Winter skin care must haves

 

 Aaahh, winter: my favourite season! I know, I'm crazy but....hey, what's new?!

The one thing I don't like about it though is the havoc it wreaks on my face. Cold weather skin care is hard enough to crack as it is, never mind for someone with uber sensitive skin living in a really windy country. 

Central heating, wind, temperature differences, rain, snow, they all contribute to messing up the hydration balance of your skin. What I need to pay particular care to is my face, most other areas seem perfectly fine. 

So here follows a compendium

The Versatile Blogger Award

I rarely get nominated for ANYTHING so I'm always surprised, flattered and extremely grateful when I do, especially by someone I don't know on a friends basis.
So you can imagine my utter surprise when the gorgeous Hannah from Love, Life and Make Up nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award.


The process behind the award is:
- thank the person that nominated you with a link back - Cheers Hun and here's your link back
- tell 7 things about yourself.
- pass this on to 11 newly discovered blogs and let them know they received the award.

So...7 things:
1) in my teenage I was a regional athletics champion for 3 years running.
2) I haven't been able to wear any make up for 3 weeks because my right eye has been more sensitive than usual :-(
3) I ALWAYS have to wear something colourful
4) when I was a kid I wanted to become a fire fighter
5) I despise hot, sticky weather
6) I love jazz music
7) I used to volunteer at a horse riding centre in exchange with the possibility of riding their horses around, because I couldn't afford a horse or lessons

And here, in no particular order, are the 10 blogs:
Away with the fairies
Behind green eyes
Big Fashionista
CherrySue, Doin' the do
CornflakeGirl's musings
May loves make up
Nicoletta's beauty space
Chic beauty blog
Benebelle
Le petit jardin de Liloo
Lipglossiping


Thank you for bringing me hours of fun reading and pretty colourful pictures in my day.

Lil

My winter essentials

Moisturisers

Vichy Aqualia Antiox Hydrating cream

You can read my review of this here . I use this as my daily moisturiser mixed with an anti redness cream.
As yup know my skin is super sensitive so you can imagine what the strong Irish cold winds do to it, team it with going from the cold weather to heated interiors, equals a very unhappy skin.

Here are the 2 anti redness products I use:

Roc Calmance Soothing Moisturiser

Read my review of this here .

Witch skincare Anti-blemish Redness Relief Moisturiser

Here you'll find my review.


Lip balm

My lips, just like my skin, are super super sensitive and need extra care in winter. My current lip balm obsession that has been going on since mid august is

Carmex moisture plus Clear

I am absolutely in LOVE with this!!!! love love love!!!! Go buy it people!!! It is a tad bit pricey but it's totally worth it!
My lips are very weird in the sense that most other lip balms I've tried before aren't hydrating enough or after a few weeks they just don't have the same effect on my lips anymore. But this is still making my lips super soft after so many months of usage. I've also tried the Peach version but I found it doesn't moisturise as much as the clear version, still VERY good but not as the good as the clear one.

Warmers

my faves being

ear muffs

and

a warm hat

I will show you the ones I'm loving right now in a post very soon.

Hot beverages



Gingerbread spicy biscuits
(preferably German)

Lights and scented candles
(this isn't actually just a wintery thing but it is especially appreciated during this season)

So these are my Winter faves, what do you think and what are yours?

Lil

Beauty TAG: would you rather...?

1.) Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eye shadows?
Definitely lose all palettes and shadows, mascara, liner and gloss have priority for me (I actually DON'T wear eye shadow most days I wear make up)

2.) Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?
now this is just silly, if I chop it off, it's gonna grow back :-p

3.) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
I am not sure, I have to be careful with cheek colours with my skin tone, maybe a light dusting of pink is better

4.) If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?
The way my head works at the moment, neither! Apparently my brain has a temporary(I hope!) shopping block and won't let me buy anything other than groceries and strictly important items. I hate this whole unemployed and strapped for cash malarkey...

5.) Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?
That would be very easy as I don't really use any lip liner, I don't like drawing attention to my mouth.

6.) Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?
Big fat HAHAHAHAHAHA, for once we've no Sephora in Ireland, and MAC is way out of my league, so...

7.) Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life?
one lip colour

8.) Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?
Summer clothes in winter, I do it all the time, and you can always layer it up.

9.) Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?
I pretty much NEVER have dark nails, easy peasy question.

