Bad For Beauty- Smoking!

So I came up with the idea of a series of posts that will talk about things that are bad for our looks, and the biggest one to start with is of course smoking. As a none-smoker (never have been) I know I can't say too much about giving up and i'm sure 99.9% of you know it's BAD for you, but do you really know the effects it can have on your looks?

One of most obvious things to mention is the fact it can give you cancer, we all know that one right? but did you know that is also damages your smile? smoking stains your teeth, making them appear not as white and can also cause gum disease and even tooth loss in some cases, so that's a pretty serious one to think about if your smile is important for you.

So much has been said about smoking being bad for your skin, and if i'm honest that's one of the main reason I never took up smoking (vain I know)  because the look of my skin is so important to me, and I want to keep it looking young for as long as possible. Let's just get it out there and say SMOKING CAUSES YOUR SKIN TO AGE PREMATURELY! this happens because smoking robs your skin of it's natural collagen and elastin, causing it to lose it's plumpness which makes it look youthful and bright. Smoking also deoxygenates your blood so your skin gets less nutrients, causing your skin to look saggy. 

One of the main things you tend to notice about smokers skin (sorry guys, but it's it's true!) is the dark circles. Smoking reduces your circulation which makes your skin appear lifeless and grey, and your dark circles even darker, so no matter how much sleep you get, your under-eye area will look tired. 

I could go on and on about the bed effects it has on your skin and more importantly your health, but i'm sure most you know it all already, but sometimes it takes something as silly as your looks to help you kick the habit as it's easy to ignore the effects it's having on the inside, but no so easy when you look at your skin and see the effects of your bad habits.

What do you guys think? are you smokers? does it effect your looks?

-Thesparkleicious-

JASON Glowing Apricot Hand & Body Lotion!

Hands up if you are as obsessed with moisturizing your body as I am? didn't think so. At the risk of sounding rather strange, I love the feeling of soft skin, and the feeling of your body  oil, lotion or butter (see? i'm not even picky) sinking in to your skin.....so relaxing and pampering!

Enter the product we are talking about today, the JASON Glowing Apricot Hand & Body Lotion. JASON describe this as a " botanically rich, non-greasy daily lotion naturally delivers deep, long-lasting hydration. Brightening Apricot Oil relieves skin dullness while nourishing Almond Oil instantly hydrates extremely dry skin. With use, skin is soft, smooth and glowing with health."  and I have to say, I have not been this impressed by a body lotion in a long time.

Some key things worth mentioning about this product:

• It smells AMAZING! as the name would suggest, it has a lovely fresh apricot scent that will leave you sniffing your arms for hours afterwards. (No? just me? okay....)
• If you suffer from dry skin, products containing almond oil are a fabulous solution as they help to really soften the skin and moisturize it deeply.
•  At £6.99 per 250 gr it's pretty good value for money, considering the fact it's free from parabens and phthalates.
• The texture is pretty thick yet smooth and gives a sheen to the skin (as often happens with body lotion containing almond oil) so the fact it's in a tube rather than a bottle makes it easy to dispense.   

I must say I have not noticed it having a brightening effect on my skin, but it does do a good job at leaving it looking, smelling and feeling fantastic, and if you are someone who likes to stay away from too many  chemicals in your products, this is the one for you.

JASON glowing apricot hand & body lotion is available here  

Have you tried anything by JASON before?

-Thesparkleicious-

*PR sample 

How To Stop Biting Your Nails

I must confess, till about the age of 13 I was a big time nail-biter. I use to bite them down to raw little stumps, and could never paint them. I have since then stopped, and have not bitten them for years actually, but I can appreciate how hard it is to stop and how biting them gets in the way of you be able to feel proud of your nails, being able to shape and paint them however you like.

So why do some people bite their nails while others don't? it's simple really, it's a habit, and as we know, once something becomes a habit it can be ever so hard to break. Most women tend to do it when they are nervous or stressed as it offers a kind of mindless distraction, but ignoring the fact it doesn't look that nice, it can also disturb the growth of your nails and in some cases, cause infections.

So how do you stop?

