My Pamper Night Staples | Bath & Shower

The next addition to my little Pamper Night Staples segment is sharing my favourite bath and shower products that leave you feeling relaxed and your skin feeling luscious! Of course a bath or shower could be had any day, but spicing your regular routine up with some special products or little extras to pamper yourself can turn a mundane activity into the perfect way to end a long and busy day.

For me, a bath is the perfect way to finish a busy day. I love just relaxing amongst the bubbles and really taking some time for myself to think and reflect on the day. Most of the days when I chose to have a mini pamper session, soaking in the bath allows for some quiet time, closing my eyes and enjoying the gorgeous scented bubbles that surround me. One of my favourite products to use after a long, stressful or busy day is the Radox Relax Bath Soak. This fills the tub with lots of light, fluffy bubbles and fills the room with the perfect lavender scent. I mentioned this products in a Fave Five a while back and I commented on how I find lavender quite a tricky scent to perfect. This bubble bath balances the strong scent with waterlily to make it sweet yet earthy and the perfect accompaniment to any pamper night. There are so many bubble baths on the market to choose from, even Radox have a vast range themselves, but sticking with natural scents, such as the lavender from the Radox Relax Bath Soak, I find to be the best way to complete a day where you've been stuck inside. I also adore everything Lush and find these the perfect little treats for a pamper night. Lush do such an amazing and vast range of bath bombs and bubbles bars to transform your bath into something colourful, scented or even glittery! My favorite for it's simple and sweet scent is the bubble bar 'Pop in the Bath' as I find it not too overwhelming or extravagant for a chilled out night in the tub. What's more, being a bubble bar, I can treat myself to several pampering baths, leaving my skin feeling incredible each time too.

If you don't have a bath in your home or are more of a 'shower person', there's nothing to say you can't bring this into your pamper night too! One of the best ways to turn a shower into something worth a space in your pamper evenings is to set aside a special, pampering body wash, different form the one you would use on an everyday or regular basis. This might be from your favourite luxury brand or filled with your favourite scent as a treat. I have used the Dove range of body washes before, including the Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash I have pictured above, and find they really treat my skin to a deep, nourishing clean, leaving it perfectly soft. This is the ideal type of product to feature in your pamper nights, a product with an affordable price yet reaches beyond others on the shelves to mix up an everyday activity such as showering and turn it into something special for your skin. Another option is to add a different product you wouldn't use normally in a rush in the shower, something to spend a little more time pampering yourself. For me, a body scrub is the perfect addition. I received the Strawberries and Cream Shower Smoothie from the I Love... range as a gift for Christmas and save it for my little pamper sessions. First off, the smell is so delicious and leaves my skin smelling fruity all day! Also, the little beads scrub my skin leaving it feeling fresh and soft after each use, the best thing to compliment the perfect pamper evening. This is only one of the little additions you can make to your shower routine to perfect your pamper session; you could always include shower oils and even in-shower moisturisers! It's all about bringing something new and special to your evening to set it apart and give yourself the treat you deserve, so why not try some different products?

If you are on a budget, there is the perfect compromise to complete your pamper nights in both the bath and the shower! Investing in products such as the I Love... Raspberry and Blackberry Bubble Bath and Shower Crème or the Zoella Beauty Soak Opera Bath Soak and Shower Cream mean you can have one pampering product, versatile to your preferred mood of a bath or shower. Building up a collection of pampering products, especially those more luxurious, can soon mount up price-wise. Having one pampering product can be the perfect solution to still treat yourself. Both these products have sweet and delicate scents and are gentle on the skin in both bath and shower use. I love the way they treat my skin and allow me to choose between a bath or shower and still reap the benefits of the product itself. And to be honest, I'd probably still buy them if they were separate products!

For me, a pampering bath or shower completes the perfect pamper evening, leaving me all warm and cosy ready to drift off to sleep. A shower or bath are so easy to fit into any schedule - we always need to wash! Adding that little extra something, be it a luscious body wash or gorgeous bath bomb, can transform that me-time from a 'must' to a 'love'! After the stress of the day, you deserve nothing more than to dream away the busy life you're living in the bubbles in your bath or scents of your shower gel, to leave you feeling special and your skin feeling just as wonderful! You deserve it!

What's your go-to bath/shower product?

- Becca x

Radox Relax Bath Soak - RRP £2.00 (for 500ml)
Lush Pop In The Bath Bubble Bar - RRP £2.95 (per bar)
Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash - RRP £3.99 (for 500ml)
I Love... Strawberries and Cream Shower Smoothie - RRP £2.99 (for 200ml)
I Love... Raspberry and Blackberry Bubble Bath and Shower Crème - RRP £2.99 (for 500ml)
Zoella Beauty Soak Opera Bath Soak and Shower Cream - RRP £5.00 (for 490ml)

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My Pamper Night Staples | Face

With my days currently consumed with work, I jump at the opportunity to take a little me time. I've always been the type of person who loves a quite evening with my feet up, trying out pampering products and just relaxing. It's so difficult in our busy lifestyles to just sit down and take an hour for ourselves, even I have started making excuses! So, whether you have a pamper night every week and want to add to your essentials or are now ready to put your feet up after a long day and want to know where to start, in this little series, I'll write all about my favourites and why I always reach for them on a relaxed, pamper evening. This first post is all about the face and skincare!

