The Pits

If Ogres are like onions because they have layers then I must be related to Shrek! As promised I've been going to town on the exfoliation trying to reveal a new layer of youthful, glowing skin. I'm dying to exaggerate and say it's been tough work but the only person it's been hard for is the one trying to get in to the bathroom while I'm scrubbing away all the dead skin cells.

I continued to dip into the Spa Siam products this week, they're pretty impressive. I took my aching body off for a bath on Saturday, I'm was either wrecked from my new weights programme or I'm getting too old for going out on a Friday night, and decided to try out the Oatmeal rice face scrub. While the lemongrass bath salts got to work on relaxing my muscles I set about using the scrub. It looked like mushy weetabix, but it smelt yummy and felt fab when I massaged it in. It helped to ease the appearance of last weeks unwelcome spots and my skin definitely had a bit of a glow about it after.

Which is more then I can say for my Anew Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum. (http://beautyslogblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/spot-of-bother.html) I quit using it this week for a number of reasons; First off it was doing nothing to lessen the appearance of the skin pigmentation I developed while on holidays. Secondly it was leaving my skin looking a little greasy even though I was using the correct amount. Thirdly I'm pretty sure the serum was responsible for my spot breakout, I'm lucky enough to have pretty clear skin and this was the only thing I'd started using or changed before the breakout. For such a pricey product the results for me were pretty disappointing.

Something I find the 'pits' is trying to find an effective anti-perspirant. My body unfortunately feels the excessive need to cool itself down meaning I'm often left looking like a penguin in my attempts to hide the offending wet patches. Before any of you start avoiding me I should point out that B.O. isn't a problem. A few weeks back I tried Tripe Dry Anti-Perspirant Spray. It wasn't bad but although under my arms were mainly dry they didn't feel very fresh. Sure have come out with a new one and of course I was keen to try it. It's called Sure Women Maximum Protection. It comes in a white box and I got it for €3.99. It's most effective apparently when put on before heading to bed because our body temperature tends to be pretty consistent while sleeping and this allows the anti-perspirant to get to work. Don't worry it's supposed to keep working after your shower in the morning. Only once in 3 days have I remembered to put it on a night, so I've had to make do with the mornings. So far though it's getting a thumbs up from me. It's been keeping underneath my arms fairly dry; it doesn't irritate if you put it on after shaving and it smells pretty fresh.

All I need to do now is to remember to spray it with the window open to avoid the inevitable coughing fit!

Spot The Difference

At the end of long day when you run your hands over your face with exhaustion the last thing you want to come across is a spot. It's that feeling of, that's all I need,' especially when your cleanse, tone and moisturise routine has become as much apart of your life as breathing. Then you ask the inevitable question, why me? Sorry if the Linda Martin song is now playing in your head.

Sometimes there's no good reason for it, other times you know you deserve it. I better own up to my imperfections, on my right and left temples I developed matching spots, as if that wasn't bad enough down the side of my nose, towards my cheek 2 little pimples showed up, and I'm not done there. On the right hand corner of my nose a pore inflamed right up.

Instead of playing join the dots I decided I needed to take action. Fortunately this all came to a head, a white head to be more exact, heading in to the weekend. Since I was returning to the mother ship I knew there'd be plenty of supplies there for a D.I.Y. facial.

There was two things I knew I needed, a good scrub and a mask. A face mask that is, although sometimes I wonder if popping on a Halloween mask, until the offending red bumps have gone, is a better idea. Fortunately I found myself in a house with a teenage girl, they always have spot fighting lotions and potions, and a mom who'd just been given a present of some spa products.

While raiding the bathroom shelf I found Clean and Clear Deep Cleansing Lotion. For a couple of nights I used this instead of rose water as my toner. I also unearthed a Clean and Clear daily scrub - I took this into the shower with me two mornings. Between the two they improved the look of my spots slightly.

My work didn't end there. I dug out a Lancome Renergie Morpholift Mask, I knew it wasn't exactly what I needed but I said I'd give it a shot. I had to leave it on for ten minutes and then removed it with some damp cotton wool. The final thing I tried was Spa Siam Pompengranate and Jasmine facial massage cream (It's from a day spa in Cork City, who have their own range of products.) I had to massage this in for a few minutes and then left it on for 5-10 minutes. Pomengrante is supposed to restore the pH balance of the skin and Jasmine is a natural antiseptic and has antibacterial properties, which you'd think would be good for clearing spots.

