I was given a jade roller for Christmas last year and used it off and on in the months after without much success. However lately I have been more consistent and now I am obsessed!

What Is A Jade Roller?

By now, a lot of people will have heard of them thanks to Instagram and beauty blogs who picked up on the trend last year. But for those of you who are uninitiated, it’s essentially like a small paint roller made from jade – however, thanks to the recent rise in popularity you can now buy them in almost every stone.

Originating in ancient China, jade rollers have been used for centuries claiming to boost your skin’s appearance and health, while jade itself is said to ward of negative energy…

…And let’s be honest, in 2020 we need every method for wading of negativity that we can get.

How To Use A Jade Roller?

There seems to be a huge debate on this, however, I’ve seen the most results from this method:

• Firstly, it should be said that I only saw noticeable results once I started doing it daily. I do it every morning, and often at night time too.

• If you’re only going to roll once a day I’d recommend doing it in the morning as I honestly don’t think the results would last long enough for them to be visible in the morning if you did it the night before.

• Apply your skin care products as normal then with gentle pressure work the jade roller from the centre of the face outwards and upwards.

• Only roll in one direction (outwards!) When I first started, I would roll the roller backwards and forwards over the same space thinking this would iron out any lines. However, I’ve since learnt that you will not see any results from doing this. Instead I now try to use long sweeping rolls in one direction and go over each section about five times.

• This goes without saying really, but the larger roller can be used almost anywhere on your face whilst the smaller roller is better used around the eyes and mouth. To be honest I still struggle around the eyes sometimes as it does feel slightly weird!

Jade rollers are generally cool to the touch, but many hardcore fans advocate for keeping your roller in a fridge for added benefits. This said, I don’t have a dedicated skin care fridge so I tried it in our main fridge… only for it to end up smelling like garlic. So don’t say you haven’t been warned!

Why Bother Jade Rolling?

Well I guess there is two main reasons, firstly the pressure helps to push fluids towards your lymph nodes which then get to work processing toxins. Meanwhile the coolness of the jade also restricts blood flow in the area.

This in turn helps your skin to seem brighter, whilst reducing any puffiness. Thanks to allergies I often suffer from puffy eyes in the morning – especially during hay fever season – and rolling definitely helps to ease it.

On a more niche note, my allergies also mean I sometimes get areas of redness and the coolness also seems to help calm these. I’ve heard that many people with Rosacea also say it helps with their redness too.

So yeah, in a long winded way that is why I have become a jade roller aficionado! If you have a jade roller I would love to know if you’ve seen any benefits – or on the other hand, why you won’t be using one!

I’d like to tell you that I had a really relaxing evening the last time I used this product, but alas it was not meant to be. I’d had a long bath, poured a glass of wine… and then the rabbits had a massive fight. Apparently they didn’t get the memo that Sunday nights were designed for chilling out. So here I am again, with an hot chocolate and my good mate Germaine.

I was first introduced to Germaine de Capuccini Facial Exfoliator Scrub at The Inside Spa, during a facial and I loved how it felt, and how my skin looked afterwards. In a rambling sort of way, I guess what I am trying to tell you is that I’ve recently rediscovered it, and the love affair is well and truly back on.

I think I’ve mentioned on here before that I suffer from eczema, so it should be no surprise when I say I get really dry skin. It’s not all the time, but if I’ve been mega busy and not taking care of myself enough it can sneak up and no amount of primer can hide it, and trust me I’ve tried.

I tend to use my heavier night-time moisturiser just before using this exfoliator as otherwise I think it may be slightly too harsh for my skin, the sensitive git that it is. A minute or two after you apply the cream, you begin to feel a gentle tingle. This exfoliator feels incredibly fresh as you use it – it makes you believe it’s doing all sort of good things to your skin as well as just freshening you up.

The few days immediately after using this do almost tempt me to go without a proper base, because it makes your skin look so soft and glowy. It makes you look a bit like you’ve woken up with a gentle touch of FaceTune. I’m not a scientist nor am I up-to-date on all the nitty-gritty of the beauty world so I can’t tell you how it works, all I can say is this:

I lovelovelove it. It is powerful enough to do to do the job, whilst still being kind enough that you don’t come away looking like your skin care routine includes nothing but sandpaper.

Of course if you have sensitive skin I’d recommend doing a patch test before slathering it on, but it works well for me.

Say what you want but this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When it comes to beauty, I seem to have regressed. Forget multi-tonal palettes, with the oh-so-subtle but oh-so-important different shades. Unless it’s a special occasion pass me da make up crayons babes.

It was only whilst packing an overnight bag that I realised I’d fallen for make up crayons, but now I’ve realised there is no looking back. There quick, simple and when done with a bit of care their effective enough for an every day look. So without more rambling, here’s a selection of my current faves.

