How To: Exfoliate At The Beach (A Photographic Tutorial!)

It’s bikini season baby! If you’ve been in regular contact with me over the last couple of months you’ll be sick to death of this phrase. I’ve used it to justify just about all of my actions.

“Sarah, would you like some dressing on your salad?”

“Thanks, but no thanks… it's almost bikini season!”

“Uhh… what’s this? *Cue confused face*”

“It’s my Naked Tan membership card … it’s bikini season?!”

“What are you doing over the holidays?”

“Visiting my parents – for bikini season.”

Okay. You get the point.

So when it comes to looking your best when wearing, hmm, less - preparation will always be your friend.

Apart from eating healthy, and the sneaky perks of rocking a fake tan, exfoliating is one of the best ways to achieve enviable limbs this summer.

By brushing away dead skin cells, you allow your skin to breath. Your body will suddenly appear more luminous, and cellulite will also diminish drastically. Oh, and if you struggle with ingrown hair, consider it a problem of the past.

You can exfoliate a few different ways, either by dry skin brushing (a personal favourite), by using an in-shower body scrub with tough granules. Or, if you like the idea of not spending a cent, just head to your nearest beach.

Here’s my step-by-step tutorial on how to exfoliate with sea sand. A warning in advance – you will get a few weird looks. Especially when your body is covered in slushy sand head to toe. Don’t worry; the results are well worth it.

Step 1. Get comfy. Try find a location that isn’t too close to others swimming or tanning if you veer on the shy side. Take a large scoop full of sand and decide on a limb to start with. I normally begin with my feet and work my way up.

Step 2. With the sand you’ve got in your hand, massage your skin firmly in circulation clockwise motions for about 30 seconds per 30cm radius. Try keep the sand on your skin until you finally wash off as it’s filled with precious minerals. The salt in the water will also help cleanse and dry out any impurities on your body.

Step 3. Work your way up your body until your reach your décolletage. It’s entirely up to you if you want to also gently buff away at your face, but if you do have sensitive skin I strongly recommend that you don’t. The water in the ocean alone will help cleanse your skin, but by abrasively massaging your face you may actually have a strong (read: harsh) reaction that is unsightly. I know from experience. 

Step 4. If you have a friend with you, ask them to massage your back with sand, as this can be quite hard to reach. If not just try your best. 

Step 5. Despite how cold the water feels, you have no choice but to now go and wash it all off. By this point you will look like a freaky sand ogre, so I’m sure you will want to anyway. 

And that’s it! As you walk back to your towel feel how soft your skin is. By the next day you will notice that any blemishes you previously had have dried out, and your skin will be glowing! Hurrah!

A piece of advice: when you go home and have your shower, upon exiting lather your body in a rich hydrating body lotion, because you’ve buffed away skin sebum you will need to rehydrate your body.

Let me know how your sand exfoliation works for you!

SS xo
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My 2014 Beauty Handbag Essentials (and why you need them!)

Image: Fashion Is Endless

So another new year is upon us, scary yes! But totally inevitable. So too is the fact that our current handbag essentials will need a refresh.

For 2014 I recommend investing in great staples that will serve you well despite the occasion. Your handbag goes everywhere you do, so as long as you have the below, it doesn’t really matter if a spontaneous invite is thrown your way!

My kit includes a great red lipstick for day and night, a plum lip gloss for more dressy affairs, an illuminating but extremely natural blush, and of course a few pencils to stow that will allow you to highlight your most gorgeous features.

Refreshing your beauty bag is pretty (okay, very) important for two reasons:

1. All makeup has a use by date. The products you loved and used throughout 2013 may now have run their course, and a nasty eye infection from overused mascara is the opposite of attractive.
2. Trends change! That Barbie pink lippy you sported back in February may have been fab then, but look to see what’s on everyone’s radar (or lips) now.

While the incredible post Boxing Day sales are still going, this is the time to pick up the below:

 

1.  Loreal Paris Color Riche Le Khol in Immaculate Snow – $19.95

Soft and creamy – just how you want a waterline/tightline pencil to feel. This white eyeliner will brighten up your peepers even on the most draining of days! Simply draw on to your tightline and waterline to make the whites of your eyes appear larger and brighter. This particular white isn’t too stark, either, so it will look completely natural.

2. Natio Define Eye Brow Pencil – $13.95

Defining your eyebrows is a must. Don’t let them become dishevelled and lack lustre just because you aren’t at home with your entire beauty box. This clever pencil has a brush on one end (so you can neaten them up) and a matte brown eyebrow pencil on the other that allows you to build up to your desired depth of colour. 

3. Maybelline New York Master Precise Liquid Liner – $13.95

Winged eyeliner has almost become my daily beauty look – it’s just so easy and always looks as if you’ve put in a certain degree of effort in the morning! I found that the tip on this liquid liner pen is perfectly pointed so you really can make your cat eye flick as thin, or thick, as you want.

4. YSL Gloss Volupte in Prune Organdi – $55

Hello luxury! This pigmented lip gloss not only feels, but smells like heaven! One whiff reminds me of a blueberry/lemon gelato – definitely not what you would expect from the moody hue. I love this lip gloss for vamping up my night time look in a hurry.

5. Maybelline New York Colorsensational 916 Neon Red – $16.95

 I’m a big fan of red lips, for day and night. This particular lippy comes in a matte formulation, so you literally get a bright pop of colour on your pout instantly. I’d describe the colour as cherry-neon, so it suits most complexions and brightens up the skin to make it appear more radiant.

6. Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Sugar – $35

 This is, quiet literally, the perfect everyday nude/natural lipstick. It will be your go-to for job interviews, catching up with long lost friends, seeing the in-laws and even before your late night grocery shopping dash. It's matte, but contains a slight pearlescent shimmer. It also has no scent whatsoever, so if you’re one of those girls who constantly complain of makeup giving you a headache (due to the overload of fragrances used) this is a dream come true!

7. Shu Uemura Cream On Cream Cheek Blush in Light Peach – $35

Want to add light to your face as well as a hint of subtle colour? Say hello to Shu Uemura’s Cream On blushes. The silky soft creams contained in the cute snap lock compacts add the perfect, very natural hue, to your cheek bones. No one will even know you’re wearing blush – what they will know however, is that you look absolutely heavenly! I love sneaky beauty products.

What products are currently on high rotation in your handbag?

SS xo

Super-Boost Your Skin This Winter With Ultraceuticals. I Was Left Hydrated And Wowed!

Winter, at first everyone was looking forward to you! We were imagining cosy nights in, fashionable scarfs flung around our necks and delicious roast potatoes. And what did we get? We got sore, dehydrated, wind-chapped skin and painful lips to boot! How nice of you! 

My embarrassing innocence has brought out an announcement that I think we should all embrace - and for the prettier! I say it's time to become better equipped when dealing with the elements. Especially because we're only half way through this chilly season, and secondly - there are many more winters where this came from - we might as well learn now!

My combat kit comes from the profesh-skincare experts at Ultraceuticals. This luxe skincare brand was created by Dr Geoffrey Heber, an acclaimed cosmetic physician that has specialised in non-surgical (no needles or knifes - yay!) cosmetic medicine since 1988, and we know how vain the 80s were. What with the voluminous hair and pop-pink lipstick!

This brand is Australian made and owned and contains products that not only boast anti-ageing properties - but help you look glowy and fantastic every day.  

For the last two to three weeks I have been using the above products morning and night, and prayed that their celebrated ingredients would help my wounded skin. My cheeks were so rouged from the cold wind that it looked as though I became blush-happy, and my lips were beginning to sting at the end of a long day. 

This is how I layered the products above to get the best results, and from the picture of my now glowing skin (see bottom) - I can safely say that these products are worth the spend for the results they produce.

Going Clockwise:

1. After gently washing my face at night and removing all traces of makeup, I’d take a small amount of Ultraceuticals Ultra B2 Hydrating Serum. It contains a double dosage of Vitamin B (no prizes for guessing that key ingrediant) and helps to relieve itchy, dry skin as well as leave your skin feeling refreshed. This formula is so fast absorbing that almost seconds after I applied it o my skin (see middle of picture) it almost totally absorbed!

Other key ingrediants include ProVitamin B5, which helps to re-build damaged skin from wind chapping, and vitamin B3 which builds a barrier on your skin to stop any nasties intruding in the future. The last key ingredient is super powerful hyaluronic acid, which helps your skin to soak in as much moisture as possible and stay hydrated despite the conditions outside, $79.

2. Once my Ultra B2 Hydrating Serum has soaked in, and believe me it happens in a snap, I take a small amount of my Ultraceuticals Ultra Calming Treatment Cream. It has a slightly golden colour - but comes with no offensive smells - unlike a lot of other hard working creams on the market. 

This cream has been specifically made to help those with sensitive skin - which is pretty much everyone in winter. It really helped to settle my red skin, and even when I emerged out of the shower with tight skin after cleansing, it made my face feel soft very quickly. 

The key ingredients are panthenol (which is basically pro-vitam B5), oat kernel flour, aloe leaf juice and bisabolol (Or, essential oil from German chamomile). 

Extra points to this cream for doubling as a once-a-week calming treatment mask - just apply all over and leave for 20 minutes (or longer, depends how much time is on your hands - or face!) $95.

3. Thirdly, once my calming cream has done its well-trusted work, I look to my Ultraceuticals Ultra A Skin Perfecting Serum. This product (swatched to the far right) contains a hero ingredient that really does fill in fine lines and tired, deflated skin. I'm talking about much loved retinol. Retinol helps your own naturally occurring collagen (what keeps you looking young) to work even harder - it's basically a skin slave driven when it comes to showing off well hydrated, plump, youthful skin. 

I dab a little of this cream onto my frown-zone (area between my brows) around my eyes, and also mouth region to attack smile-creases, $118.   

4. Lastly - my crazy-dry lips I've been moaning about. I found a holy grain balm that has stopped cracking in its tracks. Say hello to Ultraceuticals Ultra Lip Therapy SPF 15: 

This wax-looking, yet extremely creamy and easy to apply balm comes in a cute perspex compact with hand mirror, making fantastic if you're a speed-demon like me and always rushing off somewhere.

This clear balm offers long-lasting nourishment and protection from harsh environments. It features pure vitamin C as well as SPF15 - because even though it may be cold outside, UV rays still have a way of breaking through heavy clouds.

Other key ingredients are shea butter, black current seed oil (which gives off a really unique but lovely aroma) and jojoba oil to sooth.

I've really loved these products and will keep using them all winter long until they sadly run out. As promised here is a picture of my now hydrated and soft skin (even if I do say so myself!) - I didn't even have to use my trusty illuminator to get that glow! 

 Head into your nearest David Jones to trial and take a look at the above amazing products yourself.

SS x