# 131 This Works Week

I've been making mental notes of all the good stuff all busy working week long, and really must get it down on this page before it all disappears into backlog oblivion. So, there's been a spate of new things [not necessarily new to the market, but new to my bathroom cabinet] of late, and I'm keen to share them with you, because it's been a really really good run, with ne'er a dodgy pot among the lot [I seem to be rhyming a lot today wouldn't you say?]...

Anywho, here's the stuff that's caught my attention:

Creme de la Mer Body Creme. Now, I feel a little bit bad bigging this one up. It's really really expensive, and, well, it already receives a hell of a lot of press coverage & between you and me, I get most excited by those secret finds that are ridiculously reasonable in price but just extraordinary in practice. But, I'm afraid, this one really is worth raving about. I've been using it on arms, thighs, calves and shoulders for 3 weeks [everywhere else is being subjected to lashings & lashings of Stretch Mark Oil - and at 36 weeks, not a mark to be seen, thank gawd - thanks Mama Mio and ESPA!]. What it has done to my skin really is rather remarkable. It's given it a silky stocking feel - it's not sticky or clammy & the product absorbs instantaneously, but over the days, it's just evened out the tone & texture of my skin, leaving it more, well, velvety than I've ever known it. Now, the main problem is, I love it so much that I cannot bear to finish it, because, c'mon peeps, what mother-to-be who's just spent over a grand on baby-ware can afford to blow over £100 on a new tube? I'd keel over with guilt before I forked out the cash, so, for the time being, I'll savour every last squeeze of this stuff & should my skin freak out once it's finished, well, it'll just have to get over it...

Clinique All About Eyes Serum. Perhaps it's the hefty workload or homely to-do-list, but I've been a wee bit skin-delinquent of late - not spending quite so much time on the ol' cleanse & massage as normal - and the Clarisonic's been sat in its cradle for 3 weeks untouched, which is stupid because it actually saves me time - I just can't seem to be bothered to take it from the bedroom to the bathroom when I'm ready to wash my face. LA-HA-ZY right?! Anyway, the eye creams I was trialling [one from Nia24 and one from Emma Hardie], were all ab fab - nothing bad to report really, but I just began to tire of the tap-tap and the pat-pat and the general unscrewing of lids etc etc. God, what IS wrong with me? So, after a Clinique Blogger's Evening a few weeks back I felt it only right to add a bit of the C-word to my beauty routine, and I popped this rollerball-style product into my fridge overnight with the intention of trying it in the morning. Well, what do you know -that was 3 weeks ago and I'm using it day and night, just the quickest and simplest of swipes from outer to inner eye, a simple pat with the ring finger, and I'm done. Eyes do not look any brighter, but I've not been as puffy as I am prone to [and I've gone without a lot of sleep lately!]. The fine lines brought on by dehydration have been kept in check too - and I'm realising that lightweight serums are better than nourishing creams when the main concern is not yet wrinkles. So, yah, I like this one a lot - I just keep forgetting to put it back in the fridge, which isn't actually the end of the world because the nifty metallic rollerbally thing stays very cool at all times - a nice soothing wake-up call when you've slept through the alarm as I have 3 times this week.

Rituals Yin Organic White Lotus & Yi Yi Ren Calming Bed & Body Mist. Wow, now isn't that a mouthful! This came in today's post and the bag it came in smelt so divine that I had to fish through the products, one by one, until I rooted out the culprit. I've been spraying it in my study all day [I know, it's meant for bed, but hey, anything that helps me take deep breaths while on deadline is going to be transplanted] - and I really really like the slightly old-fashioned, mum's house, innocuous soap-and-water, white-petalled-flower scent of it. It's making me smile, a lot, and for that I am thankful. I'm not sure I'd wear it upon my person, but as far as room scents go, this is so much cleaner and less obtrusive than the musky, sandalwoody, jasmine notes I'm so often drawn to. The problem with these ones though is that you can't really escape the 'scentyness' of them - whereas the Rituals one could pass for fresh laundry or babies post-bathtime, in the way that it is very natural and quiet. Yes, a new favourite.

Aldo Coppola Hair Care Range - for Hennaed hair - having been Copollad last week [and, I hate to admit, having a bit of a struggle with my new, much shorter, much messier, much choppier do], I am not having the same teething problems with the AC range of haircare which the lovely salon peeps sent home for me to try. The Henna shampoo - which protects all those lovely glinting highlights my hair is now imbued with - and Henna Highlighting Leave-In Conditioner, are absolutely fab. My hair is feather-soft, very very shiny, and scalp utterly untraumatised [there are no sulphates or other harsh surfactants in the range]. I shall certainly persevere with the hair, but with the haircare - well, I'm a wholehearted convert.

Next up on the testing block: Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment Oil and Hydrating Styling Creme - let's see if these latest cult beauty buys make this wayward mane of mine any easier to bring back to the beautiful creation which I left Coppola's salon with... sleek curls, bouncy bangs and a rush of unabashed root-lift... if ONLY I'd taken a picture!