5 Steps To A Home Pedicure

I believe well groomed feet contribute greatly to our overall beauty and personality and are the best indicator to how well we look after ourselves. They carry our body weight all through the day and they do deserve to be indulged time and again. Alas! Foot care always takes a back seat when it comes to grooming and beauty treatments. Most of you will agree that although we spend a lot of our precious time and money pampering our face and body, feet get little of our attention.

What you will need:

• Nail Clippers, Cotton pads, Nail Polish Remover, Cuticle Cream , Cuticle pusher, emery board or nail file
• Basin for soaking and towels for drying your feet. (Foot wash ingredients are listed below)
• Foot file, pumice stone or a loofah
• A good foot scrub
• Foot moisturizer

How to proceed…

1. TRIMMING AND SHAPING:

Remove your old nail polish with some cotton dipped in nail polish remover. Trim your nails. Make sure you cut straight across and don’t cut the corners too much as this can lead to painful ingrown nails. Use an emery board or nail file to give them the desired shape. Some people may prefer to cut nails after soaking as they will be softer and easy to shape. I do this first as my nails get too soft for shaping once they are soaked.

2. FOOT SOAK

A good foot soak goes a long way in beating the stress after a long day. In a basin fill warm water enough to cover up to your ankles and add:

• Epsom salt ½ cup. This is an emollient and will soothe inflammations, reduce roughness and reduce muscle pain. Also helps with exfoliation. (Available in most medical shops). However if you do not have this you can use any other bath salts you may have on hand.
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A few drops of a Foot Wash of your choice. You can substitute this with liquid hand wash or shampoo if you like.
• Essential oils of your choice. (10-12 drops). I use lavender and eucalyptus. Lavender soothes and rejuvenates the skin and helps calm the nerves while eucalyptus provides excellent relief to aching feet. It is also a very good antiseptic and disinfectant.
• Add a few smooth pebbles to the water. These will provide a gentle massage as you place your feet on them. Feels heavenly!! (Read this tip somewhere and totally love it!)
• Sit in a comfortable position, soak your feet and relax for 15-20 minutes. Dry them with a towel.

3. EXFOLIATE

Once you towel your feet, rub in some cuticle cream on the base of each toe nail and leave it on for a few minutes. In the meantime, use a good foot file or pumice stone to remove the dry and rough and dead skin cells. If this skin is not removed it will become hard and thick and will be infected or cracked. Be sure to scrub the heel and balls of the feet, sides of your heels and around your toes, basically anywhere there is rough, hard skin. Do not scrape too hard. Be firm but gentle.

If you do not have too much dry, rough skin just use a loofah for some gentle scrubbing. Next, wipe off the cuticle cream and push back cuticles gently with a cuticle pusher. Use an old toothbrush to scrub your toes and underneath the nails. Wipe your feet dry.

Use a good foot scrub and gently massage your feet. Scrub your soles, paying special attention to your heels, in between your toes and the tops and sides of your feet. Scrub your ankles as well.

4. MOISTURIZE:

Once you are done scrubbing, wash your feet clean and moisturize them. For this I love Scholl Foot Mousse. This works wonders for dry feet. Softens, hydrates and protects from cracking. Moreover it is instantly absorbed, so u can wear socks immediately after. Again, if you do not have this, use any other moisturizer of your choice. A face cream you found to be too heavy for the face can do the trick!! I always use products that don’t work out for the face on the feet. This way I don’t feel guilty about my impulsive purchases!

Almond oil and olive oil (1tsp each) with 10-12 drops of your favorite essential oil also makes a good home made massage oil for feet.

Rub a generous portion into your feet and massage well, better still if you can get someone else to do the massage for you. Ask your hubby or a friend! Sit back and relax! Regular foot massages help keep nerve endings stimulated, improve blood circulation, nourish the skin and foot muscles.

If you have cracks, follow up with a cream formulated especially for that. You can also use Vaseline mixed with lime juice, wrap with plastic for 15 minutes. Wear loose cotton socks and tuck yourself in. Voila!! Happy Gorgeous Feet! 

Do this religiously twice a week and follow up with once a week along with daily cleansing and moisturizing and your feet will be feeling like a million bucks!

5. DRESS THEM UP!

Paint your toe nails with a color of your choice. Always apply a base coat. Wait for it to dry and then apply a coat of nail polish. Let it dry completely before you apply the next coat. This will make your nail polish last longer. Showcase your feet in stylish footwear, a beautiful anklet, pretty toe ring or even tattoos…whatever you fancy!

20 Beauty Mistakes You Need To Stop Making

Here is a list of 20 common beauty mistakes that you need to be aware of:

1. Not cleaning your makeup brushes
2. Putting bronzer on your entire face
3. Matching foundation to the back of your hand.
4. Sleeping in your makeup
5. Applying concealer wrong
6. Applying lip liner to just the edges
7. Wearing waterproof mascara every day
8. Skipping base coat
9. Using the wrong blush formula
10. Wearing too much foundation
11. Not using primer with eye shadow
12. Not setting your concealer
13. Curling your lashes with mascara on
14. Applying blush incorrectly.
15. Adding nail polish remover to thin out nail polish
16. Applying makeup in the wrong lighting
17. Keeping makeup for too long(guilty!)
18. Applying the wrong shade of concealer
19. Pumping the brush
20. Using the wrong primer for your foundation formula.

Review: Nivea Facial Night Cream vs. Nivea Facial Day Cream

I recently received a box of wonderful Nivea products from Symbiotic Communications.

Now, Nivea has always been one of my most used and favourite products!

I'm going to be comparing two special creams that I found in the box; the Nivea Perfect&Radiant Facial Day Cream and the Nivea Perfect&Radiant Facial Night Cream.