10.) Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?
lip balm or mascara? Yikes! NEITHER!!!!! they're my staples!!!!

11.) Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?
pony tail, I have too much hair for a bun, it takes me AGES and it makes me look older anyway.

12.) Would your rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?
never use lip gloss

13.) Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or sharpie them in everyday?
I pretty much have to draw them in every time I use make up, so...

14.) Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?
nail polish

As usual I tag everyone, if you do it, leave me a comment with the link

Lil xx

Wednesday random TAG

Seeing as finances are REALLY bad and I can't really afford anything other than the strictly necessary, I thought I'd entertain yous with a little random TAG.

As usual feel free to do it yourself and let me know if you do a post about it.

Cheeeeeriiioooooo

What is bothering you right now?

The list is endless.....

Do you like celebrity magazines?

Gossip ones? No.

When was the last time you were ill? Why?

Back in March, queuing 12 hours in freezing rain for a The Script gig gave me one of the worst head colds I've ever had, 10 days it lasted and it ruined my Paddy's celebrations too.

Do you feel you belong in a different era?

I don't ever feel I belong anywhere....

Who owns you?

Stress and anxiety at the moment

Favorite country in Europe?

It's got to be Italy and Ireland. I love pretty much the whole of Europe though, it's just amazing for the variety of sceneries, people, cultures etc etc

Did you skive off school?

I did quite a bit of it the last year as I really felt uncomfortable in class. I would mainly go to book stores or the local library and spend time with my college friends studying anyway.

Ever played an instrument?

Guitar, and was a self taught learner of piano

Favorite alcoholic drink?

Italian wine

Do you follow fashion?

Not religiously and I don't have to have all the "ïn" items, but I do like to keep myself updated with trends and the likes. I have often noticed since I was 10 that what is my own trend or "ït" piece for a season, turns out to be cool 2 or 3 seasons later. It's kind of a bit scary...

What colour are your eyes? Do you like that colour?

They're naturally grey blue, however they change a lot depending on the light and weather. I am generally not mad about them for many reasons but I DO love them on a sunny day, they turn the most amazing light icy blue

Would you ever want to visit Russia?

I have once already, over 20 years ago, but I would love to go back and see how it's changed

What is the furthest you have travelled from your home? How far was it?

As I just mentioned, Russia. I haven't been outside of Europe, but I do love the fact I have covered most of it, some countries visited more than once, instead of heading straight over seas.

What is the coldest temperatures you have experienced? Where were you?

I have experienced -25 Celsius in the Alps for a few winters in a row: LOVED it!

What is the hottest temperatures you have experienced? Where were you?

45 Celsius in Germany on a cycling 12 hour trip, I have NO idea how I didn't die. NEVER again!

Imagine you have three wishes. List them. (A million more wishes doesn't count)

1. To have normal vision 2. to have 100 mil in the bank 3. To be happy

Are you keeping a secret from the world?

Who isn't?!

If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself ten years ago, what would you say?

Don't believe in dreams, they're just there to delude you and break your heart.

How have you changed in the past 10 years?

I am definitely more self confident and in the last few months I have started to be slightly selfish

Is abortion wrong?

I don't personally think it is

Do you like long train/car journeys?

I do!!! 95% of the time they make me sleep like a baby

Have you ever considered writing a novel?

I kind of have written or helped writing one.

Have you ever punched someone in the face?

I have, about 14 years or so ago, it was someone who had been bullying me for 8 years. He stopped after that though!

What is your worst trait?

I always gives people the benefit of the doubt. And I have days when I let my disability bring me down more than it should.

What is your sense of humour like?

Weird, witty and filthy

Are you a good person?

I try my best...

Go ahead and fill a few minutes of your time with this!

Tag: 8 things

I saw this on The Brunette Diaries

All of these are in no particular order.

