Dare to Bare?

After a couple of our girls recently went on the Bare Minerals advanced make-up training course, we’ve learnt lots more about the brand, and how their make-up can help your skin. Here’s a brief history to explain how Bare Minerals could transform your skin as you know it.

Bare Minerals began 35 years ago, and has since gone on to become a revolutionary brand of make-up, using only natural minerals in its ingredients. Starting in the USA in small apothecary shops, the iconic Bare Minerals foundation is now the number one best selling foundation in the whole of America.


The brand has since built upon the foundation and its all-natural ethic, to expand the make-up collection into other pieces, such as eye shadows, lip sticks and glosses, and so on. All products contain solely mineral ingredients. The reason for using mineral ingredients is to be kind to the skin, as well as treating it. Containing several soothing and calming minerals, the foundation is known to improve the appearance of skin surface and tone. With added zinc oxide as the power ingredient, this acts as an anti-inflammatory to calm down any redness, as well as aid the treatment of blemishes. Also, along with titanium dioxide, these act as a natural SPF, protecting the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays.

THE FACTS

It is known that certain liquid foundations have oils within their ingredients, including ‘lanolin’; an oil used frequently in make-up that is actually sebum oil secreted from sheep’s skin (their sweat).

 

If someone tends to have lots of blemishes and acne on the face, using these types of liquid  foundation containing oil, can cause the acne to worsen. This is due to the bacteria formed from the  blemishes, which then feeds off of the oil within the foundation, meaning blemishes increase and  almost grow through absorbing this oil. As a result, blemishes take much longer to clear, if they do  at all.

Some chemicals used within some foundations tend to become quite potent once mixed together (with a reported average of seventy ingredients used per foundation on the market). As a  consumer, we tend not to know about this, due to the use of fragrance to cover the strong smell of  the chemicals used as ingredients. However, fragrance is actually an irritant to the skin, which can  cause redness and even an inflamed reaction. Fragrance also attracts the UV rays of the sun, which  increases the chance of skin pigmentation due to no SPF to protect the area.

  

Talc is another ingredient frequently used within foundations and make-up, to bulk up the formula  and create a higher quantity of the product much more cheaply. However, talc is not as harmless as  it may seem on the skin. Talc is known to dry out areas of the skin, which can cause premature aging. Also, with talc’s powdery consistency, it will sit in any fine lines or wrinkles, making the skin appear more aged than it actually is. It is a heavy and clogging ingredient, which sits in pores and can cause irritation and sensitivity.

Mineral make-up has become something of a trend over the past few years, however Bare Minerals is the original creator of mineral foundation. In the UK, it is only necessary to include 5% of mineral ingredients into the make-up for it to be recognised as a mineral make-up product. Bare Minerals is 100% made from minerals. Other brands have, therefore been able to create their own copy-cat versions, without actually using the same ingredients at all.

Here at Lovingbeauty, we thoroughly recommend the Bare Minerals brand, and have seen through our own use the difference it can make to your skin. Please email us on info@lovingbeauty.co.uk for more information, or any advice on your beauty needs!

Stay Beautiful

Lovingbeauty xx

Universal Challenge

Alongside our Flabelos challenge, here at Lovingbeauty HQ we are also putting to the test the ever-popular Universal Contour Wrap. So this weekend I'm off to Indulgence Beauty Salon, Bexleyheath to see if this wrap really works! It's proven to help you lose at least 6 inches guaranteed, the wrap is also known to help firm up the skin, leaving a smoother and more toned appearance. Universal emphasise the wrap is for inch loss, not weight loss, and is a great way to kick start a new fitness plan. 

The wrap treatment involves being wrapped in soft bandages, previously soaked in mineral-rich clay and water. This impregnates the bandages with soothing clay the help draw out toxins from within, and aid in smoothing the skin to leave it soft and supple after treatment. The minerals then absorb your skin, leaving you and your body feeling completely refreshed.

