Lock & Mane had a great article on ways to fight summertime frizz and other hair mishaps. And we’re not just saying that because they confirm several things we’ve said in the past.
🙂
Read it here.
How to Tutorial Guides
How to Guides
How to guides, tutorials, and step-by-step directions. Beauty tips and hacks for the best mascara application, How to correctly use Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, How to clean makeup brushes, How to use a mascara fan brush, etc.
How to get curls with Fekkai products on a lazy rainy morning
It was raining all day here, and I was pretty short on time before I headed out today. Fortunately a few Fekkai products worked with the humidity, and I could let my curls air-dry without frizz or hair so large that I can’t fit through the door. Just a couple of minutes with the blow dryer and I was out the door with defined ringlets.
Here’s how:
On wet hair, smooth Frederic Fekkai All-Day Hair Plump onto your hair from the root down. Add a little extra to the ends. Then gently massage your scalp for a few seconds to get a bit of separation and volume. On a crazy rainy day like this, your curls will start to form nice and smooth after this step.
Now’s the tricky part: don’t touch your hair for a bit while it sets. That’s how you get frizz.
When curls are still a bit damp, start drying on a low heat. Half way through, apply Frederic Fekkai Coiff Tousled Wave Spray to further define your curls. Finish off with your hair spray of choice (ideally something moisturizing), and your hair will be perfect, even if the weather isn’t. 🙂
Shape.com has a great article on at-home spa tips
Shape.com has a great article on at-home spa tips. Some are good reminders, but others really impressed me – check out the one about brightening your complexion with baking soda on page 2. I am totally trying that one out tomorrow – I’ll let you know how it works.
Read the full article here.
Spa Economy: At home cuticle care
I’d generally prefer that a trained spa person tend to my cuticles, but it’s definitely something I can do myself. Try these at-home tips (no pun intended) to get great looking cuticle beds without the manicure cost.
Cuticle Soak: Heat up some water (warm, but not hot) and pour it into a nail soak. You might want to try Gena Manicure Cups
Once you have your warm water, add some oil to moisturize and soften your cuticles. Regular olive oil works great, or you can get creative. Jojoba oil is great, apricot oil is a classic, and Sweet Almond Oil
Moisturize: Of course we’ve all heard we should moisturize our hands every time we wash them (I’m a delinquent on that front). But after your nail soak is especially important to moisturize. It’s kind of like when you get out of the bath or shower – you may have used a moisturizing body wash, but your hands still need a slather of moisture after, or else your cuticles may end up drier than before.
So after your delightfully relaxing nail soak, keep your cuticles soft and pliable with a moisturizer. A good cream moisturizer is best – everybody has their favorite.
If you want the best looking cuticles ever, dab on and rub into your cuticles and nail beds some Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare Superskin Moisturizer. I first tried this when I was on vacation a few weeks ago and forgot my hand moisturizer – my nails went from pretty gross looking to radiantly healthy in no time flat.
Properly handle hangnails: You shouldn’t hack at your cuticle bed, but nipping off a hangnail is OK. But make sure you have the right tool for the job – using the nail clipper that you use to trim your nails isn’t the most sanitary. Invest in a good Cuticle Nipper – the one from Sephora
 is excellent – even a butterfingers like me can use it easily.
Give your hands an overnight treat:For everyday cuticle and hand maintenance, use Bliss Glamour Glovesovernight or while watching TV. The gloves have a gel lining that contains olive oil, grapeseed oil (also a good oil for your nail soak – forgot about that one!), and Vitamin E. Just slip them on and let them do the work. 20 minutes will give you a nice moisturizing treatment, overnight will give you an almost miracle. And a winter bonus – they keep you nice and warm, so you can turn down the thermostat down a couple of degrees overnight and still be nice and warm. See? Two money saving tips with one product!
Stay tuned next week for more at-home manicure how-tos!
Spa Economy: At Home Exfoliating Facial
Don’t you marvel at how soft your face is after your skin is professionally exfoliated? If you would like to still marvel at your soft skin without the wonder of seeing how much your spent at the spa when you billing statement comes in, read on.
- Liz Earle is a great line from England – check out my rave review of their Brightening Treatment Mask – and within their line are a couple of excellent exfoliating products. First off is their Gentle Face Exfoliator. It gently buffs away lifeless skin with jojoba beads. Apart from doing a great job exfoliating, jojoba drives other ingredients deeper into the skin (it is known as a “transporter” oil) - if you have ever tried ISH haircare product you know how great it is for getting active ingredients further than they would sink in on their own. The Liz Earle website states that this is a great exfoliator for every skin type except sensitive skin. If your skin is sensitive, I’d recommend their Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser to gently rid your skin of dull skin – and be sure to use the included muslin cloth to get a more thorough exfoliation. I’ve had several days in the past couple of weeks that my skin has gotten seriously wind-burned outside and I can’t tolerate a more intense exfoliation, and the Cleanse and Polish Cleanser has done a great job of both soothing and gently exfoliating. Even if you are still hitting the spa for facials, I still recommend this for everyday. Find both products at LizEarle.com.
- I will soon be doing a product review of Avon’s ANEW REJUVENATE Flash Facial
, but in the meantime, let me extoll the amazing way it smooths your skin better than any facial ever could. Thanks to the “Exfo-Smoothing Complex”, you will think that you stepped into a time machine and have your childhood skin back – smooth, radiant, lineless, poreless, etc. Seriously, this stuff is freaky good, and works fast. Get it. You will thank me. Find it at Avon.com
- For a truly luxurious home exfoliating facial, try La Mer’s The Refining Facial
. It exfoliates in two way: first acidic sea mud loosens and lifts up dead cells, and then a mixture of diamond (yes, diamond) powder and refined quartz crystals brush them off your skin. It works great and feels great – I went from dull skin to getting a gasp from my mother about how vibrant my skin looked in one use. Use it about once a week and slowly massage it in circles and enjoy – you are rubbing diamonds all over your face!
Find it at Saks.com.
- Avon ANEW CLINICAL Advanced Retexturizing Peel
will knock your socks off – these little pads gently yet powerfully sack dead skin and discoloration. Avon compares this product to a professional 35% glycolic peel, and while I’ve never had a professional peel, I’d be thrilled if I came out of the spa with skin like this. You skin glows, blackheads are banished, and you can’t stop touching your skin because it is sooooo soft. When I keep up with using these pads on a regular basis, I get constant compliments on my skin. I follow up with a moisturizer to get my skin even softer. It is very impressive to get this kind of result without irritation or redness. Find it at Avon.com
- Neutrogena Pore Refining Cleanser
is an amazing cleanser for not only clearing out your pores, but also washing away dead skin cells, leaving you with glowing skin. If you have sensitive skin, try it every other day, if you don’t have sensitive skin, you can use it daily. It contains both Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Formula and “microbeads” that give the cleanser some texture in order to exfoliate and deliver the agents to the new skin. It’s a really great product at a great price – get it for $7.99 at drugstore.com
- Juice Beauty
is a great line of organic products that work fantastically. Although they have a separate exfoliating cleanser, I really like their Juice Beauty Green Apple Collection Cleansing Gel
Remember, you skin doesn’t need heavy exfoliation every day – that’s a recipe for raw skin. And don’t forget that washing your face with a plush, soft wash cloth gently exfoliates some dead cells and you can use it everyday – just don’t scrub too hard! While you may miss the plinky-plunkey music and cucumber water at the spa, these products really compete with a professional exfoliation, at a fraction of the cost.
Is your skin missing the glowing look it gets after a facial? Stay tuned for our next Spa Economy feature on Brightening Treatments.