My Essential Pre-Holiday Beauty Preparation!

I love holidays; I love everything about them (minus the packing and remembering of important things like passports etc, the paying for the holiday, and mostly the coming home); but I definitely love the excitement of looking forward to it, starting the holiday early at the airport - and yes I do mean boozing at wherever they'll put up with us in the departure lounge, boarding the plane, arriving (love it when that heat hits you as you step off the plane), and then of course the holiday itself.

However, before I go on holiday, there are definitely beauty chores that need tending to so that my holiday is as chore free as possible. I mean who wants to be shaving daily, or doing nail polish etc. when there's fun to be had?! Not me, that’s for sure! That's why I'm letting you know about my absolute essentials when it comes to my own holiday beauty preparation.

Hair Appointments:

The first chore to be tackled was my hair, because, other than the roots needing to be done, I wanted my hair colour as fresh and as vibrant as possible for the whole holiday; and with the potential for excessive fading due to the sun and swimming pool action, this was even more important for me. I stuck with the same colour combination I've been having recently, as I felt that a change (not in overall colour, just the tips) could mean that the colour build up that I had achieved so far with the orange-y tips could all be undone, thus there would be even more risk of fading.

I recommend having your hair colour done a few days before you fly if you're going for something slightly new/different, that way you have time to make alterations, should it not be to your liking. Otherwise, get it done as close to your departure time as possible for longevity.

Manicures and Pedicures:

Before gel nail polish existed, I would just go for a bog standard manicure before my holiday, in the hope that my nails would look nice for as long as possible; but then end up having to re-do or top up my nails myself throughout the holiday, since normal polish is extremely prone to fading and chipping very quickly, more so when in a holiday environment.

Nowadays, we have gel polish... thank god, and it has been an absolute godsend because it absolutely 100% lasts for my entire holiday (well unless I'm going on an extended break of more than 3 weeks - I wish!) without chipping, or fading. I had gel polish on both my finger and toe nails, which lasted for the entire holiday, and then some. In fact, the only reason it had to come off was due to regrowth. Although I actually have a post coming up soon about how to extend your gel polish a little longer, if only down to regrowth starting to show. I got my nails done the day before I went on holiday, which worked well for me as they lasted perfectly.

For your reference, I had my nails done at Blink Brow Bar at Selfridges in Manchester; and the colours I believe I had were Artistic Colour Gloss in shades Sexy (the coral-y pink shade on all but 'feature' ring finger), Sultry (the orange shade on my feature finger) and Halo (the sparkly top coat on my thumb and ring fingers)!

Hair Removal:

Well I've already written an article on hair removal recently, so I won't go into it in too much detail as you can read that here! However, when I go on holiday, I absolutely need to feel like I am hair free for the entire time. I mean nobody wants to be in a bikini with hairs that have escaped, or grown back poking out, do they (ew)?!

So, I tend to schedule in a bikini (Hollywood) and thigh wax as standard and then epilate the rest of my body (underarms and lower legs) as I can just about take the epilation pain there but then I keep on top of the fuzz with the epilator, if and when I need to whilst over there - which is rare, but I take it with me anyway! Now that I am doing some at home laser hair removal, I'm hoping that this will be a redundant step for future holidays though.

I also make sure my eyebrows are freshly threaded, as nobody likes a messy brow. ;-)

This isn't an eyelash perm image, it's an old image from a very old Max Factor False Lash Effect post.

Eyelashes:

I think this is another holiday essential if you want your eyelashes to look great whilst by the pool/on the beach during the day, but don't want to be putting makeup on for whatever reason. I personally don't wear makeup at all throughout the day whilst on holiday, unless going to a day time event/club - so having my eyelashes 'done' just makes me feel better about that.

I was actually due to have my eyelashes either permed or extended at Blink Brow Bar on the day that I left the country. However due to a mishap beyond my control, I was unable to make it there that day. I will be having these done on another occasion, so expect a separate review post on this soon.

Others:

Lots of people have fake tan applied before they jet off on their jollies, but I find this to be a total waste of time, since as soon as you hit the pool, the chlorine actually strips the tan straight off. If you're planning on staying poolside, this may not be such an issue, but I definitely like taking dips to cool down, at the very least. I do take a few short sunbed sessions to prepare my skin for the sun before I go, not necessarily the healthiest option, but I do find it helps to prevent overcooking my skin the moment I get there.

Weight loss - I always try to diet and tone up before a holiday. The fact that people will be seeing me in not much more than 'glorified underwear' through the day is a large factor in this. Obviously this is a personal thing, you may not need to lose any (lucky thing) but if you do, timing with this will depend on how much you need or want to lose.

Exfoliation is a key treatment to do both before and throughout your holiday if you're planning on tanning. The more you exfoliate, the better your tan will be, and the longer it will last. Dead, dry skin is not a good look at any time though. I tend to use a nice body scrub AND a scrubby mitt or sponge to slough away any dead cells.

So there you have it, my holiday preparation essentials. I would normally have posted this earlier in the year, however I obviously still had a lot going on then with my personal life (and then technical issues), so it's a case of better late than never and this will hopefully help those of you jetting off for some winter sun. You lucky things.

