Beauty: Make Time for Beauty

Us women may have the excuse of being too busy to do our at-home beauty duties. However, its now or never to start taking care of ourselves and restore both our health and our youth. Apply these simple beauty tips to your lifestyle in order to keep your natural beauty alive and healthy! Make time for it. It will surely pay off ;)

Use as less heat, dye and any other damaging chemicals as possible! It may be hard to stay away from the flat iron, but try to lay off the frying heat at least 2 or 3 days during the week to give your hair a break. Once a week, try an at-home hot oil treatment with cocnut oil. Simply bring 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a boil. Let it cool until warm and apply to your hair. Next, wrap your hair in saran wrap and let it sit for 45 min to an hour. This will soak your hair in hydrating bliss, leaving your hair silky smooth and a little healthier. 

Moisturize with the right moisturizers! Focus more on using moisture in its most natural form, like oils. Rather than applying a moisturizer with a million ingredients and chemicals, keep it simple by applying natural oils that can be used for not only your skin, but your hair as well! (i.e. coconut oil) 

Mask your skin! Clay masks and at-home DIY avocado/cucumber/honey or lavendar mixtures are great to do once or twice a week to revive your skin's health. Make it a part of your routine. Throw on a mask in the morning then make your coffee, breakfast or any other morning duties necessary. Just because you have a mask on doesn't mean you can't multitask while detoxing your skin ;)

Sprits your way to flawlessness. Our faucets at home, more often than not, provide very hard water that is drying and can leave your skin dehydrated after rinsing.  Rose water is more kind to your skin when cleansing and rinsing. It will leave your skin more hydrated and smooth. Especially for those with sensitive skin. 

Take your vitamins! Taking care of yourself on the inside reflects your health and beauty on the outside. Vitamin E can hydrate the skin and speed up melanocyte production! This leaves your skin glowing, fresh and radiant. And of course, it leaves the rest of your body fueled with essential vitamin e nutrients :)

source

Beauty: Everything There is To Know About Mascara

Color Mix

These days, mascara comes in a rainbow of colors, which is awesome for those of us who like to experiment and wear a wild look from time to time. But what about incorporating color for extra effect that works at the office? Makeup pros mix brown and black, usually black on top and brown on the bottom to make eyes pop. Black on top and magenta on the bottom gives a subtle effect that flatters all eye colors.

Application Don'ts

According to makeup artist Kate Lee who spoke to Allure, most mascaras are only meant to be coated twice, so skip that fifth application. Always wait a few seconds for one coat to set before applying another. Use gentle pressure and wiggle the wand at the base of the lashes before moving upward to the tips.

Expiration Dates

We all keep our mascaras for far too long. If you can't remember when you bought it, toss it. Buying a new tube every few months is a good habit to form. Don't pump the wand to reapply the formula to the brush, this forces extra air into the tube that wears your mascara out faster. 

Choose Your Effect(s)

Different brushes (and formulas) usually give you one stand-out effect. So it pays to have more than one mascara in your arsenal. Use one type for the first coat, and another for the second. While most packages will tell you what their special effect is, here's some extra info: for long, soft lashes, go for a package that promises zero clumps. Thin brushes are ideal for bottom lashes. You'll notice fat brushes with flexibility and plastic bristles give volume, as they have more coating surface area. For lashes like a doll, choose a fast-drying formula that holds the bend you put in with your lash curler. For out-there lashes that are truly outrageous, try TOO FACED Better Than False Lashes. First you brush on one coat, then a second coat of special nylon fibers and finish with a third coat. Perfect for going out.

Read the Label

We've all been frustrated with mascara that smudges and bleeds. According to WebMD, if you check out the placement of water as an ingredient on the label, you can avoid such formulas. The lower water is on the ingredient list, the less water it contains, which means the more you can trust its staying power. Waterproof mascaras typically have less water, but be careful, don't go for one that doesn't contain any water, they're especially hard to get off and can damage your lashes in the process. 

