Are Your Hands Suffering From The Effects Of Winter? How To Make Yourself Beautiful Hand Lotion That You Will Love!

It's been a cold, biting wind all the way into work on a winter morning, and when you arrive at the office you are in a dry air-conditioned atmosphere all day before fighting through freezing, cold air on your way home in the evening. Unless you are really careful, your hands and nails will dry out and become lined, flaky and unattractive.

Although there are lots of good hand lotions on the shelves, ranging from the £1 tubes that offer a basic degree of moisturisation to those costing upwards of £20 to £30 which are full of the latest technological skincare ingredients, it's just nice and rewarding to make your own lotion, which you can tailor with your own individual perfume and store in your own fantastic designer bottle or jar.

Ingredients You Will Need To Make Your Hand Lotion

• 1 tablespoon of bee's wax (this can be obtained from internet suppliers for about £1.50 for 30 grams)
• 6 tablespoons of almond or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of jojoba or castor oil
• 1 teaspoon of essential oil of your own choice - this is where you can add your own special signature to your hand lotion.

How To Make Up Your Hand Lotion

• Put the bee's wax into a clean, microwave proof bowl and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir.
• Keep stirring and putting back in the microwave for 30 seconds on high until the bee's wax has just melted.
• Then add the oils of your choice as above to the bee's wax (not the essential oil at this point).
• Using a normal egg-whisk, beat the mixture until you have a rich creamy texture.
• Start slowly adding drops of your chosen essential oil and beat until blended in.
• You will now have a lovely, basic lotion which should be stored in an airtight container - of course this is where you can be creative and look for antique style glass jars or whatever takes your fancy to store your hand cream in and which will look smart and decorative in your bathroom.
• Other moisturising products can be added to the mixture by exchanging one of the tablespoons of olive or almond oil for cocoa butter or shea butter.

If you have any tips for making your own hand lotions or other products let us know about them x

How To Look Your Best In A Mini Skirt

Yes, mini skirts - very short mini skirts at that - are being worn by celebrities all over the place at the moment as demonstrated here by gorgeous Gwyneth Paltrow. Mini skirts are not for everyone, but by following some easy guidelines there are very few of us who cannot get away with a "mini". Some might feel more comfortable with skirts which are a few inches above the knee rather than a few inches below the knicker line, but only you will know where you feel good drawing the "hem"-line!

If You Are Feeling Daring ...

• Take your mini to the extreme and wear legs bare - this is the bravest of all looks and only you know if your pins are up to it.
• Go for a straight cut mini skirt with a daring halter party top which should be worn with strappy high heels or wedges.
• PS If you want to try this look and your legs have a few minor imperfections its always worth trying out some of the leg make up that is available, such as Pretty Polly Love Legs Sheer Silk Foundation.

Want A Prettier Summer Look?

• Look for a mini in a demin or more casual style - with jeans or combats style pockets.
• Pair this with a pretty summer top or vest and flat pumps or flip-flops, and again bare legs - this is great for on holiday when you have been able to top up your tan.

Want To Wear A Mini For Smart-Casual Wear?

• This is a great look for work - look for wool mix or pin stripe mini skirts - probably in a slightly longer version than the more casual styles.
• Mix this up with a girly work style blouse, or cardigan twin-set for a super elegant look.
• Wear it with pumps with a low heel or Mary-Janes and sheer tights.

Minis Are Super Cool In Winter Too!

• Look for dark or bright primary coloured mini skirts in heavier fabrics such as denim or cord. Suede is also one of my favourites for a winter mini skirt.
• Team this with a co-ordinating pair of opaque tights and chunky knit sweater.
• Alternatively, choose a bright colour for your mini, wear this with black tights and sweater, and match the skirt up with co-ordinating winter woollies, such as scarf and knitted ski hat.

Everyone can enjoy wearing a mini skirt every now and again, you've just got to choose your style.

Some Great Ideas and Recipes To Make Your Own Facial Treats At Home

Much as I try to ignore all the financial news that goes on around us, I feel its my duty to do my bit to help people save some pennies when it comes to beauty. Saving money doesn't mean that you don't have as many treats - you just have to go about getting them in a different way, which can often be more fun!

Why Should You Make Your Own Facial Treatments Rather Than Buy The Off The Shelf Or Go To A Salon?

There are lots of reasons to make your own face masks and facial treats yourself at home, which are:

• You know that you are using fresh and natural ingredients with no artificial additives or unknown products to which you could have an allergic reaction. 
• You are having fun learning about natural products and how they can make your skin more beautiful.
• Cheaper face masks and facial products purchased off the shelf are more than likely to have the first (and main) ingredient as water, ie the active ingredients within the product will have been pretty much watered down to become ineffective.
• You will save money, which you can put towards purchasing something else that you have set your heart on buying from that month's pay-packet.

Lets have a look at the different basic sorts of masks to suit different skin types ...

I have Dry Skin - What Sort Of Face Mask Will Suit Me?

