We don’t know about you, but we are done with slobbing around at home bare-faced with our hair scraped up in a dirty top knot. What was once an au naturel novelty in lockdown 1.0 has morphed into an insatiable desire to ramp up the beauty regime in 2.0 with nails, home blowdries and the desire for a glow that look as if we’ve been chilling out on a Caribbean island for weeks on end (we wish, right?).
But now we’re at home more, unable to have beauty treatments as regularly as we once did, and watching our finances, we feel that we need beauty hacks that give us big bang for our buck. Here are the tricks, treatments and tips that save us time, money and last longer than two days. Because as 2020 has shown, we can never be sure that the next salon visit is guaranteed.
Here’s our pick of our favourite beauty treatment trickery:
The blowdry saviour: The Brazilian Blowdry
If you have thick, frizzy or hard to manage hair, then a hair smoothing treatment could well change your life. Editorial Director Susannah Taylor has badly behaved, frizzy hair that she says can “Take up to 45 minutes to blow dry sometimes into a presentable state.” Having tried many types of smoothing treatments over the years, Susannah finds that the Brazilian Blowout is the best she has found. “It smooths my hair without making it super straight or lank. Some treatments have left my hair really damaged and broken, but this genuinely leaves hair in better condition than before, plus it seems to last in my hair for many months. The best part is that you don’t have to leave it in for a few days either – you can wash and style your hair the same day. Every time I have it done I can’t believe the results.”
Susannah goes to taylortaylorlondon.com based in Libertys in London . In the US go to Brazilianblowout.com to find your nearest salon
The perma-glow: Profhilo
Profhilo has caused quite a stir in the past few years and won a few awards along the way too. If you haven’t heard of this revolutionary treatment, here’s the low-down: Profhilo is an award-winning treatment made up of 100% hyaluronic acid. It is administered through a few (potentially 5 on each side of the face) injections into the dermis, where it spreads and provides hydration for ‘crepey skin.’ The hyaluronic acid is also said to interact with your skin tissue and encourage it to create more collagen. The results? Many people experience visible, often dramatic improvement in skin tone after just two sessions (a month apart) and see firmer, smoother more hydrated looking skin rather than the volume associated with fillers. With minimal downtime, the results are very natural and you can be back at your desk straight after treatment. The downside? It’s expensive – around £850/ $1100 for two treatments. However when we say it lasts for 6 months you may reconsider.
For bare-faced chic: eyelash dye and lash lift
If you’re after a non-invasive trick that will enhance your face even with no makeup on then we suggest a lash dye and lash lift together. Yes, it’s totally possible to dye your lashes at home – Editorial Director Susannah does it all the time – but she says “It’s never quite as good as when you have it done in the salon as I can’t quite get to the roots.” Susannah says that lash dye means she “Never feels totally bald. For example, when you bump into your boss in the gym with no makeup on and still feel you can look them in the eye!” It also means you don’t have to apply quite so much mascara since it gives your lashes a coloured base.
As for lash lifts – this is one of our favourite instant beauty hacks. Not like the lash perming processes of old where your lashes ended up curling in on themselves, the lash lift makes you look like you’ve had a squeeze with the lash curlers, permanently – even when you wake at 4am with jetlag. The process involves lying down with the solution on your eyes for an hour, and the results last about 3 months.
Note: most beauty salons now offer a lash lift as well as eyelash tinting.
The face framer: brows
If you want to look 50% better, all the time, and if you don’t already, then you might want to think about getting your brows groomed professionally. Vanita Parti, founder of Blink Brow Bars across the UK says, “Keeping brows shaped is vital. By lifting the brow, creating an arch and highlighting the cheekbones, we create space around our eyes. It’s a small difference for a big impact.” Here at 35Thousand we can confirm that a brow shape at Blink, as well as a brow tint (if neeeded), is the equivalent of a small face lift, and makes us looked groomed and ‘put together’ even when the rest of the beauty regime is out of whack . You can of course maintain your brows at home but we find the best results come when you are in the hands of an expert, especially if you have dark, unruly or very bushy brows.
Long lasting nail polish – The Red Carpet Manicure
Love wearing nail polish but hate the way it chips so easily? Now there are plenty of gel nail formulations you can use at home rather than having to go to a salon. One of the best, available worldwide, is the Red Carpet Manicure. If you buy the Starter Kit, it contains everything you need for a professional manicure at home that will last up to three weeks. Included is everything from a professional LED light, to nail cleaning wipes, to gel nail polish remover and remover wraps (you can buy gel nail colours separately).
Go to redcarpetbeauty.co.uk or redcarpetmanicure.com
The at-home facial: The home LED mask
Facialists have been using LED therapy in their treatments for years to help with acne, skin glow, an increased ski barrier function, not to mention its good mood benefits. Mostly used as an expensive add-on at the end of a facial, LED science has now entered our homes. Take for example The Light Salon which now has salons across the US and UK – founders Hannah Measures and Laura Ferguson decided to start their LED salon business in 2015 where people could book to reap the benefits of light therapy treatments . However their clients soon wanted access to LED treatments between appointments so they then decided to create the BOOST collection, a range of at-home portable LED devices. Personally we love the BOOST LED face mask (there’ss one for the decolletage too), because it delivers clinically proven red and infrared wavelengths, leaving our skin looking radiant and plumped whilst also resetting and calming our mind at the same time. It’s the perfect boost when you can’t get to a facialist – just be careful not to frighten any children when you’re wearing it.
www.thelight-salon.com (deliveryworldwide)