The New Northerner Guest Post - Summer Skin Care Routine

I am on holiday from 17th August until 24th August so I have arranged for some guest posts from some fabulous bloggers. Next up is the lovely Lucy who I recently met at the #ManchesterMeetUp. I hope you enjoy this post.

Rachel x

Hi! My name is Lucy and I have a little blog called The New Northerner where I write all about my life and loves, from beauty to yummy food!

Today I'm writing a guest post for Rachel to share with you - my everyday skincare routine during the summer. 

Morning routine 

I have a slightly different routine, depending on whether it is morning or evening.

In the morning, I wash my face with the Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Facial Wash Gel. This is just a really simple basic cleanser that does a great job of waking me up in the morning and refreshing my skin without leaving it feeling stripped. 

Once I've patted my face dry, I use the No 7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum. Now this is a product that has received a lot of hype over the years. And yes, I've bought right into it! I'm only in my twenties so I'm not a wrinkly old lady yet, but I use this in the hope that it might prevent / delay the wrinklies. I don't use it all over my face; I just use it on my forehead and around my eyes as I figure that those are the areas that are most likely to develop any wrinkles. 

As a contrast to anti-ageing, I also always have a spot treatment on hand, in case I get the attack of any blemish nasties. I recently picked up the Grease Lightning Spot Treatment from Lush when I was on the Manchester Blogger Meet Up (which is incidentally the first time I met Rachel!). I've seen a lot of people talking about this in the blogger community so I was keen to give a shot. It’s full of tea tree and witch hazel, aiming to get rid of any spots before they show themselves. So far I'm pretty impressed and I do think that it has made a difference. I don’t have bad skin by any means, but I am prone to the odd blemish around my chin area every now and again, and I do think that this has reduced the size of any blemishes I've had. The only downside to this product is the pump. Whilst it makes the product very hygienic, I feel that it dispenses too much product at a time, which would be fine if you wanted to use it over a large area, but not if you only want a small amount. 

Then for moisturising, during the summer months I use the L'Occitane Angelica UV Shield as my moisturiser. I'm super pale so an SPF is essential for me and this product has SPF 40 which is perfect. It contains organic angelica water and essential oils so it has a lovely light, smooth texture when you apply it, but doesn't leave the skin feeling at all oily. It just leaves a lovely radiant finish. I have bought multiple bottles of this and am totally hooked! 

Evening routine 

In the evening, I obviously don't need any SPF, plus I look for a slightly more intensive cleanser to remove my make up. 

To take off the grime of the day, I use the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, which I know is also one of Rachel’s favourites. This is a product that is definitely worth the hype; I absolutely love it. It leaves my face feeling so clean and smooth. It's a really rich cream that you massage into your dry skin and then use the muslin cloths that come with it to gently polish off the cream, followed by rinsing your face off with water. It has a really herby smell which must come from the rosemary in it. Using the muslin cloths is great because it gives you a bit of an exfoliation as well as a cleanse. Once I've dried my skin, I'll pop on some of my No 7 serum and the Grease Lightning if I need any. 

Then it’s time to get down to moisturising. I use the Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser. This does what it says on the tin and is just a simple moisturiser that I have bought time and time again. It doesn't feel as luxurious as the L'Occitane, but then again, what do you expect when you're paying only about 10% of the price! 

My final step is the Eve Lom Eye Cream. This is a really thick eye cream so I only use it at night as it can be a bit rich to try and apply make up on top when I'm in a rush in the mornings. This feels really luxurious, and so it should do for the price tag! 

About once a week, if I fancy a treat, I will pop on a face mask. The ones I'm using currently are from the Avon Planet Spa Face Mask Gift Set which comes with three different types of masks, all in little individual sachets. With face masks, I often find that sachets contain too much product, but these contain just the right amount. You get the Mediterranean Olive Oil Hydrating Face Mask, Japanese Sake and Rice Smoothing Face Mask and the Dead Sea Minerals Facial Mud Mask. My favourite is the mud mask as it just leaves my face feeling so clean. I'll put one onto a freshly cleansed face and even though it’s really thick, it dries in about five minutes. To remove it I use a wet flannel and then give my face a clean with the Liz Earle to make sure that I've removed all of the product. This is a fun, inexpensive set to try if you're looking to try out a few different face masks. 