What holiday preparation do you do?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Xen-Tan 'Fake Tan Friday' Spray Tan Offer With Saks Salons!

With winter getting ever closer, and the nights getting darker, you may be thinking about covering up with lots of layers... especially as the temperature is already plummeting - not that it was that warm to begin with. It's all too easy to let things slip when you're covered up to keep warm, and I know this from experience!

I regularly forget to paint my toenails in winter, unless I'm going out and remember they'll be on display, which is mostly because I don't see them as much when they're covered with tights and/or boots; and before at home laser hair removal products came about (which I'll be covering in the near future), my legs may have been known (to myself) to be sporting a little more stubble than I'd normally allow... again, because I'd usually be wearing trousers/jeans or tights, and what you can't see, can't hurt, right?!

So maybe you're also thinking about sporting a paler complexion to complement that look? Right again, I mean I'm pale and interesting at the best of times, so why would that change in winter? Well one reason to change would be this fab 'Fake Tan Friday' offer from Xen-Tan and Saks Salons, as they're offering a spray or hand applied fake tan for just £15 (RRP £25) every Friday until the end of November, with the last day being on Friday 30th - not bad, eh?!

This is perfect for weekend partying, and even more so for people like me, who never seem to leave enough time to apply a tan and let it develop - especially as they say you can have your spray tan and then go 'straight out on a night on the town'. I now have no excuses to be pasty when I'm off out for the next month or so.

All you need to do, is fill in some details here, print off your voucher and then take it with you to your appointment. Simple.


Fake Tan Friday Terms & Conditions:

Selected salons only, please contact your local salon to find out, and mention the offer at the time of booking.
Not valid on homecare.
Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Services may vary from salon to salon and are subject to availability.
Only one redemption per person, per week.
No cash alternatives offered.



Psssst, there's also a competition to win the ENTIRE Xen-Tan range here!!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

My Xen Tan Spray Tan!

Back in July, I attended a Xen-Tan event and I've been wanting to blog about it ever since, but due to internet/email/laptop issues, have been unable to do so, until now. The event was focused around the Xen-Tan brand, the products within it and celebrity fans of the brand, which you can also view here.

At the event, I met lots of lovely people, got pampered with a Jessica manicure and a Xen-Tan spray tan, and came out of it actually looking alive, rather than the almost deathly pale shade that I usually sport.

Having my nails done.

More nails being done.

Nails again!

I chose the darker shade of tan and was really, really pleased with it. It wasn't too dark, and it wasn't orange in the slightest. I could see the colour difference straight away when I moved the string of the oh so flattering (and not at all embarrassing to wear) paper knickers to another position and I already felt better for having a 'healthy' colour.

Chatting with lovely bloggers and PR ladies.

And again. I love how my tan looks here, especially on my legs haha.

Over the course of the evening, my tan developed into a lovely, even shade - bar my hands which were noticeably paler than the rest of my body. I think the girl who did my spray tan was a bit too cautious with them, and so this was the result of possibly over-moisturising them and just doing the one coat of tan as opposed to the 2 she used on the rest of my body.

My tan shortly after having it done, note the pale hands, especially my right hand. Nail polish used in my manicure, which is just about showing was 'Venus Was Her Name' by Jessica.

That being said, I was still pleased with the tan in every other way, it lasted about 11 ish days before I felt it had faded noticeably, but evenly, and would happily go back for another... just without the pale hands lol.

Apologies that the only images I have are ones taken at the event by Xen-Tan and the PR team - my images of my tan etc were on my old laptop that I no longer have access to. Also, apologies for the way I look in the image above, no make-up (bar tinted lip balm), flushed cheeks and my hair just scraped back off my face coupled with extreme awkwardness in front of the camera is not a good look for me haha.

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Fake Bake Beauty Salon Launches In Selfridges Beauty Hall, Manchester!

Two weeks ago, I attended the brand spanking new and totally fantastic Fake Bake Salon in (also brand new) Selfridges Beauty Hall in Manchester. It’s a gorgeous little salon, light and bright and with the most amazing chandeliers hanging from the ceiling (instantly alerting that magpie in me – ooooh sparkly) – everything you’d expect from a salon located in a Selfridges store! Refreshments are provided with a smile (I even had a glass of the fizzy stuff) and it really feels that nothing is too much trouble – great service.

I was very surprised to see the range of treatments available as I expected that it could just be mainly focussed around tanning and possibly nails too but there’s a whole host of treatments to choose from, from bronzing to Botox – just have a look (and apparently there’s more to come)!!

I went for a resurfacing facial, using a Dermaquest 10% Glycolic mask which isn’t a nicey nice facial where you relax, but it is a facial that delivers results almost immediately (I will do a separate post on that very soon)! The therapist was informative throughout the treatment, telling me exactly which step was being done and what it did. She was also very friendly, and seemed genuinely interested our conversation whilst doing the treatment!

