My Essentials: Body Cream

After a scrub in the bath there is the pleasure of massaging in an ungent and my favourite to date is Goodworks' Good As Gold body cream. It smells wonderful, I think it's the orange oil and over time you will see a bit of a theme here. There's ylang ylang as well and that's another fragrance I'm partial to with its pungent, dark floral smell - the indoles I guess, I love jasmine too and that's the dominant note in the blend of essential oils I'm using in my facial oil. It also left my skin softer than I have felt it in a long time.

There are other body creams I'd use again: Aveda's Replenishing Body Moisturiser, Retro Lush's Potion, although I'm trying Lush's Creme Anglaise at the moment - this has orange in it too - and I have a pot of ELH Soaps (http://www.elhsoaps.co.uk/) body cream lined up in my bathroom cabinet.

My Essentials: Skincare (continued)

As I said two blogs ago we all need sunblock and vitamin C, as well as cleasing and moisturiser:

I've liked Weleda sun lotion, Paul & Joe sun filter/primer (now discontinued) - that worked really well with a lick of bronzing powder (again Paul & Joe's has been my favourite to date)and Aveda tinted moisturiser. I'm currently using Bobbie Brown's tinted balm but it's not a patch on the Aveda. I'd like to make a special mention for Philosophy's Supernatural as sun protection and foundation.

For cheap and cheerful vitamin C, Sainsbury's Defend! isn't too harsh or sickly - I get the effervescent tablets and get one of my eight glasses of water a day - but Solgar supplements, or Neal's Yard, are among my favourites for a really good quality, buffered product and with these I indulge in my weakness for bottled, sparkling water even though I have a filter on my kitchen tap!

But just now I'm off to watch the final episode of Skins...

My Essentials: Skincare

I've been obssessed with skincare from my early teens: from Boots No.17 orange flower range, Clinique, Clarins and Shiseido to Aveda. I've tried many others and my search has always been for a minimal, effective routine - I even hum and ha about eye treatments. Many times I've listed the essentials and repeatedly produced the same list: cleanser, exfoliator, moisturiser, sun protection and vitamin C. I have a few additions that creep in and out such as toner and eye treatments. I don't do masks, too much pfaffing, and they end up sitting in my bathroom cabinet - I want to get washed, dressed and on with the day.

I came around to making my own natural skincare from an interest in aromatherapy and natural perfumery. Encouraged by a friend who had already started making her own natural toiletries, I've voyaged through books and websites, and experimented on my kitchen table. Curiously enough my research has culminated with the lynch-pin to my regime being a toner/exfoliator based on orange flower water in an unintentional homage to my first flirtations with cleansing, toning and moisturising.

The Boots No.17 orange flower range of the 1970s had opaque plastic bottles with orange caps, and swirling orange floral designs printed around the bottles. Orange was the colour of N0.17 in the 1970s: mascaras in orange and white tubes with Art Nouveau inspired detailing, just like the black and yellow packaging of Mary Quant's Special Receipe skincare.

I've also put together a blend of essential oils that not only address my skincare concerns, but should suit all skin types, and I've enlisted my friends and family to try my toner and a face oil. The face oil is made with this blend of essential oils, along with jojoba and wheatgerm oil. I've focused on balancing patches of dryness and oiliness, cell renewal and the dreaded signs of aging - but that's where the vitamin C and sunblock come in.

My Essentials: Shampoo and Conditioner

I have tried many shampoos and conditioners and my all-time favourites remain Aveda's Shampure shampoo and conditioner, in litre bottles with pumps they are at their most cost effective. They leave hair tangle-free, shiny and gloriously scented and I've found nothing else as lovely to use. The fragrance comes as a scented candle as well, and can be added to Aveda's custom blends.

I defect regularly: to try other products recommended in magazines, or to try something cheaper. So I've spent more and I've spent less but I'm always disappointed and tell myself never to stray again. Most recently I've tried Natural Locks and I won't be buying these products again because they did not properly cleanse my hair and the conditioner has not been very effective at detangling. Recently,snowed-in in Hampshire I've bought Boots Botanics locally and have yet to form a conclusion.