Winter is coming!

Winter is descending upon us, as it does every year - now I grew up in a little town called Exmouth located on a very picturesque north west cape in Western Australia!  Exmouth is hot...temperatures often reach over 40 degrees and have been to known to hit 50!  50 degrees celcius!  I remember when I moved from Exmouth to Perth, the capital city in W.A - that I thought Perth was freezing - In fact I remember I actually brought those old fashioned 'long john' trousers and would wear them underneath my jeans...yup - I was a trendsetter back then too!  Then I moved to the UK and felt the bitterness of an English winter - well in fact 8 of them - and I learnt the joy of seeing the temperatures raise into the 'teens' - A 12 degree day with the sun shining felt positively balmy - and then we moved back to Oz - and I tell you folks it doesn't take long for one to become acclimatized.  And so, as this Winter descends upon us, you will forgive my somewhat defensive tone, when I say (assume whiny voice) 'it's co-old'.  Sure our temperatures are still maxing 20 -25 degrees during the day, but the nights go down to 11, sometimes 8 degrees.  (I hang in my head in shame)  IT'S ALL RELATIVE PEOPLE!  WE HAVE NO CENTRAL HEATING!

Even us Aussies needs some winter comforts - and mine are....

Molten Brown Shower Gel - Pink Pepperpod

Molton Brown Pink Pepperpod $39

My cold winter night countdown to being warm and snuggly in my bed will often begin with a nice, hot shower - lathering myself head to toe in this delectable body wash by Molton Brown.  It is a very addictive fragrance using a fiery pink pepper, hints of ginger and patchouli!  I first fell in love with it when my husband began using the 'masculine version', and it smells just as good for the ladies - spicy!

Post shower I then moisturise - well I try to moisturise...hmm...I should really moisturise...ahem...the truth is - my post shower body hydration consists of  a quick spray from that Vaseline spray moisturiser, if that - but today I sampled a L'Occitane produce - which was divine...quite pricey and for that reason I didn't purchase it on the spot, but it has been playing on my mind.  I give you...

L'Occitane Supple Skin Oil

L'Occitane Supple Oil $64

I think I mentioned in a previous post how much I loved the scent of L'Occitanes Almond Hand cream and the scent of this product is equally blissful!  This is 50% Almond oil blended with camelina oil and I think, a little bit of heaven!  To the embarrassment of my sister, whom I was with at the time, I couldn't help but groan out loud rubbing this product in - the smell, the texture - the softness of my skin - and it absorbed really nicely leaving my skin feeling almost like satin!  If I were to purchase this, mainly due to my laziness and time factors, I probably wouldn't use this on a daily basis - but for a good old fashioned pampering evening - Bring it on! 

So I am showered, and oh so supple - time for my...

Peter Alexander PJs

The evenings are dark and cold - and what better way to perform a winter hibernation of sorts than to do so in style...

I love my pyjamas..my husband always looks somewhat horrified when I emerge from the bathroom wearing these, but they are oh so comfortable...snuggle-rific!

Now I think in Winter, anyone's skin can look a little drab, dry and well, dull!  And that is why I am super excited to be trying something that has been on my radar for a little while now -

Ren Glycolactic Radiance Mask

Ren Glycolactic Acid Renewal Mask $59

I used this for the first time last night and was dutifully impressed.  The consistency of this product is quite 'sticky' and you need a reasonable amount to get an even coverage - I felt a very small tingling sensation for literally a few seconds.  I left the mask on for the recommended time of 10 minutes - and removed it using the enclosed muslin cloth (nice touch Ren) and my skin felt incredibly soft, smooth and clean.  The scent is quite pleasant - a kind of citrus aroma.  I liked this product.  It is marketed to remove dead skin cells, aid in skin congestion and over time, improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles - containing an array of natural fruit acids and an extract from Papaya - yay for the sloughing of dead skin cells!

SO -

I am showered.  I am exfoliated and body moisturised (I promise) - what now I hear the masses ask?!  Can I hear a 'whoop whoop' for serums?!  I think I have mentioned before that  at night, and certainly more so in the summer - I tend to only use a serum and at the moment I am still dutifully using my Boots No 7 Protect and Perfect Serum - which I am still loving - but in these winter months as well as my serum, I have also been trying out a really affordable night moisturising cream -

Palmers Moisture Rich Night Cream

Palmers Moisture Rich Night Renewal Cream $10.49

This is part of Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula range and has lots of great skin favourites in it's ingredient base including, Vitamin E (of course), retinol (bring it..), peptide complex (great to see these babies in skin care - they function as moisture binding agents and theoretically aid in skin repair on more of a cellular level), shea butter and aloe!  This cream is quite thick and on application feels rich but very luxurious - I really expected it to feel quite heavy on my skin, especially as I tend to avoid too much product at night, but it absorbs amazingly well and every time I have used this I wake up the following morning, and my skin feels smooth and my pores seem smaller.  Quite impressed with this one - hence why it's on my blog!

So I am ready to sit down and watch whatever horrific, soul destroying installments GoT has lined up (sob - watched the last episode a few nights ago..) but there is one thing left to indulge in on a cold winters night...

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Treatment

Lanolips $15.95

The story behind the formation of this product and brand is quite endearing - the creator, a woman by the name of Kirsten Carriol spent her childhood on her grandfather's sheep farm in South Australia.  Her father, a DNA scientists, was a big advocate for natural products, and in many interviews she reports, that as children whenever they had dry lips or skin, their father would always reach for the trusty lanolin.  Now for those who don't know, Lanolin is a natural substance found on the coats of sheep - it's this Lanolin which keeps the sheeps fleece protected and dry in the elements.  It used to be purchased as a yellow, sticky, smelly substance and Kirsten set out to transform this amazing product into something that would be more consumer friendly - and what an amazing job she did.  She developed Medical grade Lanolin - it was completely odourless, colourless and non sticky and from there - she developed the product into the Lanolips brand you can buy around the world today.  The great thing about this product is that it holds up to 400% it's weight in moisture, and it's semi - permeable which allows the lips to self hydrate from within.  It's so effective and versatile it has attained somewhat of a beauty cult status around the world.

Thank you for reading my blog - and remember if you enjoy my take on the beauty world that is taking us by storm, share it on facebook, subscribe to my blog or just talk to your friends about it.  I would just like to re-iterate that I write this blog in my spare time, because I genuinely get excited when I use products that work - and I love getting recommendations for me to try new things.  So please drop me a line, or jot something in the comment box if you have used a product that you think would change my life.

And now - time for a hot chocolate and a new tv show to take my mind off the Game of Thrones debacle...Season 3 of Orange is the New Black me thinks!

Thanks again,

Crystelle xx