8 TV shows I watch...

1: The Big Bang Theory
2. Glee
3. House
4. Discovery's Monsters inside me
5. The Mythbusters
6. The republic of telly
7. Extreme engineering
8. those shows about moving/finding/renovating/refurbíng houses

8 Favourite places to eat... (I don't really eat out that often here in Dublin, too expensive)

1. Boca Barranca: pizzeria on the beach back home in Italy
2. La madia(amazing restaurant back home)
3. The Church
4. The Porterhouse, the one in Temple Bar
5. Ristorante "Al Parco", back home
6. The Osborne Brasserie (at the Portmarnock Hotel & Golf links. Been once but REALLY liked itt)
7. O'Shea's (good value for money although lately their quality has slipped big time)
8. my own kitchen :-p

8 Things I look forward to...

1: The Script gig at The Aviva in early July
2: this fashion show I'm modelling for in Florence in 10 days(although I'm REALLY really nervous)
3: Getting a new job
4. being happy
5. ...that is all


8 Things on my wish list

1: average vision (is it not called the WISH list? doesn't say anything about "the impossible"list...)
2: a job
3: happiness
4: a new place to stay
5: a garden
6: different skin
7: dental surgery
8: more self confidence


8 Things I'm passionate about...

1: people
2: technology
3: science
4: fashion
5: reading
6: beauty
7: thee outdoors
8: food


8 Words or phrases I use a lot...
...I really couldn't do this one, couldn't think of anything?!


8 Things I've learnt from the past

1: Don't trust too many people
2: always use sun cream
3: no matter how hard I try, I will never reach my goals
4: most people are only out for themselves
5: when in Ireland, always carry an umbrella
6: when in Italy, always carry sunglasses
7: your family doesn't love/support you no matter what
8: never ask for prices in Brown Thomas, unless you wanna be treated nicely

8 Places I would love to visit...

1: Canada
2: Sweden
3: Finland
4: Norway
5: San Francisco
6: Niagara falls
7: Anfield
8: I've visited anywhere else I've ever wanted to see


8 Things I want or need...

1: a job
2: a different set of eyes
3: not having to worry about my health
4: my own house
5: a different family
6: a millionaire boyfriend
7: a haircut(triple ends are not good)
8: a proper holiday

8 Things I love about winter...

1: SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2: the bitterly cold weather
3: snuggly clothes
4: Christmas decorations
5: the fact I don't feel like I SHOULD be perma-tanned
6: Christmas Markets
7: Christmassy food
8: SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!


8 Bloggers I'm tagging...
1. Le Petit Jardin de Liloo
2. Chic Beauty Blog
3. Sarah's Vanity
4. Big Fashionista
5. Loulouheartsmakeup
6. Ash Lilly's Lacquer Lust
7. Cinnamonalicious
8. Behind green eyes

I welcome everyone to do it, please leave a comment below with the link.
Have a nice weekend everyone!

Lil

Tag: A-Z of me

Age: 27, although I kind of like to think I don't look it

Bed Size: a single that is actually smaller than a regular one...

Chore you Hate: ironing and cleaning the grill

Dogs: they absolutely scare the living daylight out of me! I was attacked by one when I was a wee baba so now even the smallest of them absolutely terrifies me.

Essential start of your day: breakfast!

Favourite Colour: baby blue....can you tell?!

Gold or Silver: silver all the way! Because of my neutral under tone, I would be able to carry them both off, but I just don't like the look of gold on me...

Height: I should be around the 5' 6 1/2", but I'm not 100% certain

Instruments I play: I was a self learner of piano and guitar until I was 14

Job Title: I'm officially a translator but I have done/would do pretty much any kind of job to pay the bills, this is no time to be picky or ambitious

Kids: none at the moment. I don't really think about having any to be honest, although many reckon I would be a brilliant mother....

Live: at the moment in Dublin, Ireland. Before I used to live in Italy

Mum's name: nickname Lella

Nickname: oh dear, I have faaaar too many! Pretty much anyone I know gives me a different one! At the moment the most used are: Lil, Ms Fairy, Bell and Blondie(which I hate!).

Pet Peeve: fakeness in people, back stabbers, small lifts, the darkness

Quote from a movie: "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit."

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: 1 older brother

Time you wake up: at the moment it varies, that is when I actually manage to catch some sleep.

Underwear: yes, I do have some on, thank you

Vegetables you dislike: cooked spinach

What makes you run late: public transport

X-rays you've had done: too many....I was a very active kid, although I never broke anything: super strong bones from years of gallons of milk.

Yummy food you make: I have to say pretty much everything I cook/bake is yummy?! The one thing I never managed to get quite right was scones, but that's ok, I'm over them now.

