Face Masks
Remember that whist the following face masks are all made of ingredients given to us miraculously by nature, it is always best practice to do a patch test first. Just because the ingredients are natural, doesn’t mean your skin will like it.
The Oat and Honey Face Mask
What you need:
1 tbsp boiled water
3 tbsp oats
1 tbsp honey
How you do it:
• Put 1 tbsp of hot water into a bowl, then add you 3 tbsp of oats.
• Allow this mixture to cool down for a few minutes, then add 1 tbsp of honey (make sure you mix it well with the other ingredients!).• Apply the mask, but be sure to avoid your eyes. Nobody wants a gooey mixture in their eye?
• Leave the mask to work for 10 to 20 minutes and then gently rinse the face mask off with warm water.
• Take a selfie.
Egg and Lemon Face Mask
And now for the good ol’ egg and lemon killer combo. Huh?
This face mask is super easy to make as it only uses two easy to find ingredients. Egg whites have a surprising number of amazing benefits for the skin. They act to tighten your skin pores which stops the accumulation of dirt, whilst the proteins help keep skin healthy. Egg whites are known to prevent greasy skin, pimples and cysts and are generally great for acne. They can even form a protective layer over your face to avoid sunburn and blisters, which is great for when the weather gets a little warmer and you're having a cheeky back garden sun bathing session. Lemon juice is a well-known antioxidant that can help reduce skin damage and combat premature ageing signs. With its pH levels, it can decrease oily skin and reduce skin inflammation. The likelihood is, you already have these ingredients at home!
What you need:
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
How you do it:
• Add the egg whites and lemon juice to a bowl.
• Simply whisk together.
• Apply to your face gently with a brush (if you have one), making sure your skin is clean and dry beforehand.
Watch the youtube tutorial here.
Vegan cucumber, lemon and mint mask
For a vegan face mask try this cucumber, lemon & mint recipe
Cucumbers have the ability to reduce swelling and puffiness of the skin, as well as ease pain, redness, and irritation caused by sunburns, and rashes - thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties.
What you need:
½ cucumber (grated)
½ a lemon
2-3 mint leaves
How you do it:
• Add the grated cucumber to a glass bowl.
• Crush your mint leaves and add it to the cucumber.
• Squeeze the juice from the halved lemon into the mixture.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Use a make-up brush to apply the mask to your face. Leave it on for at least 20 minutes.
Warning - this mask may prompt you to make a mojito.
Order in a set
For a full-on facial, try a Sarah Chapman set. They’re a bit spenny, but the reviews are great. The set has been created to allow customers to do the skinesis facial at home, as opposed to their clinic, where facials cost from £150-£525. Play some relaxing music, light a candle… and who will really know the difference?
If you missed your scheduled botox/filler appointment before lockdown, then you’ll be wondering if there are any alternatives to tide you over until your next appointment. These STARSKIN Micro Filler Mask Packs combine the anti-ageing effects of professional micro-needling procedures with the nourishing benefits of a face mask, and at under £30, we think this could be a winner!
Nail nightmares
For anybody who usually heads to the nail salon, and has done for years, the thought of being without a cute gel mani is less than ideal. Normal nail polish chips within 12 seconds and ends up looking like it’s been on your nails for three years *UGH*.
Gels at home
These adorable mini gel lamps by Le Mini Macaron are TDF, and they work via plugging into a USB port (either your laptop or USB charger). You can get some work done and do your nails at the same time. Winning. Watch this YouTube tutorial which shows just how simple and easy using the mini lamp is! Purchase it in Rose Gold here!
Basic gel manis cost around £30-£40, but of course this can hugely depend - especially if you like to go wild with nail art designs. Purchasing one of the Le Mini Macarons sets will cost you the price of one salon session which lasts around 2-3 weeks. Plus you then keep the whole set to reuse.
If you're looking for more bang for your buck try this gel starter set from Superdrug. It gives you a step by step process to follow, and you get up to 10 full manicures! £49.99 With the Superdrug set, they say you can get 10 full manicures, which means you could save £250-£350. Nailed it!
Hair removal
Whether you like going full Hollywood or you opt for a trimmed bush, hair removal is at the top of many people’s self-care regimes. In a hair removal survey; legs, eyebrows, the groin area, and underarms are at the top of women’s grooming lists - 95%, 77%, 68%, and 67% of women remove their body hair from these areas respectively.
