I'm currently loving writing these type of blog posts at the moment, I recently wrote about my morning routine - you can read that here - and found it really helped motivate me to stick to my new routines for 2020.

Today I thought I'd go through my current skincare routine with you and show the products that I use on a daily basis. I do my skincare routine each morning & evening and do my best to stick to this even on early weekday mornings and also on late-nights when I'm super tired!

Cleanse

You may or may not have heard the term 'double cleanse' pop up on social media or around the beauty community and I just thought I'd quickly explain what it means.

It doesn't necessarily mean scrubbing your face with a cleanser once, rinsing it off & doing it all over again using double the product luckily! I cleanse once with Micellar Water to remove make-up, oil and any other crap the day has thrown at me.

I then clease for a second time but this time using a Salicyclic Acid Cleanser. I squeeze a small amount of product onto my Homedics Face Cleanser and in circular motions I move the product around my cheeks, chin, forehead and take care around my eyes and under my nose. I'd 100% recommend a silicon face cleanser - there are so many on the market at the moment to choose from and I feel like it just gives a deeper clean that I could with my hands!

Tone

After drying my face post-cleanse I'll grab a cotton pad and soak it in my toner of choice; at the moment I'm testing out the Glow Tonic from Pixi as I've heard great things about it and so far I'm loving it!

Before I moved onto Pixi I used up a full bottle of Nip & Fab's Salicylic Acid Toner - this is actually part of the Teen Skin range but as I can be prone to breakouts every now and then I really like to use products with blemish fighting ingredients. My local Boots was out of this toner hence why I tried Pixi but I'd definitely recommend this product if you're also prone to spots or blemishes.

Moisturise

Once I swept my toner across my face and neck I'll leave it to soak in for a minute or two whilst I pick out my moisturiser.

Depending on whether it's day or night I'll use slightly differnet products. In the morning I use my all=time favourite moisturiser ever, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel. I've been using this product for years now and I love how gentle and soothing it is on the skin.

 In the morning I take some moisturiser in my palm and add two or three drops of Clarin's Radiance Drops - I find this gives me a little more colour during the week and helps to balance out my skin-tone.

In the evening I'll usually apply a serum from The Ordinary (I have three from their range and have written about them here) and give my skin the once over with either a Jade or Rose Quartz roller - if you'd like a seperate blog post on rollers or gua-sha products then please let me know! :)

Finally, if I've got the odd spot or two I'll apply some product direct to the bad boys to reduce their size and redness over night, my favourite product for this is Bye Bye Blemish - you use a cotton swab to take a small amount of the pink liquid once it's settled in the bottle and whack it on the spot overnight to dry it out.

FRESH FACE SKIN ROUTINE

So, I have serious commitment issues when it comes to my skincare routine. My skin is so temperamental at the moment and for once it doesn't seem as sensitive and dry as it has done recently so I took the opportunity to have a look around Superdrug last weekend for something new and over the last week I've been putting everything I bought to the test!

My little haul consisted of three products (excluding my favourite Simple Cleansing Face Wipes which needed restocking); Neutrogena's Visibly Clear Pore & Shine Daily Scrub, £4.49, Neutrogena's Visibly Clear Pore & Shine Daily Wash, £4.49 and Nip + Fab's Soften Kale Fix Clay Mask, £7.45.

Let's start with the Neutrogena Daily Wash. I've been using this product twice a day, six days a week and because of a certain dreaded time of the month last week, I had a really nasty zit under my nose. It was one of those fiends that lurks under the skin and feels the size of a small comet but doesn't look too bad but you know it's there. Know what i mean? One of those.

When applying make-up I've always noticed how large my pores are, especially around my T-Zone which I think is why I tend to break out every now and again as they get clogged so easily with oils and make-up etc. Since using the Daily Wash my skin definitely feels healthier and brighter and it also smells like tangerine and lime which in itself just smells clean and fresh! Just a small amount of the gel lathers up to a nice foam when you use it so it's not one of those products you'll have to purchase again a week later because you've used it all already.