The treatment involves being measured from each limb and part of your body, before wrapping you all over and laying you down in the heated blanket. Your therapist will then attach tiny electro pads to parts of the body, ready for small shocks throughout the treatment to further aid the skin firming process involved. You will then be left for half an hour to relax in the comfort of the heated blanket, giving you a warm sensation throughout the treatment. When your therapist returns, they will take you out of the blanket, unwrap all of the bandages and re-measure each part of the body, before working out how many inches have been lost. For more details you can visit Universals website by clicking here.

Keep checking back for my weekly updates, on Monday I will putting up my 'before' and 'after' measurements from Saturdays treatment, and will be having a total of three treatments over the course of three weeks. With the run up to Christmas lets hope it works so I fit into my party frock! 

Stay Beautiful

Lucy Lovingbeauty xx

Pictures Before …..

So, yesterday I posted a blog about the Flabelos machine along with our measurements, well here are our pictures before we get started. We will update you weekly with our measurements and a photo so you can all see I there really is an improvement!


Girl One:

Girl Two:

Stay Beautiful,

Lovingbeauty Team xx

Flab-You-Lose

As much as we love the festivities of Christmas, we have to admit we do dread the over-eating and indefinite weight gain that comes from eating too much Turkey and a few too many helpings of Christmas pudding. So we decided to turn this into a positive, and put to the test the Flabelos machine from Indulgence Beauty Salon, Bexleyheath; with so much hype and press surrounding it over the past year. Is it possible for a vibrating plate to help you lose the inches?

So to prove what it says is true, we will take to the Flabelos machine three times a week for the next month, measuring themselves at the end of the month to see the results. And of course, we’ll be sharing every step of the way with our lovely blog followers!

All the Lovingbeauty Team have completely different body shapes, so we can see the effect of the Flabelos on different shapes. We’ve taken the measurements, and a picture to show a before-and-after of how they’ll look. See below for the maths bit…

Girl One:

Waist – 26 inches
Abdomen – 32.3 inches
Hips – 36 inches
Bum – 36.2 inches
Upper Thigh – 20 inches
Mid-Thigh – 16.7 inches
Arm – 9.3 inches

Girl Two

Waist – 30.6 inches
Abdomen – 37.7 inches
Hips – 40 inches
Bum – 40.4 inches
Upper Thigh – 23.1 inches
Mid-Thigh – 19.3 inches
Arm – 11.1 inches

Pictures to follow shortly!

Keep checking back for our updates, we’ll keep you all in the loop of our Flabelos diary!

Stay Beautiful

Lovingbeauty

Trendy Lip Transfers

After the success of nail wraps and transfers this year, a few brands have begun to bring out an updated version of the trend; for a different body part. Lip wraps and transfers are slowly making their way onto the market, after being seen in various photo shoots and on celebrities like the super-cool Jessie J (below). 

So we, of course, had to try them out for ourselves at LovingBeauty HQ. We tried and tested the ‘Trendy’ nail wraps, available online at around £8.95 for a pack of three. In every kind of colour and pattern possible, this trend definitely isn’t for the introverted. They can be purchased from Trendy-wraps.com.

Once you’ve picked your favourite pattern, now comes the tricky bit; application. We think it’s best if two of you try this together – one to hold the lip transfer, the other as the model. DIY is not an option as it is quite fiddly and tricky to get the hang of.

Each pack comes with a sheet of instructions, which give you a step by step guide of how to apply. They are easy to follow, however, a steady hand is key. Cutting the lip transfer into the right shape for your lips is the hardest part, as a pre-cut shape is already given as standard, and by placing the shape over your lips, you must determine where to cut the transfer to fit your own lip shape.

Once this is done, take one of the transfers cut into shape, and peel off the plastic backing, revealing the patterned transfer. Place this side onto lips, and using a damp cotton pad, dab onto the paper backed side of the transfer. When the transfer has stuck, the paper will slide off easily, showing the print now securely over the lips. We found getting the actual shape of our lips a little tricky, but the transfers come off with a little oil and cotton wool slowly rubbed off of the area. For little mistakes, we used oil and a cotton bud to trace over the line of our lips and make sure the shape was more even. We also added a little clear lip gloss over the top for added shine which we thought was a great finishing touch!