After all that I was hoping to have skin that was a little less Amy Winehouse and a little more Katy Perry but no such look. Yes my skin was a little softer but of the 4 things I tried nothing seemed to to offer any miracles.

Prevention is definitely better then cure so I won't be slacking off when it comes to exfoliating after this breakout - cleaning out those pores is the only way to go.

Let the excavation begin!

Hairdly Notice

I had to get to the root of a common problem this week, regrowth. As much as I'd like to think I'm a natural blonde my roots tell another story. I'm a mesh girl which means endless hours sitting talking about the weather and what you're doing for the weekend. It also means that I have different tones going through my blonde and that the regrowth is bearable, for at least a few weeks anyway.

Going to get highlights done is an endurance test and isn't for the faint hearted particularly if you're getting a full head done. Fortunately this time I got away with half a head. Also as luck would have it, two girls worked on doing my highlights, which meant I was done even faster again.

My hair was heading for white recently so I decided to add a second tone to my colour - it's very subtle, and considering my hair is so thin it would pass for paper I've been enjoying how it makes it look a little thicker. It wasn't a decision I took lightly, not that it mattered because on one seemed to notice anyway.

If I can get out of the hairdressers without getting my hair cut I consider it a victory. Usually I give in about every 14 weeks and get it trimmed, it's supposed to encourage growth and all that but my hair just doesn't want to grow. That doesn't mean I escape roots though, oh no my hair just breaks off at the end instead. I figured it was the mousse I was using so I scrapped that. When that didn't make a difference I figured it was because of the dye weakening the hair. I've gotten clever though and am winning that fight.

My best investment in my quest for long hair has been Bed Head, Dumb Blonde Reconstructor (it can be used on any coloured hair.) Leave it in damp hair for 10 to 15 mins once a week and after the first go you'll notice the difference. It's packed with protein which is the number one essential for healthy hair and it smells of pineapples so you will want to eat your hair if nothing else. My split ends are minimal now, my hair feels and looks silky and the best part is the hairdresser is no longer giving that disapproving look when I answer, 'no,' to the dreaded question -'are we cutting today?'

I have a second secret weapon in the form of leave in conditioner. Again it's Bed Head and it's called Superstar Volumizing leave-in conditioner. This one smells of strawberries and if your hair is a little limp like mine it will give it a much needed boost. Don't go over board on it or it may leave your hair looking a little greasy.

The great thing about getting your colour done is that you get your hair blow-dried at the end of it. The hairdresser always manages to do it in such a way that no matter how hard you try you just can't replicate it. I've made a new discovery of how to get that bit longer out of your blow dry - Batiste dry shampoo. All the festival veterans will already know the virtues of the dry shampoo but I've been left gobsmacked by how good it is. Not only does your hair look washed after using it, it also gives it volume and smells great. Batiste has been around for 30 years so they know what they're doing. Plus there's a variety in the range and they even do miniatures!

......With all the blonde talk I'll leave you with this.

Question: If a blonde and brunette fell off a building, who would hit the ground first?

............

Answer: The brunette - the blonde would have to stop for directions!

A Spot Of Bother

Since my return from holidays I've been tackling a new skin problem - pigmentation. When my face began to tan I developed what looked like birth marks underneath my left eye and spreading across to the bridge of my nose. I'd like to say no one noticed but it looked like a black eye and when I went back to work one person said my face looked 'funny,' just what every girl wants to hear! Bedsides keeping my face well protected from the sun, not that sunshine is a big problem in Ireland, I knew I had to take action.

There are some purse friendly options: apparently applying fresh cream and lemon juice to your face for a few minutes is good,; as is wetting holy basil leaves with lemon juice and leaving them over the dark spots for a while; or applying cucumber juice to your face. I wasn't convinced that putting the contents on my fridge on my face would work so I tracked down a chemical option, but I could find myself literally eating my words yet.

Anew Clinical Lumonosity Pro Brigthenging Serum is apparently an at home alternative to dermatoligists laser. The serum promises to fade dark spots, which is what I'm after and to brighten and retexturise skin. I've been using it for 4 nights - after 3 days it's supposed to begin fading pigmentation. I can't say I've noticed a huge difference. I have learnt that the first night that if you use too much it leaves your skin greasy the next day which is never a good look, those days were reserved for my teenage years only. Oil blotting paper anyone?!?

I'm holding out hope that the pricey serum will work and with just 30mls in it, it would want to work fast. (I got it for €20 on offer.) With our lack of sun I'm also hoping that it comes through on its brightening promise considering the dull summer we've had has left my face looking grey.

