Some of My New Favourite Things

LUSH

As you know I've been using the 9 to 5 (Matin et Soir) lotion cleanser and I'm still quite pleased with it. Especially when I use it with the Herbalism (Herbalisme), though I have to confess I'm still not pleased overall with Herbalism but I think it's because of my skin type because I use it to exfoliate my hands and I love it for that. Plus I got the Love Lettuce (Balancoire) facial mask which is also exfoliating and have been using that for about 2 weeks now. It leaves my face a little red honestly, but if I use the 9 to 5 to clean my face beforehand, then apply the Love Lettuce mask, leave it so that it's still damp, rinse with coolish water, and then recleanse my face with the 9 to 5 again my skin feels amazing.

Now I also tried the Coco Lotion because they gave me a sample and while I do like the moisture it gives to my skin because it's very hydrating and yet light - I hate the smell. I'm going to ask for a sample of the Karma Kreme next time, but I'm really pleased overall with Lush's products. I just wish they were a little less fragrant.

One added benefit of the Love Lettuce mask? It calms mosquito bites. This alone makes it worth buying in my book. Within seconds the itch was gone.

KLORANE

Klorane's Mink Oil Shampoo and Mink Oil Nourishing Conditioning Balm are my new favourite shampoo and conditioner. Since my hair is fairly long now (to the bottom of my back), it's fairly dry and prone to tangle. I bought this because I'd tried Klorane's mango butter shampoo and conditioning balm and was impressed with some of the results, but it still left my hair a little dry. I decided to give the brand another chance and am I pleased I did. My hair felt as clean and soft and well-moisturised as if I'd just been to the salon and all I did was wash, condition, brush, and let air dry.

Now the one thing I can say against it is it's not recommended for every day use. I don't know how often you wash your hair, but I find washing my hair every 3 days works best for me. Since they recommend 2 intensive treatments with the Milk Oil Shampoo and one regular wash per week, it works out perfectly for me, but if you like to wash your hair more often, you might want to try their Oat Milk Shampoo for every day use.

The website for Klorane has a great guide as well to help you better chose what suits your hair type and if you don't know your hair type they even have a little quiz where you can chose what's your hair concern and they'll make recommendations for you.

My suggestions based on choosing repair & strengthen were for the Mango Butter (repair) and Quinine B (strength) because I don't think the Mink Oil is advertised on the US site. Here are some Google shopping results to get you started in case you'd like to track it down.

Celebrities and stylists and make up artists swear by Klorane's Dry Shampoo, and I agree. As far as dry shampoos go, Klorane's is a great choice. I always brought it with me when I went backpacking along with Bed Head's Leave In Conditioner spray - not to look great, but to keep my hair clean and protect it from damage.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Aguilera, and Sarah Jessica Parker swear by it. As do the girls at French Vogue.

But if you have the same hair issues as  me - longish hair, split ends, thick, coarse, dry - the Mink Oil Shampoo & Balm are the way to go.

NUXE

Nuxe's Huile Prodigieuse is a dream product. I use it usually from fall - spring as in summer my skin isn't all that dry. I like to use it on my hands and neck as well as on my face once a week as a sort of "treatment". It's amazing for feet too. I also use it as a hair treatment by rubbing it through the ends of my hair and wearing my hair up for the day and washing normally later. If you own either the Bliss hand or foot gloves, this works amazingly well with those as well. If you don't own the Bliss hand and foot gloves it's time to invest. Once a week and your hands and feet with be perfectly hydrated. If only they had something similar for the face and neck.

I also swear by Nuxe's hand lotion. It's perfect for carrying around to apply during the day.

Here's a few other things that might not be available outside of France, but are worth a look.

Roger&Gallet - their perfumes are becoming more and more impressive and cost half of what designer perfumes cost. I have a friend who wears a perfume of theirs and I'm always intrigued. You can find their perfumes in nicer Parisian pharmacies or Sephora.

Annick Goutal - I don't know what it is but whenever someone is wearing an Annick Goutal perfume I love it. There's this workshop you can do at their Paris Avenue Victor Hugo boutique on Mondays and Tuesday. The cost is 25,00 euros, which can be put towards the cost of a perfume (min. 80,00 euros)purchased on the same day. Though I suspect with the right amount of interest, you could probably get the same sort of service in the boutique without spending 25,00 euros as most of the Annick Goutal perfumes aren't 80,00 euros and save yourself a little money.

Actually I find the idea of proposing it as a gift kind of stupid as I'm sure they must try and sell something in the process and that wouldn't be so fun for the person you sent to be possibly pressured into a purchase. I think I'll need to pop by the boutique (which I never went to when I lived just around the corner because I'm stupid) to see what it's like.

If you'd like to buy Annick Goutal perfumes for a cause, stop by MERCI the charity shop on Boulevard Beaumarchais (Filles du Calvaire) where 4 of the signature Goutal scents are available at 40% off the regular cost and for a good cause too!

Doc Martens

I had a few pairs of Doc Martens back when I was in my teens, but what I'm nostalgic for is my first pair of Docs - the 30th anniversary edition that was sent to me by a boy I was dating from Ireland. They arrived 2 sizes too big because I didn't think about what a 37 was in UK sizing, but I still wore them until I got myself a pair that was the proper size. Like many of us who were teens in the grunge era, we probably put them away until they came back last year (as the 90's seems to be doing in fashion now).

The other day my pseudo little sister, 18 years old, showed up to visit me wearing a pair of patent leather Docs and the urge came over me. I went to the Doc Marten store at Les Halles and tried them on. I must be getting old because I don't remember them feeling like they needed so much breaking in, even though I also remember having a friend run over a green pair with his car...

I decided in the end that I didn't want the original 1460's and I didn't want them in patent leather either. I'm going with the Pascal because I like the slight gloss of the leather. I'm going to buy them from the boutique and start breaking them in immediately, though I'll also be bringing other shoes, band-aids, and extra pairs of socks with me. I want to break them in before Amsterdam because one thing I realised (when I pulled a muscle) last time was that I need good walking shoes from Amsterdam.

I figure since I want to pack light I could bring Docs and lots of black clothes so I can just mix and match. I hate when I'm packing to leave from somewhere and I realise how many things I packed but didn't wear. This time I'm packing to have plenty of extra room in my suitcase because I can always shop and do laundry while I'm away.

Just over two weeks to break in a pair of Doc Martens... I suppose it can be done. Maybe I can get my neighbour to run over them with his car...

Is there anything you absolutely love right now? Or crave?