Archive for July 2014

Home Archive for July 2014

...without a) rewarding yourself with the contents of the Whistles pre fall collection for not selling any offspring to the circus or b) drowning yourself in a vat of wine.

It is possible to do. I will admit that usually in the holidays and pre a holiday I do like a little treat to boost my wardrobe but this year, honestly, I don't think I need anything (all faint now). Maybe it's because we're going away in the UK and so the chances of me needing to wear a bikini are zero, maybe it's because I usually go away earlier and I'm now all about the A/W, maybe because I'm shopped out (again, all faint now)

Either way, I don't feel the need to add anything to my holiday wardrobe (clearly this won't last)

But I have a couple of other great solutions that won't be a burden on either my burgeoning wardrobe or my liver. I can't promise the same for your bank account but we all need a treat now and again (compared to lawyer's fees for the alternative, I think we're good)

It's basically beauty related. Yes I know, I don't do beauty and compared to most I am a total rank amateur. This is obviously recognised as the team at No 6 Clinic in Tunbridge Wells, asked if, pre the onslaught of the holidays, would I like to try one of their IV Vitamin Infusions.

As my laziness knows no bounds and this beauty ritual involves lying down, chatting to the rather lovely Nadine for half an hour with the promise of an instant energy boost for the day and weeks ahead, who was I to say no?

And it was the ideal pick me up - I would call it an inside out facial - which is fab considering I loathe any form of facial or massage. A Spa day to me is my idea of total hell, so being in and out in half an hour was a massive plus for me. They are based in Tunbridge Wells and they have very kindly offered 10% off any IV Vitamin Infusion in August with Nadine, if you mention the blog when booking.

My infusion was a Vit C and Magnesium mix and I have really felt fab for the first week of the hols - mission totally accomplished. An added bonus is that my skin feels brighter and the whites of my eyes are definitely clearer (which is a minor miracle knowing what a lush I am). I definitely have more energy and, dare I say it, more patience. I only wish I could set up a drip at home.

So that's the first recommendation on my list, second is the fake tan. I cannot be doing with lying out in the sun anymore, it just doesn't happen. I have mentioned this previously but I am being asked all the time, what do I use? I have been assured that this is because it does look pretty good and not because I look like an Oompah Loompah and people would like to know what to avoid.

Can I please point out that this is what I buy - I haven't been given it, I buy this and whilst I could buy (and have definitely bought) more expensive brands, I genuinely think this is better. My second choice would be St Tropez but honestly, this a) lasts longer and b) fades better. And when you are as utterly lazy as I am with the attention to detail of a sloth, then the less work you have to do the better.

All hail the Cocoa Brown tan. The rules, as I have mentioned previously but for those who weren't paying attention, are as follows. You MUST use a mitt. And you MUST use the mousse. If you don't - I absolve myself of all responsibility for what occurs.

This is the set I bought in Ireland from Penneys and for those who want to either give it a go or/and who are travelling, this is ideal. Ryanair appropriate (assuming that you are one of the 99% of RA travellers who would rather wear all your clothes than pay to put your suitcase in the hold? This will only make sense if you travel a lot with them and if you have any Irish family, you will know exactly what I'm talking about)

And at Feel Unique, there is 15% off everything (according to their website..) using the code JULYSUN.

Cocoa Brown Ultimate Travel Set £9.99

Specific Mousse wise, I like the One Hour Tan (haven't tried the darker one as I find the normal one dark enough) £7.99

Clearly any self tan mitt will do but theirs is cheaper than most at £2.99

I've also been asked, what do I do? Well, I shave my legs (I've found this much better than waxing for self tanning) and I exfoliate. When I say I exfoliate, I mean I use a body scrub - and that's where the secret starts and ends. I do like the Rough Stuff from Cocoa Brown but my favourite is definitely from The Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary Salt Scrub £11.50 from Boots (on 3 for 2 at the moment I think....)

