Essential Vacation Prep at Newcastle Hair & Beauty Clinic

You all know I’ve just arrived back in the UK from an amazing vacation to visit Mama Tenenbaum on the island of Menorca and as we all do, I put in a bit of essential beauty prepping beforehand…

Here’s my guide to Essential Vacation Prep, a simple set of treatments which are vital to getting you holiday ready. There are no luxurious facials here, just plain, simple, look good, feel great classics to get your Summer vacation of to a great start and these treatments are long lasting, requiring no maintenance during your vacation time. Bonus.

I hit up long time Fashion Voyeur collaborator Newcastle Hair and Beauty Clinic to get started and from their menu of treatments I picked these:

1. Essie Gel Nails – Fingers £35

Gel nails, you either love ’em or hate ’em and there’s no in-between. The pros are that they’re long lasting, chip resistant and super shiny, the cons are that they can be damaging to nails of not removed correctly and when they grow, you’re left with that bare crescent at the cuticle as your nails grow. Essie’s system is relatively new in terms of gel nails and it’s the brand favoured by Kate Middleton, the actual Queen, and now me, Pixie Tenenbaum, Blogger extraordinaire. Ok, gel initiation over, I like to go for a real Summery colour my Nail Technician Gemma tells me that I ALWAYS go for the shades that nobody else chooses so I’m here to show you why these neglected shades are simply the best.

I chose Essie’s ‘Sunset For Two’ a super Summery and citrus shade of orange, I figure if I tan (I don’t), it’s going to look even more awesome. It’s the Boxing off-season at the moment too so I’ve been able to let my nails grow #Winning. On day 10 two of my gels had started to peel, I’m guessing this was down to the heat so rather than panic, I buffed them back a little and it was barely noticeable other than on the two tips in question.

2. Essie Gel Nails – Toes £35

Come on, you can’t do fingers and not toes right?! I always go for gel toes on vacation, open toe shoes call for foot jewellery and metallic tattoos so it’s only fitting to throw some polish on there to make them pop.

I chose a bold, bright shade called ‘Bring Me Another’ and here’s the thing, although this isn’t actually a colour changing polish, this colour changed every day from day one, including the days that I was in the UK before I left for Menorca. Starting off as a bright, solid shade of fuchsia pink with lots of pigment and depth of colour, it faded through coral to a soft pale orange. Good thing or bad thing? I’ll let you decide. Unexpected for sure, but I actually quite liked the different looks it gave me throughout my vacation without having to paint them each time. If you choose this shade for yourself because you adore it, bear in mind that it won’t stay that shade for long but it stayed completely intact with no peeling.

3. Brow & Lash Tint £18.50

Absolutely essential. Fact. I’m currently using a product to regrow my brows (I grew up in the 90’s what can I say) and although they are coming in, they’re thinner than the rest of my brows and a tint just gives the appearance of much thicker, more uniform brows, a look that I love. I actually tint them every fortnight and I go for dark brown mixed with a little black for a custom shade. Had I not been growing my brows in, I’d add a wax to get the shape looking slick.

My lashes are pretty good but we all get those bleached tips that look like little white dots when you get up close and they can make lashes look shorter. A tint breathes life back into lashes making them look darker, longer and sleeker and it opens up the eyes – handy if like me, you’re pretty sleep deprived most of the time. Plus, no mascara required for the duration of your vacation and that’s never a bad thing. If you feel that you’re lashes are very straight and ‘disappear’ when you look at them in the mirror, you could try LVL Lashes.

4. Lycon Bikini Wax £38

If you’re not already familiar, then get familiar. This is a wax that will change your life. Maybe….

You all know that I’m a Bikini Wax Connoisseur (it’s a thing) from my posts about struggling to find a great wax North of London but Lycon changed everything. With a menu of ‘styles’ to choose from including Brazilian, Hollywood and Californian, Newcastle Hair & Beauty clinic have got you covered. Personally for me it’s a Hollywood every time (yup, that’s everything off Voyeurs), and I’m regular, every eight weeks like clockwork, you could set your watch by my waxing appointments.

I don’t have to tell you why a bikini wax is Essential Holiday Prep Voyeurs, with high line bikinis and swimsuits making a comeback thanks to Kylie Jenner, there’s more and more skin on show at the beach (and beyond) these days, don’t be that person who didn’t get a wax…

So, there it is Voyeurs, my top tips to get you vacation ready without shelling out an absolute fortune. Think of me as the Waitress Essentials of beauty, no fluffy stuff, no uber expensive treatments and nothing that requires any recovery time. Just plain, simple, affordable staple treatments. You’re welcome.

As soon as I hit home soil, I like to get a Microdermabrasion Facial £54 to slough off all the surface cells and get my skin in tip top condition. I often react to using sunscreen on my face and Microdermabrasion is a great solution, after all if you tan, you want great skin to show it off right?