A Sunday night facial has become an integral step in my weekly routine, and one that I really look forward too. Not only is it a nice boost for my skin, it's a good excuse to sit and relax for a while and indulge in a little pampering. It's the ultimate 'me time' and a great way to finish off the weekend.

I get into my PJs, tie my hair up, and spend 20 minutes or so on the following;

Cleanse
The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter gets rid of every last bit of make up and leaves skin feeling super clean. I use this everyday to take off make up and cleanse before bed.

Exfoliate
To slough away dead skin cells and brighten up my skin, I use St Ives Apricot Scrub. I've used this for a while now and am pleased to say that it doesn't contain any nasty microbeads. It's gentle on the skin and can be used daily if needed.

Steam
To prep for a mask I like to use a clean face cloth, dipped into hot water and wrung out, draped over my face for a few minutes. Sometimes I repeat this two or three times, I find it wonderfully relaxing.

Deep Cleanse
With dead skin cells scrubbed away and pores ready, I use the Quick Fix Facial Purifying Charcoal Mask for a deep cleanse. I leave this on for 10 - 15 minutes, it really helps my dull, congested skin. Afterwards skin appears brighter, redness is reduced, and it feels satisfyingly clean. If my skin feels particularly in need, I'll use this once or twice during the week too.

Mask
For a hit of hydration, and a final bit of pampering, I smooth on The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Rescue Cream Mask. I massage this in and leave it on overnight, although it can be washed off if your prefer.

Then I take myself off to bed and slip between clean sheets for an early night with a good book. My current read? In The Company Of The Courtesan by Sarah Dunant.

I feel like I've found some amazing beauty products this year. Most of my purchases can be attributed to reading blog reviews, or from watching beauty You Tubers, either way I'm happy to have found these products, and to have added them to my beauty cabinet.

In no particular order, my first favourite is a mask found via Lisa Eldridge's skincare routine video. It's the Dr Brandt Pores No More Vaccum Cleaner mask, an exfoliating mask for blocked pores. I have seen a great improvement in my skin since using this, it's clearer than its been in a very long time. Used twice a week the 30g tube doesn't last very long, but the results I get are more than worth it.


Another products found via Lisa Eldridge is the Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. I use this as a night time treatment. It's a rich formula that melts into the skin and seriously hydrates the skin around the eyes. It feels comforting to use and helps to fortify the delicate eye area.


This one will come as no surprise, it's the The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter I'm on my third pot of this and I love it. You can read my initial thoughts here and a little more about it at the end of a post here. But to sum up, it makes my skin feel really clean, it's easy to use, gentle and effective.


Keeping with The Body Shop products, I found a little tube of heaven in the form of the Vitamin E Eyes Cube. I use this in addition to my eye cream. It feels cool and refreshing and helps to revive tired eyes throughout the day. It's been especially nice recently as I've had a cold, followed by a cough, followed by sinusitis - this has been really soothing when my eyes have felt tired, puffy and dry. I use this a lot more than I thought I would.


This too is an obvious one, I've talked about how much I like this before. The The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-Up Remover is a great product, I'm on my 3rd (maybe 4th) bottle. I only ever use waterproof mascara and this removes it with ease, and without irritation. Since I started using this I haven't used any other eye make up remover, and normally I'm keen to try a new products once I've emptied something.


The Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum was recommended over on Sparkly Vodka, I bagged a tube and have been using it ever since. It's super affordable but really works at hydrating skin. I've used some higher end serums but this is every bit as good, and one I reach for every morning to use under my moisturiser.


My absolute hero product of 2015 has to be the Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel. I love this! My skin in prone to looking dull but using this every night has made a real difference. It also helps to prevent blemishes, but if they do appear it helps to clear them quickly. I'm already at the end of my second tube and I've only been using this since mid October. It's really affordable but even if it was 10 times the price it would still be worth every penny.

I've tried lots of new products this year that I've liked but these are the ones I keep going back to. I'm a firm believer that every product you use should be of some benefit to your skin, and that you should know why you're using it. Once I started to ask myself why I was using something I was able to identify the gaps in my routine, and stop using products I didn't need. My skin feels more hydrated and smoother than it has done for some time.

What are your beauty heroes - old or new?