I then put body lotion on my dry bits, so knees, feet and elbows and apply the mousse with the mitt. I honestly can't tell you how easy it is and until you do it, I know you won't believe me (PLEASE comment if you've used it to prove how easy it is!) And that's it. It fades evenly, I probably only do it once every five days. I only exfoliate the shower before I'm going to reapply, otherwise I just shower as normal, pat lightly dry (don't rub) and apply normal body lotion.

It really is that simple.

And whilst we're talking of holiday prep, I spied these earlier today in Marks and Spencers - of vital use to me going to Suffolk (not) but if you are going abroad (especially with my beloved RyanAir) then these are genius. I originally saw the Anya Hindmarch version which is the ultimate for the person who has everything.

In-flight travel bag £150 from Matches

Or you could get handy with a small gold bow and have these with enough left over for a whole outfit.

Outstanding Value Clear cosmetic bags set of 3 £6 from M&S

Hair wise now - again, I am lazy (honestly, verging on slovenly) in that I only wash it once a week and am ridiculously lucky in that I have good hair genes (my nails on the other hand - what God gives with one hand, he takes away with the other...)

But whilst I have a lot of it and my wonderful hairdresser Daniel Jordan can work absolute wonders with it, it is classic Irish frizz. Lots of it but fine, coarse and frizzy.

My saving grace that I have mentioned before, is my Babyliss Big Hair. The thing of dreams for those of us with untameable hair.

Babyliss New Big Hair £45 (but I wonder if you can use the above code with it - it does say it's site wide...)

Over the years I have tried many many different shampoos and conditioners but I constantly come back to the same brand that I have now been using for 17 years. First discovered them when I lived in America in the late 90's (oh dear god that was actually nearly 20 years ago. How? Seriously how? It was yesterday) and I have never found anything as good and I have tried pretty much all of them.

My go to every time is Redken All Soft (if you have similar hair and have a holy grail product, do let me know. Whilst I always come back to the All Soft, I am a total hair product tart in the hope of getting lucky with something else!)

Redken All Soft shampoo £9.90 (pre 15% off)

And as I only wash my hair once a week, I use the Heavy Cream as a conditioner.

Redken Heavy Cream Conditioner £15.90

I'm also going to try the Argan-6 Oil as I think the range is so great and I've been meaning to try a Moroccan oil for ages.

Redken All Sofr Argan-6 Oil £19.50

Now these above aren't treats exactly as they last forever but the one thing that I cane through and have very specific tastes regarding, is perfume. I love a fragrance, as I have mentioned before, they are real memory makers to me (as crap as it sounds it's true). Each holiday I like to have a new perfume (hours of research believe me - I am such a total saddo) as every time I smell it, the memories it brings back are fab and very specific (touch wood, up till now we've always had great hols!)

So my chosen fragrance for this year is from a company called Connock of London. Seeing my quest for a new fragrance on Twitter, they sent me a sample to try and fair dos to their marketing, it paid off as I am about to place an order for a bottle. And whilst I'm there I may as well get the shower gel too. This should hopefully coincide with our new bathroom so everyone's a winner.

Their scent is called Kukui Eau de Parfum and it's £75 for 100 ml which isn't the cheapest but it's an EDP and from the tiny tester that I had, you only need the smallest squirt and it lasts all day - unlike so so many EDTs which seem to fade after an hour or so.

What's it like? Errr nice? Seriously though, I would say it's a very fresh floral, the only other one I think that is vaguely reminiscent of it is Acqua Di Parma's Magnolia Nobile (which I also love but actually is much more expensive)

And so there we have a brief round up (although as per usual this has taken me about a day longer than my usual fashion diatribe I bore you with, hence it's today and not yesterday that you're reading this) of my alternative treats and must haves that aren't wearable, for the Summer hols. Any other tips - all gratefully received.

Finishing with outfits from the last couple of days.

Saturday for brunch with the family and then I took the boys swimming and met up with some friends in the afternoon.

Grey and black linen dress - Next

Black patent sliders - Zara

Black Diego bag - Alexander Wang

Straw hat - Zara

And out for dinner on Saturday night with friends. Ended up at 1.30 am drinking Espresso Martinis, as you do.... (god they're good. Not so good the next day mind...)