As it’s now the beginning of summer term we thought we’d share with you some of our favourite beauty buys. These all work  – trust us.

Clarins hand and nail treatment cream – we got given this as a Christmas present and forgot how smooth it made our hands and how strong it made our nails.

Aveda’s clove colour conditioner – if you fancy going darker but don’t want the commitment, or just want to cover your roots to tide you over till H Day (highlight day), this does the job. For a deep rich colour leave on your hair for at least 30 minutes.

Johnson and Johnson’s Holiday skin – still the best gradual fake tan for the price and it smells good.

Ambre Solaire sun cream – this stuff is pricey but it smells great, is not too sticky and best of all we’ve not had any red-faces (or bodies) from using it.

Dermalogica skin smoothing (day) intensive moisture moisture (night) - we’ve used the skin smoothing cream since we were 22.  Some two decades  later our relatively line- and botox-free faces are testament to that fact that nothing beats a good basic moisturiser.

Boots salon smooth nail files -  these are basic nail files which are cheap enough not to worry about replacing.

Marks and Spencer cotton-rich full briefs – the most comfortable and attractive granny knickers around, and just £5 a pack (M&S factory outlets)

Now we’ve shared ours, let us know your must-have beauty buys…

Ella Mag’s editor Samantha Downes is getting married this summer and she’s doing it on a budget. This week every minute counts…

With 10 weeks to go till our wedding every minute we can spend planning is a minute’s worth of stress avoided.  I’m not quite reciting the mantra  ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ but…

Being on a budget means looking for some great freebies. As my dress is sorted I’m now concentrating on having glowing skin to match my beautiful wedding dress.  I’m not leaving it to chance, oh no. So after a brief Easter break spent scoffing chocolate and guzzling wine (well sort of) I’m now back on the booze-free, choccy free, caffeine-lite bridal bootcamp plan.

I’m allowed the odd cup of tea (but no more than two a day) – a journalist needs something to get them through deadlines – but all else is banned.  But it’s not sooo bad, surprisingly I didn’t actually enjoy those mini Cadbury Caramel easter eggs quite as much as I did last year, and ended up with a hangover after just one (large) glass of red wine on Easter Saturday.

Keeping to the straight and narrow means spending my lunch hours sourcing budget bridal stuff.  One of my news shifts means I’m based in the City of London a few days a month. Temptation is everywhere, but being broke means I have to be inventive.

Thankfully the Dermalogica shop in One New Change offers a free 10-minute skin mapping service. So I can get my skin sussed out and product suggestions, but there is no obligation to buy. In fact I discovered I had all the right products, I just need to use them more!

(For those of you i.e. most of you who don’t live or work in the City of London you can find a free of charge face mapping service at www.dermalogica.com).

Another find was the Hershesons blow dry bar – for £24 you can get an up do/down do in just 30 minutes and I’m debating whether a trip there might just be worth the effort on W Day.

Sadly this service is not available outside London but you can find a reputable hairdresser on the Hairdressing Council’s website.

Now you’ll have to excuse me, am off to decide what buffet food and drink we are going to serve. Wonder if our guests will be happy with a sausage roll and a glass of cheap fizz?

Read more:

Buff bride on a budget – 10 and a half weeks to go

Buff bride on a budget – my no booze plan