Next up is the Neutrogena Daily Scrub also from the same Pore and Shine range as the daily wash. The products are very similar but the main difference is that this product is a scrub so it contains little beads which have a gentle, exfoliating quality. I used this last night (Friday) because even though I've been using the wash every day it still felt good to scrub away the 'grime' after a week at work wearing makeup daily.

Lastly, I picked up the Nip + Fab Soften Kale Fix Clay Mask. Kale seems to be everywhere and the other day i honestly tweeted about how much more I prefer kale on my face to eating it and this clay mask is the reason why. I love a face mask, I think it just instantly feels luxurious and pampering which is what we all need at least once a week. This is a thick clay mask which you just apply onto clean dry skin, you let it sit for 5-10 minutes (or 20 if like me you apply it in the bath while you get distracted by Once Upon A Time). My skin felt really smooth and clean after using this and due to the fact it contains witch hazel it was also really gently on my skin.

Have you tried any new skincare products recently? Let me know what you're loving right now!

CURRENT BEAUTY FAVOURITES

As much as I love autumn and winter it's always a slightly trickier business when it comes to beauty. The wind, rain and cold doesn't do much for my poor hair and skin so now's a better time than any to bring a few slightly different products into my routine. These are the products I'm currently loving.

Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser, £7.99

Moisuriser is a key player in my make-up routine and I find that my foundation just doesn't last without it. This little gem from Good Things Beauty includes extracts of blackcurrent - for its' clarifying qualities -  and goji berry (so it smells hella good for one thing). What I like most about this moisturiser is that it's fast-absorbing so I don't find myself spending ages trying to rub it into my face in the mornings.

Lush Rub, Rub, Rub Shower Scrub, £8.75

Not only is this pretty pot from Lush an exoliating shower scrub but it double's up as a hair treatment; adding volume and shine to the hair. So two for the price of one! I love to use this product once or twice a week in the bath to exfoliate and really treat my skin to a gentle cleanse, however, this product can be used dry for a really good buff and I find this makes it perfect pre-spray tan!

Montagne Jeunesse (now My 7th Heaven) Dead Sea Mud Spa Clay Mask, £1.09 

I'm such a huge fan of Montagne Jeunesse, who are now known as My 7th Heaven, and I probably own more face masks that one girl needs but at just over £1 a pop it's a crime not to invest in a bunch! One of my all-time favourites though is this Dead Sea Mud Spa Clay Mask.

Each mask from My 7th Heaven boasts lots of different benefits and ingredients but as I have breakout-prone, sensitive skin there's a select few I go for again and again and this is one of them. This particular clay mask is all ready for you to use as soon as you open the sachet, no awkward squeezing out and slapping on, the pre-constructed mask just unfolds, you pat it down and you're good to go!

John Frieda Frizz Ease Miraculous Recovery Intensive Masque, £2 for 25ml 

If you dye, bleach or put heat anywhere near your hair then an intensive masque or treatment will definitely make your life a lot easier! Winter weather conditions can be harsh on your hair, making the ends brittle and dry and this treatment from John Frieda's Frizz Ease range gives my hair a little TLC when it needs it most.

Superdrug B. Makeup Brush Cleanser, £4.99

I'm hooked on the Bobbi Brown Brush Cleaning Spray but as I very recently ran out of the stuff I gave this (much cheaper) version a go and I think it's great for a temporary fix! The cleanser comes in an easy-to-use pump bottle and I've found it works a treat in between washing my brushes properly.

Let me know what beauty products you're loving at the moment in the comments below or tweet me @laurenfell!

LUSH TEA TREE WATER SPRAY REVIEW

I've been super lazy recently with my skincare routine and I've also been forgetting to take my Hair Burst pills (which I felt really made a difference to my skin) so, to get back on track I've invested in a new product to keep my skin feeling fresh and clean after I remove my make-up.

This is the Tea Tree Water, £7.95 which is a toner water from Lush and I picked it up from their Kingston branch last weekend, with the help of the absolutely lovely ladies who worked in the store. I watched Lauren Elizabeth (the YouTuber who I share both a first and middle name with) review this product and include it in her beauty favourites and I was dying to try it out.

