October Favourites | 2021

*Any previously gifted items/ relations with companies will be disclosed with a * and their relationship.

"I swear I will have my last two favourites posts of the year up on time before the mid of the following months"... and yet here we are, coming too the end of November. Okay, so I was fully hoping I'd be sharing this way before today but, of which I'm about to say I feel as though I've yapped on about to just about everyone by now, come end of October, and if you read my last Halloween posts you might be aware, I was quite unwell and very much out of action for a bit. Since that I feel like I've completely dropped the ball with everything, life, blog and everything-in-between-wise due to being out of service, and it has taken me some time to catch back up with everything again! So nevertheless, I did not anticipate on being so unwell come the end of the month and start of November. Nonetheless however, there was a right lot I've been loving through the month of October and I have been waiting with brimming anticipation to waffle on about all the things that have been knocking my socks of this October in this monthly favourites post. October very much seemed to be the month of skincare and all things beauty and, as you may or may not be able to tell, that makes me very happy!

Here's what I've been loving this October. 

...

The Body Shop Vanilla Pumpkin Body Butter

Going back to basics with my skincare, which I'll talk more about with my next favourites, I paid a much needed visit to The Body Shop this October. Little did I know that'd be my last visit to our old Liverpool store before their huge eco renovations! With that being said, they had some blinding offers on the Vanilla Pumpkin range as I'm guessing the stock needed to find a home before the store closed for the rest of October for the renovation. Paired with that, I've been wanting to try the Vanilla Pumpkin range for absolutely ages now. It has always just sounded a dream to me and right up my alley of sweet-scented-liking! As you might know from previous posts and beauty rambles, The Body Shop's Body Butters are some of my most favourite beauty products, I absolutely adore them, and if you read my Evening With The Body Shop blog post last year you'll know all The Body Shop Body Butters have been gradually switching to the new vegan formula, which I've have been waiting for with great excitement. So with a bloody good deal on (I think I got this full sized Vanilla Pumpkin Body Butter for £10!), my long-awaiting desire to try the Vanilla Pumpkin range and my everlasting love for The Body Shop's body butters, which I can now enjoy to my hearts content being vegan-friendly, I just could not say no to picking up this gem in a tub.

And a gem in a tub it was!

As I said, I've been a long time fan of The Body Shop's Body Butters. With the switch to the new vegan formula they are a little lighter and a little more slippy than there old, traditional beeswax-y butter texture but still just as decedent a dream! It's been a sheer joy to lather myself up with this pumpkin delight each morning, leaving me smelling as sweet as a pumpkin pie and as plump as a lil Autumn pumpkin! The Vanilla Pumpkin scent is just like the dreamiest iced fondant pumpkin cake you could ever imagine. I literally felt like a Mr Kipling pumpkin French Fancy every day I wore this. It worked wonders as a moisturiser and just left my skin in a locked in state of buttery goodness throughout the day! 10/10 loved and I can't wait to try more of the classic Body Butters now they've gone vegan!

The Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner

To the face now and on the topic of going back to basics, I've recently started to branch out a little further into incorporating acids into my daily skincare routine. At current I've gone for some daily beta hydroxy acid (BHA) and prior to the plunge, as I've always been quite nervous of trying out acids on my skin (they just sound daunting!), I asked my likewise beauty-obsessed Twitter friends if they'd recommend keeping it simple and nourishing on the rest of the skincare front or branch out to an alpha hyroxy acid (AHA) based toner too. I honestly had no clue and, as I say, I really have put off the thought of trying acids in my skincare routine for such a long time since they've been around for quite some time now as I've always just been way too scared it will end in disaster with me and my skin. So after the Twitter poll verdict and a little bit of a meander and experiment with a few different daily skincare bits for the past few months, I decided to go back to my old faithful Aloe skincare routine and Aloe Calming Toner. I'm so glad I switched back to The Body Shop Aloe Toner after starting using the BHA serum as I feel like it's definitely brought back that nourishing balance that the BHA can just take away a smidge with drying. I forgot how good this toner really is! Going back to it, it just reminded me how nicely The Body Shop Aloe Toner gives that lock-in of plumpness and moisture at the end of your cleansing routine and helps to eliminate any dryness or slight squeaky clean feeling post-cleanse. Since using the Aloe Toner again my skin overall feels a lot calmer, happier and nourished and it has just given my skin that lovely happy, healthy glow back again. I would 10/10 recommend this toner to anyone! It is pretty much scentless and is just so utterly soothing and calming to sensitive skin, whilst being a bottle of pure skin plumping nourishment. Nourishing skincare is NOT just for dry skin - it's so important for all skin types and looking after that happy balance, which is crucial for those who are acne prone like myself.

The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Night Cream

Paired with the Aloe Toner and running low on my at-current night cream, I decided to go back to The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Night Cream too whilst introducing acids into my skincare routine. From first use it has just been a dream to get back into using this pot of goodness and my skin feels very much so dreamy in the mornings after using it again too! I find that the Aloe Night Cream has a nice lipid-y (fatty) and thicker texture, that isn't greasy in anyway but just adds the most wonderfully calming and nourishing glaze to my ol' dermis. Whenever I apply it I just feel this overwhelmingly "ahhhh" feeling and I have just been loving going back to and thoroughly enjoying using this cream again in October (as has my skin by the looks of things!).

