Beauty Geek by Caroline King

Its been a while since I sat down and wrote to you all, that's mainly due to not enough hours in the day and days in the week. Firstly, apologies....I love to write and this subject is one that I get asked about from time to time when I am holding training sessions. But surprisingly, not many people know about CPDs or understand their importance. Hence me writing this lovely blog for you all to read up on and hopefully answer your queries and questions? So what does CPD even mean?  It stands for Continual Professional Development. This is very important in anyone's career, because it shows a tracking process of training and learning and is a way of documenting skills, knowledge and experience through your individual career path. Why should we have it? Well, because its a tool to help you record and reflect on your training  development, what you have learnt and when. Used in the right way it can be a great tool. It a great way of helping you target where you wish to dev

I wanted to share with you today one of my quick tanning application tricks that works well for fair to medium skin tones and is great for those of you out there, like me, just don't always have time to get your own spray tan or full manual application because we are just simply too busy.....or more importantly, too tired when we do get time Firstly like all great tanning application the secret to it lasting well and fading evenly is great preparation of the skin, so a good all over body exfoliation in is order. Product list: Disposable gloves or a tanning mitt Dark glowing Sienna X tan 8% Body Moisturising Balm I generally find that I am between a 6% and an 8% tan for this time of year. Sometimes 8% is a little too dark for my face and hands. Especially if you just want a little colour pick me up. So start on my face and work down my body. You can apply this just to your desired area or all over. Depends how much time you have mainly? Pop on your gloves or tanning m

Man-i-cures make great nail services... Lets not forget when treating our clients that male members are coming over to the dark side and enjoying a session of pampering just like us ladies do. They know a thing or two about a beauty regime. Like the rest of us they have a busy work-life and need a bit of "me time" . From my own personal experience, I have seen my treatment on male clients raise considerably over the past 5 years. I do treat a lot of couples, partners and often then leads to their children too. Make it welcoming.... If you want to bring in both male and female client bases, make sure your work environment looks inviting for both. Nothing too pink and over girly. Lots of magazines in reception to suit all. Once you get men into the salon, and they enjoy their experience of the treatment and the company plus the environment. You will have a loyal client for sure. What to consider with a Man-i-cure? Most men will not want to have colour ename

So its mid-week and I've decided I need to have a clear out of my tanning kit and prep ready for tomorrows busy salon day of pampering all my lovely clients. It was whilst doing this I came across my trusty disposable kimono that it came to me, how under-rated this item really is. Its so cost effective and an essential part of my tanning kit. I've just hand washed mine in some anti-bacterial soap and rinsed out, then hung them out on the line to dry through today.   So why is it part of my essential kit? Even though it is disposable, it can be washed  and reused several times. or you can put it into the washing machine on a 30 degree wash. but be aware...don't tumble dry! Trust me, I did try this and it came out barbie doll size. Which would be fine if I had a daughter that could play dress up. But I don't, and my son wasn't too impressed when I offered this to be used on action man! It doesn't help that he is 15! They are lightweight, and ide

I am sure if we all sat round a table we could share a few of these common wives tales. Told to us by our parents, grandparents or siblings.Fact is most of them are just myths, legends, tales, lies. Call them what you must. But its time to lay down some facts about these myths, and set the record straight. Myth One: White spots or marks on your nails means you are lacking in calcium? FALSE It means you have caused trauma to your nail by knocking it or sometimes it can be if you bite your nails or put your fingers in your mouth a lot. It is nothing to do with lacking in calcium. It is amost like a little bruise. Myth Two: Green on the nails means you have fungus growing on them? FALSE Fungi is whitish  yellow in colour and not green. Green markings indicate mold on the nails. This is just like what you get in your bathrooms when moisture gets trapped along with a warm environment. This can often occur when nail enhancements have been on and lifted slightly. Water gets

I decided it was time to share my "beauty geek" essentials with you all. Products I have tried and tested and love for various reasons. Through my reviews, you may like the sound of them and perhaps try something you wouldn't have done previously? Or share my views or even disagree? I will be marking all my reviews with my "Beauty Geek" point score out of 10. 10 being highest, 1 being lowest. First up; Nip & Fab Pistachio Sundae Dry Skin Fix Body Butter 200ml £9.95   I do suffer from dry skin and I am your typical nice weather moisturizer on my body...basically if the weather is warm, I moisturize but if its cold, I moisturize the parts that I can see! The main thing I love about this cream is it smells delicious and looks amazing. It is a body butter but isn't overly greasy. It soaks in quickly, so is ideal in the mornings when you are in a rush to get dressed and go. The cost is really reasonable too for the size of the tub. Brilliant for ho

