Party Chic

Just a short little blog today as I wanted to update you on the latest Jessica colour collection.

The last two collections have been following the wedding season fashion for pastels, so this latest collection called Party Chic are completely different!

The vibrant colours will look fab with a tan and really cheer you up.  Last years bright pinks and purples were our quickest selling polishes and are still flying off the shelf faster than any other colour so I know you're going to love this new collection.

In addition to the bright colours Jessica have also introduced a crackle black top coat called Top It Off, you can see the effect in the above picture.  This look is hugely popular at the moment so why not give it a go.

Luscious Lips!

Lips are an important part of our appearance, they come in a variety of shapes, sizes and shades.  Some people will love their lips some will hate them, but the fact is they are a prominent part of our face. Personally I like my lips, I think I have a good cupids bow and overall the shape and size are good. I'd just like to enhance the colour so they have a slightly deeper more rosy and healthy pink.

My lips natural colour without any products

I rarely wear lipstick but I do love a bit of lip balm, and I've tried many!  There's always one or more to be found rattling round the bottom of my bag and it would definitly be my 'stranded on a dessert island' must have.

This week I tried the Jane Iredale Just Kissed lip & cheek stain in forever pink, and I am in love! A product that not only feels good on the lips but reacts with my skins acidity level to give me a stunning pink that compliments my natural colouring.

As the name suggests the just kissed lip & cheek stain is a multi-use product perfect for pouty lips or rose tinted cheeks.  It contains rose flower wax and beeswax to nourish and moisturise; olive butter, avocado butter and wild rose wax to soothe and soften the lips.

The natural stain that adjusts to your own chemistry is non-drying and long lasting, in fact when I peeked in the mirror several hours after applying it I still had a pink tint even though I could no longer feel it on my lips.

My lips immediately after applying Just Kissed in Forever Pink

This lip gloss has had rave reviews and is recommended as the ideal product to take to the beach, personally I'll be keeping one in the bottom of my bag from now on.

Brow Shaping - hd brows trial

You’d be forgiven for thinking that hd brows had already launched in the UK what with all the hype and reported celebrity following, apparently it’s officially launched this week. So I thought I’d go along to a trained technician and see what all the fuss is about. After all as experienced therapists don’t we already carry out the ‘7 steps to the perfect brow’?

So I booked my appointment a week in advance to give my daily tweezed brows a chance to grow a bit and have time to be sent the patch test to make sure I wasn’t allergic to any of the products. I hadn’t tinted my brows for over a month so they were very pale and not at all defined.

my before brows

I spent a complete hour lying on the couch whilst my therapist tinted, waxed, threaded, tweezed trimmed and penciled my brows into shape. Once she felt happy with the result some mineral make up was applied to cover up the redness and take down the reaction.

I was surprised not to be consulted on the colour, or shape I preferred but apparently the concept of hd brows is to shape all brows to the companies perceived ideal and fashionable brow look. I wonder what will happen to all the trained technicians when the fashion changes but they’ve all been trained to work to the current set style.

I was pleased with my brows when they were finished, although they were more of a black brown than I would have done myself especially as my hair is a light red blonde. Normally I would have gone for a red brown rather than a black brown.

the following morning

My after picture is the following morning, so the redness has gone down but so also has the pencilling in and gelling into place, so I could really study them and see if they are superior to what we already offer in the salon without the fancy name and hyped up marketing.

On close inspection, there are several stray hairs left under my brows, some I know have been left deliberately for me to grow into their ideal shape but others are way too far down to be part of the new brow.

Truly, I don’t think the hour spent and designer price tag has achieved anything more than you would get from a decent therapist in half the time and a fraction of the cost. I do however love the shape!

Food for thought, I personally trained full time for 3 years to become the therapist I am today so it’s rather disturbing that without any beauty back ground you can do a quick short course to train in eye treatments and set up just like that.

Fishy Feet! A fantasitc treatment or a health & safety nightmare...

The fish pedicure seems to be the trend of the moment in the beauty industry so I thought I’d give it a go so you could all hear first hand what was involved. Of course this is my personal experience and not everyone will feel the same about it, feel free to post your views and experiences.

The Garra Rufa fish are a member of the carp family originating from pools near two small Turkish towns called Kangal & Sivas. They have no teeth so they gently lick and suck away at the dry skin, especially beneficial for suffers of eczema & psoriasis.

When we arrived at the dedicated fish spa our feet were examined for signs of infection and washed with anti-bacterial soap. We were told to lower both our feet at the same time to ensure the fish were attracted equally.

My first thought was to immediately remove my feet; I found the sensation extremely ticklish and not too pleasant. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t hurt but I just found myself cringing and wondering if I’d be able to survive the 15 minutes I’d paid for.

After a few minutes I settled down and was able to relax and enjoy the experience. It’s very sociable, although everyone has separate tank pods to dangle their feet in, you are all together so it’s a nice treatment to have with friends and catch up on some gossip.

Apparently the fish leave a healing enzyme on the skin which we were given the option to wash off if we wished, we didn’t. My feet post treatment still had plenty of rough dead skin and in fact felt less smooth than before I started. This may be because the ideal treatment time is 30 minutes not the 15 that most people go for.

This treatment is priced between £10 & £50 depending where you go and how long you have, personally I’d rather spend the money on a decent pedicure complete with foot massage and a new lick of polish.

Interestingly since my treatment, I’ve found some very disturbing information about this new trend. The UK Health Protection Agency is currently investigating the ‘safety’ of the treatment after concerns have been raised by environmental agents. They are concerned that infection may be spread via open wounds from multiple customers having their feet ‘cleaned’ by the same fish.

This may be health & safety once again over reacting; however, it has already been banned in 14 states in the U.S.

I used a small owner operator spa in Maidstone that was conscientious and checked our feet prior to treatment, however there are bound to be spas out there that are less concerned particularly as more and more chains are springing up.

The Daily Mail Online had an interesting quote from a customer in North London who was concerned after he was sitting opposite a man who said he had something wrong with his foot and hoped the fish were enjoying it. He also said he was asked if he had any fungal infections, but no one checked.

So my advise to you, if you wish to see what all the fuss is about, make sure you go to a reputable spa or salon and check that they carry out adequate checks and procedures to safe guard your health.

Collagen Stimulation Therapy

I am very excited and a little nervous to be trying Environ's Collagen Stimulation Therapy treatment. This medical needling technique (dermarolling) harnesses your body's natural powers of healing by releasing growth factors that result in increased collagen and elastin production.

A topical anaesthetic is applied and an instrument containing tiny needles (1-1.5mm long) is 'rolled' over your skin to create thousands of microscopic channels in the lower levels of your skin (dermis). This causes a minimal amount of bleeding that stops within minutes.

High levels of vitamin A & C are then applied to ensure maximum benefits and support the natural healing process. Treating with vitamin A creams increases skin thickness 140% compared to 100% with needling alone.

My treatment is booked for Tuesday 18th Jan and I'll be posting an update along with before and after pictures of a close up of my skin. Can't wait!