Skincare product essentials for an evening pamper session.

I love a good pamper session. It takes you from being frazzled and stressed, to calm, clean and content - combine a relaxing shower or bath with a few candles and some quiet time, then I can feel the stress, anxiety and buildup of worries start to leave me. The knots in my shoulders start to relax, the tensions from the day start to chill out and I can feel that through every exhale, I start to calm down and read myself for the evening. Doing yoga breathing especially helps when I'm trying to relax, as deep breaths in and long exhales not only encourage more oxygen into the blood, it actually helps the muscles, which therefore helps me to unwind. Yeah, I do get quite stressed some days, and that definitely shows on my face. Blemishes and redness are something I battle with quite a lot, but the above products always help me and my skin to calm down - so let's hop to it, and get on with my little pamper session essentials. 

For me, it starts with running a bath. Then lighting some candles, turning all the lights out and letting the steam rise. I tie my hair up into a top knot, pin up the stray strands and even put on a hairband, as nothing is getting the the way of all the skin stuff that's about to happen. Then it's about decided upon a bath oil. For me, Aromatherpy Associates have got it all sorted with their Miniature Bath Oil Collection (On sale for £16.50, here) with oils for your every mood: Relax Deep, Relax Light, De-Stress Mind, De-Stress Muscle, Revive Morning, Revive Evening, Support Breathe, Support Lavender & Peppermind and Support Equilibrium. So many choices, right? For a pamper session, I tend to mix a few drops of whatever I feel like: Usually it's Relax Deep, De-Stress Mind and Support Equilibrium, with even a little bit of Support Lavender & Peppermint dropped in for a gorgeous calming scent. These oils make my skin supple and soft, calming down not only my reddened skin, but my eczema and the tops of my arms, which are often rough with 'chicken skin' or Keratosis Pilaris for those who know all about it. Soaking in a tub of hot water, surrounded by oils really helps to soft the backs of my arms, and help with the skin there. It's a struggle, but bath oils always help.

Next, I take all my makeup off with a cleansing oil, followed by a cleansing cream, just so I know that everything is off, leaving my skin clean and soft, ready for a face mask. The following mask isn't for everyone, as it can hurt some peoples skin, but for me, and my sensitive skin, this brightens and evens skin tone - making it a product that I cannot be without. It's Ren's Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask (£32, here) which you slather on, leave for 10 minutes and then remove with a soft flannel. This mask, although orange and smelling delightfully of citrus, is exactly what my skin needs when it's looking dull and uneven, as this sorts it all out, while not drying out so much that you can't move your face without cracking. It's an exfoliating mask that removes dead skin cells and just gives you such a glow that I cannot recommend it enough to people. 

Following the removal of the mask, I then splash my face with a bit of cold water, before applying my eye cream of choice. Currently it's Benefit's It's Potent which is thick and nourishing, exactly what my dry under eyes need right now, but following that, it's time for a facial oil, and not just any one. With its rose goodness and essentials oils, BalanceMe's Rose Otto Facial Oil (£32, here) is delightfully perfumed and sinks divinely into the skin. My skin drinks this in so much as it reacts really well to rose and rose scented products, making it a delight not only for my complexion, but for my nose too. I follow the oil with a facial massager, and this one by The Body Shop (£6, here) is hands down, my favourite. I used it to remove the buildup of fluids beneath the skin and roll them down my neck, away from my face. I do this a few times, as not only does it remove fluid, but it encourages blood flow,  making it a super simple and inexpensive way to make sure all my expensive products work their way into my skin as much as they can. Then I quickly spritz my face with Jurlique's Rosewater Balancing Mist * (£18, here) which, of course, smells like roses again and gives me skin another hit of moisture before applying my serum of choice. It's perfect not only during a pamper session, or even during a skincare routine: I quite often keep it next to me when I'm writing a blog post, just for a quick pick-me-up. 

After that, it's time for a serum and one of my all time favourites has to be from Estée Lauder, and it's their Advanced Night Repair Complex (£44, here) which I cannot express how much I adore it. It was one of the first high-end skincare products that I had bought for myself, and since I first tried it, it's stolen my heart. I apply three drops to my fingers before pressing it into the skin of my face and neck (don't forget the neck, lovelies!) and taking in the lovely scent (i'm not even sure what it smells like, I've just grown very accustomed to it over the years). It's what I use on my face when I want it to have that nourishment and moisture kick after a long day, or after a few long days. I cannot recommend this product enough. I follow my serum with a moisturiser and hey presto, that's me basically all done. But wait, what's this? Yepp, can't leave those lips without a moisturiser of their own, and my choice is always Nuxe's Reve de Miel lip balm (£9.50, here). It's been my saviour for years, through the changing seasons and even the harshest Winter days - it keeps my lips hydrated and un-chapped, which I think is quite an accomplishment on the coldest days that we have. 

Lastly, but not least, as a little treat, I use the tiniest amount of Lush's R&B Hair moisturiser (£11.50, here) as a treatment for those dry ends of mine, which lavish the hit of moisture that comes from this hair butter - it's thick, but not greasy, which is perfect for my hair, as it has greasy roots, but somewhat dry ends. What are your pamper time essentials? What do you use after a long day?