Relaxation time

It makes a very pleasant change to be writing this blog post at a sociable hour. I will confess that I am writing this blog post sitting on the sofa, under a large blanket, with a lovely cup of tea and eating two of my favourite naughties, After Eights and Terry's Chocolate Orange. Can life get any better?

Finding time in the week to relax, unwind and recharge the batteries can be really difficult. For me there are simply not enough hours in the day and relaxation generally has to wait for holidays. But the festive season is a good time to relax, pamper yourself and unwind. 

Today I thought I would share some of my pampering habbits. Relaxation time for me always has to start with running a wonderful bath.Given the choice I will always opt for a nice warm bath over a shower any day. I don't often have the time however to have a nice relaxing bath, but when I do I like to go all out with nice candles and bath products. 

Not only do lush products smell divine they also make a wonderfully pretty bath. Favourites have the be the above and I will be sad when Christmas is over and the Lush Pud and Northern Lights will disappear for another year. 

Twilight Bath Bomb £3.35 

Luxury Lush Pud £3.50 

Northern Lights £3.50

Another firm favourite is Chanel No5 Bath Oil. 

As with any bath oil it is important to gently shake the bottle to mix the oil up. Only a few drops of the pink oil is needed, pour under warm water and a cloudy sweet flowery aroma is released. It does smell true to its Chanel No5 (£65) roots and is wonderfully calming and nice to relax in. Although expensive this little bottle has lasted for over a year. 

There are times when my actual body and muscles need a calming and relaxing scent. Bath salts are perfect for this and Ila have some of the best spa products I have tried. 

Bath oil for glowing radiance £51
Bath Salts for inner peace £49 

I also light some wonderful candles to go around the bath so the main light can go off. 

Another important ingredient to any bath is a relaxing face mask. 

A selection of my favourite face masks are below. 

Chanel moisturizing face mask £39

Clarins mask £35

Dermalogica moisturizing face mask 
£29.70

Hydrating face mask

H M face mask £0.99

Rodial hydrating mask £39

Face Cleanser £3.83 

Rodial face mask £75

Hydrating face mask £11.99

Clay face mask

Kiehl s moisturizing face mask £28

Exfoliating mask

Origins hydrating facial mask £30

Origins facial mask £23

Once the face mask is done I like to pamper and bring back to life the rest of my skin, the best way to do this is with a scrub. Favourite has to be the Sanctuary gentle polish body scrub £5.50. 

This smells divine and helps to remove all the dead skin. Favourite washes for the bath have to be...

Sanctuary cleansing Burst Body Wash £5.50 and Soap and Glory Body wash £6.50. 

After a while I begin to look like a shrivelled prune so am forced to have to get out. The pampering doesn't stop there however. Moisturising your body, hands and feet is just as important and they are often the bits that get forgotten. Favourites have to be...

Sanctuary Luxurious Body Butter £10.

Sanctuary Intensive Heel Balm £7.50 and Sanctuary Velvety Hand Cream £5.10.

If your feet need a good moisturise the best thing to do is slap on some intensive heel balm and leave a pair of socks on over night. You will wake to wonderfully soft feet. 

I like to round of the pampering with a lovely Chai latte or hot chocolate. 

What are your favourite ways to relax? 
Do you have any favourite products to share? 

This is my last post before Christmas, so thank you all for your support and comments this year, it really means a lot. Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.