My Weekly Skincare Saviours

Three products that my skin has been drinking in this week (I blame the weather for making my skin so dry) are not ones readily found in the drugstore (sadly, my local Boots doesn't have Origins, so ordering online is the only way to go). Jurlique, Caudalie and Origins are full of natural goodness and so damn refreshing that I cannot get enough of them. I really dislike when the weather makes my skin so dry, that I break out into blemishes and eczema - as who wants to be spotty and itchy, with flaky, red skin? No one, that's who. So I've been trying to calm my skin, with cooling, natural-ingredient-rich products, and these three at the moment, are suiting my skin very well. Origins GinZing eye cream (£20, here - full review here) is a brightening, calming, almost flesh toned moisturiser that aims to wakeup the under eye area, and energise it with the scent of citrus, all the while, disguising dark circles and de-puffing. If I had a little fridge in my room, this eye cream would be in there, and I would slather this one my under eyes in the morning, so it could relax me even before the day has properly started (this is basically what I did on my holiday, and boy was it good).

Another product that's been perking me up, is Caudalie's amaaaazing Beauty Elixr (From £10.90, here) which is so damn refreshing that I'm spritzing myself as I write this post - gotta love that scent as well. This weather is making my skin soooo dry right now, my eczema is horrible, flaky and red... not a good look, but Jurlique's Rose Body Oil* (£38, here) is keeping my skin really hydrated (I don't think anything can help my eczema except steroids creams, sadly), especially my shins, which always seem to be really dry and patchy. Not only does it smell of roses (that gorgeous, non-artificial rose scent) but the bottle that it comes in makes it feel so luxurious. I love hard wearing glass bottles, and it doesn't hurt that they look especially pretty sitting on my dressing table (which at the moment, is the biggest mess ever) when it's all tidy and organised. I also sprinkle a few drops in the bath, when my skin is feeling especially dry, combined with the scent, it makes for such a relaxing bath. These three products are really helping to keep my dry, tired skin at bay and really make me look as healthy as possible. Gotta love 'em. What are your skincare saviours in this mix of bad/good weather?

Future Home planning with Pinterest and some pinning tips.

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Future Home planning is one of my favourite things to do, and with Pinterest, it's easier than ever to create and organise boards for the home of your dreams. My dream homes range from a beachside cottage to a super-sleek full of glass modern home, to one of those really rustic country homes... and let's not even mention the townhouses. Oh dear me *fans self* I think it just shows that what you want can change, and it should, because we as people are constantly developing into who we are, so why can't our taste do the same? There's a part of me that wants wood and earthy tones, but I also want everything to be white and airy... but cosy and snuggly at the same time. See my dilemma? One day, I'll have to decide... but for now, planning my dream homes in my head is one of my favourite day dreams to have. 

Recently I've become even more obsessed with pinning on Pinterest, and I really think that's shown in the amount of followers that I've gained. What I gathered from some amazing pinners, is that 'little and often' really applies well when on Pinterest. I'll pin 10-15 images every few hours or so, or whenever I fancy a scroll, and I make sure that my boards are really fun but relevant to the images within it. The two collages are from boards named 'Coffee table and living room dreams' and 'Desk Inspiration', which are proving to be two of my most popular boards - I think everyone just loves the 'Pinterest aesthetic' no matter what the idea of that is, as it changes for different people. I see a lot of marble, copper, white, gold and grey; I think it's gorgeous, absolutely beautiful... but that doesn't appeal to everyone. I like to think that my pins are a reflection of my taste, but I also just love including pins that look like something I never would have thought of.

I see Pinterest pages that are really sleek and really thought out, which is really impressive and amazing to see. Mine aren't really like that, per se, although I do like to arrange my most popular boards so that they sit at the top of my page, and then change the cover image every week or so, just to keep everything looking fresh and exciting. My boards are just what inspires me, and what I want to see - and I think that's the most important tip of all, pin what you want to pin, not what others are doing. I see trends for pastel hair and talon esc nails - both gorgeous trends, but not really my thing. I'll pin a few of those images, but for me, I wouldn't pay enough attention to them to make them entire boards. Create what you love, not what you feel like you should love. (Shameless plug for my Pinterest)

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My go-to: COLAB Dry Shampoo in New York and Rio

Dry shampoo is a thing that I wasn't aware of until I started University. Late nights and early mornings meant that there was less time to wash my hair, as I would roll out of bed, throw something presentable on, wash my face, apply a little bit of makeup and attempt to control my grease mop of hair - all before rushing off to a 9am lecture. Since then, I've tried all manner of dry shampoos, from expensive to those ones you can pick up in £1 shops - all in the name of finding the best one for the job, and what I've realised is that they majorly dry my scalp out, like dandruff-flaky-scalp-dry, and that's not good at all. So in reducing my consumption of dry shampoo, I've discovered the ones that do the job best, 2-3 times a week, are those from CO-LAB, a brand created by Ruth of A Model Recommends, who not only has amazing hair, but taste in beauty products, so I knew that as soon as I saw them, I needed to give them a try. Not only is the formula sheer, but these Extreme Volume offerings plump up the hair, making lank locks look gorgeous and workable - basically, it gives my hair a bounce, and actually makes it look like I didn't roll out of bed 20 minutes prior. 

With sophisticated and fashionable packaging, these dry shampoos are easy to carry everywhere with you (they come in different sizes for handbags etc) and are totally instagrammable. My favourite two are Rio, a wonderful tropical fragrance in a gorgeous teal colour that my mum can't help but 'borrow' from me (I said borrow, I mean steal and not give back) and New York, a soft fruity fragrance in a bright coral casing. Whether you purchase normal or their Extra Volume shampoos, CO-LAB have hit the nail on the head with their niche of invisible formulas, fun fragrances and swish designs; they've created a formula that I cannot be without, as who wants to wash their hair every other day? So dull, and it takes up so much time. Especially for me, as I tend to shy away from using a lot of heat on my hair during the warmer months, when it can just dry naturally. Which leaves me with lots of wavy hair, and when I use the Extra Volume dry shampoo on wavy hair, it makes everything look more bouffant; my manger in work even asked if I'd had a blow-dry (how's that for volume, huh?). I snapped up these two bottles when they were on offer, but when they're not, they retail for £4.49 each (Rio and New York, and the whole range can be seen here). I don't think there's anyone better than Ruth herself, to model her range, as we see her in her Youtube video's with hair in all manner of style, but I bet these bottles are definitely coming in handy with her new baby. 

The Process of how I apply my dry shampoo (it's nothing groundbreaking, but I always like to be nosy and know how people apply things hehe);

To apply, I brush my hair, making sure there are no tangles or knots, before sectioning parts of the hair with my fingers, and spraying the roots from a good distance away (about 20-30cm will do). Once I've done each section, I pin everything back and continue with my makeup, before running my fingers through my hair, making sure everything has been absorbed. Then with a quick finger back-comb, or a quick brush through the ends of my hair, I'm done! It's simple, non-sticky and since it's a sheer formula, there's no mad brushing, or blending to get rid of the white powdery streaks (I'm looking at you, Bastiste). I always try and leave a few minutes before applying, and then styling my hair, but you're in a mad rush, then you can style right away.

Have you tried anything from the Co-Lab range? Let me know what you think.