YBBF Challenge: Health and Wellbeing Detox

Most people seem to jump on the detox band wagon after a bit too much indulgence, which I understand. The body doesn't want any more excess yumminess. Usually, it's for a few days or even a few weeks but I am going to be doing this for six weeks. I will be eating real, wholesome food and not just juicing, taking cayenne pepper shots or whatever else is the new fad. 

This is not for weight loss reasons, although, I imagine that I will lose a bit of weight. This is so I feel completely healthy and well when I go on holiday. Having been advised to cut out sugar from my diet, having had some yucky viruses, I started to feel a whole lot better and returned to my normal self. However, I have slipped back into bad habits, which is natural when summer rolls around and prosecco is flowing! I am not one for limiting myself and not living life the way I want but the motivation of having the most amazing holiday and feeling good the whole time outweighs drinking and eating myself into oblivion for the next few weeks!

I don't know how strict I will be for every occasion. There are quite a few celebrations happening over June, so I will probably find the most healthy options and least sugary items, so that I still enjoy the celebratory atmosphere. 

I will be documenting my progress and if anyone wants to join in, please let us know via the comments, Instagram or Twitter. We would love to hear from you, see your progress, tips or just general motivation. Jen is going to be an excellent source of advice, as she is the master of eating healthily and yummily, so I will be calling on her for some new ideas and recipes. 

The thing that I am most looking forward to is having my energy levels completely back to normal. I cannot wait to be running around like an over excited child!

YBBF Challenge: Turquoise eyeliner

As we get older it is very easy to view brighter makeup trends as total no-go areas. However, after many seasons of bare-faced beauty looks and attempts to be the best-most-natural version of yourself (whatever the hell that is!) it is fantastic to see creative makeup trends returning to the catwalk again. After all, makeup is supposed to be fun isn't it?

With this in mind Kay challenged me to come up with a wearable version of the turquoise eyeliner trend. Admittedly the term 'wearable' very much depends on personal taste. Despite being thirty I am more than happy to throw caution to the wind where makeup is concerned... but I think this look is something you could easily adapt to suit your personal style.

Please excuse the non-glam photo, this was first thing on a Sunday morning...

I decided that to keep the majority of my eye makeup simple and neutral with just a cream shadow base and taupe in the crease, winged eyeliner and black mascara. Then beneath the lower lashline I used a jade green pencil almost all the way along, before blending a lighter turquoise eyeshadow into the inner corner. On the outer corner I took a small amount of black eyeshadow on a liner brush and blended it along the outer third until it met the winged liner.

The gradual colour change, from dark on the outer corner to light on the inner corner gave the look some dimension which I think is key to making bright colours flattering. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this look so I used cheap high street products to try it out – the green pencil is the Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner in Emerald Sparkle and the turquoise shadow is from the MUA Winter Forest palette.

Having decided I would wear this again I think I will consider adding some green and turquoise shades to my MAC palette. High street makeup is a great way to try new colours at a fraction of the price, however brighter colours (particularly eyeshadows) are one area where you tend to get what you pay for and sadly the pigmentation didn't impress me with the MUA shadows. The turquoise looks much brighter in the pan than it is on the skin and I had to add a bit of water to intensify the colour. The Rimmel pencil had a much more vibrant colour but it contained flecks of glitter which frankly I think is just a bit weird. (Perhaps the word 'sparkle' in the name should have given the game away!...)

If you fancy trying a bright colour in a more subtle way you could always just use a turquoise pencil along the waterline. However I wanted something a bit bolder and more long-lasting as I was heading to a festival and I can report that this lasted all day with just the MUA shadow fading.

YBBF Challenge: nourishing haircare products

We extended our YBBF challenge to our followers on Instagram and @sarahhamburgers requested some advice on products for nourishing long hair, particularly natural ones. 

Jen and I both have long hair but Jen's is in much better condition than mine! To be fair, mine's been through the ringer with hair dye, dodgy straighteners and bad products when I was a young'un. But over the last few years, my hair has been pretty healthy, until recently. A bout of shingles along my hair line left the hair dry, lifeless and lacklustre.  So, the following products are the ones I have bought to help bring the life and shine back to my hair: 

I bought Pura D'Or Argan Oil Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo. As the name suggests, it is marketed as a hair loss preventative but for me, this wasn't really the draw. It was the Argan Oil, SLS free, paraben free and chemical free ingredients and I have to say, my hair has grown like a shaggy beast since using it. However the price tag is steep at £50 for 16 fl oz. The information says that each bottle lasts three months and actually, mine lasted four and a half. 

Something less expensive is Green People's Sensitive Shampoo. With aloe leaf juice, pineapple, green tea, 83% organic ingredients, plus it's free from nasty things like irritating emulsifiers and synthetic scents. It's a lovely, naturally based product that really cleans the hair and doesn't pump it with chemicals.

Aveda's Invati range is also really great for encouraging new hair and healthy hair growth by exfoliating the scalp and removing build up, allowing other products a chance to nourish the scalp. I tend to use it once a week, before using the Pura D'Or.

Ojon's Rare Blend Oil has been my recent hair oil of choice. It acts as a heat protector, so I apply it to wet hair and comb through with a de-tangling comb. It's also great for fly aways after styling. 

I apply it to the ends of my hair if I'm putting my hair up in a top knot bun and I leave them to soak up the product whilst my hair is up. 

Dry shampoo. It's become a beauty bestfriend because let's face it, sometimes we don't get up as early as we should and end up foregoing a hair wash! I have been using Klorane, which has far more natural ingredients and no talcum powder. It's made with nettles and whatever those nettles do, they can keep doing it! It easily brushes out, immediately makes hair look fresher and doesn't coat the hair in lots of yucky product.

Hair masks. I tend to use a mask or treatment once a week. Just after the shingles, I massaged Moroccan Oil into the scalp and hair and left it over night. It really gave the moisture my hair needed. Morroccan Oil's Intense Hydrating Mask is also great and as I don't use a thick conditioner (it weighs down my hair), putting this on for ten minutes or so, gives a moisture injection. 

Nothing beats eating the right types of food to help hair look healthy. Don't get me wrong, products like coconut oil are great for a home made mask but adding avocado to a salad or using coconut oil in baking is so nourishing for your insides as well as being good for hair. I, personally, don't take supplements like biotin. I tried it and my stomach objected! However, I used to take Pefectil's Skin, Hair and Nails Vitamin Supplement and it certainly did work. 

If anyone has any other suggestions for a YBBF Challenge, please comment below or Instagram us at: your_beauty_best_friend. We'd love to hear from you!