Thursday 2 January 2014

• The perfect night in •

As much as I love going out and spending time with my friends, boyfriend and various other loved ones, I do enjoy a quiet night in. Just some me-time to chill, put my feet up and dive into my book.
Here are a few of my essentials that never fail to relax me:
LUSH Ceridwen's Cauldron Luxury Bath Melt
Currently £4.25 from LUSH, click here to be directed to the site.
Just. So. Good. Now I wont lie, I am a bit ridiculous when it comes to LUSH. Yes, I do have an old shoe box in my room filled with LUSH goodies. Yes, I am a LUSH Facebook fanpage member. And yes, I do struggle to walk past a LUSH shop and not go in. (Its probably better for the both of us that you find out sooner rather than later how weird I am...). So it probably comes to no surprise that this absolutely wonderful-smelling product is a night-in essential for me. The luxury bath melts add a little sum'in sum'in to your bath - as well as smelling like a dream, they are also amazing for your skin. This particular bath melt contains cocoa butter and walnut oil, the type of ingredients that your skin will just lap right up. There's no need for moisturiser after using this product, which is a bonus for a lazy skin-moisturiser like me (there's just no time, you know?). Anyway - at £4.25 a melt its a little pricey for just one bath, however, once your bath water is sufficiently creamy enough for you, you can just use the oats to rub over and exfoliate your body. So the price tag is kinda worth it...right? Well, I manage to justify it about 3 times a month anyway. A girls gotta treat herself!

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask
Currently £22 from Boots, click here to be directed to the site.
The weather, junk food and lack of sleep has been wreaking havoc on my skin lately, so I've really been benefitting from a deep cleaning charcoal mask. It can be quite daunting for some, smearing a grey/black mask all over your face and neck, but I really love it! The texture of the mask is really thin, which I was quite surprised about, and it dries to a kind of stiff-ish finish. It's easier than I thought it would be to take off and I just wash it off with water - I wouldn't use a muslin cloth or a flannel with this mask, as I can imagine it gets quite messy. My skin feels so refreshed and smooth after using this mask; I have combination skin and it kind of moisturises and mattifies in the right places. I pop this on, get in the bath and let it sit for about 15minutes whilst its working its way into my open pores (mmm, nice). I have been committed to LUSH face masks for the past year but I can definitely say that this is fast becoming a firm favourite of mine.
Origins as a brand seems to be hyped about a lot and I've always been curious in the products but too reluctant to spend the money on them, much preferring to head to the make up aisles in Boots. I received the Origins Mask Marvels set for Christmas this year, including the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask and the Drink Up Intensive 10 Minute Hydrating Mask, however the set is sadly unavailable as it was a Christmas 2013 special. I'd never tried Origins products before so Santa (thanks mum!) treated me with it this year and I can say I've really been enjoying it. I've used all three and none of them disappoint!

Maybelline Colorshow Brocades in 220 Knitted Gold
Currently £3.99 from Superdrug, click here to be directed to the site.
I don't know about you, but when I get some time to pamper myself and relax, I always have to paint my nails. I love having nails that aren't chipped, aren't flakey and aren't covered in loose cuticles (sorry for the visual). Painting my nails and reading my book = perfect combination. Now lets talk specifically about this nail polish. A self-confessed nail polish junkie, it was only a matter of time before I picked up this beauty. It's different from a normal glitter polish as it has a base colour of gold, so there's no need to layer it on top of another nail polish (even though you can, of course). With two coats, it's beautifully opaque, with a gold base and rose gold chunks of glitter of different sizes. On me, it lasts about 4-5 days before they need re-doing, but the best thing about these textured nail polishes is that you can just go over it again and no-one will ever know any different. What could be better than that? And for £3.99, its an absolute steal! Go buy it!

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Skin Protectant Cream (Fragrance Free)
Currently £25 from Boots, click here to be directed to the site.
I received a sample of this in my Glossybox back in February/March and I just fell in love with it. Another reason I was impressed was that the sample lasted so long that I justified spending £25 on it four months later. I feel like I've tried every lip balm under the sun and never been overly crazy about them, but this one - whooooole different ball game. I have to put this on my lips every night or I just feel incomplete, you know? Dramatic maybe, but when you have dry lips like mine you really need the most moisture you can get. I know that everyone raves about it but I never really had the urge to go out and buy it - luckily Glossybox sent me it, or I'd never have known any different. I have used it on my face as a night time moisturiser, as it contains Salicylic Acid which is good for breakouts, but I know that I will use the product up soo much quicker that way and it will get expensive if you use it that way (there's the inner student in me!). It is a gorgeous lip balm though, and is the perfect primer for a matte lipstick, so I highly recommend it. The perfect princess product!

Soap and Glory Hand Food Hand Cream 250ml
Currently £7 from Boots, click here to be directed to the site.
I was treated  to the limited edition Yule Monty Soap and Glory giftset for Christmas from my brother and luckily it included my all time favourite hand cream. Who can say no to a non-greasy hydrating hand cream with shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow? Not me. I always carry the mini version of it around in my handbag but I feel like placing the pump on my bedside table forces me to remember to use it every night. When I'm having a me-time night in, I like to slather this on my hands, place some socks over the top (bear with me here) and leave them on for a good 5-10 minutes. The heat from the socks opens the pores in your hands and makes the moisturiser sink in deeper. The result - really soft, amazing-smelling hands. Your welcome.

