Beauty Tips for Brides
A six-month countdown is recommended to make sure you look as radiant and healthy as possible on your wedding day, but even if you only have a couple weeks left you can see some stunning results to help you maintain that center-of-attention look.
Diet and Exercise
In order to look your best, eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly are vital components. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, get your eight glasses of water a day, and reduce alcohol consumption. These three tips alone will help prevent your skin from looking dull. Many brides also face the desire to shed those extra pounds before their wedding day. For most of us, it’s a battle between craving fattening food and wanting to lose that weight. Drinking freshly squeezed, organic juices feed your body condensed nutrients that are easy to digest, improve your skin beauty, and make you feel “full” – which helps you lose weight.
Try these 3 recipes for a great boost in your nutritious intake:
GINGER ALE JUICE
� 5 stalks of celery
� 1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger
� 1 ping-pong-ball-sized red beet
� The greens from 2 beets
� 2 long, skinny lacinato kale leaves
� 1 medium-sized pear, minus the seeds (reserve thin slices for garnish)
� Optional: fizzy mineral water
1. Juice the produce
2. Pour into glasses
3. Garnish each glass with a thin slice of pear.
This is mild-tasting and resembles fizzless ginger ale. (If you want a fizzy drink, mix the juice with carbonated mineral water.)
CITRUS REFRESHER
(Reserve one thin slice of each fruit for each glass)
� 2 navel oranges
� 2 tangerines
� 1 Key lime
1. Juice these using a citrus juicer.
2. Mix all together and serve.
3. Garnish glasses with a thin slice of each fruit.
Kick-up-your-heels option: Serve each person shot glasses filled with the individual fruit juices, along with an empty cocktail glass and a stirrer. The guests can pour the shot glasses into the empty glass and stir.
OXYMORON
� 1 cup of cut up fresh pineapple
� 1 grapefruit
� 1 sprig of parsley for each glass
1. Cut up equal amounts of the above fruits.
2. Run the pineapple through a juicer
3. Juice the grapefruit with a citrus juicer.
4. Mix both juices together and pour into elegant glasses.
5. Garnish with parsley sprig.
Kick-up-your-heels-option: Garnish with sprig of cinnamon-basil instead of the parsley.
Exercise, the other half of this aspect of your beauty planning, improves your circulation and flushes away the toxins that cause skin blemishes. Exercising also tends to help ease stress, which is definitely a welcome thing in the days before your wedding. Aim for about 30 minutes of gentle exercise per day. If you already follow an exercise routine, great! If you don’t follow one yet, what are you waiting for? This is a part of your life that will follow you long past the big day and enrich your happiness in uncountable ways. If you would like a great, gentle workout to try, check out The Walking Workout here: http://www.bodytrends.com/articles/cardio/walkidea.htm
Facials
Cleansing and moisturizing your skin every day helps get rid of any impurities. Facials are recommended only if you have a few months before the wedding. Believe me, the last thing you need is to try out a new facial two days before the wedding only to find out that you’re allergic to its ingredients. No bride wants to say “I Do” with a blotchy face.
The best natural facial mask is honey. Simply place a clean cloth in warm water, and gently wash your face to open the pores up and remove surface impurities. Then, smear on the honey in a thin, even layer. Leave this on for 15-30 minutes. Grab another clean cloth, warm up your water, and gently rinse the mask off. Once your skin is clean, use cold water to close your pores. This type of facial should be used once a week.
Hair Care
Getting your hair in shape doesn’t take much effort, and is something that you’ll want to continue long after your big day. According to the experts, you should wash your hair only when it feels dirty (usually about ever 2-3 days), and deep condition the hair once a month. This is where an oil or conditioner is combed through your hair and left on for at least 10 minutes before fully rinsed out.
Massaging your scalp with shampoo while you wash is another helpful hint. Massage stimulates blood flow and encourages the growth of healthy hair. When dry, brushing your hair well (remember the old 100-strokes idea?) again stimulates the scalp, and also gets rid of any dead hair. Vidal Sassoon recommends that you also work out the hairstyle for your wedding day well in advance. If you plan on having it cut, make sure that it’s done about a week before the ceremony. This way, your style will keep its shape but has time to settle.
Hand and Foot Care
Your hands and feet shouldn’t be forgotten either. Beauticians suggest a manicure and pedicure at a beauty salon every 2-3 weeks before the wedding, which normally includes a foot massage to stimulate your skin. At home, you should moisturize your hands once each day, and soak your feet in warm water for 10 minutes twice a week.
When it comes to your nails, it’s important to file them at least twice a week and push back the cuticles while you’re in the bath. A simple buffer (the tool, not the chemicals) will also help restore the natural beauty and shine to your fingernails. As you prepare for the wedding day, pay particular attention to not bite or chew your nails, and don’t wear any polish. This prevents the nails from yellowing; most brides choose a natural look for their nails on the day of the wedding, and you don’t want to have an unhealthy look.
You know what it takes to make yourself feel good. In these months of hectic preparation, it’s just easier to overlook those things. Take time for yourself, and your beautiful face will shine on the big day to come.
