Hen Weekend Survival

As promised I said I would give you all the lowdown on how to survive a hen weekend away, running on very little sleep and nursing a huge hangover.

Hen and Stag weekends are becoming more and more popular as people swap a night out for a weekend away with friends to celebrate their last few weeks as fiancées to their partners. Whether be a weekend in Ibiza or a weekend in the UK

I had such pleasure of attending a hen weekend for my best friend Miss Jodie Barber who was to become Mrs Jodie Sheen. 

So when the the plans were final our location would be the Butlins in Minehead for their 90s reloaded weekender, which I was overjoyed about, I mean is their anything better than a weekend of drinking and getting on down to our favourite 90s tunes that we grew up with? I don't think there is! And the best part of it was, that most of the girls who were going, I grew up with them so a lot of 90s experiences were to be remembered.

So the night before we were to set off I packed my suitcase with clothes and the all important lotions, potions and make up to ensure I looked great whilst we were away.

So here are my 8 all important products I packed to take with me and a little run down on how they helped my face and hair survive the weekend of 90s madness.

So first off we have Garnier PureActive face wash, with extracts of grapefruit, pomegranate and vitamin C.

This product is for oily skin prone to imperfections which is great for my skin as I tend to get an oily T-Zone which is a pain the backside as it causes breakouts on my forehead. The scent is really lovely and it really freshens up your face, good for after a heavy night on the beer which I think, can leave your skin dull.

Now, as stated in previous posts, I'm currently having a love affair with Benefit Cosmetics and I love everything they bring out. 

So when they introduced their face care range I was over the moon. 

My favourite is this Triple Performing Facial Emulsion lotion, which after applied leaves your skin super soft and supple and its a great base for applying make up.

Next up is the trusty Batiste dry shampoo, great for the morning after a night out, I usually showered and washed my hair before we went out, so for in the day when we would go and see a tribute band, go for food or a stroll along the beach, I sprayed this in my hair to keep it fresh looking and as my hair is brown the brunette dry shampoo has a hint of colour in it to freshen up any colour. 

Another favourite for my hair after washing it is John Frieda's Frizz Ease Thermal Protection Hair Serum.

Seen as I wash my hair up to 4 times a week, I blowdry and straighten it every time so this little gem helps a lot with protecting my hair from heat and styling damage, and the ends of my hair don't become frazzled. It leaves the hair silky smooth and straight afterwards. 

Another little gem I found while wandering around Boots were their own brand of cucumber facial wipes. You can usually get 3 packs for around £3 and they're great. They smell fresh and are cooling on the skin and get rid of make up pretty quick, I always keep a pack in my bag for those little emergencies.

Another important tool I packed in my make up bag was Benefit's Peek-A-Bright Eyes, eye illuminating kit.

I adore this little kit, all the things you need to give your tired eyes a pop and brighten them up. The brown shade really opens your eyes and is excellent as an eyeliner as its soft and isn't as harsh as black eyeliner. Good for those days when your eyes are heavy and tired.

The most perfect highlighter I've ever used! Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl, gives a liquid pearl highlight which I use on my cheekbones, just on the bridge of my nose, the inner corners of my eyes and a smidgen on my Cupid's bow. Gives a very lovley pinkish gold highlight and brightens the face right up!

And last but not least, my favourite item in my make up bag, MAC's Ruby Woo in matte finish. 

I love this lipstick like a fat kid loves cake, it goes on effortlessly, a gorgeous vampy red with a matte finish which will make your lips look irresistible. It's creamy, it smells heavenly and will give a pout I'm sure Marylin Monroe would be jealous of! 

I usually team this with 50s kitten flicks lots of mascara, natural face and a little bit of blush making you look and feel like a 50s siren. 

So there we have my 8 products that certainly made me look better than I felt, I always made sure the days after I had been out drinking I drank plenty of water and ate a fairly decent sized meal for dinner to line the stomach. And always remember kids, drink responsibly and stay with the friends you came with.

Hope you all enjoyed reading,

Love,

Next time on All Things Bright And Beautiful: I give you my review on the product I cannot stop using: pure coconut oil. See you soon! 

