#treatyourselftuesday - cleaning up my act

With hubs being away three nights a week and Ethan in a bit of a fussy stage at night-time, I really have struggled to find time for myself. As soon as Ethan is finally in bed, after several attempts, the best part of the evening is over and with an early start the next morning, I need to get some shut-eye where I can. 

So, my 'me time' has dwindled to next to nothing and my skin care regime is sporadic at best. I'm good in the mornings but at night time, I've just let things slip.

I keep saying it, but I really need to clean up my act and following an exclusive briefing with The Body Shop at #midsblogmeet, I am now armed with some new products and tools of the trade that will hopefully give me the boost I need and help me achieve beautiful skin, no matter how many zzz's I've caught.

First up, the new Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter (RRP: £12). Now doesn't that sound divine? It claims to leave your skin as soft as a petal and having put this to the test, I can honestly say that it does.

It's like a giant tub of lip balm, and all you need to do is rub your fingers over the top of the butter to get some of the product, before applying this to your dry, uncleansed skin in soft, circular movements.

Applying the cleansing butter - I've kept this pic small as I don't
want to scare you with my make up free face!

It's similar to coconut oil in that you don't need a lot and it easily melts into your skin. It's a really nice experience as the butter is so soft and soothing, and you just wipe it away with a warm muslin cloth or a splash of water.

My skin felt super clean and soft to the touch, with no irritation or redness and certainly no signs of make up left. 

Love, love, love this - it's my new favourite cleanser and I'm sure it's going to last me a long, long time.

As another part of my cleansing routine, I'm planning on using this Vitamin C microdermabrasion wash (RRP: £13), pictured top right, twice a week. I've had this for a while and I can really feel the difference when I use it. The grains are really small so it doesn't feel harsh, but is still effective and I swear, after using the skin reviver (RRP: £14), my face was left with a healthy glow.

I have been a big fan of muslin cleansing cloths (RRP: £2.50) for a long while now so this is another staple of my skincare routine. The facial brush (RRP: £4) pictured above is great for when your skin needs a really good clean and for getting those scrubs into every pore, buffing away any nasty impurities or dead skin cells. It's also supposed to be good for boosting radiance and whilst I'd recommend using is very gently or for a short period of time if you have sensitive skin, it does the trick - it boosts blood flow to the skin surface and your face is left feeling clean and smooth. 

The last tool pictured above is something I've never tried before but The Body Shop team recommended it for making the most of my moisturier. This mini facial massager (RRP: £6) gives a gentle but effective deep massage of your face and helps to make sure all your serums and moisturieser are fully absorbed. You simply roll it up and down your face in a vertical direction for a few minutes and voila - radiant skin!

I am going to add this to my nightly routine so even if I am in bed at 9pm watching Netflix on my ipad, I'm still giving myself a treat!