Mobile Beauty with Uspaah

While I love nothing more than a professional salon treatment, there’s nothing worse than having to rush or travel halfway across London to make it to your appointment only to be a flustered mess when you’re done – especially if you’re caught in the rain on the way back!

Uspaah takes the hassle out of beauty treatments as its team of therapists come to you. They deliver a range of treatments from massages to nails, hair styling, makeup, facials and even spray tans. You don’t need any equipment as they bring everything along with them.

I recently had a day off work so decided to have a life admin day catching up on some emails and blog posts. While I desperately needed to get my nails done, and wanted to treat myself, I didn’t want to take a big chunk out of my day travelling to the salon or get distracted afterwards.

I had heard a lot about mobile beauty treatments so decided to give it a go myself and booked in for a Shellac manicure using Uspaah.

Rush Hair Lewisham

When it comes to getting my hair cut I have never found one hairdresser I can stick with and instead tend to opt for reputable salon brands that I know I can trust. I've had great experiences with Rush Hair Salons before and the team always work wonders on my hair (they opened a new salon in Holborn last year and I went for the most beautiful blowdry at their flagship salon in Piccadilly) so when I had a day off this week I paid a visit to their Lewisham branch for a much-needed trip.

My stylist, Vicky, was great and spent time chatting through what I was looking for and how I like my hair styled before we got started and explained exactly how much would be cut off the length of my hair.

The salon itself is really bright and airy and simple touches like the pretty plants and comfy cushions make you feel so relaxed as soon as you walk in. Rush also add lovely extra touches like bringing you a drink on a tray with complementary Lindt chocolates and some pretzel bites!

After a lovely hairwash including a relaxing head massage Vicky used a heat protecting lotion from Kerastasse, which smelt amazing!

I have neglected my hair quite a lot recently and not had it cut since the summer (never a good idea! Regular trims are a must!) so a fair bit needed to come off the lengths and it immediately felt so much healthier, lighter and bouncier after being trimmed and tidied up. Finally it was styled beautifully with curling tongs and I left feeling fabulous with soft, bouncy waves!

Rush can do everything from haircuts to styling (hair up, GHD styling or blowdrys), colouring and mask treatments. A regular cut & blowdry with a stylist starts from £44 for women and £32 for men, however, if you recommend a friend they will get 50% off their first treatment and you will also receive a 50% off voucher.

For further details or to find your nearest salon visit www.rush.co.uk

*Post contains PR Samples

Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara

I was so excited when I found out about the launch of Urban Decay's Troublemaker mascara last year. The bright packaging immediately caught my eye and the mascara made some bold claims - promising lashes with 13.7 times the volume that can withstand pretty much anything (even sex!)

Troublemaker comes with a £19.50 price tag and is said to volumise and lengthen lashes as it separates, while the custom brush grabs onto lashes and curls as it coats - resulting in thicker, longer and fanned out looking lashes.

Pixi Beauty Rose Essence Collection

Quite possibly the prettiest parcel to drop through my letterbox was this beautiful collection from Pixi Beauty shortly before Christmas. Pixi have got it spot on with their products and as someone who is still fairly new to the brand I am loving discovering and trying out all their different skincare and makeup.

I was very kindly sent this beautiful box which is locked with a rose gold padlock. It is designed like a secret story book and once opened it says 'Open to reveal the key to glowing skin' followed by a skincare fairytale.

The left hand side reveals two of Pixi's Skin Treats - Rose Caviar Essence and Rose Flash Balm. As you can see there is a pretty, pink rose theme throughout this collection. Rose Hip and Rose Flower Oils are popular skincare ingredients to soften, moisturise and protect skin.

Rose Caviar Essence reminds me of a gel/water-based moisturiser and is designed to brighten, nourish and hydrate. Simply pop a coin-sized amount on to the skin after cleansing and toning and it melts into the skin. It is a lovely floral scent and feels really comforting. It also contains natural oils that soften and tone the skin. (£26).

The Rose Flash Balm is very similar to Clarins' and Elemis' versions of flash balm and is a three in one multi-use product that is both a primer, moisturiser and a hydrating mask. I love these types of products and they are real hero products for my delicate skin. I've been keeping it by the side of my bed so I can pop it on at night, and if my skin is particularly dry in the mornings I'll use it under foundation. I have found this really works and helps to brighten my skin.

On the other side of the collection are the Pixi Matte Last Liquid Lipsticks. I hadn't actually seen these before so was really excited to give them a go. There are five in total and the colour options are just beautiful. They range from neutral to very soft pinky / purpley shades and come with a Petal-shaped applicator to help apply the lipsticks evenly. Despite the colours being neutral shades they are very highly pigmented and I find just one sweep of the applicator instantly makes a bold, lasting impression. The colours also set very quickly and dry almost instantly without budging throughout the day!

The five shades are: Au Naturelle, Matte Beige, Pastel Petal, Really Rose and Evening Rose. Each lipstick costs £16.

*Post contains PR Samples

La Roche Posay Winter Skincare

Is there anything worse than dry, uncomfortable and troublesome skin as soon as the cold weather hits? 

If you find your skin breaks out a lot in cold weather, this could actually be down to dryness, not oily skin. When your skin is dry it starts over-producing oil to try and compensate, so you can be left with spots or greasy skin. 

La Roche Posay has recently launched some new skincare products and added to their best-selling ranges, which will help combat any skin troubles.

Toleriane Ultra Overnight Care is an overnight moisturiser for particularly sensitive or allergy-prone skin. I have been using it daily for months and LOVE it. It is designed to hydrate and reduce skin sensitive overnight - which is great for skin that is prone to dryness, tightness, redness or itchiness. Not only does it work wonders in the winter when my skin is dry, but in summer I can often get bad hayfever and my skin becomes uncomfortable so I can't wait to use it then too. (£17.50)

La Roche Posay has also added to its Effaclar range, which is suited to oily and blemish prone skin... you may have heard of Effaclar Duo, which is a great blemish treatment. Effaclar Duo [+] Unifiant is a spot treatment that corrects and hydrates skin for clearer skin in four weeks. This new take on the product is tinted so also provides coverage and works as a great base. Despite being designed for younger and blemish-prone skin it is also suitable for sensitive skin so won't dry it out too much.

The new Effaclar Purifying Clay Mask is also a great product for oily skin. It works to unclog pores, control shine and provide a deep cleanse to remove impurities. The clay dries on the skin and absorbs any sebum and impurities as well as preventing blackheads. As my skin is very dry and luckily I haven't had too many breakouts recently I find this is a little strong for my skin, however, I will be using it as a spot treatment in future.

*Post contains PR Samples

MissGuided Babe Power Perfume

Very rarely do I come across a perfume I truly love and can wear everyday. I find most of the ones I try are often too heavy and empowering and I end up with a headache after wearing them.

That was until MissGuided launched its debut perfume, BABE POWER, last year. I’m often a little wary of shops launching their own scents, as they aren’t your “traditional” perfume brand, but was so surprised when I came across this one…