In Retrospect | April 2017

Well, another month has passed us by in the blink of an eye and we're now a third of the way through 2017 - which is pretty scary really! I've been a bit disappointed with the weather towards the end of the month, as it seems to have gone really cold again, but apart from that April has been pretty darn good! As always, I like to take the opportunity to check in with how the month has gone, including my goals for the month...

April Empties.

Will Repurchase: Toni & Guy Matt Texture Dry Shampoo | This is a favourite for me, it's a bit more expensive than I'd like at full price but I've noticed that it's often on offer in Asda. // Kind Natured Coconut & Passionflower Body Wash | This smells amazing and doesn't trigger my eczema - yay! It's also super-affordable and available in Boots. // Super Facialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C+ Brighten Cleansing Oil | I loooove this. It smells beautiful and works really well to break down make-up and general day-to-day grime. // Rimmel London Match Perfection Silky Loose Powder | Powder is an absolute must-have for my oily skin - this is cheap and cheerful and, whilst it doesn't keep me matte all day - I've yet to find a powder that does...

Might Repurchase: Klairs AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner | I have a few other acid toners to use up before I think about repurchasing but this did work nicely for me. // Elemental Herbology Facial Detox Masque | This actually reminded me of the Origins Out Of Trouble Mask which I love when my skin is playing up - this one is a little more expensive so I'd probably go for the Origins, but you never know! // Amie New Leaf Deep Pore Exfoliating Polish | I loved the scent of this, really fresh and mango-y, and it was quite nice once a week or so to smooth my skin out. I'm trying to move away from manual exfoliators but this one was quite gentle so I may pick it up again in future, who knows!

Won't Repurchase: Umberto Giannini Morning After Dry Shampoo | This did nothing to refresh my hair and I wasn't too keen on the scent either. // Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo for Dark Tones | This worked okay but not as well as the Toni & Guy one, and I just can't justify the price! // Elemis Hydra Balance Day Cream | This was quite nice as a moisturiser but I didn't find it did anything to balance my oily skin, which I was disappointed about - maybe I was hoping for too much!?

April Samples.

Sanctuary Spa 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask | This is one of those self-heating masks which feels super luxurious on the skin - I really liked this actually, it didn't dry down as I was expecting, meaning it didn't leave my skin feeling stripped or uncomfortable as some clay masks can, and it seemed to work quite well to clear my skin out. | £10/100ml here // L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil-in-Cream Leave In Cream | I wasn't expecting to like this but it actually made my hair feel really nice and soft, without weighting it down as I was worried it might. | £4.50/170g here // Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Moisturiser | Yhis felt cool, light and refreshing on my skin which I really liked. It sank in quickly without leaving a greasy or sticky feeling, and seemed to work well to hydrate my skin. | £12.99/50ml here.

April Goals.

A post shared by Jess ▪ The Indigo Hours (@theindigohours) on Apr 20, 2017 at 12:25pm PDT

• Read at least two books. Sadly I'm not quite there with this one - I did finish The Outrun by Amy Liptrot which I'd really recommend, but am still working my way through the second book of the month! I'm really enjoying My Son's Not Rainman, but don't seem to find myself reaching for it as much as I should.
• See friends at least twice. A couple of walks with my friend Matt, a leaving party where everyone had to bring a dish from a country they'd never been to (Afghan food is delicious, FYI), a few afternoons hanging out with one of my friends from Warrior and a trip to the cinema to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which I really enjoyed! We've also had a couple of leaving dos with work, which have involved a lot of delicious food.
• Interview prep. I feel like I've made a good start on this, I've got another couple of weeks until interview day so I can get some more prep in but I'm feeling pretty good at the moment.
• Get out on my bike. I managed a couple of rides, although I have to say I've not been getting out as much towards the end of the month - the weather hasn't been as good, so it's far less appealing to head out in the evening after work! That said, I need to make more of an effort as I'm finding I'm really enjoying cycling at the moment.
• No chocolate or sweet treats til Easter. I made it! I had a Creme Egg on Easter Sunday and it was so disappointing... And then I've basically not stopped eating sweets and chocolate since then, it's pretty horrific. I really need to sort it out actually because, for the first time, I've noticed that my skin has got so much worse since I started eating sugar again.

Four out of five, then - I'm happy with that!!

April Loves.
I loved Nida's post about her experience of doing a face mask every day for a month - I was amazed by her dedication and I've added approximately 943 masks to my wishlist as a result of reading her post... It's no surprise to anyone that Gwennan is pretty much a monthly feature in my Loves, and this month I've really enjoyed her impartial post about the upcoming General Election - she's even included gorgeous illustrations of some main party leaders, and has managed to make Theresa May look almost appealing (I am far less impartial than she is, clearly!)
Here on The Indigo Hours I shared a little peek into my perfume collection, and some tips on keeping motivated at the gym, so do check those out if you missed them!

A post shared by Jess ▪ The Indigo Hours (@theindigohours) on Apr 22, 2017 at 12:44am PDT

April In Summary.

All in all, April has been quite a nice month! We've had some half-decent weather (and some horrific weather - snow! Ugh!) so I've been able to get out and about a bit more, things have been going well with work, I had a nice little road trip with my Mum to watch my brother racing... How was your April? Have you been up to anything exciting?

xo
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