>>>beauty banter: YOUR BACK TO WORK BEAUTY INDUCTION

Dear all - For many the idle days of a sweetly sweltering, seemingly endless summer break are slowly drawing a melancholy close. If you too have to bid farewell to the beach, batch or boat then try out the below beauty steps to have yourself a happy Monday.

Preparation is key
Get your skin in tip top condition to see you through the week by giving it a good scrub and masque session on Sunday eve. After removing makeup and cleansing skin, in a warm shower spend a couple of minutes gently, but firmly massaging in an exfoliating scrub. The shower is a good place to do this as skin will be lovely and steamy, softened and pliable.  Clinique make great manual exfoliators (such as the 7-Day Scrub Cream, or the Exfoliating Scrub). Follow this with a purifying masque to clear skin of any holiday sins and impurities. Kiehl’s RareEarth Deep Pore Clay Masque is perfect for this, or try the Skinfood (available at supermarkets, wahoo!!) Mud Masque. Leave these on for their required time and then rinse. Complete your skin perfection session with a beautiful, lush hydrating masque so your skin is brimming with moisture. I love Kiehl’s Ultra FacialOvernight Hydrating Masque for insane moisture and glow, Clinique MoistureSurge Overnight Masque for moist plumped up skin and Origins Drink Up 10-Minute MoistureMasque for a huge, skin satiating gulp of hydration. If it is an overnight masque, follow the instructions and if not, tissue it off and then apply your regular serums and moisturisers. Hello Monday morning and a week of truly great skin!

Nail it
Once a fortnight I get my nails shaped, buffed and filed by whichever nail salon is nearest (it normally costs about $10) and then lacquer up at home with one of my go-to workplace polishes. Having them done by a pro means the polish lasts much, much longer, chipping is reduced and nails don’t break or crack as easily. For office attire nails try one of the below colour options.

Nude – Convey no-nonsense and supreme efficiency with a nude nail for clean, Scandi-chic simplicity. A nude nail is ever so chic and makes hands look impossibly elegant. Also proves its worth in spades on a busy, active week when minor chips and fractures render themselves almost invisible. Try: OPI Samoan Sand, OPI Dulce de Leche, or MAC Skin.

Red – If you want to be a #girlboss this week (or if you’re trying to be subtly suggestive towards a co-worker). A bold red oozes confidence, sex appeal and looks great flying rapidly over a key board, adding to  proving the  illusion of hyper-productivity.
Try: Essie Clambake or my favourite fire engine red ever - Valentine from Ruby Boutique (New Zealand).

Pink – Sweet pink is an uplifting shade for setting you up in a happy and positive frame of mind for the week ahead. Go for a delicate wash of colour or a mid-tone dusty pink for girly glam.
Try: MAC Snob or OPI I Think in Pink.

Trim the fat
Get a haircut and march on into your office with your head of swishy fresh hair held high. And because picking at your split ends in fits of procrastination is never a good look.

Select your signature
Weather that be a precisely lined liquid eye-line (for a reliable, quick, easy effective liner try Blacktrack Fluidline with a #209 brush by MAC), jealousy inducing shiny hair (try Pureology Colour Stylist Radiance Amplifier to achieve this) or a staple lipstick (for pink try Girl About Town by MAC, orange try YSLLe Orange, nude try Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Complex, or red L’OrealParis Glam Matte Lipcolour In Skinny Tangerine) pick your beauty poison and stick with it to ensure you are memorable and make an impact. After all – every employer appreciates consistency.

Turn it on out-of-office
To separate work from play, keep something bright, bold and distinctly office inappropriate in your bag for post COB functions, events and catch-ups. Amp up the blush and glow factor with a glorious gleaming blush like Hourglass AmbientLighting Blush. Add an extra dozen or so layers of mascara (try MaybellineVolum’ Express Collosal Volume Smoky Eyes Mascara) to define eyes and workplace separation. Swipe on a luxe, pigment dense, hot and heavy lipstick in red or pink. To complete, spritz on your favourite scent for socialising success - Prada Original, Ellie Saab Original, Burberry Brit, Jo Malone Red Roses, Stella McCartney Original, and Bulgari Omnia are all great, richly unforgettable fragrances.  

Have a fabulous week.

Sincerely,

LG. (x! ;-) )