Hair of the Day - Beach Waves

Today I decided to go for a slightly more wavy look than what I normally achieve with my hair from just scrunching alone.

I washed my hair in Umberto Giannini Curl Friends Keep Calm Shampoo and conditioner. I then used my usual John Freida Frizz Ease Curl Perfector spray, combed it through and then turned my head upside down and scrunched. I left it to dry naturally and when it was completely dry I used my conical wand to add some waves to the top layers of hair, then turned my head upside down again and used it in the underneath layers. I then used two kirby grips to pin back the fringe section of hair and voila!



This is the finished look and I was quite pleased with it:)

I'm not sure of the quality of the photo though. I took it with my new iPhone and I used the function that allows you to take the picture with the screen facing you so that you can see what you are photographing (great for taking pics of yourself). However, I don't think the quality this way is the same as the quality I would get if I used it the normal way.

What way did you wear your hair today?

Easy Daily Exfoliation

Now that summer has made an appearance in the UK it's time to think about getting your skin in tip top condition so that you can show more of it than normal. Strappy vests, shorts, skirts now form the dress code for summer and the jeans, long sleeved tops and boots have been banished to the back of the wardrobe, if only for a little while:)


So here is my top tip for easy daily exfoliation and you won't even know that you are doing it. It requires no extra effort whatsover.



First of all you need one of these:










A good old faithful scruncie for the shower. Now, maybe you already use one of these and therefore don't need to be converted. If you haven't used one then now is the time to get one. Squirt some of your shower gel on to one of these babies and it will lather up good and proper. Give yourself a good allover scrub with this and it will gently exfoliate at the same time as washing you. As an added bonus your shower gel will last a much longer time, saving you ££££s.



Step 2 invloves ditching your beautiful tumble dried soft and fluffy towels for scratchy towels that have been line dried. Rougher towels will help to exfoliate your skin as you dry yourself.

So now you can exfoliate without even knowing you're doing it and say hello to smooth skin:)

Embrace the Pale

I was at an outdoor concert last week and the Beauty Therapist in me was genuinely shocked at the sheer number of girls with very badly applied fake tan. Everywhere I looked all I saw was streaky orange body parts. Not really a good look;0

Check out here for some celebrity tan disasters.

These celebrity disasters are nowhere near as disasterous as the tanning disasters I saw. At least the celebs have the main body of their tan well applied (even if they did forget their hands or legs lol). The girls I saw were simply a mass of orange streaks.

There were many other girls there who had embraced the pale and gone as their natural selves. They still wore the short skirts/shorts/skimpy tops but they looked a million times better than their orange counterparts.

The moral of this story is if you can't apply a fake tan well then don't;0

Instyle Freebie

Lots of UK magazines are giving away great stuff with their July issues (see previous post on free Benefit makeup with Glamour).

Today I picked up July's Instyle issue and bagged myself (literally) a free shopping bag. The bag is by Moschino and is gorgeous. I can just picture myself with this bag;)

What freebies have you had lately?

Elizabeth Arden Makeover

Today I decided to go to my local Elizabeth Arden counter to get some of their 8 Hour Cream. This is a cult classic product and also one that I have never tried. I decided today was the day that I was going to get me some of that. I have never tried any Elizabeth Arden products in my life, so in order to become a better beauty addict I decided that I really must try some EA;)

I went to my local counter which is in a small Boots. The EA assistant was extremely helpful (Clinique staff, you could learn a thing or 2 from this lady), telling me all about the 8 Hour Cream, how she uses it and what general things it can be used for. It sure does sound like a miracle as it can be used on very dry patches of skin, minor cuts and also burns, although I hope I never have to find out if it works on minor burns lol

She then went on to show me a special box of 8 Hour goodies (hand cream, body lotion, lip balm etc) and told me that this was much better value for money. Of course they always say that but I am a sucker for more stuff for only a few quid extra, so of course I caved and got the box set.

There was an offer on in Boots that if you bought 2 or more products you got 500 Advantage Card Points (don't you just love Boots Advantage Card?) and she also knew that there was an offer in the Advantage Card Machine which would give me a further 150 points. Top score for this sales assistant!! I bought some moisturiser so that I could get the points. I got Intervene which was recommended by the SA.

Then she suggested that I come in any time for a makeover and as it was quiet at the time I asked if I could get one there and then. That was no problem and here is the makeup she applied for me:



I was very happy with her choice of colours for me and also the application. I loved the lipstick colour and might go back and purchase that. The makeup lasted all day although the lipstick only lasted until I needed some food.

My neck always looks much lighter on camera than it is in real life. I just can't get the lighting right:(

Expect some 8 Hour Reviews in the next few weeks. I can't wait to give it a try.

Have you tried any EA products? What are your faves?

Free Benefit Makeup

Get your mits on some free Benefit makeup with the July 2010 issue of Glamour Magazine which goes on sale tomorrow, June 10th 2010.

This year they are giving away pencils. You have a choice of:

Eye Bright - Instant Eye Brightener (worth £14)
Bad Gal - Smouldering Black pencil (worth £14) or
It Stick - Conceal it all pencil (worth £17)

You can choose your product or collect all 3!! I'll definitely be collecting all 3:)

This is a bargain not to be missed as the magazine only costs £2. So for £6 you can have all 3:)

What will you be picking up?

Paint Brushes for Makeup?

I saw a Youtube video recently from a very lovely lady, debbick1 (click on the link to check out her YT channel and subscribe) who had discovered a much cheaper alternative to makeup brushes. We all know that really good ones (ie MAC) can cost an arm and a leg so if a cheaper alternative can be found then why not give it a go?

Debby very kindly offered to send me some and I very readily agreed:) Today my parcel arrived and in it was 3 of the nicest brushes I have ever seen. They are every bit as soft as she said they were in her video and they feel like really great quality.

From left to right we have Loew-Cornell 270 Maxine's Mop

Robert Simmons E52 Oval Mop and finally

Robert Simmons S57

The Loew-Cornell one looks like a bigger version of the MAC 239 and it will be great for putting colour all over the lid. The middle one looks perfect for foundation and the last one is like a slanted eyeliner brush. I am really looking forward to trying these out and can't wait to let you know what I think.

Debby also has a great blog you should check out and follow:)

Have you ever used paintbrushes for your makeup?