Feb 3, 2013

This Week’s Most Loved… #20.

Kate / Uncategorized / 24 Comments

I do these posts faaar too often, I swear it was yesterday I wrote my last one? No? Right. Moving on, have I got some great products for you this week! Although I’ve mostly been working (sans makeup), trying to meet my own deadlines, I usually spend a little time in the evenings keeping my skin in check and giving myself a manicure every couple of days. I never really get lazy with my skincare and manicure routines… makeup can get a little slack though and I find myself opting for a more natural look out of sheer laziness.

My skin gets easily dehydrated in winter due to the central heating, so to ward off the itchy dryness I’ve been using the Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Deep Moisture Body Milk (£10), I seriously cannot get over how amazing this smells! I think if I was left alone with it for too long I might eat it? I can’t be sure but I don’t want to risk it. It’s a really lovely scent and it absorbs in quickly and my skin feels amazing the next day. It’s one of the only body lotions that I can tell is making a difference, no more dry patches for me.

I’ve also had some serious issues with my lips, they’re terribly dry and I can’t keep up with how much attention they need – I’ve never really used Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream (£25) on my lips before but I dab a little on at night and my lips have been in much better condition. I’m not too keen on the taste/smell (reminds me of the farm we lived on in New Zealand) but when it’s at night, you don’t notice. I know Elizabeth Arden also do a version of this especially for lips but I have the tub and it needs using up.

I’ve re-discovered the Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel (£29.50), an exfoliator that you leave on like a mask to make your skin feel like new again. I love how fresh and purified my skin feels after using this, although there are much better masks out there I think this works amazing when I use it before a moisture mask, I simply leave on the Elemis Peel for 15 minutes, wash off and then apply a moisture mask (such as Clinique’s Moisture Surge Overnight Mask) and leave on for the night, I wake up to seriously clear and smooth skin. This has become a little routine of mine to do every week or so.
Another product I have a lot of time for is Origins VitaZing Sheer Tint moisturiser (£27), a lovely day moisturiser with a teeny, tiny bit of tint to it to give your skin a really healthy glow. I mention this a lot, it’s one of my favourite products (I actually need to repurchase it… crazy!) and I can’t live without the glow it gives my skin. It works perfectly at blurring imperfections and making my skin look great.

I’ve pulled out my custom MAC palette recently for a little change up, I did a tutorial on my YouTube channel and decided to use this as it hadn’t really seen the light of day as of late. The main shades I’ve been wearing are All That Glitters and Mulch (£12), I find that I can’t really wear pink shades so I opt for cooler, neutral shades that work nicely with my skin tone and blend in well. I’ll hopefully be doing a post or video on this palette soon!
Lastly, one product I’ve been swearing on for the last week or two is this Nails Inc. Albert Bridge Top Coat (£8), I’ve been using the trusty ol’ Seche Vite until I fancied a change and picked up this – it’s love! This dries my nails in a flash and gives them that lovely wet-look “gel manicure” finish that I love. I much prefer it to any other top coat I’ve tried and I highly recommend this, my nails have been chip-free for days and looking so lovely! Anyone else given this a whirl?

Overall, a few great products that I’ve been using recently. What are your most loved products of this week?