
It’s time for my autumn favourites for this year. Things which i’ve loved and used consistently and which I haven’t already featured in a seperate blog post. I was intending for this post to go out prior to Halloween, but i’ve just been so busy that I didn’t get a chance. There’s everything from haircare to skincare, and jewellery to candles. I hope you discover something you want to try!
Codex Beauty Bia Skin Superfood – £48 from Alyaka
Alyaka is a new beauty shopping destination that i’ve discovered and I love it. They even have their own advent calendar this year. One of the brands they stock is Codex and i’ve been keen to try something from them for a while. I opted for this moisturiser. Codex is all about using plants and herbs to regenerate and condition the skin. The Codex Beauty Bia Skin Superfood is pricey for what looks deceptively like just a basic, fragrance-free, heavy-duty moisturiser; but the ingredients in this are incredible and the cream does great work. It’s packed with natural plant extracts to soothe, protect and strengthen the skin. It does so much! There’s their own BiaComplex (to hydrate and soothe), Calendula oil (to soothe, protect and moisturise), Helichrysum Italicum oil (to add a protective film to the skin that locks in moisture), Symphytum Officinale (to encourage the shedding of dead skin), Viola tricolour (to help the skin to hold on to water), Malva sylvestris gel (to soothe and protect) and Immortelle (to also protect the skin with a film that locks in moisture). This is a great moisturiser for stressed skin or dry skin, especially in the colder months of the year. It also makes a great (if expensive) hand cream too!
Instant Effects Hand Super Serum – £25 from Instant Effects
The smell of this is just beautiful. I was intrigued by what the difference might be between a hand serum and a hand cream, so I wanted to test this out. I adore it. It does have a more gel-cream texture, so it’s more lightweight, but it is so effective in moisturising and soothing dry hands. It has a sophisticated fragrance that makes you enjoy the process of applying this and massaging it in. You only need a couple of pumps at a time as it goes far and you don’t need to apply it often. Even after you have washed your hands, you can still feel that this serum has treated your dry hands rather than just given them a quick fix. It really improves the look of my hands too – it plumps, soothes redness, evens skin tone and improves elasticity. There’s Collagen, Vitamin C, Green Tea, Glycerin and Argan. It’s a real winner for me!Oh! by Daniel Galvin Jr OrganicHead Brunette Conditioner* – £7.99 from OrganicHead
I’ve been trying out this duo from hair maestro Daniel Galvin Jr, but it’s the conditioner that I want to focus on and really rave about. The range is designed to help your brunette colour stay true for longer, and this conditioner is made with 70% organic ingredients. The range of organic essential oils and butters, e.g. shea butter, it contains really give you that super-smooth and soft result. There’s Sage that gradually darkens brown hair (so great to counteract your fading colour); Elderberry to add richness and lustre; Black Tea to enhance chestnut tones; Sea Salt, Glycerine and Organic Aloe Vera to nourish the hair; Organic Orange Oil to soothe a dry scalp; and Sweet Almond Oil to restore shine and make your colour stand out. My hair is always so glossy and sleek after using this conditioner and i’ll definitely be repurchasing.Banana Republic Tobacco & Tonka Bean Fragrance* – £25 was £55 from Superdrug
As soon as I saw the name of this fragrance, I knew i’d love it. Tonka is one of my favourite fragrance notes and I adore burning tobacco-scented candles in the autumn and winter. This is a beautiful fragrance that’s deep and moody. It’s sophisticated and suggests age and knowledge. This gourmand scent has top notes of juicy Anjou pear and Mirabelle plum, heart notes of coconut and tobacco leaves, and base notes of vanilla bean and tonka bean. It smells sweet and aged. I’m terrible at describing fragrances, but if you are a light floral or citrus wearer, this won’t be for you.Oskia Get Up & Glow Serum* – £69 from Oskia Skincare
I have wanted to try this serum for so long, as in the bottle, the irridescence looks spellbinding! I am so pleased with it – it feels amazing and makes my skin look so much more awake and healthy than it often is. It does give you that immediate glow boost, but it’s doing so much more with its range of incredible ingredients. This isn’t just a vanity serum. It feels very lightweight and gel-like. It absorbs beautifully and isn’t at all sticky. The only complaint I have about this is the dropper. It is so hard to get product out. The extra faff is worth it thought. This serum is packed with peptides, nutrients for the skin, anti-ageing and skin function-boosting ingredients and light reflecting pigments – to plump and hydrate, firm and lift the skin, boost collagen synthesis, add a luminous glow, improve cell respiration to energise and brighten, as well as protect the skin from free radicals and protect the skin’s own ‘ecosystem’ with prebiotics. It has a rose scent too, so I was sold as soon as I opened the lid.VitaSkin Vitamin C Cleansing Balm – £7.50 was £15 from Holland & Barrett
This purse-friendly Vegan cleansing balm comes in a handy and hygenic tube. It has a beautiful smooth texture and a delightful orange citrus scent. It performs really well and quickly dissolves makeup without feeling greasy or leaving a film on the skin afterwards. I don’t think the Vitamin C is likely on the skin for long enough to really do much in terms of brightening, but it’s sumptuous and enjoyable to use. There’s not much else to say about a cleansing balm really is there. Good value and reliable.
