The Best Tips Ever To Make You The Belle Of The Ball At Your New Year Party

If you have been partying for the majority of December, by the time you reach the New Year, you can feel as tired and dreary as last week's turkey. If you are planning to turn out to a party on New Year's Eve, it can seem an impossibility to become the bubbly, eye-catching life and soul of the party that you want to be on one of the most amazing evenings of the year. But help is at hand, because there are some tips and tricks that can help you both look and feel sparkling and dazzling wherever you are celebrating your New Year.

Take A Tip From The Holly Bush

Have you ever looked at holly berries and found them looking drab and dreary - we think the answer is no, never! Then take a tip from this most festive of plants, and get yourself a holly red lipstick. This is the most festive of colours, and teamed up with neutral colours on the rest of your face, with lashings of black mascara, you can turn into a Hollywood starlet, like Reese, for the evening (no pun intended here!). Your gorgeous red lips will draw attention away from any tiredness around the eyes you can be sure.

Hey Eyes - Twinkle Twinkle Like Diamonds In The Sky

If you didn't get any beauty goodies from Santa, treat yourself to an eye cream, which will look after any fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes. Look for one that also treats puffiness around the eyes, and pop it in the fridge before using it - this will give your peepers one mighty de-puffing, skin moisturising treat before your evening ahead.

Little Red Nails

Nothing brightens up the hands like red nails - keep then fairly short and squared off, this is a look that you can take from day to night, and which brings a festive touch to any look.

Let It Glow, Let it Glow, Let It Glow

Invest in an all over body highlighter, and dust this magic sparkle dust over your collar bone, cleavage, shoulders, cheekbones and legs - you will be the highlight of any picture of the night.

Shimmer On - It's A Night To Sparkle

Yep, lots of this season's makeup involves a smoky eye look, but a super sparkly eyeshadow, with barely there colour will stand out from a sea of heavy makeup. Brush it onto lids and line along the lower lashes and then apply super black mascara - this is a totally brilliant match for the holly red lips above.

Can You Facial It?

The day before your big night out treat yourself to a facial. Look for a face treatment which contains salicylic acid as this will brighten your skin, removing dead skin cells, and unclogging pores and allowing brighter skin to surface. This is great preparation before applying your makeup for the evening, you skin will be tons smoother and brighter.

Above all, enjoy yourself - this is the greatest beautifier of all. Remember that soon the party season will be over and a New Year will have begun, have a great New Year everyone, and best wishes to you all for 2011!

With These Top Beauty Tips For Summer You Will Want To Head For the Beach ... Now!

Whether you are holidaying at home this year and reducing your carbon footstep, or whether you plan to get away to a glorious and glamorous foreign beach destination, it's time to plan your time away and make sure you have all the essential items you need to make your holiday beauty routine run like clockwork.

With these sweet little beauty tips, you will have all the knowledge you need to turn yourself into a summertime princess that turns heads on the beach. In this article we are talking about holiday preparation - don't worry - its all fun. Next time, we have some fantastic tips for you when you are away in the sunshine.

Beauty Tips For The Week Before Your Holidays

• Get yourself to the hairdresser. The least you can do is have your hair trimmed, getting rid of any dry ends which will only split in the sunshine. If you are feeling more adventurous and want to get into the summer spirit, ask your hairdresser if they can add a few high-lights to your hair, giving it a "been on the beach all day" look before you get away. If you are light brown or fair haired, go for a few blond high-lights, and if you are darker ask for some caramel tones to be worked through your hair - either of these give your head an instant sunshine boost.
• It might be a nasty experience at the time, but get waxed rather than shaving. This will last much longer and means you won't have to deal with any nasty stubble on holiday. You should have the waxing done approximately five days before you head away to give your skin time to calm down afterwards.
• Buff your skin all over in the shower everyday with either a skin polisher or body scrub - this will get rid of dead skin cells and promote an all-over smooth glow to your skin. For the week before your go away, apply a moisturiser with added self-tan every other day, to build up a nice glow for the start of your holidays.
• If you want to go a step further, take yourself off to the beauty salon for a spray-tan, especially if you feel this will give you confidence when you first get out your bikini on your hols.
• Try to treat your nails (toes and fingers) nicely for a few weeks before going away, rubbing in some jojoba oil as your nails love this, and let them grow out if your can. The day before you go away, treat yourself to a session at a nail bar and have either a bright polish applied to show off your tan, or have the classic french polish in nude or light pink.
• Lastly, as you might be getting up in the middle of the night catch an early flight or set off on a long drive, try and get an early night. Yes, we know its difficult when you are excited about your holidays, but sleep really is beauty sleep, and you can look forward to a great first day of your holidays feeling refreshed and lovely.

