My Recent Rose Obsession

Have you ever noticed yourself going through a Beauty Phase? I've had my colourful eyeshadow phase and my bold-boardering-on-black lipstick phase and now? I'm apparently having my rose-in-everything phase. I know that a rose scent isn't for everyone, but it is definitely for me and so I thought I'd spend a little while today talking about my top 5 rose scented products.

Something I've been enjoying skincare wise for a long time is facial mists, and I remember mentioning the Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist when I first received the sample size of it at Beauty Chat Live. While I don't use facial mists every night and recently when I want a mist I've been reaching for La Roche Posay Serozinc a lot for it's anti-blemish properties, I do really enjoy rosewater sprays and find them super refreshing, particularly now that the weather's warming up. Since then I've tried a few more rosewater type products and this one still reins supreme. In fact, I can see myself needing the full size bottle soon.

It makes me slightly sad to say that Space NK's Smoky Rose Candle has become a favourite of mine recently, mainly because I don't have an awful lot left and it seems to have been limited edition as I can't find it on the website anywhere. It's just exactly how the name suggests, a rose scent with a hint of smokiness to it that makes it a lovely room fragrance. It smells really strong in the candle but when it burns it just has a pleasantly "there" scent that isn't overpowering at all.

On the same lines of that slightly more mature rose scent, a body product I've been enjoying is the Renewing Rose Body Cream by Aromatherapy Associates. It's a lovely light body cream that ha a soft and subtle rose scent to it that isn't too heavy or too sweet. Out of all the products I'm mentioning in this post this is what I would call the truest rose scent. It's not my every-day body cream just because it's quite indulgently priced, but it's a treat and do I love it? Yes I do.

My budget rose scented pick is the Una Brennan Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask. It goes onto the skin like a standard face cream but takes a little while to sink it. I'd call it a high-street alternative to the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, similar to that product, the Una Brennan can be left on overnight or if you just want a quick hit of hydration you can leave it on for 5-20 minutes and then remove with a damp wash cloth.

And finally the creme de la creme of rose products: the MV Organics Rose Plus Booster. It's a luxurious sweet rose scented facial oil and it's lovely for morning or night. It sinks into the skin nicely and leaves the skin feeling hydrated and moisturised but not greasy. Works well under makeup or overnight and the scent just ramps up the luxury factor even more. The only downside? The price. But I love it so much that I can deal with the hefty price tag.

3 Ways to Valentines Day - The Night In

So with Valentines day being just around the corner, I thought I'd indulge the holiday of romance with a 3-post-feast with three ideas for how you may choose to spend your Valentines, whether you're attached or indifferent. Round one? The Night In.

I thought I'd kick this Valentines series off with my personal favourite option (and the option that me and my other half will be enjoying this year) the night in. The night in is a versatile one, and can be enjoyed equally with or without company (but we'll not mention that to the boyfriend of course) simply by switching out a few things.

The night alone is an easy one. A hot bath, a good book, an indulgent skincare routine and maybe a film before bed and you can consider yourself a very lucky lady. I'd personally kick things off by running a hot bath and adding in a few drops of the Aromatherapy Associates Relax Deep Bath and Shower Oil, I got the miniatures set for Christmas (thanks mum!) and it is seriously lush. If you're a bubble-bath girl Lush's French Kiss is nice for an early night and their The Comforter is always a goodie. I'll cleanse pre-bath and then slap on the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask.

Once I've dried off I give myself a good coating in Laura Mercier Ambre Vanillé Soufflé Body Créme (which smells seriously stunning) and give my feet some love with Heel Genius by Soap & Glory before moving on to skin. Since I've already cleansed and rinsed off my mask, I give myself a quick spritz with Omoravicza Queen of Hungary Mist (a pricey product that I have a mini of and use fairly sparingly as a treat) and massage in some MV Organics Rose Plus Booster (which you can pick up at a slightly less ridiculous price on Cult Beauty if you wait for the offers).

So with skin all seen to, I hop into bed, put on a film (for a romance I'd recommend The Fault in Our Stars or if you're more of an action girl and you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, you're seriously missing out). When I'm ready to actually sleep, I give my bed a few sprays with the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and drift off in minutes.

Company doesn't mean you can't have a pamper though, my boyfriend for one knows that I'm going to be a good 5-10 minutes in the bathroom in the evening and would interrupt my sacred skincare routine at his own risk. A quick alteration for a night-in for two would be to do your skincare early. Either before you meet-up with your other half or shortly after they arrive (I'm sure they can entertain themselves for 10 minutes), go for a quick mask option like Ren's Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial, or an overnight offering like the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, order take-out (we're having domino's), and either go for a film option or, if you're in for the long haul and you're anything like my partner and I, go for a TV-snowball-session option - we've recently finished season two of Hannibal and are coming up to the end of American Horror Story - Freakshow.