By Tara Adamson
I don’t know about you, but at this time of year, my skin needs a little bit of TLC. Well, alright, a lot. The combination of unpredictable weather, central heating and overindulgence during the festive period wreaks havoc on your skin and I’m still feeling the after effects several weeks on. A trip to the beauty salon would be a real treat but time is precious and often the luxury of nipping off to a salon for a couple of hours is just not an option. But the good news is that it is possible to pamper yourself and do your own beauty treatments at home that fit round your hectic schedule. Here’s what we found for you:
SET THE SCENE
To treat and transform yourself and indulge your senses, help yourself to relax by placing deliciously scented candles around the room. Try Neal’s Yard Divine Balancing Aromatherapy Candle (£28) with harmonising bergamot and patchouli and pour yourself a cup of Beauté Chinoise’s cooling, moistening and rebalancing Thé 
Yin (£16) to induce calmness and serenity. Mama Mio’s Clean Slate High Protein Aloe-rich Cleanser (£22.50) will deeply but gently cleanse your skin to remove impurities without drying or irritating skin, enabling other products to work to their full potential. Gently stroke Ole Henriksen’s Purifying Eye Make Up Remover Pads (£21) over your eyes to remove make-up and leave the eye area feeling clean and soft with no oily residue. Brighten up a tired complexion with ESPA’s Refining Skin Polish (£25.50) – it will remove lingering dead skin cells, 
clear pores to stimulate cell renewal and boost circulation revealing the beautiful softness and radiance you lost a wee while ago. Or try Kiehl’s Overnight Biological Peel (£39.50) – a potent, effective peel which helps to renew skin leaving it soft, even and vibrant, helping to reduce pore size. Chanel’s deliciously creamy Hydramax + Active Moisture Mask (£36) will rehydrate for optimal moisture levels and boost density and radiance, leaving your skin more supple with a refined texture.
EYES
Estée Lauder’s divine little Stress Relief Eye Mask pads (£25 for 10) are a fantastically revitalising, hydrating and soothing 10-minute pick me up for the delicate eye area (keep them in the fridge to make them even more effective). Clarins’ Daily Energizer Wake Up Booster (£15) contains redcurrant, green coffee and white tea extracts to refresh, tone and revive skin vitality. Nourish lacklustre complexions with Barefoot Botanical’s Instant Youth Serum (£36.95) – an antioxidant-rich, flash beauty balm containing 100% natural wrinkle smoothing and collagen-boosting goodies. Lines: Smooth deep lines and wrinkles and help to keep new ones at 
bay with Boots No7’s Protect & Perfect Intense Day Cream (£22) – a cooling velvety cream which works on three levels, containing SPF 15, five-star UVA technology, and powerful antioxidant and pro-retinol complexes; smoothed over face and neck, it will help to plump and firm the skin. Neal’s Yard Remedies Rejuvenating Frankincense Eye & Lip Serum (£22.50) will help to enliven and repair delicate tissues round eyes and minimise fine lines. And finally, give your lips a treat with Turbo Balm by This Works (£10) which will leave them plump, moist and smooth.
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BODY
Relax and soothe your senses with Aveda’s luxuriously aromatic Calming Body Cleanser (£16.50), then revitalise dull winter skin by buffing with Clinique’s Sparkle Skin Exfoliator (£17). For a satiny soft
body, smother yourself in Liz Earle’s delicious Energising Body Lotion (£17) concentrating on arms, hips and thighs; then generously spritz yourself in Liz Earle’s sensuous Botanical Essence No 1 (£42) to enhance the feeling of newfound well-being. Liberally apply Elizabeth Arden’s indispensable Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant (£25) to any irritated, cracked, peeling or dry bits on face or body; it’s a fantastic multi-tasker – soothing comfort in a tube.
HANDS/FEET
Pamper your feet and hands with Leighton Denny’s Totally Groomed nail kit (£24.76); it contains all those essentials you need for perfect home manicures and pedicures. Rid your feet of the dry, rough, hard skin that has built up ever since you banished your sandals to the back of your wardrobe with Champney’s Spa Treatments Foot Scrub (£6) – it gives a newfound spring in your step and leaves your feet feeling just like new. For velvety soft feet, massage in The Sanctuary’s Intensive Rescue Heel Balm (£7.45). The shea butter, wheat germ, vitamin e and rose hip oil will leave your feet super moisturised, refreshed and naturally fragranced with lavender and tea tree oils. L’Occitane’s 20% Shea Butter Hand Cream (£17.50) is the ideal beauty balm to replenish dry or damaged skin. Quickly absorbed, it instantly soothes and hydrates leaving skin comfortably soft and silky.
STOCKISTS; Elizabeth Arden, Boots No7, Champneys, Leighton Denny, The Sanctuary & This Works – www.boots.com; Aveda – www.aveda.co.uk; Barefoot Botanicals – www.barefoot-botanicals.co.uk; Beaute Chinoise – www.beautechinoise.co.uk; ; Chanel – 0207 493 3836 and stockists nationwide; Clarins – www.clarins.co.uk; Clinique – www.clinique.co.uk; Liz Earle – www.uk.lizearle.com; ESPA – www.espaonline.com; Ole Henriksen – www.beautybay.com; Kiehl’s – www.kiehls.co.uk; Estee Lauder – www.estee-lauder.co.uk; L’Occitane – www.loccitane.co.uk; Mama Mio – www.mamamio.com; Neal’s Yard Remedies – www.nealsyardremedies.com