Whilst there I also met, and had a great chat with the king of tanning, James Read, who has bronzed the bodies of many celebrities throughout his career, and who was giving fake tanning master classes for 2 days in the Manchester salon. I found James to be utterly fabulous and so friendly too - he definitely knows his stuff where self tanning is concerned and this knowledge really shone through as he talked me through tanning trends and the Fake Bake range.

All in all, I am VERY impressed with the salon and its staff. If you fancy a visit, you can find it nestled in the new downstairs beauty hall at the side (ish) just near to the MAC and Illamasqua concessions.

Groupon Sunbed Deal... Hmmm?!

Eek, a Groupon beauty deal that I’m really, really not so sure about popped up today in Manchester. It’s for seven sunbed sessions for £19.75 - apparently the value is £49 but all my local tanning shops seem to be £3 for 9 minutes – which is what is being proposed here which would equate to £21 in total, so still more but not quite as much as the ‘normal’ price; although I’m sure these are much swankier beds, with sound systems in, no less – although I’d rather pay less and have to cope with no sound system for the whole 9 minutes lol!

Anyway, I know people are going to use sunbeds if they want (so I’m not going to start preaching that sunbeds are the root of all evil or anything), and I use them too – every now and then (about 4 times per year, 2 on either side of my annual holiday as that’s generally all I can be bothered with) but there’s a couple of things that just don’t sit well with me.

1. They seem to pre-determine that you want 9 minutes each time – why not give you a set amount of minutes that you can use in any way you like?

and

2. They say you have 28 days to use all these sessions... this seems like an awfully short time to cram in all that sunbed time, especially as I’m sure I read somewhere that you should (in theory and according to regulations) never exceed 20 sessions per year – yes this is probably unrealistic for those of you who enjoy a year round tan but for a company to pretty much force you to have all these sessions in that amount of time seems wrong to me. Again, why can’t they just let you use all the minutes within say 6 months, in your own way?

What do you think? Would you use a sunbed this much in 28 days? I’m not sure I could so it’s not a deal I’d be taking up – plus there are much better deals on the Groupon site that I’d be more interested in, that may be better for me in the long run anyway!

Hawaiian Tropic Dry Carrot Oil SPF15

Advantages: Gets You Brown Easily, Easy To Apply, Comfortable When On, Moisturising

Disadvantages: You Miss It When You Don't Have It .

Please note: This is a slightly revised and updated review that I did on another site a while ago!

I first experienced this oil on my holiday to Tossa De Mar in June 2007; I had always liked using oil over my normal cream as I go browner using one, but disappointingly their sun protection factors are usually not sufficient to be used alone. However, I found this particular one in the apartment that I was staying in and was told I could use it if I would like. I was impressed that it had a decent SPF so thought I would give it a go.


I applied the oil and was pleasantly surprised to find that it applied easily (as it's a spray bottle), was easy to see where it had been applied (as you had a lovely sheen where the product was), and did not feel uncomfortable when on the skin as a lot of oils can feel sticky and heavy when applied. I then enjoyed the sun for the whole day, regularly reapplying the oil throughout the day usually around every 2 hours for my skin* which again was less of a chore than I usually experienced as I was used to having to put on cream, and then oil on top.

When we got back early that evening I took a little peek at what I hoped would be my white bits, although I was not really expecting much after the previous days disappointment with the ultrasun. SUCCESS, there were definite white areas where my bikini had been positioned and no burnt bits. I couldn't believe how well it had done in one day of sunbathing not to mention how soft my skin felt at the end of the day. I used it for the rest of the holiday, each day getting browner and browner, I hadn't ever found it this easy to go brown so I was really impressed.. although I still wondered if it was just a lucky one off experience.

I put this to the test in the August as I bought some more to take to Ibiza with me for the 9 days I was holidaying there and sure enough, it did just as well as it had done in Tossa and i came home with a fantastic tan. I felt I had finally found a product that worked well with my skin. I also have to mention at this point, that my boyfriend also used this oil with me and he had the same great results. He doesn't tan as easily as I do whilst in the sun either, so he was really impressed with this stuff too.

I ordered some more to take on holiday with me for 6 days in Ibiza at the beginning of June 2008, but was disappointed when it didn't arrive by the time I was leaving for my holiday. I had to rush to the shops and find a replacement, and quickly. The nearest I could find was Hawaiian Tropic carrot gel SPF8, so I bought it thinking that as it was made by the same people and still contained carrot that it would do the same job for me. I was wrong, I didn't tan half as much as I had done using the carrot oil and had more reapplying it far more as it was a lower factor. I've also found that I am peeling now I am home, even though I didn't burn; this did not happen when I had used the oil.

I don't want to put the substitute gel down as it did an *ok* job but having experienced the carrot oil and having high hopes, this really disappointed me. Needless to say, I have been taking my trusty Hawaiian Tropic SPF 15 Carrot Oil on any holidays that I have had since, and  have been coming home lovely and brown.


*Please remember that it's different for every skin, so remember to reapply according to how your own skin is in the sun. With a SPF of 15, this means you can stay out 15 times longer than you usually could without sun cream before getting burned so reapply often as burning/cancer is just not cool.

Claire. xx

Summary: Tantastic.. cheesy I know (the word, not the oil as that's obviously carrot), but true.