Beauty things that need to be put to bed in 2016.

This post was originally called '10 beauty things...' but I very quickly ran over 10, especially when I consulted my girlfriends (Thanks Ruth and Lily). Feel free to keep them going in the comments. 

Here's to a Happy New Beauty BS-free Year! 

The word ‘miracle’

There is no ‘miraculous’ skincare. There’s good skincare, even GREAT skincare, but it’s not a miracle. 

Please stop it. 

Holy Grail

Did Jesus drink from your tube of mascara at The Last Supper? No? 

Then please don't call it 'The Holy Grail'.

Strobing

I blame you Instagram. 

Recent conversation with Mother:

Mum: Ooh I'm interested in this strobing I read about in InStyle. What is it?

Me: Highlighting.

Mum: Highlighting!? What?? If it's just highlighting why would they call it 'strobing'? 

Me: Because they needed a new word for highlighting.

Mum: Why?

Me: Exactly.

Contouring

By all means, contour away, but be subtle, some of you look like you've got dirt under your blusher.

Clown contouring

COME ON NOW.

Baking

Using a ton of powder and then removing it all. Utter genius. 

Well, genius way to get people to use up their powder quickly.

Collagen drinks/tablets/supplements/facial sprays

I know some of you love them and swear by them and if so, crack on – whatever rocks your boat, it's your money - but they won’t fix what nature has lost through age. 

Eat well. Sleep well. Avoid sugar if at all possible. Don’t smoke.

And if you’re that desperate, invest in something injected.

And don't get me started on the sprays.

'Beauty drinks' in general

The best beauty drink for you is water. But you knew that. (I'm not talking about liquid supplements such as iron/vitamin C here)

Cellulite anything

Anything.

They don’t work, they never have. Imagine how happy we’d all be – and how pissed off the media would be - if we all embraced our dimply arses. 

Embrace your cellulite. Mother Nature gave it to you. You’re meant to have it. On the scale of things to be concerned about, it’s really not that bad.

Green detox

Absolutely eat your greens. They’re good for you. But don’t worry about eating greens for your liver and kidneys to be able to detox. They take care of all that ‘detoxing’ for you just fine.

Tea detox

Tea is one of my favourite things in the world. This we know. But come on now. 

The word ‘detox’

When used outside of medical clinics treating addictions or ridding your body of a substance. It’s just a word now isn’t it? Detox mask. Detox cellulite cream. Miracle detox cellulite cream. *stabs self in temple*

Argan oil

It’s been done. To death. Seriously. It’s a good oil. It’s not miraculous. See No.1.

Ditto: rosehip oil.

Ground-breaking

Is it? Is it really? How so? What ground have you broken? I assume you have long-term clinical trials done 'in vivo'? You do?! Excellent. Can't wait to see. If you don't, pipe down.

The word 'nasties'

When used to describe something that you are putting on your face, 'nasties' is pretty pointless. Everything is tested and tested and tested. It won't kill you. It won't 'destroy your cells'. Do calm down.


*After I finished this post yesterday, I sat down to relax and opened an industry magazine, industry, not normal media, beauty industry trade magazine - and found stem cells, argan stem cells (I wish I was joking) and this, all in the first few pages*:

No. No they don't.

Stem cells

Not my first time mentioning these doozies. And I’m sorry to be so repetitive but they’re still being pushed as ‘regenerating dermal stem cells’.

PLANT stem cells may have some good effect on HUMAN skin, but they do not ‘regenerate’ our stem cells. 

Please make it stop. 

The beauty-buying general public are not fools. Tell them what your product does, what's in it and what results they can expect if they use it correctly. 

But please: try not to compare the experience to the second coming of Jesus when you do it. 

*Yes, I cancelled my subscription.

Sugar Detox - Week 1

How's it going? Have any of you achieved any success on the sugar front?

Personally, I'm going stage by stage. Maybe the word 'detox' isn't entirely appropriate?! 

For my first week I decided to give up sauces. Ketchup, brown sauce, some hot sauces. Not all thank god...and I kept mayo in moderation. I know mayo isn't loaded with sugar but it is overloaded with fat so I didn't want to go crazy and be all 'ooh I can have ALLTHEMAYO.'

It was easy. Much easier than I expected to be honest. I know. This from the northerner. Mind-boggling.

This week its chocolate. Chocolate is out the window. I wouldn't normally worry about this at all but (TMI klaxon) my period is due any second now and this usually brings with it the desire for a Reese's Nutrageous and a can of Coke. I'm not looking forward to it but I'm determined. 

I bought the obvious book - 

but unless you really want to bake alternatives to sugar-laden goods it's not ground-breaking to be honest, although it's on offer from Amazon at the moment for a steal if you are a baker.

 I'm just enjoying trying to avoid it. Treating it as a sport rather than a punishment. :)

Always open to your tips!

The Sarah Wilson book is here for £4.99.

SUGAR. The Devil tempting you in a red velvet dress.

One of my creations, earlier today, whilst intact.

'Oh I don't have a sweet tooth. I'm a savoury girl.' Yeah right. I mean, I am a savoury girl, given the choice at restaurants I'll always go starter over dessert. There's no competition. But I've been working hard and slacking lately and reaching for the quick sugar fix and and and...

Here we are, almost in Spring and I am feeling a tad 'bleurgh'. So my thinking is: would any of you like to join me on a sugar detox? I use the word 'detox' in its correct form, I'm not suggesting my body is not capable of keeping itself 'cleansed', but it stands to reason that it would just have a much easier time of it if I stopped putting crap into it.

Don't worry. I'm not about to start posting pictures of kale and saying 'Ooh scrummy!' (if you ever hear me use the word 'scrummy', please smack me around the head anyway), but I am vowing to steer clear of well, things that my children can eat on occasion that I really have no business eating - at all. Ever. Mindless eating. Isn't it strange that you can be very 'mindful' in your day-to-day lifestyle, business practices, parenting - pretty much anything, but very quickly revert to being brain dead when it comes to just eating nonsense? Or badly, let's call a spade a spade, eating badly.

Like I said, I won't be evangelical and preachy, but I usually find if I say I'm going to do something, I am always more inclined to follow through if people (family - especially the kids) are watching me.

Have any of you given sugar the old heave-ho lately? If not for health, let's do it for our skin. ;)

Who's in?

Beauty Myths No.11 - Detox

Detox products. 

Detox creams.

 Detox teas. 

Detox pads for your feet. 

Detox hair straighteners.

Enough. If your body was 'full of toxins' you would at best, be very ill and at worst, dead. See: septicemia.

The word 'detox' belongs in a hospital or drug-dependency unit.

If you mean 'keep yourself as healthy as possible' then...

• keep hydrated - with water. Diet coke doesn't count people.
• don't smoke
• eat well
• exercise (or just go for a bloody walk/have a good regular stretching session)
• get enough sunshine or supplement with vitamin D

Leave the rest to your lungs, kidneys, skin and liver.*

Stop hijacking the word to sell more product.

*Obviously if any of those are compromised in you, my apologies, I'm not referring to you. That's what doctors are for.