From one end of the body to another, feet! Between too high wedges, ridiculous flat sandals and running in humidity, feet can become a little neglected and unsightly. I've started using an African Shea butter foot cream, it smells heavenly but you have to wash your hands after or it gets overpowering. The cream really came through for me after a night breaking in new shoes. Sky high heels and dancing meant the balls of my feet were on fire. I lathered on the cream before catching some zzzz's and I was sorted the next day.

I am having some toe nail varnish issues, my polish has gotten thick and it makes for a painful French manicure. I know I've got to throw it out but I am going to try thinning it with some nail varnish remover first to see if I can get one last go out of it. Fingers crossed I can keep a steady hand pouring it in!

They say beauty is pain and I reminded myself all about that at the weekend. My bikini wax wasn't to my liking so I decided I'd give a go at tidying it up myself. I wasn't long remembering why I go to the beautician to get it done -OUCH. There was brusing and what looked like burst blood capillaries. And the worst part is I only removed like 5 hairs! Disaster. I won't be doing that again.

Beach Beauty

I would love to say that my extended break away from beauty blogging has been because I've been so busy trying out new treatments and products, but sadly not. The part of my brain that's responsible for writing this I must have left on the lush beaches of Praia da Rocha. Thankfully it's now back and raring to go.

It has brought with it a unique insight in to how to be beach beautiful. The simple answer is spend more time at the beach, preferably somewhere with a sunny climate. I discovered a number of truths while lazing on my lounger:

1. Spending time in the sun will eventually lead to a tan. If you're Irish pale like me it takes a little longer and a relatively high factor is essential. This means you can ditch the fake tan and don't need to go through the tiresome; exfoliate, apply, tear your hair out process that comes with faking it.

2. Putting on suncream throughout the day means that you end up with super soft skin, you will not be able to stop rubbing yourself, maybe I'm on my own on that one. On top of that you have the after sun , preferably with Aloe Vera. A baby's bum will have nothing on your epidermis.

3. Just when you thought your skin couldn't get any better it can. Spending your days at the beach means that you get a daily exfoliation. All that sand scrubs away old dead skin cells meaning you're left glowing and get a more even tan.

4. Your feet will think they've died and gone to heaven, everyday is like getting a mini pedicure. (Provided the sand isn't too hot, cause then you'll get welts!) Walking at the waters edge will have them looking as good as new in no time. It does tend to wear off your toe nail polish though.

5. Trekking up and down the beach from the apartment will tone up your legs. Add in splashing in the water a few times a day and walking the beach to alleviate the boredom and you will have your beach bod in top shape in no time.

There are some down sides.

1. Sun damage. It seems everyone gets a burn day - so always wear a high enough factor and reapply regularly. Not only are there the obvious affects of burning the redness and tenderness but it also does long term irreparable damage. Not good for those of us hoping to defy aging. Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour cream is good for small patches of burn.

2. Pigmentation - this year I opted for a really high factor on my face - the paleness can be hidden with bronzer but it's hard to fill in wrinkles. To my shock I developed dark pigmentation underneath my left eye and on the bridge of my nose. I'd hoped for a cute freckles but what I got looked more like a black eye. I wasn't long covering my face completely after that - and what's worse there was no hiding it with make up - it seemed to make it look worse.

3. Regrowth-If you head away for longer then a week then it's a good idea to pack your tweezers. Despite all the pre-holiday waxing there's always a few that make an unwelcome appearance. Might be one to do in the bathroom or on your own ladies cause it ain't exactly an attractive sight.

4. Runny Make-Up - Sometimes with the heat you're wasting your time with foundation - you're better off with concealer and powder. No one knows you anyone so why not give your pores a break.

5. Faded and Dried Out Hair - Always be prepared when it comes to your locks. A UV/ Chlorine/ Sea Water protector spray is always a good idea. It saves your colour and keeps it in tip top condition. As a blonde I had the protector on and kept it covered so my hair didn't go snow white. I also used having it back in a pony tail during the day as an excuse to put in regular treatments.

Since getting home I enjoyed a week without foundation - but wasn't brave enough to go bare faced so touched up my complexion with powder, concealer and one of my new best friends Benetint.

I also enjoyed having a natural tan so much that I shamefully bought myself some sunbed minutes. The guilt from doing this and now admitting it in writing is almost enough to make me want to stop. Almost.

I've also been enjoying my duty free purchases but that's another blog for another day!