Pamper Night In | The Essentials

Hello Girls! Hope you're all well. I keep seeing photo's on my Instagram (@misskendalwestonx) of other beauty bloggers pamper essentials, neatly stacked next to their bath tubs waiting to be used. I thought I may aswell turn my own into a blog post, as I religiously have a 'pamper night' on Fridays as I prepare for the weekend ahead. I think it's so important to take time out for yourself and just relax after a long week because otherwise there's no time to appreciate the little things. I apologise in advance for such a lengthy post! I always start with a really hot bubble bath and can sit there for up to 2 hours. It really is bliss, spending half of my time in there pampering myself beyond belief, and the other half dozing off.

I start off by pouring a rather generous amount of Soap & Glory's 'Calm One, Calm All' bubble bath into my bath water, and also, if I'm feeling particularly run down, I'll also chuck a Lush bath bomb in also. My favourite is 'Sex Bomb'; it contains sage, jasmine and ylang ylang which as you can imagine, leaves my bathroom smelling amazing, not to mention leaves the water a beautiful shade of pink too. A pamper night for me isn't complete if I don't have one of my Yankee Candles burming either! Cinnamon and Vanilla Cupcake are my all time favourites! I use my Soap & Glory 'Whipped Clean' shower butter to wash with and just sit there letting the bubble bath and bath bomb work wonders on my skin. I also like to pamper my hair every week by giving it a treat of a hair mask or ultra moisturising conditioner. I start by doing the usual routine I use which is using Aussie's 'Miracle Moist' as a shampoo, followed by my trusty Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment, then followed by Aussie's Miracle Moist conditioner. If you haven't tried this line from Aussie, I seriously can't recommend them highly enough. They works absolute wonders on dry and damaged hair and they smell like bubblegum which is such a nice touch. I'm also a massive fan of the 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor but if I sat and typed my love for it, we really would be here all day. Although I hate the fake tanning process with a real passion, I don't find it a drag to exfoliate as I'm so in love with my Soap & Glory 'Sugar Crush' body scrub. I must admit I'm not that much of a fan of the scent - don't get me wrong, I do like it but it's a bit too limey for me! That's not to say it doesn't leave my skin feeling silky soft after I use it! I then slather The Body Shop's 'Almond Body Butter' or Soap & Glory's 'The Righteous Butter' over my skin which is probably the reason I can't stop sniffing my skin after a pamper evening! Both of them smell absolutely amazing and are ultra moisturising. So moisturising in fact that I can still feel it on my skin the morning after. Nothing beats that feeling you have when you jump out of the bath into fresh cosy pyjamas! It really is amazing. Once I get out of my bubble bath, I blow dry my hair and put my SleepRollers in to achieve extra volume in my hair.

I also make sure I take the time out to pamper my skin a little. I'm quite lucky in the fact that I had relatively good skin, but I still like to do the whole shabang (if you know what I mean). I start by cleansing my face as normal using Soap & Glory's 'Peaches and Clean' - those who have tried and tested this will know just how amazing it really is. It's come to be one of my favourites ever, and melts away dirt and make up with ease, not to mention it also has the most gorgeous scent ever. I then somtimes use my Remington face steamer and sit and steam my face for a good ten or twenty minutes. I love how fresh my face feels after I use it, and it brings all impurities to the surface of the skin. Then, I use Soap & Glory's (yes, another Soap and Glory product!) 'Greatest Scrub Of All' as an exfoliator, which is a relatively new purchase. I really like it as it isn't too gritty and has a really clever formula where the micro beads in the cream pop open when you apply it to the heat of your skin. I really feel it work into my pores and it leaves me with a nice fresh layer of skin. That sounds really awful! After that I then use a face mask. I have a few favourites, but at the moment I'm bouncing between Lush's 'Cupcake' and the 'Mask of Magnaminty'. Both do absolute wonders for my skin and they're such a pleasure to use knowing that all of the ingredients are natural. I then go ahead and tweeze any stray eyebrow hairs and paint my nails whichever colour I fancy. And if that already isn't enough I slather on Soap & Glory's 'Heel Genius' over my toes and pull on a pair of thick cotton socks to help it soak in.

To help me relax even more, I'll spend the rest of my evening watching a few chick flicks or catching up on soaps, tucked up in bed (yes, on a Friday night) with a big mug of hot chocolate. My favourite chick flicks to watch, not that it's particularly beauty related, are Pretty Woman, Sex and the City, the boxset of Absolutely Fabulous and Bridget Jones. If I'm feeling brave I'll watch the Scream films back to back or some other horror film which will keep me up all night. As many of you know I'm currently on a diet and am fast approaching loosing my first stone already. I make sure that I allow myself one treat meal a week, and this is usually eaten on a Friday or Saturday night. This is the perfect way to round off my pamper night in! Once again, I'm sorry for such a lenghty post. But I would love to see what everyone else does or uses during their pamper sessions!

