January Must Haves

January must haves is the first ‘must have post of the year, I try to do these posts now and again and I have been thinking about some things that I actually want and need.

 

We all like a bit of a pamper from time to time and it feels good to look after yourself but with so many products out there it is hard to know where to begin. So is here a little list of my january must haves so I can feel radiant all the time even if I have hardly any time to myself (like most mums I know).

Face mask! A little bit of ‘me’ time to relax, if you don’t have much time there are quick ones that you only need to leave on for 3 minutes or if you fancy a good chill out then why not go for a longer one and stick some music on. Everyone has different preferences but personally I like masks that you simply wash off rather than peel off  – I don’t feel very relaxed having to pull the mask off my skin. I usually start by thinking about what I would like out of my mask, is it soothing and replenishing or anti-aging? I stumbled upon a lovely mask on Capital, it contains all the ingredients you need to mix your own mask including instructions on how to make it. I really like the idea of this as you can adjust it to however you need it, if you have oily skin one time or dry the next.

Exfoliator/facial scrub. I use one of these every day in the shower. I massage it on my face then leave it for a minute before washing off. Again there are so many to choose from, at the moment I am using the Boots essentials cucumber face scrub and it makes so much difference to my skin, it helps get rid of blackheads, banishes dry skin and leaves my face lovely and soft. Go by your own skin type, if you find yourself having a lot of breakouts try one that pacifically targets this or again there is anti-aging, normal akin types… the list goes on.

So you’ve refreshed your skin with a mask and scrubbed off the stress of life so what’s next? It’s time to cleanse tone and moisturise! Without wanting to sound like a broken record stick you need ‘me’ to see the best results.

Cleanser & Toner! There is no point in using a product designed for people who have oily skin when you have dry skin. Some people like to stick to the same brand for years and years whereas other people like to mix it up so their skin doesn’t “get used” to the same products. I tend to try different ones and always have my back up ones (Simple) to hand encase the ones I am trying aren’t agreeing with my skin. However even though I love the Simple products I feel I am missing out if I stick to the same thing all the time. There are so many products all with different smells and purposes that I want them all! I am keen to try the Kaeso Balm Mint & Cotton range, they have a cleanser, toner and moisturizer and they are a bit of a bargain at just £5.50 for 495ml, definitely on my scope for next products to try out.

Serums! Now depending on your age you may not bother with these but as a mum who never seems to get enough sleep this is a must have for me otherwise I will end up with dark circles and baggy eyes (not very attractive!) with this I tend to change quite a lot depending on the moisturiser I am using, for example if my skin is feeling tired and dehydrated I may use a serum with caffeine in it to help reduce those bags. But other times when a miracle happens and I get a good amount of sleep I will tend to use one that helps fight early signs of aging as in my family the eyes are the first to start wrinkling!

Hand & foot creams! Now lotions that I am in love with are the Soap & Glory Hand food and Heel genius; they smell amazing, are a reasonable price and don’t leave you feeling greasy like many creams do. There is nothing worse than a hand cream that you end up washing off after 10 minutes because your phone is slipping out of your hand. It used to put me off-hand creams and I would only ever wear when my hands were particularly dry or sore, but considering that we have harsh winter leaving my hands dry then in the summer I spend a lot of time in my garden, they were getting rough so it’s important to always keep my hands moisturised.

The heel genius I put on my feet before bed and let it soak in overnight, it works for me and my dry skin has gone. No matter what foot lotions I get I only ever put them on at night as for me it just seems strange to put it on in the morning then walk around all day, I feel like I’m walking it off whereas if you put it on before bed, all you have to do is sleep and have beautifully soft feet.

Now don’t get me wrong there are a lot of products I haven’t mentioned that I do love as a bit of a luxury but for me these things should be essential for the everyday care of your skin and leave you feeling fabulous! As a mum I very often struggle to find time to myself and my morning routine used to be a case of a quick shower and a bit of moisturiser but now I make sure I do these everything as it really doesn’t take that long and I feel so much more confident knowing my skin isn’t dry or oily and whatever the weather is like outside my skin will stay soft.

**This is a collaborative post with Capital Health & Beauty**