Pastel Nail Polish!

I love pastel nail polish. It makes your hands look more tanned and it's just plain cute! I found some of my favorites for you! Mint green is definitely my favorite!

Here's the link if you're interested in buying this product:

http://www.fashionaddict.com.au/online_store/pastel-nail-polish-set-6-pack.cfm

Check out this link as well! Zoya.com has some really awesome nail polish colors!

http://www.zoya.com/content/38/category/Zoya_Nail_Polish.html

Simply Smooth xtend Keratin Replenishing Finishing Gloss

This stuff is amazing! Every time I go to the salon (which is only about twice a year. I love to do my own hair) my stylist puts this amazing product in my hair. It adds shine, it adds softness and it smells wonderful! It smells like vanilla and almond to me. I paid 30 dollars for it at the salon, and I thought, "This stuff better last forever." Well good news. It does! I've had mine for about six months now and I still have at least three of four months of product left. You use only a small amount and it goes such a long way. Right after blowdrying (actually a few minutes before it is completely dry)I put it mainly on the ends of my hair and then rub whatever is left on the rest of my hair. It gives you salon hair every time. Now I don't have to wait until my next appointment to have perfect looking and wonderful smelling hair!

I found it online just for you for only 20 dollars! Here's the link! Enjoy. :)

http://www.discountbeautycenter.com/products2.cfm/ID/35150/name/simply-smooth-xtend-keratin-replenishing-finishing-gloss-4-oz

How to make green eyes POP!

I have green eyes, and I can honestly say I have tried every color of eyeshadow in attempts to make my eyes stand out. :)  I've learned that purple brings out green the best. I mean it REALLY brings out green! I have found that I get way more compliments on my eyes when I'm wearing purple eyeshadow. However, the trick is not to overdo it. Many people like to bring their eyeshadow up close to the eyebrow. Please don't do this! It can make you look like a clown. If you insist on wearing enough eyeshadow to cover all the way up to your eyebrow, then go with something like a silvery white or a pale gold. More of a shimmer than a color. To really make my eyes pop, I skip out on using eyeliner underneath my eyes, and use only eyeshadow. Using both would just be overdoing it!

If you look closely at the picture of me, you can see I used sparkly green eyeliner just on top of my lashline and in the corners of my eyes. If you want some extra glam, it's a fun look for sure!

The Black Palette by Urban Decay has my favorite purple eyeshadow, plus some other fun colors! I really love the Urban Decay Eye Primer as well, because it helps the color of the eyeshadow to show up, and it stays allllll day! It might be a little pricey, but to me, it is worth every penny!

Purple Haze eyeshadow by Urban Decay is on sale right now for $8.50. Here's the link!

http://www.urbandecay.com/matte-eyeshadow/159,default,pd.html

Here are some more examples of awesome eye makeup that helps green eyes to POP!

Sometimes, it isn't even makeup that makes your eye color stand out. It's your hair color! This picture of Ashlee Simpson reallllly makes me want to dye my hair! Look at her green eyes! Red is a complementary color of green, as an artist would tell you, and your face and hair are the perfect canvas to use these complementary colors!

Purple Shampoos and what they do!

Purple shampoos cancel out red and yellow undertones, brightening blonde hair, and giving it a more cool shade of color. This is not a one-time thing like a toner, but a once or twice a week shampoo to subtly brighten dull hair. I have tried Shimmer Lights and Jhirmack, and have found Jhirmack to be the best! Shimmer lights works, but you have to be very careful when using it. In my experience with it, having very light blonde hair, it soaked up the purple and did not wash out. It actually colored my hair purple! Luckily, TCU was playing that day, so I managed to get away with telling everyone I just had lots of school spirit. :)  But washing out the purple was a nightmare! I will say one good thing though. Shimmer Lights shampoo conditioned my hair very well. It worked like a deep conditioner, which I loved, but my one bad experience has scared me too much to go back. Jhirmack, on the other hand, works like a charm every time. I can leave it in for ten minutes if I want to, and it will never turn my hair purple! When I get out of the shower, my hair is a brighter more beautiful blonde. I love it! :)

Loreal Brass Banisher

If you want to have perfect blonde hair with cool tones and only a hint of gold, this toner is perfect for you! You can really buy just about any box of bleach to go with it. I usually use the Revlon highlighting kit or Loreal Bleach Blonde. Leave the bleach on your hair for about 45 minutes, (if it is dark and not already blonde) wash, dry, then apply this toner for another 45 minutes. (I am aware that the box says to leave the toner on for no more than 15 minutes, but I have found that 15 minutes is not nearly enough time for the toner to work!) Make sure your hair is dry, because otherwise you are not going to achieve the full effect of the product. If your hair is not a bright orange or yellow, you may want to leave the toner on for just 20 minutes. The good thing is you can always leave it on for a short time, wash it, dry it again and see the color, and reapply as necessary. The less time you leave it on, the brighter your results will be. The longer it is left on your hair, the more it will remove the neon effect, but the darker your blonde will be.You will love the results, and your new blonde hair will have cost you less than 20 dollars! Another great thing about the Brass Banisher is the deep conditioning cream that comes with it. It makes your hair soft and healthy, which is great, because bleaching it strips away so much, and your hair needs all the moisture it can get. But the best thing is that you will not have orangey-yellow hair. Do not fear when your hair is dried after bleaching and before toning, if it is a bright blinding yellow or orange. That is what the Brass Banisher is for. If you leave it on your hair long enough, it will remove all those bright scary colors and leave you looking like a natural blonde. :)

My blonde hair! :)

White Teeth!

