Really smart beauty tips that are going to save you time and trouble.

Tue, 6 December 2011 11:50AM

A couple of months back, I had the glorious task of traveling the east coast of Australia with a bevy of beauty experts for our David Jones in-store Look Book events. Considering I’ve been writing about all-things beauty-related for a few years now, I’m always giddy with excitement at the prospect of meeting new beauty experts whose brains I can pick. I still hound the hair and makeup artists on photo shoots and I love quizzing hairdressers and beauticians for info, even if it is mid facial.

So, to cut a long story short, I realised that as well as spilling the beans on my own top beauty secrets, I also walked away with a huge amount of info and know-how from our pro’s that I’ve been living by ever since. Here goes…

1. Bottoms up! Always apply your hair product through the ends first, and then the roots. It sounds basic, but the reality is, the majority of us slap the product straight on to the roots, before blending the leftover product where we need it the most, through the mid-section and ends. And then we wonder why our hair looks flat and greasy before the morning is out? Right now, I’m on a mission to bring back mousse and this self-foaming gel is at the top of my list: Prive Concept Vert Volumising Froth, $39.95.  

2. Treat your hands, face and neck as equals: It’s a well known fact that the chest area and hands are forgotten territory when it comes to skincare and a couple of months back, I started noticing a few sun spots on my hands. I’m not talking major damage, but still, I can see them and I don’t like them. So, the clever Paula from Comvita suggested that I try layering my skin-brightening serum on to trouble spots on the chest and hands to tackle pigmentation. I like to apply mine at night, just before bed so I can leave it to work it’s magic while I sleep. Try: Comvita Olive White Brightening Facial Serum, $79. 

 

3. Scrub a dub dub: I can’t believe that in all the years of DIY fake tanning, I’d never thought to try this: you know how you get to the end of fake tanning and your hands look four times as golden as the rest of your body? To prevent product build up, Emma from Burt’s Bees suggests you take time out in-between each application (like, after the legs, the torso and the arms) to give your hands a quick wash using a body sugar scrub. A gentle 30 second scrub is enough to breakdown the tanning lotion, then rinse your hands with warm water and wait until they’re completely dry before tackling the next area. Try: Burt’s Bees Cranberry and Pomegranate Sugar Scrub.   

Another clever tip: Try blending a teeny-tiny amount of body butter to trouble spots, like the knees and elbows before tanning. The lotion creates a barrier that will stop the product from settling into creases so that they don’t look mottled and patchy.

4. Cover up! So you’re already running massively late for work and you don’t have time to remove your nail polish and start from scratch? It’s the story of my life. OPI expert Karon suggests every woman invests in two subtley-glittery polishes that you can glide straight over your existing colour to (mask) dress up chipped lacquer. If you’re a fan of nude, soft-pink shades, stick with a gold glitter, and if colour is your thing, you can’t go wrong with a multi-hued number like this confetti-looking lacquer that’s sitting slap-bang in the middle of the pic below. Try: OPI Nail Lacquer in Rainbow Connection, $19.95 from the OPI Muppet’s Collection.

 

Tell me Primpettes, 

What’s your smartest beauty tip?

Do you apply your hair styling product straight to the roots without realising? 

Do you use your face serum to tackle other areas?

Posted by: Eliza Ashe

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Tags: beauty tips, burts bees, comvita, DIY tanning, easy beauty tips, fake tanning, hair, hair product, hair styling, nails, opi, pigmentation, prive, skin, tanning