that way you don't need to buy the tea tree toner water. For a pound how can you say no?

What are your favourite Lush products? 

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