Zoo animal: I don't like zoos, they make me sad

I tag everyone to do it, and if you do so, please leave a comment with the link :-)

A little randomness

...as provided by the lovely Lisa


1.) Mood: frustrated/stressed

2.) What is your favorite flower?: blue roses, colourful gerbera daisies and sun flowers

3.) What sound is the alarm you wake up to in the morning?: usually The Script "the man who can't be moved" or Westlife "us against the world" as I NEED to wake up gently or I'll be tired and grumpy all day long

4.) Current nail polish: see here

5.) Would you rather have a huge closet or a spacious bathroom (implying that the other would be tiny)? a HUGE closet!! I do like a nice big airy bathroom but I now got used to this
A few months ago we painted the whole apartment and this is now a much nicer deeper baby blue. My bedroom is basically a prison cell. I can only have seasonal clothes in the wardrobe or packed in the chest of drawers, the rest is in a suitcase on top of the wardrobe. Most of the clothes are in the drawers so I can never have EVERYTHING in front of me, and in the wardrobe each hanger has 2 or 3 items on it.

6.) If you could relive one year of your life, which would it be?: either 1998 or 2002. In 1998 I went from middle to high school with the best of grades, and during the summer I had the most amazing of experiences! Aged 14 I went for 3 weeks to Germany on an exchange/work experience type of holiday. A group of about 70 kids aged 14-18 from different European Countries "shoved" in a gorgeous youth hostel in the lovely city of Aalen. We were taken on daily sports activity, trips to Munich and other places, and in return we helped at the hostel: cleaning, washing the dishes, setting and clearing tables for meals etc etc. I was one of the few 14 year olds, the youngest in the Italian group, the only one who couldn't speak a word of German.....but in those 3 weeks I was SO happy and healthy that I grew about 6 cms in height and lost about 8kilos!
As for 2002 it was a pretty big year as well: I came into the year fighting skin cancer(you can read about it here) , I turned 18 in January which to me meant freedom of travelling with friends, going to gigs and generally having chances to have fun. In April came my first visit to the UK: the big smoke of London! I went with a group of people from the languages school I was studying English at. I felt great because I paid for it, the whole of it with my own money! London was a BIG shock to me! I'd visited other European Capitals before but London was different, I felt my brain go on over load pretty much every 5 minutes!
Then in the summer I realised the dream of a life time: my first EVER trip to Ireland! I came over with a friend of mine and for 10 days we travelled on coaches, slept in hostels and had a complete ball! Again it felt so great because it was my present to myself for turning 18, working hard for 2 summers for it and overcoming cancer the previous winter.

7.) Current outfit: purple track suit bottoms and a black long sleeve Tinkerbell top

8.) What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?: Halloween wasn't popular in Italy when I was a kid so I never got to dress up. However Carnival in February in Italy is probably bigger than Halloween in the States. I've had SO many costumes, all made and designed by me and my grandma. My faves were Pocahontas, A Star and Peter Pan.

9.) Have you ever been able to talk your way out of a speeding ticket?: I wish I could actually get the chance to get a speeding ticket?! Unofortunately my eye sight does not allow me to drive. *sad face* which is a big shame and cause of frustration because I am a complete petrol head weither it's cars or motorbikes.

10.) Weekly goals: get a job, try not to die of boredome when I go visit my boyfriend's parents at the weekend

20 questions TAG

What do you order at Starbucks?
one thing from your wardrobe you can't live without?
what's one food you can't live without?
what's one thing that most people don't know about you?
two pet peeves?
what's one thing you want to do before you die?
what do you and dislike about the YouTube community?
one thing you can't live the house without?
favourite brand of make-up?
what are your favourite flowers?
favourite colour?
do you drink energy drinks?
do you drink fruit juices?
do you like swimming?
do you eat fries with a fork?
do you want to get married later on in life?
do you get mad easily?
do you bite your nails?
have you ever had a near death experience?
do you drink coffee?

What's in my bag TAG

TAG: my imperfections

I didn't get tagged for this -don't you know, I'm not cool!- but who cares I'll do it anyway!
The concept is: the 3 traits you like the least and the most about you.
Discuss.

MY DISLIKES:
Jeez...where do I start from? There's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many...

- Eyes: not just because they basically make me legally blind, but aestetically because they aren't bloody straight! This should have been addressed when I was a wee baba with a simple eye training with prisms, but I guess my parents were too busy worrying about my brother's better vision. I was told by my ophtalmologist back in Italy he wouldn't be able to straighten them up but I don't know if it was because of his limited equipment(it was a pubblic hospital after all) or because my eyes are inoperable -ooooh get me and my fancy words, HA!-.
I KNOW perfectly well that by using eye make up I make them stand out even more but what's a make-up loving ghostly skinned girl to do?! Between my hair and my face I need some flipping colour amidst all this general whiteness!

