If it seems like we are bringing you more deals from Boardsdeals.ie than normal that’s because we are!  They seem to be on a beauty buzz at the moment so no harm in taking advantage of the offers they have running before they turn back to car valets! 

Urban Beauty is a well known spa in Rathmines, Dublin which has also featured on Xpose, so this will be a popular deal.  They are offering €30 instead of €75 for beauty treatments.  There are no stipulations on what treatments you go for, you can have any treatments of choice.  Basically you are saving €45 or 60%, great if you use the salon regularly for waxing etc.  The deal is on and will be up for grabs over the next two days.  Enjoy!

Click here for more…

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Nail biting is a bad habit that is not easy to quit, just like smoking.  We usually bite our nails when we are nervous or during stressful situations, generally whenever confronted with a stressful event or moment – not to mention when bored!  If you are fed up of your nails being bitten down to the stubs and even bleeding sometimes, try these simple remedies to promote normal, beautiful nail growth.

- Make a conscious decision to start to care for your nails and hands.

- Invest in some really nice hand wash and hand cream sets, and place them at every sink in your house.

- Give yourself a mini manicure once a week.  Soak your cuticles in warm soapy water, and then push your cuticles back.  Nail biters often nibble on the cuticles as well, so if you push your cuticles back, they will seem less obvious and it will prevent you getting them hangnails that you just love to chew on.  This will also give the illusion of longer nails.  Then apply a nourishing oil such as almond oil to the cuticles and nails, and massage well for a few minutes.  Any stimulation around that area encourages quicker growth – get rubbing!

- Always carry a hand cream in your bag for when you wash your hands and there is none available.  Again, rub into the cuticle area.

- Always carry a nail file with you at all times.  This way, if you chip or crack a nail, you can fix it on the spot with the file, and not with your teeth!

- Treat yourself to a professional manicure at your local salon once a month.  This is a very relaxing treatment that will help you on your way to nails you should be proud of.  It will also encourage you to leave them alone so you have some success to show your therapist.

- Try wearing a nail varnish every day, even if it just a clear polish.  This will deter you from biting and getting a mouth full of polish.  But, don’t forget your base coat to prevent the polish from staining the nail plate.

You can also get clear nail polish that tastes absolutely Yuk.  If this doesn’t stop you, I don’t know what will.  They contain ingredients such as cactus extract and chilli pepper.  I don’t know about you, but I prefer my chillies in my curry, not painted on my nails thank you very much!

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Not the ones I have.  The dreaded cellulite.  90% of women suffer from it and would do anything to get rid of it.  Bad news ladies, you can never completely get rid of that orange peel skin, but there are a few things you can do to dramatically reduce its appearance.

Here are some things that contribute to the formation of cellulite:

Diet: Particularly food high in toxins such as fried foods (that’s K.F.C out the window), caffeine (no more diet coke breaks), salt (the nasty stuff retains water) and sugar (only at the weekends girlies).

Genes: Some of us girls are predisposed to having the lumps and bumps from the day we are born. Thanks mum!

Lifestyle: Poor circulation, a sluggish lymphatic system, lack of exercise, excess stress and not enough water all contribute to the development of cellulite.

Age: The older we get, the thinner our skin becomes, and the more muscle tone we lose, resulting in cellulite becoming more visible.

Hormones: Particularly oestrogen, contribute to the formation of cellulite, which is why hardly any men get it.  Also, the pill and pregnancy can exacerbate the condition. Why do men have it so easy?

And here are a few tips on how to keep this condition under control:

Drink at least 2litres of water per day to flush out any toxins.

Eat a varied, healthy diet with plenty of fruit and veg high in antioxidants such as tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, the more colour on your plate, the better!

Plenty of exercise with a mixture of cardio to burn off fat cells that store cellulite, and weight and resistance training, to build muscle and reduce the appearance of the lumps. Lunges and squats are great for toning those problem areas such as the thighs and bum.

Regular massage increases blood and lymph flow, which will help remove the toxins that cause cellulite. Try massaging the area for 5 mins twice a day. Why not treat yourself to a professional salon or spa massage.  Much more relaxing than doing it yourself!

