The Secrets to Looking Flawless

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base, beauty, cells, comfort, complexion, dark spot, dead, dry, dry skin, face, flawless, flawlessness, foundation, harmful, hyperpigmentation, make-up, moisture, moisturiser, oil, Papaya Extract, perfect, perfection, pictures, primer, production, protection, rays, refine, sebum, skin, slough, smooth, social media, SPF15, sunburn, surface, texture

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Flawlessness. For some of us it may seem like the quest for a flawless complexion is never-ending, or worse, totally unachievable and everyone uploading their filtered snaps to social media can make you feel even worse about your own skin. There are, however, a selection of products which work hard with your skin to make it look flawless and finding the right combination for you can be like hitting a beauty goldmine. Here are five of our favourites for helping us achieve flawless skin:

Decleor Expert Dark Spot Corrector

Nothing screams IMPERFECT like dark spots and areas of hyperpigmentation. This preparation from Decleor is designed to hit the dark spots right where it hurts and even comes with a unique applicator to help reduce the appearance of dark spots within 14 days. Papaya extract is the main ingredient which helps to even out the skins tone and helps to fade surface pigmentation, leaving your skin looking foundation-fresh even without make-up.

Dermalogica SkinPerfect Primer SPF30

Primer is essential for achieving a flawless look as it manages to even out both the tone and the texture of your skin. It’s ideal for dry skin as well as skin which is prematurely ageing, and will not only perfect your skin, but will also keep your make-up in place for longer. It also contains an SPF30 to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays, stopping sunburn and skin damage in it’s tracks.

Decleor Intense Translucency Fluid

Decleor Intense Translucency Fluid works in three ways; firstly, it brightens and unifies the skin’s complexion, eradicating dark spots and giving you a more even skin tone. Second, it reveals the skin’s own radiance by helping to get rid of dead cells on the surface of the skin. Lastly, it gives the skin a huge boost of moisture, giving 8-hour comfort to the face. The overall effect is a restored glow and a consistent skin tone which looks as though you’re already wearing make-up, even with a bare face.

Dermalogica HydraBlur Primer

If you have drier skin, you’ll probably find that the average primer dries your skin out even more as most of them control oil production in the skin, not something which is an issue if your skin is already dry. This primer from Dermalogica is designed specifically for dry skin, and the lightweight, non-greasy formula powerfully hydrates and transforms skin into an even surface with a dramatic blurring effect.

Decleor BB Cream 24 Hour Hydration SPF15

Decleor has put a lot of work into this product, using a combination of plant-based skin expertise and extensive research and development into colour. The BB cream is a foundation/moisturiser hybrid, doing the jobs of both – flooding your skin with a full day’s worth of moisture while using tinted pigments to create a flawless base. It comes in three shades will refine your skins texture, attack blemishes and even protect you from the sun with it’s added SPF15.

Stay Cool Even When The Humidity Rises

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base, BB Cream, blemish, correction, decleor, Decleor BB Cream, dermalogica, Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner, Dermalogica Oil Free Matte SPF30, Elemis, Elemis Daily Redness Solution, flawless, frizz, full-coverage, hair, humid, humidity, inflammation, make-up, oil production, redness, sebum, skin, soothing, spots, spritzing, sweat, Toner

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Is it just us, or does the current weather SUCK?! It’s not quite hot, not quite cold and if it’s not hacking down with rain, it’s super humid and sticky. Dealing with humidity can be so much more difficult to deal with that other extremes of weather, but there are things you can do to help keep you looking your best, even when it seems like Mother Nature is conspiring against you! Read on for our suggestions of how to cope in humid weather.

Keep Your Hair Low-Maintenance

Unless you’re REALLY lucky, you’re probably like us and closely resemble Monica Geller in Barbados when the humid air hits your hair. All the blow-drying and straightening in the world isn’t going to be enough to tame your hair in high humidity, so the best thing you can do is just not do it! Using a daily conditioning rinse will help to weigh your hair down, taming flyaway locks, but leaving it to do it’s own thing after using the rinse will give you the best chance of a smooth barnet.

