fabulous feet

Taking care of your feet is so important, especially for us women! Wearing heals can have bad effects on not only the appearance but the health of our feet. Even just taking that extra care of them once a week will do wonders.

To take care of my feet I use an amazing brand called KAESO. My pedicure kit contains:

Lime & Ginger Tingle Foot Mask (250 ml) 

Peppermint & Blueberry Twist Foot Scrub (250 ml)

Mandarin and Mint Yoghurt Foot and Leg Lotion (250 ml) 

Citrus Squeeze Foot Soak (195 ml) 

Tea Tree & Ginger Breeze Invigorating Foot Spray (195 ml) 

Mandarin Spritz Hygiene Spray (195 ml)

Not only do they smell amazing, but using the Kaeso range relieves, energises and invigorates feet!

Key Ingredients & Benefits:

Lime - invigorating with astringent and toning properties.
Ginger - a recognized anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Tea Tree - renowned for its natural healing properties.
Peppermint Oil - helps to cool & soothe.
Menthol - provides a cooling sensation and is known to help minor muscle pain.

Quick tip : Whenever I pamper my feet I completely cover them in softening cream and wrap them cling fim or even plastic food bags! This will hold everything together and make sure your feet are being pampered without getting messy. Cover them in a towel or put socks over to keep them warm and toasty. Leave on for 15 minutes. A perfect D.I.Y foot bliss!

fruity smile

For a quick and easy way to accomplish that hollywood smile, why not invest in some lemon zest or strawberries.Whiten your teeth naturally by brushing with grated lemon zest, a natural bleaching agent that will whiten teeth without damaging your gums. Shift your stains with strawberries, a simple natural way to not only brighten your teeth but to also get rid of any staining caused by bad diet, drinking tea and coffee or smoking. All you need to do is cut a strawberry in half and run the juicy surface along your teeth, its that simple!

If you dont like strawberries or lemon zest here are some other ways to naturally whiten your teeth:

• Fresh sage. Rub a leaf over your teeth for a whiter and brighter smile.
• Raspberries are reputed to help dissolve plaque when you eat them.
• Fresh spearmint. Chew on a fresh leaf to whiten the teeth, condition gums and help prevent bad breath.

So there you go, a very cheap, alternative and easy to achieve hollywood smile.
xo

Facial bliss

Since starting my very first beauty course and learning facials, I have become obsessive with cleaning and caring for my face. Each night instead of a usual cleanse, tone and moisturise, I add an exfoliation, face mask and a simple facial routine. This has done wonders for my skin, I have no more blemishes or dark circles and have seen improvements of fine lines (from sunbed use).

Facial massage improves the flow of oxygen to the skin, boosts collagen and elastin production, keeps the lymph flowing and removes toxins. In other words, wrinkles will reduce, your skin will glow beautifully, you will feel refreshed and your skin will be renourished. Perfect! Plus doing this at home means you dont have to pay out so much for someone else to do it for you.

Here is a quick and easy to do facial routine that I swear by.( I found this routine in a book, you can find many online too)

I recommend to use a small amount of massage oil so that your fingers will glide over the face rather than pull the skin.

I have added a picture of my sister doing the routine with each step to help you locate all the massage points.


1. Massaging in inward circles, find the spot at the hairline that is directly above the centre of the eye.

2. Move fingers down to the face halfway between the eyebrows and hairline. Use the same massage movement.

3. Using your thumbs this time, locate the spot on either side of the bridge of the nose, just below the browline. Push upwards and use pressure.

4. At the outer tip of the eyebrows, massage with outward circles.

5. At the outside corners of the eyes, gently massage outwards.

6. On the top of the cheekbone, circle outwards.

7. Move your fingers down so that they are now in line with your nostrils and massage using outward circles.

8. Located above your top lip and just below your nose (the small indentation), use one finger to circle in a clockwise direction.

9. Now move to the middle of your chin and circle again in a clockwise direction.

10. Using both fingers again, place fingers on the jawline and circle outwards (go along the whole jawline.)

11.Using the whole hand, gently stroke upwards from the bottom of your neck to the top of your chin.

12. Gentle circular movements to the temple. Then apply slight pressure to end.

enjoy xo

firm and tonic

Two easy to make and use completely natural products!


