Five Favourites

Hello peoples! 

I thought it would be fun to start doing a monthly favourites blog and what better month to start with than January! 

As this is the first, it is a slightly more generalised favourites than it will probably be normally. These are things I've been loving for a while, including this month. So, off we jolly well go! 

1. The first thing is my Soap & Glory "Scrub Your Nose In It" face scrub. I know there are many views on whether or not a scrub exfoliant is a good thing to use but I, personally, swear by this stuff. All I know is that, when I use it, it keeps my skin pretty much completely clear and nothing else seems to keep my skin under control. This product was discontinued for a couple of months while it was being rebranded/repackaged and, I am not ashamed to admit, I did actually have a wee cry before I realised it would be back! I use this once a day only, as I don't want to over scrub my skin, and occasionally I will give my skin a break for a couple of days if I haven't been wearing make-up. When I'm not using this, I use a cleanser. Currently I'm just using Aqueous cream and it seems to be doing the trick.

2. Next up is my MAC Penultimate eyeliner. I got this in Glasgow Airport in May, en route to Australia, and it is just about to run out. I'm pretty devastated, I gotta tell you. I've been absolutely loving this, it is so easy to apply and it does not give the, oh-so-attractive, panda-eye effect at the end of the day. I really struggle to find an eyeliner that doesn't migrate down my face and this is definitely a winner. My only complaint is that it does fade a little through the day, but I would rather it do that than smudge all over my face. I'll probably try something different now for a little change but I have a feeling I will end up back with MAC.

As you can see, they're getting pretty done!

3. Next is a joint and very general favourite, two things I absolutely cannot live without - hand cream and lip balm! Especially during the winter, these two are a must for me! My current favourites are the Soap&Glory "Hand Dream Super Cream" hand cream and Soap&Glory (are you sensing a theme here?) "Smooch Operator" lip butter, although I haven't been able to get hold of "Smooch Operator" for a while so I've been using the Nivea lip butters. They're pretty good but a little too oily for my preference. I also love the Hemp hand cream from The Body Shop, I prefer to use that at night though, as it can be a tad on the greasy side. I've also added lip/hand exfoliation into my nightly routine and I am seeing (feeling really) a surprisingly big difference! My hands don't feel horribly dry and tight every time I wash them, and my lips seem to absorb my lip balm much better. Good times! I made my own from this recipe I found on Pinterest. I changed it a bit to my preference, using olive oil and vanilla extract in place of Almond oil and Almond extract, but it seems to be doing the trick!  

4. Something else I have really been enjoying is my Tangle Teezer hairbrush. I had heard good things about these brushes so I finally decided to go for it and I am so glad I did! I love it so. Despite my husband’s complaints that it is “the loudest brush on the planet”, it is quite excellent. Even the lady on the checkout in Boots had a little rave about it as I was purchasing it. It deals with even the tuggiest hair with ease and the flexible bristles mean a lot less hair ends up on the brush with a lot less pain for my poor scalp so win win win. And it’s pink so thats another win. My only complaint (aside from the loudness) is that it is quite bulky so I tend not to carry it around in my handbag. I may end up investing in one of the smaller ones for that purpose. Otherwise it is wonderful. Believe the hype! 

5. A comestible favourite now, tea! Huzzah! I drink a ridiculous amount of tea and English Breakfast is my brew of choice at the moment (be careful where you order an English Breakfast though - I have been known to end up with a full fry-up, no matter how much I emphasise the "TEA!" part), my favourite of the bagged variety being this Clipper tea. Obviously, you can't really beat loose leaf but it can be a bit of a faff! When you drink as much tea as I do, tea bags are definitely the more time-efficient way to go. 

Anyways, there you have my recent (and not so recent) favourites! 

Is there anything you have been particularly enjoying of late? Let me know in the comments! 

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Thanks for reading, I love you all! 

Aims xx

I actually took all the pictures myself this time, hence why they're not as good.