Doing the do

My hair is currently a long, unruly mane, which needs an abundance of lovely products to get it looking spit spot day-to-day. Over the cold, cold winter months, my long locks been a bit dehydrated, so I've been trying to pump some moisture back into my tresses, and with few finishing touches from these products, it's starting to come up roses just in time for Spring.

The changing face of beauty

L-R some of my beauty essentials: Elemental Herbology Bio-Cellular Super Cleanse, Lush Tea Tree Toner & Origins Make A Difference Plus+ Rejuvenating Treatment (the stuff of DREAMS).

Last week, I headed to London town for the day with my Mum to check out a couple of exhibitions and do a bit of shopping (helloooo Liberty beauty hall).

Whilst on the train, Mum and I were catching up about all things beauty. Well known for being the Barnes beauty obsessive, I pour over skincare blogs and coo over all thing make-up, pretty much on a daily basis; coveting the latest palette release from Nars or pining over foundations with promises of dewy skin and just the right amount of coverage.

As I was extolling the virtues of Caroline Hirons’ blog, singing the praises of Biologique Recherche P50 and how double cleansing has transformed my skin, Mum brought something really interesting up which I think needs a li’l mention. 

When she was younger, her mother (my Granny) had never used a concealer until my Mum and her sister bought some when they first spied it on the high street. Now I know what you’re thinking; she had NEVER used concealer. I know. I can’t imagine a life without concealer. That would be a blotchy, red world I wouldn’t wanna live in. 

I have always heard about Granny’s exceptional skin, using only Wright’s Coal Tar Soap (!), a flannel and moisturiser, then finishing things off with a bit of rouge and a dash of red lipstick. She wouldn’t have even needed the concealer even if it was a fixture in her make up bag, the lucky gal.

This minimal routine obviously treated my Granny well – I always remember she had baby soft skin and a beautifully even complexion, two areas which I definitely lack in. So how was Granny’s skin so amazing even though she used hard soap didn’t deep cleanse and used hardly any other skincare? Now I know everyone’s skin is completely and utterly different, but how amazing is it that 2 generations could get away with literally the bear essentials and still look unreal, and mind-baffling to think how drastically beauty routines have changed over the past few decades. 

It made me think about how many products I use on a daily basis to cleanse, cover and correct. I daily use 2 cleansers, toner, serum, moisturiser and SPF. Primer, foundation, concealer, highlighter and not to mention how much I use on my eyes to make me look some form of awake. I need all of these things to help me look relatively OK.

We obviously now live in a world which is rife with the pollution, high stress levels and an uncountable amount of other day-to-day factors which take themselves out on our lovely faces but I just think it’s such an interesting piece of social commentary as to how much we use now, but back in the day, women barely used a scrap and looked bloody great. 

What kind of skincare routines have women in your family adopted? Are there any old-school routines you advocate over hot cloth cleansers and Clarisonics? 

Paul Smith - Design Museum, London

I always been an admirer of fashion designer Paul Smith; those iconic stripes, bright colours and the fact he still rides a bike to work in his studio everyday. However, after visiting the Paul Smith exhibition at the Design Museum, yesterday I am a bonafide PS fangirl.

What a DUDE. So down to earth, a breath of real fresh air in the often pretentious world of high fashion, who has such self-awareness and knowledge, it's really unparalleled in his field.