Top 5 Anti-Anxiety Beauty Products | Nourish Yourself

If you spoke to me two or three years ago and said I'd be blogging about beauty products all the time I probably would have laughed in your face. For starters, I was mid emo 'phase' (or a lifestyle?! Haha) and secondly I had little interest in the world of makeup or beauty goodies. 
However, I've come to realise that beauty products and beauty routines have an extreme impact on my mental well-being. Using them means I take a little bit of time out for myself and makes me feel confident in my own skin as well as when I go out. 
If I've taken the time to get my eyeliner on fleek and rid myself of spots from a decent face wash I'm going to be far more happy when I venture into the big wide world, and far less likely to cower from social contact in a corner. I would argue that the world of beauty is not shallow - I haven't improved all of my beauty regimes because I want to look 'hot in da club' (grim), but because I want to feel happy, and that's what this helps me to do.
Lush bath bombs (this is my favourite)  Having an evening bath and then putting fresh PJs on is one of my favourite special treats to indulge myself in. Sometimes a mug of vegan hot chocolate or a cheeky glass of wine features, but mostly it's me, a  book, and the delicious scents of LUSH chilling me out after a long hard day.
Avalon Organics Nourishing Lavender Shampoo*  This has made its way to the top of my list of favourite shampoos EVER. Not only is it vegan, cruelty free, organic and sodium laureth sulfate free, but it smells SO GOOD. Massaging lavender shampoo into my hair makes me feel totally zen in the mornings, and makes your pillow smell beaut if you do it just before bed. 
Sure Maximum Protection Confidence Deodorant This may seem a little random on a beauty list, but hey it counts. A good deodorant makes a mountain of difference if you're shy or get anxious at social events. Being aware of your own bodily scent is pretty nasty, and will usually make you feel more anxious and sweat more in a vicious cycle. This is one of the few deodorants that I actually swear by.
Champneys Heavenly Days Sleep Temple Balm  I've actually got a whole blog post on my favourite Champneys goodies, including this, which you can check out here. This one totally helps me to get off to sleep in the evening, which is when my anxiety kicks in the worst.
Dr Organic Tea Tree Facial Wash Spots really get me down, especially as they always seem to be so central to my face (like seriously now skin, an we stop having ones in the middle of my chin and nose?!). But, this face wash is completely devoid of nasties and is perfect at making sure my combination skin goes spot free. A word of warning with this one: it is a little  drying, so if you've got dry skin this isn't the one for you.
What are your go-to anti-anxiety beauty products?

Nourish My Hair | Getting Coconutty with Faith in Nature*

Having recently started dying my hair, I'm extra conscious about keeping it hydrated and in good condition. Coconut oil has gotten really popular in the beauty world over the last year or so, and pretty much functions as our all-in-one miracle cure. It's my go-to for a moisturising hair mask if I want to soften my hair. So, I decided to give the Faith in Nature organic coconut shampoo* and conditioner* a go. This was probably the first conditioner that I've ever used as much of as the shampoo - my hair just totally seemed to soak it up and want more and more! A twice weekly hair wash with these has kept my hair grease free and seemed to improve my dandruff as well (hallelujah!). This winter has been particularly tough on my hair - it's been cold, I've taken the dye plunge and I've stopped hair drying it in an attempt to help thicken it, so it should be pretty cavewomanish, but thankfully this has stopped it. I'm not going to lie, having mermaid hair is totally one of my life goals for 2016, and what better way to make a start than smelling all tropical-ly with coconut and having really soft locks? And yes, I have been asking everyone to "feel how soft my hair is" every five minutes for the past few months! What's been your go to hair care product this winter?

