The ultimate beauty countdown to getting yourself party ready this New Years Eve.

Hi there I hope you all had a wonderful christmas full of beautiful gifts, lots of laughs and a few too many pigs in blankets! We are all now of course counting down to tomorrows New Years Eve plans and so with that in mind I thought I would put together a beauty countdown to getting yourself looking and feeling absolutely fabulous just in time to see in the new year. Enjoy!

The night before….

If like me you have been mindlessly snacking on chocolate for the whole month of December blissfully unaware that come boxing day an army of cocoa induced blemishes would be waiting to pop up in revenge, sound familiar? well first things first we need to detox the skin- big time. Use a deep clarifying mask such as the Eve Lom Rescue Mask, £35 and leave on for at least 15minutes, ideally until totally dry. It contains honey infused kaolin clay which will quickly scout out toxins and encourage them to drain away while honey, unlike many other clay masks prevents your skin from feeling tight after use and instead slightly softening leaving your skin feeling perfectly balanced. I find the camphor and almond oil extracts in this mask give it the most uplifting smell, perfect to kick start your day if your feeling sluggish and brilliant if you are feeling a little sore headed so be sure to keep some handy for new years day also! 

For any big bugger spots zap them fast with Malin & Goetz Suphur Paste, £16. I have dedicated a whole blog post to this miracle working stuff. Apply using a cotton bud directly to the spot and leave overnight to work its magic, by morning its guaranteed to have shrivelled into insignificance. 

Bathtime continued…

Now I am no official expert hair wise but in my personal experience hair is always better and more manageable when it is a day old and so I say wash your hair the night before your big night out. I shampoo and condition my hair with the Moroccan Oil Moisture Repair Shampoo, £16.55 and Condtioner, £17.25 and then apply a deep condoning hair mask such as the Sachajuan (don’t make me pronounce it!) Hair Repair, £23. This is a new discovery which I have been desperate to try ever since my brothers girlfriend swanned in one weekend with the bounciest, swishyest hair ever and said the only thing she’d changed was using this and thankfully someone must have mailed FC himself as it only turned up under the tree. Leave it on for 15minutes for incredibly silky, de-frizzed, expensive looking hair. 

Meanwhile with both masks on give your skin a good scrub using Origins Ginger Body Scrub, £36. This contains dead sea salts that buff away dead skin while super nourishing macadamia and sweet almond oil leave skin looking incredibly radiant and feeling baby soft. Next defuzz, I shave legs using Biona Raw Virgin Coconut Oil, £7.99. It comes as a hard paste, work into the palm of your hands for a few seconds before slathering on legs. This allows for a close shave while replenishing any lost moisture from the harshness of shaving. This is brilliant for anyone who suffers from annoying shaving rash as it is totally organic and so less astringent than shaving foams. Definitely scrub before shaving, not only does buffing lift hairs further out of the follicle allowing for an even smoother shave but also using the Ginger post shaving stings…bigtime! learn from my mistakes girls! owch. 

Towel dry hair and comb through with a Tangle Teezer, £11 and then run through a little of the Oribe Gold Lust Oil, £45 for added nourishment. This wonder oil also provides thermal protection and cuts down drying time! I blast my hair until its almost dry with my hairdryer and then blow dry in sections using my Babyliss Big Hair, £45. This rotating hot brush is perfect if like me you love a smooth, bouncy blow dry but have hands that absolutely refuse to play ball when trying to do it. It rotates in two directions meaning that if you get in a tangle all you need to do is simply rotate in the opposite direction. phew! I find in spending a little bit of time using this after washing my hair I can simply give it a good brush the following day it just bounces back into shape. 

Moisturise everywhere! after all that scrubbing and buffing your skin will be needing a little moisture. Use Kiehls Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter, £36. This air whipped body cream feels wonderfully light yet provides skin with 24 hours of hydration meaning you’ll see in the new year still feeling super soft. Give your feet a little treat before you slip them into an evening of high heel bashing and lather them in some Clarins Foot Beauty Treatment Cream, £23. Keep handy for new years day as this baby contains Arnica extract to reduce swelling and provide soothing relief for tired tootsies. 

24hours to go…

Apply a rich nighttime moisturiser for your skin to soak up while you sleep. I suggest Embroylisse Lait Cream Concentrate, £20 applied generously. By morning skin will look plump and perfectly hydrated. Finally slip under the sheets nice and early and get a good nights beauty sleep. I spritz my pillow with some This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, £16 to aid an even better night sleep. zzzzzzz.

