How can I tone up quickly before my wedding?

I really liked this Bridal Babe workout from Tone it Up which is a really upbeat sunshine filled workout blog. It was designed by one of the trainers because she is getting married herself and there's both a video plus a printable version of the workout Enjoy!

How to ensure a stress free wedding morning

Here are my top five tips to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible on the morning of the big day!

1. Delegate - don't try and do everything yourself, use your bride privilege and get a bit bossy! One wedding I was at ran so smoothly because the bride had a 'runner' - someone who could go and do those last minute jobs that crop up no matter what. The runner wasn't one of the bridal party so had plenty of time to dedicate to getting everything sorted out, from dropping off mass booklets to collecting flowers to tying ribbons on cars.
2.Clear some space specially for preparation - a table and chair near some natural light for the makeup artist; a chair and a full length mirror near some sockets for the hair sylist; a nice space where your dress is hanging for the photographer to get some 'before shots'
3. Put some music on - get into the mood with a wedding playlist (check out last weeks newsletter for some song suggestions
4. Get layering - use a shower gel and body lotion with the same scent as your wedding perfume to make sure it lasts all day
5. Give yourself plenty of time - start early so you can take a break, have a cuppa and a bacon sandwich, chat with your family and don't get stressed - remember it will all come together!

Neals Yard Beauty Balm....amazing multi-purpose skin fix all!

I've never really been that fond of Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - despite having dry skin and being a perfect candidate for it. I loved the smell but I found it greasy and unsuitable to put on the skin - grand for lips and flaky elbows. So I wasn't too excited about trying Neals Yards Beauty Balm but my sister swears by it so figured it was worth a try. And the verdict....its amazing! It can be used in three ways - as a rich exfoliating cleanser, a balancing mask or a deeply nourishing and protecting balm for dry skin. Or you can combine all three steps to recreate an at home facial to decongest and leave your skin glowing.

The balm contains rosehip oil, shea butter, jojoba oil amongst other gorgeous ingredients and is 99.2% organic. It includes a muslin cloth and a handy guide to facial massage to help you get the best out of the balm. I gguarantee if you follow the massage guide with the balm before bed, you'll wake up with younger looking skin!

I picked up mine in London but you can get Neals Yard at fab Limerick store Alchemist Earth.

Five minute face to brighten dull tired skin!

Have to share this with you guys! Said dull tired face would be my own and recently I had literally five minutes to make myself look beautiful (well alive anyways) and I have to say I was most impressed with this product combo!

Prep

Cleanse was as always with Ponds Cold Cream (as you know I'm obsessed) and removed then with a warm facecloth.
This was followed with the new serum from Lancome, Visionnaire (will do a full review on this in a few weeks when I can really get a handle on the results but the blurb reckons its brilliant).

THEN, I popped on the new BB cream from Garnier (again full review to follow but I LOVE it)

Makeup

Base was Illamasqua's Skinbase foundation - I'm mad about this foundation and one of my favourite makeup artists in the UK is using this on her wedding day and she has to have tried every foundation on the market!

Bronze/Contour was Lancomes mineral powder bronzer, Tropiques Minérale which has a lovely sheen to it without being sparkly.

Eyebrows were strong, I used Benefits Browzings.

Eyelids were covered with a cream eyeshadow, Bare Study by MAC.

Lashes were Rimmels Glam'Eyes Day to Night.

For the lips then I used Rimmels Kate Moss lippie in 03.


And that's it, a lovely daytime look, done in minutes, that manages to blur the dehydration lines and give a bright look to the face and open the eyes.

PS Entirely aware that tis a picture of Jenn Aniston on the blog rather than myself but twas that type of radiant skin the look gave (and much nicer to look at than my mug :))

Get the London Look!

Well last weekend in London was fab...even veered off the makeup trail a little - long enough to manage to put together a lovely Autumn wishlist (I know, I know, summer hasn't even arrived! But new season clothes, shoes and makeup have and they make the piles of summer sale stuff look a little stale!).

On Friday, after a lovely brunch in the Wolesley http://www.thewolseley.com/  had a little wander in H&M and fell in love with a burnt orange 60's swing coat.

On Saturday, a trip to Selfridges and a stop at the Sisley counter and their Radiant Glow Express Mask....

Also wandered into giant topshop and tried on the most beautiful Vivienne Westwood shoes ever! So comfortable and in lovely colours.

Gave up after that and went for a glass of vino the the Wonder Bar in Selfridges and watched the expensive handbags go by!

60 second hair saviour!

This week I'm all about a new product from Elvive. Hair is a bit dry and straw like at the moment and I would love to blame the sun but unfortunately its more likely to have been my attacks with the hair dryer/straightener/wand (insert as appropriate!).

So I picked up Elvive Full Restore 5 60 Second Saviour (phew! Is it me or are product names getting longer and longer!) It promises that weak, limp, damaged hair will be restored and replenished and it promises not to weigh down your hair like some intensive treatments do.

And it pretty much does what it says on the tin, it leaves hair a lot softer and shinier - the only thing is I find hair gets greasier a bit quicker than usual. I love that you don't have to wait around for 20 minutes too. Overall, a good purchase and good value. Although I still think I prefer Matrix or Kerastase for hair products you really see a major difference with.

Wonder Pots!

I bought some fab new cream blush's a couple of weeks ago and I absolutley love them! Maybelline's Dream Touch blush comes in four shades (that I could see in Boots) and I bought the Berry, Peach and Apricot ones (see aforementioned addictive Three for Two offer, I am a marketers dream I know!). Peach and Apricot are much of a muchness but the Apricot one also makes a fab highlighter on the brow bone and cheek bone and I have also used the Peach on the eyelids. They are lovely and soft and while maybe not as long lasting as you might need say for bridal, they are a lovely addition to add glow and great for a more natural look. Used them recently in a photoshoot and they looked fab!