Date Night Prep - My go to products

Whether I'm meeting someone special or going out on a girls night I like to go through a little preparation ritual that involves the products above which I will go through shortly. Firstly I would like to express my jealousy at how men and women differ when getting ready for dates and nights out. Having three brothers has given me a great insight into the male preparation ritual. It mainly consists of a trip to the barbers, and the three S's! Shirt, shower and shave. If only us women had it so easy, aye!

Step 1, Hair: Who doesn't want shiny, healthy looking hair?! I know I do, so I use the Hair Doctor, hair and scalp mask from Lush. I apply this liberally to my hair about 30 minutes before I hop into the shower. This is my favourite hair mask from Lush, I repurchase it every time I go in, I really should try something else for a change but I'm happy with this one for now. Amongst the ingredients it contains Irish moss seaweed, coconut oil and almond oil so you can bet your bottom dollar you will be left with lovely shiny locks. It also contains peppermint which certainly wakes me up as I'm applying it.

Step 2, Face: While my hair mask is in and my hair is out of the way I like to apply a deep cleansing and exfoliating face mask and leave it on for 10-15 minutes before I shower. I'm currently using the Raspberry exfoliating Mud therapy Mask from Superdrug. This was given to me in a beauty swap from the UK by my lovely friend Steph. I am in absolute love with it and I hope I can find it in the only Superdrug store that I know of in Dublin here. It contains raspberry seeds and apricot kernels which is how it delivers a gentle exfoliation. The mask is clay based and leaves my skin feeling so much softer and looking a little radiant if I do say so myself!

 Step 3, Body: After washing the hair mask out and removing my face mask it's time to Scrub a-dub-dub! Every single day our body produces waste and the build up of old skin cells can make your skin look dull. The best way to improve the look of your skin is to exfoliate regularly. I am currently using the Sugar Crush body scrub by Soap & Glory. I got this in one of Boots S&G gifts sets at Christmas from my big bro. It contains brown sugar which does all the work for you, sweet lime to invigorate the senses, almond oil and macadamia grains which leave your skin feeling softer and smoother than ever.

Step 4, Lock it in: After you have scrubbed,  buffed and treated yourself you want to lock in all your hard work. I use Human+Kind all in one body oil. I love this because it's suitable for your face, body and hair and suitable for all skin types. It gets to work the moment you apply it and locks in moisture keeping your skin hydrated and feeling so super soft.

Step 5, Hands & Nails: Final step before you can begin to worry about what to wear and make-up! You're Almost there! I like to give my hands and nails a good bit of TLC. Usually before painting my nails I will steep them in warm water for a few minutes but because I've been in the shower I don't need to do this. I love the Lemon Cuticle balm from Pixy, it smells absolutely divine and also reminds me of one of my favourite desserts, lemon drizzle cake! The packaging is so cute and can fit nicely into my every-day handbag when needed. Their Coconut Hand Cream also smells amazing and you only need smalls amounts again to get your hands looking, feeling and smelling irresistible!

There you have it, and men wonder why we take so long to get ready! If only they knew what we got up too! I would love you to share your ritual with me in the comments below. Do you enjoy pampering yourself at home? I certainly enjoy the results!

Lots of Love,

Sarah

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Buy Irish Day 6: Pixy Natural Skincare

PIXY natural skincare have you covered this Christmas. Their range of products made  from natural ingredients include bath bombs, body oil, lip balm, cuticle balm, soap, bath salt and oils, shower mousse, foot scrubs and the list goes on and on! Having an Irish brand that offers variety is brilliant but it doesn't stop there. The entire range is hand made by local people in Mallow, Co Cork. That's what Love Irish, Buy Irish is all about this year. Supporting Irish business which in turn support the local community. 

I discovered Pixy not too long ago at the Pro Beauty Exhibition show in the RDS. I was attracted by the magical aroma that surrounded their stand and I also got to talk to a lovely lady who's name I believe was Eilish. Her excitement for the Pixy brand was so obvious that it in turn made me excited to learn more about it. She told me all about their experience on the Dragons Den and suggested some of her favourite products.

The child in me could not leave without getting the Hidden Surprise Pink bath bomb €3.70. It's pink, covered in glitter and has a toy inside. What more can you ask for really? Oh wait, it also smells like sweet candy! 

Blue Sapphire, my favourite! A bath bomb good enough for royalty! 

Pixy also have a range of Gift Sets for you to choose from for Christmas. They also over free shipping in Ireland to orders over €50. Also for this week only they are giving you 20% off their Pixy Dazzle gift set, it usually costs €49.95 but you can snap it up for €39.96 and comes with eight amazing products. 

I think Pixy individual products would make fantastic stocking fillers. They also make these Pixy Pedi gifts sets which you can buy on their website for €16.95.

I know too many people with foot phobia's so for their sake I will re-frame from showing any picture of my feet. I will say this though, my feet felt so smooth and smelt great after using the Pixy Pedi set, good enough to eat you might say! The first time I used it I went a bit mad on the peppermint cream and smelt like an after eight which I didn't mind! I'll know better next time, plus the instructions say to apply a small amount but as per usual Sarah no patience got too excited and had to learn the hard way! 

Pixy also don't use ingredients made from animals and only test on themselves so I am proud to announce that Pixy received the Puppy seal of approval. YAY!

You can buy Pixy Online and in Pharmacy's nationwide. To stay up to date on their new products and special offers make sure you head on over to Facebook and like their Pixy Natural page.

Lots of Love,

Sarah

This months Ultimate Advertiser is Carter Beauty. If you would like to find out more about advertising on this blog click HERE