We'll see you next time for some great tips on how to be the glamorous one by the pool!

Tips On The Best Way To File Your Nails Into A Perfect Short Manicured Style

More and more of my friends seem to be having false nails applied lately which looks great but which does cost quite a lot of money even if you have a convenient friend who will fix them for you. In these days, when we are all looking to be stylish but maybe hold back a few pennies, it's probably worth looking at some of our favourite celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston or Gwyneth Paltrow and noting that they look super cool with natural and also quite short, neat nails.

Currently darker shades such as navy blue and black are also on trend, and these colours certainly look the job when applied to neat, short nails. Really, black or blue long talons don't really do it for me.

How To File Your Nails Into A Short Well Shaped Glossy Manicure

• Firstly, if you are suffering from broken, or even worse chewed, nails - leave them until there is at least 3mm of white nail showing from the pink part of the nail. If you file them any shorter than this then they can be weakened.
• Do not file your nails from side to side - this is the way you always see people filing their nails on TV - it is wrong! File your nail only from the corner of the nail to the centre in one direction only. Filing from side to side will cause splitting and peeling.
• Ideally for the style we are creating start with a 3 to 4mm white nail tip. Working from the corner of your nail, file to the centre in one direction, creating an almost level tip, with only a slight curve towards the centre.
• When you are happy with this, work on the corners of the nails, rounding them off slightly. Yes, false square cut nails generally have pretty sharp corners, but in real life with real nails a totally square cornered nail is likely to catch, split and break, so a rounded corner is preferable.

What Sort Of Nail File Is Best To Care For Your Nails?

• Don't use the nice shiny metal nail file that you were given in that manicure set at Christmas. They are much too harsh and stiff and can cause splitting and damage, especially in inexperienced hands.
• Choose a nice wide and soft emery board, which is much easier to handle, and gentler on your nails.

What Colour Should You Paint Your New Short Manicure?

• Here I think the world is your oyster as with short nails you can use the most vibrant colours that would look pretty tarty on long talons, but which just look funky and young on a short square manicure.
• Alternatively, a natural look is beautiful and if you fancy applying a french polish, you should be able to apply yourself a neat, well manicured style to rival those from a nail bar. Read here on how to apply a french polish at home.
• If you are on trend, look for black, dark purples and navy polishes which are super cool this season.

Baby Pink Nails - How To Create The Perfect Pink Polish

Just the thing for Spring - perfect baby pink nails. Ideally nails should be finished with a short square or slightly rounded manicure.

How To Choose The Correct Shade Of Pink Polish For You

• English rose complexions suit baby pink polishes.
• Olive toned complexions look lovely with pink based nude colours.
• Darker complexions are lucky and look beautiful in any shade of pink.
• A quick way to check whether you are wearing the wrong shade for you is to look at your cuticles - if they look yellow then the shade is the wrong tone for you.

The Benefits Of Wearing Pale Pink and Nude Coloured Polish

• Light colours minimise any flaws in your nails.
• Pinks are pretty rather than dramatic and are perfect for both day wear and evenings or special occasions.
• Light coloured polishes are less likely to show last minute dramas when you are on your way out such as a chip or a smudge.

How To Get Naturally Pink Nails

• Use a nail buffer which will give your nails a natural shine, increase the blood flow to the nail which will make them grow faster and also stop them from splitting and breaking.

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We Wish You All A Very Merry Christmas - Best Wishes From Fashion Tips

It's finally arrived and the festive season has begun. It's Christmas Eve and shortly we will be heading out to meet our friends and families and wish them all a beautiful Christmas. I can't wait ... and my only fashion tips for the next couple of days are:

• Dress warm and cosy in festive colours if you are going carol singing - you don't want a cold for Christmas morning!
• If you are like me and can fall over nothing at all - maybe save those high heeled party shoes for when you arrive at the venue - remember one of my first blog entries many months ago - keep a pair of those oh-so-funky wellies handy, they look brilliant with a party frock :-)
• This morning I have just had my nails done in a french polish - it will last me until New Year, so no worries about broken nails and chipped polish - I will be enjoying myself far too much to spend time on nail polish maintenance.
• Remember, if you don't have all the party outfits you wanted, maybe because of the credit crunch, then don't worry, just remember to accessorise diffently and your outfit will look new on each outing.

I'm off shortly to drink a glass of mulled wine and sing carols around our local village Christmas tree, so I just want to say a Merry Christmas to you all, I hope Santa brings you lovely gifts, and that you spend lots of time with those you love!

Sarah xxx