Look Slimmer ... with a little assistance ;-)

Get yourself into some Spanx!  

We can all be grateful to the woman that invented Spanx, Sara Blakely below, the world's first self-made billionaire!  

With Spanx you can choose which slimming level you would like - medium, super or super-duper.  You can go for tummy-taming, thigh-trimming, butt-boosting, waist cinchers, mid-thigh shapers ... whatever area you want to slim down.

The power panties are one of their most famous products, with the feel of hosiery and the power of a shaper.

Adele, famously wore three or four pairs of Spanx under her dress at the Grammy's.  Her figure looked amazing!

Even if it's just a few pounds you wish you could lose to fit into a favourite outfit, don't sit trying to hold your tummy in all night, just get a pair of these on and enjoy yourself, confident in the knowledge that you look great!  Super fit gym bunnies, like Gwyneth Paltrow, swear by them, and younger actresses, like Kristen Stewart, proudly wear them under their figure hugging dresses.

If you want a cheaper alternative to Spanx, M&S have some great shapewear, and they are leading the way with their affordable dresses with built-in shapewear (the one below is available in sizes 8 - 22).

Look younger ... with the Botox alternative!

In the days before botox, film stars relied on frownies to minimise their fine lines for close-ups. I've tried these and they do work, they won't make the wrinkles disappear but they definitely do have a positive impact.  

Only downside is that you won't be the most attractive bed partner covered in little brown triangles!  (My husband informed me he'd seen a similar character on Star Trek :-)

The blurb on the Frownies website says it best:

Frownies are facial pads made from natural, skin-friendly materials. Frownies are applied to the corners of the eyes and mouth to gently re-educate the underlying muscles to assume their correct, relaxed and natural appearance. Frownies, in fact, allow the deep expression lines to heal leaving younger, relaxed-looking skin.

• Dramatically reduce expression lines
• Safe: dermatologist approved
• Natural: vegetable-based adhesive on unbleached paper
• Method: train underlying facial muscles to relax
• Results: smoothes skin and softens deep lines

After using Frownies for several nights, you will notice the disappearance of facial lines by morning; but, by evening a possible reappearance of the lines may occur, depending on the kind of day you have had. However, the more nights you are able to train your facial muscles with Frownies, the sooner results will begin to last all day.

INGREDIENTS:

Contains: Unbleached Natural Kraft Paper with water-soluble dry gum adhesive.

Botox® Alternative • All Natural • Dermatologist Approved 

A box lasts for ages so they are good value for money, £17.50 for 144 patches.  A cheap face lift!

Look Younger ... with eye brightening eyelashes!

One of the quickest ways to give yourself an instant facelift is to curl your eyelashes.  It opens up tired eyes, lifts your lids, and makes you look years younger!  Just have a look at the image below to see the difference curling your eyelashes can make.

My favourite eyelash curlers are by shu uemura, currently £20 at House of Fraser.  Well worth their price as they don't leave the eyelash with the L-shape 'curl' some cheaper brands leave.

The trick to curling your eyelashes correctly is to 'walk' the curler along the length of your lashes.  Once curled, apply mascara, and when dry, apply a coat of waterproof mascara to give lasting hold.

If you don't like the idea of the crimp-style eyelash curlers, use a heated eyelash curler instead.  Apply your mascara as usual, then starting at the base of your lashes, push up and twist the curler in your hand to achieve a lifting curl to the lash.  (Don't worry these never become too warm, so you'll not burn yourself).  My favourite heated eyelash curler is by eyelure, currently £10.20 in Debenhams.

Inspirations ... my mum (80 yrs old)

This is my mum, Winnie, on the morning of her 80th birthday!  I couldn't start this blog without having her as my number one inspiration.  

My mum has a youthful, optimistic attitude, a busy social life, eats very healthily (but doesn't deny herself frequent treats!), walks for half an hour EVERY day, and her home never empties of friends & family sitting at her kitchen table, with a cup of tea in hand.  

Mum's too busy living life to think about getting old!