How To Top Up Your Self Tan To Keep A Sunny Glow All Year Round

Yes, we've all been there, when we've had a self tan professionally applied, or we've carefully applied one at home (read here on how to apply a gorgeous streak free tan) and then a few days later it starts to get patchy. Dryer areas of skin tend to remain darker, whilst on other areas the tanning product will wear away more quickly giving a patchy look. Generally, the only answer to this is to soak in a bubble bath, and then exfoliate and moisturise all over to remove any remaining tanning product. Unfortunately, you are again at square one, more than likely looking lily white. So, is it possible to keep a year round glow topped up week by week without build up of too much colour? The answer is - yes it is, if you can keep to a few "golden" rules such as ...

• Many articles will tell you not to exfoliate once a fake tan is applied, however, we recommend using a body polisher or gentle body scrub when showering as this keeps dead skin cells at bay. Using these products may exfoliate away any dead skin cells with your self tan along with them, but it will stop the build up of dry skin in areas such as the base of the neck, the inside of elbows, knees and under the arms. Dry skin in these areas will collect more and more colour from tanning products and will end up giving you a patchy and almost "grubby" appearance.
• If you want to build into your daily routine an application of tanning product after your daily shower, or last thing at night, look for a good quality body moisturiser which incorporates a tanning product, such as St Tropez Everyday Body Lotion or Johnson's Holiday Skin. These types of products will not irritate your skin and will keep your skin glowing without too much build up.
• If you are using a full-on tanning product limit the re-applications to every 3 to 5 days, but on the days between applications carry on using your body polisher, but follow this up with a normal, good quality moisuriser to keep your skin's surface in tip-top condition.

How To Get Shiny, Healthy And Beautiful Looking Hair Without Breaking The Bank

Now Spring time has definately sprung and the evenings are lengthening, there is nothing better than having a head of well looked after, shiny hair, that you know will look as good at the end of the evening as it did when you set out for work that morning. Forget about the hair sprays, gels and serums that can cost you serious pennies - there are lots of cost saving and natural ways to improve the health of your hair from the inside, and also simple treats to apply to your locks to give it extra shine and body.

What Gives Your Hair Shine on the Outside

• Hair has an outer protective barrier called a cuticle and this needs to be kept smooth to create shine.
• Imagine that the cuticle of your hair looks like a tiled roof, with the tiles all nice and flat - if something comes along and ruffles up those tiles such as rough towel drying, the tiled roof looses it neat appearance and shine.

How To Get Shiny Hair By Enhancing Your Diet

• Hair is made of keratin which is a form of protein so make sure that your include in your diet proteins such as lean meats, fish, beans, low fat dairy products and eggs.
• Also look to add to your diet brazil nuts, almonds - maybe add them to your morning cereal, along with flaxseeds. All of these are good sources of omega-3 fats, and they can increase your hair's shine over time - but be patient, it will take time, and it will be six months before you see the results but it will be worth it.

Giving Your Hair A Proper Deep Clean

• Use a clarifying shampoo every other wash to remove the residue of any hair products which can clog up your shine.
• Every week or so, add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (found on the baking aisle in the supermarket) to your shampoo, and this will froth up and give a deep clean to your hair and scalp.

Condition Your Hair With Something Yummy

• Hair gets dried out with sun, wind, air-conditioning and general styling so look for conditioners which contain shea butter or olive or avocado oil. These will moisturise your hair and fill in tiny cracks in the hair shaft.
• When buying a product such as a conditioner with a relatively expensive ingredient, such as shea butter, make sure you check what percentage of ingredient the product contains. Remember the nearer the beginning of the list of ingredients the product is - the higher the concentration.

Style Your Hair With Heated Products Only When Necessary To Retain Shine

• Each time you apply heated products to your hair, even with protector products, you are drying it out and creating damage, which will reduce the shine.
• If you can get a great haircut, the styling by the hairdresser will reduce the amount of styling you need to do each day, saving you time, money on products and also saving your hair!

The Story Of Toe Rings And How To Wear Them

Toe rings are an essential accessory for Spring and Summer this year as they add that extra sparkle to quite ordinary feet and individuality to the plainest of flip-flop sandals.

Who Wears Toe Rings?

Toe rings have been worn by Hindu women in India for hundreds of years as a symbol of marriage. The Hindu tradition is to wear toe rings in pairs, rather than a single ring on one foot and they are normally ornate in style, sometimes fashioned with bells as decoration. Traditionally Hindus are not allowed to wear gold below the waist as the precious metal has a respected status, but modern Hindu brides are now demanding gold and diamond toe rings after marriage.

In the West, the modern way to wear a toe ring is normally on the second toe of either foot, however, personally I like to wear them on the third toe if wearing a shoe with a thong, as this shows off the ring better and prevents it being damaged by the shoe.

What To Wear Toe Rings With

• There is no strict rule on how to wear toe rings. Normally, I will choose to wear either a gold or silver toe ring depending on the type of the other jewellery I have on that day, although you could match the ring with the colour of your sandals. Silver rings look gorgeous with black, silver, grey, turquoises and cooler coloured sandals, whereas gold rings glow with browns, bronzes, reds and warm colours.
• A shiny silver or gold toe ring looks outstanding on a tanned foot, but don't fear, I am not recommending the sun-bed or drastic tanning - just dust a bronzing powder over the top of your foot and toes before slipping on your shoes and ring, they will look lovely.
• Toe rings can be worn with casual sandals and flip flops perfectly, but if you are dressing up with some fantastic strappy shoes, look for a toe ring with some "bling" as this will add sparkle to your toes on a night out.
• As most toe rings are adjustable, you can ensure they are tightened up before heading out as the last thing you want to happen is to lose a ring, particularly if you have invested in gold or silver.
• There are no hard and fast rules, but toe rings look perfect when worn on the top half of your toe, rather than nearer the bottom.