My DIY home mani/pedi

So being that I'm ill I decided to give myself a bit of a treat and pamper my hands, fingers, feet and toes.

I'm always painting my nails, maybe 3-4 times a week, I just love using all my different colours and I usually get the whole: "you've got that many nail polishes, when are you going to use them all?" Lecture from my fiancé, so to prove him wrong I've been painting my nails a lot through the week and weekends. 

Also, this gorgeous weather we have been having is prime for flashing bright, bold colours on your fingers and your toes, especially if you're wearing sandals, it's important to make your feet look inviting.

So, I did my usual regime of taking the nail polish off with nail polish remover, cut, filed and buffed my finger and toenails, ready for my DIY mani/pedi.

Now, earlier this year I had a major Lush addiction after visiting a huge Lush store on a Christmas break in Glasgow, it started with a small bottle of Snow Fairy and then led to me spending a LOT of money on boxsets, scrubs, shampoo, treatments, bath bombs and soaps.

One of the little gems I picked up earlier this year, which I used once and has since sat on the bathroom windowsill, was a tub of 'Rub Rub Rub'

I remember the lovely sales assistant selling this to me by asking me to use the scrub on my hands and was astonished at how silky smooth my hands were after using it! And seen as I work in a factory my hands are probe to drying out a lot, especially when handling different materials and substances.

So I finally picked this tub up tonight to use on my hands and feet and was once again taken aback at just how quick my hands and feet softened. 

As you can see, the contents inside are a stunning blue colour. 

Now, there are quite a few uses for this delightful scrub, not only can you use it for your hands and feet, but it makes an excellent body scrub, and brilliant to use before and after you have shaved your legs for silky pins, again, especially in this weather.

Rub Rub Rub can also be used to wash your hair, and I love using sea salt shampoos, I love massaging the salt into my scalp which as we all know promotes a good blood flow to give you shiny, strong hair. And sea salt shampoos also gives great volume to your tresses.

This product smells divine, kind of like a cocktail. The scrub contains jasmine flower infusion, jasmine absolute, mimosa absolute, orange flower absolute and organic lemon juice aswell as lemon oil, so no wonder it's so moisturising! 

On my hands I used it like I was using soap, massaging the grains around my dry hands and then dunking them into warm water to wash the scrub off.

On my feet I massaged it over my whole dry foot, paying extra attention to my heels and then placed my feet in warm water to soak for about 10 minutes.

Whilst my feet were soaking I painted my nails with MUA's 'Fever Red' 

I have a lot of time for these cute polishes, they have a range of gorgeous colours, a lot to suit summer and at £1 a pop who can complain? They go on your nails lovely, even and two coats gives you high colour and high shine. 

I let my nails dry before taking my trotters out of the water and dried them. My feet were so smooth and smelt lovely, so I painted my toenails with the same colour I painted my fingernails. 

I used two different products to moisturise my feet and hands.

For my hands I used this amazing cream I had from one of my favourite websites at the moment www.latestinbeauty.com 

This cream is called 'Steamcream'

Freshly handmade using high-quality, natural ingredients that are fused together by a shot of steam. This unique method makes the cream very lightweight, providing long-lasting hydration for the face. The texture also makes it a perfect nourishing treat for your body and hands too.

It went on my hands like a dream, and didn't leave them greasy, just soft and supple.

For my feet I used a favourite foot cream of mine from a company who were my first cosmetic/beauty love - Soap & Glory.

This foot cream comes out a mint green colour and is wonderful for moisturising every part of your foot.

I slathered it all over my feet and robbed a pair of the fiancé's white cotton trainer socks for overnight foot nourishment.

So a lovely DIY home mani/pedi that didn't cost me a penny, using the stuff I had at home already.

I mean, I know it's not as professional as going to a beauty salon and having a trained beautician do it for you, but I felt a little accomplished having done it all myself and it was very relaxing.

All I need to do now is feel better!

Coming soon to All Things Bright & Beautiful: I give you my tips on how to look great and survive a hen weekend! After my Butlins Minehead experience I give you the low down on how to look great despite nursing a whacking great hangover and very little sleep.