So there you have it – my current skincare routine! I'm pretty happy with it right now, but if you have any product recommendations for me, please let me know!

Lucy x

My Haircare Routine - Shampoo

This is going to be a three part post - shampoo, conditioner and then after care/treatments. I love reading haircare/skincare posts so I thought I would share my routines and the products I use. First up is shampoo. I'm not loyal to a particular brand as I haven't found a miracle shampoo just yet. There are currently seven shampoos in my 'collection'. Is seven a bit excessive? They all have different jobs, well mostly, so I feel like they are justified! They are in no particular order. I photographed them in height order (roughly!). My hair is pretty dry and damaged from years of heat and colour. It's naturally curly and very frizzy but I often wear it straight. 

Keratin Complex Keratin Color Care Shampoo - This is almost empty. I'll probably get one or two more uses out of it. My mum got me the shampoo and conditioner last Christmas. They've lasted because I have so many other shampoos and I've tried to make it last as long as possible. This shampoo is sodium chloride and sulphate free, so no nasties are being put on your hair! I think it has quite a weird scent to it that I'm not so keen on. But it does leave my hair feeling super smooth and nourished.
Edit: Since writing this I have finished all of the shampoo!

Herbal Essences Smooth & Soft Shampoo - I think I picked this up in Boots because it was on offer, I can't remember though. I have used this shampoo before and I think it's quite good for the price. It's for dry, damaged and frizzy hair, which are the three words I would use to describe my hair! I don't have the money to use high end haircare products every time I wash my hair, so I use drugstore brands in between. This has a lovely fruity smell and leaves my hair feeling clean and fairly conditioned. Some shampoos make my hair feel really dry and knotty but this is quite moisturising for a shampoo.

Paul Mitchell Strength Super Strong Daily Shampoo - My parents seem to like buying me hair products for Christmas as this was in a set I received this year! I absolutely love this range. It makes my hair feel nourished and I have actually noticed a difference in the strength. I wouldn't describe it as 'Super Strong' just yet, but I have noticed less breakage. I have been finding I need quite a bit of both the shampoo and conditioner though, which is not good! I don't think they will last a lot longer. They leave my hair feeling soft, silky and shiny! It's like looking at someone else's hair! 

Tresemme Deep Cleansing Shampoo - I use this shampoo once a week, usually on a Sunday, as my detox shampoo. I can't afford Bumble & Bumble Sunday Shampoo but I would love to try it out. Until then, this is a cheap alternative. My hair can sometimes feel heavy from build up as I do use quite a few products and this is great at thoroughly cleansing my hair. I like having freshly washed and 'squeaky' clean hair on a Monday. I do find it leaves my hair a little 'squeaky' but once I have applied conditioner I don't have a problem. 

Trevor Sorbie Beautifully Straightened Protection Shampoo - I picked this up just after Christmas in a set for £7 but I actually used Boots points so I got it for free! However, it wasn't till I got home that I noticed the shampoo was for fine/normal hair, which is the complete opposite of mine! It doesn't moisturise my hair and it actually makes my hair feel dry but it cleanses it so I use a hair mask when using this shampoo. I don't really have anything else to say about this. I would like to try the version for thick hair though. 

Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo - This a fantastic product from AVON. I prefer it over other shampoo products from AVON. However, I much prefer the oil and mask from this range (more to come on these when I discuss the treatments that I use.) After just one use of this range my hair felt amazing. However, each time I've used it since, it just doesn't feel the same. Maybe in the long run I will notice a difference. This is my second bottle but I'm not sure I will purchase it again. 

Pro:Voke Touch Of Silver Twice A Week Brightening Shampoo - Even though it's called twice a week brightening shampoo, I only use it once a week as I don't wash my hair enough times in the week to use it twice. That might sound disgusting to some people but my hair is very dry and I only wash it when it's greasy, which is usually 3 times a week. If I wash it any more, my hair would just be in worse condition. I use this shampoo along with the conditioner to keep my colour fresh so it doesn't appear brassy. I have noticed a slight improvement but there has been weeks where I've forgot and I desperately need to do my roots. I say roots but it'll look like I've had Ombre done soon!

How many shampoos do you own in your 'collection'? Do you recommend any shampoo based on my hair type?

Rachel x

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