goodtoknow's team blog
Keep up with the goodtoknow goings-on, from Louise's beauty secrets to Anna's food news
Friday February 27th 5:21pm
You're so pretty when you smile!
Beauty can often be a serious business. Scary adverts tell us about how badly we're going to age if we don't use their magical cream full of penta-pixie-peptides, or whatever. And sometimes just the name of a product looks like the notes of a science class.
So, it's great when a beauty brand have a little fun with their products - because really, beauty should put a smile on our faces, not a frown!
Here are some of my favourite funnies:
Bliss Underarmy - A fresh-scented deodorant.
Bliss The love handler - A lotion that claims to target your love handles and other wobbly areas with firming ingredients.
Soap & Glory Endless Glove Hand Mask - If your hands are seriously dry and cracked this'll smooth them in no time.
Soap & Glory Flirtigo® Body Moisturising Mist - For sexy skin that's soft and has that dewy glow.
Anatomicals Eye Gel - No old bags allowed - Just a great, cooling eye gel that makes no secret about what it can do and who for!
Anatomicals Foot Cream - Cheese release me - If this doesn't raise a smile, nothing will.
No-one enjoys their period, so anything that lifts you out of that grump-fest is welcome. Moxie is a new range of sanitary towels and tampons in glamorous packaging and honest statements on the boxes, such as: 'We should tell you now that this pad isn't going to make you want to wear white pants and frolic on the beach. Pads, periods really aren't that glamorous. But what we can tell you is that we've thought long and hard about how we can make your daytime pads as comfortable, as convenient and as stylish as pads can be.'
Tuesday February 24th 12:35pm
Get Oscar hair
One of the biggest hair trends for spring/summer was on display at this year's Oscars: buns and updos. This sort of hair is timeless and guarantees 100% glamour. But I'll be honest, this is hard hair to pull off if you're over 25 because a bun can age you if you get it wrong, (i.e. pull it too tight), plus the hairdos on display at the Academy Awards probably took around 2 hours to do.
If you fancy trying this trend yourself but you don't have much time, try this:
First of all make sure your hair is glossy and in good condition. Plus if you've got thin hair you'll need to add a bit of volume. You can do this either with a volumising product or by scrunch drying your hair.
Separate your hair into three sections: A thin fringe from temple to temple, a section of about 2-3 inches from the fringe to the crown and the rest of the hair into a low ponytail at the back.
Comb the thin fringe and clip to one side.
Backcomb the remaining section and pin down so you're creating a bit of quiff.
Take the fringe and comb over the backcombed hair and pin in place.
This should give you height around the hairline and crown but look smooth.
Fix with a glossy hair spray.
Take the ponytail at the back and twist until it naturally curls into itself, creating a bun.
Secure the bun with hair-coloured grips or bands, and fix with hairspray again.
Ta-da! Oscar hair - now practice your acceptance speech!
Thursday February 19th 3:32pm
Going grey?
Who'd have thought Tom Jones would spark a debate about hair colour? The Welsh crooner has stopped dying his hair jet black and let the natural grey shine through - the silver fox!
I think he looks much better - men and hair dye are rarely a good combination. But what about women?
When we get our first grey hair many of us panic and think this is the end of our youth. But the reality is that women as young as 16 get grey hairs. All that's happening is the natural pigment is fading from our hair and our skin. This is part of the ageing process and it's why our hair goes grey and our skin tone changes.
Going grey and maintaining grey hair is a big subject and I don't want to bore anyone, but here are a few tips and tricks if you're going grey:
If you're dying your hair at home check that the dye covers grey because not all do. And choose your colour wisely, if you've gone almost completely grey, your skin tone will have changed too, so your natural colour might wash you out. Go for a lighter shade instead.
If you're going to the hairdresser's ask their opinion on what hair colour would suit you now, not before you went grey. And beware of red shades as they can fade quickly.
If you've got salt and pepper grey hair try a few streaks. Warm blonde and chestnut can really pick up your colour.
Grey hair shows up cigarette smoke and general city pollution. So you need to find a shampoo that gets rid of this but also leaves your hair brighter (grey hair can also look dull due to the lack of pigment). Many of these grey hair shampoos and conditioners are bright blue or purple, but don't worry they won't colour your hair, blue/purple colour neutralises any discoloration.