Classic Milk and Honey Mask

• Mix together the following ingredients:
• 1 tablespoon of runny honey
• 1 tablespoon of mashed avocado
• 1 teaspoon of aloe vera gel
• 1 teaspoon of powdered milk

Make sure all the ingredients are well blended and then apply to the face, avoiding the eye area. Relax and leave on for around 15 minutes and then wash off with warm water. You skin should feel soft and moisturised. An even easier version is just to mix honey and avocado into a paste and treat the same as the above face mask mix.

I Have Skin That Is Aging Too Fast - What Can I do To Treat It?

Milk and Almond Facial Scrub

• Mix together the following ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon of fine crushed almonds
• 1 teaspoon of milk

Mix the ingredients into a paste and gently use this over your face to exfoliate your skin by applying in gentle circular movements. Please avoid the eye area as this is delicate skin which may be irritated by the crushed almond, plus you don't want to get it in your eyes. The almonds will exfoliate the dead layers of skin cells on the surface of your skin and the milk contains AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids), which encourage dead surface skin cells to un-glue themselves from the brighter, newer skin cells hidden beneath.

I Have Oily Skin - How Can I Stop My Face Being So Greasy?

Lemon and Strawberry Face Mask

• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1 small cup of strawberries
• 3 teaspoons of honey
• 2 egg whites

Oily skin can be caused by over-active glands which encourage the pores to produce more oil - they then become blocked with a mixture of oil and dead skin cells. The strawberries in this face mask help to unplug the pores by using their acidic properties to leave you with clean and zingy skin, and this is aided by the acidity of the lemon juice. The egg whites will tighten and tone open pores.

Have you any special recipes for facial treatments that may have been passed down in your family? Let us know about them here - its great to try something new!

How To Choose The Best Style Of Jeans To Suit Any Occasion

We recently wrote about the best way to wear skinny jeans, but there are lots of other great styles out there which are hot and we thought we would drop in a few tips on how to wear those other styles too.

How To Choose Jeans The Right Length

• The trick here is to try on the jeans without any shoes and they should reach the floor. This is the perfect length to wear with flats as they will just skirt rather than drag on the floor, and with heels they will be the perfect length to show off your footwear. If they are any longer any boots or shoes you wear will be invisible, especially if you are wearing flares or bootleg jeans, and you will look slightly odd - like you have no feet!

How To Wear Flared Jeans - 70s Glamour

• Wear flares with a femine blouse or a cool fitted v-neck t-shirt.
• Pair up with platform heels to look super cool and casual.

How To Wear High-Waisted Jeans

• Tuck into your high waisted jeans a tight, scoop neck top.
• Cinch up your waistband with a narrow stylish belt and wear with very high chunky heels.

How to Wear Classic Slim-Fit Jeans

• Look for this style of jeans in a classic indigo blue colour.
• Team up with a classic blazer and loafers for the classic all american college gal look.

How to Wear Boot-Cut Jeans

• Look for a classic white shirt, fold the sleeves up to just below the elbow and wear over a neutral coloured vest top.
• Look for an old leather belt, maybe from a charity shop, which has a big cowboy style buckle.
• Get out those tan and weathered cowboy boots to complete this classic look.

So get hunting out those blue jeans - below is a little tune to get you in the mood!

For A Special Evening Out - Turn Yourself Into A Hollywood Princess

You don't have to spend a fortune to turn yourself into a red carpet goddess for an evening - put in a little effort ahead of time and you will feel like an "A" list celebrity for the evening.

How To Create Hollywood Hair

Hollywood loves the elegant, retro hair look. Try back-combing your hair at the roots to create body if you have straight hair or leave in waves if they are naturally there, then create either a side or middle parting at the front of your hair. Pull your hair back over your crown and back from the sides smoothing with a large brush, being careful not to lose any of the volume you created by back-combing. You can leave some tendrils of hair loose around the front for a softer look. Use hairspray to fix in place and if hair is long fix at the back with a jewelled clip.

How To Create The Old School Hollywood Make-Up

What could be more glamorous than to look as good as Audrey? To create this look you will need to:

• Use black eye-liner along your top lashes and wing this out past the outer corners of your eyes.
• Using a brown eyeshadow and small liner brush, apply this along your bottom lash line.
• Use black mascara to apply three thin coats to build up volume and length on your lashes, allowing each application to dry before applying the next.
  
• Create dramatic Hollywood lips by using a lipliner the same colour as your lipstick and lining around the natural line of your lips. Then using a lip-brush apply the colour in layers, blotting between each application. Two to three applications is recommended to create a total block of colour. If you can't get away with a scarlet lipstick, go for a dark raspberry shade.

How To Dress Hollywood Style

• Again you don't have to spend a fortune on a designer dress, look for a simply designed halter or strappy dress, without any fuss or frills, in either black, dark red, emerald or sapphire blue.
• Simple diamante jewellery at the wrist and ears will look sophisicated and elegant, along with a matching clutch bag

Try out this look for a special night out - I hope you have a great time x