Renew, Refresh and Revitalize For The New Year

So this year I decided not to kick off the new year with a new years resolution. I’ve never really liked the idea of new years resolutions; you put yourself under extreme pressure to achieve one single goal that is usually above your pay grade and lasts approximately 2 weeks until it is broken, often even in the first few hours after midnight. Right now, all I’m focusing on is total detox. Not just a silly lemon drink or cabbage soup detox diet, more like a complete turn-around of my lifestyle. I’m sure I’m not the only girl who has put on a little bit of post-Christmas pudge around the stomach area.. although this isn’t just a simple weight issue. Think sluggish, bloated, lacking energy and finding yourself shaking after your third coffee of the day trying to drag yourself out of the trenches. Not to mention I’ve stopped exercising for a long time, am completely bored with me job and find myself wanting to have dinner after coming home and go straight to bed. A few days into the new year and I think I’m doing rather well! Last night a swapped a big meal dinner for a granny smith apple and some yoghurt. Oh and this was after I returned from my local swim centre and swum 14 laps after about 8 months. It felt ahhh-mazing!! I absolutely love swimming; unlike the gym or jogging, there are no sweaty clothes and towels or aching torn muscles post-exercise. You just feel cool, energized and refreshed. And that’s exactly how I want to be feeling this year, all year round! Right now I’m sitting on my fold-out couch with a luscious hair treatment revitalizing my chlorine-damaged locks. My agenda for later this evening looks something like this: -Full Facial -Hot Oil Manicure -Pedicure -Eye Brow Wax -Body Brush -Possibly some bubbly depending on how I’m feeling! The most exciting and rewarding part of being a beauty therapist: you can be your own beauty therapist :)

Face the strange ch-ch-changes..

Or maybe just change what you put on your face! 

We all know the weather changing from Spring to Summer in Melbourne can be a little temperamental, and although this can be very frustrating, it’s given me a fantastic opportunity to test exactly which type of makeup works for me according to the weather. It’s become my very own scientific experiment! Yes, everybody’s skin is different, but having studied beauty therapy I believe it is safe for me to say that when it comes to weather, everyone’s skin will have the same reaction to hot or cold, no matter what their skin type! The results were somewhat surprising :)

Now, according to most beauty columns in magazines and just general word-of-mouth, most people believe that during hot weather the foundation of choice should be matte-finish and set with a moderate dusting of powder; the reason being your skin produces more oil during heat, and the multiple layers of powder will conceal the greasy t-zones. It is definitely true that skin does produce more oil during heat, but as for the makeup of choice..let’s just say my skin didn’t fair so well after an 8 hours shift at work on a 37 degree day when I followed the hot weather=powdery makeup rule! It was extremely patchy, blotchy, half matte and half greasy! There’s an old saying I would like to apply to this particular situation: when you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. To elaborate: instead of applying layer after layer of powder to diminish any shiny patches, not to mention completely plug your pores, work your makeup with your skin instead of battling against it with powder.

Just picture it: it’s 40 degrees, you’re flustered, you’re skin is a glowing pink and you can feel a light layer of perspiration seeping through the makeup on your face. Personally, I definitely know I would feel more comfortable with a glossy, dewy, glowing look rather than a look of sweat seeping through several layers of patchy, deminishing powder when it comes to my makeup. What worked for me during the warmers days recently were glossy-finish, oil based foundation. A liquid highlighter underneath foundation also makes for a gorgeous dewy glow. If you already have super oily skin, a light layer of powder is advisable, but if packed on top on foundation you will without a doubt look blotchy at the end of a hot, humid day! Sure, it may cover it up for a while, but unless you want to use blotting paper and a powder puff every half hour, powdery makeup should be saved for cooler days.

 

Spring Is Blossoming!

