In an effort to soothe your DIY beauty injuries The Couch?! has teamed up with The Spa at Chancery Court (winner of British Beauty Awards best day spa in 2002 and 2004 – right) to offer a free manicure for one of our deserving members.
Inspired by a recent survey on beauty DIY disasters. The Couch?! team would like to hear about your DIY don’ts in order to be entered into the draw.
Forget those house related DIY disasters and look more closely at the more pressing issues such as unwanted hair and trying to achieve the perfect sun kissed skin (and the injuries that go along with these goals).
We feel so horrified by some of the treatments we have put ourselves through, that we have constructed a top ten beauty DIY shockers!
Top ten DIY Beauty disasters/beauty don’ts:
1. Hair highlighting horrors – (you dreamed of becoming a blond bombshell and you became strawberry blonde – or orange?)
2. Tidemark foundation
3. Lipstick on your teeth
4. Slashing your legs to bits with a razor after shaving
5. Toothpaste on love bites – ouch!
6. Spot squeezing gone wrong
7. Bright red upper lips after moustache waxing
8. Hot wax bikini burns
9. Caked on spot concealer
10. Fake tanning streaks
Here at The Couch?! we reckon that if anyone needs a chance to step back from the rat race and get a chance to set their worries aside and focus on more meaningful things (like beauty), then it’s HR Managers.
To enter the prize draw for this luxury treatment, post a comment below this article including your name and correct email address when you submit your comment. Everyone who replies will be entered into the prize draw.
We also reckon that it sometimes helps to have a giggle and share your beauty nightmares. Why not let off some steam and tell the rest of the community what Beauty DIY disasters you have starred in? – you might feel better for it.
The Spa at Chancery Court, 252 High Holborn, London WC1V 7EN.
Competition closes Friday, 25 April
15 Responses
A sticky situation
Several years’ ago husband acquired a new job and was invited to dinner with several senior people in the Organisation plus wives. Not wanting to let the ‘team’ down I bought a new silk trouser suit and decided to wax my legs and bikini line to improve my inner confidence. Unfortunately, my hasty shower did not remove all the wax and when we sat down to dinner my trousers stuck like glue to the remaining wax around the bikini area and remained (obviously)stuck when I stood up.How I wished I’d stayed hairy!
A Gothic Horror
In my university days, I was what you may call a fairly hardcore goth. My “digs” had a very narrow bathroom, in which I stood to dye my long hair raven black. I was leant over the sink applying the colour and combing it through to the tips. In order to stand upright again I decided to flick my head back – completely forgetting about the proximity of the wall behind me, and coating it and much of the ceiling in thick black dye…..luckily it wasn’t the most attractive of bathrooms in the first place, so it actually improved the decoration!!!
Back wax gone wrong!
As a red blooded male on an around Australia Caravan trip with the family in 2003, I agreed to have my back waxed after constant requests from my wife to improve my ‘beach’ look. I underwent the painful experience in the tropical north of Australia. The humidity, long hours of driving and poor quality wax (so my wife informed me) caused the hairs on my back to become ingrown and infected within a matter of days. I ended up being unable to drive and needed a course of anti-biotics, minor caravan surgical treatments for a number of problem hairs and several weeks to return to normal. As a result I have never gone close to wax again but have a new found respect for my wife for having her bikini line and legs waxed. Regular beauty treatments for guys…I don’t think so!!!!
A Painting Holiday
Whilst taking a caravan holiday, I decided to colour my hair for a special dinner that night. I got in such a mess with the colour treatment, that it went all up the walls of the caravan. I then tried to buy some more paint to match the existing colour and cover up the hair dye on the walls. I spent the whole of the remainder of the holiday painting the inside of the caravan.
NEVER dye anyone else’s hair!
It’s a sure-fire way to lose a friend. My raven-haired friend asked me to dye her hair light blonde and – against my better judgement – I went along with it. What she hadn’t told me was that, a few weeks previously, she had used a mahogany tint on her hair. The result was a curly mass of candy-floss pink hair that she had to live with for 2 whole weeks before any hairdresser would touch it! I didn’t see her much after that…
Elvis Live(d)!
