The five aftershaves I couldn't be without!

Today on Beautyqueenuk, I am bringing to you a guest post from my Hubby whom you can find on:

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and I would love it if you would go and give his blog a visit.

I’m fairly new to blogging about my beauty experiences. I only set up www.beautykinguk.co.uk in January. When asked to guest post here, I jumped at the chance.  With the guidance that I could write about anything I wanted I put aside thoughts that made me grin wildly, things like ‘top 10 limericks’ and ‘top ten bars I’ve lost nights in’ and instead plumped for something close to my heart, well close to my skin – aftershave.

Over the years I’ve spent an absolute fortune on the stuff – I’ve tried discount brands, I’ve paid through the nose for luxury brands, been pleased, dazzled and repulsed in equal measure. Today however, I’m going to look at my 5 favourites.

The first that I can’t live without is Bvlgari Extreme – it is by far the best aftershave I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning and my collection is never without a bottle.

Extreme is the concentrate of Bvlgari Pour Homme which means that a little goes a long way. With a fresh citrus fragrance the notes of Darjeeling tea, rosewood and pepper blend beautifully to create a fragrance that has people swooning as you pass by.

A 100ml bottle costs around £30 and it is worth every penny. It oozes class and gives the wearer confidence.

The second is another aftershave from the Bvlgari stable, Bvlgari Man. This is fairly new fragrance launched in 2010 and, and has quickly become a personal favourite.

Again, a 100ml bottle is just £30 and a bottle lasts for ages. The oriental woody fragrance has notes of lotus and bergamot. The heart notes of honey really stand out after dry down and while it’s heavier than aftershaves I normally go for the sheer volume of positive comments mean that it is a must have.

In third place I was torn between choosing either Ralph Lauren Polo black or the blue version. In the end I’ve opted for blue.

While not the cheapest aftershave on the market, it can cost up to £50 for a 125ml bottle the fragrance is divine. It’s been around for over a decade and is more in line with aftershaves I go for.

It’s cool and refreshing while it has warm dry down notes that linger for well over 10 years. With a blend of cucumber and tangerine this is a fresh scent that is fruity on the nose.

Wear this and you will get noticed.

In fourth place is Acqua Di Gio by Georgio Armani which comes in at £35 for a 50ml bottle. Again, it isn’t cheap but it’s worth every penny.

Approaching 20 years since it was launched this fell into my collection after I smelt it on my dad.Crisp and cool it's sold as a bracing oceanic fragrance for men. It has an almost citrus tang to it and I’ve written about it on my blog.

The fragrance has a fresh and almost uplifting property to it and the light nature of it means that while you won’t be able to smell it those around you will – and they will adore it.

My final choice was really difficult, but after much consideration I had to pick Dreamer by Versace. A 100ml bottle is just £25 making it good value for money.

This first came into my collection when I was 16 – it was one of the first I owned and as the marketing blurb says, it does combine being fresh with warmth.

It is light, has a citrus aroma that completely disappears on dry down to an almost sensual spicy fragrance. If you haven’t tried it, you really should.

Just thinking about these fragrances evokes some very fond memories and bottles are replaced before they are even two thirds empty.

I hope you enjoyed my choices and thanks for reading - what are your favourites?

Avène Soothing Hydrating Serum

I was recently lucky enough to be sent the Avène Soothing Hydrating Serum (£17.00) from Escentual.com to try out and I've only been using it every day since I got it and I absolutely love it.  For those of you who are not aware, Avène are a French skincare brand and the Serum comes with the following description:

"Get a highly concentrated boost of repairing and protecting power for your skin with the Avène Soothing Hydrating Serum. This intensely soothing and hydrating formulation is ideal for sensitive skin, or skin that is easily effected by stress, pollution, or irritation. With its high concentration of Avène Thermal Spring Water, the serum works to soothe and heal the skin with each and every application. This soothing sensation has a long-lasting effect thanks to patented lipsomes, which work to diffuse the ingredients gradually into the upper layer of the skin".

This soothing Hydrating Serum doesn't contain any parabens or known skin irritants but does make use of Avène's own Thermal Spring Water which with the addition of Glycerine provides much needed nourishment to your skin, leaving it feeling hydrated, soft and supple.

This is the first product from Avène that I have tried and I have to say I am impressed.  It comes packaged inside a frosted glass bottle which houses a pump dispenser, something that I love to have on products like this because I find them much easier to use and much less wasteful not to mention more hygienic.  That said one pump of the dispenser is enough to cover your entire face and neck.  Then as directed you should apply the serum both morning and evening after cleansing and toning but before moisturising, to give your skin a total moisture boost. Its gentle calming formula is ideal for sensitive skin, or skin which is affected by stress, pollution, or irritation and living in London you can only imagine how much something like this is needed.