- Skin: I don't like its whiteness! I don't like how hard it is to find a good colour matching foundation without breaking the bank, or a good self tanner without looking like an oompa-loompa! Not to mention how clothing wise so many shades and colours look "meeeeh" on me.
I also don't like how "difficult" sensitivity wise it is, almost everything will irritate it, and usually the more "safe" stuff is the more expensive....gggrrr
Having skin cancer when I was a teen really burned me(please excuse the pun...), and I hate how I'm now almost constantly worried when I'm in the sun.

- My hips & the top of my thighs: no matter how much weight I lose or how hard I try, they're just not going to go away. Example? Despite losing about a stone and a half in the last 10 months, because of my hips I'm still the same bloody trousers size! Talk about frustrating! I guess it's in the Mediterranean genes along with bum and boobs but JESUS can they not bugger off?! Not to mention the cellulite and the stretch marks I got when I was 14; in the space f 2 months I grew about an inch and a half in height and lost about a stone. I wasn't bothered about them back then and when I started to bother it was too late...

MY LIKES:

- Hair: it has got to be the one thing I absolutely love THEE most about my appereance. Until I was 17 it also used to bother me as much as my skin, but then I was at last allowed to experiment with my hairdresser's help. In these 9 years I think at one stage or another I've had low lights of every single colour of the rainbow! At some stage I had at the same time purple, ginger orange, browns and blondes going on and it still looked very funky! As of recently I' ve settled for more tame shades of dark and golden blonde, but I still love it all the same! I'm also quite lucky that I can get away with washing it every 4 days and it still doesn't look like I could fry chips in them, despite living in a big city.
My hair is the one thing I get complimented the most along with my skin's clarity. Strangers in the street will often compliment me on it and women will often ask where I get it bleached -the "bleached" part is all natural, Darling!-. Because it's so long and thick I often get asked where I get my extentions from....I'm still debating weither this is a compliment or not...

- My skin: the ONE thing I like about it is its clarity. Give me an HALLELUYA for whoever invented Diane!!! Yes, cleansing, exfoliating and all that help, but the pill is my ONE secret for amazing skin! I used to completely hate my skin up to my early 20s because of severe cistic acne, not only was it awful to look at, but it was also painful! My gyno had me do tests and also with an eco we found I had a reeeaaallly big problem! Thankfully for me Diane would hopefully ease it. Despite it not being an actual birth control, it also has this "side effect". Despite it being the heaviest hormones wise, I was super lucky I keep myself very active and eating the right things, so I didn't put on any weight, even though that would have been a very natural cause (it does make losing weight EXTREMELY hard though....).

- My bum/muscles: I LOVE my bum! yes it might be 1 or 2 sizes bigger than the rest of my body, but I LOVE it! it's not big at the sides, it's just nice and firm where it's supposed to be!
I know muscles may not be very lady like, but I especially love the "lines" they create on my forelegs, abs and shoulders, it shows I'm fit! Give me muscles over flab ANY day!

What about you ladies? What are your likes and dislikes? Drop me a comment or do your own blog and post a link to it.

Lil

TAG: skincare routine

From A Paradox Of Ego & Self Doubt

✿ How many times do you wash your face daily?

Usually twice

✿ What is your current make-up remover?

Speedy Care wipes for the face(and eyes when I'm travelling, AMAZINGLY gentle on my super sensitive eyes) and also The Body Shop Camomile eye make up remover, it's AMAZING on waterproof mascara.

✿ What skin type do you have? (dry, oil, combo)

Dry despite the aount of moisturising and water drinking, and it's also super super sensitive

✿ What is your current facial wash?

Garnie Body Tonic and exfoliating gloves

✿ Do you exfoliate?

Yep, I use exfoliating gloves plus Garnier Body Tonic, or my shower gel mixed with sugar, or often the gloves are enough. Once every 3 or 4 days

✿ Which moisturiser do you use?
For my body I use Palmers butter, for my face I use Vichy Aqualia

✿ Do you use eye cream?

I use Garnier Ultra Lift roll on

✿ Do you, or did you, have acne prone skin?

