Vintage skincare classics still going strong!

Vintage is so popular at the moment but who would have thought our love for all things classic has extended into our bathroom cabinets. A quick stock take of my own staples revealed a love of some skincare products that have been around for years and still doing an amazing job. Here are some of my favourites!
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour cream - recently I have come to depend on this more and more, both in my kit and personally. I have really dry skin, especially on my eyelids and I find its a great protector and healer for excema. I also use it on lips and flaky skin when doing makeup, leaving it to absorb for a few minutes while I work on another area of the face. Eight Hour Cream was originally created in 1930, to sooth the bruises of Miss Ardens hourses. A friend used it on her son's scraped knee and it healed in only eight hours which is where the name came from! Recently I visited the counter to pick it up and was given a sample of the new Eight Hour Nighttime Miracle Moisture which I have since bought because I love it so much. Any of you out there with dry skin will love this and its not too expensive, around 35 euros.
Clinque Dramatically Different Moisturiser - first launched in 1968, DDM is an iconic product, part of Cliniques famous 3 step system. Its a lightweight formula and one I love for oilier skins or as a preparation underneath makeup. It relaunched late last year with more hydration and a streghtening complex but its still the same great allrounder that is perfect for photoshoots and weddings as it absorbs so quickly and lets me get onto applying makeup.
Ponds Cold Cream - I've used this since I was a teenager, my mother uses it and so did her mother. The precursor to more expensive products like Eve Lom and Liz Earle, its the original product for getting every scrap of makeup off and for leaving your skin clean but not dried out. I always remove it with a hot face cloth as otherwise I feel its left a bit of a residue but its one I go back to time and time again, particularly if my skin is playing up. Working on a photoshoot where the looks are dramatic its the perfect way to get the models back to fresh skin. Its been around since 1907!
Shiseido Eudermine Revitalising Essence was first sold in 1897 in Japan as a 'softening lotion' similar to what we would know as a toner, in response to lead posioning as a lot of the white makeup used in Japan at the time contained lead. Today its still sold and is fabulous after cleanser, delivering moisture and really helps if you are looking to create a dewy makeup look.

Bath-time lovelies...get fabulous skin & hair while relaxing!

I love baths - in fact I turned one of our bedrooms into a bathroom, just so I could fit the biggest bath I could find! The great thing about baths is not just the relaxation aspect...glass of wine, magazine...bliss! but its also a brilliant opportunity to get some products doing ALL the hard work for your skin and hair while you sit back and do as little as possible.
If you usually find time to fit in a weekly bath then its the perfect time to incorporate your wedding countdown preparations!
First up, hair. Before you get into the bath, wash your hair with a nourishing shampoo and apply a treatment. Wrap your hair in a warm damp towel and leave it to absorb while you are in the bath. I love Kerastase Elixir Ultime or the more budget friendly new Pantene Age Defy.
Next up, exfoliate face and body - for face, see my previous recommendations on exfoliators and for body try a home made scrub of coconut oil and sea salt or Sanctuary Hot Sugar Scrub.
Into the bath and I prefer oil type bath products to foamy ones which I think strip your skin and leave you with red blotchy patches. I love Jo Malone and Rituals. Two great bath treatments are also Epsom salts if you suffer from water retention or muscle pain and oats, if you have very dry skin - just pop some organic jumbo oats into a muslin cloth, tie with a hair band and attach to the tap while you are running the bath - it really soothes dry patches and takes down redness. On your face, pop on a facial oil and mask, again you'll find lots of recommended products in previous posts.
After a relaxing soak, if you have used oil, you probably won't need a body moisturiser. If you do need one, go rich and creamy, especially if you are just getting into PJ's afterwards. Bliss Lemon and Sage is gorgeous as are all the Body Shop Body Butters.
Rinse your hair and you are done! I recommend leaving application of fake tan until the next day as your skin will be very warm from the bath and you will have used some very rich heavy products - applied the next day, tan should glide on perfectly!

My favourite wedding inspiration sites!

You will probably have noticed by now that I like to include some lovely wedding inspiration sites to give you some new ideas and to see how other people are putting their own individual stamp on their big day so I thought I would list some of my favourites and you can check them out and see what inspires you too!
1. Love My Dress
2. Rock n roll Bride
3. One Fab Day
4. Style Me Pretty
5. Boho Weddings

Get your face mask on!

Face masks are often neglected or else misunderstood - there's a feeling that somehow slapping on a mask with two slices of cucumber over your eyes will somehow transform your skin. Instead think of masks as the desert in your facial treatment. Cleansing is your starter, exfoliation and massage with oil or serums are your main course and a mask is your desert. Hopefully by the time you get to the mask stage you have deep down cleaned and removed all the dead skin and debris, massaged in a treatment suitable for your skin concern and now you want to give your skin a bit of a treat. Sometimes masks are just that! They smell nice, they are a bit relaxing, but they don't really do a whole lot!
When it comes to masks, these are my favourites that really do actually show some results as well as being a nice end to a skin care routine.
1. Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask - not cheap but a very rich and luxurious cream that drier skins will love.
2. Bliss Triple Oxygen instant energising mask - an unusual mask in that its a foam and its a bit itchy as the foam settles on your skin but its very brightening, great for dull or oilier skin or for a boost for post holiday skin.
3. Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Mask - a really good allrounder, good for dehydrated skins but also great for dull skin and for soothing skin after sun burn or a strong treatment.

