Summer Skin for the body

I take the bus to work every morning, and as I stand in line amongst an army of suits and ties I cant help but notice the gigantic H&M poster that lavishes the side of the bus shelter. On it, are two super slim, super toned and super brown super models in their summer bikinis. My bet is that most of it is fake, or at least that's what I try to tell myself...but regardless, it makes me think that in just over a month, I too will have to brave the bikini and in the meantime, as I am unfortunately not a super model, I will try and make the best of what my mother gave me.
I believe good skin is the best beauty secret out there, no matter what size or shape you are, good skin radiates health and beauty.

My mothers skin was buttery soft, she claimed her secret was religiously moisturizing everyday from the age of 15. But seeing as I tried to follow in these footsteps, and have yet to reach the baby smooth finish line, I think good genes have a big part to play, and if like me you were cruelly left out of the good skin gene pool then keep reading.

There is no point neglecting your skin up until the moment you decide you want to wear a skirt, when you hastily slather on some body lotion and hope for the best. Your quality of skin will normally mirror your lifestyle... so if you smoke, drink too much alcohol or too little water, tan too much or eat nothing but junk, then you're not going to get that glow.
So, as boring as this sounds, you need to start from the inside then work your way out. Cut down on smoking and alcohol, down the Evian and stock up on the fruit and veggie. I promise you will notice a difference.

Once the lifestyle bit is sorted out we can attend to more practical methods. Good circulation is a key element in maintaining healthy skin and it can be accomplished in several ways, the best way is good old exercise, anything that gets your heart-rate up will help blood move round your body and in turn help be rid your skin of toxins.
Another way is something called body brushing, also known as dry brushing. Where you 'brush' your skin in round circular motions towards the heart, starting from the bottom of your body and working your way up. It is best to do it daily in the morning,before your shower - think of it as a skin wake-up call. Brushing helps to unclog pores, remove dry/dead skin, and boost cellular exchange to increase circulation; meaning that skin becomes smooth, soft and wonderfully un-wobbly. 

You will need one of these bad boys.  Upon your first encounter, it may seem a little intimidating: the bristles are quite tough and it looks like it belongs somewhere in a horse stable... but they come in all shapes and sizes, from long handles to short stubby ones, to no handle at all, to big round brushes, or thinner longer brushes. It doesn't really matter which one you decide on as long you find it relatively easy to use. Natural bristles are best as synthetic brushes can scratch and irritate the skin. Even with a natural brush dont be too harsh on yourself, don't scrub, but use gentle but firm movements.

If this all seems a little too hard-core for your liking, there are plenty more gentler ways to achieve the same velvety finish.
A personal favourite of mine is body scrub. I like to exfoliate in the shower no more than 3 times a week, using one of my own concoctions. I swear by this recipe as works far better than anything you can buy in store and it is a lot cheaper!
I mix demerara sugar (the sugar with the big granules) with olive oil, just enough so that all the sugar is covered and the oil is soaked in, but not enough to make the oil visible as a liquid. I hope that makes sense, but if not you should be able to trust your own judgment on this one.
The sugar is great at removing dead skin, also onced you've washed it off your body it also melts in a hot shower, meaning that you don't get all those pesty bits in the bath as you do with most other scrubs. Meanwhile the olive oil is incredibly moisturising, a tip I picked up during a summer in Spain, meaning that the sugar doesnt become too harsh on the skin as the oil restores some of the moisture you may have otherwise lost. Once the scrub has been properly washed off, I like to just use my shower gel as normal to get red of any excess. The results are incredible, DIY at it's best!

 If I am exfoliating in this way I find moisturizing straight after to be a bit too heavy, so I aim to moisturize every other night before bed. A thick body butter is way too rich for daytime but before bed my skin has enough night to soak it all up before I wake up in the morning. Whatever you do, do not skip on moisturizing. Even if you are not bothered to buy a brush or concoct some bizarre scrub from the Mediterranean, moisturizing is the most important albeit basic step, and missing out will leave your skin dry and thirsty.

Aside from smooth skin, the DIY body scrub is also particularly good before diving into the realms of fake tan. It gets rid of all your dry bits meaning that tan goes on smoother and streak free. Where fake tan is concerned, gradual tanning moisturisers are the easiest to get right. Even if you are very fair, use the darker/medium skin version as it will come out less orange, and we all know thats a good thing. I like to use the Garnier lotion in medium to dark. However, I do find that the orange tinge still resonates even with the best of gradual tanners and so from time to time I like to go all out and apply proper tanning mousse.
However, because that is a long and laborious process in itself, I will save the fake tan routine for another blog, so watch this space!
If through this post skin maintenance has appeared to be a great chore and hassle remember it really doesnt have to be. Eating right and drinking lots of water should solve most problems, but suggested is a couple of things that can help give your skin a boost, and besides we all love a little pamper don't we?