My Top 5 Soap & Glory Products

Oh look, another post about Soap & Glory! I'm sure by now you're probably yawning at your screens and know that I'm an uber fan of the brand, and if you read my recent post then you'd have seen the vast collection I have collected over the past month or so (read it here). Somebody suggested I do a 'Top 5' style post on my favourite products which seems like a great idea. I'm sure some of my favourites are the same as some of you girls too which is great. I'll be honest and say there isn't actually a product from Soap & Glory that I've used and haven't liked. That's most likely to be the reason most responsible for my ever growing collection and the need to expand it on a weekly basis! As I mentioned in my previous post, I've found the majority of these products worming their way into my daily skincare routine instead of using them for special occasions or pamper sessions too...

♥ Whipped Clean Shower Butter

I wouldn't even dream of spending £8.00 on a regular shower gel except for this one. When I first bought this, I loved the idea and sound of a shower 'butter', a body wash which doubles up as a moisturiser which smells un-believ-able. It leaves my skin ridiculously soft, and the scent of shea butter lingers for a really long time too.

♥ Night In Shining Armour Cream

So I know I only posted my current skincare routine recently and I did warn you that I was sceptical to change. A change which took place within a few days because I rediscovered my love for this night cream! It's such a lovely consistency and doesn't feel too heavy on the skin but still leaves my skin extra soft and hydrated in the morning.

♥ The Righteous Butter

Now this is an all time favourite not only of mine, but probably hundreds and thousands of bloggers and other girls too. I bounce between this and good old Palmers cocoa butter but still prefer this. It is such a nice product to use after a long hot bath and the extra rich formula leaves problem areas like knees and elbows soft beyond belief.

♥ Smoothie Star Body Milk

I think this is a relatively new product from Soap and Glory and I've been hooked since I received it in my 'Best Of All' gift set (read my post about it here). I know I've always named a body moisturiser in my 'Top 5' but Hand Food doesn't even need to be spoken about as it's my favourite. The yoghurt, oat and honey formula leaves skin moisturised without being greasy and it sinks in really quickly too.

♥ Peaches & Clean Cleanser
I mentioned that I use this in my current skincare routine and I am still absolutely loving it! It's one of those products that I look forward to using and it's not a chore to cleanse my face like some others. It smells gorgeous and melts away make-up like a dream.

 What are your favourite Soap and Glory products?

My Current Skincare Routine - Part One

Happy New Year Girls! It's my first post of 2013! I hope you all had an amazing time bringing in the new year. I originally planned to do a post showing you all what I got up to but I had an absolute nightmare and forgot my camera and my phone camera isn't great! I've been meaning to do a post on my current skincare for quite a while now but just like most of you lovely bloggers, I find that it constantly changes. This is what I'm using at the moment, but as the months go on and it begins to get warmer (fingers crossed!) my products tend to change so I plan to do one at a later date too. I've also split this post into two parts; one showing you what I use in the morning and the other showing you what I use before I go to bed. I'm a real skincare junkie so I've used countless products over the years and would like to say this is just what works for me and my skin type. I also use a face exfoliator and a face mask once a week which I'll do i another separate post (maybe a part three?) if you're interested. I'd also like to say I apologise for the lighting in these photos I know it isn't great!

Since I studied Beauty Therapy at college two years ago, it's been drummed into me the importance of a 'Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise' routine and I'm pretty strict when it comes to doing just that. Even when I'm tired beyond belief or I've had a bit too much to drink (let's face it, I'm not the only one am I?) I always make sure I take my make-up off properly. It can be a bit of a chore but my skin looks and feels so much better the morning after. 

♥ Cleanse 

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Deep Cleansing Milk - It would be wrong not to include a Soap & Glory product in my skincare routine! I absolutely love this stuff, it leaves my skin incredibly soft and hydrated which is perfect if like me you have combination skin. I think of it as a bit of a luxury wake-up call and the smell of it is just out of this world. I also use my cleansing sponge to remove it so it's an exfoliating treatment too.

Clean & Clear Exfoliating Daily Wash - I'm sceptical about whether these sorts of brands really improve the appearance of your skin. I think if you look after it and eat healthily then your skin will show for it. I do love this stuff though, it contains micro-beads small enough for daily use and it really works into the pores which leaves my skin squeaky clean. 

♥ Tone

Dermalogica Clean Start Purifying Toner - I never skip using toner and people always do but it removes excess oil and dirt that your cleanser hasn't. This really refreshes my skin and leaves my T-Zone oil free. I also use tissue to blot my toner after I've used it because toners contain alcohol which dehydrates the skin.

♥ Moisturise

Superdrug Vitamin E Radiance Moisture Cream - I recently reviewed this product in full (read it here) and I'm still loving using it. It contains light reflecting pigments which make your skin really glow and the hydration this gives is just out of this world and it really does last all day.

Soap & Glory Daily Youth 6 in 1 Superboost Moisture Lotion - Oh another Soap and Glory product. I have a post planned to do a full review of this soon but until then this is what you should know. It's by far my new 'holy grail' moisturiser. It works absolute wonders and even after using moisturisers from brands like Liz Earle and Clinique, this is by far one of the most impressive. Be sure to check back for my full review soon!

So, that's my current skincare routine. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post I'm constantly on the lookout for new products to really wow me but I'm rather happy with what I'm using at the moment. I plan to post part two and three sometime in the next week or so, so if you're interested in what I use before I go to bed and other treatments then make sure you take a look back.

What do you use in your current skincare routine? Do you use any of the products I do?

♥