Getting fresh with summer scents from Korres*

July so far has been a month of perpetual sweat and sighs of 'oh god it's hot in here isn't it?!'. We're still in the middle of this never-ending heatwave also known as a disturbingly hot British summer. Showering has become one of the only blissful parts of the day, apart from that odd waft of breeze that cools the sweat on the back of your neck (tasty).

Korres Christmas Gift Sets 2017

Korres have massively stepped up their Christmas gifting range this year. The packaging is stunning, the names pay homage to the traditional meaning of Christmas, and the goodies are all best sellers. I was beyond excited when Korres offered to send them to me to try, and I honestly wish I hadn't had to remove them from the packaging to take photos because they would have made perfect gifts. I've tried all of these scents before, and whilst I definitely didn't think I'd love them all (I'm looking at you Basil and Lemon), they are divine, and so varied that there's something for everyone in here.

Trying out Korres' NEW Olympus Tea Skincare Range

I've made no secret of the poor state of my 2017 skin. Over summer I tried out a Garnier micellar face wash and it made things ten times worse. It was just straight up awful. I really hate not finishing products, but I've put this in the back of my bathroom cupboard in an attempt to forget that it ever existed because it gave me major spot explosions. 

Trying out Korres' yogurt skin care range*

Trying out new scents is something I love doing, and gradually I'm moving away from my obsession with super sweet fruity scents to things that are a little more subtle. Does that mean I'm getting old now? I mean, I still love the fruity stuff (nothing beats LUSH's Snow Fairy scent let's face it), but I'm gradually incorporating lavender and hints of rose into my favourite scent range. Okay, it's official, turning 23 has ripened my nose.
So, when Korres kindly offered to let me try their new yogurt range I was desperate to give it a go. I was a little disappointed to discover that it doesn't actually contain yogurt, as I thought that could be pretty moisturising for your skin. But, when I really thought about it, imagine how weird and ripe you would smell a couple of hours in to the day after using it. Grim. 
The yogurt hand cream* is definitely my favourite of the range. My hands have been really dry this month - I think they know that Autumn and wind chapped life is on its way - and my other hand creams just haven't been nourishing enough. This is really thick and sinks in nicely without staying on my hands for eons. It's helped to keep the backs of my hands soft, and it's taken pride of place on my desk for regular top-ups. 
Moisturising my body is part of my daily self care routine. It gives me the opportunity to take a few minutes out of my day to really focus on taking care of my body. The yogurt body milk* and body butter* are both quite intense in terms of rehydrating your skin. I notice a definite difference on the days on which I don't use either. The body milk is my firm favourite over the butter. It blends into my skin nicely without me having to pay too much attention to it. My skin just isn't dry enough to really warrant using the body butter, and I've found it's quite hard to rub in. But, for the dry skin on my elbows it's pretty fab.
And finally the scent. It's a weird one I won't lie. It's not strong or unpleasant, but it's not something that I would really choose for myself. I mean, they've captured the essence of what yogurt smells like, which is cool, but I'd much rather smell like some of their floral scents as I think they do these really well.
*Although these products were sent to me for the purpose of a review, this content is my own honest opinion*
Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Facebook

Do I really need anti-wrinkle creams in my 20s?!*

Anti-wrinkle creams are here, there and everywhere, and have been for a few years now. My first Saturday job was in a Savers (lol) and it involved being one of those annoying checkout people that have to ask whether you would like to try a product on promotion. You know the ones I mean. FYI, it's just as annoying to be the one repeatedly asking every customer as it is to be asked. We rarely sold any of the products. Maybe two a day would be forced off of the front of the till. And then one day, we had a L'Oreal anti-wrinkle cream on offer. I sold over 20 that day on my own. At the ripe old age of 16, I hadn't learnt any new fancy sales schemes overnight, it was simply down to the product. People went MAD for it.

New In: Korres Lavender Blossom Range*

Lavender is hands down my favourite scent of all time. I know it has a bit of a rep for being a 'granny' scent, but quite honestly I simply don't care. It relaxes me, I don't find it overpowering, and it's about the only floral scent that my nose enjoys. Hand me a LUSH Twilight bath bomb and some lavender chocolate (yes, that's totally a thing, and you can get it here), and I'll be your friend forever.