To kick off a pamper session, I always take off all my makeup so I feel fresh, cleansed and ready to pamper my skin! I find it such a refreshing feeling to remove my makeup after a long day, like I'm simply sweeping away all the stress and worry from the day with it, and it automatically puts me in a relaxed mood to start the evening. If I don't have a lot of time or naturally on an everyday basis, I reach for the No7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes. These wipes are so hydrating and full of moisture to clear all the makeup I'm wearing and leave my skin soft. They aren't heavily scented or harsh on the skin so are perfect to quickly yet effectively wipe everything away - just the thing if you want more time to focus on another aspect of the pamper night. If I have a little more time, I'll opt for the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. This is a recent purchase of mine but I have really enjoyed the ease of use and quality! It works by splashing the cleansing water on a cotton wool pad and sweeping over the face to dissolve the makeup. Although it's a touch more time-consuming, I usually use about 2/3 cotton wool pads on a full face of makeup, it does leave your skin fully cleansed and soft. After using either of these to cleanse my skin, I wash my face over with a warm flannel, ready for the next stage! 

The best part about a pamper night is indulging in a treatment that you might not use everyday to help you feel refreshed and your skin feel amazing! My favourite thing to use on an evening to myself is a face mask. You can use face masks to achieve or combat all sorts of things! From hydrating to calming to deep cleansing and from strawberry to Dead Sea to chocolate scents, the best thing about face masks is trying all sorts of different ones to see how your skin benefits from each of their boasted qualities. Superdrug has an incredible range of affordable face masks which I always opt for during my pamper nights. I also purchased a couple of Montagne Jeunesse face masks before Christmas, known for their bright colours and beautiful scents, these are a real treat for the skin too! Relaxing for 15 minutes, your favourite slow and soothing songs filling the air, a creamy and cool face mask refreshing every pore is a simple yet wonderful experience that takes very little out of our busy lives but gives so much back! Even if you try just this quick 10-15 minute portion of the pamper night, it won't just be your skin thanking you for days after! If a face mask isn't for you, a cleansing facial wash can soothe your face just as easily and in much less time. My favourite to use on these days, when I find myself with less time to spare, is the Simple Moisturising Facial Wash, which foams on your skin as you massage it in, without the harsh and drying qualities of soap. The final product which I like to use every couple of months, or if I am having a particular problem with blackheads etc., are Superdrug's Tea Tree Deep Cleansing Nose Strips. As weird and daunting as these may sound, they are wonderful for a deep and effective cleanse of the area around the nose. If you find this area particularly oily or suffer with spots and blackheads like myself, you will definitely reap the benefits of these little strips. They draw out all the blockages that build up in your pores leaving the area truly refreshed and clean. This may not be something you've considered for a pamper night but it's such a satisfying feeling and I'm sure some of you will love beating those blackheads! After each of these pampering options, be sure your face is clean and free from any products before the next and final step before you can hop into bed! 

To conclude such a relaxed evening, there's nothing more important than locking in all the moisture and goodness your skin has received with a nourishing moisturiser. On an everyday basis, for both day and night wear, the Ponds Hydro Nourishing Cream is my holy grail of moisturisers. Its thick and creamy nature is perfect to hydrate my fairly dry and sensitive skin. I love the smell and adore the softness of my skin even when I wake up! It's the only staple of my skincare routine I can't see changing for a long time. If I am, however, in the mood for a slightly more intense moisturiser, I use the No7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream. I received this mini bottle in a set of other No7 products, all of which have really made my skin feel and look amazing! Some people swear by this to improve and perfect the look of your skin. I am quite lucky with my skin and wouldn't say I really needed a particular strong moisturiser to correct a certain aspect in particular such as acne, redness or fine lines, but if you do, this may be the one for you. Having said this, I do love the consistency which isn't as thick as the Ponds cream so absorbs into the skin much quicker - my skin almost felt hydrated immediately! I wouldn't say I find it better in a hydrating sense than the Ponds cream, but in terms of the general appearance of my skin, I love it for giving a little extra something that encourages me to reach for it on these nights where I want my skin to look and feel special!

After the perfect pamper evening, I get tucked up in bed with a book or drop my head to my pillow and fall asleep! We all deserve a little 'me-time' every once in a while and I hope reading this has encouraged you to pursue the pamper night you deserve. Looking after your skin not only makes you look great but feel great too! After all, that's the whole point of these evenings and if you feel de-stressed and better by the end, then you know you're doing something right! You deserve it!

What skincare essentials can't you live without? 

- Becca x 

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - RRP £4.99 (For 400ml)

No7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes - RRP £7.00 (For 30 Wipes)

Superdrug Face Masks - RRP 99p (For 15ml Packet) 

Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks - RRP £1.00 (For 20g Packet)

Simple Moisturising Facial Wash - RRP £3.49 (For 150ml)

Superdrug Tea Tree Deep Cleansing Nose Strips - RRP £3.99 (For 5 Strips)

Ponds Hydro Nourishing Cream - RRP £4.99 (For 50ml) 

No7 Protect and Perfect Night Cream - RRP £23.00 (For 50ml) 

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