A time to relax....with Liz Earle

I have been on a little bit of a mission lately, to try and recreate the spa feeling at home.

I don't know about any one else but I have not really had any spare pennies to indulge in treatments when ever I have been feeling a bit stressed, which has been quite often of late.

I did a review on a facial I had and loved at my local beauty shop but not only is it nice to keep these things for a really special treat it is hard to afford the upkeep of one or two a month.

This is where a little box of tricks comes in to it.

The normal check list of recreating a spa like feel at home starts with nice smelling candles,

Then followed by bubble bath, may be a face mask and some relaxing music.

This is all great but after I have done all this I start to feel a bit bored and start with the ordinary mundane thing of getting washed, I am really odd in the fact that I can't just get out of a bubble bath without a good scrub first.

The thing is this can be relaxing too!

Starting at the top with a face massage, grab a cream cleanser. My favourite is Liz Earle cleanse and polish.

Massage in slow motion around your face paying attention to your forehead where all the stress builds up. Not only is this relaxing and almost sends me to sleep but because of the steam and taking the cleanser off with the muslin cloth it is a really good deep facial.

If you have not tried Liz Earle before why not get the Essentials Try me kit?

 For £22.25 which is less than what you would pay for a facial you get

30 ml of the Cleanse and polish, I would say this will do at least 6  facials

50 ml of the instant boost skin tonic, This can be used two ways, While enjoying a soak put two cotton wool pads with this tonic on over your eyes to soothe and de-puff and it smells great too. You also use it as a toner at the end of your spa time just to freshen and soothe the skin.

In this little green bag you get a choice of moisturiser too, either normal/comb or dry/sensitive

The moisturiser will last ages and it makes doing a home facial very economical.

If you are any thing like me you will also have a stock of the full sizes too, who said you can't have a spa day every day?

I will be buying one of these kits to tuck into my over night bag when I get married as after a long day I think I will need all the help I can get to look normal the day after lol 

Next time I will be trying a good old body scub and body wash, can some thing so normal have a spa feeling?

Sam x

Spa pic at top credited to ambientmusicgarden.com

The Liz Earle photo was taken with my own fair hands

Get Liz Earle @ uk.lizearle.com

60 Minutes of Bliss

I was coming up to a injection in my spine and needed something, as a treat to take my mind off what I knew to be impending pain, which I am getting to be a dab hand at.
My other half saw this as a chance to grab some brownie points, knowing that I am not good at relaxing he thought a facial might just encourage me to do so.
With this in mind he booked me a one hour appointment at our local salon Sunkissed.
The facial was one of my choice but I chose to put my skin in the hands of owner Kirsty. After a good old chat about what products I used and the good news that my skin was not in bad condition we opted for a Micro dermabrasion. This would be beneficial to me in order to get my skin wedding ready Kirsty said.

The facial lasted a whole hour and included a massage of my choice, I chose the hand and arm massage.
First my skin was cleansed with a very relaxing smelling cleanser. Now at this point I was already drifting off, being transported to some far away place by the very atmospheric music so I may get this bit back to front. A implement to remove all the nasties that hide in my skin was passed over my freshly cleaned skin. I did try not to laugh at this point though because it does remind me of a little hoover nozzle and I had to take a peek to make sure a small Dyson had not been smuggled in, It was a very pleasant experience though as I could feel all the stubborn bits lift off and my skin felt super clean by the time it was finished.
Then came a cool thick mask, it was applied all over my face and it brought a calming cooling feeling to my pores. Whilst the mask was drying my therapist used lovely oils to massage my hands and arms,I had to make sure that I did not fall asleep at this point, although the odd crack of bones kept me alert.
The mask was then removed and my face was given a final cleanse.
I must admit, it worked I was relaxed until I was shown the crystals from the 'hoover' I was appalled!! lol
Instead of pure white they were a sandy shade. I protested in earnest that I only use the best cleansers so did not know how that happened. My therapist laughed and said she had seen much worse then this I was happy again lol

I would definitely recommend a visit to Sunkissed even just to see what shade your crystals come out!!!!! lol

A big thank you to my H2B for the gift and to Kirsty and my therapist for making me feel relaxed and better in my own skin.


The micro dermabrasion was £45 for 1 hour including massage

Sam x




Image credited to johnwoowalls.com

Can you really have Fab pores???

I have been becoming obsessed with spa's as of late, they draw you in with the promise of fluffy dressing gowns and slippers and assurances that they can rid you of almost any body issue that you may have from Acne to a back full of knots that scouts would be proud of. THEN it hits you...the bill...the BIG bill and all the work is undone as you spend the next month stressing over your credit card bill.

Well no more!! for a while at least. I have been scouring the shops and the internet for any products that you can use to recreate the Spa effect at home, no I can't include the masseuse but if you have a other half they may be able to be bribed with a can of larger and a night of football watching fun.
The best thing about spending a little cash on jars of product is that you get multiple treatments from them so by the end you feel better about yourself.
At the moment my issue is my skin, it is not in the worst state that is has ever been(ie not looking like a pepperoni pizza) but it just needs a bit of time spending on it so I can lay off the liquid foundation and go for something lighter. For me one of the first places I looked was in the direction of the guys at Soap and Glory, as up till now they have not let me down.

The Fab Pore 15 min facial peel

I love this!! Not too keen on the smell as it's a bit too minty for my taste, but I am more than willing to over look this to get results that I have had from this little pot.

You can get two uses from it, pop it on for 5 mins for a little spruce up or 15Mins for the full WOW effect. Every time I rub this clay like cream on to my skin I promise myself it will be on for just a few minutes but I can never help lingering over something for a bit longer so I have my full Peel effect.

I do what they say because let's face it the S&G guys are always right, and concentrate on my 'issue' areas which for me are my chin and nose. Then I just let it do it's minty thing.My skin has become less bumpy and seems to have a smoothness about it, that's 1 point to a home spa.

You can use it 2-3 times weekly and I do! The 50ml pot will get you a couple of months using it like this so what a bargin!

I would certainly say that this is worthy of use in a Spa treatment and I am considering asking S&G If there will be a S&G spa??? pretty please...with a cherry on top

Will I repurchase ?...no doubt

Get yours at Boots for £7.15  50ml

#Press sample