BEAUTY – Page 16 – Freak Deluxe

CAN’T STAND THE IDEA OF FAKE TAN? PEEP THIS!

It’s become almost second nature for Brits to draw for the fake tan, what with there being a distinct lack of sunshine here in the UK meaning no natural healthy looking LA glow. However there’s a handful of us that can’t stand the idea of fake tan; the application, the colour guides, the streaks, the stains, and the re-application! We’ve tried and tested some great products for a perfect tan without the transfer, tiger stripes and tango effect.

Before you do anything else, exfoliate, exfoliate, EXFOLIATE!!! Buff up your skin with St.Ives Apricot Face and Body Scrubs (£5.10) to remove dull skin cells and unveil radiant looking skin.

Moisturise! Give your body a good rub down with a nourishing moisturiser. Body Shop Body Butters are delish.

If like now (and most of the year) there’s no sun in the sky, you’ll want to go for a gradual tanner for that natural glow; both Elemis and St Tropez have great gradual tanning products. The Elemis Total Glow Bronzing Body Lotion (£34 at QVC) and Face Moisturiser (£30 at QVC) instantly moisturises the skin, whilst subtly building an even, natural looking tan in 2-3 days. The St Tropez Gradual Tan (£14 at Boots) is available in two colour options Light/Medium and Medium/Dark (for best results use the St Tropez mitt with the St Tropez Gradual Tan). If using your bare hands to apply be sure to cleanse your nails and wash your palms before it fully dries.

For sunnier days (or if you’re lucky enough to be heading somewhere ~~warm~~ hot), a personal favourite product of mine is the Soltan Protect & Tan (£6.50) from Boots. As well as protecting your beautiful skin with an SPF 30, it’s formulated with an innovative ingredient that helps stimulate your body’s natural tanning production. So basically has the tanning effect of covering yourself in oil and baking out in the sun, with a fantastic amount of protection.

To keep your tan looking fresher, longer; shower and exfoliate again, then slather yourself in Soltan Intensely Moisturising Aftersun Body Butter with Shea Butter and Almond Oil (£3.50) from Boots. Doing this will soothe the skin, reduce dryness and help prevent peeling for a long lasting beautiful tan.

For a hint of protective colour use the Nº7 Anti-Ageing Shimmering Lip & Eye Screen (£7.50) from Boots; great for use on your eyelids in place of SPF cream to avoid the dreaded stinging, it also gives you an instant sweep of summer sparkle.

So there you have it, beautiful natural looking tans, sans streaks, sans tanned sheets/clothes and sans orange.

A LIPSTICK AND LIP LINER IN ONE?

ArtStick_Lineup

Who doesn’t want a lipstick and lip liner in one product? Inspired by countless seasons backstage at Fashion Week, Bobbi Brown introduces Art Sticks, her latest dual-functioning, multi-use product that combines the ease of a lipstick with the precision of a pencil.

A true makeup artist’s dream, Art Sticks offer convenient and customisable coverage and colour—quickly and easily taking your lip look from sheer and natural to a rich matte. Creamy and moisturising, this long-lasting formula blends effortlessly onto lips, leaving them looking and feeling supple and smooth. No brushes or tools needed—this is the lip pencil re-invented.

The perfect blend of Shea Butter and vegetable derived oils creates a rich smooth texture that gives it a unique blendability, allowing for smooth and effortless application. Infused with intense colour pigment, the formula provides coverage that remains colour true for up to 6 hours.

“Lipstick meets liner for the greatest multi-tasking lip around.” – Bobbi Brown

Available in 8 Creamy-Matte Shades

Available exclusively at Selfridges RRP: £19.00

TOP TEN BEAUTY MISTAKES REVEALED

If you think your hair and beauty regime is perfect, then think again. A new study by professional hair care website Hairtrade.com has show that nine out of ten British women admit to making grooming mistakes almost every day. Among them are washing their hair too much, not taking care of finger nails, neglecting their necks and forgetting to wash make up brushes. Here are the top ten beauty mistakes and how to rectify them.

1. Washing hair too much

You may believe that by washing your hair every day you’re keeping it squeaky clean and in top condition. You’re wrong. Washing your locks so frequently means you strip them of their natural oils and are actually doing more harm than good. This is an easy mistake to put right – try washing your hair every other day then, over time, stretch it to every three days. You’ll find your hair looks healthier and you’ll get an extra half hour in bed in the morning.

One woman who took part in the study commented: “I always washed my hair every day until about six months ago when my hairdresser told me to stop. I’m now an every other day hair washer – not only does it save me time in the morning, my hair looks a lot healthier too.”

2. Applying too much conditioner

Most us apply conditioner all over our hair, just as we do with shampoo. The hair at our roots is new, healthier growth, however that at the tips is older and more likely to be damaged. So concentrate on the tips of your hair – it will save you conditioner and leave those ends looking better and full of volume.

3. Not using a heat protector

There really is no excuse for not protecting your hair when you use hairdryers and straighteners most days. Blasting your hair with all that heat without shielding it in someway will leave it dry, frizzy and in poor condition.

4. Tying your ponytail in the same place

If you always wear your hair up in a tight ponytail, then try not to tie it in exactly the same place every day. It can cause too much tension on the hair and over time can weaken it.

5. Forgetting to wash make-up brushes

It’s one of those jobs you know you should do but just can’t be bothered. If you fail to give your brushes a good clean then not only will you have mixed colours, you’re also allowing bacteria to build up. Aim to give your brushes a clean once a week.

“I’m guilty of never washing my make up brushes. It is the one job I always put off even though it only takes a matter of minutes.”

