How to find the fragrance that is right for you!

Place your favourite fragrance on your pulse points, such as the inside of your wrist or elbow, where little body heat is emitted to allow the true scent

Don’t be afraid to switch fragrances. Your body chemistry changes throughout your life, so chances are a perfume you bought five years ago doesn’t work as well for you anymore.

Wait a few minutes after applying a fragrance before you decide if it is the right scent for you. It takes time for a perfume’s true smell to come through.

Don’t purchase a perfume just because it smells good on a friend. Everyone’s skin is different and what smells great on someone else may not be right for you. Try two or three different scents and choose the one that expresses your unique personality.

Till next time

Julie

Strawberries & Summer

Who loves  Summer and fruit, the joy of eating fresh strawberries and cream – yum!

The love of Strawberry scented skin care products is almost a given for almost every woman.

I’ve seen it many times; women take one sniff of a strawberry lotion, and you see them momentarily leave the moment and travel back to their youth.

Maybe it’s memories of childhood, maybe it’s memories of relaxing summer days, all I know is that strawberries have that powerful effect.

What does sweet strawberry skin care products remind you of?

Skip Dry Skin This Summer: Preventive Tips and Tactics

With skimpy clothing and revealing bathing suits during the summer, it’s hard to hide any flaws — flaky, dry skin being one of them. Unlike winter’s bulky turtlenecks and baggy corduroys, summer’s style follows the skin-is-in theory. So how do you avoid dry skin in the summer and keep your skin looking great in that itsy, bitsy, polka-dot bikini?

Lucky for you, winter is much worse for dry skin than summer. That’s because steamy summer humidity keeps moisture in the air. Think of your skin as a sponge — the more moisture and oils it can retain, the less likely it will dry or crack.

Summer can still assault skin, especially if you live in a dry, low-humidity climate, here are the common culprits of summer that can make your skin go from smooth and supple to parched and scaly:

• Sun exposure. When the weather turns warm, it seems like everyone jumps outdoors to catch some rays. But sun exposure can do real damage. If you’re fair skinned and get a series of sunburns that peel, your skin will feel dried out, lose protection against skin care, and show signs of aging sooner. Prevent dry skin by limiting direct sun exposure and wearing alcohol-free sun block and lip balm with at least an SPF of 15, a large-brimmed hat, and protective clothing.
• Harsh soaps and solvents. Many chemicals in bug repellents and solvents, which you might use for gardening projects, can be irritating and make skin feel dry and itchy. Natural moisturizers and oils in the skin dissolve away with harsh soaps and alcohol-based products. Use mild cleansers with moisturizing properties that are free of fragrances and dyes, which can irritate skin further.
• Bathing and swimming. It might seem counterintuitive that water would cause dry skin, especially since humidity seems to help the condition. However, hot water can strip the skin of its natural oils very quickly. Chlorine in pools is a harsh chemical that can also pull out moisture quickly, especially bad for frequent swimmers, who frequently jump from the pool to the shower. The best way to protect your skin is to avoid chlorine as much as possible, and to take short, warm showers or baths to rinse off skin.
• Shaving. However embarrassing dry skin can be in the summer, stubble can be just as bad. The problem with shaving is that it can irritate skin, and some shaving creams and gels have ingredients, like alcohol, that dry skin. Protect skin by always using a fresh blade, and don’t shave quite as close if you have sensitive skin. Choose alcohol-free creams and gels with moisturizers, and shave in the direction in which the hair grows.
• Air conditioning. Resist cranking up the air conditioner as high as it will go. Your air conditioner pulls humidity out of the air, thus triggering dry skin.
• Remember to keep moisturizing this summer — after showering, shaving, even washing the dishes.
• Finally drink plenty of water.

Here are 5 fun & easy ways to pamper yourself and nurture your mind, body and spirit:

As we head into the next 2 weeks leading up to Christmas, it is so important to take some time out for you, otherwise you will fall in a heap on Christmas day from Exhaustion. Below are 5 easy steps to pamper yourself.

• Wake up before the others in the house do and flip through a magazine or simply sip on a hot cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a few uninterrupted moments before the day fully begins.
• Weather permitting, take a nice walk and just enjoy your surroundings. Take note of all the beauty that is surrounding you.
• Take short breaks during your day whether you are a stay at home mom, work at home mom or work outside of the home, try doing something for yourself periodically throughout the day. You can close your eyes and daydream, browse through the paper or simply have a short friendly chat with a friend.
• Treat yourself to a manicure, pedicure or even a new hairstyle. We often are so used to treating others that we forget to treat ourselves and forget to let others pamper us.
• Take a nice long warm bubble bath. Fill your mind and senses with a nice fragrance and just soak for as long as you can.

Take some time to do these and remember you are worth it!

Also love to hear how you treat yourself during this busy time.

Julie

Festive Fabulous – How to choose the right Eye Makeup to sparkle this Christmas.

The ‘Three Ls’ make up the basic stages of eye makeup application-

Lids, Liner, Lashes- and you need to be sure your make up bag has the perfect product for each stage if you want to make the best of your peepers.

