Lovely Things: Blistex Intensive Moisturiser

Every winter, my lips become painfully dry and cracked. And every winter, I buy a Blistex Intensive Moisturiser to treat them with - it's exactly what you need when your lips are so dry that normal balm does nothing.

This little tube of intensely moisturising cream is not pleasurable to use, really - it has a fairly medicated scent, and a thick cream consistency that doesn't leave the lips looking as pretty as say, that rose tinted Vaseline does. But it does heal cracks and soothe extreme dryness. Without this, I wouldn't be able to wear lipstick or gloss at all in winter.

One tiny tube costs £2.39 and contains plenty to get you through the winter period; probably it would last you two winter periods, but I always end up losing mine, and purchasing a new one the following year!

If you'd like to try this for yourself, you can find it at Boots.com for £2.39 for 5g.

Lovely Things: Leighton Denny "Best Seller" Nail Colour

Leighton Denny make some excellent high-end hand and nail products, and are responsible for probably my favourite ever nail colour - Best Seller. It's a beautiful rich raspberry red colour, with silver and red glitter. It's not too flashy, not too sparkly, applies beautifully, and is almost-opaque in one coat (I always apply two coats for extra depth and sparkle).

Given my recent not-so-hot nail polish experience, one of the absolute best things about this polish is that it lasts. The photo on the left was taken two days in, and although there's a touch of tipwear, there are no chips, and the colour still looks fresh and shiny. Definite win for me.

Leighton Denny nail colours are £9.79 for 12ml from Helen Marks online, or can be found in numerous other places, including high end nail salons.

Lovely Things: Kerastase Masquintense

After my recent experience with home hair colourants, my hair was in desperate need of a deep conditioning treat. My recent foray into high street products hasn't yet found me anything that truly stands out as an intensive conditioner, so I rummaged in one of my dressing table drawers and came up with a sample pot of Kerastase Masquintense Fins (for fine hair).

Despite having used half of the 20ml sample pot already, the remaining orangey mask was plenty to give my hair a well earned treat. Thick and silky feeling, this mask is a fantastic way of injecting moisture and shine into dry and damaged hair. My hair was left feeling much smoother and in better condition. The lovely high end scent - which lingered on for about a day after washing - didn't go amiss either.

Kerastase products are lovely, and in more cash-rich times, Masquintense was a go-to product for me. I've rediscovered why! Once I can justify the high end price tag, I'll be buying some more - a little goes a long way.

Kerastase Masquintense Fins is £19.76 for 200ml at Lookfantastic.com, or if you're looking to stock up, you should be able to find a 500ml salon size tub on eBay for around £35.