The Big Three: Origins Masks

So I was lucky enough to get my hands on 3 full sized masks from Origins for Christmas, and boy I have been indulging non stop. As I had been suffering from very dry skin this winter I was keen to try out the overnight mask, a notorious product in the beauty world. I do however, suffer from break outs a lot (even without oily skin) so the charcoal mask was second on my wishlist.

Drink Up 10 minute Mask: A light mask that smells like apricots, great for a quick burst of hydration when your skin is feeling 'blahhh' and claims to act as 'a fountain of youth'. What more could you ask for eh? To sum it up - a quick fix of algae extracts aimed for very dry skin, and a little goes a long way with this product.

Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask: This mask has a thick night cream texture, designed to slowly sink into the skin and work it's magic overnight. whilst the cream is thick, it doesn't feel heavy - my skin can still breathe once applied. It contains a range of ingredients including; apricot kernel oil to replenish moisture, avocado oil and mango butters to prepare the face for the next day and Japanese seaweed to avoid further dehydration. It smells divine...think sweet mangoes!

Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask: Now, unfortunately this mask doesn't smell quite as amazing as the other two but that's not the selling point... This deep cleaning mask is aimed to unclog pores and remove pollutants. It applies really easily and fully dries in around 5 minutes. One bonus for me is that it doesn't flake one bit - something I hate in masks! (flaky masks and multitasking doesn't mix well) Once dry I remove it gently with a warm cloth and my skin feels immediately fresh and purified - making breakouts fear for their lives.

Are all three worth the hype? One word - YES!

Winter Pastels

Who says you can't enjoy a good pastel mani in the colder months. I must admit I have raved about a seasonal deep red or classic nude for Autumn but it's also nice to have some alternatives up your sleeve (or on the end of one har-har)!

Today I present to you six shades I feel are the don whatever the weather...

Essie 'Fondola Gondola' - A dusky pink

Models Own 'Utopia' - A very pale lilac nude

Topshop 'Rainy Day' - A blue/grey

Barry M 'Blue Moon' - A simple baby blue

Barry M 'Lychee' - The perfect creamy nude

Rimmel 'Sage Green' - A pale khaki 

Anyone else dare to flaunt pastels this time of year?

ps. sorry for the awful lighting, its dark a lot these days...

The Body Shop Tea Tree

The Body Shop is one of those places that once you've step foot inside you ain't leaving empty handed, and of course little old me fell right into the trap. Having suffered from break outs for months and nothing helping, I popped into The Body Shop (or should I say I intended to pop in!) and was guided straight to their Tea Tree range.

This range is developed for blemish prone skin, the natural tea tree is ideal for balancing the skin plus it's antibacterial nature sure does clear up spots. Now, in my opinion these products have the potential to work wonders. They leave your skin feeling super super clean and fresh but, and this is a bigger than average but, this range is definitely aimed at oily skin types - the tea tree dries up blemishes and reduces them in size. If, like me, your skin is slightly on the dryer side these products aren't ideal - especially in winter! Much to my disappointment they completely dried out my skin, leaving it feeling drained of moisture.

As a result, have completely set aside the foaming cleanser and facial toner from my skin care routine. As for the night lotion, I still use this but then apply a thicker, more moisturising night cream afterwards. I find the pore minimiser primer works okay, I use it every now and again when my skin is feeling extra uneven and porous. Now, the squeaky clean scrub I love - just the right amount of exfoliation, even when skin is feeling blemished and sore. I use it about 3 times a week and apply a moisturising mask afterwards to avoid over-drying the skin.

I don't regret buy these products - I'll certainly reach straight for them if my skin becomes oily in the future. For now, I will continue the pursuit of a magical product to rid my dry skin of spots forever!