Facing facts that am never getting any younger, and no I will not age gracefully! I will do what needs must to help my skin stay as younger looking as possible. More and more of us are becoming more aware of how we can look whether it be with the helping hand of surgery or not. Once you start these things like botox and fillers etc, where does it stop? I have always had an interest in beauty and skin, its my job and has been for over 20 years. Am sure like most of us, over the years, and certainly when I was younger i never thought I would get older or have wrinkles. I came across this little hand held tool, oooh some years back. I have been using it myself on and off for about three years. I go through phases and go mad with it and then it goes back in the bathroom cabinet for a few months. I have recently pulled it back out again and started using it now it looks like Summer has popped out to play again. So today I am going to explain the basics of this to you and then aim to do a

We all love to show off a good battle wound. Stretch marks are one of those things you are either lucky enough to not have suffered, or unlucky to get everyone elses dose, and then some! Knowing that early stages to heal these scars and stretch marks is the key. Once they have gone silvery and back to normal skin colour the healing is set and you really are very limited to what you can do. Knowing that you can help this healing process with everyday ingredients has got to be a big plus right?  No massive outlay of buying all these so called "magic" potions and lotions. Here is how to help rid scar tissue and stretch marks with natural remedies which will visibly improve their appearance over time. Coconut oil: The fatty acids in coconut oil work like antioxidants preventing and reversing free radical damage on the skin. Apply over damaged skin area on a daily basis until you achieve desired results. Carrot Juice: Rich in minerals and vitamin C

Hopefully, now we can wave a big goodbye to Winter weather. Welcome home to Spring days and happy holidays! But, this can come at a price. The English being the ones that as soon as a mere ray of sunshine peers through, we are out in our shorts, T shirts and vest tops. At the same time, showing little more than we may deem as necessary!? I wanted to give you lovely lot some tips on choosing the right sunscreen and how much should you be applying and how often? These are all points I really don't think most of us understand. I still know of people that don't apply sunscreen because they think it stops them from tanning. There really is No excuse nowadays with improved spray tanning products and ingredients being improved all the time. Sunshine, should bring happy times, we do need sunshine to aid with vitamin D production. But not at a price. Be safe, have an understanding, and look after the skin your in...its your biggest organ after all, and we only get one! Diffe

In the current climate, with everyone watching their backs and looking at different ways they can cut back and budget their everyday existence. One of the first things I hear customers tell me is luxuries such as beauty regimes are one of the first to go or at least be stretched out for a longer time lapse. Does it have to be penny pinching? Surely using something on our skin is better than nothing at all? Well, as an owner once upon a time of a high street shop, I had all the top skincare and make up brands on sale. Yes, people came and purchased them from all around. But now that its just me renting a room within a hotel, I didn't think this type of marketing was right or indeed necessary. I tend to order goods and stock in as and when my clients tell me they are getting low. This way I don't have dead money sat on my shelves. So, in view of all the above I have been looking into other brands of skincare and doing a bit of experimenting myself. Aldis was my market, and t

I have decided to put this blog together today because Summer is hopefully looming and we tend to drink more when the sun is shinning. Also, because it is a topic that is very close to me as some of my family members sadly are or were alcoholics. By were, I mean they have sadly passed away due to alcohol related illnesses. It is said that alcohol is a genetic illness. Which is another reason for me to research this subject in depth. I usually write about beauty related topics. Although slightly different, and with a twist, I do think this is beauty related, but on a different level. i wanted to share a small part of my personal journey with a family member. Looking at this topic from a professional point of view and someone who looks at skin more closely. Bad skin tone, texture and broken capillaries are all common connections with people that drink a lot. I am a person who loves a drink. I am more of a sociable drinker and love a get together with friends and family over a bott

Today I decided it was time I told you about my latest discovery. Even if  you are not from the beauty industry its not hard to see how eyes have become BIG news. Lashes and brows are big business at the moment. from strip lashes, clusters, to individual lashes. Brows have gone from shaping to threading to brow make up and powders. Then HD Brows bringing us more precise looking brows with definition and bold shapes. Brows have been flooded into the limelight thanks to high profile celebrities and fashion shows. But who really wants to sit day in, day out penciling in their brows or using stencils and brow powders? Semi-permanent make up really is being brought to the forefront, I believe is the way make up is now heading. For many years now I have wanted to take on semi-permanent tattooing. Thinking this would be wonderful to wake up with brows that have instant impact and eyeliner that never smudges or fades to leave you with the "panda" eye look. What put me off was

A subject that I am sure interests a lot of us, whether you are part of the beauty industry or not. There are so many "key words" thrown at us nowadays, its sometimes hard to know what is the right thing to use or not? Hypoallergenic....Organic.....Natural.....Paraben Free..... Cruelty Free.......Skin kind...... What exactly do these words mean? More to the point are they going to be good for my skin and perform how they say they are on the bottle? Alas, do not believe all you read on bottles is what it is. You would think that there are high standards that lotions and potions should be tested under to ensure they contain safe ingredients that are good for our skins. Sadly, there is more to this than meets the eye, as I discovered when I looked inside my own bathroom cabinet. I was shocked at what I was applying onto mine and my families skins. Did you know that you may be applying ingredients such as: Whale Poo Crushed parasitic Beetles Fish Scales Roadkill B