Preparing Perfection (ish)

In the run up to my Dad's wedding I had a few things that needed to be done. I created a check list in order to remember everything as I have a serious problem with procrastination and also I have a low attention span and almost always get side tracked by my daughter, my husband, the phone, the television, the Internet and this blog. So here's my checklist
1. Hair Coloured
I am terrible when it comes to my hair. I never seem to have the money to go to the hairdressers for roots to be redone or for a quick trim. This means that I resort to home hair colours. For years I have been chopping and changing between the hairdressers and home colours and always I would choose the hairdressers but that's not always an option, unfortunately. This time around (9 months after my last hair appointment) I decided to use Loreal's hair colour.

2. Hair Removal
Everywhere! Enough Said!

3. Tan Applied
I am a self confessed tanorexic and will always, if going out, apply false tan. I love Sunshimmer, Fake Bake instant tan and the MUST HAVE, San Tropez. However I do find on my skin the instant tans don't show up in pictures as well as a gradual tan. If it's an important occasion such as birthdays or this wedding I will apply the gradual San Tropez Tanner and then on the day apply a little of the instant just to perk my skin up a little. I am naturally darker skinned with dark hair so when I'm not tanned I don't look well. Any application of tan, for me, requires a full body scrub and a week of everyday, morning and evening, full body moisturizing. I usually use Jergens but when I don't have any (like this week) I use Johnsons Baby Cream and the night before after my shower I will use Baby Oil. This retains the moisture lost during the shower and leaves you skin feeling silky and soft with a beautiful healthy sheen.

4. Face Prepared
The week running up to the night out/occasion I make sure to moisturise frequently. Make up will stay in place longer and look more natural on skin that has been prepared properly. I exfoliate twice a week and the night before the event I will use my Neutrogena Wave (J'Adore) and a face mask. I love the Sanctuary Spa masks which leave my skin feeling amazing. You can get these in Boots

5. Hair Prepared
After my colour has been done, I make sure that I put a treatment in it a couple of days before the event. My hair is quite dry so I only wash it every 3 days anyway and it's so long and silky that styling and curls fall out immediately if the hair has been freshly washed. I don't wash my hair the day of the occasion because of this so when I do wash it, the treatment goes in. I will also apply Frizz Ease Serum, Heat Protecting Spray and also a styling or volumnising moose. I throw my hair up once washed, dried and straightened into a high ponytail to allow the hair to settle in a way that once down it will remain volumnised. I am not a hairdresser but I have found these steps work best for me, each to their own.
6. Makeup Sorted
I match my makeup to the outfit that I am wearing, always. I love a bronze/golden colour for my eyes as they really make the green in my eyes pop. I will lay out all the makeup that I am going to use and know exactly what look I will be going for. With my jewellery for this outfit also being these gold and bronzy colours I picked my shadows from a mixture of The Naked Palette and also two Mac shadows, and . I used a bronzer and a peachy gold blush, very subtly on the apples of my cheeks and a highlighter on my cheekbones. Lashings on mascara and eye liner. My go to Nude lipstick, from Nars and a peachy lipgloss, from Rimmel. I like to use a mixture of higher end makeup with bits available from chemists, such as Boots. My foundation is Chanel and my concealer is Makeup Forever. I always apply a primer before applying my foundation. I love Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. It's definitely miraculous! As you can see these are alot of my favourite products and have been used to death.

7. Nails Done
Nails is the final piece to the puzzle. As this is a big occassion, for me it requires nails tips and something special. As a fully qualified nail technician I have all the products and quite a substantial collection of glitters and effects for the nails. This is how they turned out. The picture is not great and doesn't really show the full fade through effect of the glitters on the nails, however in person they look really good.

So that's my crazy checklist. I swear I pretty much go through this in every run up to a night out, may be one of the reasons I don't go out very often or because I don't go out alot I want everything to be a perfect as I can get it. What are your night out preperation lists like? Has anyone used any of these products before and like them?