Tame it
Time for a shameless self plug but honestly you can thank us later. Our Tame It! Intimate Hair Removal Cream is quickly becoming a quarantine essential, almost as essential as a quarantini. Tame it can give you a Brazilian or Hollywood effect all in the comfort of your own bathroom and without the pain of waxing. It's also gives you incredibly smooth legs and like all of our products it's dermatologically tested and paraben free.
One tube of Tame it! is enough to do your legs as well as a Hollywood (not bad for £6.75). According to our calculations based on London salon prices, Tame it! gives you a saving of anywhere from £23.25 (the two cheapest wax options), and £113.25 (for the ladies who go for the luxe options). That’s enough money to get 8 NICE wine cans delivered to your house (trust us, it’s better than it sounds) or invest in a rechargeable clitoral stimulator from LELO.
As with any new product we use on our skin, always be sure to do a patch test on a small area of skin 24 hours before using the product. You should do the patch test on a similar area of skin as the area you intend to remove the hair - different parts of the body have different skin (for instance your knee skin may react differently to your underarm skin).
Purchase Tame it! here (or your local Superdrug) and look out for our bigger size tubes coming soon with our new vegan formula!
Hair care
Most of us pop to the hairdressers around every 6-8 weeks (unless you love a regular bouncy blow-dry, of course). So, if your hair is feeling a little lackluster, here are a few things you can do at home.
DIY Hair Mask
For a DIY hair mask that will make your locks feel loved, here’s a quick recipe.
What you need:
Cinnamon
Coconut oil
How you do it:
• Using equal measures of cinnamon and coconut oil, blend the ingredients together.
• Simply, apply the mask onto your roots and parting.
• Massage the mixture into your scalp, and let it sit for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Rinse.
If you don't want to make your own
For an alternative, we’ve spotted this Coco & Eve, 5 in 1 hair mask. It has1566 reviews, and is at 4.6* out of 5*. They have a page of customer tress-formations too… which we totally love. At £34.99 it’s slightly on the costly side, but you could look at a standard conditioning treatment being around £30-£50. The luxury option though, could be around £150-£400, so it is definitely a DIY bargain.
Now, you can sashay around your house like the queen of Sasha’s… Sasha Fierce.
Cutting at home
For your at-home haircut… oh wait.
For whoever needs to hear this: do not pick up the kitchen scissors and try to cut yourself a fringe. It just. Doesn’t. End well.
Tips from the team
Wrinkle reversal
The brains and the beauty behind WooWoo, Lucy, swears by these wrinkle reversa patches. They target tell-tale fine lines by rejuvenating the skin, improving elasticity and reducing puffiness. "They’re quite expensive, so I just use one across my ‘11’ lines overnight and wake up line free... joy!" she says.
Dry hands and feet
If you're like Gemma, AKA our PR wonder woman, and are suffering from dry, chapped hands in lockdown due to excessive hand washing, then she recommends giving your pinkies some extra TLC.
"I'm not only using moisturiser a lot more than normal, I'm also taking a little extra time to apply a cuticle oil or cream such as Burt's Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme, and a great hand moisturiser before bed before donning a pair of white cotton gloves to sleep in overnight. The husband makes a joke every time I don my gloves about getting a cheeky posh hand-job.", she says. Saucy!
A girl true to our hearts she also recommends our WooWoo Saddle Sore. It doubles up as a great moisturiser and is handily positioned on the bedside table. For feet she recommends applying cuticle cream and Soap and Glory's Heel Genius before sleeping in a pair of cotton socks.
Hair love
Jade, our Digital Marketing Manager & sassy social gal, is giving her hair some TLC in lockdown.
"My hair is half blonde, and half black, so my roots are coming through, but I’m just embracing it and rocking a bun errryday. I’m absolutely loving the Garnier vegan hair food. I use it as a leave-in conditioner when my hair is wet, and when my hair is looking a little frizzy, I add a small amount and it looks instantly refreshed. I have the coconut and macadamia oil version, and it reminds me of lying on the beach with some tanning oil. My back garden will have to do for now! The rest of the range sounds incredible too; banana and shea, aloe vera and coconut, papaya and shea - they’re definitely on my list of self-care treats."
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We hope lockdown is treating you as well as it could, and that you’re doing okay. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. We’ll be posting lots of helpful articles from the best wine delivery services, to the best online courses to help you pass some time, as well as our usual fun content that will hopefully put a smile on your face.