December Favourites + Life Update

December was possibly my favourite month of 2016. It was the most hectic as well. My shifts went up as a restaurant at Christmas basically never sleeps, and I had a massive freelance project to complete. I also attempted blogmas, which didn't go 100% to plan, but saw me blogging more in a month than I ever had done in the past. 
There were a whole load of pros and cons to trying out blogmas, but I think if I tried to do it again in the future, I would prepare for it much more. I was working so much that I had so little time to actually blog that I ended up putting out seriously sub-par posts. And it showed. Despite posting more frequently than I had done in the past my page views were lower than they had been in months. It was pretty demoralising to look back on that on the 1st January to say the least. BUT, it has encouraged me to only put out content that I'm truly happy with, and to go with quality over quantity in my writing. There will be no more posts scraped together in the half hour I have free between shifts on some days, but instead I'll be taking my time with each and every post. 
Aside from the world of blogging, it was so lovely (and a bit scary) to host Christmas in my own home, in a new town for the very first time. It went almost without a hitch, though my sister did have to save the potatoes from being cooked in cake tins because I didn't own enough oven trays. Whoops. I got to see and spend time with so many members of my family, and it was great to see everyone open the gifts I'd bought them. 
In terms of favourites, I've left out anything I got for Christmas because I only had a couple of days to really try them out before the end of December. So, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for my January favourites this time next month to see any of the presents I was lucky enough to receive. 
I actually used two uh-mazing shower gels that I fell head over heels for this month. The first up was my mini Korres bergamot pear shower gel. This was so good that it actually made it into my 2016 top ten beauty favourites. Wild, I know. I love sweet scents, and this is definitely one, but it's not too overpowering. This is something that I'm now on the hunt to buy in a bigger bottle once my current shower gel runs out. It's so good that it actually tops Snow Fairy in my opinion. Yep, that good
Next up, is something completely different. The bergamot pear was a slightly classy, sophisticated scent. Now, we have Chewits' fruit salad shower gel. Oh yes. Fruit salad chewits were basically the best sweet of my childhood. Okay, maybe they took second place behind cherry drops, but still. This shower gel smells like fruit salad bloody chewits and it is an absolute delight. Again, if you're not into sweet scents then this probably isn't for you. But, if you are, you can pick it up for £1 in Savers, making it a total win-win in terms of scent and price. 
It's been a pretty good month for makeup favourites too. I was lucky enough to be sent some bits and pieces from Rimmel at the beginning of December, and they challenged me to create a party look with them. I really didn't like a few of the items, but I fell in love with two of them. The first was their Magnif'eyes eye shadow palette* in Keep Calm and Stay Gold. The shades in this are fairly similar to those in my Naked 3 palette, but have a couple of gold shades (obvs) and more metallic ones that have been great for pairing with my Naked 3 shades over the festive period. 
As well as festive eye products, I've also been toying around with allllll the festive lip colours, because why not? Rimmel's provocalips lipstick in the shade 'Not Guilty' has been my absolute saviour over Christmas week. With all the eating and drinking I was planning on (and succeeded in) doing, I needed something that could stay put. I've tried out a whole lot of liquid lipsticks in the past few months and this triumphs over them all. It stays put for hours, and I usually end up having to remove at least some of it with makeup remover at the end of even very long days. Plus, you use the lipstick at one end first and then cover it with a gloss from the other end of the product. So you end up with a glossy lip that stays put. I just haven't found this in any other product recently!
My last makeup love for December was Madame LA LA's bronzing ball*. This creamy, shimmery bronzer has worked wonders at helping me contour that Christmas double chin. Seriously though, it's helped me really get back into contouring, as I'd stopped bothering with it for a few months.
The weather has been a little harsh on skin this month. We've had so many super cold days and I've been doing my best to keep my skin hydrated in the face of it. Seascape's soothe body butter is so darned thick that no chapping could get through that. It basically has the consistency of sudocrem - not the nicest thing in the world, but it does smell amazing and keep my skin from getting any winter blues.  
*Although some products in this post were gifted to me for the purpose of a review, all opinions are my own honest ones*
Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Korres Shower Gel Minis Gift Set*

