My Festive Pamper Routine 2016

A couple times a week or the night before a party, I love to have a little pamper and time to myself to relax. I'll begin by running my bath: here I used Lush's 'Christmas Penguin' bubble bar and their 'Shoot for the Stars' bath bomb. This combination is great as the bubbles created are soft and the bath bomb turns the water a deep turquoise which leaves my skin so silky and nourished. I then light a few candles, at the moment I am loving the Marks and Spencer 'Frankincense and Myrrh' candle and Yankee Candle's 'Snow in Love', both of which are featured in my favourite festive candles post. These candles make me feel so relaxed which makes them perfect for a pamper evening.

Hair wise, I have recently been using L'Oreal Elvive's Extraordinary Oil shampoo and so far I love it! It really nourishes my hair and leaves it so shiny and conditioned. Then I will use the Lee Stafford 'Fix, Build and Repair' treatment. This helps to smooth my split ends and repair the damage caused by using heat to style.

Whilst I'm leaving my hair mask to work, I use the 'Snow Fairy' shower gel by Lush and then relax by either listening to my Ultimate Christmas Playlist or watching a film on my IPad.

After rinsing off the hair mask and getting out of the bath, I moisturize my skin with Champney's Citrus Blush Enlivening Body Lotion. Then I will change into some cosy Christmas pajamas and apply a face mask, this night I used Manuka Doctor's Apiclear Purifying Facial Peel. Whilst I allow it to completely dry, I paint my nails. I used Essie's 'Ready to Boa' and 'Tassel Shaker' (which both feature in my favourite winter nail polishes post). As a top coat I always use the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat, it drys super quickly and prevents the polish from chipping. After removing the face mask I will do my winter skin care routine and then apply my all time favourite lip balm, the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream and the Zoella Hungry Hands gingerbread scented hand cream.
Lastly, I'll get warm and cosy under a blanket and drink a gingerbread hot chocolate (recipe coming soon) and watch a film or read a book, currently I am reading Mr Miracle by Debbie Mcombre and I'm loving it.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you are enjoying reading my Beyond Christmas posts. Merry Christmas!

Everyday Festive Make Up

During the winter, I like to introduce darker tones into my makeup looks but everyday I opt for either darker eyes or lips. Lately, I have been wearing a dark burgundy lip with a simple eye look, it is my go to make up and is so simple and quick. 

I begin with priming my face, I love the Porefessional Matte Rescue by Benefit. It creates a smooth and matte base which lets my foundation to apply perfectly and prevents me from getting oily during the day. Then, using a damp Beauty Blender, I apply the Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation by gently bouncing the product into the skin with the sponge. This is my all time favourite foundation as it makes my skin look flawless and it stays on all day. To conceal any blemishes and my under eyes, I take the Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer. It is super full coverage so a little goes a long way and it is incredibly long wearing. To set the foundation and concealer, I use the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, taking the lightest shade under my eyes to brighten and mixing all the shades together for the rest of my face. The powders are amazing as they set the make up in place without looking cakey and it gives the skin a natural radiance. 

I don't contour everyday, so to add some colour and warmth to the skin, I take the Benefit Hoola Bronzer on the outer perimeters of my face. Again, to add some colour to the skin, I use my current favourite blusher 'Orgasm' (excuse the name) by Nars. To then add a glow, I use Becca's Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop Highlighter on the top of my cheekbones. This makes my skin look radient and looks so pretty!

For eyes, I've been using the Tartlette In Bloom Eyeshadow Palette by Tarte. This has been my go to palette since I purchased it in August, the shadows are really pigmented and soft and they blend perfectly. Firstly, I take the lightest shade 'charmer' all over my eyelid with a clean blending brush to create a smooth base ready for the other eyeshadows. As a transition shade and to add a little depth to the crease, I take the light brown shade, 'smarty pants' on a large blending brush and buff it into the crease until it is blended seamlessly. To add some more definition to the crease, I take a darker brown with a slightly red undertone named 'rebel'. I apply it with a flufy pencil brush to the outer corners of the lid and crease, then I blend it all out with a large blending brush. Then to add a pop to the eye look, I take the shimmery champagne shadow 'funny girl' which goes really nicely with the highlighter. Taking my favourite liquid eyeliner, the Lancôme Grandiôse Eyeliner, I thinly line my upper lash line and wing it out a the end. With a precise pencil brush, I apply the 'rebel' shadow to my lower lash line and then apply the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.
To complete the look, I line my lips with the Rimmel London Exaggerate Liner in 'red diva' and then apply my current favourite red lipstick, Maybelline Matte Colour Sensational in 'divine wine'.