6. Neglecting your neck

As part of your daily skin care routine, do you cleanse and moisturise your neck? Thought not. Don’t stop at your chin, make sure you carry on and take care of the thin, delicate skin on your neck. This area can be prone to sensitivity so it is really important to look after it.

7. Over-treating and over-covering spots

It’s too easy to apply every spot cream you have to your face as soon as you have a breakout, but don’t. They work on your skin for hours so make sure you always follow the pack instructions to the letter. Likewise, don’t cake them in make-up. Your skin needs time to breath.

8. Applying foundation before moisturiser is dry

Moisturiser needs time to dry so give it a minute before you start applying your foundation. The creaminess of moisturiser can cause make up to thin out, so if you apply too quickly you’ll get a streaky look.

9. Plucking eyebrows too close to the mirror

If you pluck too close to the mirror you find yourself looking at every hair rather than looking at the overall shape of your eyebrows. This can leave you with thin, uneven brows. Instead use a large mirror and take a couple of steps back so you can see your whole face, not just your eyebrows.

10. Yellow nails

If you love nail art and never leave the house without a new design or colour on your talons, then you could be prone to yellow nails. Constant decoration can change the natural colour of the nails. The answer? Always apply a base coat and this will help prevent the stains.

A spokeswoman for Hairtrade.com said: “We all make hair and beauty and mistakes but the good news is they can easily be put right and by doing so, may even save you time and money.” Despite being easy to rectify, many of the women claimed they’d always done things this way so the mistakes became habit. Make a note of the bad habits you have from this list, keep it wherever you do your hair & make up (make several if you need to) this way you can catch yourself when you’re about to make a beauty mistake and eventually make the right way your habit!

NAILS INC ANNOUNCE MAJOR RE-BRANDING PROJECT

Nails inc, the UK’s leading fashion forward hair toupee systems brand, has announced a major re-branding project in collaboration with Fabien Baron to mark its 15th birthday. Nails inc’s new look takes the brand to the next level of luxury and includes a modernised logo and complete bottle re-design that will position the brand as an iconic, dressing table must-have. The heavy glass bottle, which now offers 14ml of product (40% more polish than current Nails inc bottle), is designed for maximum visual impact and features a positive cap alignment feature. The innovative brush design has been developed to provide the consumer with incredible performance, application and control.

“When working with Fabien, I had a clear vision. I wanted our bottle to stand up to that of a luxurious fragrance bottle. A heavy glass bottle finished with a first-class weighted metal cap – a bottle that our customers fall in love with, that’s no longer throw-away. The final design is exactly that – fresh, modern and luxe. Working with Fabien has been a complete inspiration and I’m excited to see what our continued relationship will bring to our brand.” – Thea Green. The new look will launch worldwide in August 2014.

Nails inc has also announced its collaboration with global fashion icon Alexa Chung in celebration of its 15th anniversary. Signed as the new face of Nails inc from autumn winter 2014, Alexa will feature within the brands fashion-led campaign photography shot by Rankin, be a brand ambassador and has creatively collaborated on an innovative line of fabric inspired co-branded polishes, again launching in August 2014.

ALEXA LACE IN RED – The fine detail of lace has been brought to life using the latest red matte particles in different sizes creating a delicate lace effect, especially when applied over your favourite nude. We recommend Nails inc Colville Mews.

ALEXA CASHMERE IN MINK – gorgeous warming mink shades of matte polish are fused with pure glass pearls to provide a subtle sheen and a luxurious Cashmere texture. ‘For me fashion is all about texture and colour. I love cashmere, it’s so luxurious. My favourite feeling is pulling on a cashmere sweater.’ Alexa Chung

ALEXA SILK IN BLACK – smooth and rich shades are complimented by a fine pearl which flows through the polish like silk.

ALEXA LEATHER IN BLACK – inspired by Alexa’s love of our black leather polish, we’ve dedicated this best-selling and award winning polish to her. The polish uses cutting-edge technology which allows it to dry with a matte leather texture. ‘I’m a huge fan of the black leather polish. It was my favourite look on the shoot. The effect is so cool and I love the matte texture. I’d wear it with a breton t-shirt for an edgier look.’ Alexa Chung

ALEXA SEQUINS IN BLACK AND GOLD – fine matte black particles provide the perfect newborn backdrop for the bold gold metallic glitters, giving the effect of an amazing sequin dress. ‘My favourite polish in the collection is sequins. Its classic and easy to team with lots of different outfits. Often I dress relaxed and in a tomboy kind of way, so it’s nice to have a little disco on my nails.’ Alexa Chung

ALEXA CAMOUFLAGE – blending a mix of green and nude metallic and matte particles to create an innovative camouflage effect for the nails.

The Nails inc Alexa Chung fabric collection is available nationwide and on nailsinc.com from August 2014. RRP £15 each

BEST PASTEL NAIL COLOURS FOR SPRING 2014

If you’re not really into wearing a lot of pastels, spring or not, a great way to introduce them to your look is with nail polish. We’ve picked out the best pastel nail colours for spring 2014 with some great deals too![wooslider slide_page=”pastel-nails-spring-2014″ slider_type=”slides” limit=”7″ thumbnails=”default”]Stay classic with one shade at a time, mix and match if you can decide which colour you like the most, or go all out with some pastel coloured nail art!

Essie, Seventeen, Models Own, and Barry M nail polishes are all available from Boots on a 3 for 2 offer until 13th May – get them cheap while you can!!!

You can purchase Orly nail laquers from Graftons Beauty; Benecos is available from Benecos.co.uk, Topshop here, Butter London from their website; and Nails Inc from NailsInc.com.