Basically this is a breakdown of the two different creams and although they have total different time usage specifications, I'll be giving my thoughts on which one I find most efficient to my skin routine.

Lets start off with the Facial Day Cream:

NIVEA Perfect & Radiant Facial day cream SPF 15 with the innovative Eventone Pure Active works deep within the skin cells to visibly reduce dark marks and uneven skin tone. Daily sun protection (SPF15) protects the skin, preventing future skin darkening, while advanced mattifiers prevent oily shine.

The silky, smooth formula, enriched with Eventone Pure Active and Vitamin E, works to gradually enhance skin complexion while visibly reducing the appearance of dark marks.

Results on skin:

• Inner radiance is revealed.
• The appearance of dark marks and spots is reduced.
• Visibly more even and mattified skin.
• Skin tone is evened out, and complexion improved.
• Skin feels soft and smooth.

Although I see nothing different in this day cream compared to others, this day cream moistened my skin and provided me with an excellent base start to my makeup applications.

With that said, the results of the Facial Night Cream:

A silky-smooth nourishing formula, enriched with Eventone Pure Active and Pro Vitamin B5, increases cell renewal and regenerates the skin. Works during the night to gradually balance skin complexion and restore its natural even tone and radiance.

Results On Skin

• Works to increase cell renewal and regenerate the skin
• Skin tone is brighter and more radiant
• Dark marks are reduced
• Provides skin with lasting nourishment and moisture
• Skin feels soft and smooth

When I first apply this night cream(after washing my face, before bed) I always get a fresh smell that is never too over-powering. What's different about this compared to other night creams is that when I wake up, my face actually feels hydrated and soft, without the oiliness!

With that being said, it's clear that I favour the Nivea Facial Night Cream over the Day Cream because I can not only see the effects more but feel it too.

A big thank you to Symbiotic Communications

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More awesome reviews coming soon!

Blog Subscription Problem

Hi guys

I understand that some of you are unable to subscribe to the blog or have trouble finding a subscription button or any way at all to subscribe.

I'm waiting for my new laptop to come (right now I'm blogging off of my phone and I recently changed the layout via my phone) and then I'll be able to have an in-depth look at the issue.

Until then please bare with me, links to all my new blog posts will be posted on social media sites so you never miss a post!

Thanks for understanding ♥

Kiara

Beaucíence Review

Readers

I was privileged enough to get sent a box
of goodies from Beaucíence earlier this week!

Beaucience, is a company that has developed a completely unique botanical skincare range. Their mission is to help you fight the signs of ageing in the most environmentally friendly way possible.
Beaucience products contain Proteasyl, plus a host of other natural plant-based ingredients. Beaucíence does not test on animals.

The first product that I unboxed and was the Beaucíence Cleansing Gel (250ml).

This is a soap-free cleansing gel. With ingredients like witch hazel, aloe vera, peach extract and organic green tea, this balances and cleanses your complexion without stripping your skin of its natural oils. This perfectly pH-balanced cleanser gently washed away existing residue(makeup, post-moisturisers) that were on my skin and left it soft and smelling fresh.

What I love is that they incorporated Witch Hazel into this wash. Witch hazel is a natural astringent that helps to keep your skin clear and also removes excess oil, dirt and make-up from your pores without drying out your skin.

When I used this product it foamed quite well considering that it doesn't contain soap, which is amazing. It did however create a dry, stretched feeling in certain areas of my face (cheekbones, nose area).

Other than that, it left my skin smelling absolutely incredible and when massaged into certain areas, relaxed my skin. I would recommend this to anyone with sensitive skin who needs something gentle and soap-free that will still leave their skin smelling fresh.

Second Product: Beaucíence Day & Night Moisture Cream(50ml)

Although it's main purpose is anti-age care, this cream can be used as a day or night facial cream and it is meant for normal/combination skin.

It contains Organic Marula Oil, Organic Green Tea, as well as a selection of essential oils.

I gently applied the moisturiser to the back of my hand first to get the feel and look of the cream and when confident enough I applied it to my face. Unlike the face cleanser, the cream has a warm, leafy, bitter smell. My skin absorbed it quite fast and felt moisturised, but only for a few hours.

Pausing at this point,  I must appreciate the wonderful eco-packaging that Beaucíence packs it's products in. Not many companies can pull it off.

This product is light and fast absorbing. I just wish that the effects lasted longer!

The final product: Beaucíence Enzymatic Exfoliator

This product is an absolute charm! Out of everything this has got to be my absolute favourite! Not just within the Beaucíence range,  but regarding ALL facial exfoliators and peels. This is the natural way of biological peeling, which removes dead skin cells and clears blocked pores.

Think of a snake shedding it's skin.

The back of the box reads: "Cell renewal is stimulated and a younger brighter soft and radiant skin is revealed. Natural extracts sooth, calm, moisturise and soften the skin. Proteasyl TP and Vitamin C stimulates the production of collagen in the skin."

Before using this I had to make sure that all of my makeup was properly off. This is very important as we want there to be no obstructions that might not let the gel have direct contact with the skin.
I applied a thin layer as said. After the first few minutes my skin began to feel a tingling sensation, which is expected when using these types of exfoliator peels. This sensation was more than enjoyable and not harsh on my skin at all. I left it on for about 15 minutes before removing it.

Upon removing it my skin already had a more radiant and fresh look to it. Dark areas appeared visibly lighter. The chapped effect that was on a few of my pimples was completely gone.

This is definitely a swear-by product!

🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿

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A huge thank you to the Beaucíence team for sending down these amazing products!

For more enquiries about their products check out their website:

www.beaucience.co.za

Beaucíence products are free from chemical contaminants, toxins, artificial colourants, petroleum products and synthetic oils.

Stay tuned for more reviews coming soon!