Macmillan Cancer Support

Having swamped you all with Blogs today, here is something I would genuinely like to talk about.

This week I was put in charge of fundraising at work for Macmillan Cancer Support. Everyone is so enthusiastic about the cause and I've had some great responses. I've come up with a number of ways to fundraise...

We'll be having store to store netball matches in honour of the charity (something my other half thinks is hilarious as I haven't played netball since year 9), in collaboration with some other stores in Didsbury there will be a raffle with a fair few stores donating prizes, and lots of family- fun events including treasure hunts and prizes for kids.

On the beauty side of things we're really using our expertise to bring something to the cause - we'll be giving £5 French Manicures and No7 makeovers free with donations to Macmillan, and we're always looking for idea's so if there's any area you don't think we've covering then please feel free to email me any suggestions.

In the meantime if you want to donate to Macmillan then please send any cheques to

Boots The Pharmacy
736-740 Wilmslow Road
Didsbury
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M20 6WF

Thanks everyone! Happy June for tomorrow :)

Drink your Skin Clear

In the last week my skin has gone from greasy, spotty and dull to healthy looking - in just seven days, and the solution was one of the most budget friendly treatments I could have used.

I wasn't drinking enough water. I was tired, bogged down and dehydrated. I even felt the skin around my eyes become a little bit too soft for my liking - and spent an entire evening convinced I was getting my first wrinkle.

Then this week I had the pleasure of speaking to a Skincare specialist who informed me that if I'm not looking after my body then it's definitely not going to look good - and this starts with good hydration.

Drinking a healthy amount of water actually made my skin go from something I was smothering foundation on top of to cover, to actually looking refreshed and renewed. I began by making sure I was drinking at least 500ml when I woke up in the morning, and 500ml before I went to bed at night. I don't particularly like the taste of water but with plenty of cheap flavoured varieties there isn't much of an excuse.

5 days later and with the help of Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It, and a decent No7 Protect and Perfect moisturiser :) My skin feels better than new.

Budget Product Swap

Okay so we'll all like to be able to afford luxury beauty products, but sometimes our favourite things can be a bit on the pricey side. However, there can sometimes be a more budget-friendly alternative to something that you won't even notice the difference.

I recently swapped my Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (£17.50 from Selfridges)

 For Maxfactor's Colour Elixir Red Lip Crayon (£4.99 from Boot's)

The colour of this Maxfactor red pencil is just as intense, the packaging is refined and classy, the texture is durable and smooth but not greasy - and there is a nice shimmer to the finished look.

The last-factor is about a couple of hours, but it's so compact that it's easy to whip out and re-apply easily - and it's useful to take on a night out and not have to worry about losing it.

Barry M Confetti Nails

This is what I'm excited about lately....

Barry M's new Confetti Nail Effects. Available in 5 colours...

• Dolly Mixture
• Marshmellow
• Sour Apple
• Bubblegum
• Liquorice

These look great on their own or top coated onto a bold colour, and I'm going to pick up a couple for my holiday toes!

The Budget Beauty Bag!

Okay girls, so we all reach a point in our lives where not only do we really need a new mascara or lip liner, but actually our whole make up bag needs an upgrade.

It's times like this that it really sucks to be on a budget.

Here are he personal beauty products that I would choose, on totally different budgets.

£40 Budget

 No7 Intelligent Colour Foundation Medium £15.50

 Bourjois Eyeliner Feutre Black £4.99
Maybelline Volume Express Mega Plush £5.99
Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick Collection by Rimmel £5.49
Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher £7.99

 Total £39.96

£25 Budget

17 Photo Flawless Foundation £6.49
Barry M Lip Paint £4.49
Rimmel Lasting Finish Mono Blush £3.99
Rimmel Scandel Eyes Mascara £4.99
17 Semi Permanant Liquid Eyeliner Tattoo Me £4.99

Total £24.95

£10 Budget

Collection 2000 Supersize Mascara £2.99

Natural Collection Foundation £1.99

Miss Sporty Eye Pencil £1.99

Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Lipstick £2.99

Total £9.96

Bargain of the Week

It should have been £11.50.
It's on offer for £3.50 (With a £5 off skincare/£3 off make up No7 voucher)
I got it for 91p with my discount card.

This tinted moisturiser by No7 gives really good coverage and a radiant glow, but also has a more natural finish to it than a basic foundation. It's also much better for your skin with triple protection and SPF 15.