Maybelline Contour V Stick

I got this on a whim after growing a bit bored with the powder contour I had at the time. It was ok, but just ok. As I am normally paler than a pale thing, I wanted to get the light colour way, but as it had sold out I talked myself into the medium option. Nothing says impulse buy like that, right? Anyway now I am on the light version and the only real difference is it is slightly cooler in tone, though  not necessarily darker. You do have to blend it quite a bit to steer clear of just looking a bit grubby but on the whole its perfect for quick cheekbones, and slimmer noses. Slight disclaimer: I do tend to use this in conjunction with another contour kit for evening looks, just to give it a bit more oomph.

Maybelline Brow Drama.

Get me telling you about brows, when I am no where near a Delevingne. But anyway, I snapped this up after a recent threading session. It won’t give you that defined look, but I tend to use it to get the main shape, before creating the angles/filling in with an eyebrow powder and slanted brush.  Luckily the medium one is exactly the same colour as the Tropic brow powder.

Primarks Complete Crayon Lip and Cheek. (In store only)

The shop floor layout people at Primark obviously know what their doing,  put some cheap make up and brushes next to the men’s changing rooms and whaddya know.  A few brushes and a lip/cheek make up crayon has fallen into my basket (and into my heart)

I haven’t tried this as a blusher, but as a lip colour boy is it creamy. They come in a few shades but I love this dusky pink colour, it’s fairly natural but still has enough pigments to make you look put together.

Maybelline Colour Drama

From creamy pinks, to punchy brights. These are not the creamiest dreamiest of things admittedly. They are by no means bad to apply but it doesn’t feel exactly luxurious shall we say. They do however last a long bloody time. Even when I have a billion cups of tea it doesn’t budge. Well it does – they are brilliant at leaving their mark on a white mug – but your lips still remain the centre of attention.

I may be twenty-five but colouring pencils still have a special place in my heart, especially when they are b0und for my face it seems.

When I wrote the draft for this  body image blog post, I was sat round the pool in a glittering bronze bikini, my hair had been quickly pulled up into a messy bun and the only makeup I was wearing was lipstick (of course) and my eyebrows.

And I started writing this post, because despite weeks of secret bikini-induced anxiety, I was feeling pretty darn good. Surprisingly good. One of my goals this year has been to feel good about how I look at least 80% of the time. I don’t want to say 100% because let’s face it, even if I were to look like Rosie Huntington-Whitely I’d probably have hormone fuelled days where I would just wondered why I had to look the way I do.

Ever a fan of basic quotes, one popped up in Pinterest recently that read “If you wouldn’t say it to your best friend – don’t say it to yourself” and for some reason it really hit home. Hard. I’d like to clarify that I have some amazing best friends, girls that I don’t hesitate to ring or to send cringe worthy texts too. However I am pretty sure, like me, you have carried yourself through more times than any best friend could. While you might call your best friend in tears, you’ve also been there for yourself during the darkest, most distraught moments where all you can do is hide under the duvet, hoping the world doesn’t find you. You’ve got yourself through those moments, you deserve nicer thoughts. Nicer treatment.

Would you tell your best friend that she has thighs bigger than the entire population of Instagram? Or the fact she had desert last night means she’s *probably* going to fail at life in general? No? Then why say it to yourself.

I’ve been trying to practise this advice, and yes some days are harder than others. It’s an on-going battle but trust me when I say it is worth it. Making a conscious, active effort to be nicer to myself in relation to body image, has led to other accidental changes. It’s changed the way I view myself. I no longer fear getting my legs out because they’ve got scares. They’re a bit speckled and that’s that.

Body image has always been a bit of a tricky issue for me, like most people. My teenage years were spent wondering boobs, where you at? Feeling smug about having a small waist, and then promptly mourning its loss. In fact, you can read my first ever body image post here. *Disclaimer – I am not responsible to any eye injuries caused by my previous terrible photography.

Learning to redefine my ‘flaws’ has also led me to take a new perspective with other people. When I find myself getting annoyed with people (and let’s be honest, some people for whatever reason can annoy you) the habit of being nicer kicks in. I may be annoyed but I can take a step back and try to find something positive about them, if not the situation.

I can’t sit here (post-holiday) and tell you that if you just try to be a bit nicer to yourself you will feel fine and sassy every single day. But I can promise you this: even if some days you can’t be nice to yourself about how you look – just try to catch the negatives, recognise that you’re being negative, and let it go. Don’t feel guilty about being mean, we all do it. Just realise one thought does not make it your truth.

If you can make even the tiniest effort to be nicer to yourself, or at least realise the moments you are being less than positive you might find that your world slowly starts to fall into place. Or at the very least you may actually enjoy getting your bikini out, because dammmnnn gurl, you look fine.

*Notebook in the featured image was bought from Sainsbury’s and similar can be found here.