The Beauty Spot: Your mum deserves the treatment

LOOKING for the mother of all gifts is a tricky task. How do you show the love to your mum come Mother’s Day? Boxes of chocolates and bunches of flowers are all well and good, but beauty treatments? Now you’re talking.

And pampering doesn’t have to be enjoyed in solitude. Share the spoiling together with a double treatment like the Side By Side package offered by the Edinburgh Beauty Quarter. Taking place in a double treatment room, you and your mum can lie back, relax and enjoy a facial with Dermalogica products.

And the bliss doesn’t stop there. Following the facial there’s a Swedish Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage to help get rid of stressed-out and weary muscles. The Side By Side Package costs £57 per person. To book contact Edinburgh Beauty Quarter, 0131-221 1770.

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No time for spas? No fear. Because you can bring a slice of spa to your mum.

Lush does a fantastic range from gift boxes full of beauty delights, or if you prefer, treat your mum to an individual product. Bathing beauties will love the brand’s brilliant bath bombs. Made with essential oils, these fizzing spheres of colour and fragrances are quintessentially indulgent yet completely affordable. Head to the new Lush store on Edinburgh’s Princes Street to see more of what’s on offer.

Photography and beauty go together like, well, ice cream and jelly. And Edinburgh’s Beautography is Scotland’s first professional photography studio and beauty spa. So now you can get pampered by the beauty experts then capture the moment with a studio session.

Choose from a selection of different packages. Contact Beautography and find out more, 0131- 657 2836.

Stuck in a beauty rut? Then get out of it with some expert help. Beauty counters are great places to pick up top tips and some offer a makeover service. Edinburgh’s Harvey Nichols for instance offers make-up vouchers for those looking for tailor-made looks or make-up lessons. For more info, contact 0131-524 8388.

Mother’s Day Make-up

Family get-togethers like Mother’s Day are a great time to wow with a chic elegant look. For me, it’s not about spending hours in front of the mirror, when you could be hanging out with your family – though, of course, if that’s what you prefer then go for it.

For those of us short on time, there are easy ways and beauty products out there to make you look pretty in a matter of minutes.

Tip number one - concentrate on your skin; amazing looking skin can change a person’s look, and not just visually because if your skin looks great, chances are you’re going to feel great too.

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Preparation is crucial so moisturise before you start. At the moment, I’m loving the new Plantscription Anti-Aging cream by Origins purely because I find that my skin feels and looks better after using it. I also always use a primer before my make-up to help even out skin tone and keep my make-up in place.

Tinted moisturiser or foundation, it doesn’t matter which you use, just be sure to blend. Everything needs to be seamless, blended and subtle. And there are different colours for every skin tone so it’s worth finding out what suits you. You can do this either by trying yourself or get help via make-up counters; don’t be afraid to ask.

Personally, I suffer from dark circles under the eyes so I always like to hide these as much as possible. I find Clinique’s Airbrush Concealer a great product for this. It also works for disguising any redness around the mouth and nose. And let’s not forget spots. I’ve recently found Cover FX concealers a great weapon in this battle.

Give skin a lift with blusher, and add bit by bit to build up colour and avoid looking like Aunt Sally.

Don’t forget to set with powder, but to avoid skin looking dry and cakey only use where you need it, that could be on the T-Zone – the forehead, the nose and chin – and perhaps around the mouth. This will help keep that dreaded shiny face at bay and help keep your make-up in place.

Eye crayons and shadow sticks are good time savers and there’s plenty of brand choice with Rimmel and Topshop just two big names. I’d recommend using a primer first and my own top trick is to add a touch of highlighter to the inner corners of eyes to open them up. My final eye stage is lashes which I like to give plenty of attention and my current favourite is the latest one by Guerlain called Maxi Lash Mascara.

For your eyebrows: brush through, define and fill in any gaps. Benefit’s Brow Zings compact is great for this but there are plenty of other eyebrow products on the market.

Finish with a pretty lip product, anything with moisturising properties is good at this time of year and there are plenty of pretty spring shades worth checking out. Be sure to tell me how you get on.

Twitter: @ScotBeautyBlog

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