This month has been filled with painful injections, fibromyalgia flare ups and stressful times at work so my monthly favourites basically revolves around skincare and books cause lets face it, besides stationery those are my two overall favourites and all I've had time for this month.
Bondi Sands Bondi Babe Clay Mask
I talked about the Bondi Babe Clay mask from Bondi Sands earlier this month but I have been absolutely loving using this. I generally use this to multi-mask and I pop it on my more breakout prone areas. The Bondi Babe Clay mask is filled with blue spirulina extract, bentonite clay and matcha so not only does it pull out all the impurities but it also reduces the redness and leave you with a lovely glow without completely drying your face out.
ARK Skincare Intensive Hand & Nail Cream
I had to switch out my hand creams in my work bag and this month I've been using the ARK Skincare Intensive Hand & Nail cream, this stuff works a dream for my dry hands. It's filled with raspberry, cocoa and shea butter as well as an omega fruit lipid blend which helps to nourish and protect dry hands. With all the hand washing and hand sanitiser in work, I often find that my knuckles end up cracking after a few shifts back to back but thankfully since using this hand cream throughout the shift then putting a slightly thicker layer on before bed, it's really helped nourish my hands and protect them.
ARK Skincare Conditioning Body Serum
I am sometimes really bad with applying body butter/body lotion after showering but thankfully I've been adding the ARK Skincare Conditioning Body serum into my post-shower routine and it's a life saver when I need a bit of hydration but either haven't got the time to wait for my body butter to absorb before getting dressed or it's simply too hot to pop on body butters. I slightly towel dry my body and then slather this body serum onto damp skin and you can get dressed pretty much instantly.
Yon-Ka Invigorating Mist
I'm a huge fan of facial mists so you know that I'm all for discovering new brands and potentially new favourites. Over the past two months I've been adding in the Yon-Ka Paris Invigorating facial mist into my skincare routine to give my skin an added hit of hydration. I use on freshly cleansed skin, prior to applying a hyaluronic acid and after I've finished my skincare routine. I was kindly given the limited edition floral bottle designed by Sue Miano and you can get this for those with dry skin types like myself, but you can also get it for those with normal to oily skin. I really like the fresh scent and how cooling it feels on the skin, perfect for helping me wake up in the early mornings.
The Inkey List Omega Water Cream
I honestly don't think I could be without this Omega Water Cream from The Inkey List now, it's such a unique moisturiser and I've heard that it's actually a very good dupe for a very popular, luxury moisturiser. Having a drier skin type I usually find that the moisturisers targeted towards my skin type is usually pretty thick so the Omega Water Cream is a refreshing, lightweight moisturiser that literally leaves your skin glowing. Plus it's only a tenner for a 50ml tube that seems to last ages as a little bit goes a long way. I really like that this moisturiser doesn't pill when I'm having a skincare-only day.
Dermalogica Clearing Defense
I recently wrote a review about this Dermalogica Clearing Defense moisturiser with SPF 30 but this has been one of my go-to final skincare steps since it arrived on my doorstep. Because I've got pretty dry skin, I use this as my SPF with an added hit of hydration rather than as my sole moisturiser with the added bonus of SPF. I've tried a couple of products from the Clear Start range by Dermalogica and I'm quickly being converted over to, the products in the range start at £19 with the most expensive being £25. I really like how the Clearing Defense has a really light texture and doesn't leave my skin feeling all clogged up but it can actually breathe.
Sunday Riley Auto Correct Eye Contour Cream
I finally got onto the Sunday Riley hype after receiving the Auto Correct eye cream in a goody bag from a John Lewis event, this is my first product from them and I'm actually loving the brand. They really are a luxury skincare brand but from what I've tried so far, they're worth it. I've been using this eye cream as my morning eye cream because it de-puffs, brighten, and reduces dark circles. It's a really glowy eye cream so I find it perfect for my no-makeup days cause living with fibromyalgia means that I always have dark circles cause I never sleep well and on the no makeup days I can guarantee at least 2 people will ask me if I'm okay cause I look tired (don't be that person that says comments like that even if it's meant from a good place).
MANTLE The Wow Serum
I spoke about MANTLE CBD skincare at the beginning of July but since then I've been using The Wow serum because it's so lightweight and glowy. Before I tried it, I genuinely thought that like other vitamin C serums it was going to be a thicker serum but I was pleasantly surprised that the MANTLE one is lot thinner so it melts in to your skin almost instantly. I really like that it gives you a gorgeous glow without looking like you've been hit in the face with a bunch of glitter.
Atomic Habits Book
With having some time off, I've tried to get back into a routine with reading and have actually found that if I make a coffee and breakfast then sit with my journal and a book working my way through both of them, it really sets me up for the best day and I'm really liking not being on my phone as soon as I wake up in the morning. This month I've been working my way through the rest of the Atomic Habits book and I've really been loving switching between a self-help type of book and a fiction book (you should see the pile of books I've got to work through). I'd say leave me your book recommendations but I have a tower of books on my desk that I need to get through before I buy any more. I trialled reading first thing in the morning and before bed and I've actually found that first thing in the morning works better for me because I've found that depending on the book I've been known to stay up late reading without even realising it (I once read till about 5am cause I got too into a book).
What have you been loving this month?
Speak to you next time!
*This blog post contains items previously gifted for review. All opinions are honest and my own.