Just in Time | LUSH Christmas Hauls

A visit to a sparkling, heavenly scented LUSH store is a must for me in the run up to Christmas, and I got in just in the nick of time before they started selling out of my favourite bits and pieces (I mean, imagine a Christmas without Snow Fairy?!). So, I thought I'd share with you what I managed to pick up from their Christmass range, as well as grabbing a few old favourites! 'll be posting about some of the things in more detail in the near future, so keep an eye out!
Face and Hair Care Cranberry Festive Face Mask. Me and the bestie tried this out a few weeks ago and fell a little bit in love with it, so I dedicated an entire post to its review here Don't Look at Me Face Mask. This one is bright blue and smells really citrus-y. I've used it a couple of times so far and it makes my skin feel SO soft. Kinky Hot Oil Treatment. I've yet to use this, but I'm saving it for a day out where I want to make my naturally wavy hair a little more curly and controlled.  H'Suan Wen Sua Treatment. This was a re-buy of possibly my favourite LUSH product EVER (a title which is very hard to come buy considering a few of my all-time favourite beauty products come from here). I usually leave this hair mask in overnight to allow it to fully soak in, and it makes my hair ever so soft, glossy and manageable. It even help keep my locks relatively split-end free after six months of growing it to almost waist-length without cutting it. If I could only buy one hair treatment in the world it would definitely be this one.  Karma Komba Shampoo. This smells amazing and makes my hair feel super fresh.  Bath Time Fun Frozen Bath Bomb. This made my bath smell deliciously citrus-y and turned it a deep deep blue. Part of me felt like I was bathing in the Blue Lagoon and it was super relaxing.  Snow Angel Bath Melt. This one is Christmas in a product. Not only is it smothered in glitter (which seems to shed EVERYWHERE whenever I pick it up), but it also smells like marzipan. Milky Bath Bubble Bar. This Christmassy product not only turns your bath milky white, but smells like oranges and contains softening shea butter. This is going to make a little gift for someone special so I haven't attempted it yet. Peeping Santa Bubble Bar. This little one has to be the cutest in the LUSH Christmas range, and I can't wait to see how he turns out when used.  Candy Mountain Bubble Bar. This pink vanilla bar is perfect for any super girly-girl and will be heading into somebody's pile of presents very soon (once I get round to all of my wrapping!) Shower Time Snow Fairy Shower Gel. LUSH's most popular Christmas goodie. This super pretty shower gel leaves you smelling like candyfloss and I've been saving my little pot for months now so that I could use it over Christmas. Salt and Peppermint Bark Scrub. This has been one of my absolute favourites! I literally smell like a candy cane when I step out of the shower and I find the scrub stimulating but not scratchy. Hand Care Golden Handshake Hot Hand Mask. I had a mini pamper session last night with this one and it totally worked some miracles. Ever since I worked at a pub over summer I've been suffering from very localised dry patches on a couple of fingers, which can get very sore and itchy (to the extent that they've even bled!). After using this I could no longer feel the patches, so let's hope this stays this way for at least a few more days! Old Father Time Soap. This has been keeping my hands smelling fresh and feeling soft for the past few weeks. I only wish it was a little prettier than plain old brown after you've used it a few times! Makeup
Santa Baby Lip Tint. This I was a little disappointed in. it may have been pot luck, but mine was very dry and as I have dry lips naturally I found it very hard to apply without soaking all of the moisture out! What beauty goodies have you picked up last minute?

Summer Favourites

As summer draws to an abrupt end, I've been reflecting over the things that have aided my beauty and lifestyle regimes these past few months. It's been a summer of change for me: getting my first full time job, graduating, and officially moving out of my family home. As such, it's had it's ups and downs, but here's what helped me through:
Benefit's foamingly clean facewash: this was my absolute skin saviour when I went on holiday to Spain in June, keeping my face free of grease, despite smothering it in sun cream!
2015 - 2016 Paperchase diary: I'm such a disorganised person that this forces me to keep a track of what I'm doing and when! 
Paperchase list pad: this has become my new blogging essential! I use it to keep track of ideas about blog posts, make blogging schedules, and keep a tab of what photos I need to take. 
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: I've heard so much about this book that I had to get my hands on it to see what it was all about. And so far it has not disappointed; as soon as I get a few days off of work I'm going to make notes on the remainder of the book that I haven't gotten to yet and (hopefully) revolutionize the state of my house.
L'oreal True Match foundation: does what it says on the tin! It gives really great coverage, and manages to cover up all of my blemishes. I'd definitely rate this as the best foundation I've ever tried.
LUSH New shampoo bar: this was the first shampoo bar I've ever used and it smells beautiful. It also lasts super long, so don't be deceived by its size!
What have been your favourites this summer?  

New Haul Needed | Hello LUSH Birmingham (UK)

This is going to be a super quick post about everything I picked up last time I headed out to Birmingham for a little LUSH haul. This may or may not have been inspired by the fact that (cue tears) some of the things are close to running out. 
So, this is probably my favourite ever LUSH haul, and I've enjoyed using every one of the pieces. This is what I picked up:
- Brazened Honey face mask - Volcano foot mask - Ice Blue soap (sadly discontinues) - NEW shampoo bar - Jasmine and Henna Fluff Ease hair mask
Have you tried any of the products? 