Try brushing the area for 5 mins after a hot shower or bath twice a week with a firm body brush.  Then, switch the water to cold for as long as you can bare it. This will help break down the fat cells.

Why not pop in to your local salon for a mud contour wrap.  You are guaranteed a minimum loss of 6” all over your body with the ‘Universal Contour Wrap‘. Woo hoo!  It costs about €190 for a course of three.  It will also tighten your skin and leave those wobbly bits feeling a lot firmer.

Hot pants here I come!

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Are you looking for pain free tweezing?  Look no more…

Here is a great top tip to try for all you ladies (or indeed gents), with extremely low pain thresholds.  Before you go to the salon for your biweekly brow tidy, try applying some bonjela to the area that is about to be treated. YES, BONJELA!  The active ingredients will numb the skin, making this torturous event much much easier to bare.  This fab tip is only suitable if you are getting your brows tweezed or threaded, as it is not advisable to put any active ingredients on the skin before waxing,  just incase it reacts with some of the ingredients in the wax.

I would also recommend that you visit your salon once every two weeks for a brow tidy, this way it won’t seem as horendously painful as there won’t be too much hair growth to remove.

So happy tweezing ladies and let there be no more plucking fears… sorry, tears!

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Do I even have to elaborate?  Yes, you guessed it, the dreaded in growing hair.  It is the bane of our otherwise perfectly groomed bikini lines.  But, I have discovered a solution!  Avon solutions plus Total Radiance Skin Refining Clay Mask.  Yes, it was originally intended for use on oily, spotty skin.  But as I was sitting one evening, face thickly packed with this fabulous mask, I saw in the ingredients list that this product contains salicylic and glycolic acid.

Salicylic acid works from the outside dissolving dead cells that block pores and hair follicles.  Glycolic acid penetrates deep into the dermal layer of the skin, encouraging new cells to grow, thus pushing blockages and dead cells out of blocked pores.

So I applied some of this mask to my bikini area, as I do suffer with pretty bad ingrown hairs.  The next day my bikini line was as good as new!  So now, every time I have a bikini wax I wait the obligatory 24hrs, then apply my wonder mask, leave it on for 20 mins, and viola – no more pesky lumps and bumps.  Trust me girls, it works a treat!

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Hi girls? I just have to say how excited I am to be part of the wow.ie team.

What a great girlie site, so up to the minute, so informative and sooooo addictive! I’m going to make it my duty to keep you up to date on all the latest hair fashions and fads….

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Hot on the heels of that fantastic deal in Dylan Bradshaw, Another great deal from the guys and gals over at www.BoardsDeals.ie – Thankfully I did not spend too much over the Bank Holiday weekend, as this one is right up my street!  Their current offer is €35 for €100 worth of treatments at the French Beauty Day Spa in Dublin city.  Looks like I am not the only one who thinks this is a great deal with over 100 bought already.

More details on www.boardsdeals.ie

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High heels are the Devil. This, while not verifiable fact, is definitely something all women will agree on at some stage or another in their lives. You go out and strut your stuff in Fendi, Carvela, Louboutin (maybe!) and you pretend it doesn’t hurt like hell. There’s a stage you get to when four inches feels flat and the heels of your feet are so numb you could drop a tv on them and wouldn’t notice. Company Magazine recently ran a fantastic feature on Feet- and the terrifying amount of issues you develop as a result of those teeny pin heels, those “still bad for you” kitten heels, and yes, the ballet flats that are too flat to offer any support.

The fact of it is that your feet take a punishing every day you wear any kind of stunning shoes- because, let’s face it, the sensible ones aren’t the ones that make you feel like a supernova inside, right?

After I read the Company feature (which talked about veruccas, warts, calluses, cracked heels- you name it, the horrors were all there), I realised that I am not the only one who bullies my feet into submission. We all do.

So I set out to find something that actually works to prevent the minor crises like cracked heels, hard skin, blisters- and all of their similarly horrid friends. I’ve tried so many treatments before (short of amputation) and they never seem to work properly. It seems daft that my saviour came from my own little city, in a shop we all know. Boots.