Go for the Gold Standard

Why try every mascara that comes on the market when there are so many magazines and outlets that list the best ones for you? Real Simple loves Hard Candy Curl Up and Dye Mascara $6, Boots No. 7 Extreme Length Mascara $7.99 and Shiseido Perfect Mascara Full Definition $24. 

Remove it Right

Most women don't think much when it comes to scrubbing off their makeup. They continue the harsh, rigorous motion right over their eyes and eyelashes. That's a no-no. Choose a gentle liquid makeup remover, coat a cotton pad or ball and gently press it against your closed eyes (making sure you cover your lashes) for at least 10 seconds. This breaks down makeup and makes waterproof mascara easier to remove. Gently wipe your pad down and outward to sweep away makeup. Vigorous rubbing can damage lashes and over time contribute to fine lines, wrinkles and sagging skin.

source

Beauty: 9 Eyebrow Mistakes

Shape + Frame

Eyebrows can make or break your entire look, according to practically every makeup artist and brow expert we've ever talked to. They can make your eyes look droopy when they're not, or make you look angry when, in fact, you're not. This is why it's essential to be very cautious when grooming your own brows. There is a very fine line between a perfectly shaped brow and an overly tweezed brow. If you think about it, your brows (even when big and bushy) have very little real estate on your face. One or two plucks too many can leave you with a pretty scary shape.

Mistake No. 1: Misplacing your archStreicher explains that many women create an arch in their brows that is too close to the center of their eye, which causes the front of the brows to remain thick and the middle to the ends to be way too thin. She says this gives women a "furrowed brow" look, which isn't ideal. 

The fix: First, let your brows grow back in. To speed up that process, Streicher recommends using an all-natural hair growth product like Lash Allure MD Lash and Brow Enhancing Serum, $49.50. Then the next time you tweeze, grab a pencil and hold it parallel to the outer edge of your iris. The point where the pencil hits your brow is where your arch should be.

Mistake No. 2: Tweezing too oftenTweezing every day, or every few days, is too much, Streicher says. She explains that the act of tweezing becomes habitual and not something we necessarily do to make our brows look better. You may think you're just cleaning up stray hairs, but in reality you may be removing hairs that are essential to your shape. 

The fix: Step away from the tweezers. Plan to tweeze your brows once every three weeks -- sounds scary, but when you stop obsessing over those tiny hairs, they won't bother you as much. And you'll finally see that your brows do actually grow -- when maybe you thought they didn't. 

Mistake No. 3: Taking too much or not enough off the endsBrows that have tails (ends) that are too short lack elegance, but brows that are too long and curve down, can you make your eyes appear droopy. So, like Goldilocks said, they should be just right. 

The fix: To know where the ends of your brows should hit, touch your actual brow bone. You'll be able to feel a little point where that ocular bone ends, that's exactly where your brows should also end. 

Mistake No. 4: Using a magnifying mirror when plucking"If you can't see the hair in a regular mirror, then neither can anyone else," Streicher says. Using a magnifying mirror is also not the best way to get perspective on how your overall brow shape is looking, so you'll end up tweezing too much. 

The fix: Use a regular mirror and make sure you have good, natural light when tweezing. 

Mistake No. 5: Tweezing more than one hair at a timeThough it may seem like a time-saver, plucking more than one hair is dangerous when it comes to perfecting your brow shape. "You need to be really aware and take your time," Streicher warns. If you pluck with haste, you'll be more likely to create holes in your brows. 

The fix: Every single hair you pull should be one that you have thoughtfully decided needs to go. Once you pluck one or two hairs -- at separate times, of course, step back and look at yourself in the mirror. This will help you get the full effect of your shape. Then you can go back in to pluck more if necessary. 