Use Lighter Products

Using thick, oily or rich products will feel fairly horrible on your skin in times of high humidity, and could even end up causing spots because they don’t allow your skin to sweat and breathe enough. Opt for cooling, spritzing products like Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner to keep your skin feeling fresh and avoid breaking out into spots or areas of redness.

Make-Up is Overrated

We know it’s tempting to wear your usual full-coverage make-up all year round, but when the humidity hits, there’s a good chance that a thicker foundation won’t even stay on your face properly. Opting for a lighter version of your usual base, like Decleor BB Cream, which will give you a decent level of coverage whilst providing moisture and blemish correction, and won’t be as susceptible to the heat and humidity as thicker products.

Rid Yourself of Redness

On humid days, we basically feel hot and bothered any time we have to move around, and this can massively exacerbate any redness that you may already experience. Elemis Daily Redness Solution will ensure that your skin doesn’t flare up in the heat and humidity and will de-sensitise and comfort irritated, red and blotchy complexions. It makes a great base for make-up and when used with the Decleor BB Cream above will give you a flawless finish.

Limit Oil Production

Humidity and heat can be a nightmare if you have naturally oily skin, so preparing for humid days with an oil-reducing product is essential for keeping your skin looking great. Dermalogica Oil Free Matte SPF30 will do a two-fold job of protecting you, firstly by offering defenses against the sun’s harmful rays, but also by regulating oil production and soothing inflammation. The ultra-sheer formula absorbs surface oils to prevent shine without any powdery residue, delivering an all-day matte finish.

Look After Your Lips

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collagen, contour, cream, decleor, Decleor Post-Wax Cream – Sensitive Areas, delicate, dermalogica, Dermalogica Lip Renewal Complex, drying, Elemis, Elemis Lip Revive, Elemis Pro-Definition Eye and Lip Contour Cream, Elemis White Flowers Eye and Lip Make-Up Remover, fine lines, lips, lipstick, long-lasting, make-up, mouth, plump, sensitive, skin

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Your lips are one of those areas which take a lot of punishment, be it with long-wear lipsticks which dry them out, too much sun, cold weather, central heating, dehydration, there seems to be a million ways that they can end up damaged! Fortunately, the geniuses at Elemis, Dermalogica and Decleor have many products which will help you to keep your lips in perfect condition, despite any external factors. Here are our favourites:

Elemis Lip Revive

Petroleum-based lip preparations may feel like they’re lubricating your lips but they are actually well-known for drying your lips out over the long term. This nourishing lip reviver from Elemis contains no petroleum and is based on a natural combination of white beeswax and peppermint oil which will soothe dry, chapped lips and make your pout appear plumper.

Decleor Post-Wax Cream – Sensitive Areas

Lots of women don’t talk about the fact that they wax their upper lip or other areas of the face, but you’d be surprised just how many of us do it on a regular basis. The skin under your ‘tache is pretty delicate though and can end up red and damaged with too much waxing, so this cream from Decleor has been designed specifically to soothe sensitive areas like your top lip after waxing. It also prevents ingrown hairs and slows regrowth, making it less necessary to wax so often.

Elemis Pro-Definition Eye and Lip Contour Cream

Thinner skin around the lips means that this is one area which is particularly susceptible to wrinkles and the dreaded “cat’s bum” mouth (not our favourite expression, but a descriptive one nonetheless!), an affliction particularly seen on smokers. This cream from Elemis is gentle yet powerful and is designed for the delicate eye and lip areas which need a boost. It contains active plant stem cells from edelweiss, as well as mafane flower and alaria esculenta which combine to make the areas appear firmer, plumper and redensified.

Dermalogica Lip Renewal Complex

As we age, our body loses the ability to produce collagen and retain moisture, which can leave it looking prematurely aged and wrinkled. This Lip Renewal complex from Dermalogica has a sophisticated formula which minimises contour lines and smoothes rough, uneven lips. Its superior conditioning lasts hours beyond application and is ideal for wearing alone or as a smoothing primer before lipstick application.

