Frump to Fab - Summer Solstice Sizzler

Sezzagirl

Congratulations Elfen x x x

Everhopeful09

Hello,
Please can I join? Was looking around the boards and stumbled across this thread and speny majority of evening reading it and managing to eat a big bag of har*bo tangtastics! Opps

I'm 32 but feeling a bit frumpy and lacking in self confidence big style at mo
I love glamming myself up and always feel more confident once done it but just need a kick up the back side to do it a lot more often! I seem to have lost my spark and my identity, I need to find a style so i don't look like I'm dressing too young / old.

EH xx

lessonlearned

Congratulations Elfen:T:T:T

or maybe we should be congratulating your fianc! at winning such a fab prize of a woman.;)

The rings are gorgeous - just as you will be on your big day.

Are you having a little party to celebrate.

Hello and welcome to jacci and ever hopeful - glad to have you aboard.

Maman - re the OCM.

There's no right or wrong way - just what suits your skin the best.

The general consensus seems to be that you use a mix of almond oil/castor oil in a 70/30 ratio - reducing the amount of castor oil if your skin becomes too dry.

I don't use castor oil at all because it irritates my skin, also my skin doesnt like almond oil much. I just use Grapeseed oil on it's own and it works fine for me. I find twice a week is enough.

First I warm my skin to open the pores, either steaming or just applying hot flannels directly on to my skin, paying particular attention to my nose and chin which are the areas most prone to blackheads.

The heat softens the sebum to allow for easy extraction.

Once the skin is nice and warm I then massage oil into the skin. To really get into the crevices by the side of the nose I use just one finger tip, using small circular motions and applying quite firm pressure. About two to three minutes each side of the nose.

When facial masssage is complete I remove the oil with hand hot flannels - as hot as you can manage. Once the oil is removed I then just give my face a final rinse with clear tepid water.

Does that help.

You may find that if you've had blackheads for some time the pores have become rather "open" and enlarged. Either egg white or lemon juice applied just over the open pores will help close and reduce them a little.

Alternatively our old friend the aspirin face mask (salicylic acid) will also help reduce open pores. You could also try applying milk of magnesia to the area, again it's the salicylic acid that does the trick.

One thing you might try is ensuring that you don't apply moisturiser over the area that has very open pores. The likelihood is if you have large open pores in any given area, then that area is quite oily and doesn't need further moisturisation. All you are doing is clogging up the pores and causing more blackheads.

I don't apply any moisturiser over my nose, just a dab around the nostril area which can get a bit dry and flaky.

Phew - that was a bit of an essay. :rotfl:

Been snowing here today - looks very pretty.

A couple of final "F's" for you.

lessonlearned

Fifteen Minute Facial

Start with clean skin.

Steam or use hot flannels to open pores. - 2 mins.
Apply face mask - leave 10 minutes.
Either rest or get on with something else.

Remove mask with clean warm water & pat skin dry. - 1 min
Apply serum - massage into skin. - 2 mins.
Moisturise if required.

That's it, job done.

Five Minute Make Up

Start with clean skin.
Moisturise.

Top tip - now leave moisturiser for at least 5 minutes to soak in. This will help give your make up staying power and stop it sliding off your face.

Go have breakfast, hang out the washing, make your bed or whatever whilst you wait.

Brush teeth, apply lip balm/lipsalve.

Apply foundation, and then concealer if needed. Concealer always goes on after foundation so that it stays put. Set with fine translucent powder if required. Be very careful though, it can settle into wrinkles and make them look worse. I don't bother.

Dab eyelids with tissue if necessary to mop up any excess moisture and give a dry base.

Apply eyeshadow, blusher and then eyebrow pencil or eyebrow powder if necessary.

Before applying mascara, lightly brush the whole face with a large clean cosmetic brush. This will help blend everything nicely and soften any lines or edges.

One coat of mascara, lippy and gloss if you wear it. Spray of perfume. At this stage a second coat of mascara if you like.

Wash hands, apply hand cream - job done.

With a little practice - foundation to hand cream can easily be done in five minutes.

Winter Version - tinted moisturiser or foundation, and blusher.
Summer version - try those "daily Sunshine" moisturisers. Maybe not every single day to avoid looking too tanned.

For summer I don't bother with any kind of foundation. I just use bronzing powders or "pearls". They give a lovely sun kissed look. Apply to cheeks, forehead, nose and chin, a little on the chest area - the areas that would normally "catch" the sun.

For winter - a great alternative is mineral powder. You can then just skip the foundation/tinted moisturiser. It gives excellent coverage for minor imperfections - does take practice though.

Happing Fabbing x

lizzie157

Congratulations Elfen:T:T:T
a few inches of snow here. looks beautifull.

managed to clearout my understairs cupboard. have ticked quite a few things of my decluttering list so the elephants coming along nicely.

just need to read through my assignment then a few tweaks and it should be finished.

i'm thinking of ordering a few clothes from mr t's- the meal out made me realise how limited my wardrobe is even though it looks like i've got loads of stuff lots of it is casual and really not nice enough for going out so maybe time to treat myself with my xmas money.:)

looks like the London trip will have to be postponed till later in year as no one to look after doggy. Have said we will go when school hols are on perhaps easter or maytime -judging from what I've been told need to save a bit of money anyway so we can go to at least one of the sights my daughter 's wanting to see.

am doing physio exercises as was asked.