How to achieve this soft, vintage inspired look!

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be involved in a fabulous fashion shoot in The Old Convent in Tipperary. Its a beautiful venue and if you or anyone you know is a major foodie then check it out - eight course tasting menu, beautiful bedrooms, amazing location and the best hosts!
Fashion on the day was a mix of bridal, custom made and high street, all with a vintage theme. Vintage bridal was supplied by the very lovely Donna of Lilac Rose who runs a beautiful boutique in Limerick city. Her dresses are stunning and I can't wait to share the images with you. If any of you haven't yet picked up your dream dress then you have to visit Lilac Rose. We also had some stunning head pieces and vintage bridal brooch bouquets from Ruffled Ruby - they are really beautiful and such a unique and stunning alternative to traditional bouquets.
Custom made vintage tea dresses were supplied by Maggie Molloy - Maggie designs and creates beautiful dresses with the most amazing vintage fabrics - perfect for spring and summer weddings, summer holidays and events.
The high street this year is so influenced by vintage and we featured some fabulous 1950's themed looks from Zara and Pennys.
The stunning hair looks were created by Sarah Hickey, she's a fabulous freelance hair stylist and really gets that vintage vibe that's so popular right now.
And most importantly we had not one but two very talented photographers, Kevin Murphy and Jody Neville who are both the most fun to work with and always produce fabulous shots!
From a makeup perspective, I wanted to nod to vintage but still keep the looks clean and contemporary and my main focus was on the skin - creating that perfect base.
So I thought I would share this image of Katriona from Lockdown agency and chat through the products and techniques to create this look!
As this look was all about base base base this is where a lot of time was spent. On cleansed and moisturised skin, I applied Charlotte Tilburys magic cream as primer. This was followed by MAC's BB cream to give the perfect canvas and then MAC Face and Body focussing mostly on the centre panel of the face. I concealed using MACs pro concealor palette using the tiniest brush and only applying exactly where needed.
Contouring was with Tom Ford contour and highlight applied with a brush in the hollows of the cheek and underneath the cheekbone and blended with a sponge.
Blush was Chanel cream blush applied with the finger tips and blended lightly.
At this stage I set with a very light application of MAC prep and prime powder, avoiding the highlighted areas on top of the cheek bones, nose and top of lips.
I used the Charlotte Tilbury eye palette The Sophisticate to highlight and contour the eye and black liner by Clinque. Eyebrows were defined using the Crownbrush eyebrow powder.
Lips were a mix of two colours in the Crownbrush lip palette, red all over with a touch of orange shimmer shade in the centre to highlight and plump.

Sorting your eyebrows for your wedding day!

One of the biggest concerns brides have in the run up to the wedding day is how to get their eyebrows in good condition, particularly if they have over plucked or had a bad shaping experience in the past.
My first piece of advice is to take 8 weeks to let them grow out. Resist the tweezer and see how much growth you can encourage. There are some serums and lotions you can get to help growth along - the jury is out on how useful they really are but some have better results than others. Try Rapid Brow or Prevage Clinical Lash and Brow Enhancing Serum. 
Next up is to find a really good salon to get your shaping done. I strongly recommend threading. preferably by someone who has been doing it for a long time and ideally someone you have a recommendation for. If you are in the Limerick area you have to try Nesha's Threading Bar in Catherine Street - she is amazing and really listens to what you want and its over quickly and easily.
I'm not a big fan of waxing as I think its too harsh and pulls the delicate skin around the eye and can cause sagging eventually.
Now that you have the shape you want, its all about maintenance and making any small tweaks that might be needed using brow powder. I much prefer powder to pencil as I feel it looks more natural but make sure you pick a shade that works. A good idea is a brow palette which allows you to experiment and find the most suitable shade for you. It also means you can use more than one shade as very few brows are the exact same colour all the way through (avoid solid black scary brows at all costs!)
Try the Crownbrush brow palette. 

Feed your skin!

Feeding your skin is just as important as putting products on the outside and one of the best ways to do this is through juicing. Years ago I bought a really fancy bells n whistles juicer, skipped down to the local market and bought about fifty euros of fruit n veg, used the machine once and then realised there was a LOT of preparation and cleaning up in order to produce one glass of juice. There and then I went back to cartons and gave the juicer to a friend.
In the last few years though I've become a lot more health and nutrition concious and realised that throwing the odd mushroom into pasta sauce really wasn't cutting it when it came to getting my five a day. I really don't like the taste of many vegetables, especially green ones (the best ones of course) so I decided to venture back to juicing.
The great thing about green juices is that you don't need to have a fancy machine, a regular blender will do just fine. I now alternative between a green juice or a fruit smoothie every morning and I can't recommend them enough. You get piles of energy, brighter skin and eyes and the benefit of way more veg than you would probably eat in a conventional way.
Here's my favourite for clearing skin - don't let the picture put you off - it really does taste good and think of the great work its doing for you on the inside.

• Pop some green leaves into the blender - ideally spinach and kale 
• Add a glass of water & ice if you have it 
• Blend until smooth
• Add some chopped cucumber and broccoli 
• Blend again 
• Add a chopped green pear and apple
• Add some chopped pineapple
• Finally the juice of a lime and orange
• Blend again and serve

This should make enough for two servings so you can keep the second one in the fridge for the following day.
Happy juicing!