Giving Your Nails Some TLC

I love having freshly painted nails. Something about it makes me feel all special and girly. I hate, however, chipped nails and having to re-do them. That is just not fun. But I'm also a fussy one who doesn't like not having anything on my nails. I know, I'm never happy. However, lately I've found a little routine, mainly for Sunday, that leaves my nails looking and feeling healthy for the week ahead. Hurrah!

I begin my giving my nails a file with that round looking nail file you can see here. I like to do this whilst I still have the old polish on as my nails are stronger then and not weakened by nail varnish remover or water. Once I'm happy with the shape I then take my nail varnish remover and get rid of the polish that's left from the previous week.

Next up I take my Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover to get rid of any overgrown cuticles and help me push them back a bit. Once they're all pushed back I grab my No7 Revitalising Hand Saviour and give my hand a good scrub and refresh. I bloody love this stuff!!!

Nails and hands all fresh and washed, I take this second nail file and give my nails a bit of a buff and shine. Then it's down to painting. I find that something strengthening such as the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails is a good base coat when you're trying to rescue your nails. Finally, to make them look a bit more polished I grab Essie's Mademoiselle polish to go over the top. I find this colour is almost like a BB Cream for your nails if you like. Love it.

What do you do to treat your nails?

Laura xoxo

The Ten Minute Pamper

I think everybody likes a bit of pamper every now and again. I love nothing more than hunkering down for the afternoon, a handful of masks in tow, nail varnish at the ready and either a film or a good book. However we don't always have time for that do we? So this post is aimed for a quick little pamper to give you that oomph and aaahhh feeling you get after a little pamper.

I feel like this post needs a bit of a background story. I had a lazy morning one day, had a shower and decided to throw on a face mask and opted for this moisture mask. I then carried on with my usual skin care routine, but took extra time than I usually would, and was amazed at how amazing my skin felt afterwards and decided to take some snaps of what I used and do a post on it.

Start by using a manual exfoliater to slog off any dead skin cells. I opted for Origins Modern Friction just cause it was in my shower, but I tend to alternate between these two as they are the two I have in my current collection.

Then pat your face dry and apply a hydrating mask that only needs to be on for around 5 minutes. I used this one by Una Brennan, and I highly recommend it. Then so you feel like you are having a pamper, spend these five minute watching a YouTube video (I have a channel btw ;) or read a chapter of your book.

Finally, get a flannel really hot and steam the mask off of your face. Then carry on with your normal skincare routine. I just want to mention though, that these two really help with retaining the moisture that started with the mask.

Do you find yourself needing a quick pamper?

Laura xoxo

P.S: If you have more time, I also recommend these steps:

- Have a shower and exfoliate your whole body. Whilst the face mask is doing its stuff, rub in some body lotion all over your body.

- The exfoliating seeds that come with the Emma Hardie set are an amazing manual exfoliater, but I feel they work best left on the skin for 5-10 mins before washing them off.

Treating Yourself

Yes, tomorrow is Valentines day, and whether you are into the whole thing, or it's just another day to you, it gives us an excuse to give ourselves a little pamper.

I was going to do a post on what I'll be doing to pamper myself, but as I haven't bought any new 'pampering products' really, I thought I'd link to some older posts for you.

Skin Treat: post

My favourite treat is still slapping on a good layer of the Emma Hardie cleansing balm with the rosehip seeds on my face and leaving it for around 5-10 mins.

I then layer on the Orgins Drink Up Intesive Overnight mask, either over night, or just for 5-6 hours in the evening and then carrying on with my usual skincare routine.

Hair: Post

A good layer of this coconut oil overnight is a cheap and easy way to give you silky soft locks.

Nails: Post

A few more pamper posts.

Will you be treating yourself this V-day?

Laura xoxo

The Sunday Pamper

I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees Sunday as a day to indulge and pick yourself up whilst prepping yourself for the week ahead! Our bodies get buffed, our nails get painted and hair gets the ultimate blow dry.

I also like to indulge in a little face mask routine, which I am going share with you today.

The Quickie

Unfortunately, we can't spend all day primping and preeming, so we have to make do with a stolen hour in the evening, enter these products. Now I don't use them on the same day, and flit and choose between the two dependent on my mood.

I've only managed to use the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing System twice, but oh my goodness, this is just so lovely to use. When you mix in these exfoliating seeds it makes the original cleanser into a gentle exfoliation mask, which I like to leave on for 5-10 mins before washing off with a nice cloth.
If not, I will use the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask which is just amazing. It feels like you're putting the middle of a Jaffa Cake on your face, and you look sticky and tangoed when you wear it, but the next morning, your face looks amazing. Trust me.


The Special Treatment.

If you have nothing planned for a few hours, I really recommend running warm bath, slathering on a hot cloth cleanser, and placing a warm flannel over your face. It feels like heaven. Who needs a real specialist?


After Care

No matter which pamper I go for, I also finish with a layer of hydralruon, a serum/oil of some kind, loving this REN one at the moment, and a thick nourshing night cream. This High Potency Night a mins, by Origins may make my change my who needs expensive moisturiser mindset!!!

So there you go. What are your Sunday pamper routines?

Laura xoxo

I also have a Wednesday pamper routine too, check it out here!

P.S As you can see, I tried to get arty in my pictures, I'm sorry they aren't the best, I didn't have time to re-do them on my cupcake background.