Boots is one of those shops I love. Part pharmacy, part cosmetic heaven, Boots has a solid loyalty card scheme and a lot of sale items at all times of the year. It was lucky that I walked in right when they were offering a “Buy One Get One Half Price” on the Gorgeous Feet range. I decided to give it a go, and I bought four items. It set me back €31- less than it should have, and the cashier was genuinely enthusiastic about the ones I’d chosen.

Home I went to try them out. And my God was I impressed. Every single product is rich and well packaged (several in glass jars), and rather than smelling clinical, they were flowery and feminine. The Foot Scrub was perfection, and the moisturisers were a dream. The cracked heel repair ointment started working very quickly (and a few days later, the results are amazing altogether). The last thing I tried was the overnight repair cream. This came packaged with those great cotton socks, and once I tried it once, I vowed to do it every night. It stops burning in the soles of my feet (the ultimate painful experience in my experience, because it lasts for an age), and my skin was soft and much less bullied. It was all an unexpected pampering experience- and I fully intend to return to Boots to check out the other products in that Gorgeous Feet range.

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Ladies, do your feet look like bread crusts with a smearing of jam on the toes?  How about shorts, have you forgotten to shave your knees and upper thigh and maybe the tops of your toes during this rationing of blades in our present economic mess?  Do your gladiator sandals look, right now, marv on your alligator skin shins?  Well then, please take that ten euro you’ve set aside for the weekend and go buy a pumice stone and a jar of peppermint foot cream (both available at Boots).

Though, depending on the condition of your heels a keen substitute would be a small cheese grater from Marks.  Now, I’m sure you’ll have nail clippers, a plastic washing up bowl, two towels, one being old and rough and some nail polish.  Btw, black/blue or black/grape look fab on the toes making them look a perfect porcelain, and a bright orange-red may also turn your Summer frown upside down.  Well, I think you are now ready to begin.

First, blare some Beach Boys whilst filling the bowl with warm water adding just a dash of fairy liquid and salt.   Please don’t ask for an explanation, or else I will have you here all day.  Lay the nice towel on the floor under the bowl in front of a comfortable chair. Soak your feet in the warm water for about ten minutes.  Remove one at a time and use the rough old towel to exfoliate close around your toenails, your arches and the skin under your ankle bone.  Scrub your heels and other sole callouses with the pumice stone, but take care not scrub the finer skin.

Cut your toenails dead straight across.  Now don’t keep your little piggies in the water for too long, don’t get too caught up in a movie, of which I prescribe, the original version (of course) of Swept Away, or they’ll get pruney.  Rinse again and wipe dry.  Now, in a safe place, set down your glass of wine again.  Paint your toes, wait for them to dry thoroughly, then slather them in peppermint foot cream.

Have a nice clean pair of socks at the ready, and for God sakes, do stop crying about the man that got away last Summer!  He had ‘lady hands’.

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Q: I keep getting spots on my cheeks, why is this and how can I prevent them?

A: One of the possibilities is your blusher!  Blushers may be the cause of the problem – the brush or the product itself.  This is especially true if they are underlying spots i.e. under the skin which would mean the pores are blocked from the product.  To begin with make sure you keep your brush clean so bacteria doesn’t build up, rinse it with warm water, then wrap it in a towel and leave it overnight in the hot press.  If this doesn’t help you may need to change your blusher as it may just disagree with your skin type, as cheeks are a very sensitive area.

To help eleviate the spots, cleanse and exfoliate daily (with a light non-granular) exfoliator.  I recommend using the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant as it’s nice and gentle on the skin for everyday use.

If you are looking for a good blusher try Benefit or MAC, both great brands.   When applying your blusher, wipe the brush into the blusher gently, then tap the excess product off the brush and “pull a smile” and lightly sweep from the cheekbone to the apple of the cheek… aka the fat bits of cheek and back up.

See our previous posts on Professional Make-up Tips or Beauty on a Budget.

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