I’ve never been a big one for beauty treatments – I’m a bit of a ‘Do-It-Yourself‘ kinda gal. I only had my first ever massage a couple of years ago, had two spray tans in my life and can count the amount of times I’ve had my nails done on one hand. In fact I don’t even want to say how long I went without a haircut when I was at uni *shivers*. However, I do think there are some little luxuries that it’s worth spending the money on beauty-wise. Of course this list is going to differ depending on your personal talents, wants and needs, but here’s my outline on where I like to spend and save on beauty treatments…
WHERE TO SPEND:
You lot know that I’ve become a big fan of lash tints and lifts. I book myself in for one with my girl (good ol’ Jamie) every two months and I love the results. My lashes look full and curled without the need for curlers and it means that literally every mascara looks banging on them. As someone who has eyelashes that literally point towards the ground, it’s worth the dollar. Brows are another thing too that I treat every couple of months with a thread. I find it just keeps the shape better than I can at home and gives them a nice clean-up. I love a bit of Blink.
Facials aren’t something that I have often, but when I do I really notice a difference in my skin and how hydrated and smooth it feels. The best I’ve ever had came courtesy of Caroline Hirons, who is now taking bookings – YAY. I cannot recommend a session with her enough and will definitely be going back. I do love a good massage too, though there isn’t a particular place that I would recommend. I just like something semi-relaxing, but quite firm to get out all my back knots (I did have a traditional Swedish massage one and it made me cry – what a wimp, eh?). I’ve been to spas that do the massages from the Aromatherapy Associates menu a few times and they’re always a nice mix of the two.
WHERE TO SAVE:
Although spray tans do make me feel fabulous, I’m such a fan of the St Tropez Express Tan for the colour and the longevity that I’m quite happy just to coat myself in a few layers of that whenever I want a faux glow. All you need is someone to do your back for you and you’re sorted. No streaking, no weird wear-off, plus the cost-per-wear works out much cheaper.
Now I wouldn’t say I’m the best at doing my nails, but after years and years of doing them myself I’m competent enough and have accumulated all the lotions, potions and tools. Manicure-wise I quite enjoy giving myself one and you can watch this video for the at-home technique that I use. Though I did once have a manicure at Cowshed and it was so darn neat. I guess it depends whether you want to go all-out for a special occasion. The same goes for pedicures. I’m quite happy to do them in a washing up bowl in my office whilst watching a Friends repeat. Give me a shout though if you’d like to see a post on the tools that I deploy to keep things silky smooth in that department.
Now gel polish is tricky one, because it gets well messy when you first start playing around with it. I’m still not a huge fan of using it on my nails, but on my toes, it’s literally all I’ve used for the past two years. I’ve got the Red Carpet Manicure Kit and although it takes a while to paint on a coat of polish, put it under the light and repeat for what feels like a million times, it literally lasts weeks on my nails. The only downside here is the colour selection. A professional is going to own the rainbow and I literally have four colours (I’d recommend the Paul Edmonds Salon for getting it done professionally). Again, for me – it’s one of those things I save for those ‘Treat Yo Self‘ moments. Treat yo self 2016!
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