I dyed my hair the usual mid brown using a new (to me)product selected purely on the connection of the product to my name (that will teach me). After the customary 25mins, I washed it out to find it was jet black. Horror! I looked like Elvis Presley! A quick text to a friend saw my hubby shoved out of the house for emergency dandruff shampoo as I was assured it would take the worst of it out.Meanwhile, I was left contemplating my new Elvis look. It toned down slightly after several liberal applications of the shampoo but took weeks before it was “normal”. On emailing my friends, I got responses containing Elvis songs “I bet you were all shook up when you saw” – stuff like that. To this day, there is one friend who still says uhh uhh huhh from time to time.
Hazelnut head
I have VERY dark brown hair and my Mum thought she would kindly offer to put some caramelish highlights in my hair – using a home highlighting kit. I did not sit in front of a mirror while she did it. When I washed off the product it turned out she had dyed the WHOLE top section of my hair blond. I burst into tears, as it looked dreadful. Stupidly I then allowed her to try and dye the whole mess back to dark brown. However my hair ended up a strange hazelnut colour and everyone at work found it hilarious and proceeded to call me ‘hazelnut head’ for about a week. To escape the name calling I went to a ‘well known’ hairdresser and ended up having to pay well over £100 for a colour correction and had the humiliation of the hairdresser asking me the infamous ‘what cowboy did this then’ question. All I can say is: THANKS MUM!!!
Nora Batty
Having applied much red lipstick for a fancy dress party to which I had decided to attend as the ill-fated Nora, I didn’t know how to remove it. Finding water and soap didn’t do the trick, I tried toothpaste and a toothbrush. The result – PermaRed lips for 4 days – a bit embarrassing in the all-male Saudi Arabian work environment.
Oh well…..
I would love a free manicure!
I regularly have my eyebrows waxed (believe me it’s much less painful than trying to yank them out yourself!). However, one particular day I couldn’t get an appointment as they were very busy and I was desperate as I was going out. So, I went along to Boots and bought myself a home wax kit. It was painful, it was cold and it was a disaster! I ended up with a large red raw patch of skin between my eyebrows that stayed for nearly 6 days! Needless to say my fringe from the 80’s made a rapid return that night!!!
Men can manicure too
Ray – thanks for your comments but I’m afraid you’re wrong – we are fully supporting equal opportunities – men you see can manicure too and there is nothing in the competition rules to exclude our male members from entering – you have nails too don’t you?
Sexist competition!
As a male HRZone member, am I alone in finding it ironic and not a little offensive to be invited to enter a competition that clearly only females can enter (lipstick, bikini wax, etc)? This invitation comes just ahead of a piece entitled “Equal opportunities Review” in Newswire #94!!
To even things up, I look forward to seeing a future competition offering a free evening at a well-known London lap-dancing club. As Peter Kay might say, HAVE IT!!
Or am I being an overly-sensitive grumpy old man?
Fake tan and foot spa’s don’t mix
I had a really posh ‘do’ to go to and was going to wear a lovely mid-calf length dress and strappy heels. The night before the party I decided to pamper myself. I applied my fake tan with such care and attention it took twice as long as normal. I painted my nails, put a conditioning treatment on my hair and then sat down with a book and relaxed with a nice foot spa – completely forgetting about the fake tan. 45 minutes later my feet were beautifully soft but there were very dark brown rings around my ankles. Above them was evenly tanned skin and below – my usual milky white. Needless to say, I had to wear trousers when everyone else was wearing evening dresses. Ouch!
Waterproof mascara (not!)
Don’t trust any waterproof mascara and then go to the Spa – because you just can’t go without any makeup on – it never works and the final look is deeply unattractive
I would love to win this competition!
My nails have seen better days (and manicures!) and a bit of pampering never goes amiss!
Don’t try and peroxide yours or your friends hair on your own!
Don’t try and peroxide yours or your friends hair on your own!