Merumaya

2014 was an experimental year for skincare, as I'd fallen into a bit of a rut of sticking with my tried and tested, safe brands such as Burt's Bees and Weleda. But oh, it's exciting when you discover a new brand which quickly makes its way into your daily skin rituals, isn't it?

That's exactly what I have with the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm which has been part of my daily ritual for the best part of three months. What I love is that a small amount of this gorgeously scented balm rubs in like a face oil and turns into a milky lotion when a little water is added.  I give my face a quick swipe with a muslin cloth and my makeup just comes clean off- lip stick, mascara, the lot! With none of that tight feeling that many face cleansers cause. 

The Skin Brightening Exfoliating Peel is the first I have ever tried, and to be honest I think it's probably a bit too early for my twenty five year old face to be meddling with skin peels. It's different for everyone but I haven't noticed the slightest change in my skin tone with regular use. The first time I applied it, I had the worst face reaction causing a bit of a dramatic rash to appear, but with perseverance my skin got used to it. It also stings for the first minute. A lot. I'm going to give it to a willing guinea pig with a different skin type and update you.
It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has used the peel before, or can recommend another one!

Hello lovelies, I hope you're enjoying a nice Christmas break! I've got two weeks off work so I'm indulging in so much mulled wine and cake. It feels strange having the time to actually relax and pick a book up! A new release I'd been eyeing up for a while was 'How to be Parisian wherever you are' which I treated myself to while on an epic search for my little brother's Christmas present. The book was written by four French friends who offer little snippets of advice on how to handle every day life and affairs of the heart. It is split into short sections, some which are scenarios for the every day Parisian woman; others offered more as pointers such as 'a mother's advice on love' and 'the ideal man'. Like some of the reviews point out, there are quite a few ridiculous parts to it (ie, the typical French woman "randomly exclaims 'this is the most wonderful day of my life") and it hasn't got much substance, in fact you could finish the book in an hour, but it certainly made me laugh which has to be a good thing! It's sassy, fun and got me thinking about how I could channel some of the nonchalant Parisian attitude to my own life.

Overall it's a nice coffee table book or stocking filler. I got mine from the Urban Outfitters (RRP £16.99), but you can probably get it a little cheaper off Amazon.