My favourite products to help me unwind.

I am a stress-head. Fact. I worry continuously, and if you ask anyone who knows me they'd tell you how tightly wound and highly strung I am. Being able to relax is not a skill that comes easily to me. There are few things that leave me feeling genuinely chilled. However, there are some products that I am loving right now when I want to try and unwind from a stressful day.

The first of which is Elemis quiet mind relaxing bath elixir. The smell is sensational without being overpowering. It leaves my skin feeling soft rather than dry like some bath products can. And similarly, does not leave the bath oily like some products do. Which is just as well, since I don't find falling and nearly breaking my neck (or in my case breaking my ribs - true story) a particularly calming experience at bath time.

The next step in my unwinding process is the Aromatherapy Associates Revive body gel. This is a new addition to my collection courtesy of Birchbox, and I love it. When I first read the name of the product I was expecting it to be a little heavy or greasy, and I couldn't have been more wrong. The gel is a lovely light, cooling texture that soothes the skin and the mind alike. It sinks into the skin in record time- allowing me to crawl straight into bed without worrying about sticking to the sheets.

And, after immediately tucking myself up into bed I treat myself to This Works deep sleep pillow spray. I received a sample of this in a goody bag from Space NK recently, and I am definitely going to be purchasing the full size of this. It is pitched as being "infused with essential oils of Lavender, Vetivert and Wild Camomile to soothe the body and mind" and boy, does it deliver on its promise.

The most important thing about all these products for me is that the smells aren't too strong. Personally, I find a lot of products that are meant to be relaxing are often smell to powerful which just irritates rather than calms.

What are everybody else's favourite products to help them relax?

XoXo Rouge

Aveeno Cream

I unfortunately have very severe hay fever and over the last couple of years this has started to effect my skin. Initially this was just contact dermatitis on the backs of my hands, but this summer it got a lot worse. I had dermatitis on my hands and face, and incredibly itchy skin that has become very reactive and sensitive of late. My skin has never been particularly sensitive before and so there are likely to be more posts to follow on my quest to find products that work on my simultaneously sensitive and oily skin.

So my first review on this topic definitely deserves to be Aveeno Cream and Aveeno products in general. Aveeno has been a life saver!!! The cream is cooling and soothing and not too heavy, slightly gel-like in texture and it seriously works. The dermatitis on my hands cleared within days despite every other product, prescribed or over the counter, failing miserably to have any effect at all.

I also have the Aveeno lotion, body wash, and bath and shower oil. All of which work wonders to soothe my itchy skin. I will follow soon with a review of the body wash as this is for sure another hero product for irritated skin. The Aveeno cream is £6.99 from Boots for 100ml or £13.39 for 300ml.

Just as a quick note - when I couldn't get hold of any of the bath oil, the pharmacist explained to me that the oil works because of the colloidal oatmeal used in the ingredients. She explained that an interim alternative is to fill a thin sock with porridge oats and run your bath water through the sock which will create a similar effect. I haven't actually tried this yet but I'm interested to know if anyone else has heard/tried this before?

XoXo Rouge.