Author: Little Luxuries By Lynsey

Skincare Sunday: Five Favourites from Alpha H Skincare

If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that there are a few brands that I have a serious love affair with and Alpha H is definitely one of those brands. The brand specialises in resurfacing and regularising troublesome skin and were one of the pioneers of skincare when it came to the use of glycolic acid. Over the past few years, I have tried many of the brands products and to be honest, there haven’t been too many that I haven’t loved. Although I like the majority of the products that I’ve tried, there are some real stand out products that I will repurchase again and again.

So if you’re new to Alpha H as a skincare brand and want to explore it, what do are the products that I really rate?

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Skincare Sunday: Ingredient Focus- Hyaluronic Acid

If you haven’t heard of hyaluronic acid in terms of skincare, I’d think you’ve been living under a bush. For us skincare junkies, it’s the key ingredient to plump and hydrate the skin from within. I’ve had it incorporated into my skincare routine in some fashion for many, many years and it’s an ingredient I know my skin would miss instantly if it disappeared from my line up! Regardless of your skin type, hyaluronic acid will be a welcome addition to your skincare routine.

Over the past few months, I’ve tried three hyaluronic acid serums which cover three different budgets but firstly what’s the lowdown on HA?

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Skincare Sunday: Five New Skincare Discoveries

It’s been a while since I wrote a Skincare Sunday post hasn’t it? My skin had a bit of a blip a few months ago, and wasn’t at it’s best. I think hormones and stress were to blame, but it meant that I had to do a bit of a reshuffle in terms of my skincare regime and I’ve discovered some new favourites whilst doing it! Plus the current lockdown has given me an opportunity to really amp up my skincare routine and to be honest, my skin is looking really well at the minute if I do say so myself so it’s obviously working…

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The Lockdown Diaries: Part 2

How long have we even been in lockdown? I genuinely can’t remember! Generally I’m mostly ok with it, I’m lucky enough to be busy with work during the week and have plenty occupy myself but recently, I’ve heard things that make it all hit home a bit harder and realise that for some it really could be the worst or most lonely period in their life.

There are some days I look out the window and see groups of kids hanging around or playing football like it’s their summer holidays or I hear horror stories of people flouting social distancing rules at shops etc. like there’s nothing going on. It’s all really quite selfish.

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Five Favourites: Hair Masks to Revive Dry and Damanged Hair

I think that I’ve mentioned before, but I have been making a concerted effort in terms of haircare over the past year. The current situation means we have a little extra time to pamper ourselves while we isolate at home. I have bonded hair extensions and keeping my natural hair healthy and strong is key to minimise any damage from those. I’ll admit, I let my routine go a little just before Christmas, but since then I’ve been sticking to my routine of masking at least once a week, and I’ve discovered some amazing treatments along the way to share with you all.

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The Lockdown Diaries

This has to be the most surreal time of everybody’s life right now, yeah? I literally feel like i’m in a movie. A bad one at that. And I doubt I’m alone on that front. The globe is literally at a standstill and if i’m honest, I think the effects of this are going to be felt for a very, very long time. It breaks my heart that so many people are losing their lives and that healthcare workers are so exhausted and stretched beyond belief already. Every time I watch the news my heart pretty much sinks to my stomach. And again, I doubt i’m alone on that front.

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Lynsey’s Guide to an Amsterdam City Break

I had wanted to visit Amsterdam for ages, it always looked like a really cool city with plenty of fun things to do and see. My sister was just as keen to go so, for her Christmas present, I bit the bullet and booked us a long weekend away.

The flight from Belfast is only an hour and ten minutes and because we were on an early flight out and an evening flight home, we ended up with almost 4 full days in the city to explore which I found to be ample time. We stayed in South Amsterdam in the Hotel Olympic which is beside the Olympic stadium. The hotel itself was clean and modern, the rooms were a decent size, comfortable and had an excellent bathroom with a powerful shower. The location of the hotel turned out to be very handy to travel to the city centre as there was a metro station only 5 minutes away. We picked up a 3 day travel pass for the metro for €19 each which got us unlimited metro travel for the duration. The metro to Amsterdam Centraal took around 15 minutes.

So what did we get up to?

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At Home Facial Routine to Beat the Winter Weather

It’s safe to say the weather has been pretty woeful of late. The cold wind has crept back in which means my skin has been taking a real battering and has been looking a little dull and feeling a bit drier than usual. When it’s miserable outside, I am perfectly content to stay cosy inside and have a bit of a pamper and what better way to do that than to give yourself a nice, hydrating at home facial?

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It’s Good To Talk.

This post may or may not ever see the light of day. Contrary to the title, it’s not an affiliated post with BT (if you’re too young to get that reference I’m raging…). Anyway, I digress Cause this is uncomfortable. This wee space on the internet is my light and easy hobby. Usually I feel that anything “heavy” has no place here. However, I think the horrendous news about Caroline Flack yesterday has made us all think about opening up or being more kind. This post has actually been in a draft form for weeks and weeks, resigned to die in the draft folder, but I figure if my experience helps one other person that needs it in some shape or form, it’s worthwhile publishing.

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Boozy Brunching at Babel, Belfast

If there’s one thing that I enjoy more than a nice cocktail, it’s an unlimited supply of a nice cocktail. A few weeks back to celebrate her birthday, we took our gal Legally Brunette NI to our first bottomless brunch at Babel. 

I will admit, I was somewhat sceptical before going as to what we would get for our money. I had preconceptions of pre-mixed, watered down, batch cocktails and pre-made, just okay food. It is a business after all and I tend to believe that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I couldn’t have been more wrong on this one.

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