Perfectly Pure - Pure Coconut Oil
Currently £6.99 from Holland and Barrett, click here to be directed to the site.
Hair • An old colleague of mine had the most beautiful of hair and told me an ancient beauty secret that she's carried with her since she was a little girl: coat your hair in coconut oil, plait/french braid it, sleep in it over night and wash your hair the next morning (I usually shampoo twice, just to get all of the oil out, and deep condition once usually using a hair mask). It leaves your hair feeling so silky and wonderful, and all the little fly-aways/wispy bits of hair are smoothed down. It also makes my hair smell faintly of coconut until the next time I wash it. Now we all know oil is great for our hair (even for you oily-haired gals - don't be afraid, adding oil on top of oil works to decrease sebum production so this will work great for you, too) and it can seem a little daunting at first to smother your hair in coconut oil, but the results are amazing. Just make sure you put a towel on your pillow 'cos an oily towel = no fun to try to wash out.
Make-up remover • I have been removing my make up with coconut oil now for about 6 months and I love the effect of it. It takes no time at all as the oil breaks down the make up so quickly and easily, even waterproof mascara! I just warm the coconut oil in my fingers for a few seconds then start to lightly massage onto my eyes and face. I then take a large cotton wool round (the Boots Baby brand ones are great for this), soak it in warm/hot water and start to remove the make up. Then cleanse, tone and moisturise as usual. The coconut oil is so much better for your skin than using a really chemically make up remover that strips the oils from your skin, so I really recommend it. It also moisturises your skin too, which is always a bonus.
nb: any coconut oil will do - you don't have to use the Perfectly Pure brand.

Dorothy Koomson - The Flavours of Love
Currently £5 from Amazon, click here to be directed to the site.
I'm a real bookworm and plan to write some book reviews on my blog. There is nothing I enjoy more than snuggling down with a good book and a cup of tea. This book by Dorothy Koomson is, like all of her other books, absolutely beautifully written. I'm not that far into it but I can safely say that this book won't take me very long to read. Koomson's character development is on point, as usual, and she writes in such a colloquial way that makes you feel like you're peaking into the characters diary. I have grown to love the main character, Saffron, but I am just waiting for something big to happen, as the story has been described as a powerful thriller... I can't wait. I'm sure there will be a post as soon as I have finished it!

And that's it, my 7 essentials for the perfect night in. As always, thanks for reading.

What are your essentials?

Daniela

8 comments :

  1. Ive always heard good things about coconut oil, I will definitely try it now! Where would you think I can purchase it from?

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    1. Hi, yeah it's amazing for loads of different things! Try Holland and Barrett's (there's a direct link above) or other health food stores, or maybe amazon :) Daniela x

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  2. By the sounds of it I'm just like you when it comes to Lush! I have to admit I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to their stuff, I have a tiny bit of one of the Christmas bubble bars that I'm trying to ration! But I've never tried one of their bath melts before. It's going on my list! :)

    herheartisinparis.blogspot.co.uk xx

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    1. So glad I have found someone with the same problem as me - I swear it's an illness haha! I can't walk past a LUSH shop and not go in, I'm straight in there as soon as I see/smell the shop. Another amazing bath melt is the You've Been Mangoed one, its soo creamy and amazing!
      Love your blog - so cute and girly :) Daniela x

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  3. Okay this just made me want to jump back into my jammies and call it a night! After reading this post I'm really excited to buy and try the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask. I've already heard from my best friend and have read a few blog posts on how great it is! My skin has been a complete mess lately, so I've been trying to buy products that don't just help my acne, but repair my skin overall along with it. I've also heard the wonders of coconut oil (I use this before I apply bleach or color my hair to prevent damage) but I've never used it as makeup remover. I'll definitely try this out. Thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Haha as soon as I finished writing the post I got into the bath and did all of the above! Love a nice relaxing evening :) the Origins mask is definitely worth writing home about, I've tried so many masks to combat breakouts and this tends to do the trick. And I think that coconut oil will really help to repair skin too, there's so many benefits to it, I don't think it gets enough credit. I feel like everyone should be using it! Skin is an organ and needs to be treated delicately and with natural products (as much as possible) so coconut oil ticks all the boxes! Daniela x

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  4. Great post! I really want to try the Origins charcoal mask and I absolutely love S&G's Hand Food; it's in my top 3 hand creams! The coconut oil sounds really interesting so I might have to check that out soon; I'd love to try it on my hair. xxx
    The Jolly Fashionista

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    1. Hello, thank you, glad you liked it :) Definitely try the Origins mask, you can get a mini size from Boots which is cheaper. And I highly highly recommend the coconut oil, it works absolute wonders on your hair and skin. Love your blog by the way :) Daniela x

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