Pre-holiday prep to get Bikini Body Ready - Face

Now everyone is bikini body ready, you have a body and stick a bikini on it, so don't worry, this post is not about fad diets, waist trainers or weeks of starvation, just a few things I will be doing to make myself feel a little more confident when I want to strip down (to my bikini) on the beach. Being 30+ post child there's no doubt that that I'm feeling a little hesitant about donning a bikini on my pending summer holiday, yes I know I should be brimming with confidence and have a 'no care' attitude, but here is what I'll be doing to help that attitude along a little bit. I'll have a series of posts on pre, during and post holiday preparation/reparation, for my face, body and hair as I will be going to Greece next month to be Matron of Honour at my best friends wedding, we (husband & son) decided to extend our stay a little and make it our family summer holiday. 










This post will focus on what I'm doing to prepare for the holiday, with regards to my Face;

TheFoundationDirectory; an example of a nights skincare routine

Since my summer holiday has a slight twist to it (#matronofhonourduties) I want to ensure my skin is in tip top condition, so I will ensure I stick to my skin care routine, my combination skin quickly lets me know when I've been slacking. To start with I need to ensure thorough cleansing every night, to remove makeup, spf etc, I love a balm or an oil for this and my current one is the Mahogany Naturals Soothing Cleansing Oil. This organic cleansing oil has a combination of natural oils that break down dirt, sebum and makeup, I apply it to my dry face and remove with a hot wet face cloth. It contains oils like Grape Seed, Olive, Tea Tree and Jasmine Flower to name a few. I also love using facial oils at night, even on my combination skin, it's important to ensure my skin is hydrated and nourished, as I spend the day trying to combat oil and focus on mattifying products. I love the Mahogany Naturals hydrating repair oil, packed full of antioxidants and rejuvenators like Evening Primrose, vitamin E, Rosehip and Tea Tree to name a few, these plump, repair hydrate and soften the skin.

TheFoundationDirectory; DHC Superhero Eye Rescue

Exfoliation is also a big part of my skincare routine, I prefer to acid exfoliate in the evenings, my new current love is the soon to be replaced Clinique clarifying lotion in Mild. It will now be replaced with Clarifying lotion 1.0, which will still be alcohol free, so that's good to know. I enjoy using face masks, and try to do them weekly, my all time favourites are the Avene Cleanance Mask and the Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask, but most face masks cannot be used around the eye area so I will be incorporating the new DHC Superhero Eye Rescue Masks, which encircles the entire eye area so work above and below the eye area. This is great news for me as my eyelid area is actually more of a problem for me than my under eye area, which is where most eye products usually just focus on.

At home face masks are all well and good, but cannot compare to getting a professional facial, I will endeavour to get one prior to going away, my favourite is the Environ Facial, which I reviewed here last year, done at the excellent Beauty and Melody Salon. I really did notice a huge improvement in my skin following this, and my skincare just performed so much more effectively. Or my more recent experience of the heaven skincare facial, I had done by the fabulous founder Deborah Mitchell, read all about it here.


I also have an appointment to get the Heaven skincare London Lash and Brow Treatment done tomorrow, (I will link back to the post once it's up) so there'll be no need for me to worry about filling in brows or wearing mascara, which will be great when I go for a dip in the pool or sea.




TheFoundationDirectory.blogspot.co.uk

I won't be waiting until I get to Greece to slap on that SPF either, pigmentation is one of my biggest skin care woes, there's no point doing all of the above if I am not protecting my face from the sun's harmful UV rays. My old time favourite is here, but a new found love is the Dermalogica Solar Defence Booster SPF50, which can be used alone for the full SPF50 or added to your moisturiser or foundation for an added touch of SPF. How genius is that!!!
 



Let me know what your pre-holiday prep consists of? Do you have any tips for me?








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Mahoghany Naturals Review and Giveaway

TheFoundationDirectory; Mahogany Naturals

 If you follow me on twitter and Instagram you may already be aware that I am now a Brand Ambassador for Mahogany Naturals. Mahoghany Naturals is a brownbeauty owned brand, created by Tope Beesley in 2012, Tope is an award winning curly hair stylist and certified aromatherapist and created this brand to address the needs of Curly and Afro textured hair. The brand has recently gone thorough a re-branding and is expanding it's product range to address hair, face and body with an adult and kids range. This brand creates spa quality natural and organic products that are cruelty free and vegetarian friendly, they are hand made in small batches to maintain freshness.

TheFoundationDirectory; Mahogany Naturals

I was sent my first batch of items from the brand that included the Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo, Brazilian Butter Damage Reverse Treatment and the Luscious Hair Milk. The Damage Reverse Treatment is an amazing strengthening treatment, if your hair loves protein it will love this deep treatment, my hair instantly felt stronger after the first use and it smells absolutely amazing. This treatment is for those with dry, damaged and colour treated hair and it is a pre-shampoo treatment applied on damp hair. It contains an array of Butters including Brazilian Nut Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter to name a few as well as Aloe Vera, Avocado Oil, Emu Oil (see full list of ingredients on the website).

I follow this treatment with the Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo that is full of happy scalp ingredients to gently, but thoroughly cleanse your hair without stripping it, a very difficult combination to achieve. This shampoo will clean your hair, balance your scalp, smooth your cuticle and remove buildup. It contains Apple Cider Vinegar as the first ingredient, which will help maintain the hair and scalps PH level, remove buildup without stripping the hair of it's natural oils.
It also seals the hair cuticle, making hair smoother, softer and shinier helping hair maintain moisture and prevent split ends, it also treats dandruff and itchy scalp, works as a natural detangler and encourages hair growth. Need I say more, if you struggle with the smell of Apple Cider Vinegar, this maybe a great alternative. It also contains Avena Sativa Oats, Shea Butter and Argan Oil to name a few, I was worried this wouldn't lather up, but it creates a beautiful gentle lather, while being sulfate free.

And next is the Luscious Hair Milk a daily leave in conditioner and moisturiser, great for dry damaged hair in need of intense moisture, it reduces breakage, detangles, moisturises and defines curls. It can be applied to damp or dry hair and is great for use before blow drying, which is how I like to use it. It contains Sweet Almond oil, Mango Oil, Vitamin E among other things and also smells great.

This is a great truly organic natural luxury brand, that creates great products that work without all the nasty's we all want to try and avoid. The Damage Reverse Treatment is £40, the Shampoo is £20 and the Luscious Hair Milk is £25 all are 250ml and if you head over to my instagram now, there's a giveaway to win this amazing Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo. To check out the rest of the range head over to Mahoganynaturals.co.uk, you can also find her products here and here as well as in Xsandy's Hair & Beauty Shop in Lewisham Shopping Center.

Have you tried anything from this brand? Any recommendations of what I should try next?