The Essential 90 Minute Beauty Routine

Pep yourself up in the time it takes to watch a football match!

 

Running out of things to do while yet another World Cup match is on?

Make the most of 90 minutes to yourself, with a bride-to-be beauty routine that takes the same amount of time as the latest helping of footie.

Once a week throughout the month before your wedding is enough to put a sparkle in your eye and bring a glow to your skin that cannot be matched.

Thanks to beauty therapist Louise Thomas-Minns for this preen routine.

Start by running yourself a bath infused with a few drops of your favourite essential oils... lavender in particular will induce relaxation.

While your bath is running, a mini facial is in order. Massage either apricot kernel or even a good quality olive oil over the skin. Soak a clean washcloth in hot water and hold over the face for a few moments to steam and deeply cleanse. Then gently remove the oil and repeat.

The action of using the washcloth will have gently exfoliated your skin. Now you can apply a homemade facial mask which can be left on for the duration of your bath. For a drier mature skin, simply mash half an avocado and stir in some honey to form a paste; smooth over the face and neck. Alternatively, mix oatmeal with natural yoghurt and add either a squeeze of lemon juice for oilier skins or a teaspooon of honey for drier skin. The yoghurt will work wonders on munching away at surface dead skin.

Before getting into your bath, you could add a cup of powdered milk. Just as Cleopatra bathed in asses' milk, powdered milk is great for exfoliating while you soak.

At the end of your bath it's time to remove any excess unwanted hair to reveal a smooth skin. Try new Nair Pretty Naturals hair removal cream. I particularly like the one containing exfoliating beads to leave your legs super silky. It's quick, efficient and easy to use, and gives you extra skin-smoothing properties of papaya extract.

Finish by removing your face mask with a warm washcloth, and then spend a few moments massaging the oil you sued to cleanse in an upward, circular motion to detoxify and reduce any areas of puffiness from the face.