Lifestyle and Parenting blog based in Surrey.

Friday 28 August 2015

Fake Tan Edit


The weather may have turned, but I still want my tan, so I'm going to have to fake it before my next trip to the sunshine. Here are the tans that I am loving the most.

St.Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion (£14.50/200ml Boots) has been my tanning hero this year, with a baby I've not had loads of time to dedicate to beauty tasks and my preseason and accuracy for tanning has been pretty poor! With this product you just slap it on after your shower - wait 3 mins (brush my teeth in this window) then rinse off and ta-da! It does give more of a glow than a proper tan but builds up after a few uses.

For an instant hit I always go back to Rimmel Sunshimmer Water Resist Instant Tan Med Matte (£6.99/125ml Superdrug) It lasts forever - so long the packaging has changed since I bought mine! I'll be slathering this on my limbs today before heading to my fiends wedding so it looks like I've been on holiday! Do use gloves to apply to avoid monkey paws though.

L'Oréal Paris Sublime Bronze Express Pro Spray for Medium Skin (£15.49/150ml Boots) is a fake tan classic  - giving a lovely glow and the spray gives easy application too. I opt for the medium shade, but there is a lighter shade too is your a nervous tanner.

My fave type of tanner is a mousse and He-Shi Gold Foaming Mousse (£24.99/150ml Superdrug) ticks a lot of the boxes. The product is colored, so you can see where you have applied, and more importantly where you have missed! The tan that develops is a really natural looking golden bronze - for even application make sure you use a mitt.

What's better than tanned leg? Tanned legs with no cellulite! Urban Tan Fair Maiden (£18.99/270ml Amazon) is a tanner which is also enriched with Anti-Ageing ingredients to firm, tighten and tone the skin to diminish cellulite - so you can rock that bikini.

Which tanner is your fave?

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Thursday 27 August 2015

Suncream Selection



It may not be suncream weather in the UK at the moment, but incase you are off on a September break - I'm off to the French Riviera in a few weeks time (whoop!) I thought I'd share with you may picks for keeping those pesky UV rays at bay and looking chic as you apply!

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen a snap I took whilst in Lake Garda last week of my lounger essentials, which included Nuxe Sun Protection Spray for Face and Body SPF 20 (£18/150ml M&S). I absolutely ADORE the fragrance, it smells sooooo good that mummy and sister BMB were keen to share this one! It is a cream spray, so doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy at all and is water resistant too.

I always pack a ultra high SPF - incase I get too much sun or if I'm on a day trip and don't want to get any strange tan lines! La Roche-Posay Anthelios Comfort Protective Oil SPF 50+ (£18/200ml Boots) fits the bill with its high SPF protection and UVA filtering system. It is a slightly thicker oil which makes sunned skin really shine but if your not an oil person you might find it a bit greasy. Formulated as 100% hypoallergenic containing minimum fragrance it is the perfect sun protection for sensitive skins.

Hate that first day of holiday feeling when you are the palest round the pool? Hawaiian Tropic Golden Tint Sun Spray Lotion SPF 15 with natural looking tint (£7.50/200ml Boots) as the name suggests has a hint of temporary tan in it to take the edge off without having to do a full pre-hols fake tan.

I always enjoy a post swim dry-off in the sun before re-applying my sun protection, but this does allow ageing UV rays a chance to do their damage. Piz Buin Wet Skin Transparent Spray SPF 15 (£6/150ml Sainsbury's) gets around this issue and is also extra water resistant to protect whilst you take that dip.

