How to tame wavy hair
I think from a young age I’ve always felt like I was born in the wrong era. I love 80s music anything from Fleetwood Mac to Whitney Huston and the fashion that came with it! My obsession with the 80s and early 90s comes from my mum, with Whitney always playing when I was young, my mum was the original big hair and big earrings girl. With her naturally thick curly hair she always had to tame her curls and most of my childhood memories of her are big rollers and hairspray : ) every time I smell hair spray I’m 5 again helping her get ready and sitting still while she finally gives in and puts lipstick on me and sprays me with perfume! To me my mum is the most glamorous person I know, she always wore amazing clothes and had endless pairs of shoes. My favourite thing to do when her and my dad went out of a weekend was to sneak a peak in her jewellery box, bangles and shiny rings galore and earrings the size of my fist. I think most of her bangles are in my collection now after years of me sneaking them out of her room into mine.
I love to go to town with her shopping because even now she know exactly what to wear and can pick out an outfit that I wouldn’t dream of putting together and somehow look amazing in them? I always though daughters were supposed to be the advisers when it came to fashion but for me there is no one I trust more when it comes to fashion than my mum.
I have inevitably inherited her hair and as my dad has straight hair I ended up somewhere in the middle with thick waves. After years of ghd straightening it I’m starting to go back to the natural way of hair spray and mouse. I love to watch Pretty Woman and see Julia Roberts with her long wavy hair and I somehow feel at home.
So naturally I have tried a few different products along the way and found these to be the best at separating the waves from the frizz:
VO5 Give Me Texture Tousled Style Spray = £3.36 from Boots
VO5 Mega Hold Gel Spray = £2.85 from Boots
I wouldn’t waste your money on expensive products like Frizz Ease as most of the time I felt it made my hair go a little greasy and lifeless.
Here are some celebs who have embraced their waves:
Kate Hudson, Jessie J and Jennifer Aniston have all opted for the natural look here.
New Years Resolutions
25 books in 12 months! I could do that? It was 2 days before New Years and along with getting the apartment in a clean tidy order for our New Years eve party I was also trying to think of my resolutions. As I brushed, mopped and polished I made a mental note for 2012.
- to read 25 books in 12 months (all mostly chick lit)
- to keep up with a night time beauty regime I had been trying for the past few weeks – cleanse, tone, and moisturise - trust me it seems easy but when its 11pm and all’s you want to do is sleep beauty takes a turn to lazy town!
- to get my own cup of tea and biscuit and not to ask others (mainly my boyfriend) to get them for me, along with anything else I want that I don’t really want to move to get!
As I hovered I checked over my mental list and stuck with those 3, I mean how hard could that be?
So we are now 2 months into the New Year and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s pretty hard! 2 books down and I’ve realised I’m a much slower reader than thought as I should be 4 books down by now. My beauty regime is more of a dictatorship and well as for number 3 well I did try!?
The good news is my New Years resolutions have introduced me to some really great products.
The first being Bio Oil:
I read about this on a website after googling good moisturisers and as this had some great feedback I went with it. A word of warning is that like all great things it’s comes at a cost to your bank account! Bio Oil offers three sizes, small, medium and large and ranges in price from £8.99 – £19.99 but it is worth it. Less is more with this product and 2 months in I’ve only used a ¼ of the large bottle so it’s not as costly as I expected. My skin is soft and I found putting a small amount on my face evened out my skin tone.
My second find was Clarins Eye contour Gel:
I’ve tried everything to reduce dark circles under my eyes and with this being my number one reason for very rarely going make up free for fear of scaring small children, I was slightly sceptical that Clarins could do the trick but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the gel cooling and non-sticky it worked! I used it after my skin regime before bed and woke up feeling much fresher and looking less tired. The down side as always is cost at £26.50 it does seem pricy but I always buy it from Boots to boost up my Advantage Card points.
Xen Tan Review
In the past I’ve always believed in DIY tanning. After one too many dodgy spray tans I decided that my own handy work was best when it came to a nice, NATURAL tan. Then much like the start of a cheesy true life story in a trashy women’s own magazine Xen Tan came into my life!!
I’d never heard of Xen Tan before and with out a trip to Infinity Beauty salon I still would be none the wiser. I got talking to one of the beauticians while she done my pedicure and she raved about a new tan that rivalled St Tropez. After I’d composed myself from the initial shock I laughed at the idea that there was anything to rival St Tropez, but she was sure of it and even challenged me to try it. This was a few months ago and each time I’ve done my tan the thought to try Xen Tan had crossed my mind but then immediately followed by that dread of try out a new tan. The flashbacks of me standing half naked in a freezing cold shower cubical while a Lara Croft lookalike sprayed me from head to toe, all the time insisting I didn’t inhale (which I would fail miserably at and end up with a lung full of tan and brown nostrils!) NO I couldn’t do it I’d just do my own St Tropez that night and be done with it, but as I was thinking this my hand had reached for my phone and dialled Infinity Beauty for a 3pm appointment. So as I walked to the salon I was nervous, excited and a little intrigued to see if Xen Tan actually worked.