I always seem to have a number of beauty products on my wish list, and even though I have a huge stash of products to get through, I identified some gaps that needed filling (OK, I'm kinda pushing the definition of the word need here, but anyway...)

I wanted a hydrating serum. My skin felt in need of a bit of a boost and my current serums are more about radiance, than hydration.

After a bit of research on Boots I ordered the Soap & Glory Bright Beautiful 6-in-1 Energising Radiance Serum. It seemed pretty reasonable at £13.00. It's a nice formula, my skin drinks it up. It has a shimmer in, which looks a bit too sparkly until I apply my normal tinted moisturiser, and then I'm just left with a nice glow.


A few days later I read about the Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum on Sparkly Vodka's September Favourites post. I happened to be going into town and so I picked one up, at £2.69, and with a rave review ringing in my ears, I'd be mad not to.


Whilst there I spotted the Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel and popped this in my basket as well. It's normally £5.99 but it was on offer so I paid just £2.95

The Simply Pure serum is my favourite of the two serums. It's a nice light formula that melts into my skin. I'll do a proper review when I've been using it a while longer, you can check out Caroline's review on Sparkly Vodka, if you want to know more. It's definitely worth trying.

The Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel sounds a little scary but it's actually lovely. It claims to refine and improve the texture of skin's surface, adding radiance and improving uneven skin tone. I've been using it for just a few days and I can see a difference in my skin already. It's a light gel formula that smells slightly masculine - in a nice way. The smell reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on what it is. Anyway it's given my dull skin a real boost, I'm so glad I popped this into my shopping basket.

What's your best ever beauty buy?

To indulge my current Body Shop love affair, I hosted a Body Shop at Home party several weeks ago. Inevitably I bought loads of products but being the hostess means you get some pretty good deals, I got the lot for next to nothing (thanks to the generous spending of my friends and family).

Of this haul my favourite products were the Lip & Cheek Velvet Stick, Vitamin E Eyes Cube and Vitamin C Microdermabrasion exfoliator. I hadn't used any of these products before and there's nothing like a hefty discount to get me trying something new.


The Lip & Cheek Universal Velvet Stick is a one-size-fits-all colour. This adapts to the pH of your skin to give you a unique shade. Even thought it's for lips and cheeks I've only used it on my lips and I love the shade (even if it does look a little bit on the scary side of dark in the tube).

I'd like to see it on someone else to see how the colour would differ. It feels nice on, and lasts for a good long while, with minimal transference to your mug (as in 'of tea', not your face). You can go subtle with one quick application (above left) or you can apply more for a bolder colour (above right).


The Vitamin E Eyes Cube is a little tube of heaven. I use this in addition to my normal eye cream. It's really cooling and hydrating. It's so nice to apply in the morning to wake up tired eyes and for an evening pick-me-up, it's so refreshing. It can also be applied throughout the day over make up - you can imagine how nice this has been on some of the hot days we've had this summer, particularly if it's kept in the fridge. It doesn't drag the skin and sinks in easily. All-in-all I love it!


The Vitamin C Microdermabrasion exfoliator is a hot contender for my Beauty Cabinet (which will soon have it's own page here on World of Joy, which will be updated when I find new hard working beauty heroes). It's gentle, with a really fine grain, but all kinds of effective.

I have very sluggish skin that can look dull and grey, particularly across my forehead. Sometimes my skin just needs a bit of a helping hand to shift those pesky skin cells and this works well. It's recommended for use twice a week so it's been super easy to slip into my routine, and I love the results, it doesn't feel harsh or leave my skin feeling dry.


In my last Body Shop post I said that I couldn't decide which I preferred out of the Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil and the Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter.

Having used them both for a while I have to say that the cleansing butter wins. I'm not saying that I don't like the oil, because I do, it's just in comparison the butter ticks more boxes for me (and not just because dipping into a new tin is every bit as satisfying as breaking the seal on a jar of coffee).

The butter is less messy to use, it leaves my skin feeling soft and cleansed but it's less oily than the oil (which seems kinda obvious now I type it) but my skin still feels moisturised and not stripped like some cleansers can leave it feeling.

The butter is £2.00 more but I think it's worth it. And, as a teeny tiny added bonus, it's much easier to travel with - it's lighter and there's no chance of any oily spillages. It's gone into my Beauty Cabinet.

What are your beauty heroes?

(Day 6 of blogging everyday for 40 days)