Seoulista Beauty Magic Cleanse 3-Pack* – £14.99 from Seoulista Beauty
Seoulista Beauty, who previously only produced sheet, hand and foot masks, recently expanded to include these fab little washable facial cleansing sponges. These reuseable sponges are fluffy on one side – a sort of microfibre – and are more abrasive in texture on the other side, making it great for stubborn makeup too. Seoulista say you can cleanse with these by just using water, but personally, I wouldn’t recommend this. I think you need a good cleanser to properly cleanse your skin, but these pads make a great accompaniment to that to speed up the process. Everybody needs these in their skincare routine. Each sponge is said to last 200 washes each, so that’s 600 cleanses in this £14.99 pack! I recommend washing after every cleanse.Elizabeth Arden Hyaluronic Acid Ceramide Capsules* – £75 for 60 from Elizabeth Arden
I have wanted to try the famous Elizabeth Arden capsules for so long. When they released these new Hyaluronic Acid Ceramide Capsules, I had to put them to the test. These are so handy – both for travel and to stop you dispensing too much product. Each capsules contains exactly the amount you need for a full-face application. The serum in these is silky soft and has an instant plumping effect on the skin from the Hyaluronic Acid hydration. Ginger extract firms the skin and the Ceramides strengthen the skin’s barrier to hold that moisture in and keep the environment out. These are a great smoothing primer for makeup too and are, of course, biodegradable. If you want to help your skin combat the harshness of winter, these are perfect.faceLITE LED Mask* – £349 from faceLITE
If you are interested in finding out more about LED skin benefits and technology, visit my LED light therapy blog post. It’s such an in-depth a topic, but in essence, LED light therapy has so many skin benefits – from treating acne by tackling inflammation and reducing enlarged oil glands, to anti-ageing benefits by stimulating collagen production and soothing benefits for the likes of sun exposure. What colour of light determines its benefits. This mask from faceLITE uses red light, so it’s specifically designed to combat the effects of skin ageing – to boost its elasticity, firmness and smoothness by stimulating collagen and elastin production, and to improve blood flow and tissue oxygenation to help revive and plump the skin. Red light also helps your skincare to penetrate more effectively into your skin, so it’s great to use over a sheet mask or when you have just layered on your serums. It’s so comfortable to wear, each session only lasts 20 minutes so ideal for daily use, and it comes with a portable little bag to take on your travels. Charlotte Tilbury Mesmerising Maroon Luxury Palette* – £40 from Charlotte Tilbury
I love everything about the Charlotte Tilbury brand, so it’s hard to just pick out one or two favourites. However, this maroon palette is just complete and utter perfection. It has three metallic/shimmer shades and one matte. I love the warmth of this and i’m saving the moody red for an Instagram post closer to Christmas time. It is the ideal range of shades for me for autumn and winter, and even into the spring i’ll still enjoy wearing the lighter two shades. It’s so pigmented and has a smooth, silky, almost creamy texture. Dreamy!
Silentnight Comfort Control Electric Blanket – from £25 from Silentnight
I always feel the cold, but in winter it’s constant hot water bottles and heated blankets for me. This is my first experience of an electric blanket for the bed. My Mum had always filled me with fear that they can overheat and catch fire. That may have beed true of electric blankets decades ago, but it’s not something to concern yourself about now, as long as you are sensible and don’t go out and leave it switched on – the same care as you would take with any electrical appliance. This blanket from SilentNight actually has in-built protection to stop it over heating. You can even leave it on all night on any of its 3 heat levels. It only take a few minutes to heat up and is made with a lovely, soft, machine-washable fabric. Bring on the snow!Temple Spa Siesta Forever Candle* – £25 from Temple Spa
I’m a scented candle addict. This one from Temple Spa smells like your favourite luxury spa – you know that scent that you want to bottle and take home everytime you go for a facial or a massage! There’s lavender, petitgrain, geranium, frankincense, chamomile and myrrh essential oils, along with black pepper, dill and patchouli. It’s made with natural wax and has a burn time of 45 hours. What’s not to love!Mal Paper Daily Goal Setter Planner* – £21.95 from Mal Paper
This goal setter planner comes bound in a beautiful, chic, leather-like black with gold embossing. It looks and feels very chic. I have found this planner so helpful in these later months of the year to help focus my mind on everything I need to get done before Christmas and everything I want to achieve and start working on in the New Year. Mal Paper even gave me a discount code to share with you – use BRSPECIAL for 15% off! Daily it also encourages you to speak words of strength and support to yourself and to write those affirmations down. It also has a great section daily to prioritise the order of tasks that you need to get done. It feels beautiful to write in, is a lovely experience and really helps to make sense of a busy life.K-Pay Contactless Payment Monaco Bracelet* – £86 from K-Pay
If we weren’t living in Covid times, I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at this. However, it is incredibly helpful in cutting down the amount of times you are handling your purse and riffling through the content of your handbag when you are outside. Basically, it’s a contactless payment bracelet that you connect to an app called Pingit. You can top up your Pingit account with money and arrange for it to top itself up with more money from your bank account when it reaches a minimum amount. I use mine for quick, daily, low-cost purchases, so i’ve set mine to top itself up with £40 everytime it reaches £10. It’s a game-changer when shopping in the current world as there’s no touching of your purse or your phone. Simply tap your wrist. It’s made with a cleanable, waterproof silicone too.
This post contains press samples, but all opinions are my own.
You can see more of what i’m loving, and what i’m doing, over on my Instagram.