The pack says transfers last up to eight hours... I lasted three before having to take mine off, but in that time I ate and drank and not a spot came off, so we’re going to bet that they would go the whole eight hours if you wanted them to last! 

Take a look at my lips:

Overall our verdict of the lip wraps: very cool, effective, great for fancy dress, but a little gimmicky and not particularly wearable for a day-to-day basis. Also, we’d suggest not kissing anyone with them on either!

Let us know how you get on with your lip tattoos. What do you think about them?

Stay Beautiful

Lauren xx

(Lovingbeauty's freelance Fashion & Beauty Journalist)

Frost Yourself ...

The smoky eye is the go-to make-up look for a night on the town, or dressing up your usual make-up style. However, there’s a new look ready to take it’s crown for the new season; the ‘frosted eye’. The frosted eye is understated, mysterious and seriously sexy. As seen at Chanel for their Autumn/Winter ’11 show, by renowned make-up artist Peter Philips, we think this look is perfect for the Christmas season. Here’s our step by step guide to create your frosted make-up look:

Photo: Luca Cannonieri / GoRunway.com

- Take a black kohl eye liner pencil , starting at the inner corner of the eye, making a line gradually becoming thicker towards the outer corner of the eye. Add a small line along the bottom row of lashes at the outer corner of the eye, lightly blending to help define the shape of the eye. Why not try the bareMinerals eyeliner, we have a great selection at lovingbeauty.co.uk?

- Dip you brush into your chosen frosted shade… we recommend the Bare Minerals eye shadow in ‘Imagination’ for the most authentic look. Work a small amount of colour at the inner corner of the eye, blending up to the brow bone and around the top half of the eye, just below the eyebrow. Blend outwards to where the eyebrow ends, adding a little more to the top lid. This should create a lovely shimmer wash effect over the eye. Then blend another small amount along the bottom row of lashes, blending into the black kohl liner at the outer corner. This effect is known as ‘cocoon eyes’, blending colour around the entire circumference of the eye.

- Using a slightly darker colour, (we recommend Bare Minerals eyeshadow in ‘Sugar Plum’) dab your brush around the outer corner of the eye and blend lightly towards the middle, leaving the brow area awash with the lighter shimmer.

- Lightly trace over the black kohl liner again on the top lid, before adding a few coats of mascara to top and bottom lashes.

- Keep the rest of your make-up natural, with full, soft pink lips, lightly shades brows and a dusting of blusher on the top of cheek bones.

To keep make-up put, we use the Bare Minerals Mineral Veil powder to dust over and keep make-up fresh and prepare to wow everyone with your party-perfect make-up this Christmas!
Good Luck, and be sure to let us know how you get on with your new look!

Stay Beautiful

Lovingbeauty x

Fact or Fiction?

Hi Everyone,  

My name is Gemma from Lovingbeauty.co.uk and I am yet to add a post to this blog! I’ve been toying with the idea of blogging for a while, and, after having a look at other bloggers, decided to finally give it a go. After having a look through the thousands of beauty blogs out there, (without sounding too self important!), I’m slightly worried about the information that’s being relayed to all of you beauty enthusiasts.

I don’t think of myself as a beauty expert as such, as I believe we can all continue to learn as we grow through our careers, however I do have certain experience and training over the years. With ten years experience as a beauty therapist, owning my own Beauty salon, being a qualified teacher in beauty therapy and, in the new year, ready to learn to be a trainer for Jessica Cosmetics and Universal Contour Wrap, as well as some other leading brands (which I’m not yet allowed to tell you about, but as soon as I can you’ll be the first to know!)

I am always on some sort of course, and love researching and gaining new information about products and treatments. I’m no beauty junkie, but I suppose maybe a bit of a beauty snob. I don’t like gimmicky products or treatments, and I’m more concerned with the results and ingredients than the packaging and celebrity endorsements. That’s not to say I love everything expensive; far from it, I love mixing and matching brands I believe are the best through trial and error. What I’m hoping from this blog is to impart a little wisdom; to educate and help all you beauty lovers to give you the tricks of the trade that I’ve learnt along the way, and confirm the myths and gossip behind the products and treatments.