Lids

The eye lid are where it’s at for colour. There are so many gorgeous colours out there at the moment-. But that means it’ can be so tempting to go wild and pick the brightest, most glittery tone you can find but nothing screams drag queen more than over the top eyes. The truth is you should pick colours that sort your natural colouring and base all your eye looks around that. The best eye makeup styles are made of three colour tones on the lid.

Firstly a base should be applied between the lashes and the brow. This needs to be a very light colour that just creates a shimmer. A grey/silver or beige/gold shade usually works best.

Next to add colour. You will need a main colour for the whole lid and then a darker tone of the same colour for the crease and corner of the lid if you want to emphasise your eyes and make them the main feature of your face. Experimenting with colours you like is the best way to learn what suits you best but check out the colours we think work best:

Blue Eyes : The natural colour of blue eyes shines brightest when surrounded by warm natural colours. Using light brown tones with a pretty pink shade always works well.

Green Eyes: Dark brown or mocha shades are great for a natural earthy daytime look while purple tones contrast well with green eyes to create more drama.

Hazel Eyes: The different coloured flecks in hazel eyes allow you to highlight the different tones depending on your mood. Try using a green shadow with a hint of gold alongside a pale yellow or lighter green to pick out the different tones within the brown of your eyes.

Liner

Eye liner is probably one of the most common things that people struggle with when it comes to beauty. The hassle of getting your lines straight and even and avoiding smudging can make it all too tempting to give this stage a miss but it really is essential in defining the shape of your eyes.

The secret to perfect eye liner is all about choosing the right product for you. There are three main types of eye liner to choose from.

Pencils: are best for beginners. They glide on easy and can be blended and smudged without much effort.

Liquid Liners: last the longest and create the most drama but you need a steady hand to apply the liquid and it’s not so easy to remove if you make mistakes. .

*Black eye liner may look too severe for those with blonde hair and fair skin so try using a brown or grey shade to soften the look.

Lashes

Lovely lashes are the finishing touch to any gorgeous eye look. The longer and thicker you can get your lashes the more glamorous they will look.

Enjoy till next time.

Julie

How to create that festive look!

As we head into the Christmas round of parties, it is great to add a little bit of festive shimmer to our outfits .

Be careful, shimmer can be a bit tricky to get right. Too much, and you look like a mirror ball, Too little, and you won’t notice.

Luckily, there are a few tricks that you can use to get shimmer right.

First, remember, it’s shimmer, not glitter. Unless you’re thirteen, or an exotic dancer, glitter is not a good idea.

Secondly, remember that shimmer shows up wrinkles, so if you’re more mature, use it sparingly, if at all. You can wear shimmer during the day, although just a smudge above the lashline is enough, and never to work.

For night, try using shimmer body lotion for a subtle sheen, or you could even try using a damp brush to apply shimmer shadow, giving an intense color.

There are also shimmery glosses and lipsticks out there, although always remember that shimmer is meant to draw attention to a feature, so use one product at a time!

 

Top Tip! If you’re wearing your hair up, or sleeked back, why not use a little shimmer lotion or powder to add a little pizzazz? Lotion can be smoothed, in very small amounts, onto sleek hair, or you could dust a small amount of powder onto your hair before brushing through.

Till next time

Julie

How to wear make up in the heat

 

With all this heat arriving so soon, the dilema is how to keep our make up on.

Wearing a primer on your face can help keep your foundation put throughout the day. Putting primer or any kind of a base on your eyelids can keep your eyeshadow from disappearing as well. It works really well if you want to try that.

Comfort wise, the less face makeup you wear in the heat the more comfortable it is. When you have foundation on and you start to sweat, it is not good for your skin and you can feel your pores getting clogged with the makeup and the oil. A sheer mineral veil is really good during the summer because you can still get a nice healthy glow, a little coverage, with minimum makeup on your skin.

I love the feel of the Mineral Make up and I know it is good for my skin.

 

enjoy until next week

 

Julie

Check out this 6 Tips for beautiful skin for summer!

Summer is about baring skin and showing off the beautiful (fake) summer tan you have. But in order to look good baring that skin, you need to take some time to ready your skin and reverse the signs of neglect you showed your skin during autumn, winter and spring. Knock of each step on my skin care tips for glowing skin and you’ll be ready to pull out your favorite summer dress in no time flat.

1. Exfoliate Your Body It’s so very important to exfoliate your skin. Your body sheds skin cells at an amazing rate every minute of every day. If you don’t get rid of them, they’ll just sitting on your skin making you look dull and dry. No matter how much lotion you use, you’re never going to have glowing skin if you don’t exfoliate. Grab a body scrub and hit the shower. Gently rub your exfoliator in circular movements on your entire body from the shoulders down (you’ll want a facial exfoliator for your face and neck) and rinse clean. Continue to do this 2-3 times a week for year-round beautiful skin.

2. Hydrate your Body with a Summer-Scented Lotion Find a summery lotion that you won’t forget to put on. It’s time to pack away your thick winter body butters for more light summery lotions. You don’t have time to wait for your lotion to sink in, so look for something light fast absorbing. Gels and Purees are perfect fast absorbers. I personally love to break out the coconut or mango scented lotion for summer. Nothing spells summer more than a light refreshing fruity lotion. Make sure you apply right after you dry off from your shower. You need to seal in the moisture your body just soaked in.

