October kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So dear friends remember to do your self checks and remind those your care about to do theirs too. The earlier the detection the better the chance of recovery. For more information about how to do a self checks go to the NHS website. Or if anything is worrying you see your doctor straight away, don’t ignore it.

Every 11 minutes someone is diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK. Breast cancer can affect anyone, male, female, young and old. According to Cancer Research UK, eight out of 10 women with breast cancer will still be alive five years after diagnosis, compared with five out of 10 during the 1970s.

So this month do what you can to help, whether it’s by donating directly, doing something for a charity or helping someone you know who is affected by it. There are many special limited edition products launched by companies to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, from Tesco to Fashion Retailer M&Co, from Mothercare to Peacocks. So look out for the special pink ribbon, there’s something for you and something for othres. Fabulous!!

For all cancer survivors and families of survivors around the world, we salute you. Support the fighters. Admire the survivors. Honor the taken. And never give up hope.

P.S Don’t forget to wear pink this month.♥

So you’re wishing you had the bee sting look but just not sure whether you are brave enough for the needle? Read on…

You could go down the route of having fillers injected into your lips, be this your own body fat or some other product, but quite frankly I’d want whatever fat they take from me to stay out of me. Plus we’ve all seen how very wrong it can all go, so what’s the alternative?

Well, there are some out there. There’s all sorts of creams, gels and glosses that work by actually irritating the outer layer of skin, causing it to swell slightly and turn a darker color. To be honest there is not much of a visual change, but it feels like your lips have swelled to 20 times their original size and only lasts for a couple of hours. There are other types that use light reflection through high shine or gloss to make the lips appear fuller, it reminds me of the roll-on lip gloss I used to wear when I was at school, my mum always said I look like I just ate a greasy bag of chips.

So whats a girl to do when she wants that Angelina Jolie look, but doesn’t want to do anything too drastic, well you could get someone to punch you in the kisser every morning or better still you could draw it on with a good lip pencil and lipstick.

Here’s how, choose a color that is similar in shade to your real lips. You can gently outline the skin just around your lips and then color in your real lips as well. You can also buy a light colored lip pencil and add a highlight on the top middle portion of your lower lip. Do not go crazy caking on the lip pencil. Simply rub the lip pencil on the middle of your lower lip to create a light highlight. Now, put your lip gloss or sheer lipstick on over the highlighted area for a full pouty look. Now pucker up. ♥

I’m up for most things in the salon, I really am, but this one is a little way out even for me.
A Fish Eating Pedicure…

Yes that is what I said. A pedicure with flesh eating fish. These toothless fish termed garra rufa but known as “doctor fish”, nibble away at the dead skin while leaving healthy flesh untouched. Errr reminds me a little of piranhas.

Clients who have had it say that the whole fish eating part of the pedi takes about 30 minutes and cost around £35. One client says “it feels like the fish are tickling your feet so you can’t help laughing till you cry and it may prove too much if you’re ticklish”. Clients also say that they would go back for more as it leaves your tootsies feeling smoother than a baby’s derriere.

I’ll tell you what, you come to my place and I’ll set your feet in my fish tank for £15. You’ll only need 10 minutes, but trust me; the piranhas are far quicker than a bunch of doctor fish. Seriously, 20 minutes and they’ll be down to the bone! It sure will make my job a lot easier. Of course, I’m only joking…

It has not arrived in the UK yet, but salons in Turkey are offering this treatment, or you could pick one up in Asia or the US, but be careful as some fraud salons use fish with teeth.

Anyone fancy a fishy foot spa? ♥

Your nails can tell a lot about your current state of health. Good health not only shows through your hair and skin but also through your nails.

Look at your nails, are they brittle or jagged around the edges? If the answer is yes it could mean that you are lacking in the right nutrient, and you may need to change your diet or add extra supplements.

Here are a few tips to help you have and maintain healthy nails.