Review of The Body Shop's Spa of the World Range

Who doesn't love a spa treat? I've been wanting to head to a spa now for MONTHS and (hopefully) will finally get to go this Autumn. So, when I spied The Body Shop's new Spa of the World Range this week I couldn't help myself. This is possibly the most exciting release The Body Shop has ever done in my opinion. I mean, what's better than something that gives you the tools to have a spa weekend in your very own home?!
Within the range are three "rituals": blissful, relaxing and revitalising. I went for a couple of products from the relaxing range in order to have a really chilled out pamper evening, plus an oil from the blissful range.
So, me and my sister set ourselves up for a fun evening of pampering ourselves with a cheeky bit of Great British Bake Off. We started with the Himalayan charcoal body clay. This was definitely my favourite of the range - you spread it over any tired looking skin, and leave for 10 minutes before washing off. I chose to do it on my arms to make the skin look a little less dull and tired, but you're free to choose to use it on (almost) any part of your body, not including your face. As with most clay masks, this has quite a cooling effect, and is really great if you prefer masks that you can feel drying and really witness taking effect. It's a very dark clay mask and smells absolutely divine. I've done this with both my sister and my best friend, and it's great fun to try out together - there were PLENTY of giggles along the way! The shop assistant suggested using clingfilm on top of the mask to keep the moisture in as much as possible, so we did that and ended up in a *teensy* bit of a clingfilm-related mess as we actually wrapped our bodies up. Obviously you have to be quite careful with this, and make sure nothing is wrapped too tightly. 
After softening your skin with the Himalayan body clay, heading into a nice steamy shower to wash it off and use the African ximenia body scrub feels absolutely amazing. I have uber sensitive skin, so scrubs are always a bit touch and go for me as they're often far too harsh. However, this scrub was so gentle, making it the most useful one I've ever used. It feels like buttercream in my hands - the one downside to how gentle and soft it is is that you do have to use a fair amount to really get results from it. 
My final stage of 'spa treat day' was to pop some of the Polynesian Monoi radiance oil in my hair to leave in overnight before washing it out this morning. I've got really long, thick hair at the moment, and I managed to get at least ten uses out of the bottle, which made it really worth the price tag. I'm a massive fan of hair oils, as I dye my hair fairly frequently, which means I need to spend a little extra time ensuring it is nourished. This is my go-to when my hair is in need of a real treat. It's also possibly the best smelling hair oil I own, so the boyfriend doesn't mind *too* much when I come to bed looking like a slug with my hair oil in.
This is definitely going to be my go-to evening ritual when I've got an important social event coming up, or I need to unwind as it made me look and feel absolutely amazing!
Have you tried any of the range yet? What did you think?

Summer Boho Hype | Boho Moon Jewelry

Early last month I came to the sudden realisation that I don't actually own very much jewelry at all, and don't even own any rings! So, I set out to change this, and wanted something really pretty for my holiday in June. This and a little instagram stalk led me to Bohomoon, and here's a little glimpse into what I picked up:

Choker: Entwined Love

Anklet: Buddhism

Rings (left to right on bottom picture): Lotus Flower, Wishbone Midi ,Open Hamsa

All in all, I lvoed the simple, elegant style of everything I chose, and for the cost I was so pleased with how beautiful the packaging and pieces were. The rings have barely left my hands since and are such a lovely accompaniment to any outfit. Now that I spend far too much of my time on their instagram page, I'm also so hyped to think about trying pieces from their brand new selection!

Have you tried any of their jewelry before?

Winter Favourites

So, this post is a bit overdue, but hey, it's still winter, and these are still my favourites, despite any new bits and bobs I got for Christmas. 

A friend recommended cranberry green tea to me at the beginning of the Autumn uni term, and since then I've been hooked. This and my Carmex lip balm have seen me through about three bouts of colds/coughs and a myriad of uni stress over the last couple of months. 

Over the past month or two my hair has gotten super long, almost to an "I-don't-know-how-to-cope-with-the-amount-of-time-it-takes-to-wash" length. V05's Revive Me Daily shampoo has been a godsend. Keeps away the split ends and has ensured my hair hasn't gotten too dry during the windswept days of standing waiting for the unibus.

Finally, my Yankee candle. I always have this on whilst I'm doing a spot of reading for a seminar, or writing a blog post. It's really made my rather sparse uni room feel a bit more like home. Plus, any Yankee candle is a win, right? I'm going sales shopping in London tomorrow and am so excited to grab a new scent at the Yankee candle store. Any suggestions?

Love and Light

Steph

**All photos are property of Sophie Hartley**