Business & Finance Club - Lifestyle : It's the same old story. You were planning on cutting down, toning up and detoxing your way to summer holiday perfection.

But suddenly the date on the flight ticket has crept up and failed attempts at reaching getaway gorgeous brings the onset of panic we've experienced many times before (even though we swore blind it would never happen again).

Don't press that panic button just yet because with careful planning, you can buff, tone and tan your body to a state of beach perfection with less than a week to go.

Tan-tastic

 When it comes to tanning, there's a fine line between hit and miss, fashion and faux pas and between being noticed and blending in.

While nobody wants to be the pale face among healthy holiday makers, not everyone has the time to squeeze in a few hours of sun before you leave — and even if that were so, we don't condone baking in any case.

Spray tanning has become more popular over the past few years, billed as a safer way to tan, although there is one element of danger — that you'll end up looking unnaturally orange.

The girls at Pelle Capelli, JBR, where they use the Fantasy spray tanning system, give us a few tips for ladies looking for a glow. Your first move: Exfoliate, wax or shave — and forget the deodorant and perfume.

"No exfoliation will mean uneven or blotchy patches. Use a loofah or scrub a day before," said tan pro Shatha Khalil.

"If you plan to shave or get a wax, do so before your spray treatment. Wear loose clothing as contact with clothing will remove patches."

Top tip: Do not get a spray tan done directly before an event as you have to leave it on overnight (or for around 12 hours).

Park close: If you sweat on the way back to your car you can be left streaky for up to five days until it wears off!

Tone Up

So Cheryl Cole-swimsuit-splendour may be a little out of reach but before you hit the sun lounger, there are a few things you can do to look and feel better about your body. With just one week to go personal trainer and founder of the Original Fitness Company, Corey Oliver, says it's not too late.

"A week of intensive exercise would obviously help but the small things can work wonders," he said. "Focus on moving as much as possible when it comes to your everyday routine. Take the stairs or do squats while you brush your teeth. Every little helps."

Straight to the point

Frizz. It's the bane of millions of women's lives, as if we didn't have enough banes already. I've battled it my entire life, and summer's always the worst — so much so that I often get to the point when I just cut it all off. But there's another way, and this summer, it changed my life — and my vacation. I had the much-fabled Brazilian keratin treatment, at Essentials salon on Al Wasl Road.

No, it didn't all fall out, and I didn't faint from exposure to formaldehyde (just a couple of the freaky stories I read about the treatment online before doing it). "It's great if you want the volume reduced and your hair to be more manageable," says Essentials' stylist Leeann Bryce. After washing your hair with a deep cleansing shampoo, the stylist applies the chocolate-scented keratin treatment, then allows it to set under a dryer. Then she straightens every last strand. For my medium-length hair, the procedure took two hours. I couldn't wash it for three days, put it up or behind my ears — "it needs to settle," says Bryce — but that wasn't difficult. What I did find difficult? Believing I was touching my own hair after finally washing off the treatment (with a sulphate-free shampoo only, please!). The treatment doesn't straighten hair, but it becomes manageable, soft — with the result that I can finger-blow-dry my locks in 10 minutes, and can actually emerge from the pool/ocean without looking like Medusa. I'm just over a month in, and it's as easy to style as ever. Essentials recommends three-month follow-ups.