Elemis White Flowers Eye and Lip Make-Up Remover

With long-lasting, matte lipsticks more popular than ever before, having a product which removes all traces of make-up whilst conditioning the lips is really important. Elemis White Flowers Eye and Lip Make-Up Remover cleanses the eye and lip area of all make-up, including waterproof mascara. Formulated with White Peony extract to hydrate and cooling White Tea to soothe and refresh.

Get extra cash, in a flash

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A to Z, advertising, affiliate, agencies, Amazon, £500 a month, baby food, bank account, bicycle, big screen, blog, Blogger, books, Brexit, car, car boot sale, car boot sales, commission, community, compers, competitions, day, delivering food, deposit, dogs, ears, eBay, exercise, extra, films, fitness, five figure sums, flexible, fresh air, General Election, Google, guarantees, Gumtree, health, interview, make-up, market, matter, millionaire, money making, motorbike, new, out, people, pets, popular, powers that be, quid, ready-made, references, rent a room, rich, servies, shoes, Smartphone, spare room, spare time, stocks and shares, time, travel, TV, TV shows, walking, weekend away, WordPress, working

Ever get to the end of the month and find yourself in the red?

Fed up of never being able to go on holiday, despite working hard?

Keep buying scratch cards in the hope of becoming winning big?

All too many people find that there simply isn’t enough cash to go round and with the General Election and Brexit making things even more uncertain, the money pot seems to only get smaller.

Fear not, while we aren’t saying money grows on trees, if you have a little spare time, vision and dedication you can add to your bank account, without changing the day job.

Be a blogger
Blogging is easy to set up and a great way to generate a passive income. Decide on a name, choose a platform (Blogger and WordPress are popular), buy a domain name and pay for hosting and you are on a way. You then need to create content that people want to read – this is the key to success. Maybe it is health, fitness, books, travel or parenting, but make sure you have an audience and when you write posts, make them relevant and interesting so people want to come back. Once you’ve gained a following, you can make money from:

• Being an affiliate where you are pushing other people’s products or services on your site. Make sure these products or services are relevant to your blog, such as baby food, shoes or make-up and when a visitor clicks that link on your site, you’ll earn commission.
• Selling advertising is great once you have traffic running through your site and as your visitor numbers increase, so does the change for ad space on your blog.
• Sponsorship could be a one-off feature or a logo on your site and as the stat’s go up, so do the deals.
• You can also review products on your site, but be sure to disclose and brand relationships and be true to yourself, your readers and the powers that be (Google).

Selling stuff
We bet if you spring clean your house you will find a lot of stuff you just don’t need. Unworn clothes, flippers, a smoothie maker, golf clubs are all things you might not need but someone else might want.
Amazon, eBay, Gumtree are all perfect online places to sell things that are gathering dust but could easily turn into enough money for a weekend away or a much-needed new TV. You can also go to car boot sales where you can flog your stuff make a killing.

Rent a Room
OK, someone else in your house might not seem ideal but if it means and extra £500 a month in the kitty, maybe it is worth a go? Make sure you have a decent spare room, ask family and friends if they know anyone looking for digs, and of course, make sure you do interviews, get references and a deposit before handing over any keys.

Stocks and Shares
Investing in stocks and shares has been a popular way to earn a passive income for years, and thanks to the internet, today it is easier to do than ever. Go online and do some research, maybe speak to an expert, start small, see how the markets go and you never know, this time next year you could be a millionaire.

Online Surveys
OK, it isn’t massive money, but for a few minutes of form filling you can make a couple of quid answering online surveys, and if you do enough the total soon adds up.

Get on Your Bike
Got a car, bicycle or motorbike? What about a Smartphone? This is pretty much all you need to make some extra money by delivering food, or people, in your spare time.

