Us and you

Expert footcare advice from Margaret Dabbs

Here at BrandAlley HQ we love hearing from the experts about their favourite products and today with the launch of our Margaret Dabbs beauty sale, we thought we’d ask the renowned celebrity foot expert, a few questions on the items in our sale. 

Margaret opened her first clinics over 10 years ago and has gained a large and loyal clientele. Her luxurious products with unique active and quality ingredients are effective and designed to be highly efficient in healing and moisturising.

If you can’t get to a clinic, what do you suggest doing to perk up tired looking feet?

For the best home maintenance, all you need is a few simple steps. What’s truly inspiring is that you can transform feet really fast. With feet, you can significantly improve their appearance – the way they look and feel even in a single DIY treatment!

Firstly, from Set 3, I recommend the Margaret Dabbs Superior Foot File, which uses compressed crystal technology.  This is used on dry skin – before you bathe or shower, working wonders because it removes thickened, calloused skin quickly, and most importantly, evenly.

After using the Foot File, it’s really important to hydrate the feet using the Margaret Dabbs Intensive Treatment Foot Oil which is superb at treating cracked and dry skin. The oil gives amazing instant results even after one treatment, and is so quick and easy to use leaving the feet looking illuminated and feeling healthy – but not greasy! Remember, when you are looking after your feet at home there’s no point in using a balm that simply sits on the surface and only serves as a temporary improvement; you need something that absorbs to nourish the tissue.

What’s your best tip for making feet look and feel better?

If you have been wearing nail polish for a while and it appears to be ‘growing out,’ I have a great trick. Massage the base of your nails with oil to smooth the cuticle so the nail and enamel look seamless again. You can easily prolong the life of your varnish for another week that way.

Using Set 4, you can help nails look super-groomed by filing them straight across with the Margaret Dabbs Crystal Nail File. Once nails have been filed, use the Margaret Dabbs Super Shiner Buffer to produce a super shiny and healthy appearance. Lastly, add the Margaret Dabbs Nourishing Nail and Cuticle Serum which will hydrate and protect and repair the nails and cuticles.

For gorgeous looking feet, head to the sale here to snap up these sets and give yourself a pedi. With summer on its way we’ll be wearing sandals soon (fingers crossed) so it’s time to give your feet a little treat.

 

Update from the blogosphere #69 – summer prints

So we’re told to expect another month of this rain, and here at BrandAlley HQ we’re not happy about it. What happened to spring? Well we refuse to let the rain dampen our spirits and reading your blogs this week we’re all looking forward to all things summery. How does that song go again? Rain rain, go away, come again another day….

 

 

Colourful prints always perk us up and this season paisley scarf print inspired clothes are going to be big. Just take a look at Feed Me Clothes blogspot for inspiration. Their cute collage shows you the easy way to inject some colour into your wardrobe.

 

Or you could make like Style Slicker and make your own colour and print injecting pieces. We saw the first piece to this blog a few months ago and love love love the finished version of this 50’s inspired jacket. It’s the perfect cover up for the chillier evenings (wishful thinking, the days aren’t likely to be that warm!).

 

If you’re not ready to go big and bold in your clothes, what about doing it with your nails? Nail Varnish Vixen gave her manicure an update with some of the bright colours and tribal prints that are big this season. The two polishes from Illamasqua’s Human Fundamentalism collection–Nomad and Stance are beautiful together and the rich hues are set off fantastically with the butter LONDON black polish that defines the pattern. She says this is an easy design to do so why not have a go? Try new colour combinations too and let us know what you thought. Check out the blog for more amazing designs.

 

 

And we couldn’t not show you The Rock Chicks Rambles manicure. This bandana print made us laugh when we read the inspiration behind it, but it looks great. If you’ve got a steady hand, or some professional tools we’d love it if you had a go and took a photo.

So the weather may be wintery but your wardrobe and nails can scream summer time.

Have a great weekend!

Trend post – Sheer arms

In this in-between season (and let’s be honest, it’s England so we’re constantly in this state of limbo), it’s hard to know what to wear. It’s cold enough in the mornings to wear a jumper but come lunch time, you’re stripping off to normal spring attire. So here at BrandAlley HQ we got to talking about the trends that keep us fashion forward whilst also allowing us to layer the right way.