Alessandra Ambrosio just got even hotter

If you don't know who Alessandra Ambrosio is, then you havent seen anything yet, but in the meantime have a browse of the Victoria Secret website, or walk down the high street and check out the wall size billboard outside your nearest Next shop.
She is a goddess, famous for her pert bottom, caramel highlights and chiseled cheek bones. But let's face it, VS isn't exactly the pinnacle of fashion. Sassy and beautiful, yes, but perhaps a bit commercial in the cool upstream world of the fashion biz. Let's put it this way, if you ever were to find yourself surrounded by fashion fans or elites, and you blurted out that Alessandra Ambrosio was your favourite model, as beautiful as she is, you would get a polite laugh, a fake smile and a drop of the head. The expected answer would lie somewhere amongst the likes of Miranda Kerr, Gemma Ward or Daria Werbowy. However Russian Vogue's May edition begs to differ....This fashion editorial presents Ambrosio away from the scantily clad beaches of Buenos Aires, and embraces the softness of her feminimity. The shoot is not about obvious sex appeal for we all know she is well and good at that; but it captures her natural beauty giving her a heightened sense of sophistication.

Well, I take the sexy back....she is and always will be, but now I've seen her in a new light I think I like her even more.

Old Beauty Favourites

As well as reviewing the new and exciting, I would also like to put to you some of my all time favourite products, whether they be new or old, I have or will be re-purchasing them forever more.

First of all, lets begin with a liquid liner. One of my biggest pet peeves is bloopy blobby liquid eye- liner, and if you struggle to create a sleek cat eye then I understand your suffering....most applicators are too big, or the liquid too gloopey, or simply just too much like hard work, and that smooth line we all covet is just too much of a mission. 
So I propose this solution: no longer will you have to skip the liner due to an early start (such concentration in the morning is painful), no longer do you have to fiddle around with cotton buds as you try and erase the big black splodge on your cheek....enter L'Oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss

This, my friends, is a miracle worker. The sponge tip feathers down to a sharp point, meaning that unlike brush applicators you do not get product dripping all over the place and squelching out upon the first stroke, while the tiny end of the tip means that you can get right into the inner-corner. I like to start in the middle of my upper lid, just above the pupil, and with one confident stroke move across to the outer lid. I then use whatever is left over to start the line in the inner-corner. The consistency of the liquid is smoother than most other formulas I have tried and comes out as a smooth line so no need to try and reshape it with a cotton bud. I really do love this and if you are in need of a new liquid liner I highly recommend you give it a shot, it really does make the process a whole lot easier, and it's not that expensive either which is great. 


Next up is not a product as such, but a tip... Waterproof mascara. I unfortunately am not blessed with wonderfully thick and luscious eyelashes. Even after curling, mascara weighs them downs, leaving them looking somewhat like a thatched roof. Waterproof mascara on the other hand, due to its extra hold, also holds the curl a lot better, and lashes are kept wonderfully curled throughout the entire day. It is a tad more difficult to remove at the end of the day but nothing a dabble of baby oil cant fix.
Baby Oil is also another staple in my bathroom cabinet, as mentioned it takes off stubborn makeup and I also like to use it straight out of the shower before drying off as it soaks in all the moisture.

 Mascaras are always a controversial beauty buy, what works for some does absolutely nothing for others.
Lancome mascaras are wonderful, but the £20 pricetag...not so much, and honestly they are not miraculously out of the drugstore league either. My current favourites are Maxfactor Falsh Lash effect or L'Oreal Telescopic, sometimes both at the same time, promiscuous maybe, but they work well together. The Maxfactor has a big fat round brush which is great for volume, while the Telescopic has a bizarre thin and bendy one, which although at first I didn't trust, is great for length and separation. 

On to some skin care. Over the years, I have really struggled to find what works best for my skin. I have tried cleansers, toners, gels, foams, moousse, from all kinds of drugstore products to the widely acclaimed Clinique. ....With no luck, until recently. Having combination skin I get a very oily T zone, yet very dry cheeks, and I could never get the balance right, most formulas were too drying and made my skin feel tight, or they were far too moisturising and left a residue that did not soak in.

There are two methods that really work for me, the first is box-standard cleanse and moisturize. Garnier have released a new line of products for combination skin developed from Grapeseed:

 Here is pictured their face wash and day moisturizer. They are so gentle, yet refreshing and they smell lovely and clean. The wash is great as you only need the tiniest little pea sized blob, but I especially love the moisturizer, as my skin just gobbles it all up, no leftover residue, but a smooth base, perfect for pre-makeup.
However I am incredible lazy with these kinds of things, and have also found that my skin is too. It seems to like it when I hardly use any product, and as it prefers to just take care of itself. So method number two that seems to work, is just good old facewipes and a splash of water (and moisturizing before bed of course). My current favourite is Nivea as it gets makeup off without much effort and is very moisturizing. Simple wipes are also a good one.

.....a brief snippet of my bathroom&beauty staples,  what are yours?

In terms of body moisturizer I have yet to find anything short of average, any suggestions? :)