As soon as I arrived my mind was put at easy by the lovely figure flattering lighting in the tanning room (not the harsh florescent type lights but the soft warm…..okay dull lighting!) So as the beautician asked me to step onto some sticky feet pads to stop my soles turning the colour of mahogany I instantly had a good feeling about Xen-Tan. Within 10 minutes I had two coats of an olive completion which for typically pale English girl is an achievement in itself! The treatment cost £20 which is a bargan considering the salon was warm and welcoming and the beautician even cleaned my nails and hands to stop the dreaded tan stains.
I was even more surprised that I looked normal and didn’t smell of bourbon biscuits! As I walked the 10 minutes back to the flat I didn’t get one side glance at passers by and didn’t feel the colour of a traffic cone. The tan was slightly sticky but apart from that I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
Here are some celebrities who share the love of Xen Tan:
One tip is to have dark sheets as the tan did rub onto the bed cover but was easily washed out. I was glad that I went to sleep looking nice and tanned as appose to looking like I had spent a few days in the wilderness at and SAS training camp with mud smeared face and patchy arms.
Xen Tan washed off lovely and left an event cover all over with out looking dark and obvious. As much as admitting it pains me it has topped St Tropez and my favourite tan proven by the fact that I’m booked in again tomorrow to have a top up! So happy tanning and let me know if you have had similar results with Xen Tan x
Nails – Gel Nails x
When I look at my calendar and see the entry highlighting a friends wedding is approaching I immediately think of three things…..Dress, hair and tan! With these three criteria covered I was strangely calm about the looming nuptials that will inevitably mean a sheer rush and panic on the morning of the wedding due to a malfunction of either or all of these things. Either my hair won’t sit right, my tan will look streaky or hasn’t took and my dress which fitted perfectly the night before has some how shrunk and I am re-enacting the scene from the Incredible Hulk where Dr Bruce Banners clothes begin to tear apart due to brute force! On this occasion however all of the above seemed to be doing as they were told and my hair was staying in place my tan was a nice glow and my dress was actually loose! As I let out a sigh of relief my mind was taken back to 24 hours prior when disaster struck early in the form of Gel Nails!
So it wasn’t the morning of the wedding it was 2 days before and I was getting my hair highlighted when I notice a girl in the corner set up to do nails. My first though was a nice Shellac nail colour that would last for the wedding and hopefully the following week when I had another wedding to go to. So as I sat down to get them done I managed to some how agree to getting gel nails, anyone who knows me will vouch for how easily taken in I am and will agree to anything when I hear a sales pitch (hence my trip to Halifax bank to pay off my over drafted ended 20 minutes later with my overdraft still unpaid and a new credit card in hand) I don’t know how it happens I just can’t seem to say no!
So as the beautician applied the acrylic and then the gel top coat (which was pink and sparkly! This being the reason why I was easily swayed when two of my favorite things were combined into one!)
As you can see they were lovely!
I began to convince myself that I am 23 years of age, living away from home and have a professional job so surely I can manage with acrylic nails!! How hard can it be?......the answer VERY!! Not only was I walking around like Edward Scissor hands I couldn’t even zip up my coat or count out the change for a very disgruntled bus driver!
Fast-forward 24 hours and I was sitting in a nail salon in the city center with my hands in a bowl of acetone and thinking how I am the only person who would willingly pay to have gel nails applied only to then have to pay 24 hours later to have them soaked off again. Needless to say I learnt my lesson when it comes to false nails, just stick to good old OPI!
Here are some celebrities who can pull off the trend:
Jessie J perfects techno nails while Beyonce combins the multi coloured and gel nail look! With Rhianna's sporting some fab nail art.
If you are able to manage with acrylics then defiantly try the gel nails they are fabulous and for someone who can cope will make your nails look amazing. Just make sure you can cope before getting them stuck on because trust me an acetone soak is not for a faint hearted! x
Multi Coloured Nails – The indecisive girls fashion fix
Lately i've been noticing the rise of the multi coloured nails. Now don't get me wrong I often notice trends popping up every now and again but I have learnt the hard way that it is sometimes best to let these trends pass you by on their way to style town. For example the headband come flower clip combo that seemed to be everywhere, it consisted of an artificial flower glued onto an elastic headband which now when I think back was actually not very complicated but when I wondered in to Accessorize on my lunch I decided that I had to have one and by having one I would some how become some pixie, bohemian style icon. Skip 4 hours to me trying it on in my bedroom mirror only to discover I actually looked like an Easter egg or worse a disheveled nursery child! No I learnt then that it may look good on the girl sitting next to you on the bus but the likely hood is you will look like a fool!
