Tired? No one needs to know.

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Kevyn Aucoin; Dr Denese; cleanser; beauty secrets; concealer;, Kevyn Aucoin; Dr Denese; cleanser; beauty secrets; concealer; moisturizer; eye serum; sunscreen; makeup; cosmetics; fresh; foundation; blemishes; Celestial Powder; Pure Powder Glow; radiant glow; skin

I’m a chronic insomniac. It’s ok because I have made my peace with only having 3-4 hours a night of sleep. I tried so many remedies and they were all in vain so I decided that I would not let it bother me. Except for one little thing…Looking exhausted each and every morning!
And so it has been my mission these past few years to find beauty products that will disguise my paleness and tiredness. I think I have been successful seeing as I have looks of disbelief when I tell people how little I sleep.
So now for my beauty secrets! I obviously cleanse, moisturise and use an eye serum. I am also very diligent about sunscreen as the sun causes premature aging.
The secret is taking care of your skin and using great makeup. I use a tinted moisturiser as my skin is quite good. The Dr Denese one is rather good and has inbuilt sunscreen which is great. Then I use a concealer by Kevyn Aucoin. This concealer never seems to run out and a little goes a long way. If your skin is red or if you have blemishes simply mix a little with your foundation or your tinted moisturiser and magic! I use it under my eyes to conceal the darkness and if I have any blemishes.
I then apply the Kevyn Aucoin blush in The Pure Powder Glow – # Dolline (Apricot). This gives me a lovely colour to my cheeks. Then I sweep my face with Celestial Powder by Kevyn Aucoin. This Celestial Powder gives you a natural radiant glow and you will be asked why you look so fabulous! It’s an amazing product that I simply cannot live without. My skin is illuminated and I actually look awake.
I then highlight my eyebrows with my gorgeous Benefit Eyebrow kit. This definitely defines the face. After this I apply my trusted curling mascara by yep you guessed it again by Kevyn Aucoin. This is a tubing mascara, it doesn’t rub, smudge or budge. Unless of course you want to remove it, then warm water removes the product easily. It doesn’t irritate the eyes and is safe for contact lens users.
Finally I apply my lipstick by Giorgio Armani. This lipstick looks fabulous and also doesn’t budge. There are days when I go home and the lipstick still remains on. Yes it’s pricey but I can’t live without it.
In my opinion, it’s best to buy one pricey item rather than several cheaper items. Buy that one lipstick you will adore rather than 5 that you will hate and inevitably thrown in the rubbish bin.
These are my secrets to looking great when exhausted. How about you? Do you have any beauty secrets you would like to share?

Old Hand

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aging, aging hands, anti-ageing, anti-aging, antiageing, Black nail polish, Bliss, Bliss Glamour Gloves, brittle nails, Cuticle, cuticle cream, Dr Haushka, Dr. Hauschka Neem Nail Oil, Eve Lom, Eve Lom Cuticle Cream, H2O Spa Hand & Cuticle Scrub, Hand scrub, hands, nail oil, nail polish, nails, weak nails, YSL nail polish, ZO Skin Health, ZO Skin Health Oraser Daily Hand Repair SPF 20

You only have to look at un-retouched images of Madonna to know that the first signs of aging are your hands and neck. We need to protect these precious areas, ideally from early on.
If you’ve ever had acrylic or gel nails, you will also know how weak it makes them and how long it take for your nails to get their strength back. Don’t forget that your nails require sun and air to grow and become strong. If you take that away, it only makes sense that they will be weak. If you naturally have brittle or weak nails, it might be worth using a nail oil to strengthen your nails (such as Dr. Hauschka Neem Nail Oil).
During the day we put our hands through a lot. Just think about that for a moment. What did you do on the weekend? Was it in the sun, did you do the dishes, washing, general cleaning, cooking? To help protect and nourish our precious paws, use gloves where suitable. I’m not just talking the pretty plastic dishwashing kind, I mean Bliss Glamour Gloves, the kind that renourish your skin. Chuck these babies on while watching TV at night. Before you go out in the morning, also put on hand cream that includes an SPF (such as ZO Skin Health Oraser Daily Hand Repair SPF 20) and ideally carry this around and reapply during the day.
Once a week, give your hands and nails a once over with a hand and nail scrub (H2O Spa Hand & Cuticle Scrub), rub in cuticle cream (such as Eve Lom Cuticle Cream) and file nails in whatever shape you like. Personally, I like round and short, less likely to jab into anyone. Once you are filed, you can start putting on your polish. I’m in love with YSL textured black nails right now. They can be worn during the day or night and that suits me perfectly!

Scrub a Dub Dub

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bath, bath crystals, bath oil, bath salt, beauty, Body lotion, body moisturiser, Body scrub, cosmetics, day spa, Dr. Dennis Gross, Dr. Dennis Gross Purifying Bath Crystals with Himalayan Salt, Jurlique, Jurlique Citrus Body Care Lotion, L’Occitane Verbena Harvest Body Salt Scrub with Organic Verbena Extract, LOccitane, Organic, peaceful, relaxing, skincare

Yesterday I spent a blissful hour being scrubbed head to toe while at a day spa. It reminded me that I don’t get scrubbed often enough and that wonderful feeling of shiny, new skin is just so amazing.
I do have a body scrub and good quality body moisturisers at home and a good soak in the bath surrounded by candles (and perhaps with a glass of red) is pretty nice. It’s not quite the same as the day spa, but your skin will feel and smell good afterwards. This is the way I achieve my at home day spa:
Run a hot bath and put in some nice smelling bath crystals to give your water a lovely, relaxing, day-spa-esque, scent (such as  Dr. Dennis Gross Purifying Bath Crystals with Himalayan Salt). Make sure you have everything you need at hand, glass of water, wine, book and towel for later etc.
Once you are all sorted, I recommend beginning with a scrub (such as L’Occitane Verbena Harvest Body Salt Scrub with Organic Verbena Extract). Some scrubs recommend dry, rather than wet skin, so just check the packaging. You may want to have a bit of a soak first as you are going to wash off the scrub in to the water in which you are sitting. Up to you. Most scrubs seem to just evaporate into nothing with hot water anyway, or sink to the bottom.
Once you have indulged your love of red wine, hot water and a good read for long enough and decide it’s time to hop out, give yourself a good dry, making sure all the scrub is gone from your skin. Now you can lather yourself with body lotion (such as Jurlique Citrus Body Care Lotion).
Remember that this is all about feeling like you are at a day spa, you should wrap yourself in a robe, have a cup of tea and sit somewhere peaceful, if you can. Enjoy the sensation of your skin feeling like new, if only for a short while.