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The Ultimate Self-Care Beauty Edit

Bath salts, face masks, foot files – THE LOT

I’m at the point where I’m not sure that I’ll ever feel hungry ever again. As someone who has eaten mostly vegetarian food all year, I have a confession to make. I can’t stop thinking about sausages. The floodgates have opened people. It’s like once you have one, you fall into a downward sausage spiral. One morning I actually woke up thinking about sausages. I can now confirm that I have eaten my body weight in sausages (and cheese and crackers, chocolate truffles and mince pies). I think I might be sausaged-out. In fact I’m ready to just sit in a dark room, sip water instead of Baileys on ice and not talk to anyone for a few hours.

…which is exactly where this post comes in. I planned it earlier in the month because I thought that by this point in the festive season we’d all need a hard reset before round two and the NYE celebrations come into play. Turns out past me was correct and I’m more in need of this reminder than ever. Self-care comes in many forms, but man do I love the beauty reiteration of it.  So here’s how my afternoon is going to go if it all goes to plan. Say hello to the ultimate self-care beauty routine…

MOOD

The pre-game is very important here. Dial in to whatever self-care setting sings to you; which for me is lighting basically every candle I own and watching re-runs of The Office on my phone that’s wedged behind the taps of the bath. But musics, books, podcasts, a film, absolute silence – whatever tickles your pickle, go for that. If we’re talking candles then I have many, many suggestions – but I’ll leave you with the one that I keep in the bathroom because I feel like it’s the most spa-like – it’s Urban Apothecary’s Verbena Leaves. It’s not crazy expensive and comes in travel-form incase you fancy a candle that you can lob in your suitcase. I also make sure I have some swanky pyjamas to change into after (the ones I’m wearing in the post are from ASCENO and are just too nice to wear to bed!).

BATH & BODY

Of course a self-care routine can be adapted for shower-only peeps too, although for me I do love a bath. I don’t quite know what it is about gently boiling yourself like a potato, but it’s always an absolutely lush moment no matter how rotten the rest of the day has been. I like using a mixture of salts and oils to get the perfect balance of aromatics and hydration. A glug of the Aromatherapy Associates Peppermint and Lavender Bath and Shower Oil, with a shake of the Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts is my favourite blend. Smells great, feels great. When I’m in there I put myself to work in an attempt to rid my body of all dry skin cells. I start from the bottom and work up – oh yes, there’s a proper method here. The Tweezerman Foot File sorts out my soles and then I use a Boots Exfoliation Mitt with a blob of the Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Scrub all over which is the exfoliation DREAM TEAM. I am so, so soft giving myself a solid scrub. Then I let myself relax. Once I’m out I go ham on the moisture. The Soap & Glory Heel Genius is a drugstore find that’s an absolute game-changer when it comes to keeping your feet nice and soft. I apply a thick layer and then pop some socks on so it can properly absorb without me doing a comedy slip on the tiled floor. I treated myself to the Susanne Kaufmann Body Oil Trio for Christmas and have been loving using them. All three smell divine and massage into the skin without making me feel greasy – I go heavy with my application and use them from neck to ankles.

FACE

Whatever you plan on doing with your face, you have to start with a good cleanse. The Kiehl’s Centella Sensitive Facial Cleanser has been a revelation to me this year and the balmy-feeling gel does it’s thing without aggravating my skin AT ALL. Then it’s time to mask and I have a few on rotation that I pick between. If I’m flakey as hell then I use the exfoliating Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask. If I’m dry I’ll slather on the Josh Rosebrook Advanced Hydration Mask. If I’m feeling a little sensitive, or my skin is congested I’ll use the May Lindstrom Honey Mud. You’ve got to have options – you know? I’ll apply whatever one I’m using before I get into the bath and then remove it once I’m out. Then I’ll spray on an absolute shedload of the Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator (SO worth the pennies in my opinion – I’ve never felt this strongly about a facial spray), and pat the May Lindstrom Youth Dew over the top to lock the moisture in. An hour or so later I’ll come back to apply a layer of the Clarins Liquid Bronze over the top to ensure a warm-glow come the following morning.

AFTER-CARE 

Now I don’t ever include my hair in these types of round-ups, because all I ever do with it is get the grease out courtesy of the Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo – no masks, no conditioners, no nothing. But you can’t deny that freshly washed hair feels like heaven, so sometimes I’ll whip my head over the side of the bath and give it a rinse before drying it off, brushing it through and sticking it back in a bun. Other after-care includes giving my bikini line and underarms a zap with the Braun At-Home IPL – a step that I do once a week that helps to seriously reduce and thin out the sheer amount of hair that I cultivate. Then I apply some of the Tend Skin lotion on those freshly shaved and zapped areas to ensure that no in-grown hairs make an appearance. Slug down a pint of water to stop yourself from dehydrating after a boiling bath, get back in your comfies and your self-care barometer will be off the chart.

Photos by Emma Croman

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