Klorane Silver Highlights Centaurea Extract Shampoo
Grey hair is coarser than regular hair so choose a conditioner especially for grey hair.
Friday February 13th 6:30am
Get kissable lips for Valentine’s
Experts say that women's lips are representative of their intimate areas - which, supposedly, is why, full, plump lips give a sexy sign to men.
Whether that's true or not, there's no doubting that soft, plump kissable lips are a must for Valentine's Day.
Prep your lips
If they're rough try a lip exfoliator. It's like a waxy lip balm with gritty bits to exfoliate. If you don't want to spend the cash, use a clean, old tooth brush instead - but be gentle and moisturise your lips well first with a lip balm.
Recommended buy: The Body Shop Lipscuff, £7.80
Whether you're going for full-on sexy on subtly sexy, use a lip liner. Never make the mistake of using a liner that is darker or lighter than the shade of your lips or lipstick - it looks ridiculous!
Insider trick!
Here's a trick that all the top make-up artists use on celebrities:
Apply a very thin line of pale shimmery colour around the cupid's bow part of the lips - don't make it obvious, blend it slightly with your lipstick. This makes your lips look fuller and plumper.
Recommended buy: Benefit Glided Highlighting Pencil, £12.50 (you can use this on your eyes and cheeks too!)
Forget fashionable colours - go for a red or bright pink
Don't be shy and don't think that you can't wear bright, bold colours.
Keep the rest of your make-up plain and subtle - a bit of blusher, a bit of mascara, a neutral eye shadow.
Find your best red or pink:
Check your skin tone - are you pale skinned with a pink-y undertone, like Holly Willoughby or do you have a warmer skin tone? Like Kelly Brook.
If you have a warm skin tone go for an orange-y red or a warm pink.
Recommended buy: Check out the reds/corals and the plums/mauves from Revlon
If you have a cool skin tone go for a purple-y red or a cool, blue-y pink.
Recommended buy: Check out the reds/corals and browns and the pinks from Revlon
For plumper lips
Lip gloss is always a great way of making lips - with or without lipstick - look fuller.
Recommended buy: Ruby & Millie Hot Gloss Lip Gloss, £11.50
Or you could choose a lip-plumping product. These usually have an active ingredient that encourages blood flow to the lips, usually this is cinnamon or ginger oil - so if you or whoever you're kissing is allergic - check the label! Especially if you're embarking on kissing him anywhere other than his lips...
Recommended buy: Too Faced Lip Injection, £10 - no needles required!
If you have wrinkles around your lips use a skin cream or foundation with light reflecting particles - you could use an eye cream for dark circles, as it tends to do the same thing for your lips.
Recommended buy: Olay Regenerist Anti-ageing Lip Treatment, £21.03
Monday February 2nd 10:00am
Cold weather skin care
Did you know that the moisturiser Nivea is called Nivea because the word means snow-white - like the colour of the cream! The first Nivea Creme was invented in 1911 but with today's weather, there couldn't be a more apt beauty product.
Playing with the kids in the snow is great for your heart and your circulation. But the downside is that you may also get sore lips, chapped skin and in some extreme cases, wind burn from the icy cold wind.
So, you need to slather on a thick moisturiser - do it before you leave the house. And apply a thick lip balm too, that stays on and you don't need to reapply every 5 mins. Don't forget your hands and feet too - when they're wrapped up in thick gloves and socks the moisturiser will skin in to the skin more effectively.
There are some great products around that aren't expensive and do a brilliant job:
If you have sensitive skin, eczema or psoriasis try: Eucerin Dry Skin Relief Face Cream
Good for all the family: Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Ultimate Day Cream Moisturiser
A classic beauty essential and great on skin, lips and all over the body: Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
Excellent lip balms: Lush Lip Balms
Brand new, organic and full of natural ingredients: Trilogy Everything Balm
And if you're staying indoors, take the opportunity to treat your skin to some TLC. Try a self-heating beauty product - yes, it sounds odd, but there are face masks and scrubs that due to the ingredients (usually natural clays that heat up on contact with water) actually warm up. Thess sort of products are great for several reasons: the heat helps the skin's pores open up and draw out dirt and impurities, and the heat means the active ingredients work better.
Here are a few of my recommended buys:
Biore Self-Heating Mask
And for your hair:
Lee Stafford Hot Shot Volume Detox Treatment
