Wake Up Those Tired Eyes

In honor of my 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night I thought I would share some tips on brightening up/masking tired eyes.

• Use white eyeshadow on the inner corners of your eyes, both above and below the corner
• Use clear mascara then curl with an eyelash curler to open up the eyes
• Use blemish concealer or under eye concealer to cover dark circles

This will help you look more awake but as for feeling more awake, caffeine!

Transformation Tuesday

It’s Tuesday once again so here are some tips for keeping those nails looking great. Nothing can replace a good professional manicure, in my humble opinion, but you can still have great nails at home. ( Hint for all you men reading this or daughters or sisters spa gift cards are the perfect gift for any woman!)

Care for your cuticles

• Rub your cuticles with a good thick cream or lotion every night, massaging gently.
• Do not trim your cuticles, instead gently push the cuticle back after lotioning with a soft tipped cuticle pusher. ( yes pros will trim but they know how, you can do a lot of damage on your own)

Filing

• File your nails with a fine grit cushion nail file, no coarse or metal files
• File from the corner towards to center in one direction, not back and forth

Polish

• Strengthening polishes can be a great protector form breakage as a top coat or on there own
• Try not to use cleaners without gloves when wearing polish, this will wear and weaken the polish making it need to be replaced sooner.

As for how to apply nail polish and make your nails look good practice, practice, practice and only do brush strokes in one direction.

Transformation Tuesdays

Here it is Tuesday once again and this week we are talking about lotion. While not all lotions are created equal I have yet to find a “bad” lotion. So while picking a lotion for your skin type is personal there are a few good things to know about how to maximize your benefits.

• Apply lotion immediately after bathing. This will allow the maximum moisture to be locked in.
• Using a loofah on rough areas such as the knees, feet and elbows while bathing will allow the lotion to reach the healthy skin beneath the dead stuff, thus giving maximum moisture to the area.
• At night a hand and foot cream can be really beneficial. Once you apply the lotion ( I recommend leaving it thick not completely rubbing in) put white cotton athletic socks on both your hands and feet. You will be amazed at how soft and nice your hands and feet will feel. Stores do sell special gloves and footies for this purpose but socks work just as well.
• Applying a thick layer of eye cream under your eyes will help rejuvenate the delicate skin while you sleep for fresher eyes in the morning. You can also use any intense night cream which tends to be cheaper than eye cream and works just as well.
  
• Last but not least don’t forget to moisturize your face after every wash both morning and night.

Hydrated skin is more resilient not to mention looks and feels better so make sure you take care of your skin!

Transformation Tuesday

Well it’s Tuesday again so here is my tip for this week… make at home face masks. I love a good facial cleansing, although I would recommend staying in the house and probably out of sight of the kids while it is on. ( don’t worry its only 20 minutes so grab a good book, or better yet read my blog while you purify those pores)

For Dry Skin:

• Break up a large banana, toss into the blender with half of the peel and 1 tablespoon of raw honey. Blend to liquefy, pat on, let dry 20 minutes. Rinse off with cool water, pat dry.

• Peel and pit an avocado, liquefy in the blender with 1 tablespoon raw honey. Pat on, let dry 20 minutes. Rinse off with cool water, pat dry.

• Soak 1 cup dried peaches in warm water ( or use a big ripe peach, sliced, washed, pitted and peeled) and put in blender with 1 tablespoon dried skim milk powder and 1 tablespoon raw honey. Pat on, let dry 20 minutes. Rinse off with cool water, pat dry.

For Oily Skin

• Wash and core 2 crisp apples, do not peel. Cut into quarters and liquefy in blender with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Pat on, let dry for 20 minutes. Rinse with cool water, pat dry

• Wash a big, ripe tomato and liquefy the whole thing in the blender. Pat on and let dry for 20 minutes. Rinse off with cool water, pat dry.

• Puree a washed, unpeeled cucumber in the blender with a tablespoon plain yogurt. Pat on, let dry 20 minutes. Rinse of with cool water, pat dry.

Any skin type:

• Blend 2 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons honey, 3 drops almond oil. Pat on, let dry 20 minutes. rinse with cool water, pat dry.

Eye soothers: Pile on a sterile gauze pad and place on eyes.

• Puree 1/2 raw, peeled potato in the blender and apply
• Puree a cold, peeled cucumber in the blender and apply or just lay cool cucumber slices on your eyes.

And don’t forget to exfoliate on a daily basis, this helps to keep pores clear by removing the dead skin cells and gives your skin a smooth and fresh look and feel.

Transformation Tuesdays

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Hopefully you won’t need today’s Transformation Tuesday information, but since it is summer I thought home made remedies for sunburn would be appropriate. Even when you wear your sunscreen and reapply appropriately you can still get burned so here are a few homemade remedies for those nasty burns!

• ALOE, cover the area and if you are feeling very hot standing in front of a fan covered in aloe can really help to cool the skin down.
• If you burned your face a great thing to use is Noxzema, the original kind, just rub it in and let dry on face.
• Cucumber compresses will help with puffy eyes, simply slice 2 pieces off a cool cucumber and lay on your eyes.
• A tea facial will take the sting out of your burn. Add 2 tea bags to boiling water, let simmer for 5 minutes, then let cool. When the bags are cool pat the sopping wet bags on your face, do not rinse off, but rather fan yourself dry. Then rinse with cool water. A basic black or green tea is best.
• Last of all keep your skin hydrates by drinking water and using lotion, this will help prevent peeling.

