I have some lovely new products in my beauty basket (I almost exclusively use only natural & organic products these days) and they’re helping me get my skin in shape for spring. A combination of some fantastic samples from the recent SS14 sampler box (now sold out!) by A Beautiful World and some new products from a long time favourite, Barefoot SOS (…)

I’ve always found Barefoot SOS to be super gentle and soothing on the skin and these three products are lovely to use. From the pink Repair & Renew range – which contains rosehip oil pressed from rose seeds from the Chilean Andes – I’ve been using the Daily Replenishing Cream which is nice and thick and with just a hint of fragrance. I always turn naturally to heavier creams and my skin is definitely thanking me for this one.

My one area of concern on my face is lines around the eyes, so I’m applying the Smoothing Eye Serum day and night, also from the Repair & Renew range, which seems to be softening the skin and improving the condition. I’ve also been using the award-winning Face & Body Rescue Cream from the Dry & Sensitive range on heat rashes I’m prone to on my arms – it’s very soothing and clears any rough patches really well. Only £5.95 for a tube and good for eczema and psoriasis they say.

Also on my face, on a weekly basis, I’ve started using A Beautiful World’s plumping Bee Venom Mask face. I rubbed in a good dollop, left it on for about 15-20 minutes then cleaned off with a cloth. It’s not a mask that dries, it stays creamy and to be honest my hungry skin had soaked up quite a lot of it. Leaving skin noticeably plumper and moistened, I will definitely be using this regularly.

Now that spring has sprung and I’m venturing into a more summer-like wardrobe, I’m re-introducing my skin to a bit of colour with the absolutely brilliant Chocolate Sun Cocoa Lite self-tan, the only organic self-tan around. And brilliantly, instead of that horrid biscuit smell most self-tans have, this ones smells of chocolate. I smooth it on with a mix of body cream for evenness (although I’m probably diluting the effect) and then just wash between my fingers afterwards. It’s a very gentle colour, but I love it; you could go for the stronger stuff. As you can see from the picture, I just have a little sampler bottle but I have a big bottle sitting in my online basket as I type…

And to the feet! My heels haven’t been in great shape, emerging from the winter months cracked and dry so I’ve been applying this delicious (more chocolate!) Mu London White Chocolate Elbow, Knee & Heel cream morning and night to my heels and now a week in they are looking pretty presentable. This buttery pot of loveliness is an exclusive collaboration with Mu London and A Beautiful Word.

And finally, a bit of a new thing, I’ve been squirting myself with this gorgeous Earl Grey & vanilla fragrance by French brand Valeur Absolue.

What beauty essentials are you using for the spring?

The Barefoot SOS samples were kindly sent for review. Everything from A Beautiful World was from their fab SS14 sampler box which I snapped up for £20 – I highly recommend getting on the waiting list for the next one as they are so worth it, this one contained two full size products in addition to smaller samples.