I used to have very bad acne, often resulting in cists, but it wasn't a skin problem, it was deeper, an hormonal inbalance. It totally cleared when I started taking the pill

I tag EVERYONE!!!!!!
Leave me a comment with the link if you decide to do it.

Lil

My first TAG!!!

Aaaawwww I'm SO excited!!! My first EVER TAG!!!
Thank You to the lovely Lisa Marie at http://lisamarie337.blogspot.com for tagging me :-)

Anyone feel free to do this and leave a link in the comments box so I can read it

* What's your Favorite Makeup Look?
I don't have just one. I love a simple mascara, neat liner and highlight as much as I love a bold colourful look or a classy smokey.

* What part of your Body do you Love?
That's very hard to answer... I guess my hair must be the part I like the most. I also really like my fore legs because they are very athletic from all the years of sports I've been doing. I REALLY like my bum as well, it's perky and round without being too big.
Until recently I used to REALLY love my boobs, it used to be my fave part, but then because of stress and anxiety I have lost quite a bit of weight very quickly and unfortunately the chest went south a bit.

* Who is your beauty Icon?
I have to be honest with my skin and natural hair I have always found it hard to find a beauty icon to "copy". Having said that there are a few women I REALLY like admire. First of the amazingly gorgeous Marilyn Monroe, stunning! Then I would go for Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Pamela Anderson and Bridget Marquardt.

* What Beauty Product makes you Feel instantly Good?
I have a few:
Palmers body butter because it leaves my skin super soft and it makes me wanna take a bite out of myself, it smells so nice.
Mascara & brow liner: because they instantly give colour to my otherwise "dead" hued white lashes and brows and even if I don't put on any other make up, I still look very well put together.
Face coloured powder: I rarely use foundation for a variety of reasons, and powder is the subsitute. I love how it instantly hides all the veins around my eyes and on my lids.
Lip balms: I have VERY dry lips and I have the very, VERY bad habit of constantly toying and playing with my lips, Plus I hate the feeling os "stuff" on my lips. Anything other than a balm or a lip gloss would just be a waste of time and money.

* How do you look after your skin?
I guess the answer has to be split in 2 parts: body and face.
Face wise. Until three years ago I used to absolutely DESPISE my face skin. I used to have the most horrible cistic acne that no cream or drug would clear. Then after years of doctors trying to talk me into it but my mother saying no, I finally decided to do some tests: turns out I had the most horrendous hormone inbalance which was causing the horrible acne. Well I was put on the strongest contraceptive pill on the market and ever since I probably get one break out a month. Now I ALWAYS get complimented on how perfect my skin looks and that I really don't need any make up. I scrub my face, like the rest of my body, about twice a week with Garnier Body Tonic Sugar scrub, or with a gentle shower gel mixed with sugar. Sometimes I will even do a concuxion of sugar and olive oil for my face. I have recently started to use scrubbing gloves as well.
I don't use any cream at night because my face needs to "breathe" at night. During the day if I know I'm going to be mostly indoors I use Vichy Aqualia, otherwise a face cream with SPF. I have very recently started using Garnier Ultra Lift anti wrinkles roll on and it's the most amazing product EVER!!!! Fantastic results after ONE day.
As for my body as I said I exfoliate twice a week and then use a body butter, I have been using Palmers with SPF.
When I was 18 I had skin cancer, it was the hardest time of my life and something I would never ever want to deal with again, which is why now I take extremely good care of my skin and try to protect is as much as I can.

* What is your Signature Scent?
Here is the thing. I find most scents SO overly priced it's ridiculous! And there's way too much choice out there. So what I do is I let other people buy me scents as presents. It's a lot easier for me! For the past year or so I have been using JEan Paul Gaultier 2 a lot.
I am addicted to anything that smells of vanilla or caramel/cinnamon. (candles, soaps etc)

* What's your hair care secrets?
I wash my hair once every 4 or 5 days(and no, it doesn't stink nor looks manky) just so not to ruin it. I use a protective product before drying and styling my hair, and I just don't use too many products that may attack/damage it. Shampoo, conditioner, heat protecting spray and then if I'm after a particular style, a bit of hair spray or wax.

* How do you pamper yourself?
I can't really afford to pamper myself much, really. Other than routine skin/hair care, I do my nails myself about once a week.
Sadly, that's all.

* Finally How do you have a Beauty Philosophy??
This question is really open to so many different answers. I think beauty is everywhere around us and each and everyone of us feels it differently.