Bad Beauty Habits #2

So I had really good feedback in April about my post concerning bad beauty habits. Well here are a few more for you....

1. Girls who use any of the following motivational phrases...

"Eating is Cheating"
"The A Team"
"Team Skinny"
"I'm not eating today because I'm going out tomorrow"
"I had a snickers last Friday, I'm so fat"


You get the point.

It's not good for your body to constantly be abusing it with your bad eating habits. If you find yourself saying any of these things then you have a really bad attitude towards food and you might think you're motivating people around you to be more healthy, but actually you're just making them as messed up about what they eat as you are.

Eating sensibly, in reasonable amounts, a little of the bad stuff and a lot of the good stuff, and exercising is the only proven way to lose weight for good. Constantly starving your body isn't good for it and you might want to be really skinny, but the chances are you're going to end up really dead. And unless you're an absolute idiot, you'd probably prefer to be a bit chunky than dead.

2. Filing your nails in public

I see people doing it all the time and most people probably don't think it's anything to get annoyed about. Most girls probably have their own little cutely patterned nail files in their purses, ready to whip out and use whenever they have a few minutes of time to kill. And anything that comes in a cute pattern was practically made for people to see, right?

Except that when you're filing your nails in a public place, tiny little fragments of nail dust are falling from the file and into that public area. Just because you can't see it, doesn't make it any less disgusting. For me personally, it's up there with clipping your toenails in someone elses space, you just wouldn't.

3. Being really unhygienic with testers
Not only is this gross for everybody else - you aren't doing yourself any favours either. If you can comfortably go into a store, see a nice shade of lipstick, pick up the tester and put it to your own lips as though 30 or 40 germ ridden strangers hadn't done that exact same thing, then you need to reassess your life.

When you use a tester, there are certain points of your body that it is much more hygienic to test them on. Like your wrist, under your neck - the points of your skin where your natural skin tone comes through, because you're judging whether that shade looks good with your colouring.

If push comes to shove and you absolutely have to try it out on your lips, then ask the nearest sales assistant for a tissue and then after you've wiped the lipstick, using your finger applicate a small amount onto your lips and spread with your fingertips.

4. Dousing yourself in perfume
Perfume smells best when it's subtle and just lingers gently on your skin. Not everybody has the same taste and if someone doesn't appreciate your scent, then the last thing they want is to be smelling it 15 minutes after you leave a room.

If in doubt, I always follow the Marilyn rule . Marilyn Monroe famously quoted "Only spray your perfume on the places you'd like to be kissed". A spray in a couple of intimate places like the nape of your neck and your wrists will mean that nobody is choking as you walk past. Your perfume will last longer too.

5. Too Much Make-up
It's actually really uncomfortable trying to have a conversation with someone that's wearing too much make up. It's unprofessional too - you're actually coming across as more of an amateur and won't get alot of respect back for it. It was only in our very early school days that we thought the more make up we wore meant the prettier we looked - let's leave it there!

Travel Size Treasures

These little beauties will be saving my life while I'm on holiday...

Soap and Glory is fab, but it can be pricey stuff when you're on a budget. Luckily for holidaying budgeters like myself, they do a fair few of their products in the 50ml travel size containers. This will be great on holiday for getting rid of any dry or dead skin and keeping my complexion nice and refreshed in the sun. For only £2.50 it's a good deal whether you're travelling or just trying to spread out your skincare costs until your next payday.

This tube of Simple Moisturising Wash is one of my favourites. It's so light and good to my skin, with almost no abrasive ingredients. It has a more neutral ph balance - unlike many face washes and regular soap, which tend to be alkaline and this can dry up your skin horribly. It also comes in a 50ml tube for just £1.29 from Boots.

I love the Sun, but my hair doesn't. This Mark Hill Holiday Hair Cover Up Protection Spray is really handy in a 50ml travel spray, you can just whip it out of your handbag and keep your hair from drying out.

My Week Ahead

So I may be rather quiet in the upcoming week. Here's a couple of beauty things I'm trying to cram in before I leave for Lanzarote...

1- Drinking loads of water. There's nothing more upsetting than having a breakout of spots while you're on holiday.

2- Last minute dieting. I'm going to be eating whatever I want while I'm actually in Lanzarote, but for now I need to be good. I took a side-picture today to highlight my problem areas and I definitely would like to lose some podge around my middle. So it's salads and fruit all week!

3- Moisturise overload. Hot weather always dries up my skin so I'm going to be extremely kind to it this week and make sure it gets plenty of moisture. I'm also exfoliating at least once a day.

4 - Relaxing. Nothing is going to stress me out this week. Only 5 more shifts at work until all I have to worry about is sun, sea and cocktails.

5- Detoxing. Taking a breather from alcohol, as I'm sure there'll be plenty of it next week. I want to let my body have a bit of a break.

Essentially my life ^