Saturday, 27 July 2013

Quick-Fix Summer Beauty


So a couple of weeks ago it was St Paul’s Carnival in Bristol (an annual celebration of caribbean culture) and I managed to drag my boyfriend along with the promise of jerk chicken and rice & peas. I had originally planned on a casual jeans and t-shirt combo, but when record high temperatures were forecast, I had to rethink things somewhat...

Having settled on my favourite H&M cotton sundress, the first thing I reached for was the Dove Summer Glow body lotion (I have the one for medium to dark skin since I am technically olive-skinned, yet somehow still manage to be really pale - I digress). I’ve been working my way through the high-street gradual tanners this summer, having already tried and tested the Garnier and Palmer’s versions, but I adore the smell of this one. It’s creamy and tropical all at once; to me it just smells like summer. After applying this to my arms and legs, I moved onto hair and makeup while I left it to sink in.

I kept hair simple, refreshing my blow dry with a spritz of John Frieda Luxurious Volume dry shampoo before twisting into an undone top-knot. To add a bit of colour to my face, I applied the Soap & Glory Glow Job tinted moisturiser (not pictured) in place of my usual day cream for a bronze-y glow, then opted for similarly fuss-free makeup with a dab of concealer, slick of mascara and obligatory smudge of Barry M brown kohl along the upper lashline. To add a little something, I decided to trial another Soap & Glory product, the Peach Party Multi-Colour Blush Brick (a shimmery mix of copper, peach and gold shades swirled together) accompanied by my beloved Revlon lip butter in Juicy Papaya (a beautiful sheer pinky coral that can be built up for a pop of colour). Applied with a light hand, these two beauties combine to create a really pretty luminous glow.

Mavala’s Madrid (a lovely, bright, classic red) was still going strong on my toes from earlier in the week so after applying Essie's Naughty Nautical to my fingernails (a bright, cheery turquoise streamed with a fine silver glitter, that applies like a dream and really reminds me of the ocean), I finished with a quick spritz or two of the Body Shop Mango eau de toilette (such a light, fresh summery fragrance) and an application of Soap & Glory's One Night Tanned, for good measure. This gives a really fool-proof, even, natural looking tan – and if you should so happen to go wrong, it washes off instantly. Plus it smells of coconuts!

We'd planned to meet some friends at the festival, however literally thousands of people had turned out for the event meaning signal was really bad and we couldn't get hold of anyone, so after tucking into our jerk chicken near to the main stage and wandering around for a bit taking in the sights and sounds, we decided to pick up some guiness punch (my all time favourite caribbean cocktail) before calling it a day. After all that rum and sun, an afternoon nap was well in order – followed by a Game of Thrones marathon, takeway pizza and some seriously yummy Ben & Jerry’s icecream (peanut butter and raspberry jam - so good).

What are your quick fixes for foolproof summer beauty?
Do you own any of these products?

Chandra
x

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