♥ Whilst drinking plenty of water is good for you, having your hands in water for too long can play havoc with your nails, so wear those marigolds when you need to any water work

♥ Eat a varied and healthy diet, plenty of fruits and vegatables

♥ Oils are not just for eating, massaging anyone of the following oils into your hands and especially your nails at night is a must for well nourished cuticles. Rice Bran Oil, Wheatgerm Oil, Jojoba Oil, Codliver Oil

♥ It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body so a Vitamin D supplement is a must during the winter months

♥ And lastly ladies please do not use your nails to open cans of drink or pick out staples. Imagine that your nails are beautiful gem stones and remember nails are like jewels not tools! ♥

Nowadays it’s not unusual to find men in the hairdressers having a cut and blow dry or even a few highlights put in, but find them in a beauty salon getting their nails done, now that’s something else altogether.

So what is it that’s so off putting to the male species? Is it all that nail polish and girl talk? Would they prefer it more if it was more like a barber shop or a pub?

Of course men want to go somewhere to be pampered too, they just want it to be more butch without all the flowery fragrances and pretty pink furniture.

Or maybe its the wording of all the treatments, a 007 manicure  sounds better than a Deluxe Manicure, and a V12 Vantage Pedicure sound like it’s got more oomph to it than a luxury spa pedicure.

So come on guys, if you’re out to the Casino Royale for the night don’t be afraid to get a Goldfinger, after all You Only Live Twice. ♥

Some of my clients mistake me for a nutritionist when they come to see me, and I’m often asked what course of vitamins should they start taking or should they eat more cheese and drink more milk. I say “well if you want to, but that’s not going to do anything for the white spots.”

Yes I’m talking about Leukonychia, as it’s technically known – those annoying little white spots on your nails. When I tell them “it’s trauma dear”, “trauma? what like in Casualty or Holby City”, they ask.

It’s actually caused when the nail cells don’t completely flatten due to trauma when the nails are forming, and nothing to do with the lack of zinc or calcium in your diet.

There’s nothing you can do to stop it, just be more careful with your hands and fingers and let the spots grow out.

So my advice ladies is when it comes to the heavy house work, delegate to kids, hubby, the dog or whoever and just sit back and relax with a nice cup of tea and admire your polka dot free nails. ♥

Ladies, ladies I’m going to be frank with you on this, why oh why is it that when summer ends so do your pedicures??

Do you know how many clients call me up at the beginning of the summer and say that they are in desperate need of a pedi because they haven’t had one since last summer. So I have to make sure I have some super-grade sandpaper because that’s what it’s going to take to get off all of that built-up hard skin they have been carrying around all winter, especially on the heels.

So here are some tips for the in between salon trips on how to give yourself a ‘from the kitchen cupboard’ pedi because some of the ingredients are in your kitchen cupboards right now.

Ingredients water, baking soda, olive oil sugar, milk, honey, vodka, tonic, cucumber, mint

1. Soak feet in a large bowl of warm water with a 2tbl spoons of baking soda, this will detoxify and cleans your feet. You can also add a drop of almond oil to soften your skin if you have some, or plain old olive oil will do the same trick

2.Exfoliate your feet using a mixture of olive oil and sugar, this acts like a pumice stone and will remove some of the hard skin

3. Rinse

4. Mix together the milk and honey and rub onto your feet, wrap in cling film leave for 10 minutes, this will hydrate and put some moisture  back into you skin

5. Take a large gulp of the vodka and tonic, smile, relax

6. Rinse feet and pat dry

7. Rub sliced cucumber and crushed mint over feet, to give you that cool, fresh feeling, leave for 5 minutes

8. Wipe

9. Make a mental note to make an appointment for your next salon pedicure

Now your feet feel clean and fresh and it didn’t cost a thing

And Remember ladies…a dog is for life not just for christmas, pedicures are for all year round not just for the summer. ♥

Ok ladies we all want fabulous nails, YES?

The question is how do you get them, do you go artificial, or au natural? Either way you’ll need to maintain them and give the some regular TLC.

Natural nails don’t need a lot of attention, just a weekly mini manicure and a monthly full hand job (pardon the french). And for heavens sake ladies once the polish starts to look like peeling wallpaper, take it off.

Falsies, now they need a lot more attention, there’s the 2-3 week refills, but if your hard on your hands then it will be every two weeks. And a full set every 3 months for a fresh new look. You should also have regular manicures too.

So which ever one you choose, remember ladies, nails are like jewels not tools! ♥