The sun has got his hat on... hip hip hip hip hooray!

Hello my little cuppycakes - hope you are all well! I feel like I haven't blogged for ages, when in reality it's only been a week. I've had a pretty busy and fun-filled week though, and there is no other reason for my lack of blogposts than the sunshine. I have seriously been loving this weather, it's so warm and just gorgeous. It's nice to finally see something other than doom and gloom and rain clouds, so I've been out making the most of it with family and friends. Oh, and the most exciting thing this week? We've booked a trip to London for Mr Lollipop's birthday! I am super-duper excited, as I may have mentioned once or twice how much I adore the big city.

I'm sidetracking a little bit as this post isn't meant to be an update - whoops! Anyway, as I was saying.... Unfortunately, there are some downsides to lots of sunshine, and in my job I have seen so many customers wanting to buy calamine lotion, aftersun and antihistamines to cure their sunburn and prickly heat. It's easy to overlook using sun protection, but you shouldn't take it for granted that the sun won't affect you because you are not in a notoriously hot country. One of my Summer essentials, apart from sunblock, is a tube of Aloe Vera gel.

My tube is from Holland & Barretts and is from their own branded range, and a quick website search shows me that it's on offer at the moment, priced at £2.99 (my Granny gave me mine so I wasn't aware of the price). This stuff is awesome at soothing your skin after a day in the sunshine. It's organic and certified - and though I'm not 100% sure what 'certified' means, I'm guessing it's good!

I really don't like products containing aloe vera because the smell is just nauseating to me, but oddly, this doesn't smell like something I would associate with aloe vera. It isn't odourless, yet it isn't an unpleasant smell... which isn't helpful to you in the slightest really, is it? It just smells like any other gel I guess. It's a clear gel that feels really cooling when you put it on your skin. It rubs in easily without leaving a greasy residue and I don't feel sticky after I've used it, so it's great for using at the beach because sand won't stick to you. I use this during my sunbathing session, and I apply a generous layer as soon as I come out of the sun. It's really moisturising too and I find it so much better than any aftersun lotion.

Hope you have lots of fun in the sun, but remember to use sunscreen my sweetpeas! Whilst being tanned is pretty, being chargrilled is not. If you do overdo it, this tube of loveliness will be your saviour, I pinky promise.

xoxo