I believe a treat is as good as a rest - but money is tight for most of us and we are all watching the pennies - but the right sort of treat can lift you up and take years off you - but how do you look like a million dollars - without spending a million dollars?
If you feel the urge the splurge but want to be sensible at the same time
- the best way to get your pamper fix is to bring the salon and spa into your home!
Here are a few ways to treat yourself - go on, you know you are worth it!!!!
So let's start from top to toe:
*HAIR: So you want Hollywood hair but you have a Swansea budget?! How do you get shiny Jennifer Aniston-style tresses at home? Well, our knight in "Shine On" armour is just that - Shine on! This do it yourself kit (£8.66 Boots) is a salon glazing technique that leaves your hair glossy and like glass. You apply it like a hair dye but there isn't any colour - just sleek, shiny results you'll be showing off for 6 weeks - yes, that's right 6 weeks - imagine all the money you'll save on serums and shine sprays eh?
Salon tip: apply to your mid lengths and ends as your roots are the healthiest part of your hair and shiny enough already.
*FACE: Give yourself a spa-worthy facial at home - here are the most luxe products I have tried and they really make you feel special - so start by cleansing your face - I have discovered Earth Science's A D E creamy cleanser (£8.99 www.earthsciencenaturals.com) - this creamy concoction left my face so peachy soft I wanted to wash my face with it all I we again!! This cleanser moisturises while cleaning so it's double bubble!! Follow with a relaxing face mask - VOYA have a fab illuminating clay mask - it promises to release your inner glow and boy it does!! Slather it on and well - just chill! Go on - you know you want to!! Put your feet up and let the eucalyptus, seaweed and rosemary oil banish your dull skin (£32 www.selfridges.com). Finish your homemade facial with a wonderfully luxurious cream - DermaCo's Collagen Cream (£46 www.dermacopro.co.uk) does lots and lots of things at the samd time - it smooths away fine lines and hydrates dry skin and rejuvenates and makes you look more youthful too. It absorbs onto skin perfectly. Laced with rose and geranium oils, evening primrose and blackcurrant seed oils this cream is loaded with essential fatty acids and marine collagen. It gives your skin a wonderfully healthy glow to complement your new glossy locks!! And it can compete with higher end creams such as Creme de la mer - yes - I am serious!!!
*TEETH: getting your teeth whitened is usually at the top of most beauty wishlists and getting pearly whites is most definitely expensive. But we are going to "trick" this treat with another at home bonanza! Rapid White do a brilliant kit with a UV light to accelerate whitening! Yes - a lamp!! This neat gum shield pops into your mouth after you have painted on the special whitener and gets to work on your coffee, or in my case wine-stained teeth straight away! The kit is peroxide free but still gets starts blitzing away the yellow in just 2 hours (£30 Boots).
*BODY: Go on - you know you want to! Book that spa day!!! Chilling out in a sauna and jacuzzi is my idea of pure bliss!! And if you get a good deal you should be able to get a massage thrown into the price. My favourite spa is currently The Towers Hotel in Swansea. Their spa deals are very reasonable and the facilities are top notch. I highly recommend their Weekday Spa deal (starting from £49). A slice of heaven fat just a snip!
*NAILS: Gel nails are gorgeous and a trip to the nail bar is a top treat for me but hang on - if you have splashed the cash at the spa - a cheaper option is going nail polish shopping!!! I literally could buy
EVERY colour there is!!!
My name is Emma and I am a nail polish junkie! - there, I said it!!!
I am loving the Mavala range for summer - their Chilli and Spice trio is so hot right now, and I have worn the orange-tasting Jaipur shade all summer long (£4.50 Debenhams). Team this with a lighter shade to create your own ombré nails (see tutorial picture above in gallery).
*FEET: A relaxing pedicure and foot massage can rub away all the stresses of the day in a second - and a homemade foot spa is do easy to do!!! Firstly soak your tired tootsies in your own oatmeal bath. Mix 4 cups of oatmeal with 3 cups warm water and 2 cups of warm milk and tbs oh honey - soak for as long as if takes to read Cosmo cover to cover and eat a whole packet of Hobnobs then pat dry.
With your feet all lovely and soft now is the time to slough away that gnarly dead skin on your heels! I like JML's Pedispin - it electronically attacks the hard bits and neatly catches the dead skin shavings in the pod (£14.99 www.jmldirect.com). Finish up with a soothing, cooling foot cream like Ruby Red's cooling foot cream with peppermint extract and vitamin E (£18 www.rubyredcosmetics.co.uk) - slather this gorgeous cream on to the most tired of feet and within seconds you can feel them tingling back to life. It smells divine and has even softened up my awful, hard and calloused toes.
*SCENT: For the final flourish squirt your favourite scent! I am a Chanel girl through and through (No 19 and Coco) but this summer I have been tempted away - by Aura Soma's Pegasus perfumes. This is an organic perfume range featuring 8 unique scents. No 44 is perfection in a bottle! Priced at £85 (www.pegasus-parfum.com) this is definitely a treat girlies - but soooooooooo worth it! It is summer in a bottle - known as Guardian Angel this strong violet perfume has an amazing back story (check out the website!) and it is best suited to "perfectionists" so they say! It comes in a clever box too which is standing proud on my dressing table - and every squirt feels like a mini treat just for MEEEEEE!!!!!
And my final tip for a homemade treat is a subscription to a monthly beauty box. A bit like a magazine subscription but imagine the products in your copy of Elle coming to life!!!!
You pay a monthly amount and every month you get a box lovingly filled with THE hottest and bang on trend products available. Critics say you should be able to choose what is in your box each month but I love that it's a surprise and when I unwrap the box it actually feels like a real gift (let's forget we are paying for it!) - and for that moment you can pretend the beauty fairy has sent you a thank-you gift for all your hard work! Well, that's what I tell myself anyway!!
There are lots of these boxes on the market but the two I recommend are by BirchBox and BoxDelux.
BirchBox sends you the dinky products based on the questionnaire you fill out during subscription (£10 a month) - so you know you will get the right products for your skin/hair type. They also offer you the option to buy the full size products at www.birchbox.co.uk and receive reward points which I like. This month's box has also been put together with the help of InStyle's beauty team - so you know the picks will be bang on trend and must-haves. BirchBox also offers expert advice and tips online and a cute little magazine
comes with your box which was a good read. BoxDelux is very similar and is bit pricier at £35 a month BUT you do get a £20 voucher to redeem online on your favourite products and you do get 12 items ranging from tasty popcorn and Nakd bars to handy lip SPF, nail polishes, lip gloss, lash conditioner and herbal teas. This is more like a lifestyle box and I loved every product in there. They also do gift boxes for brides to be and friends which is a nice touch (www.boxdelux.com).
What's your favourite pampering treat?
Do you feel guilty when you treat yourself or do you think you deserve a pampering every now and again?
Let me know on Facebook www.facebook.com/beautybitsandblog and on Twitter @bbygrove and now see all my beauty and make-up pictures on Pinterest (search for Emma Bryant).
Now get pampering!!!!!!!
