Early Morning Wake Up Call

Radox Invigorate Shower Gel* link
Radox Energise Shower Gel* link

I make no secret of the fact I'm not a morning person. It's not a case of needing a morning coffee to get me going nor a love of hitting the snooze button for a few precious hours sleep it's just a case of damn laziness and no desire to climb from my bed if there is no pressing urgency to.

A friend picking me up at 9am on a Saturday I'll be up and about in no time, early morning meeting at 8am I can't miss, I'll be in work on the dot but any other time I'll procrastinate with iPhone in hand whether it's checking my Twitter feed or playing Candycrush.

Now that the clocks have gone back and it's both darker and colder it is even harder to tempt myself from my bed so I have a little helping hand from Radox. I've mentioned their Citrus shower gels many times before and Pink Grapefruit is amazing.

The two I have my hands on at the moment and are keeping me company in the shower are Invigorate and Energise, just what I need on the Autumnal mornings I'm waking up to. Invigorate is lemon and rosemary scented and smells just like lemon sherbets and definitely buts a zing into my morning routine.

Energise is a key lime and peppermint fragrance which I reach for when I'm feeling a bit sniffly. I've had a cold threatening itself for a couple of weeks now and some mornings I've woke up feeling particularly sluggish but a wash with this has helped put more of a spring into my step and tackle the day ahead.

Both these scents have the bonus of being suitable by males and females alike so they're a handy addition to any shower that keeps everyone happy.

What products do you need to help you wake up in the morning?

*PR Sample

Biosculpture Nail Polish Review

Biosculpture Nail Polish link

I don't know about you but I'm a fan of matchy matchy - that's the same colour manicure on my hands and feet. That can sometimes be a problem when I go for a gel manicure if I don't want to go for gels on my toes (if you do it's not going anywhere for a long time fyi). 

Biosculpture have come up with a solution if you want to match your colour without the need to have a gel pedicure, a range of nail polishes available to buy that match their gel shades. This is fantastic news for me. Even back in the days of having acrylic manicures I would bring my own polish so that I could ensure the colour of my toes were not slightly off to those on my hands.

Whilst your Biosculpture manicure is unlikely to go anywhere fast (you can read about my experiences here) sometimes you're unable to get to a salon quickly and a chip does occur so it's handy to have the corresponding colour polish on hand to touch up - perfect for holidays too.

I have a range of shades, the blue of which is a pretty good dupe for Barry M's Guava if you're interested and they come in petite bottles perfect for travel. It's possible that a brand famous for gel manicures may not excel in the nail polish stakes but I was pretty impressed with the formula. Two coats, maybe more for the darker shades was all that was needed and chipping was only experienced a few days later. 

Are you a fan of the matchy matchy look?

US Skincare Haul

Philosophy Purity Cleanser link
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion link
Facial Radiance Pads link



I was quite well behave with skincare purchases whilst in the US back in September and only these three made it home with me. I have two baskets filled with products at home so decided to just pick up one or two things I'd like to try.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser was one of the first 'proper' cleansers I used back in the day. I can remember babysitting for my cousins and watching a QVC demonstration where it melted away red lipstick which I favoured even back then and immediately purchased. It has been forgotton for some time until I spotted the small travel size in Sephora's dangerous aisles at the check outs and it found it's way into my basket.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin was found somewhere in blogland/pinterest as a dupe for Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. I can't vouch for that claim at the moment as I have never tried Hope in a Jar although handily I found a pot in TK Maxx recently (post coming soon) so I should be able to do a comparison for you.

Finally are First Aid Beauty's Facial Radiance Pads which were doing the rounds of YouTube and the like recently. With my Pixi Glow Tonic nearer it's end I thought these handy pads would be a worthy addition to my skincare stash.

Have you tried any of these products or anything in particular you have an interest in?

How clean are your hands?

ecohydra hand sanitiser* link

Hand sanitisers may not the most glamorous of topics but they're worth talking about nonetheless. Cold season is upon us and I for one have been sniffing and sneezing since the temperatures took a drop recently and it's time to up the anti to killing germs.

Years ago cleaning hands didn't go beyond the typical hand washes unless you found yourself on a hospital ward yet now my company supplies anti-bac gels on our desks, we have Ebola warnings in toilets and the likes of Soap & Glory have sweet smelling versions to keep our hands clean from germs.

I have just started testing Ecohydra's hand sanitiser which is created to be 100 times more effective at killing germs and bugs whilst keeping it alcohol free. I have to say alcohol free wasn't something I considered a danger beyond the harshness of drying out the skin till it was pointed out that alcohol is flammable and as a smoker this could certainly be an issue!

Ecohydra's alcohol free formula has many other benefits, as it does not dry skin it will therefore not create an environment for bacteria growth, repeated application of ecohydra will not make it become less effective like other brands which use an alcohol base and did you know that even NASA has been used in astronauts food preparation areas as it was the product that passed tests and did not cause irritation amongst it's users. Well if it's good enough for NASA.

Practically this bottle is a little larger than some products on the market but it doesn't feel any heavier and I've been carrying it around in my bag without concern. It's a must have as a London Underground user - let's not even think about the germs flying around those packed carriages. 

I was dubious about the foam formula as we know they can often be sticky but even when I've been over zealous with the pump action and feared I would be left with wet hands the formula dries quickly without causing any discomfort to my hands. 

Ecohydra may not be the most sexy of products to look at but it's effective. There are no gimmicks nor fancy scents but if you're looking for a no nonsense product with a whole host of benefits then this is where to go.

How frequently do you sanitise your hands?

*PR Sample

Pay Day Haul & Repurchases

Pay day rolled around once again and it was time to pay a visit to Boots and stock up some items that have recently made their way into my monthly empties post (you can read Octobers here).

My flat is currently filled with multiple nearing the end bottles of hand cream and I've spent the past week dipping into my colleagues drawer to borrow her hand cream so it was time to stock up. Luckily there was a 3 for 2 offer on and so the hand cream was my bonus item.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is a favourite of mine and this is my second repurchase. You can read my initial review here but in short if my repurchase doesn't tell you this is a holy grail product for me. I find that now it's in regular use I don't have to use it as frequently but sporadic use during the week as part of my skincare regime is now sufficient to keep any blemishes at bay. It's also a lifesaver if I have been slack with my skincare regime and with no one else to blame but myself for any spots that may appear the Effaclar Duo nips them in the bud pretty quickly.

If you haven't already done so I urge you to take yourself to Boots and take a sniff of Soap & Glory's Breakfast Scrub, it's good enough to eat. My first experience with this scrub was about a year ago now and since I've been testing other products but I'm pleased as we hit Autumn to have this back in my possession.

What products have you repurchased recently?