The serum itself has a really nice texture, it isn't oily or greasy and is not as thick as my moisturising cream, it is somewhere in the middle of being a cream and gel.  As you apply it to your skin, it absorbs itself on impact and it has a hint of fragrance which I actually really like.  As soon as you have finished you can immediately tell the difference in your skin, mine feels softer, smoother and much more moisturised in appearance not to mention brighter and more dewy in appearance.  Once I add my moisturiser I have found that my make-up literally glides onto my face.

The serum has fit itself quite nicely into my skincare routine and my skin feel much better for it.  This serum is suitable for all skin types, even the most sensitive, and is great for repairing and protecting the skin. It retails for £17, but right now until the end of March you can pick it up for just £14.45 from Escentual.

What are your French Skincare must haves?

Lush Easter Wishlist

Even though I am a HUGE chocolate fan and love everything there is about Easter, well who doesn't love eating chocolate for breakfast, there are one or two other things that I always have my eye and currently there are a few items from Lush that I rather like the look of and here they are in the form of a wishlist:

1 - The Golden Egg Bath Bomb - said to turn your water gold and is a combination of a Bath Bomb so you get the fizzing and a Bath Melt so you get some luxuriously moisturising oils to make your skin lovely and smooth.  Costs £3.50

2 - The Immaculate Eggception - Another Bath Bomb which comes in either yellow or pink and these are rather special because there is not just one bath bomb there are and when you crack them open you will find either a yellow chick of a white bunny!  Cost £6.95

3 - Rose - This one is a bubble bar and  it is made using Turkish Rose Absolute and promises to create a tonne of bubbles.  Costs £2.95

4 - Secret Garden - A bath bomb which is said to be full of flowers and the scent of spring which will create serene and tranquil bath that will bring you back to life.  Costs £2.95

5 - Bunch of Carrots - These caught my eye because they are quirky and something a little bit different.  Once you have them, you swish one of the carrots around your bath to enjoy soft clouds of bubbles and tropically scented water. They are also said to be reusable bubble bars and do not smell of carrots.  Cost 5.95

If you are not too sure what to buy when going into Lush, there is always an option to get a gift set which will contain a few items to make your options less traumatic.  As it is Easter Lush have two offerings which are:

6 - Funny Bunny - This gift set is sold in a Knot wrap and contains 4 items from the Easter Range and it costs £20

7 - Carrot - This gift set comes in the shape of a carrot which is really quirky and contains 4 products from the Easter range and costs £16.95

Finally:

8 - Madame Butterfly - This is a bubble bar on a stick, anyone who is familiar with the Christmas range will possibly have had one of these already, though in the form of an Angel.  With the bubble bar on a stick, like with carrots, you swish it around in your water as the bath runs and it creates Rose and Lemon scented  bubbles.  Costs £5.25

So there you have a little Lush Easter Wishlist and a nice alternative to chocolate.  Have you tried any of these products?

Blog V Working Full time - how I stay organised!

I often get asked by fellow bloggers how I manage to run my blog, post most days and work full time.  As a blogger you all know how much hard work it is, it isn't simply a case of going to Boots, buying three items and writing about them, for me it is a case of getting the product, writing some initial thoughts no matter how trivial they might be, using the product for a few weeks and then having taken photos, I write some more notes before constructing my final masterpiece and yes I work full time, I am a wife and mummy to three cats, not to mention a tank full of fish, so how do I do it?  

For me the key is not just to be organised, it is being really really organised and these are my tips.

1. Notebooks 

I always have a notebook with me, whether it is on my bedside table, in my handbag or on my desk, I always ensure one is close to hand. I am a huge fan of stationary anyway and love pretty notebooks, so this also helps with that addiction.  

However, having something and somewhere to write down those thoughts, ideas, notes and pieces of information you might need or find useful at a later stage is something I find super handy.  I also find having a notebook handy when I go to events, product launches and meeting other bloggers, you absorb so much information that you sometimes just need to write things down, either there and then or on the way home when things bounce in and out of your head.

For me having a notebook or five is one way of keeping myself organised as well as a Filofax that I use for invitations and event notifications.

2. The to-do lists

I hold my hands up and admit that I am a list writer, I always have a to-do list whether it is in my filofax, on a post-it note, a document at work on my computer or in one of my many notebooks, I have a list and I use it.  My to-do lists aren't in any particular order, like my notes they are things that pop into my head and I add them onto my list and as I work my way through that ever-growing list.  I also have a list of products that I am reviewing whether I have bought them or they have come from a pr company, it serves as a timetable land a reminder all in one.  As I work my way through those lists I feel a sense of achievement as it gets smaller and more things are crossed out.