The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream

Paired with that and aptly waiting in the back of my skincare draw for when my current day cream ran out was The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream and surprise, surprise, I've been bloody loving it! So likewise I have used this before in my old Aloe skincare routine The Body Shop Liverpool One helped tailor for me. The Aloe Day Cream is like a airy light whipped version on the night cream, again with that rich lipid-like texture but with an air-like weightlessness to it and silky smooth feel. Not only does it give my skin the most lovely nourishment and all round goodness and looking after, it once again amazed me how quickly it absorbs and non-greasy it is, yet without disappearing completely and still having a note worthy lasting injection of moisturisation to my skin. It is honestly magic (well I believe so!). It's been really helping me mask a somewhat angry break out I've had this month by just calming my skin after cleansing in the morning and nourishing it enough to heal without being greasy, whilst leaving the surface of my skin in a beautifully smooth state, that makes it the absolute best condition to apply my makeup over and conceal any spots naturally when texture is an issue. 

The Aloe trio strikes again and it's made my skin a dream this October!

Leave-in-waves

Now 2021 has been the year of the bob for me again and up until this point I haven't really needed to or had enough length to do anything with my hair however, we've reached that awkward growth stage and any tricks and bits and bobs for taming my locks have been gratefully received. My bob is at that kind of lob stage we're I don't necessarily need to blow dry and style it every time I wash it now but it can still come off a little bit haphazard and not so helpfully placed. In an effort to start using a bit less heat on my locks now it's a little less Lord Farquaad, I've been going back to my old faithful leave-it-in-braids-while-it-dries and I must say... I've been bloody loving it! I literally wash my hair, allow it to air dry for five or ten minutes then put it up into two Dutch braids and leave it to dry throughout day one in a braided hairstyle and then sleep in it over night. It has actually been working really well with the length of my hair now and I've been absolutely loving the naturally tamed waves it gives me and I've had a few compliments too! It just gives me that little spring in my step and you know something makes you feel good in your skin when it does that too you. 

Think mermaid hair but zero effort and tamed waves with no heat!

I actually had the sweetest experience in work today whereby a young girl with her mum came up to me with the most beaming smile (she was just a sweetheart) and said to me "I really like your hair". I know life is not about how you look and what matters is what's in your heart but it was just the most sweetest, purest thing; she was such a beautiful sweet gem and I felt so honoured that a little girl gave me such a lovely compliment and that I could see myself in her in that I used to look up to older girls like that too when I was a little. The most precious thing and I hope to treasure that memory forever! So yes, leave in waves, another 10/10 from me. I've been absolutely loving them and they've been making me feel a very happy bee when I wear my hair in them.

* gifted | Bumble & Eden Sea Salt & Sage Wax melts

Last but not least, with the cosy season that is Autumn and the month of October, my last favourite of the month is my Bumble & Eden Sea Salt & Sage Wax Melts. Now to disclose, Christine from Bumble & Eden did send me a collection of my favourite Bumble & Eden scents last year as a gesture of super kindness and thanks for including Bumble & Eden (because I bloody love them after finding them at the Liverpool vegan fair!) in my Christmas Wish List | 2020. Nonetheless however, I have long adored Bumble & Eden's candles and wax melts after discovering them at the Live a Better Life vegan fair and have treated myself to goodies from them before! The Sea Salt & Sage was just everything I imaged and a dream, and this October I've been cracking them out again for cosy season. In the packaging they give off the loveliest, cosy Autumn-spiced sweet scent, almost baked-goods-like and then melted they just fill the room with the most beautiful and unique fresh get cosy scent. I know that is probably the worst description of scent but it is really hard to put my finger on just how lovely the notes are. It really does have that fresh, salty sea breeze hint to it yet with cosiness and an Autumn air. Writing this post I've actually just popped my last one into my wax burner so whilst I'm very sad I'm going to enjoy the last of it thoroughly before cracking out some Christmas scents.

And there are my October loves, beauty favourites, skincare gems, hair doing picks of the month and homeware loves fit for the ultimate Autumn ambiance for your cosy corner of choice.

It's been so lovely to finally write again after being unwell and get my spark back for blogging. I've got a few things going on at the moment with some big upgrade decisions on my plate tech-wise and I'm currently eyes a goggled with the Black Friday sales. Likewise, Christmas is approaching faster than I've ever known this year and even being the all singing, all dancing Christmas fanatic that I am, it's coming round way too quickly! So I'm one with the slight stress of finishing Christmas shopping and desperately trying to find a day to start decorating (hopefully I'll be finishing that today!). Until all things Christmas on here though, oh do I have a treat of a blog post coming up for you! All I'm saying is, if you enjoyed my Body Shop blog post I shared last year you're going to love what's to come in this one!

Until my next post (and my November favourites that'll be here before we know it),

Ellie x

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