Always remember your sunscreen on your face, and don’t forget your lips or under your eyes! You can never be too careful when it comes to sun protection! Next week we will talk about a healthy tan ( tan in a bottle that is!)

Transformation Tuesdays

It’s another Transformation Tuesday, now that your hair looks great we are moving to the face…Do you wear sunscreen everyday? You should! It is so important to protect your face everyday no matter where you live or what the season, damage can occur year round even on cloudy days. There are so many great face moisturizers out there with a built in sunscreen of at least 15 SPF there is no excuse not to have one. Olay has a great one for $10 and with all of the recent CVS deals for Olay I hope you picked one up! If you are going to have excessive sun exposure wear a sunscreen for the face of at least 30 SPF and reapply often.

On to your beauty regimen. Whether you wear a lot of makeup or a little makeup you have a daily routine you follow. After washing your face (with your cheap or free product from CVS) you should apply your moisturizer with sunscreen. Then on to makeup, if you wear foundation you can find one with sunscreen in it as well.

Eyes: When applying eyeshadow DO NOT USE THE FOAM BRUSH, I cannot stress that enough for a more natural look use a makeup brush, I recommend Face Secrets set from Sally’s Beauty Supply (they have a full makeup kit with case for $19.99, worth every penny or individual brushes $3.99-4.99) When applying eyeshadow use lighter color on top of lids and corners of eyes with darker color in crease and above lashes. Not sure what colors suit you? Head on over to the mall and grab a chair at your favorite beauty counter for a free color consult. I recommend letting the person know you want a look for everyday otherwise you may end up with a going out look. Then leave and go home. Make sure you like the colors on your self in all types of lighting and shop around for matching colors in a cheaper brand if you don’t want to buy from that company. If you are buying from the cosmetic counter try to buy only at gift time that way you get lots of samples with your purchase. An eyelash curler is a wonderful tool that helps brighten even the tiredest eyes! Clear mascara is a less dramatic way to keep that curl and brighten the eyes with out adding as much color. Use a concealer stick under your eyes to hide your dark circles, make sure you apply this before your blush so it blends well.

Cheeks: Again USE A MAKEUP BRUSH this will make for more even coloring and a more natural look. Again find your color at your consult and shop around, blush is one thing I never buy at the expensive counter.

Lips: A great lip gloss or even colored chap stick is perfect for everyday. Many even have an SPF of 15 in them.

Eyebrows and upper lip hair needs to be groomed and maintained. I recommend having your brows waxed at least once a year with you maintaining the trimming and plucking in between. For tips on maintaining your brows at home go here. If you have never done it you will be amazed at what a wonderful thing the eyebrow wax is! Beauty school or your local salon all do this for around the same price ( OH is $15 after tax) The upper lip can be waxed or you can use over the counter products such as Nair or Sally Hansen to either bleach the hair or remove it. If bleaching be careful it is not gleaming blond catching the sunlight in the summer! For these at home products test before use and follow the instructions exactly!

Current gift with purchase offers:
MACYS: Estee Lauder gift with purchase of $24.50 or more

When you see a new product advertised ask if they have any samples to give out, often they do this is a great way to try new products! I hope you enjoyed this, let me know if you have any tips to share I would love to hear them!

Transformation Tuesdays

As a mom I often get so wrapped up in taking care of others that I forget to take care of myself. While I think this is an admirable quality in mothers it can backfire in a big way. You must also take care of yourself or you will burn out and be no good to anybody, so in the spirit of rejuvenation I am beginning a series called TRANSFORMATION TUESDAYS. This series will be all about little ways to transform your tired self back into a rejuvenated self ( very inexpensively of course). So here goes… this first Tuesday is all about hair, why not start at the top right?

• A good hair cut can go along way, this being said they are expensive so here are some ways to get a great haircut at a fraction of the cost.

• Go to the training school of the salon. Many high end salons do more training with there new hires after they have got there license. So these are stylists that have completed cosmetology school and were hired by the salon but are undergoing training in this salons specific methods. So they are much cheaper than a stylist that has been with the company for 2 years and is at the regular salon. You can request a stylist that is about to finish training. The 2 big salons in Columbus, Ohio are Kenneth’s and Charles Penzone’s ( click on the name to link to there starter locations) Kenneth’s also offers a referral program at there Academy $5 with each new customer you bring in (so if you go mention my name).
• Go to a cosmetology school itself. These stylists are not yet licensed but are supervised by an instructor and you can still get a great cut at an even cheaper price. A good one in my town is the Aveda Institute

• Change up your look, even if you don’t want to drastically change you hair length there are lots of different styles you can do within one length that will give you a new feel. I find a new do can often get me out of a rut. Here is an article on finding your face shape and how to most flatter it with your hair cut.
• Wash your hair once a month with a cleansing mixture. For dark hair or red heads use equal parts water and apple cider vinegar. Rinse after shampoo but before you condition. For blondes use equal parts water and lemon juice. Both of these mixtures will strip all the hair product build up out and leave your hair squeaky clean. As an added bonus they will bring out your natural highlights red with the vinegar and blonde with the lemon juice.

I hope these tips help. Let me know what your hair tips are…