My skin and hair are the two main accessories that I am truly obsessed with. I love the freedom of going out with minimal makeup and feeling confident and beautiful. Since I am a mom, sleep is seldom fulfilling, so beauty sleep is more rare a phenomenon than even a black diamond. In my daily routine I focus mainly on cleansing and hydrating rituals that refresh my skin, make it velvety, healthy and beautiful. The same rule applies to my hair, which I have taken extra care of after pregnancy, as the tsunami of hormones and the baby altogether have taken their toll. In this article I tell you about the care I used to battle pregnancy consequences and that helped in regaining the strength, shine, volume and length of the hair.
No matter how tired I am, I never allow myself to skip steps from my rituals for healthy and beautiful skin. Sometimes I am murmouring tiredly, throwing evil looks at the reflection in the mirror, but I stoically endure every step of my night beauty rituals. This applies to both facial and body skin. And since healthy and beautiful skin and hair are quite important to each and every woman, I will hereby share with you some of my favorite Lush products, which over time have become an integral part of my everyday care.
BODY CARE
I love body scrubs. I love them so much that often instead of using them 2-3 times a week (as is commonly recommended), I stretch for them from behind the bath curtain on a daily basis. The truth is that with Lush body scrubs it’s hard to control myself. I can only enjoy them. Cocoa Sugar Scrub is my new favorite that smells of chocolate. I can use it for ever and my skin feels fresh and velvetly soft. I even got my husband addicted to it. The granulated sugar creates a nice exfoliating effect and the aloe vera extract softens the skin to a silky feel. The product is easy to apply due to the oils in it that make it melt like butter when in contact with the warm skin. It hydrates my skin in depth and leaves it smooth and tender. My only remark is that the scrubs feel rough on the skin, and if you have a rather sensitive skin you should rub it gently.
My previous favorite of the brand was the Cherryish scrub which scents of chocolate and cherries. I loved the way the cocoa butter hydrated my skin and frankly, rarely after using this scrub, I needed to hydrate my body with lotion or body oil.
HAIR CARE
One of the most used shampoos at home is Seanik. It is made of seaweed, sea salt and lemon and gives a magnificent glow and volume to my hair. I like the freshness of its scent, which brings the memory of a sea breeze and breathtaking fiery sunsets. The lemon oil adds an irresistible glow, and the smell of mimosa, jasmine and orange stays in the air long after I have left the room. I have been using Lush shampoos for a year now and I am extremely pleased with their effect. They are quite foamy, infusing a new life into the hair and sealing exotic scents and vital oils for days ahead. Two other Lush shampoos that I love using are Big and Honey I washed my hair. Big gives a great amount of volume, mainly because of the salt in its ingredients, and coconut oil and aloe soften the hair. Honey I washed my hair is the first shampoo I bought from the brand. It smells phenomenally of wild orange and bergamon and the hair remains soft and glamorous after just few uses.
One of the main advantages of Lush’s shampoos is that you can use them for a long time, as one bar gives you about 120 washings, which means there is much more life in a bar than in a bottle of a liquid shampoo.
My only point is that to feel your hair soft upon washing it is desirable to apply some of the brand’s conditioners. Without a conditioner or a mask, I barely manage to comb my hair, hence I always apply some. I am currently using the mask of Kerastase – Masque Force Architecte. I never use the same cosmetics all the time. Even if I stick to a specific brand I always try new products. That’s why I sometimes change this hair mask with Elixir Ultime Masque.
FACIAL CARE
My other Lush lover is the skin-cleansing product Sleepy face. I have been investing a lot in skin care lately, both body and facial. During the day I often wear some light daily makeup and, given the windy weather in Edinburgh, I have a ritual of cleansing and hydratiing in the evening. Recently, part of this ritual has become Sleepy face. The cleansing bar melts like oil when in contact with the skin, and the natural oils of cocoa, jojoba and almond clean and soften the skin to perfection. Interestingly, the application of this product does not require rising the face with water.
All I do is apply it straight to the skin, massage in and then wipe clean with a damp face cloth. I can momentarily feel my skin soft and purified. Generally my skin is rather dry and if I do not immediately apply moisturizing cream after cleansing I feel my skin pulling. Interestingly, with Sleepy face I do not have that feeling at all. On the contrary – the skin is soft and deeply hydrated for hours. I usually use Sleepy face in the morning to refresh the skin or in the evening after I have already cleansed my face with the Clarisonic Mia2 brush and the Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser. To finish this whole procedure, I apply night cream and eye serum.
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The Mermaid
