Festive Pamper Evening!

Hello my lovelies!
 I hope you're all feeling as joyful and festive as I have recently. I know it's a bit of a cliché, but Christmas truly is the best time of the year for me. However, that's not to say it comes without stress. Not only is buying and giving presents stressful (to you as well as your bank account), organising countless meet ups with family members can be exhausting, and if you're anything like me, you might have realised that everybody has decided to put everything on you (exams, deadlines, "favours") in an attempt to achieve something before the new year. I'm tired, no denying it. And sometimes, the best thing to do when you're tired, is to organise a pamper evening. This is what I do whenever I have the time (maybe once a month) if I need to detox slightly. Hope you enjoy!


1) Bath time! I love a good bath to melt away your worries. Usually, I light a couple of candles around the tub (favourite Christmas ones include the cinnamon scented candle by Colton Candles, £7.99, or Christmas Day by Colton Candles, also £7.99) and pop on a Christmas film on my laptop (E.g. "Elf", "The Holiday" (favourite!!!) or "Love, Actually"). For the bath itself, I don't like mixing a load of products, so I tend to stick with one product, or at the very least, one scent. I absolutely adore "The Magic of Christmas" bubble bar by Lush, or any product from the Body Shop Red Musk range (warning- this is more of a sultry evening scent that the Lush product), but truthfully, if I got any product from the Lush Christmas range, I wouldn't complain!


2) After I've soaked in the tub for a while, I moisturise (I love my Vaseline Spray and Go body moisturizer as it dries so quickly, £2.45 from Superdrug) and shove on some pyjamas. If you're looking for a good set of pyjamas, I have to rave about Next who seem to have an amazing Christmas stock in this year, but I tend to always go to Primark for some cheap pyjamas. Even now I'm wearing a pair of navy and red checked flannel PJ's, which are adorable.


3) Nail painting... sure it takes time and smudges (every time!) but who doesn't love the finished product? While traditional Christmas colours like burgundy, dark green and gold will always be classics, I have been really enjoying sparkly colours this year more than anything. Ones I have found amazing include Jem, by Topshop (£5) or Fashion Icon, by Barry M (£3.99). If you prefer a more traditional colour, I'd suggest Bordeaux by Essie (£7.99).


4) While waiting for your nails to dry, why not apply a facemask? If you want, you can do this in the bath, but I prefer not to apply anything to my face when my pores are so open for fear of not washing everything out completely. Cheap but good masks that I have tried and tested are the Quick Fix facials (they have a whole range suitable for all skin problems), but I also love Origins Clear Improvement as a more expensive option (£23.00).


5) Once your fingers and toes have dried, shove on some slippers socks and tuck up under a bundle of blankets to finish watching your film, if you haven't already. I love hot drinks like tea, or peppermint tea, but I'll admit I've been having way too many hot chocolates lately! Bit of whipped cream, mini-marshmallows (M&S do a vegetarian range now!!) and I'm a happy gal.


 Hope you enjoyed my quick review of a typical pamper evening. Obviously, this doesn't include my bath/face/general evening routine, so if you'd like to learn more, just ask below, or read my previous skin care routine. Have a good evening, and merry Christmas!


Lots of love, Nicole x