3. Get a Safe Summer Glow You have so many choices when it comes to adding a little summer tint to your skin, and the tanning bed shouldn’t be one of them. Using a sunless tanner will give your skin a beautiful start to summer. Even if you’re not a fan of sunless tanners all over your body, you can happily use them on your face. If you alternate your facial moisturizer with one that builds a bit of color, you’ll have a healthy glow that will make it look as though you just spent the weekend on the beach. Most facial tanners build color gradually, by alternating with your regular moisturizer, you’ll never get too dark. Check out our Cocoa Butter – Summer Body Lotion.

4. Don’t Forget your Feet Winter boots have long since been packed away; it’s sandal season ladies. Either go and get a pedicure (try a beauty school if cost is a factor), or give yourself an at-home pedicure. You scrub off the dead dry skin to reveal your sandal ready feet. Nothing is worse than seeing dull dry feet inside cute sandals. It doesn’t have to be a big ordeal. Keep a foot scrub and file in your shower and scrub your feet a few times a week. You’ll notice a big difference in the softness of your feet.

5. Find a New Bold Summer Polish Buy a bold new polish for your toes. Toe nails can be painted a much bolder color than you would usually put on your fingernails. Pick out something that screams summer. Polish tends to stay on your toes much longer than your hands because you don’t abuse your toe nails like you do your finger nails. Apply a clear base coat, two applications of color and a clear top coat to protect. Go barefoot or put on your flip-flops for at least a couple hours to make sure your polish won’t dent.

6. Out With the Old – Buy a New Sunscreen Throw away last year’s unused sunscreen for a new bottle. Sunscreens aren’t meant to last forever, and seeing most people don’t use as much as they should, I bet you have a bottle or two stored away. Be safe and pick up a new one. And don’t forget the most important sunscreen advice: USE IT. You should be using a shot glass full for your body, and a full teaspoon just on your face. Reapply every 1-2 hours that you are in the sun to ensure a summer full of safe sun fun.

Importance of using good make up brushes!

Hi everyone

Investing in good brushes is a must and ensure you always get the best out of your makeup and a much better finish.

What is the different brushes used for!

Medium Size Round brush – great for bronzing and powder application.  Don’t choose one that is too big, as you won’t get definition with the bronzer, but avoid anything too small as the result will be patchy.

Angle Brush – A small stiff brush that has one side of bristles shorter than the other.  It is designed for creating fine lines of colour around the eye.

Eye Blending Brush – This is a fluffy, small, blending brush for the eye area. It is used to blend out colours and combine shades on the eye seamlessly.

Foundation Brush – A foundation brush aids in applying liquid for a sheer result.  It is more hygenic than using fingers and blends in colour around the hairline, jaw and nose.

Love to hear your comments on make up brushes, which ones you can’t live with out.

till next time

Julie

Spend the weekend and pamper you!

With a long weekend coming up for some of us with Melbourne Cup, why not take the time to indulge in time for you.  I have posted something similar to this, but was worth repeating as we need to look after ourselves and what a great way to prepare for the races.

 

 

 

Things You’ll Need:

• Relaxation music
• Your favorite beverages, fruit and snacks
• Scented candles
• Rose petals and a bouquet of flowers
• Foot tub
• Skincare products
• Bath salts
• Face and hand towels
• Loofah and foot scrubs
• Nail polish
• Nail file
• Toe separators
• Nail polish remover
• Headbands or ponytail holders for hair

1. Step 1

Set aside two to three hours of uninterrupted time to perform the day spa treatments. Wear comfortable and loose clothes for your special spa day.

1. Step 2

Select one room in your home for the day spa services. This room should have a large comfortable chair for you to sit in and relax, and two small tables. Your goal is to create a sacred space for maximum relaxation and pampering.

1. Step 3

Place your bouquet of flowers, food and beverages on one table. Put the towels, scented candles and beauty products on the other. Start the relaxation music and light your candles to set the proper mood for the beauty treatments.

1. Step 4

Start with your pedicure first. Fill the foot tub with lukewarm water, mild scented soap or bath salts and rose petals. Place both feet into the tub and soak for a minimum of 15 minutes. Take the loofah and foot scrub and gently cleanse your feet. Dry with a towel and apply moisturizer to keep your feet smooth and soft.

1. Step 5

Prepare for the facial by placing your hair away from your face in a ponytail holder or headband. Wash your face with warm water and towel dry. Apply a mask to begin the skincare treatment. Use toner, moisturizer and eye cream to complete the process.

1. Step 6

Wash your hands thoroughly with warm soap and water to end your day spa services with a manicure. Begin with nail filing followed by the pushing back of cuticles. Complete the spa manicure by massaging hands with lotion or scented oils.

1. Step 7

Apply toe separators to feet and paint your toes with nail polish. Apply two thin coats of polish to finish your manicure and complete the home day spa treatments.

// Blizz!

Also no bill at the end of it,

till  next time

Julie