Covering your arms may not be a groundbreaking concept, but if you’ve been outside today you’ll know that the wind can be bitter and with the sheets of rain that have been pouring, we want to keep as much of our body covered as possible, but we want to show off our spring wardrobes too! Sheer sleeves are the perfect way to do this and are the ultimate winter-to-spring transitional trend. The translucent layer of fabric is just enough to protect you from the chill but gives a hint of flesh that keeps your look feminine and flirty.

If that’s not enough to keep the goosebumps at bay, why not add a touch of Givenchy and Valentino style and add a cover-up? A vest jumper can show off the sheer sleeves to perfection, or why not try the Alexa Chung look and pair with a pinny/dress?

Take a look at some of our favourite girls that work this look and we’ll bet this becomes a wardrobe staple. It’s an easy look to wear and can be dressed up or down depending on how you wear it. Now who wants to get their arms out the sensible way?

Update from the blogosphere #68 – London Marathon Weekend

What a miserable week we’ve had. The skies have been grey, with frequent showers and even the odd hailstorm. But enough of the weather report, it’s the weekend and that’s as good a reason as any to be excited, not least that it’s London Marathon weekend! Any kind of event that brings people together makes us here at BrandAlley HQ very happy and reading through your blogs over the week we’ve seen that everyone is getting into the spirit.


We saw on Bargainista Fashionista that the second instalment of Nike x Liberty has launched and we’re impressed with the new footwear. With fab prints and on-trend styles, like this pair that have a concealed heel like Isabel Marant’s very popular versions (stylish, but not so great to run in) they’re sure to be a hit this season. There are lots of pairs to choose from so head to Bargainista Fashionista’s blog to find out where to get them.


If you’re heading down then why not make like Clare from Rainbows and Fairydust and rock the sports luxe look? It’s pretty much the perfect place to work this style without stepping too far out of your comfort zone. You never know, this may become your fave trend of the season!

And check out these bunny caps we saw on Style Bubble from East London duo Thelma and Speirs. They’ll keep the sun and rain off and keep a smile on your face if you’re running the 26.2 miles! You can even customise them, so for lots more designs check out Style Bubble’s blog.

 

If you’re running the famous London Marathon this Sunday, good luck and good on ‘ya! We’re sure you’ve raised lots for your chosen good cause. We’ll be there cheering everyone on so make sure your name is on your vest and we’ll give you a shout!

Have a great weekend!

Update from the blogosphere #67 – Fairy-tale fashion

Here at BrandAlley HQ we love a new look and trend and are always trying out new things. So we adore reading your blogs each day and doing our weekly round-up and this week it’s all about on-screen trends that are taking our fancy.

With Mirror Mirror out in cinemas, fairy-tale fashion has taken a front seat. The modern day princess like our very own K-Middy, is all about glamour without trying too hard. It’s a done-up natural look, so think uber glossy loose curled hair in natural colours (avoid bleach blonde), sophisticated chic dressing and nude lippy. My Beauty Bunny has found the perfect pout enhancing glosses from Naked Princess. The ingredients help plump lips and reduce the appearance of fine lines – bonus! And with florals a huge trend this season, it’s the ideal look to channel your inner princess as it’s super feminine and soft.

Beauty Bombshell’s list of the top 15 most iconic hairstyles of all time is amazing and shows off some fab styles. Even those that are more than 50 years old still have a place in our hearts! The on-screen sirens knew how to work a Hollywood wave and victory rolls giving them a look to lust after. We’re hankering to bring back the 70’s Farrah Flicks. This gorgeous look is still a favourite with some celebs today and we can see why.

If you’re looking for princess perfect skin then look no further as Beauty Mouth blogspot has compiled a comprehensive list on how to achieve porcelain, clear skin. Simple tips and we thoroughly intend to stick to this to get skin like Nicola Roberts! A couple of weeks ago we blogged about spring beauty trends and the doll-like porcelain skin look was one to watch. We were not wrong, with the English rose look a big trend, so ditch the tanning lotion and go back to basics. If you want to check out a beauty tutorial to rival Belle from Beauty and the Beast take a look at Kotakoti – Night Time Eye Make here.

Have a go at some of these looks and let us know how you get on. We’re going to give the clearer skin list a good go. Maybe we’ll end up looking like Lily Collins as Snow White…better start growing mega eyebrows then!

Have a great weekend!