That is my current everyday Christmassy make up, I hope you enjoyed it and are liking my Beyond Christmas series!

Winter Skin Care Routine

When we get into the winter months, my skin changes too. So I tailor my skin care routine to treat my skin's woes. Lately, I have really been struggling with acne so this routine mainly focuses on treating blemishes and also hydrating the skin.

To firstly remove my makeup, I have loved using the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I simply soak a few cotton pads with the cleanser and wipe away the make up. It removes everything so easily with little effort and time. If you can be quite lazy with taking your make up off then definitely try this because it takes no time at all to remove everything! 

Then, I like to wash my face to ensure that my skin is thoroughly cleansed. My favourite cleanser is Clarins' Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Tamarind. I use this all year long and it is great at controlling oils and cleansing my skin completely without drying it out. 

I will then tone using the Clarins Toning Lotion with Iris. I love this because it soothes my skin and also helps balance oils.

As a serum, I use the Manuka Doctor ApiClear Skin Treatment Serum. It contains purified bee venom which is an antibacterial and really helps to tackle acne and blemishes.

Lastly, I moisturize with the Clarins Daily Energizer Cream mixed with a few drops of the Manuka Doctor Brightening Facial Oil. This leaves my skin hydrated and glowing.

So that is my winter skin care routine, I hope you enjoyed reading and you found it helpful!

My Festive Pamper Routine 2015

During the Christmas period, I take out a couple nights a week to de-stress and treat myself to a pamper night.
I begin by running a warm bath and in this case I am using the Magic Of Christmas Bubble Wand by Lush. By holding it under the warm running water, it creates soft bubbles and turns the water orange with small flecks of glitter.







Whilst the bath is running, I light my favourite candles to create a relaxing, spa-like atmosphere. Here I have lit Soft Blanket, Angel's Wings, Sweet Pink and Apple Spice Potpourri, all from Yankee Candle. They create just the right balance of a sweet vanillery aroma with a hint of spice that adds to the festive feeling!

I then remove my makeup with the Soap and Glory Ultimelt Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Tamarind. Then I apply a facemask. Recently, I am using the Lush Mask of Magnaminity, which contains peppermint to help refresh the skin and draws out any impurities. It leaves my face feeling much smoother.

With the facemask working its magic, I hop into the bubble bath and begin by using the Snow Cake soap by Lush. Its subtle sweet scent is similar to Lush's Dream Cream and it softens skin and leaves you feeling relaxed and squeaky clean. I then continue to shave using Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush Body Wash and then wash my hair using Lee Stafford Beach Blondes shampoo, Tigi Bed Head Recharging Shampoo, Lee Stafford Hair Mask ("For hair that never grows past a certain length") and the Aussi 3 Minute Miracle Shine Mask. These products soften my hair and the Lee Stafford hair mask helps grow my hair from just one use.

Whilst the hair mask is conditioning my hair, I use the Soap and Glory The Scrub Of Your Life to exfoliate. This is one of my favourite scrubs because it lathers into a slight foam and gently removes dry skin.

After rinsing off the facemask and hair mask, I get out of the bath and dry off. To moisturise, I use the Dream Cream from Lush, which is perfect for sensitive and dry skin.

Once moisturised, I put on some festive PJs and move onto my skin care routine. I am currently using; Lush Tea Tree Water toner, La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo, Garnier Moisture Soft Moisturiser, Palmers Line Smoothing Eye Cream and lastly The Body Shop Born Lippy in raspberry. After drying my hair, I make a delicious hot chocolate.  I will post the recipe soon! 

I then choose a Christmas film to watch. Last night, I chose Disney's The Santa Clause, and cuddled up in bed with my puppy, Buffy, and relaxed with my hot chocolate for the rest of the night.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and please comment below with your must haves for a festive pamper night! Follow me for more posts and feel free to comment any feedback or requests for future posts.