Grape flesh face firmer                                      Lettuce softening tonic

Grapes contain natural antioxidents and                         Lettuce has an amazing ability to soften the
exfoliants. Applying it to the face can leave                  skin. This product is good to apply after
it feeling ultra-silky and firm. The fruit acids                cleansing or any time that your skin is in need
have an exfoliating effect and brighten the skin.           of refreshing and revitalising.

What you need:                                               What you need:    

8 small grapes                                                                 300ml (1/2 pint) of rosewater
                                                                                        1 head of lettuce, chopped


Method and application:                                         Method and application:

 Split and skin the grapes, remove the pipes.                Heat the rosewater until boiling. Pour over the
Mash the flesh to a pulp and apply to the skin             chopped lettuce and steep for a few hours. Strain
avoiding the mouth and eyes. Leave on for                  the liquid through a sieve and pour into a clean
approximately 10-15 minutes. You may feel               bottle and seal. Once it has cooled down it is
some tingling but this is just your skin being               ready to be used. Apply with cotton wool pads.
refreshed and cooled. Rinse off with warm
water, dry and moisturise as usual.                                


So there you go, two really easy to make products, and they cost so little!!

xo

go mad for mangostin

Here is the first beauty tip of the week :) !
If you suffer from redness, blotchiness and broken capillaries on the skin, look for Mangostin in your face cream. An extract from the mangosteen fruit, mangostin has been shown to help reduce red patches, dark spots and other circulation-related troubles, particularly when combined with antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. Even better if you find a cream that also contains pomegranate in it, one study has found that after daily use for 60 days, wrinkles were visably reduced!

For a whole range of products, check out Xango.co.uk

xo

Vintage Beauty

Classic make-up is so elegant and beautiful, I really love filmstars in the 1940's and their glamourous looks. The make-up in that era was stunning, from the scarlet red lips to the lash of eyeliner on the top lid, it was such a lovely look.
Classic beauties such as Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner were my inspiration for this make up look.

My mum had a 1940's rememberance party to attend and she needed to look the part. After searching hours for clothing the styling was complete all that was needed now was the hair and make up (this is where I came along.) Taking inspiration from some of the classic beauties of that era I created a wonderful look that really complimented my mums natural beauty.

To achieve this look I used:

Doesnt she look gorgeous! xo

a perfect french

I adore painting nails, I could sit all day and never tire of it. My favourite look is the french manicure, its so feminine and gives a lovely illusion of longer and well maintained nails.
Whilst studying at London College of Beauty Therapy, I did many french manicures on clients and students in my class when we got bored! We used OPI, but I personally found the polish to thicken up after only one use of a new bottle. What a waste! However, I went and popped along to Boots on Oxford street and found a cheaper and much better alternative in Rimmel and for the white tip Collection 2000! That was in July and I still use the same bottles today..Perfect!

And here is a picture of a french manicure I painted on my lovely friend Cheryl :)

xo

combat that cellulite!

ivy leaf anti-cellulite oil


This is a lovely home made natural beauty product that will help to combat your cellulite. Here is how to make it:


15 large fresh ivy leaves
125ml (4fl oz) grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon wheatgerm oil
15 drops juniper essential oil
5 drops fennel essential oil
5 drops rosemary essential oil


It may be quite expensive with the essential oils, but once you have made it once it will last you a long time!


Method


Bruise the ivy leaves in a pestle and mortar, place in the bottom of a jar and pour the grapeseed oil over them. Add the other oils- the essential oils drop by drop. Leave the mixture for approximately one week, then strain out the ivy leaves. Your oil is now ready to use!




Massage the oil into problem areas- this is usually hips, thighs and the bottom. To increase circulation to the areas use a body brush to massage the area first. You can pick body brushes up pretty much anywhere, I got a botanics body brush from boots for £7.50.

Enjoy! xo

1001 Little Beauty Miracles

So I just purchased this amazing new book called "1001 Little Beauty Miracles"

It contains secrets and solutions from head to toe. To save people buying it each week i will post one chapter under a beauty tip of the week for you to read and enjoy!


xo

a short but sweet welcome

Hi everyone!!


I would just like to say welcome to my beauty journal and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy sharing it with you.


xo