For a few hours today, a few brief and shining hours, (sunshine, that is) Melbourne really did seem like it had been finally immersed in merciful spring. But as I said, it was short lived, and cloud cover soon crept over the sky and drenched the city in an uncomfortable humidity, before being replaced with the usual cold victoria breeze. As disgruntling as it is having to trust your iphone weather app over your own intuition when it comes to picking an outfit for the day, spring is inevitable, and the odd sunny days that have been popping up lately has certainly left a tangible excitement in the air. So as we all prepare ourselves for sunshine, tans and spring racing, I’d like to summarize a few of my own tricks of the beauty trade that are bound to get any girl in the mood to slip on a sun dress and flash some sun-deprived skin.

Body Brushing

Body brushing is one of my absolute favourite body spa treatments. As the name suggests, it really is simply a brush used on the body. No, it is not anything like a hairbrush! Quality body brushes tend to be made from cactus bristles, as other artificial products are too gentle. Body brushing is done in a specific procedure, as it has a specific, and very desired, purpose: Body brushing actually possesses the magical power to prevent and lessen cellulite! *cue gasping* Cellulite is caused by fluid retention (fluid trapped under fat calls), and body brushing helps alleviate this fluid in a process called lymphatic drainage; draining the fluid and toxins thereby decreasing the appearance of cellulite and helping to prevent more from occurring. Not only does body brushing do all this but it feels incredible, it’s a quick and easy full body exfoliation, it helps skincare products absorb into the skin more rapidly, increases your circulation and brightens and evens your skin tone. Miranda Kerr even believes body brushing was the reason for her lack of post-baby stretch marks. Body brushing is offered by reputable day spas such as Endota, but brushes can also be purchased from the Body Shop for DIY body brushing at home, although it’s best to ask a professional about how to use them.

Sunscreen

Although spring carnival hats can be gorgeous and usually quite outrageous, they don’t offer the greatest sun protection, so hopefully most of the ladies out there will be opting for sunscreen just to be safe. Recently i’ve discovered another side to sunscreen though, that’s much more than just a skin cancer insurance policy. I like to refer to sunscreen as ‘fake tan for pale girls’. Being very pale myself, I was long searching for something that would do for me what fake tan does for already-slightly-tanned gals; accentuate, smooth and gloss what’s already there. Sunscreen does just that for lilly white ladies! It’s the perfect cheap alternative to body gloss. I find it also makes a beautiful primer and an full body and face illuminizer.

Massage

Yes, massage is one of my beauty tips for the season! I believe massage is one of the most powerful healing treatments there is. What convinces me of this is one day I was massaging a client who’s leg she advised me was completely numb due to an operation on it over quite some time ago. As I was massaging above the area, the told me she could feel her toes prickling..at the same time I felt my eyes prickle.

A simple 10 minute massage can diminish my own chronic neck/shoulder tension and reduce me to a drooling, dreamy mess. Massage increases your circulation, relaxes your muscles, increases your blood flow which improves your skin tone and texture, increases your range of motion and feels absolutely divine to top it off!

Im not just talking about body massage either, the same effects apply to facial massage as well! Facial massage gives you a beautiful glow and plumps and diminishes the appearance of lines and wrinkles, even if it’s not an anti aging facial!

A little Something About Ingrown Hairs

So my gorgeous assistant manager at work requested that I write a post about ingrown hairs..so here’s everything I know about them, their treatment and their prevention :)

Ingrown hairs are simply normal hairs that are inhibited by a layer of skin growing over them that they cannot penetrate. This seems like a very simple concept, but ingrown hairs can be a very large and very painful problem if left untreated. The hair continues to grow underneath the skin, growing into a spiral and pushing the skin upwards and upwards and causing large painful lumps. These can become infected, pus-filled and inflamed and sometimes form boils. Disgusting, yes, but there is an incredibly simple solution. To prevent ingrown hairs from occurring, purchase an exfoliating mitt and use it about 3-4 times per week. This will buff away any thick layers of skin that may be covering hair. Now, this has to be a quality and abrasive mitt, and not just a pleasantly soft bath loofa, as these are not rough enough to exfoliate anything! Another tip to prevention is do not mix and match hair removal methods; for example going from waxing an area, to shaving it, and back to waxing. Exactly as to why this creates ingrown hairs, (not to mention irritation) is beyond me, but I can speak reliably from personal experience and also from the personal experience of my old salon clients. Pick a hair removal tactic and stick to it. Your skin will love you for it!