This water contains only six ingredients, four of which are all natural; Tea Tree Water, Grapefruit Water, Juniperberry, and Limonene. The first of these three ingredients are well known for their antibacterial properties. The grapefruit is great for balancing oily and problematic skin which luckily I don't really suffer with, except a few little mishaps in the T-Zone area. Since using this spray after removing my make-up and washing my face - it's the final step in my skincare routine before my head hits the pillow - two zits I had on my chin have vanished into nothingness so already I'm loving it.

The ladies in Lush did mention that it can be used to remove make-up, I haven't tried this yet as I'm a big fan of the Yes To Cucumbers wipes, followed by a Freederm facewash which together get rid of 99% of my make-up, I will definitely spritz a little on a cotton pad and give it a go soon.

What I liked most about this spray, as I've used tea tree products in the past, is that this one doesn't smell medicinal or like something you'd drink when you've had a cold or the flu for a week. It's only lightly fragranced and there's no lingering smell after you've sprayed it. The bottle is easy to use and the pump distributes the spray evenly so you're not blasted in the face by a stream of toner water!

Do you use a toner? Would you try this one from Lush?

July Beauty Favourites

This last month has been a manic one and I feel like it's flown by! I've titled this post my July Beauty Favourites because I think I'm going to try spreading my other 'Favourites' out (like clothes, movies, music) throughout the month rather than all in one post because, you know, I'm always discovering new things and want to share them with you as soon as I've figured out I like them!

Anyway, that's enough rambling for me, let's get down to my July Beauty Faves.

Garnier Ultimate Blends Shampoo and Conditioner: The Marvellous Transformer with Argan & Camellia Oils 



The name is a bit of a mouthful but these two products have really helped in getting my hair back to a much better condition after it was lightened earlier this year. I've been trying for the last few months to not bleach or use as much as heat on my hair and so far so good. However, a little extra help never hurt anybody so during a recent Morisson's shopping trip I noticed these two products on offer and grabbed them!

There are a few different varieties of shampoos and conditioners in this range but this pair is designed for dry and dull hair and contains two types of nourishing oils; argan and carmellia. Since using them I've found my hair is a lot silkier and softer after washing and I like to alternate these throughout the week with the Lee Stafford Bleach Blonde shampoo and conditioner that I mentioned in my Julianne Hough hair tutorial.

Garnier Ambre Solaire Self-Tanning Dry Body Mist



Here's a funny story; last weekend I was feeling super pale, the weather was beautiful and I was going for lunch SO I grabbed a St Moriz instant tan out of my drawer and proceeded to slather it all over my body after a shower. Little did I know that particular bottle of tan was about 18 months out of date.

The tan turned an instant greyish-green colour and I freaked out and washed it off entirely. I then went back upstairs again to root through my drawer of self-tans (yes, that is a thing I'm afraid) and found this one which fortunately was in date and also worked a bloomin' treat!

I love, love, love tanning mists. They're the second easiest way of self-tanning after the super-easy in-shower tan, like the one I wrote about last month. I sprayed this instant Garnier mist all over and by the time I was ready to head out the door a couple of hours later, it had already developed into a beautiful, natural golden tan. Due to the nature of this product I found that it didn't leave nasty streaks or uneven patches. I also have the face version of this tan so I might give that a go in August and update you!

Hair Burst 



I'm going to write a full blog post on this soon, I know I've missed my 30 days milestone now but I've been super busy so please forgive me, it is coming!) So far, I really, really like the Hair Burst vitamins! I've noticed changes in my hair length, hair condition and also, more excitingly for me, the condition of my skin since I started taking them, you can read my original post on these all-natural pills here.

During certain times of the month I suffer from breakouts, usually it's inevitable and I just roll with it because it never lasts more than a week, but since taking Hair Burst it's safe to say I haven't suffered from any at all *touch wood, as I don't want to jinx it!*

Ultimately, Hair Burst contains a lot of the same ingredients as your average hair, skin and nails vitamins and I've definitely noticed vast improvements in all of those areas so I'm really chuffed. I will of course be updating more thoroughly for the next couple of months and there will be a big post at the end of my three-month trial to let you know how I got on and whether I will be continuing to take the vitamins.