Get Competitive
Sounds silly but entering competitions can make you rich. There are no guarantees, but there is a growing community of ‘compers’ in the UK who are making five-figure sums by entering all sorts of competitions, all of the time.

Be an Extra
If you fancy being on the big screen, or small one for that matter, agencies are always looking for extras for TV shows and films. You need to be flexible and able to get from A to Z under your own steam, but it fun, easy and pays alright. And, you never know who you might meet on set.

Get Walking
Fancy some fresh air and exercise, well the good news is that walking other people’s dogs is big business. If you have free time during the day, when others are out at work and worried about their pets at home, and you like dogs and are professional, there’s a ready-made market waiting for you.

Got a money-making idea we have missed, let us know, we are all ears.

Team Pure Beauty

Get your clothes clean, whatever you throw at them

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14, 4, 4 months, 40, absorb, bleach, blood, blot, blotting, boiling water, bright red stain, brush, calm, chemicals, chocolate, clean, cloth, clothes, clothing, coffee, cold water, cool, create, dab, deodorant, distilled white vinegar, dry, excess, foundation, freeze, friend, grass, hairspray, kitchen paper, lifts, lipstick, liquid, litre, machine wash, make-up, material, melt, mild hand soap, mix, mud, nightmare, normal, nude tights, pain, paste, pink, products, Red wine, rinsing, salt, soak, stain, stained, sunshine, sweat, sweaty garments, teaspoon, texture, throw, tissue paper, wash, washing up liquid, water, wax, white shirt

Whether you are 4 months, 14 or 40, it is inevitable that your clothes will get stained and the worry will be it won’t come out in the wash.

Yes, you can go for bleach or products loaded with chemicals, but we are here to save the day when it comes to looking after your laundry the kinder way.

Blood – don’t freak out! Once you have dealt with the patient, soak the stained clothing in cold water before gently rubbing with mild hand soap before rinsing with cold water.

Chocolate – run the stain under cold water then rub with washing up liquid. Soak in cold water for 15 minutes then wash as normal and you will never know it had been there.

Coffee – rather than rubbing this stain, blot with a kitchen paper, then dab the area with distilled white vinegar before washing as normal.

Deodorant marks can be a nightmare but rub the stain with a pair of nude tights and the texture of the material will work wonders and leave nothing behind.

Grass – create a paste from your usual washing powder and a little water and dab onto the stain. Let it texture of the material for 15 minutes then put through a normal wash.

Ink – blotting the ink to remove any excess liquid is the first task here, then cover the stain with hairspray and then immediately put through the washing machine as normal.

Foundation can be a real pain when you see if on a white shirt, but rub a little washing-up liquid into the stain then wash on a hot cycle and you will never know any make-up had been worn.

Ketchup – dab the bright red stain with a clean cloth then cover with washing-up liquid followed by distilled white vinegar. Soak the item in cold water for half an hour, then dry, ideally in the sunshine, and wash as normal.

Lipstick- your friend for this stain is hairspray. Spray generously onto the stain and leave for 15 minutes. Go back and blot the area with a clean cloth soaked in warm water, then put in the wash as normal….and be more careful next time!

Mud needs to dry before you can brush it off. Soak the piece of clothing in cool water with half a teaspoon of washing-up liquid and a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar.

Oil is best dealt with by keeping calm and rubbing with a mix of washing-up liquid and water. Then simply rinse in cool water and machine washing as normal.

Red wine – no need to throw that shirt away, simply cover the stain in salt and brush away after ten minutes and pink. Then pour boiling water onto the stain, carefully of course, and allow to sit until the stain lifts.

Sweat – add four large tablespoons of salt into a litre of cold water and soak the sweaty garments for 30 minutes. Rinse and leave to dry before then putting through cool machine wash.

The best way to deal with wax is to freeze the clothing to harden the wax, then scrape it away with a teaspoon. You can then cover the affected area with tissue paper and iron it to melt the remaining wax on to the tissue and wash on a cool setting.

Got any great ideas, let us know, we are all ears.

Team Pure Beauty