Faking it for summer

With pale white shins and pasty shoulders making an appearance as the temperature (occasionally) rises, you can get sun-kissed skin minus the burn with a few of our favourite tanning products…   The one that all the beauty bloggers talk about… L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Intense Elixir, £15.99, Boots Billed as the first serum tanning product on the market, the texture is a little bit watery which then instantly dries. It is so instant that you need to work fast to ensure that you’ve spread it out evenly using a tanning mitt to avoid tell-tale wrist streaks (a technique I’ve not…

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Summer Beauty Trends 2014

Now that you are free from the imposing schedule of classes and revision, summer is the time to experiment with your look and turn your attention to the latest beauty trends which have hit the catwalks. Clear your make-up table (or desk of books) and make way for these new looks. ‘Raw’ make-up free beauty By far the easiest to embrace, this trend is all about keeping the make-up to a minimum and flaunting the ‘just-washed-hair’ look – or if you’re like us, the ‘early-morning-rush’ look. The focus is on keeping skin and lips well-conditioned, with concealer doing most of…

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Donating my hair to sick children

It may sound weird, but I’m not afraid to admit it: my hair is my pride and joy. Last week, my hair measured 33 inches from root to tip. It’s straight, in great condition and golden in colour. Growing it became a bit of an obsession in its latter months – the longer it got, the more people would compliment me, telling me how great it looked and how shiny and conditioned it felt. Late last year though, I read an article in a magazine about a woman who had donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust and it…

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YOUR VIEW: The worst (and best) of NekNominate

It started in Australia, when one man downed a pint and then nominated his friends to do the same. Since then, it’s spiralled and become a sensation throughout the UK. Everyone has either taken part in a NekNomination or knows someone who has. However, since it’s modest beginnings, it has spiralled and led to people carrying out increasingly dangerous tasks. Typing “worst neknominations” into Google brings up some worrying results: a woman getting naked in the middle of a supermarket; a man downing a pint that has live goldfish in it; a man grinding up a cigarette to pour into…

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YOUR VIEW: Give Bieber a Break

Let’s not beat about the bush – Justin Bieber has had a proper shocker of a year. The once angelic teen singer’s life seems to have been one big run-in with the law over the last few weeks, thanks to very public arrests and allegations of drink, drugs and fast cars. It’s just the latest in a series of disastrous events in the life of the young Canadian star. There was the monkey. The gas mask. Spitting on fans. Graffiti. Turning up late for his own concert… Baby, baby, baby – no. Some might argue that it was inevitable –…

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Christmas Beauty Trends

Christmas is less than three weeks away (!) and if you’ve been too busy buying presents for your loved ones to treat yourselves to this year’s Christmas beauty trends, don’t fret! We’re here to show you the must have looks to make sure you look your best this festive season. STRONG EYEBROWS It’s the trend that won’t quit! Ever since Cara Delevingne’s rapid rise to fame, no face has been complete without long, thick eyebrows. However, make you sure you don’t go overboard with a full-on Scouse brow. Add a little colour and definition to your brows with a powder…

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YOUR VIEW: Story Thieves – Why the book is always better

Everyone has a pet peeve. For Jamie Oliver, it’s peeling garlic; for my mum it’s referring to someone by their pronoun instead of their given name; and for me, it’s film directors turning my favourite books into films. Why can’t they come up with their own ideas instead of pinching the hard work of authors? Now, before I begin, I should state that I haven’t read every book ever published – and so cannot compare every film adaptation of printed fiction to hit the big screen. What I can do, however, is explain why I’ve hated most box-office versions of…

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YOUR VIEW: It’s Christmaaaaaaaaaaass – and has been for a while…

On Saturday, I found myself in an unusual situation. The situation being that I was sitting at my desk, writing up the words you are about to read. The situation was unusual because my Saturdays tend to be much livelier. And by livelier, I mean living it up with The X Factor gang before going to bed at a very reasonable hour. However, when I turned on the TV and hit ‘3’ on the remote, I had to shut it off. It was the break between programmes and the Coca-Cola Christmas advert was playing, despite the fact that it’s only…

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Why Mean Girls is probably the best film ever made

Today is October 3rd, a momentous date in any calendar. No, it’s not because it’s the day that OJ Simpson was found ‘not guilty’ (look it up on Wikipedia). The day that tea rationing came to an end in 1952 and Britain heaved a sigh of relief. It’s not even because it’s A$AP Rocky’s birthday. No, readers. On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was. Yep, that’s right, today is unofficially Mean Girls day. Your Twitter and Facebook feeds will probably be awash with quotes from the 2004 cult hit as people relive the glory of what is,…

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