So you can imagine when I saw the new nail trend I acknowledged it with approval then quickly did nothing to recreate it on myself. It wasn't until I was painstakingly trying to decide which nail color to wear when my boyfriend asked why I just didn't wear them all. It was like a child being told to just eat all the pick an mix, why not, knock yourself out......so I did and played it safe with just pink and blue. The next night I progressed onto purple, orange and pink and I fear it wont stop there! by the end of the week I will have a different color for each nail.
Some of my favorites that I've seen so far are:
Obviously the lovely Lauren Conrad with the two tone look!
The fab Caggie Dunlop from Made in Chelsea with pastel color
Pixie Lott with these lovely bright pinkies!
So needless to say I think multi coloured nails will be around for a while to come. My advice is have some fun and this way you get to be indecisive and spoilt all at once! : ) x
Best Foundation Finds (and worst)
Foundation is like a good pair of jeans, perfect once you find the right match but a nightmare finding it! Every girl has different taste and we know this from the hundreds of brands and shades out there on the market. So how is a girl to trawl and rummage through the mountain of testers and search through brand upon brand for the best foundation that will be the ONE! Every girl will depend upon her foundation to stick with her, though sleet, hale, and those first dates that require no faint hearted cover up!
Each time I sense that it is time to change foundation I get the inevitable dread of knowing a long search is ahead of me. But that dread is worse when it comes with the news that your favourite foundation has been discontinued!! This is exactly what happened last year when I went into John Lewis to buy my Clinique Gentle Light Makeup.
I used Clinique for 3 years and loved it so much that I didn’t even lose sleep at the £23 price tag. With no warning of it being discontinued I didn’t have a chance to stock buy or savour my last drop! Instead I was left wondering round John Lewis make up department looking for something to fill its super sleek shoes! To me Gentle Light was the Jimmy Choo of make up and I was now metaphorically speaking left shoeless! So after months of searching and pounds wasted I finally found the perfect foundation. It comes in the form of Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation! This has to be the best foundation I have come across yet.
From the months of trail and errors and countless wasted pounds I can tell you the best foundationsI found on the market today were:
1. Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation
3. Clinique Super Balance Foundation
And the worst:
1. Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse
2. Clinique Almost Make up (discontinued)
3. Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous Make Up (this is with great sadness beacuse I love Benefit too!)
Although I read endless blogs and articles just like this for tips and tricks in the end its what you think looks best on you, no one can make the decision the for you when it comes to something as personal as foundation. When you dont have the luxury of a make up artist you have to become your own and that means doing the leg work, so I hope this article gets you there a little quicker.
Yves Saint Laurent – Oh me, Oh my
My first experience of YSL was a Christmas present from my best friend in the form of their renowned Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radient 
Touch Highlighting Pen.
From the moment I took it out the expensive gold box I was hooked! The heavy, sleek casing ooze YSL chic and I passed the point of no return in the land of concealers. The smooth finish left my dark circles banished to sleepless night town and my skin glowed. Don’t ask me where I had been all this time that I never knew about this gift from the beauty gods but I’d found it now. 4 years later and Touche Éclat is a constant resident in my make up bag. The only draw back is its cost…. at £25 it is a bank breaker when you hear the last click of life but worth every penny.
A recent addition to my beauty regime (and a continuation of my love affair with YSL) is a product I received as a sample with the latest Touche Éclat purchase. It comes in the form of Flash Radiance Skincare Brush.
I used it after my moisturizer and immediately felt my skin smooth out. The next day my make up looked fresh and light. I suffer from the 3pm make up shift and expected no different so was really surprised when checking my reflection in the lift mirror at 5pm to find my make up in check and my mascara in place. So you could say I found new levels of appreciation for this product. Appreciation that even lasted as I handed over my bank card at the product counter to pay the £35 for a replacement! It lasts for 3 months so in my view a total of 40p a day, bargain!
For expensive beauty treats Boots has to be your first stop. With my advantage card in hand I watch my points rack up with the help of these beauties! There are 144 points for the Flash Radiance and 96 points for Touche Éclat to collect. See the Boots website to get your hands on an advantage card! http://www.boots.com/en/Advantage-Card/ You will wonder how you got by with out one x