December 09

Heart London Magazine’s 5 steps to Christmas Party Perfection!

Posted by Editor on December 9, 2014 in Beauty, Fashion, Health and Beauty | 2 Comments

5 steps to Christmas party perfection

It’s officially the Christmas Party season- you’ve got your dress, sparkly shoes and matching clutch, but there’s something missing, fear not we’ve got 5 simple steps for you to achieve that party perfect look.

For your hair

The tool that tops the rest, the Nicky Clarke Mayfair Multistyler is a wonderful creation, with 3 different wand sizes to choose from. Whether you want tight spiral curls, looser waves or a beachy tousled look, its easily achievable with this wand. At £59.99 from the Nicky Clarke website it seems quite pricey compared to some other wands, but after a quick Google search, it available for as little as £30.00 from other websites.

The Mayfair multi-styler has super easy to change attachments, heats up quickly and is so simple to use, I’ve perfected the beachy wave in only 7 ½ minutes! The only downside to this appliance is that sometimes hair can get caught between the attachment and handle part. Oh, and I would have included a heat glove for beginners. Other than that – I love it!

(Above: Before and after picture of my hair when using the Nicky Clarke Mayfair Multi-styler. I used the largest attachment to create this look. And yes- I do need my hair/colour done, any recommendations send them my way!)

Heart London Magazine rating – 4.5/5

For more dramatic hair use the Nicky Clarke ‘Tease Me’ (£14.50) this root boost powder comes in a tiny little bottle that could potentially fit in to your clutch bag for any much-needed root refreshing throughout the night. This product feels like a thicker, heavier dry shampoo, but it really does work. I didn’t think I’d like putting it in my freshly washed hair, but the benefits outweighed the feeling of dirty hair. This is a must have for those with limp locks, but be warned, you will have to reapply throughout the night.

Heart London Magazine rating – 3.5/5

Sexy skin

I don’t know about you but after a month of using the central heating at home thanks to the temperature drop, my skin feels like it has really dried out. Aside from drinking lots of water, I’ve been using moisturisers from Aveno; I have two types, the Moisturising Creamy Oil (£7.15 from Boots) and Daily Moisturising Lotion (£7.65 from Boots). For how it feels instantly after application, my favourite is the moisturising creamy oil; it makes the skin feel soft and silky. But for how they felt after a nights sleep, I would go for the daily moisturising lotion. I had heard of Aveno before this but never really been tempted to buy any of their stuff, now that I’ve felt the power of their amazing stuff, it will be my go to moisturiser and I will be heading out to stock up!

Heart London Magazine rating – 5/5

I’m ashamed to say that I’m really lazy with my skincare, especially when it comes to removing my make up at night. I know a lot of you will shudder at this, but I actually use face wipes and sometimes if I’ve run out of those, I’ll use baby wipes to take off my make up. My go to baby wipe is Johnson’s baby wipes (£1.79). Not only do I use these for my make up, I carry them around in my bag like a crazy lady (I don’t have any children, so when I whip out baby wipes my friends raise an eyebrow) and I use them for everything, when there’s a spillage, when I feel like my hands are dirty, to clean my desk at work. You name it, I use Johnson’s baby wipes for it.

Heart London Magazine rating – 5/5

Talcum powder is something that is used or babies or old people, well at the age of 23, I don’t think I can be classed as either of those. However I do love talc. I use it when I’m fresh out the shower, I use it for my hair if I run out of dry shampoo and I’ve heard it’s also good for those who want to stop chafing.

Talc is one of those versatile products and again, the only brand I use is Johnson’s (£2.99).

Heart London Magazine rating – 4.5/5

Made up with Make up

When deciding on your make up for your Christmas party there are 3 rules:

Make up must not clash with outfit
Make up must be bright and sparkly as this will ensure you get in to party mood
Make up must be applied with the correct (and clean!) tools

The last point is so important; make up will not apply correctly if you’re using the wrong type or a dirtied brush. My favourite make up brushes are by QVS (available at Asda), they have staples such as the Perfection brush, which is a foundation and concealer brush (£5.24) and bronzer brushes (£6.98) as well as tools such as tweezers (from£2.48). All their make up tools are good quality and ensure the application of your make up is as smooth as can be.

Heart London Magazine rating – 5/5

Moving on to the actual make up itself, Glo & Ray are a fab brand that offers gorgeous colour eye shadow. Their range of Longwear Mousse Eye Shadows come in 8 different colours and retail at £11.00 a pot. What I love, the fun of choosing from all these colours aside, I’m not actually a bright eye shadow kind of girl, however after trying these I am officially converted, they had some great colours, and best of all these lasted for hours. (When I tested these I went out for dinner and after-dinner drinks) when I returned home the eye shadow was still in tact and looking fab.

Heart London Magazine rating – 5/5

If you want a pop of colour but aren’t brave enough to go all over colour with eye shadow, a great way to make a statement (or bring out the colour of your eyes) is by adding a spot of eyeliner. With colours such as ‘Lazuli blue goddess’ and ‘Jewel amethyst goddess’, a brand I now love, is eye öf hörus. At £17.00 a pencil, they are on the pricey side, but considering how long lasting they are and easy to apply they are worth the investment!

Heart London Magazine rating – 4.5/5

If you’re someone like me who’s hopeless at applying fake eye lashes, then fear not, I have the answer! Magnifibres (£21.00) is a wonderful little creation, simply pop your normal mascara on, let it dry, then swipe Magnifibres over your lashes, it will feel odd but bear with it! Apply a top coat of your mascara again to cover the teeny, tiny white of the fibres and ta-dah! You’re good to go – beautiful, long looking eye lashes without the panic of fake eyelash strips falling off halfway through the evening.

Heart London Magazine rating – 5/5

Smile the night away

In the past I’ve heard that ‘your smile is the best thing you can wear’ but that could also go for our last step to party perfection also. However, here at Heart London Magazine, we really do think that an outfit isn’t complete without a smile, that’s why our final product that we love at HQ are the TePe Interdental Brushes (around £3.00). These amazing little brushes tackle plaque which is not only unsightly but one of the biggest causes of bad breath- and nobody wants to be known as ‘Karen from Marketing, you know, the one with the bad breath’