Exceptionally pleased with my bargain!

Natural Nails

This evening a friend of mine popped up on Facebook and asked me if I could reccommend anything for  strong, healthy nails.

She's going to Uni to study nursing and isn't allowed any fake or painted nails so she needs her own nails to grow strong and look good natural.  I gave her a couple of products to try ....Sally Hansens 'Maximum Growth' Daily Nail Treatment, Rimmel Nail Rescue, and I even suggested that she try some vitamins for strong nail growth.

Here are a few tips for keeping nails in good condition, without forking out for any products.

1. Keep your nails hydrated.
Rubbing vaseline or castor oil or any creams rich in Vitamin E into your cuticles can help them stay in good condition. Failing that, just use some Olive Oil from the kitchen - it's great for moisturising your hands and nails.

2. File your nails properly.
Filing your nails in one direction instead of going back and forth can make alot of difference. Also, avoid filing your nails after a shower, because they are at their weakest when wet and will break more easily.

3. Polish Properly
Adding even a thin clear polish to your nails adds a bit of protection.  If you're painting your nails then apply a base coat, two coats of colour and a top coat.

4. Avoid Acetone.
If it isn't absolutely neccessary then try to avoid acetone completely - it strips the nails and makes them brittle.

5. Use a softer file.
Those old-style rough emery boards are too harsh for nails and can cause small cracks and breakages.

Cover or Correction: What Is Your Skincare Offering You?

These days, any Skincare worth its salt offers you a solution to at least a few skin - related problems; we're well past the days where one product solves just one issue, and a womans dressing table had to be full of different creams and lotions.  Yet - plenty of women do still have draws just full of different creams - only now they claim to do several things instead of just one. With so many different products floating around - are we blindly throwing our money at products before we really understand why we need them?

One of the most popular items that I'm always asked about is the Nanoblur Optical Skin Cream. Now there are similar products that are jumping on the success of Optical Skincare, such as Garnier Perfect Blur - and I suspect that many more are yet to come.

I'll be really honest with you here - I've tried both of these products a few times now and I don't think they're actually offering me that much for the money. Yes, I understand that there can only be wonderous optical science behind the formula, but for me Optical Skincare feels like a bit of a con. I always feel that the result is minimal at best and I definitely wouldn't feel confident going bare-faced with just one of these products. It's easy to see the appeal to women, and I definitely applaud the idea of formulating a cream that will help women be more confident in their skin. But for me the most use I got out of these products was using them as a primer underneath my foundation - and I'm sure plenty of women will agree.

Personally, I would much rather something with a bit more coverage. And I like the idea that what I'm putting on my face is improving my skin rather than disguising its problems.

I have always been a believer that every girl needs a really good quality BB Cream in their make up bag. However, with the introduction of the CC Cream - these sort of products have even more advantages. Colour Correction has more benefits to me personally, especially with ones such as Maxfactor that have a lovely thick formula - it almost lets me indulge in my worst make up habit of caking the foundation on, on a guilt free basis.

Lastly, here is a product that I think is going to be just fantastic...

Seventeen have a foundation that is not only for coverage - but for the treatment of spots. I gave the product a go this month and at first I was sceptical. I'm not always a fan of Seventeen. Although their products are budget friendly, I often find the quality to be below standard. However, I was impressed with this - I thought the consistancy of the foundation was nice and thick with good coverage, but also spread well. I haven't used it enough to know whether it is a really effective spot-defence, but just knowing that products like this are on the increase is a good peace of mind - and I predict this is something that other brands will be bringing out in their own name very soon.

Holiday Must-Have #1 Bourjois BB Soleil

 

Bourjois is one of my favourite make up brands for this very reason - when it brings out a product, it does it with style. The new Soleil BB bronzing cream - which I have now tried and tested, is definitely going on my must have list for my trip to Lanzarote in June.

Unlike BB Creams with a thicker coverage - this has a very sheer, spreadable formula that adds some summer colour into your complexion - with the added benefit of being great for your skin.

I will be using this on holiday, whenever I have a fake tan, whenever I catch the sun etc.

Not only is the packaging fresh cute and adorable, but this BB will look and feel so much better than clogging your skin with loads of foundation when its hot and you're in the sun. Give this a try and let your skin breathe this summer !