My Favourite Blog Posts of 2015

september 2015

My blog is fast approaching its 4th birthday & I always like to take a moment to have a look back over all my posts from the previous year & pick out my favourites. I did this last year & you seemed to like it. It’s been an exciting and busy year for me, both in the blogging world and in my real life.

If you click on the photos, it will take you through to that specific post.

Dr Paw Paw Balm

Blogger Influenced Beauty Purchases

Five From Mac

Five From NYX Cosmetics

Five Under £5

 L’Oréal La Palette Nude

Mavala Jelly Effect Collection

Cabin Retreat in Cornwall

Max Factor Lipfinity Lipsticks

Autumnal Makeup Favourites

Beauty Stocking Fillers

Jurlique Balancing Essentials Gift Set

My new kitchen is gorgeous, and I have been getting a little more adventurous, so I thought I would share with you more baking and cooking posts.

Let me know which of my posts has been your favourite this year!

Origins Ornament Christmas Bauble

Origins Ornament Christmas Bauble

Whilst in Debenhams buying Christmas gifts I just couldn’t resist treating myself to one of these super festive Origin Ornament Baubles. For the past couple of years I have wanted one but they always sell out so quickly and if I am not mistaken used to just be exclusive to Selfridges so this year I snapped one up early on so I wasn’t disappointed.

Origins Give and Give Back

When you purchase this limited edition bauble you also support Origins and Global ReLeaf 25th Anniversary with the “Give & Give Back” campaign & they will plant a tree on your behalf.

Origns Ornimental Festive bauble

For £12 you get 5 deluxe samples, a great selection of Origins skincare & a makeup item too. The bauble is cute too and you could easily reuse it each year and pop something inside.

  • Modern Friction™ Nature’s gentle dermabrasion
  • Original Skin™ Retexturing Mask with Rose Clay
  • Clear Improvement® Active charcoal mask to clear pores
  • Drink Up™ Hydrating lip balm in Plum Punch
  • Peace of Mind® On-the-spot relief

I have tried two out of the three products and I love them. Modern Friction, Peace of Mind & Drink Up Lip Balm are new to me and I’m excited to try them out. The lipbalm is in a gorgeous berry shade and smells minty. There is something fun about mini sized products & I am away in January for a couple of days so will be taking all of these away with me.

Origins Festive Bauble

All the Origins Christmas gift options this year are so nice and I bought a few as gifts but thought this was a good treat to myself without spending too much money. If you still have gifts to buy or want to treat yourself to a festive Origins set then you can find them in Debenhams, John Lewis and Boots so there is still time before Xmas to snap one up.

Jurlique Balancing Essentials Gift Set

Jurlique Christmas Gift Sets

Jurlique Gift Set #UnwrapJurlique

This year Jurlique have released some lovely Limited Edition Gift Sets for Christmas, they look luxurious and utterly beautiful. I think if you’re buying a gift for someone that loves skincare, Jurlique is a wonderful brand to either introduce them too or add to their collection.

I have been enjoying their Balancing Essentials Gift Set – the gift set comes beautifully packaged in a lovely festive red sleeve that slips off to reveal a beautiful gift box. The box is wood effect & is of great quality, it’s a box that you will be able to reuse and keep your treasures in. I know I will be keeping mine, It’s too pretty not too.

This set comes with 3 full sized products that will help keep your skin smooth, soft and hydrated. This set isn’t targeted at a specific age range which I like, so it’s the perfect set to buy for anyone. The products are gentle and would be suited to almost all skin types.

#UnwrapJurlique

Jurlique Balancing Day Care Cream 40ml

I have used quite a few Jurlique products, but this one was new to me, and there hasn’t been a day this past month that I haven’t reached for it. This is a really nice lightweight cream, it feels comfortable on the skin and not at all greasy. This for me has been a perfect moisturiser for these colder months because it’s lightweight but leaves my skin incredibly hydrated even around my nose which tends to get really dry and flaky. It also helps smooth skin, improve elasticity. It contains some lovely ingredients,

  • Calendula and chamomile to soothe and combat dryness
  • Marshmallow, avocado, safflower, jojoba, shea butter, macadamia and evening primrose oil all work to hydrate and prevent the loss of moisture
  • Green tea, grape seed, turmeric, vitamin A & E all provide antioxidant properties to the skin

So it’s bursting with skin benefits and it’s also formulated to protect your skin from environmental aggressors which is becoming more and more important, especially if you live in more of a built-up area. Oh, and scent is always important to me and this cream has a slight floral scent which I find relaxing.

Jurlique balancing essentials gift set

Jurlique Balancing Foaming Cleanser 200ml

I used this a couple of years ago when I was getting some redness in my cheeks and I remember it being very gentle, so it’s nice to have this back in my skincare routine. I tend to use it in the evening because it is so good at breaking down makeup and dirt, leaving skin clean, radiant and feeling soft. It has a gel like texture and is easy to massage into the skin. It leaves behind the greasy residue and your skin isn’t left with that tight, stripped feeling. Not only that, but it cleans without removing all your moisture.