The Wednesday Pamper

Not only is Wednesday the middle of the week, it also sees the end to my uni week. I really hate my Wednesday lecture, it terrifies me, and by the end of the day, I just want to curl up in bed and relax, enter my Wednesday pamper night. (and I totally realise I'm very lucky that these are the only worries on my mind, but if you are looking for something in-depth, you're probably on the wrong blog, and I'm probably on the wrong course.)

After I've washed all the make-up off of my face, I start by taking my REN Micro Polish Cleanser and give my face a good scrub. It is really good at removing dead skin cells, and buffing away any dryness. I would be cautious of this product if you have dry or sensitive skin, as it is very harsh, and I was left with sunburnt-esque skin after my first use.

I then like to follow with a mask, as every pamper session needs a mask. It is currently this REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask or any mask that isn't harsh on the skin. Since preparing this post, I may have purchased the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, which is amazing after this scrub!

After removing my mask, I then spritz my face with my nspa Revitalising Vitamin Toning Mist. I then slather on some Hydraluron, which I still haven't made my mind on, but it hasn't had any negative effects to my skin, I'm hoping it's a prevention product, which we all know is better than a cure.

Then, because I've given my skin a good buffing, I then like to apply a serum or oil of some kind, at the moment it's this Omega 3 Night Repair Serum from REN, which I love, and I am definitely purchasing the full size. I then like to follow with a good night cream, which is at the moment REN's Revitalising Night Cream. I don't know if I'd repurchase this, as I think there are cheaper night creams out there that are just as good. But it is a good night cream.

So there you have it, my little mid-week pamper. What is yours?

Laura xoxo

A Little TLC: Hair

I don't really do a lot to my hair, but I realise  my hair does need some looking after, so these are the products I like to 'treat' my hair to!

The night before I wash my hair, (not every time, just when I want to treat my hair,) I apply a mixture of these two products. They are both used as hair masks and make my hair so soft and nourished. 

Then in the morning, I wash it all out, using the Paul Mitchell Shampoo Two, as it really gets rid of anything in the hair and stops it getting greasy. Then on the ends I apply the Aussie Three Minute Miracle Conditioner.

Then after my shower I like to spray some Leave in Conditioner and take my Tangle Teezer through it. I really recommend a Tangle Teezer, my hair splits a lot less since using it.

So they are the simple things I do to try and help my locks.

What do you do? Any miracle products?

Laura xoxo

A Little Bit of TLC: Feet

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Love them, or hate them, feet are something we all have, and it is important we give them a bit of love and attention every now and then, let's face it, we put them through a lot. So this post is the little things I like to do to treat my feet (yes, I'm a poet.)

First up, I like to take my Scholl Foot Repair Scrub, and then give my feet a good scrubbing before I get into the shower, as it is meant to be put onto dry feet.

Secondly, after all of the scrub has washed off, I take my pumis stone and try and get rid off the dry skin off of my heel (gross I know, sorry.)

Finally, after my shower I like to put some Lemony Flutter on any dry areas.

And here are a few colours I like to put on my toes:

Essie Cute as a Button, Forever 21 colour and Essie Beach Bum Blu.


So I don't really do much, but it is the little things that count.

How do you care for your tootsies?

Laura xoxo

Also, it is my nan's b'day today, and I mentioned a while ago I was working on something special for her, and I just wanted to show it to you:

I did a cross stitch, I'm very proud of myself!!! So Happy Birthday Nan :)

A Little Bit of TLC

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This is my second post like this, thank you all for the lovely comments on the first one, here. This post is going to look at the little bit of TLC I like to give to my face.

Now I'm not one to go crazy, I'm not a big fan of loading my face full of products, but for a bit of pampering a like to apply a bit of a face mask, after cleaning my face.

I like using different face masks, but at the moment I'm using N-spa's Replenishing Moisture Mask. This mask is by no means bad, but it's not fantastic either, but it does feel nice when my skins a little dry, and is pretty cheap too. I'm not sure on full price, but I got it from Asda, so I guess less than a fiver.

First Applied

When dry!

After washing the mask off, I then like to give a bit of extra moisture and follow with this Sanctuary Oil (thank you Shen, for introducing it to me!) and my Garnier Moisturizer .

How do you pamper your face?

Laura xoxo

A Little Bit of TLC

Source

Everyone needs a bit of TLC from time to time. Whether it's been a stressful week, or you just want to give yourself a little pick me up, there is nothing better than a bit of pampering. I'm sure if we were rich enough we would be frequent visitors of the local spa, unfortunately, we have to make do with a little DIY. So I thought I'd try and make a little series (we'll see how that goes,) about the little things I do to pamper myself.

First up, hands!

I start my filing down my nails. I heard, through some magazine probably, that it's best to file your nails when they already have nail varnish on, or before washing, as the nails are harder and less likely to break. I then remove any normal nail varnish on my nails.

Next up I give them a good wash with some nice smelling soap. I love this Coconut  Milk one. It is divine. I then follow with a nice hand moisturiser.

Once all the moisturiser has sunk in, I put some Lemony Flutter on my nails and push back my cuticles whilst giving them a bit of a massage.

After all that I apply some O.P.I Nail Envy, and if I so choose, which I usually do, a nice slick of colour. At the moment I'm loving Essie Cute as a Button, but I am seriously coveting the O.P.I Minne Mouse Collection, especially the one that looks like Jelly and the hearts!

What do you do to give your hands a bit of love?

Laura xoxo