Look Perfect Despite Not Feeling It| How to Cure a Hangover

So its that time of year, when a lot of people burn the candle at both ends of the stick. Meaning some of us can end up becoming unwell and looking even worse. Due to myself working in hospitality I don't get much time off work, so I am guilty of not having much sleep, too much alcohol and energy drinks, and a poor diet. Here are a some tips that I follow or have heard of through the years.

Tired Puffy Eyes

We've all woken up with little piggy eyes, despite getting what we thought was enough sleep.

These puffy eyes, are actually caused by things such as dehydration from excessive alcohol consumption, or from sleeping in dry stuffy rooms. 

To reduce the symptoms try letting gravity do its work, so prop your head up while you sleep with an extra pillow. If this does not help, try gently tapping the eye area lightly with your finger tips, working from the inner eye by your nose, toward the temple. 

If this does still not work, use the good old trick of cupping each closed eye with a chilled stainless steel teaspoon for five minutes. 

Bloodshot eyes

Eyedrops! Eyedrops! Eyedrops! These work miracles, as often bloodshot eyes are the telltale of a tired or hungover person. For those who wear contact lenses, so cannot spend the day putting eye drops in many companies now have solutions that you can spray on your closed eyelid and they still have the same effect.

There also exists a homemade remedy, however I have not tried it, so do not know whether it works, but to me it sounds painful due to the witch hazel. Anyways you are to add a couple drops of witch hazel into an egg cup of mineral water, then place it snugly over the eye allowing it to wash the eye for around 10 seconds. 

Chapped lips and noses

Shiny, peeling noses are often around this time of year to the risk of colds and flu. The easiest way to get rod is of a slick of one per cent hydrocortison products such as Hc45 cream, which is available at chemists. 

Chapped lips need protected and healed from products such as Vaseline, use this especially at bedtime. 

Always avoid matte, pale, frosty lip colours of you do have chapped lips as this highly emphasized the flaky lips, instead use moisturizing lipstick with a sheer gloss or satin texture. 

Dry, Flaky skin

Due to low humidity, central heating and other dehydrating elements pf the colder months, our skin becomes dry, flaky and dull.

I am an avid believer in exfoliating, but it is needed even more so in the winter. We do not shed our skin unlike reptiles, so we need to give ourselves a helping hand. Exfoliating will rid the old dead skin cells, and reveal more fresh healthy cells. Always layer on the moisturiser afterwards though, otherwise you will see no benefit. Outdoor exercise will also help boost circulation and will improve the look of your skin. 

Dull complexion

Diet and exercise will always help your complexion, there is really nothing better. So despite the cold months and stodgy food, please still keep up your exercise regime. 

Boost your complexion even more so with the use of a good moisturiser, a radiance-enhancing one will work best. Really massage the lotion into your face, then let it absorb into your skin for five to ten minutes before applying your foundation. 

The dreaded hangover

You feel awful because of the alcohol leaving you dehydrated, which affects the blood vessels around the brain giving you an awful headache. 

- The things you can do to minimize the symptoms are lining your stomach before you go out with a good meal. This helps slow down the rate the alcohol is absorbed. 

- Drink water before, during and after drinking alcohol this is the best thing you can do as it slows down your drinking, and helps flush your body of the alcohol and stops dehydration. 

- Treat headaches with paracetamol rather than aspirin or ibuprofen painkillers as these can irritate your stomach.

- Eat protein rich meals (if you can keep it down) scrambled eggs, or a chicken wrap are ideal.

- If you are feeling sick, ginger helps as it has anti-nausea qualities. So have a smoothie with ginger included in it, also  a smoothie will help replenish your body with vitamins. 

- Eat yoghurt, better still live yoghurt. As the "friendly" probiotic bacteria in your gut can help to boost recovery from alcohol-induced liver damage. 

What are your go-to tips to ensure you look alive after a heavy few nights? What hangover cure do you use? 

Winter brings dark nights and dark eye bags

So as much as I love winter, I do not love eye bags, but according to anti-aging experts winter ages a woman's eyes by four years and eight months! Great, so we all look nearly 5 years older!

These science boffins discovered that due to the reduced sunlight hours,and the reduction in the time we spend outdoors during the winter months we have paler skin which emphasizes bags. We also feel more tired due to lower levels of vitamin D (generated by the body in sunlight).

Lacking vitamins D and K has considerable effect on the appearance of dark circles and puffy eyes. So not great news to us tired students who sleep very little at this time of year also.

A few ways to help us girls get rid of dark eye bags;

1. Sleep! Even if it is 15 minutes, it tricks your body into thinking you have slept for longer, and we all need our beauty sleep!
2. Using a cooling compress (wet cotton wool/cucumber slices) to help temporarily shrink the blood vessels, reducing puffiness.
3. Eye creams that contain vitamin K and retinol can also help.
4. Eat less salt (healthier diet) as it encourages fluid retention, thus puffiness.
5. If all else fails, hide it through makeup. Personally I use Rimmel Match Perfection 2 in 1 Concealer and Highlighter. It really is a great highlighter and the tube lasts a long time. 

What are your tips for reducing puffy, dark bags?

The Princess and the Bee| Bee Venom Face Mask

I bet you are all wondering how the lovely Kate Middleton looks so great and what her facial routine is and how she is so wrinkle free! Or like me, you really haven't given a second thought about it. But anyways here is how she supposedly keeps her face line free, and it's a trick given to her by Duchess Camilla.

The big secret is a natural alternative to Botox, in the shape of a Bee Venom Mask. It is a product supplied by Heaven Skin Care by Deborah Mitchel. The science behind the product is that the cream contains one per cent bee venom. This venom tricks the skin's surface into thinking it had been stung, thus increasing the blood flow, collagen and elasticity. The Princess herself has private treatments at her home, as opposed to buying the product.

In my opinion I can see the sense in this, I understand how it works, and think it's a pretty innovative product. I would love to try it myself, but as I currently don't have many lines on my face I'm reluctant to folk out the £65 needed per pot.

If anyone has tried this product I would love to hear about it, and see what your experiences have been like.