Let's face it, I'm a bit of a sucker for a good shower gel. I just think they can have such an impact on your day. It sounds silly, but one thing that I struggle with most with my mental health is getting out of bed in the morning and showering. Having a good shower gel that I'm excited to use can honestly make the difference between me evading the shower for the day or clambering right in. 
Having a whole little set of Korres minis* that I know do wonders for my skin made me feel fab in the morning. Out of the six scents (Basil Lemon, Guava, Bergamot Pear, Santorini Vine, Japanese Rose and Fig) I had tried three before, so I was most looking forward to the other three. Korres are a brand that are all about keeping things natural, and their shower gels tend to have around 92% natural ingredients. With no parabens, silicones or colouring, they pair perfectly with my sensitive and slightly dry skin. Now, although I did receive this gift set from the brand to write a post on, I haven't been asked to say anything in particular, I just really really love these products!
Out of all six scents I have to say that their Bergamot Pear* mini was my absolute favourite. I've tried their Bergamot Pear body milk before, and fell in love with the way it smelt, so I saved this mini until last as it was the one I was most excited about. This one is a delicately sweet scent; the kind of sweetness you get from juicy, ripe fresh fruits. This sounds odd, but it's a very hard one to describe. This is 100% going on my Christmas list, and I gave my boyfriend a very forward hint when we saw a set of the full sized shower gel and body milk in T K Maxx. 
This was such a great way for me to try out new scents that I wouldn't normally go for. Japanese rose* is something that I would always steer far clear of, as rose scents always seem to overpower me and be a little too musky, but this one was beautiful.
Have you tried out any of these shower gels?
*Although products in this post were gifted to me for the purpose of a review, all opinions are my own* Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Facebook

Trying out a sensual scent: Korres Jasmine range* review

When it comes to beauty products, I'm a stickler for just going back to the same old scents time and time again, because I know I'll love them. Sweet, fruity scents are my jam, and if you've ever smelt Snow Fairy, well, that's basically my ideal scent. 
However, sometimes it's good to branch out of your comfort zone, but I usually need a little push to do it. So, when Korres offered to send me their mint tea* and jasmine* shower gel and body milk sets I knew I had to go for it. I've already written a lengthy review here, all about my experiences trying out a unisex scent with their mint range. 
Jasmine however isn't usually described, or represented as being a unisex scent, rather it's always spoken about as it it's going to make you a goddess of the shower scene. Oh, and men everywhere are going to fall down for you. Now, I can't say that that's happened to me since I've been using the Jasmine shower gel* and body milk*, but it has affected my confidence.
It's a much more musky scent than anything I would normally go for, and in that sense it made me feel much more sophisticated. When I sit and moisturise my legs after a shower I feel a bit more like a woman, rather than a girl trying to make her way to adulthood without getting dry skin. 
I feel a bit more sassy as I step out of the door, and more inclined to wear a musky perfume: something that will scream 'sophisticated lady'. Usually that is so not me, but it was nice to step into the shoes of someone else for a period, and see what it's like to go after a totally different scent.
I do have to say though, I think I'll be heading back to my normal sweet sweet goodness in the shower: florals just aren't really my thing.
What's your favourite kind of scent for the shower?
*Although products in this post were gifted to me for the purpose of a review, all opinions are my own*
Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Trying out a unisex scent: Korres Mint Tea range review*

 Before we kick start this blog post I'm just going to say that I know there is no such thing as a unisex scent. Or a male scent, or a female scent. All scents are just there, irrespective of gendering. BUT, companies gender them for us. I can't remember the last time my shower gels promised to wake me up with a zesty start, or my boyfriend's promised to soothe him into a relaxing floral embrace. It's just something that has happened. And I know, I can go down the male toiletries aisle and buy a grapefruit scented shower gel that promises to startle my senses in the morning, but I like the idea of having a shower gel for women, and going for a male one has never really crossed my mind.

Anyhow, when Korres kindly sent me their Mint Tea shower gel*, body milk* and body scrub*, I had no idea that they would just smell so manly. When these arrived in the post, my first port of call was to give them a good ol' whiff and I was a little bowled over by the scent. You see, I'm not really a peppermint fan, and I know that these aren't strictly peppermint scented, but I still expected them to be. In reality the scent was a lot more delicate than traditional mint, and they had managed to capture the tea scent so well that you could almost smell the herby leaves. 

I actually found myself looking forward to showering. Showering is something that triggers my anxiety, and if I'm having a poor mental health day, then the idea of it can be insurmountable. But, each morning I woke up in my general haze of half asleep-ness with the thought that I would be 100% alert once I got out of the shower. Seriously, this stuff worked miracles on my senses. After a good cleanse, followed by moisturising with the body milk I felt more awake than I ever normally do in the morning. It actually made me feel like one of those people that can get up at the same time every day and not go back to bed straight after breakfast for a nap. 