• One of the most common methods used when you are a child are using one of those horrid tasting things on your nails so you don't want to taste it. If it didn't work on you then, it won't work on you now.
• Always have a nail file on you. As I said, it's a habit, but by not giving yourself the temptation of picking and biting a jagged nails, you  will end up breaking the pattern so every time you  feel the need to bite, file instead.
• Keep your nails short and smooth so there are no rough corners to pick at or snag.
• Use a nail hardener (Sally Hansen hard as nails is a gab one) as it the stronger your nails are, the less you will want to bite them.
• One they are looking good, make sure you keep your nails looking good by painting them and using a cuticle oil, so you won't want to ruin how nice they look.

So there you have it, my top tips for the ultimate nails biter, or hopefully, soon to be ex-nail biter?

-Thesparkleicious-

Are we obsessed with hair removal?

It has to be said, I'm a little OCD when it comes to hair removal. I can vividly remember at the age of 11 thinking "I don't like this" and taking my dad's razor and well, hacking it all off! The older (and wiser in this case I might add) I got, the more savvy I became when it came to hair removal.

I think most of us girls start off shaving when we are teens, than dabble in the odd smelly hair removal cream application before we start thinking of better options such a waxing and epilating. That was the case for me anyhow, I am an avid epilator on my legs, and I would never dream of using any other method of hair removal apart from waxing on my bikini area. The only  area I have shaved in years has been under my arms because I just find it so easy to do everyday,which bring me to the topic of this post. I think i'm a little obsessed when it comes to hair removal......

I can't handle having body hair. there, I 've said it . The slightest sight of fuzz sends me reaching for my epilator (Of course sometime I have no choice, like bikini waxing for example, you have to let the hair grow in order it wax it) and I have to make sure my legs, under arms and bikini area are hair free at all times. I'm not the most hairy person in the world, but i'm not one of those lucky women who can shave their legs  once a week and can get away with it. I think in today's world, zero body hair is considered the ideal and that's the reason so many of us are obsessed with it. If you look at the older generation of women  (Late 40's to 60's in my opinion) they always seem to be much more at ease with body hair, not minding a little bit of leg fuzz or under arm hair.........So i'm asking, when and why did be become obsessed with being smooth?

Is it just force of habit or is because I always feel much more sexy when i'm smooth, and I would never even thinking about letting my boyfriend touch me if I had body hair, despite the fact that I feel super comfortable with him  and have been with him for almost 4 years, and to be honest I don't think he would even notice! at the moment i'm shaving all areas because i'm using an at home laser hair removal device that requires you to only shave, and I absolutely hate shaving!

So, is it just me who is obsessed or is it all of us? are men to blame? or is the constant quest for perfection that is to blame? Do tell!  

-Thesparkleicious-

All about my skin!

Just like hair, a girl's skin is one of those things that can make or break your feel good factor for the day.Wake up in the morning with a clear glowing complexion? perfect. Wake up with dull, tired looking skin, or god forbid a spot or two, and most women will be left feeling not so fabulous. 


I have to say that I have always been pretty lucky with my skin. As a teenager all I suffered from was a few spots here and there, and I have never had acne. I take very good care of my skin, I never sleep with my makeup on (EVER), I cleanse and tone twice a day and I use sunscreen on a daily basis. My skin is very oily, but most of time that does not really bother me as it's not very hard to handle. I have however, noticed that as I have gotten older, my skin is starting to have some more "grown up" skin issues.....such as dryness. Yes ladies, oily skin can be dry too!  No matter what I do, my skin has it's dry patches (under my eyebrows and on the sides of my cheeks n case you were  wondering) and I suffer from pigmentation from past sun damage (back when I was not as sun aware) and if I ever have a break out,  the scar will stick around for life. I use to have an issue with the size of my pores too, and while thy are not 100% invisible, they are no longer huge thanks to my daily use of the clarisonic. 


I think as a beauty blogger and YouTuber, you end up becoming a little more obsessed with your skin than your average woman, because you know so much about it, and I must also point out the skincare is my weakness.....sure I love makeup and nail polish, but my true passion is skincare. I love everything about it, and I truly enjoy the process of taking off my makeup, cleansing and giving myself at-home facials on a weekly basis.  I am looking for the perfect skin as I think it's so important and the base of everything else, but I can't seem to be there yet.....


How do you feel about this topic? what are you skin issues?