So, first things first, my clients ask me similar questions on regular occasions, as there seems to be much confusion about what’s right or wrong in terms of products and their ingredients. They say they hear so many different opinions from so-called beauty experts and bloggers, who are all great beauty enthusiasts, but seem to have had very little training or none at all. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this, however it can lead to an amalgamation of misinformation and lot of confusion.

What I hope to do is give you a run-down of the facts and the fictions. Here’s a few to start us off with:

You should never wax the top of the eyebrows?

FICTION -  it is perfectly fine to wax on top of the eyebrow as long as you don’t take hair from the eyebrow its self, instead you take what I like to call the bum fluff hair (not the most technical term I know!) which is the soft downy velus hair. By removing this hair, you will achieve the desired shape of sharp, defined eyebrows.

Facials will cause breakouts? 

FICTION – a facial may cause you to have a few break outs, however if this is the case, it’s more than likely that these would have appeared with or with out the facial within the next few days anyway. The facial would only bring the underlying blemishes out more quickly, so hopefully they will disappear a lot quicker. A facial is a great treat for the skin and should leave your skin glowing and beautiful.

Sun beds or the sun heal spots and blemishes?

FICTION - Whether under the sun or under the tanning bed, baking in the sun to clear breakouts can actually worsen breakouts and is never a good option to deal with such. All this may do is intensify your chances of long-term scarring and hyperpigmentation (dark spots). While you may experience temporary drying up of breakouts after a day in the sun, you’re actually triggering future incidences of breakouts. When there’s an increase in skin cells after the skin is exposed to UV light, this further clogs follicle openings, which leads to the development of breakout bacteria. Don’t forget tanning also puts you at an increased risk of skin cancer, so it’s best to avoid altogether.

Blackheads are dirt inside my pores?

FICTION - Blackheads are merely whiteheads that have undergone the process of oxidation (so no, blackheads aren’t dirt!) 

Oxidation is merely a chemical reaction happening inside your skin. Think of what happens to an apple when you cut it open and it darkens: this is oxidation.

 When the follicle (pore) opens up, oxygen enters, causing the oil and dead skin cells within the follicle to undergo oxidation.  This leads to the dark colour you see.

Toothpaste dries up breakouts?

FICTION - Quite the contrary: new information actually reveals that toothpaste can stimulate breakouts on your chin and around the mouth.  Dermatologists say that heavily flavored toothpaste, or toothpaste with high levels of fluoride, can cause breakouts to arise.

Can stress cause acne?

      

BIT OF BOTH - Stress doesn’t directly cause acne or breakouts, but it does act as a trigger for the factors that contribute to acne development (excess oiliness).  The balance of school, work, friends and relationships can contribute to chronic stress. This constant, continued and heightened level of stress throws adrenal glands into overdrive. Adrenal glands are in charge of regulating stress, and when stressful situations arise, adrenal glands stimulate sebaceous (oil) glands to secrete more sebum (oil).  This excess oil sets the stage for acne development.

Stress also causes increased blood flow and expansion of capillaries, which makes skin appear more red and inflamed.  Stress can also cause poor assimilation of nutrients in the diet and can lead to slower healing because of a lowered immune system.

Yoga, deep breathing, exercise, sleep, aromatherapy… even a quick walk with a friend or co-worker during the day can help de-stress your life and help manage adrenal spikes. Cutting back on caffeine and sugar (which also spike adrenal gland activity) can also help manage breakouts. A daily and nightly skin care regimen can help keep fluctuations in check.

In-growing hairs are caused by bad waxing?

FICTION - In-growing hairs are not caused by ‘bad waxing’, however waxing can cause them to get worse. In-growing are caused when a hair cannot push through to the follicle and, as a result, curls back on to itself underneath the skin. This occurs due to the hair becoming weaker, which is caused by waxing that destroys the hair follicle. Some people are lucky and can get waxed as many times as they wish, never suffering with one in-growing hair, whilst others can get waxed once and become smothered in them depending on the skin type of the client.

I’ll leave you with this information for now, but if you have any more questions or queries, please leave a post in the comment box and I will get in contact asap.

Stay Beautiful

Gemma xx