Major overhaul needed! Tips and advice on products etc very welcome!

[plj]

Can't remember the last time I paid any attention to myself-skin, hair, overgrown eye brows etc! Have braved a good look in the mirror recently and nearly gave myself nightmares! Would have not thought twice when I was working, about a quick fix trip to the salon, but with little money or spare time, a touch of diy is necessary! Am looking for a good product for my skin, which has been very oily and spot prone since having my babies, and apart from shaving them off-what do I do with the eye brows? Not so good with the old tweezers, but a friend told me she uses eyebrow wax strips but I can't find them anywhere. Was thinking I might home dye my hair, which I have never done before. What brand/product should I use?

Hello, I think every mum of a baby has at some point turned round and went... Where have I gone? I realised about 2 months ago that i was dressign so practically that I pretty much looked like my DH. So, for you -
tweezers are the best I think, as you can pluck gradually, I would be afraid of takign alot of the wrong hair off in one go, if I used wax eyebrow strips!
For skin, I like the Nuxe range, but as I dont live in the UK, someone else can reccomend this.
For your hair, it depends on what your colour is. Mine is mid brown, so I like garnier permanent dye, or Swartzkoff (sp?) BUT do not leave them as long as they suggest or else you will end up with black hair. So Just 10 mins if it say for 15-20. Get a new shampoo too, a conditioner, and a volumising or particular shampoo for your hair type.
I like Lilly lolo mineral makeup as I can brush on natural looking foundation on in about 10 seconds, and I use that and mascara and blush to make myself look human in the morning. Good luck.

Am not familiar with the make up brand you mentioned, but a foundation which is quick and easy to apply definately sounds like a bonus. I used to wear full make up every day, when I was working, and had the time to apply it, but definately need a quicker make up routine now.

i would advise a salon trip re eyebrows if you can poss manage it - a dye job as well as a wax - its £11 around here, £7-8 for just the wax. once they are in shape its easy peasy to maintain them with a little plucking here and there. much better than trying to diy and ending up bereft or looking very surprised.

skin - i'd go to a beauty counter at a dept store if you can find the time - get them to look at your skin, recommend things, try them out, get lots of samples. bobbi brown and clinique are v generous, go to both. then look for cheaper versions in superdrug.

Guess the diy eye brow job could end up a bit scary if it went wrong!
Clinique I know you can get in Boots and John Lewis, but where stocks Bobbi Brown?

Space NK is a great store trial makeovers and samples (obviously they do expect you to buy something!) and stocks great brands, although cant remember if they do Bobbi Brown. Worth googling them to see what they stock and where the nearest store is for you. Not cheap, but a good investment.

What sort of budget do you have?

My budget is limited at the moment, I guess in comparison to what it used to be. I have about £100 saved up to help with the makeover. Obviously need to make good investments, but that is to cover hair, skin and make up.

john lewis do bobbi brown
they do a free makeup lesson which is brill
obv the idea is you buy stuff
but it was v low pressure, their cleanser is gorge

I have heard great things about this:

www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&productId=54504&callingViewName =&categoryId=4845&langId=-1&catalogId=11051

Also, the Dr Nick LOwe range in Boots (he is dermatolgist) is v reasonably priced and I believe v good.

Would second the suggestion of having your eyebrows done at salon. Are there any colleges around you that do hair and beauty courses? You can often get treatments/hair cut and colours for absolute peanuts and they are fully supervised by pros so the odds of something dodgy happening are minimal. They are usually open at least one evening a week if dp/friend could take baby.

I think there is a college not too far from where I live, so may give them a call and ask about that. Thanks.

SpaceNK does not do Bobbi Brown- you need to go to John Lewis or other dept stores.
SpaceNK is very niche market and pricey.
Personally, I think BB is over-rated- I have a few lipsticks and they all make my lips peel- and her eye shadow made my eyes itchy.

I prefer Clinique, Prescriptives, and Laura Mercier for subtle colours.

If you are on areal budget, then I'd suggest a quality foundation- say around £20- then stock up on some eye and lip colours and maybe blusher from a budget range like L'Oreal or Rimmel, while you experiment.

NEVER shave your eyebrows! Go along to your local college and students will do it for next to nothing.

Your local hair salons should also offer model evenings- the better students will cut your hair for free or low cost under supervision.

Would be happy to spend on a good foundation and skin regime, if I knew I could save on the rest of the make up, like lipsticks etc.

Must ask my hairdresser about model evenings. I do like my hairdresser, but it is a bit pricey, but has taken forever to find a hairdresser that I am actually happy with. I guess if he was supervising it would be ok. Thanks for all the tips.

Any recommendations then on a good brand of foundation?

foundation- I am a Clinique fan as they have about 10 different sorts and they suit my pale skin- they are also allergy tested.

The Superbalanced is good for combo skin, or they do others for more oily skin.

I use Repair Wear as it is for more mature skin and I get loads of compliments about my skin (sorry!)

Prescriptives is also good and they can custom blend your colour if you go to a big dept store.

Bobbi Brown might be good too but as I said, her eye and lip colours seem to irritate my skin.

I don't rate Chanel although lots of other do, as the palest colour was not pale enough for me, nd the satin finish looked greasy.

Estee Lauder is pretty good too- Double Wear or one of the line-blurring ones!

It depends on your colouring- I need to choose a brand that has a pale shade and many aren't pale enough.