Hello!Happy New Year! It may be Feb already but as my last post was in 2017, I feel I should say it!
This year, for me, has started with a busy Jan but I have finally got everything under control 'life admin wise' and I am back to the blogging!
So last week, I was invited down to the Cheltenham branch of Molton Brown for an evening of pampering in collaboration with The Stuart Holmes Salon, (if you didn't catch my blog on my salon experience there click here!), the lovely girls from Beards Jewellers and the very talented Lisa Von Hallwyl; who designs the most beautiful fascinators & hats - popular amongst the Royals & celebs!
Now, one thing that everyone thinks of when they think of Cheltenham - it's the races. I remember when I first thought about moving here for a job opportunity and all I knew was that Cheltenham was where the races were! 3 years later, I feel very much invested in the run up to race week and race week itself. The Cheltenham Festival brings a buzz to this town and rightly so. Ladies day is the one us girls look forward to the most; the outfits, the hair, - it's a real showcase of fashion and trend - albeit freezing round a muddy racecourse is not quite as glam as it looks at times, but that's all part of it! Most people would agree with me when I say the getting ready part is half the fun of it. So as we are only just over a month away from ladies day - here's my tips and tricks on how to prep and feel like a queen all day - even if you don't make any money on the horses!
- Prep your body! - Just as you would for a holiday or a wedding, looking your best in your outfit is key. With 5 weeks to go there is plenty time to do few home workouts in the evening or even better get out to the gym and work hard to look your best! Aside from getting toned up to fit in your fave dress, give your body the TLC it needs by pampering your skin. If you start now you will have a most beautiful glowy skin come race week! Exfoliate weekly, moisturise daily or every second day and if you are really committing, then a body brush works wonders for increasing blood flow and circulation. See below some of my favourites from the Molton Brown range. My favourite scent is the coco and sandalwood, it gives me serious holiday vibes! The body polishes come in 4 fragrances, they are great for a luxurious scrub but I wouldn't recommend mixing the scents, so if I'm using the Gingerlily polish (my 2nd fave scent!) then I'll moisturise with the Gingerlily body lotion afterwards too! On the left is a body brush which you can pick up from a number of stores fairly cheap! This one is the body shop, it's handle is ideal for brushing in circular motions as you should on your arms and legs. I was going to go in to detail on fake tanning here also but I think it warrants it's own post so look out for that soon!
2. The hair. Now we all know that you're not fully dressed until your hair is done, and the races is no different! Whether you go for a lovely bouncy blow dry, loose curls or a full on up do, I think we can all agree it always looks amazing when you walk out the salon! Stuart Holmes offer a great range of services for the day but book in soon to make sure you get a space. Here's a few pictures of my favourite race day hair inspo, all of which would look fab with a fascinator;
3. Finally the best bit, the outfit! Pastels are back in big way again this Spring which is ideal if you are attending a summer wedding where you can recycle an outfit time and time again and don't need to feel any guilt buying a new dress for the festival in March! Here's a few of my favourite dresses that have just launched on the high street this Spring, I have a thing for Navy so I've picked my favourites alongside the pastel colours;
4. Accessorise the outfit! Once you've picked the perfect dress, it's time to choose the bling, the shoes and the fascinator! I absolutely love coloured stones in necklaces, rings and bracelets so this is something I always look out for when choosing jewellery to wear to an event. In terms of the hair piece, I love feathers, flowers and quite natural looking pieces but love adding a pop of colour to my blonde hair. and finally the shoes, my one piece of advise is pick the comfiest pair! An outfit only looks fabulous if you can last the day in it! I usually go for a wedge or a platform heel, or even a mule - anything but a stiletto!
I think that's my top 4 tips! I had the loveliest evening chatting to the experts from the salon, the girls from the jewellers, and in awe of Lisa's beautiful head piece designs! We enjoyed lovely hand and arm massages from the Molton Brown team and felt truly relaxed! Here's some pictures from the event;
Thank you for reading part 1 of my race week prep, I look forward to sharing part 2 including my full (fail safe) tanning routine!
Until then,
L x
