Q&A &Fashionwellness

Look your big-day best with top expert advice

Peaceful Slumber

Our wedding is quickly approaching, and the nerves are kicking in. How can I ensure a good night’s sleep before our big day?

It’s normal to struggle to sleep the night before your big day; it’s a classic case of pre-wedding nerves! But getting a good night’s sleep before your wedding is essential to ensure you look and feel your best.

Anxious wedding preppers who are finding it difficult to ease their mind into sleep may benefit from filling their room with scents to aid sleep. Scents like jasmine and lavender have rich and sweet smells often used for relaxing purposes in aromatherapy. Purchasing a room and pillow mist is the easiest way to bring these scents into your bedroom.

Daily exercise has been long praised for its impact on a good slumber. Planning a routine ahead of your wedding eve can be the trick to get you off to a quick and peaceful sleep, whether that’s a slow yoga session or a trip to the gym for a more intense workout. Staying active increases your metabolism while helping decrease stress and anxiety.

If you wake up in the middle of the night, the best thing to do is avoid mental stimulation; this means staying off your phone and avoiding thinking of any wedding details or worries. If this fails, have a book nearby that you can reach for to distract your mind and send you back to sleep.

The day before your wedding, stay away from spicy foods and heavy meals before bed. Your body needs time to digest the food properly to avoid any difficulties falling asleep.

As tempting as it may be to sit back with a cuppa ahead of your important day, limiting caffeine at least eight hours before heading to bed is essential. Coffee, tea and other caffeinated drinks can stick around in your system longer than expected, leading to a night of tossing and turning in bed.

High Brow Beauty

Nikkie Tutorials swears by Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Genius, and what’s good enough for Nikkie is good enough for me! This multi-benefit brow serum that noticeably improves hair texture, manageability and encourages the appearance of fullerlooking brows, blends six rejuvenating ingredients that work now and later to create a look you’ll love. Think a smoother, softer, tamer, fullerlooking brow ready to frame your gorgeous eyes as your new spouse gazes into them and says ‘I do’. Find it on the company’s website www.anastasiabeverlyhills.co.uk for £61.

A Love Letter To Your Skin

I recently attended a masterclass with Super Facialist’s resident skincare expert, Charlotte Connoley, which posed the question: do we really know our skin type? If like me your answer is somewhat hesitant, it may interest you to know that there’s an easy way to find out. Charlotte suggests simply splashing your face with water and leaving it for 20-25 minutes. If it feels prickly afterwards, you have sensitive skin; if the water’s gone, then it’s dry; if the skin is tight, it’s dehydrated; and if it feels perfectly comfortable you’re blessed with a normal skin type. Whatever you discover, Super Facialist has a range of products specifically tailored to each type, recognising this can change throughout the year. This allows you to affordably create your own individual skincare routine to support your skin throughout the seasons.

Having learned that my skin is dehydrated, I tried the divine Rosehip Hydrate Calming Creamy Cleanser (£9, www.lookfantastic.com) and my annoying dry patches have been banished!

SUN-KISSED BRIDE

A multi-use bronzer, blusher and highlighter, ICONIC London’s new Kissed By The Sun is an all-in-one cheek glow product allowing us all to harness the mystical power of the sun! Available in five different shades its pearlescent pigments disperse a wash of radiant shine, while its hybrid powder-meets-cream texture sits beautifully on the skin. Find it for £26 online at www.iconiclondoninc.com