Facials in a Flash (AD)
An event that’s all about skincare and fashion tips for busy mums is right up my street, so I was really excited to be invited to attend the Facials in a Flash event on Wednesday*.
This was being hosted by Gemma and Sam from This Is Mothership thanks to Samsung Mobile at the Baltic in Gateshead.
So having some flexi to use before my maternity leave started I thought I’d treat bump and I to a little jaunt to the Baltic.
Our hosts for the event were the lovely Samantha Silver and Gemma Rose Breger.
Sam is an award-winning beauty journalist and the beauty director at Stylist magazine while Gemma is one of the most in-demand fashion and celebrity stylists in London.
Together they created This is Mothership when on maternity leave to cover all things fashion, beauty and baby!
To document the goings on of the day we were all kindly gifted the use of a new Galaxy S10 to take as many snaps as we wanted to.
The first part of the event was all about skincare tips – giving yourself a facial in 20 minutes or less.
Facials in a flash
Sam recommends ditching the old faithful makeup wipes as they are bad for the environment and not great for your skin. Instead she says we should be double cleansing.
The first cleanse is about removing your makeup. Using micellar water and cotton pads (bonus points if they are reusable ones) gently rub your makeup of, taking care round your eyes.
When you’re happy you’ve removed the thick of your makeup it’s time for the second cleanse. This was the first time that I’ve used a cleansing balm. This one from the Body Shop smells lovely and a little goes a long way.
The Body Shop Camomile cleansing butter
With clean hands rub a small amount between your fingers to warm up and then gently massage into your skin. Use a fresh cloth or flannel and some warm not hot water to gently wipe the residue off your face.
Using the flannel to remove the excess
Sam reminded us that it’s important to use your flannel or cloth only once and then pop it in the wash.
Once you’ve cleansed your skin it’s time for your treat – a face mask. We used the Garnier Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask. Simply open the packaging, slide out the mask, carefully peel the blue protective wrapper and gently apply to your face.
Garnier Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask
The instructions say leave on for 15 minutes but you could leave it on for longer. The good thing about these masks are you can do other things while it works its magic on your skin so prepare dinner, empty the dishwasher or read a book.
Sam said we should aim to use a sheet mask like this once a week.
Using the sheet mask
This one is absolutely saturated in product and when it was time to remove the mask we then massaged in the excess so our skin got the most out of it.
After using the mask my skin feels brighter, plumper and so much softer.
My post-sheet mask skin looking very fresh!
The next step is to use an eye cream. To apply use a small amount on your ring finger as you use the least amount of pressure. Don’t rub in, instead use a pitter patter motion which helps to de-puff your eyes.
Enter a caption
The next part of the event was about fashion tips for busy mums.
Scale back, organise and love your wardrobe
Gemma talked us through the value of having a wardrobe cleanse at least once every six months. If you have an organised wardrobe with items accessible you can quickly and easily pull outfits together with little fuss.
Go through your wardrobe and take everything out. Organise it into piles – charity, chucking it, selling it and keeping it.
Only put things back in your wardrobe that you actually love, it makes so much sense!
It’s up to you how your organise your own wardrobe but Gemma said she likes to colour coordinate. All blouses are together and go from white to dark.
She recommends ditching the old wire hangers and instead investing in some nice thin velvet ones as they take up less space, stop items falling off and look nice too. She recommends picking some up from Primark or Amazon as they aren’t expensive.
Wardrobe staples for busy mums
Once your wardrobe is cleansed you can take stock of what you have and what you need. It’s demoralising to have items that don’t fit you in there so get rid of them and replace them with ones that do fit.
Gemma said we should ditch the white bra and instead have nude as it shows through clothing much less. She recommends you get properly measured by a bra fitting specialist which I totally agree with, I’m so much more comfortable after my bra fitting during my Maternity VIP Experience at JoJo Maman Bébé.
Once you know your size get rid of bras that no longer fit and replace with your new size getting nude, black, pretty and sports bras to cover all bases.
An ill-fitting bra is uncomfortable, can be painful and doesn’t look right on!
A white t-shirt can be dressed up or down and never goes out of fashion says Gemma. Opt for triblend material as it will last longer and go for a longer sleeve length as it’s more flattering, you can always roll it up to mix up the style.
Gemma recommends Zara and Sam was wearing a really nice white t-shirt from New Look.
Jeans are always a good staple in any wardrobe but with so many styles to choose from Gemma recommends booking yourself in for a personal shopping experience.
Many larger stores and department stores offer these free of charge with no obligation to buy. It does give you the opportunity to get advice and try styles you wouldn’t normally.
Gemma and Sam are big fans of the mum jean as it holds it shape well and the high waist helps to draw the eye to the smaller part of your body. Tucking your white t-shirt in creates a clean silhouette.
Denim on a skinny jean is much thinner material and is more susceptible to wear and tear quicker.
Gemma said it’s more flattering to have a break between your ankle and where the jean stops to break up your body, so look at leg length when trying on jeans.
As a former Accessorize employee I’m a big fan of jewellery and totally agree that a few accessories with your outfit make it look like you’ve mad a lot of effort.
Jewellery can also create an illusion too, lengthening and widening the body for example with long or short chunky necklaces respectively.
A good fitting blazer that fits well on your shoulders – the seam of the shoulder section sitting on the nobble part of your shoulder – can transform any outfit and once baby is here I’m investing in a good blazer!
I was so pleased to hear that Gemma and Sam hate ironing too, instead they recommend using a steamer to take the stress and creases out of your clothes. Don’t put wrinkled and crumpled items away in your wardrobe – you’re much less likely to take them out and iron them on a busy morning and it’s true!
With the skincare and fashion tips duly noted it was time for brunch. The staff at the restaurant within the Baltic, Six were so accommodating and put on a lovely spread for us.
Fruit salad
I indulged in some flaky pastries, fresh fruit and a really good bacon sandwich while chatting with another blogger and two mums who are fans of Gemma and Sam.
It was a brilliant couple of hours which absolutely flew by and I learnt so much.
I was really impressed with the quality of the pictures from the Galaxy S10. The different modes within the camera app are really impressive, particularly the option for taking a group selfie so you don’t chop someone off the end and the ability to share straight to Instagram too.
The Samsung folk kindly gifted me an SD card so I could take all my snaps home with me.
I had a quick chat with Gemma and Sam before leaving and they are just so lovely!
We were kindly gifted the products we had used during the facial and given an extra face mask to take home within this fab clear cosmetics bag.
I had a great time and have learnt a lot! A huge thank you for the invitation.
Pin this 👇🏻
*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I was invited attend this event in order to write a review. As a thank you I was gifted some skincare products to take home with me. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
If you would like your company/service featured on rachaelstray.com either in the form of review, sponsored post or an advertising slot, please feel free to contact me at rachaelstray@gmail.com
Please visit my contact/work with me page for more information.
Other related posts:
Here’s some top tips for improving your photography
My thoughts on the Tropic Enchanted Facial
Looking to create more videos then check out these 5 video editing apps for mobile
Here’s my current evening skincare routine.
Keep in touch
You can also find me on Twitter @rachael_stray
Or follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rachaelstrayblog/
You can see my random pictures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rachys2011/
And see what I’m pinning on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rachaelstray/
This sounds like a great event and a wonderful way to relax and treat yourself. Thank you for sharing these tips Rachael, it was really interesting to read, that is a great tip about using velvet hangers and double cleansing too! Fab post, always love reading about these awesome events you are attending <3 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
Thanks lovely 😊
I am a big fan of the Garnier Skin Active range 😊Looks like you had a good pampering day