Mistake No. 6: Getting rid of "sprouts"We know what you're thinking, "what the heck are sprouts?" Think Brooke Shields in her youth. She had those little sprout-like hairs on the inner portion of her brows that made them unique and special. Don't pluck them, says Streicher. "If anything, trim them. They are a beautiful thing and they shouldn't be taken out," she says. She adds that women who have them always want to get rid of them, but those who don't have them, want them. 

Mistake No. 7: Trimming too muchBy now you've caught on to the overall rule of at-home brow grooming -- be conservative and mindful. The same rule applies to trimming. If you trim many hairs at once and trim them too short, you'll likely end up with sparse (er, bald) areas. 

The fix: Trim one hair at a time, yes, just one. Brush the inner portion of your brows up and trim only hairs that are longer than the rest, one at a time. Brush the outer portion of your brows down and do the same. 

Mistake No. 8: Filling in brows with a pencil or powder that's too darkThis is the biggest mistake Streicher sees when it comes to filling in brows. If the brow pencil or powder you're using is the same color as your hair, it's too dark. Too dark brows look very unnatural. 

The fix: Choose a pencil or powder that's "a shade or two lighter than your hair color," Streicher says. Or use a tinted brow gel, which looks even more natural and adds fullness and length to your brows. If you have very sparse brows, fill them with pencil first, top that with powder then finish with a tinted brow gel. Seems like a lot steps just for your brows, but "if your brows look good, everything else will look good," Streicher says. 

Mistake No. 9: Brow tattoos that are a single thick lineBrow tattoos can look great when done right. But one single, thick line is not the best way to create faux brows. They look very harsh and unnatural. 

The fix: Do your research. Find a permanent makeup artist that draws many tiny, hair-like strokes of ink, they will look much more natural. And ask for a shade that is about two hues lighter than your hair color. Before you commit, ask the expert for examples of their past work, so you can feel confident in working with them. 

source

Summer Make Up Tips

It's that time a year again where I like to space clear my entire house :) to help with stagnant energy and personal flow. It always works for me if I feel stuck in any way to start to clear spaces to create space in my life and surrounding. This has now become a bi -annual practice for me that I encourage everyone to try :). I was tackling my make up as I often do and like many of you, whether it's your closet or other spaces in your house, it's hard to let go! These basic rules helped me attack my make up drawers! Hope it helps u too. 

Much love, Jenny 

• Mascara: Toss your mascara after 3 months. Mascara has the shortest life span of all make up because the risk of transferring bacteria back and forth from your eye into the mascara tube is so great. If your mascara starts to dry out before its 90 days is up, throw it away. Don’t add water or saliva to your mascara to rewet it. Doing so will only increase your chances of getting an eye infection.
• Eye pencils: Eye pencils can be kept up to 2 years. To make sure you’re using a clean tip, sharpen before each application.
• Eye shadows: Keep your applicators clean and your liquid shadows should last 12 months. Powder shadows will keep 2 years.

If you’ve had an eye infection, you’ll need to throw out all the eye make up and applicators you used from the time you developed symptoms. The virus or bacteria that caused the infection has probably taken up residence in your make up, so using those cosmetics again could cause you to develop another infection.

• Lipsticks: You can stow your tube lipsticks and your lip pencils for 2 years. As with eye pencils, sharpen your lip pencils before each use.
  Blushes and powders: Discard your cream blushes after a year, powder blushes and powders after 2 years.
  Think of your make up a bit like you do your food. If it smells weird, develops a film, or has a mold-green tint to it, it’s gone bad and needs to be tossed out.
  • Foundations and concealers: Moisturizing foundations and stick concealers can hang around for 18 months. A 12-month shelf life applies to both oil-free foundations, which can dry out quickly, and liquid concealers.
    Using clean brushes and sponges will help lengthen the life of your cosmetics. Be sure and wash or replace your applicators frequently.
    When you open a cosmetic for the first time, write the date on the product. It will help you keep track of how long you’ve had the make up so you’ll know when it’s time to throw it away.