Beauty|| Getting our tan on

So apprently Summer is coming and you would have believed it with our mini heat wave but then this week has been wet,dark and a little chilly! 

But I'm optimistic that the sun will return which means showing a little more skin and for me this means getting my tan on. (I'm really very pale and fair so it takes a while for me to tan) 

I have a few favourites to give me a golden glow so here we go. 

The Prep ~ 

First things first it's important to prep the skin before tanning. You want soft supple skin so that you don't get any nasty flaky clumpy bits of tan - rookie error. 

The night before I like to use a scrub to get rid of all the nasty scaly bits, paying special attention to the elbows,knees and feet. 

My personal favourite is Soap & Glory breakfast scrub. 

The maple scent of this scrub is truly delicious that you almost want to eat it . 

I'll then use a thick moisturiser to lock in the moisture and keep it a smooth affair. I love Kiehl's creme de corps or a body shop body butter.

The face ~ 

Personally I like to use a seperate facial tanner because I find that they give better results ,you have a little more control over the product , and your not left with a patchy face as the formula's are face specific.

I'll either use the Clarins Liquid bronze self tanning  which your probably all sick of hearing me talk about. 

I'll pop this on two cotton pads and pop it on my face before bed( take care around the brows and hairline) and I'm left with a subtle healthy glow. 

Another Clarins product is the Instant smooth self tanner this is a great one when you forgot to tan your face or if you just want a quick fix. 

Smooth the light weight texture on and your skins left with a radiant glow - this works as a lovely primer too. 

Another product that is great for when you want a quick fix glow try the Soap & Glory glow job.

Body ~ 

Last but not least the body tanners. 

So I've already mentioned that I am incredibly pale so sometimes instant tan can just be a tad too dark against my colouring and I like to build it up gradually.

I either use the St Tropez Gradual tanner which applies beautifully, moisturises the skin and leaves a lovely natural buildable colour. 

It actually gives a lovely tan after one use . 

Alternatively I'll use the Xen tan transform luxe daily self-tan .

For something a little darker and instant I've been using the Garnier no streaks bronzer-self tanning mousse.  This just does what it says on the tin. The dark mousse is great because you can see where it's been applied. 

I would personally always recommend using a tanning mitt even with gradual tans because nobody wants the tell tale signs of a fake tanning session. 

Beauty || Lets clean those brushes

First things first lets do a little hello and nice to meet you, It's been a while. 

It would be an understatement to say I've not blogged properly in ages!

deadlines and work well and truly took over my life for the past month 

But I'm back and ready with new ideas and lots to talk about so hey ho lets go!  

So Where I live we have a new Tesco now usually I wouldn't care a supermarkets a supermarket yes? No this isn't any old supermarket it's amazing - a day trip in it's self and whats so great is the new beauty section and I went a little cray cray . 

One item I picked up and the thing that spurred this post and long winded explaination. 

So cleaning make-up brushes often a little neglected but important non the less. 

Brushes collect dirt,oil and grime which can of course lead to breakouts and clogged pores . 

In the long run if your working hard to keep your skin nice you could end up reversing all of that hard work you did- it makes sense to clean them hey?

Regular cleaning can also help preserve brushes 

I try to do a deep clean once a week but realistically it's usually once a month.

And my weapon of choice and the long winded purchase .... Dr.Bronner's pure castile soap

I just swirl my brushes in a ramekin with a bit of the soap and rinse simple as pie and allow to dry.

This stuff is great for cleaning brushes so much so that it should be the 19th use (or however many they're on now) it smells nice,gentle and really does clean those brushes.

FYI Dr.Bronner's pure Castile soap is perfect for travelling as it can be used for a whole of different things such as washing,shampooing,shaving,brushing your teeth(I'd advise the peppermint one) and cleaning your clothes. 

Morning perk ups #1

A few weeks ago I was approached to write a post inspired by this post (here)  and it really caught my eye mainly because I am one of those people who definatly don't get the recommended 8hours of sleep. 

In Carly's post she talks about how we generally fall into two categories those who get the full 8 hrs + and those who don't and those who don't need to have a few tricks up their sleeves ... to at least look a little more awake. 

I'm gunna split this post into two #1 the make up perk ups and #2 the skincare saviours. 

And let's be honest this is probably the best time for me too do this post because I am well and truly pooped; it's dreaded deadline time so I'm doing long library days,combined with a job and a whole lotta over stuff . 

but I'm blabbing on so let's begin with the make up that's helped me look a little less like a zombie! 

On days that my skins behaving I've been hitting up the Garnier Miracle skin cream, It's meant to instantly reduce the appearance of tierdness so uno it's perfect yeah? I'm gunna do a more in depth post about this because it's rather interesting.  It's not great for coverage but it does add a little colour and glow which is just perfect.   I also swear by the YSL touche Eclat  now I know it's a product that splits a crowd but for me it's a firm favourite.  I find popping it under the eyes gives the illusion of a good nights sleep.

mmm Chanel Les Beiges how beautiful and expensive you are but mainly beautiful... beauty aside this product is really great at giving a healthy dose of colour and radiance. I like to use it as a bronzer but you can also use it as a setting powder. 

Cream blushers are great at this time of the year and if your skin needs a bit of a pick up (and they can be used on the lips too) a personal favourite of mine is Topshop Head over heels .

Finally I curl my lashes and pop on the L'oreal false lash telescopic because it's just perfect at making the lashes look full and wide. 

And if all that fails I just drink lots & lots of coffee- actually I drink lots of coffee even when this works 

Hope you enjoyed this little post and I'd defintly recomend checking out the original post this was inspired by :) *