This range, in short, has made me realise that maybe male scents are the way forward for me in the shower. Maybe changing my habits and going for that zesty wake-up scent rather than my usual picks is the way forward. Either way, next time shower gel is on my shopping list, I'm going to pick up a less feminine scent and see if it works!

*Although products in this post were gifted to me for the purpose of a review, all opinions are as always my own*

Have you tried a unisex scent before?

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial Mask Review*

I'm all over face masks usually - but a sleeping facial mask? I've never tried one. I've been through phases of attempting to moisturise overnight, believe me, but I've always just ended up with greasy, sticky skin in the morning as a result. Grim, I know. I always just thought that my skin simply wasn't compatible with this kind of thing.
So, when Korres sent me their sleeping mask as a surprise my heart sank a little - how was I going to let them know that my skin doesn't like overnight creams? But, they sent me a challenge to see if using it for just one night could make a difference to my skin. There's no harm in trying, right? 
So, I did my normal nightly cleanse, and then massaged a pea-sized amount of this into my skin. I was honestly astounded by what happened - it actually worked! I've been waiting years (seriously) to find a product that suits my sensitive, combination skin and finally I've found my perfect fit. Every time I woke up in the night (I'm a very restless sleeper), I touched my face because it felt so soft. I only just about restrained myself from waking the boyfriend up at three am to feel too. Only just though.
Since then, it's become a firm part of my nightly skin care routine that I never want to do without again. It totally evens out my skin, making sure that it's soft, moisturised and not greasy. Another plus I found is that my 'worry lines' (I'm 22, I'm not calling them blaady wrinkles) on my forehead have basically disappeared since using it! I am honestly so impressed, and love using it. Finally, it smells absolutely divine - rose isn't usually my thang, but this is subtle and I've fallen head over heels.
Have you tried the Korres sleeping facial mask?
*Although products in this post have been sent for review, all opinions are as always my own*
Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Korres CC Cream* and My Hyperpigmentation

I've never really considered myself to have truly problematic skin. Yes, I did have a few mighty face volcanoes when I was a teen, but I put that down to hormones, a mahoosive consumption of junk food and not actually washing my face. Good ol' 15-year-old Steph. Obviously I also have a metric tonne of freckles on my face, which I've received the odd nasty comment about, but nothing that's ever truly made me ashamed of my face. 
However, when I went to Bloggers Ball in June, a particularly nasty PR (there's always one isn't there?!) told me that my skin was clearly problematic due to my excessive freckles and hyperpigmentation. Brill. I'm basically that kind of person that takes everything to heart, so this has been playing on my mind ever since. Every time I look in the mirror now I can see the redness she was alluding to, and it's actually quite affected my self confidence. Presumably she was also alluding to my under-eye bags which are pretty much the bane of my life, and make that area grey and dull. I've tried pretty much everything to get rid of the latter, but without long-lasting success (if you have nay tips, please comment with them!). 
I've actually been fortunate enough to work with Korres on a couple of previous occasions, trying out some of their Christmas gift sets and a few of my personal favourites, and I'm always a little bowled over by how quickly I fall in love with their products. I'm a big fan of trying to keep things a little more natural, hence my many LUSH posts, and Korres use mostly natural, organic ingredients. This is such a big win for me and my sensitive skin.
So, when you take my faith in the brand and mix it with my new need to cover up my blemishes, their offer to send me their Wild Rose CC (Colour Correcting Cream)* in shade 'light' was met with a gushing yes. Although this comes in a bit pricier than my average foundation, at £26, it does last me much longer. I only use it on the areas of my face that really suffer from hyperpigmentation, and I don't wear it every day. Hopefully you can see from the pictures (I couldn't resist including little Jeffy in one) I've used that it does actually make a difference in keeping my face even-toned. Plus, it totally smells like roses, which is a definite winner in my books.
Although a product in this post was sent for review, as always, all opinions are my own.
Have you ever tried any products from Korres?
Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Daily Summer Skincare Essentials