As for treating ingrown hairs at home after they have occurred, exfoliating over them will be excruciatingly painful, so opt for gently piercing the skin with a sterile needle and tweezers to remove the hair. After a few days the lump will sink and the pain will cease. Make sure to disinfect the small wound you have just created with something such as pure tea tree oil. There are also products you can purchase from salons to prevent ingrown hairs. Caron has several effective products formulated for different areas of the body.

Max Factor Lipfinity Lip Tint

So recently I gave in and purchased max factor’s most recent innovation Lipfinity Lip Tint in it’s lightest shade ‘pink petal’. I have to say, other than giving you the strange sensation of drawing on your lips with a highlighter, I personally find it wonderful to use. Lipfinity definitely lasts the longest out of all the tints I have used in the past, and endures through meals, kisses and your daily coffee (or two-three if you’re a caffeine addict like me). It’s superbly easy to apply and leaves a lovely dry, slightly matte look. Of course if you prefer the dewy look it’s just as easy to apply a clear gloss over the top. Miraculously enough, even if the gloss depletes throughout the day, Lipfinity manages to remain intact and undamaged. The only problem I have encountered so far is this tint must be applied to supple smooth and silky soft lips. If applied to chapped lips the tint will form lines where the cracks are, leaving you look like there are deep, pink crevasses on your lips. To avoid this problem I generally softly brush over my lips with a toothbush to rid them of flakey skin and apply a tiny amount of Lucas’s pawpaw ointment. Everyone I know either has heard of or owns one of these miraculous red tubes of magical ointment. There really is nothing else like it, especially not when it comes to healing dry lips, cuts, burns or any other sorts of abrasions.

Shellac

Finally, for the first time in 18 months, I can get my nails done! Now that beauty college is over it seems a magnificent luxury to be able to grow my nails as long as I like and polish them to my heart’s content. It’s a fair enough rule at college not to have your nails longer than your fingertips; nobody wants their skin clawed when you’re supposed to be having a relaxing massage or facial :) The first thing I’m going to do is get shellac. I’ve had it done once before, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Not only is it silky smooth, takes 5 minutes to dry, looks and feels exactly like acrylics or gels, ( not to mention it’s far less harmful to your nails and half the cost) but it is the sturdiest polish in the history of nail enamel. To say I am a bit of a clutz would be an understatement. We all know our nails should never be used as tools..but sometimes it’s just necessary! The amount of times I bashed, scraped, scratched and jammed my fingernails without damaging my shellac was amazing! up until it was time to remove it, my busy schedule didnt allow me the time to visit my salon and soak them off, so I actually just peeled it right off my nails! (also which would be excessively harmful if attempted with gels or acrylics but did not leave a scratch with shellac). shellac have also just released info on layering. somewhat similar to OPI’s Shatter, except instead of the second coat ‘shattering’ the first coat it simply creates a whole new shade. You can also apply white under any coat to lighten it up, or a black base coat to make it darker and deeper. Quite excited to try it out and see what I can create!

It’s Finally Happened

I have finally succumbed..and started a beauty blog.

For now it shall just be a simple pleasure, solely for the purpose of my putting my thoughts about the world of beauty and cosmetics into words. As my dream of being a beauty editor seems to be a reality in a very distant future, for the time being I will simply be using tumblr as a means of venting, and of course as to make sure I never lose my touch or forget my passion for writing. I’m hoping to add every time I get some time alone with my thoughts; I’m not sure if it’s just me but I just can not even begin to write anything when my boyfriend is peering at it over my shoulder and whispering the words under his breath..

I’m excited to see what I can come up with now that I have a chance to share :)