am also researching ways of making some cash/ earning a living - with the way the welfare reforms are going I really need to find some way of getting out of my situation as in a few years I could well be homeless as well as poor. Contrary to what the media seem to portray those of us on benefit as -I really don't want to stay on benefits and I am not living in luxury. Unfortunately with my problems at the moment I don't think I'd stand much chance o getting a job but I will get there one day- I am in abetter frame of mind lately just need to get my shoulder sorted and see how I go once my counsellings finished and take it from there- baby steps atm.
anyway time for my beauty sleep! x

WelshWoofer

Morning all!
Congrats Elfen!!!
Welcome jacci and everhopeful! Stick with us - we're a friendly bunch:p
(and hello to LoneWolf too:))

Just been for a walk with the dog - very hard work in the frozen slush - the dog has 4 legs and can quite happily balance, my 2 legs left me slipping and skidding along - be careful if you're out and about today - it's treacherous! (Not as cold though). A broken hip/ankle is not a fab look!
Think I'll pop in to see a lady that lives down the road later - she has a small dog but is about 70 and I saw her earlier in the week with a walking stick (think she has knee problems) - perhaps I can walk her dog with mine to save her having to go out in the yukky stuff?

I managed to sleep almost the whole night last night - feel soooo much better today.

Lots of work to do today - boring statistical analysis - but I'm going to give myself until 3pm to do - the rugby is on then and I'm watching whatever happens! Come on Wales!!

findingmyway_2

Congratulation Elfin :j:j:beer:
Welsh Woofer, what a lovely idea, to offer the elderly lady down the street help with her pooch.

Sorry my mind has now gone blank and I cant remember anyone else's news.

Lesson Learned, what is the difference between serum and moisturiser?

Well I had quite a fab day. I had a lovely long hot shower, had a thorough exfoliation, did some defuzzing, which was definitely needed, some cleansing and I even gave the washing my hair backwards a try.

Once out of the shower, I moisturised all over, with a moisturiser a freind gave me because she doesn't use nivea. Blow dried my hair, I think it looks better than it usually does, but it doesn't feel as soft as usual, so im not sure ill continue to wash it this way.

Then went out for lunch with two friends. One of them gave me a load of free samples she got form one of the beauty shops here. Here if you buy anything they load you up with free samples. I feel a bit embarrassed though, being given free samples, free moisturiser, and someone gave me cotton wool the other day.

fedupandskint

Welcome to everyone who is new - have fun on here and on your journey to fabness!

Elfen - nice rings and congrats again and yes your fianace is very lucky to have a fabulous fiancee!

LL - Those routines are exactly what I do every morning! I might try the OCM too at one stage as I have a big bottle of castor oil in the cupboard and only olive oil to mix it with - is that ok?

lessonlearned

Good Morning Ladies

It looks beautiful here today - brrr - not going out though.:rotfl:

Not visiting OH today - firstly because he would be worried silly about me tackling the roads today. Secondly, he will be having a sports fest. Football - Match of the Day Live - Derby -v- Notts Forest - the big one this neck of the woods. And of course the Rugby. So I'll just leave him in peace today to enjoy his sport.

I've long been something of a sports widow with my OH, footy, golf, cricket, squash, rugby - you name it - both playing as well as watching.

For the sake of peace and harmony and a happy marriage I learned years ago to let him get on with it whilst I quietly did my own thing. Yesterday was our 29th anniversary. I went to see him of course but he wasn't too well so I only stayed a couple of hours.

He told me the other day that he felt that over the last week or so he'd noticed that things were at such a pitch now that there is no way I would have been able to cope alone. He is now well and truly settled.

Unfortunately we've had a couple of incidents of incontinence over the last couple of days so that would have been another problem for me to deal with and he would truly have hated that. I think we can safely say that we've made the right decision and only just in time.

Sparkles - speaking of sport. When are you going to do your race. Is it for charity. I've been following your training programme with great interest - you are doing really well and are incredibly focused.

Re the oil - yes olive oil would be fine. Mediterranean women use it all the time. I personally prefer grape seed because it has no smell but olive oil is a good rich oil, high in nutrients.

fmw - a serum is way of feeding extra vitamins, nutrients and goodies into the skin. It's usually either a very rich lotion/cream or can be an oil. They can be frighteningly expensive, although you can get some good budget ranges these days.

You use it after cleansing skin and before moisturiser. The moisturiser acts as a barrier and locks in the serum whilst it does its thing.

I just make my own, using a carrier oil and aromatherapy oils.

Here's how

For each 10 ml of carrier oil (almond/wheatgerm/grapeseed)
Add 6 drops of aromatherapy oil
You can combine two types of aromatherapy oil - 3 drops each

You could also add a Vit E capsule for extra oomph. Vit E is also a preservative, it will help stop the mixture going off.

However, I think it's best to make up small quantities on a regular basis - keeps it fresh and more potent.

For mature skin - anti ageing

10 ml of grape seed oil
3 drops frankincense oil
3 drops rose absolute

Store in a dark place.

Hope that helps.

jacci45

hi all, well my frump to fab is going to start today!! as im in plaster and still in pain from surgery its going to be very basic stuff!! today im going to try and have a shower and wash and dry my hair!! see i said it would be basic!! i had the op on weds (removal of benign tumour and bone graft) and surprisingly its knocked me for 6. im also going to try to get up and stay awake.....tried on friday but ended up asleep on settee downstairs!!
keep your fingers crossed that i can manage my shower without keeling over! i will let you know!!