Finally I like to have a sun cream signed especially for my face, you won't put your body moisturiser on your face, so why do we with suncream? Going to one of my most trusted brands, Clarins Sun Wrinkle Control Cream (£19.50/75ml John Lewis) uses its skincare knowledge in combination with sun protection, protecting from dehydration fighting ageing and wrinkles at the same time. I hate the age spots from too much sun on my face, so I might upgrade to the SPF 50+ version for my next trip.
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Tuesday 25 August 2015

Outfit of the day: Magnum Pleasure Seeker


Not the outfit for today's rain, but for a hopefully sunnier one to come! I was treated to this Magnum Pleasure Seeker Necklace designed by Holly Fulton - so I have put together what I'm going to wear it with this week to go up to the Covent Garden Magnum Pleasure store before it closes at the end of the month. As a large piece of statement jewellery, I kept the rest of the outfit simple to let it stand out, with cut off denims, white t, golden-cream kimono and Diamanté sandals to show off my brown feet.


Shop the post
Round Neck White Short Sleeve Top with Modal from M&S £11.50 - Sale
Demin shorts from H&M £14.99
Diamanté Chain Mail Sandals from M&S £19.50
Cream Kimono - similar from New Look £15 sale


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Monday 24 August 2015

Holiday Makeup



As you may well believe my beauty collection is large - far too big to take away, so it is a major edit to decide what I want to take away. It needs to be versatile, hardworking and suitable to the destination.
I've just got back from Lake Garda in Italy where I split my time between visiting quaint local towns and hitting the lounger, so I really needed to think through my packing carefully and here is what I took.
I love Benefit's POREfessional Primer (Boots £24.50 - full size) as it creates a perfectly smooth base for the rest of your makeup and helps stop it sliding off when the mercury rises.

I light base is what is called for on summer skin and bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream (Debenhams £26) which I used for every holiday situation from poolside to evenings out as it adds enough coverage to blend out flaws but light enough for dewy holiday skin.

A bronzer is a holiday and general summer must and I am loving this gorgeous Aquatic Treasures Summer Bronzing Compact from Clarins (Clarins £30) which although is a large compact, it's slim so slips in easily to your make up bag.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blusher Alluring Rose (Superdrug £8.99) is perfect evening blush with its golden shimmer it looks beautiful on sunned cheeks.

Keeping my brows beautiful is easy with the HD Brows kit in Foxy (Look Fantastic £29), although I only use the rich brown shade, so the rest of the pallet is slightly wasted on me!

I could have packed a lot of individual eyeshadows, but I opted for this pallet of neutrals which I used just one single shade for an easy daytime look, and then added darker browns for a smoky eye and the darkest shades to line my eyes in the evening. This was a limited edition pallet, but No 7 do have a similar one currently for their 80th anniversary (Boots £13.50)

I had eyelash extensions put in before my trip as I don't like waterproof mascara, but this mini of my fav mascara Lights Camera Lashes (QVC £21.50 - full size) from Tarte was just the thing for adding to my lower lashes for none-pool days and evenings.

The EcoTools Eye Enhancing Duo Set double ended makeup brushes (Feel Unique £5.09) were another space-saver which meant I could do my eye make up as normal without my full brush selection.
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Monday 17 August 2015

Holiday Mani Monday: Gelish Passion

So it's holiday time and I'm blogging from Italy's Lake Garda this week - first trip abroad with baby Sophie. On Friday I was running around trying to pack and get a few beauty bits done ready for the hols. I had reflected to book in for a mani so instead popped into the nail bar opposite my house (CoCo Nails in Weybridge £25) for a Shellac. I was a little annoyed when I started choosing my colour as although CND Shellac advertising was up in the window, there was only a few shellac colours and most were a brand I'd never heard of before - luckily I spotted a Gelish pink I liked called 'Passion' which was bright, fun and summery. I totally ran out of time for a pedi, so instead I used No 7 grapefruit (see post here) on my toes - which is a near enough match if you don't look too close!


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Friday 14 August 2015

Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Night Cream

 

As a new(ish) mum getting loads of sleep hasn't been happening recently and getting more than four hours in a row causes a mini celebration. Although baby is sleeping for longer stretches, I still wake up frequently and find it hard to go back to sleep. Therefore when the girls at Elizabeth Arden sent me their Flawless Future Night Cream (£42 Debenhams) which helps to boost relaxation and promote sleeping to try I was raring to give it a go!  The ingredients in Flawless Future Night Cream are to support the skin’s nighttime renewal process to help counteract the visible effects of stress on the skin. The cream helps to brighten by greying skin and evens skin tone, so my skin can fake a full nights rest.