Like notebooks, for me lists are another way of staying organised, it is is rare I forget to do something, though I am not perfect and writing lists is something that really works for me.

3. Blog post writing

Do you have those days when you just want to sit there and write posts, one after another? Make the most of them and do it, where you can. I often find that if I am in the mood to write, then I can create numerous blog posts with minimal effort and it is less of a strain throughout the week.  

At any one time I have between 10-20 draft posts, admittedly not all of them are complete, but at the top of those draft posts I will have a to-do list to finalise the post before it goes live, such as taking photos, sorting my labels out, adding my links in and so on.  In doing thing this way, I find running my blog much simpler and easy to do, even of that draft post only consists of a few lines, paragraphs or even thoughts to help me write it.

4. Photos

I have admitted in many posts that this is perhaps on of my main weaknesses but I am taking steps to improve.  However, if there is a glimpse of that yellow ball in the sky known as the sun and you have time to take photos, take as many as you can at once and upload them to your computer so that you have a natch of photos you can use when the time comes to writing that post.  I often take quite a lot of photos that I haven't got round to blogging about yet and that serves as a reminder to get on with it.

5. Scheduling your posts and your tweets

I know some people have a real issue with this, but I don't.  If you have a really busy week, try and schedule one or two posts during that week to keep things moving and relieve some of that pressure. I often schedule one or two posts a week and set reminders in my diary to tweet about them and add them to a few of the Facebook Groups that I am a member of.  

The same can be said of tweets, you can use applications such a Hootsuite to schedule some of your tweets to give yourself a bit of breathing space.

6. Organised Inbox

Like most bloggers, I get a lot of emails flying into my inbox and I don't always have the time to sit and read them as soon as they arrive.  

I use Gmail for my emails and I have a lot of folders set up to drop emails into once I have read them, even if I haven't replied yet.  So some of my folders are for PR Contacts, I have one for each brand I have worked with or am working with and within this folder are any updates to products, I also have information on product launches I am going to or have been too because they might contain some information I need when it comes to writing a post and so on.  

The other thing I also do is that if I am going to be away for a day or so, I have an 'Out of office' message set up to let those who are emailing me know why they have not got a response.  I tend to reply to emails within 24 hours because I think it is polite to do so, but if for any reason I am unable to do that, I would like the sender of the email to know.

7. Task-setting

If you look at your to-do lists you might panic that there is just soooo much to do, my lists are massive as I have already said and for me that has the reverse affect, it makes me feel much calmer. However, when it comes to blogging, I decide what I am going to do each day, so for example this week:

• Monday - Finish Heaven Eye Make-up post add photos and post Five Amongst Friends post
• Tuesday - Post GlamGlow Youth Mud post and finish labels

Then once I have done those small tasks, I might decide that because the weather has been really nice that I will take photos of some of the products I have waiting to be reviewed, then I have them ready for the posts and don't have to rush about doing them later in the week.

Anything is achievable if it's cut down into a smaller size. Rather than feeling like you have to write tetake photos, reply to emails and schedule your social media content all at once, cut down each task into smaller section and move onto the next when it's complete. 

8. Blogging Space

Finding somewhere to sit and write is really important.  For me whether I am writing a penpal letter or a blog post, it has to be done somewhere I am comfortable, can access all the things I need easily - plug sockets, USB, Camera, Phone and so on.  

Sometimes that place is in the lounge in front of the TV (which isn't always on), sometimes it is sat in bed and other times I can be on my iPad on the tube writing a post.  I know others think having an office and/or desk is the place to blog from, but for me it is more about comfort than anything else.

9. Saying No

It is really lovely when you have an inbox full of offers from companies and PR people offering you things to review, it is such an honour to be asked. But, don't always feel you have to say yes.  If the product you are being offered doesn't fit within the theme of your blog or it is something you would never use and don't like the sound of, never feel duty bound to say yes, simply reply to the email and honestly tell them. Don't be afraid they will never contact you again, you are more likely to be respected for your honesty.

10. Product Directory/List

Whilst I am yet to have a brand directory live on my blog, it is a working progress, I do have one notebook dedicated to the products that I receive from companies and PR people.  

Within that book I write down what it is, who it has come from, the date I got it, whether or not I have taken photographs of it.  Then when the post goes live I put a tick next to it. This helps me remember what I have and haven't written about, posted and/or photographed and I find it less stressful to remember every minute detail.

Naturally it is not easy working full time, running a job, being a wife and blogging but it can be managed and most importantly it can be enjoyable and less of a chore.

Do you have any other top tips on how to keep yourself super organised?