It's that dreaded time of year again - the annual week long UK summer. As of Sunday I started to notice my face getting a little melty, and by Tuesday I was basically competing against the sun to keep my makeup from downright sweating off. I don't know about you, but we whacked out the oscillating fans and took to thrice daily showers to keep cool. 
As with any weather change, your skin will tend to react. A lot of us get slightly chapped (hopefully it's not just me?!) skin in winter on their face, and summer can have an effect too. The combination of excess sweat and the fact that my makeup doesn't have an opportunity to settle basically means that not only has this been heatwave week for me, but it could have been breakout central week. So, I made sure I stuck rigorously to my skincare regime and finally (hopefully) I've found a way to keep heat-induced skin issues at bay.
So, what's my miracle formula? Well, I've got combination skin, that's usually dry to combi, but there's been hardly a sighting of those little cakey-foundation inducing patches of horror recently. I used to be super lazy way back in those teenage years, and you were lucky if I actually washed my face in the morning, let alone had a full on routine for this stuff. Although I do have a routine, teenage Steph is still inside their somewhere, so it's by no means a full on 20 product every day kind of thing, but just takes a few minutes in the morning and evening to keep my skin happy.

Now let's get chatting this routine! First up I start my day off with a quick cleanse using my Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Cleanser. I've actually got a whole post on this range and why I love it here. I just use water and the cleanser here to get rid of any grease that's built up overnight. If you've got dry skin I probably wouldn't recommend this, as sometimes it can leave my combi skin feeling a little tight. 

Then we move onto preparing my face for the day. Usually I only include this step in my routine if I'm wearing makeup - on other days I just let my skin be free and do its thang to give it a little bit of a break. First up I spritz my face with LUSH's Eau Roma Water, which is an aroma-therapeutic toner water. It smells like lavender and rose so totally helps me to feel relaxed in the morning. Then, if my skin is feeling a little on the dry side I follow it up with Simple's Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser. This is basically my fail-safe anti-foundation-cake product. 

In the evening, I like to incorporate my skincare routine into my pre-bed ritual. Like a great many sufferers out there, my anxiety is worst at night, so having a set routine before I go to bed really does wonders in helping me get off to sleep. I don't actually take my makeup off until I'm already in my PJs and sat on my bed with just the lamp on. I use LUSH's 9-5 cleanser on some cotton wool to get the majority of my makeup off, especially my eye makeup as I find it is gentle enough to not aggravate my sensitive eyes. 

Next up is the beauty blogger favourite: Garnier's Micellar Water. I pop some on a cotton wool pad again, and use it to get rid of any of the last dregs of makeup that I might have missed with the first cleanse. I follow this up with one of Nip + Fab's Dragon's Blood Daily Fix Pads. This combination keeps my skin totally hydrated overnight and even works to plump it a little. 
And finally, if you're looking to treat your body to a little smoothness this summer, then totally give Korres' Fig body butter a go. It's not my favourite scent this summer (hello Pinita Colada), but it's made my skin so soft that I practically wave it at everyone to feel!
What's your summer skincare routine?
Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Korres Christmas Goodies* | Nourish Your Skin

The Christmas sets are emerging everywhere now, and Korres is no different. I've used a number of their products in the past, and LOVE their anti-dandruff shampoo, so was overjoyed when they got in contact to see if I'd like to try any of their Christmas sets. I decided to pick out the Korres Meditteranean Trio* and Korres Guava Collection* because they sounded heavenly and I was not disappointed at all! I tried out the Guava set first as this intrigued me more! I loved the scent of the guava shower gel and body milk - they were probably the sweetest and most delicate scent I've ever tried out. Plus the mandarin lip butter in the pack has now become a staple in my handbag: it's not too dense and keeps my lips soft and supple.  Then I moved on to the Meditteranean trio. This ended up being my favourite of the pair, as it contained my favourite product: the bergamot pear body milk. This smells heavenly, and makes my skin feel so good! The basil and lemon shower gel makes me feel super fresh as well, and the fig body milk reminded me of the fig roll biscuits my nan used to give me as a child! Korres are one of my favourite skin care brands as their products are largely paraben, mineral oil and silicone free, so they nourish your skin to a much greater extent than most skincare products. They also offer totally vegan products, which makes me an even greater fan of them! Plus, the company makes great attempts to support the Greek economy (where the company originates from) and the environmnent by sourcing around 90% of their ingredients from natural products.  What's the best Christmas skincare set you've come across this season?