I didn't think I'd noticed a change in my relaxation and sleepiness using the cream, but the last few evenings I haven't used it, I have found that I've been struggling more to get to sleep and get back to sleep after waking - which could just be a coincidence, but I'm going to be layering it on thick again tonight!!

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Tuesday 11 August 2015

Clinique Colour Pop Lip Colour and Primer



I admit that I am totally lazy when it comes to beauty, if there is a quick fix or cheat that saves time I'm totally up for taking it! Priming my lips for lipstick has never hit my list of priorities, so having a lipstick that does this for me is totally handy. Team this with a lip balm feel and durability and you have me sold! Clinique Colour Pop Lip Colour and Primer lipsticks (£16 Debenhams) are the latest lip-launch from Clinique and they don't disappoint. The three shades I have been trying are gorgeous and I am particularly loving Bare Pop (top) which have a warm pink-chocolate tone to a nude lip and is a go-to everyday lip colour.

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Sunday 9 August 2015

Bepanthen Baby Sun Cream


I'm off on holiday soon - the first with the little lady and packing is going to take me about ten times longer I can imagine! Although I like to pack myself a range of different factors for my suncare, only the highest SPF will be slathered on baby, the thought of letting her burn terrifies me!

Even in the UK on a cloudy summers day it is important to make sure that little ones are protected as their skin is much more sensitive to UV rays than ours. Baby suncreams are designed for sensitive skin, so I've been using Bepanthen Baby Sun Cream in SPF 50+ on baby Sophie. I really like the mini 75ml tubes (£7.99 Boots), as you don't need that much cream in one go and my baby bag is already far too full and heavy to accommodate a massive bottle!

Teamed with a sunhat (this cute one is from JoJo Maman Bebe £10) and being kept in the shade Sophie should have a happy summer holiday!

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Friday 7 August 2015

Clarins Beauty Bar

Trying to fit in a beauty treatment can be challenging when your busy at work, have little ones to look after or just life getting in the way. Although a long facial or massage is amazing, with the consultation before and the chill out time after, a big chunk of the day is gone. Last week I went into town and whilst I was there I popped into John Lewis on Oxford Street for a quick beauty fix. Next to the Clarins counter is the Clarins Beauty Bar, where, for £25 you can choose from a range of express treatments, including facials and massages. As I'd been complaining about my neck and shoulders aching recently, I opted for the 'Knot A Problem' massage to tease out all the tension. Although the under an hour treatments are on the shop floor, the area is sectioned off enough that it feels private and the hum of shoppers is the perfect white noise to help you zone out. You don't waste time getting undressed or changes as the therapist works around your clothes on a reclining chair.


The massage was phenomenal, one of the best I'd had for a while and really helped to relive the tight muscles in my neck and I felt relaxed but alert when we finished. I was then given some stretches that would help me and suggested Clarins products that she had used that I might like to try at home, but without the sales pitch.


I've been a fan of Clarins Tonic Oil (£40 John Lewis) but as I was keen to relax deeply, the therapist suggested using the Relax Oil (£40 John Lewis) which I really loved the smell of and it was recommended that I put some on a cotton wool pad and leave on my bedside table to help me relax at night. The Relax Bath and Shower Concentrate (£20 John Lewis) which I spoke about on my recent post was also recommended as was the Energizing Emulsion for Tired Legs (£26 John Lewis) but to use on my neck and shoulders and gives a tingling sensation as it cools and revives aching muscles.

I did love this treatment so much, that I've already booked my next session - the only problem is I loved the Knot A Problem massage so much, I don't think I'll be able to venture away to try something new!
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