  • Rosehip Oil helps restore skin radiance
  • Ginseng Root helps firm the skin
  • Vitamins C & E and Ginkgo Biloba help to protect and restore skin
  • Marshmallow intensely hydrates, softens and soothes

It smells lovely and makes me feel like I am in a Spa. A little product goes a long way too, so don’t use too much.

Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist 50ml

I was so happy to see this face must in this set, I have spoken about this so many times on my blog and would name it in my top 5 skincare products. I just love it. It’s such a refreshing face mist, I love how it stops my skin from drying out and the rose scent is very uplifting and calming. A few spritzes of this leaves my skin feeling soft, soothed and hydrated. You can use it on top of your makeup without unsettling it, and it just keeps your skin nourished and feeling fresh. It’s easy to see why it’s one of Jurlique’s bestsellers!

  • Marshmallow and glycerin help prevent moisture loss and intensely hydrate and soften the skin.
  • Rose and Aloe Vera soften, soothe and calm the skin.
  • Grapefruit Seed provides antioxidant protection.

You can use it when you travel to keep skin fresh and hydrated, at your desk to refresh your skin, on top of your makeup and I also spray it before I use a face mask. There are so many uses for this face mist, and I always have a bottle open and on my desk!

Jurlique Balancing Essentials

The Balancing Essentials Gift Set £59 is the perfect Christmas gift and as I said it comes beautifully packaged with 3 lovely Jurlique skincare essentials. What a treat it would be to get this under the tree this year!

If you want more gift inspiration, make sure you have a look at Jurlique’s   Shop, they have so many limited edition sets for sale & there is a gift to suit everyone. Let me know if anything catches your eye.

Pai Perfect Balance Discovery Collection

Pai Skincare Gift Set

Pai is a brand that I hear so many lovely things about but I have never tried any of their products so I was excited to receive one of their skincare collections to try out. I have the Perfect Balance Discovery Collection* which is a great set for oily skin, the set includes

  • Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser 30ml
  • Pai Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinity Tonic 12ml
  • Pai Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream 10ml
  • Pai Organic Muslin Cloth.

Pai Perfect Balance Discovery Collection

The Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser is so gentle and very good at removing makeup, dirt and impurities without striping the skin and leaving it feeling tight. I use this all over my face and I even remove my eye makeup with it and it doesn’t sting my eyes. It contains omega 3 and vitamins A, B, C & E, so it will hydrate your skin leaving it feeling supple and clean. I have found it calms my skin and thats great during the Winter because i tend to get redness in my cheeks and this helps soothe and reduce that.

Next step is the Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinity Tonic I love using a face mist I find them relaxing and a great way of keeping my skin hydrated not only as part of my skincare routine but also throughout the day. I spritz this on top of my makeup to rehydrate and give my skin that fresh glow. This is also really gentle and contains no alcohol, Pai does not use alcohol, even natural grain varieties, as it strips the face of natural oils, often leading to excess sebum production and breakouts.

Like all of Pai skincare this toner contains beautifully natural ingredients like

  • Rice Plant: Extracted from the fresh shoots of the rice plant, this ‘living water’ contains the skin-benefiting minerals calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Its active antioxidants cool and rebalance skin, making it ideal for combination skin types.
  • Rosemary: The strong anti-inflammatory powers of Caffeic Acid and Rosemarinic Acid in Rosemary soothe sensitive skin and help to strengthen the capillaries. Natural antioxidants purify and rebalance congested skin and the oily T-zone.

Pai Skincare Trio

And the last product in this set is the Pai Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream This has become my secret weapon in the fight against my oily t zone. Its lightweight but still very hydrating, it won’t leave your skin feeling greasy at all in fact it gives your skin a velvet matte finish. This also helps with calming the redness in my cheeks so its a great moisturiser for people with sensitive skin too. Its is formulated

  • Organic Geranium Oil which has a balancing and calming effect on the skin
  • Thistle Oil is bursting with Omega 6 which mattifies the skin and reduces the appearance of enlarged pores whilst
  • Borage Oil nurtures the skin with Essential Fatty Acids and evens out skin tone.

Again its gentle on the skin and bursting with lovely ingredients.

Pai Skincare Gift Set

I have really enjoyed this Pai skincare kit and think it would make the most thoughtful Christmas Gift for anyone with sensitive, oily or blemish prone skin. The products are all cruelty free and Pai are proud to carefully select ingredients with proven remedial and skin soothing properties and keep their products free from irritating chemicals and alcohol.

Pai have Collections for all skin concerns so pop over & take a look & also have a look at their Christmas gift ideas.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.