Party day! 12hours to go…

After a restful nights sleep you will wake looking and feeling gorgeous ahead of a day of more party prepping. Firstly after yesterdays scrubbing and moisturising your skin will be perfectly primed for applying your tan. I recommend St Tropez Self Tan Express Bronzing Mousse, £22. This is amazing if like me you hate having sticky, biscuit smelling tan on your skin overnight. I apply using a mitt and leave on for 2 hours for a natural, golden tan. Super effective and less time for tanning mishaps to occur. Leave on for a maximum of 3 hours if you want an even deeper tan. 

While your tan is cooking is the perfect time to paint your nails. I of course would go see my old pal Jo of Nail Envy by Jo at The Salon in Leamington Spa but if you havent been that organised a winning combination I have been reaching for over the party season is Chanel’s Rouge Noir, £18 with Essie’s Rock at the Top, £8.95 to add a bit of sparkle on top either on all nails or just on the one accent nail. If your wanting a really professional manicure first buff nails using the Emoji Micro Electric Nail Polisher, £29.99. I got one of these for christmas and its blimmin amazing, it smooths and resurfaces nails in second leaving them with an incredible shine and a perfect canvas for polish. 

10 hours to go….

Wash off tan after your desired amount of time. I always opt to do this in the shower rather than the bath, use scrubby mitts gently to remove any excess surface skin tan and prevent it from developing any further. Use Lush’s The Olive Branch Shower Gel, £4.75 to rid skin of any horrid tan smells, the citrus notes of bergamot and mandarin oil give this shower gel an amazingly fresh yet sweet smell while olive oil adds extra silkyness. 

3 hours to go…

Slather on some sweet smelling Laura Mercier Almond Coconut Milk Souffle Body Creme, £44.50. This stuff smells incredible, whenever I wear it I always get compliments. It is the perfect mask for a little left over tan smell and will be sure to keep you smelling fabulous well into the night. 

Use a little highlighter down the centre of your legs to elongate your pins, I use Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal, £33. Check out my previous blog post for even more tips to creating lustworthy legs. 

2 hours to go…

Apply a oil-free lightweight moisturiser such as the Origins GinZing face cream, £23. Those of you who read my blogs will know I rave about this product. It's oil free finish mean it sits perfectly under make up while its zesty citrus smell  smell is incredibly uplifting.  A perfect pre party skin pick me up to keep skin looking radiant all night long. Pat on the matching Origins GinZing Eye Cream, £20 under eyes to reduce any puffiness and refresh eyes ahead of a late night. This eye cream has a subtle pearlised glow which banishes dark circles meaning your concealer wont have to work quite so hard. Slick on a good layer of lip balm and leave to soak in, by the time you are ready for lipstick application lips are plump, hydrated and any dryness expelled, I use the Bobbi Brown Lip Balm, £16. 

Next, of course my favourite part- MAKE UP TIME! A few hero products I will definitely be reaching for is the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer, £52. This beyond silky primer helps to even out the complexion and provide a perfectly prepped canvas for make up application, with this baby on your make up wont budge all night. Next apply a hard working foundation such as the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Even Finish Foundation, £31. This oil free formula has an impressive 12 hour wear to with stand even the biggest party animals night life. Apply using a Bobbi Brown Full Coverage Face Brush, £30 for flawless skin. Be sure to go sparkly and smokey for the party season, my new eyeshadow palette crush is the Charlotte Tilbury Supermodel Palette, £45. 

1 hour to go…

Give hair a good brush, it should bounce back into place after using your Babyliss Big Hair the day before. Smooth any frizzy bits over lightly with hair straighteners and finally spritz hair liberally with Oribe Dry Texturising Spray, £39. This cult product delivers body, boost and tousled texture instantly giving sexy full hair that wont go flat all night. 

30 minutes to go…

Get your party dress on, sparkles of course encouraged. Throw your lippy and a pressed powder in your clutch bag to keep you looking fabulous, I’ll be using Charlotte Tilburys Bitch Perfect Lipstick, £23 a perky peachy nude that’ll be low mantainence to top up and ala Victoria Secret model lips. Take shine down with the Bobbi Brown Brightening Powder in Brightening Nudes, £40 a swirl of this colour correcting pressed powder will take down any redness from over excitable dancing and brighten a complexion suffering after a few too many Gin and Tonics! 

Voila, strut out the door looking fabulous! Have an amazing new year whatever you are doing. Thank you to all my clients from 2014 and to those of you have followed my blogs over the past year, I am so grateful for all your support and I look forward to seeing you all again next year! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! x