To me, a glowing white smile is a must. One of the first things people notice about you is your smile. The upkeep of your teeth shows others that you are hygienic and that you care about your appearance. A few years ago, I asked my dentist how much he would charge me to whiten my teeth. He said, "Honestly," just use Crest Whitestrips. They do the exact same thing to your teeth that our procedures do, but they're much cheaper." He went on to tell me that that's what he and the other employees in the office used. Knowing that whitening treatments can cost hundreds of dollars, I was happy to take his advice! I have been using Crest Whitestrips ever since! They make so many different kinds now, it can be difficult to choose. Let me say this: They ALL work! However, I prefer the "Professional Effects - Advanced Seal" Whitestrips, because they are strong, always effective and they don't come off easily. You can even drink water while wearing them, AND you only have to wear them for five minutes. Although....I leave them on for fifteen. :)  My teeth are slightly crooked, and I've found that having super white teeth can hide crooked teeth. People simply won't notice. All they'll see is a pretty white smile!

Here's a link to coupon information. You can usually find these coupons in the newspaper for ten dollars off! Not baaaaaad. :)

http://www.pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/brandsaver-coupons.jsp

                          

Some inspiration for glowing white smiles!

Bronze Goddess!

I have tried just about every fake tan out there, and I've experienced some great results and also some flat out nightmares. I will go deeper into each one later, but today I just want to tell you about my most favorite and my least favorite. Let's start with the best!

Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer by Loreal is awesome. As you apply it, it is instantly visible so that you won't make any mistakes missing spots or over-applying. Just remember to use sparingly on knees and elbows! I usually put this on before bed once or twice a week and I wake up looking like I've spent a day at the beach! Not only does it look like a real tan, but it also has a slight shimmer to it. Everytime I use this product, people compliment my skin tone and ask me where I went to get such a great tan! I LOVE this product!

This "tan in a can" is called "Tan Airbrush in a Can," and the company is Model Co. Whatever you do, please for the love of all that is holy, do NOT use this product! I sprayed on one layer before going to bed one night and I woke up in a panic. Most fake bakes have an orangey-brown tone to them, but no. Not this one. I was a dark greenish-brown. I mean literally, my skin had this eery green tone to it! I looked sick. I refused to leave the house for two days. Even then, I didn't want to, but I had to. This crazy fake bake filled in all of my pores and clung to my arm hairs, making me look like an alien gorilla. I can't stress to you enough just how terrible this product was. I guess it serves me right. Be wary of products you've never heard of! Read reviews BEFORE purchasing and DEFINITELY before using!


Here is one tip I have learned while using fake bakes. Always wash the bottoms of your feet when you are finished using a spray tan! Run about a half inch of water in the tub and just scoot your feet around for a few minutes. Otherwise, you could end up with dark brown feet....

Spray tan gone wrong........Yeah, I'm speechless too!

Exfoliators: What Works Best?

Exfoliating your skin is very important. It keeps your skin looking young and refreshed by removing your oldest dead skin cells. Plus, after exfoliating, your skin will more easily soak up your cleanser, cleaning out those icky pores! There are so many products when it comes to exfoliators, so I have personally tested a few for you, and here are my findings:

Let's start with these two. We  have St. Ives and Hill Country Essentials, both apricot scrubs. The winner? St. Ives! St. Ives might cost a little more, but it is well worth it! I bought the Hill Country Essentials apricot scrub at H.E.B. and I was not impressed. It is more creamy than "scrubby," giving you more work to do, as I had to scrub twice as long with this one than I did with St. Ives. The grains are much finer in St. Ives, saving you a lot of work. Also, I have tried another generic brand of apricot scrub, Equate, and it too did not compare with St. Ives. Sometimes, the original is the best!

Okay. Now we're moving up the line to the slightly more expensive face scrubs. The one on the left is made by a company called Melaleuca, a "green" company that has some truly amazing products! However, this is not one of them. It is the first product I ever ordered from Melaleuca that I was disappointed with. It doesn't even work as well as the generic apricot scrubs. In fact, I wouldn't even call this a scrub. It is more of a gel with little beads in it that do not exfoliate your skin very well. If you are into being completely green, and are therefore willing to sacrifice your time scrubbing extra long, then this might just be the product for you. (Which I understand! Green companies are awesome and deserve support!) Now, this next product is made by Origins. It is called "Never a Dull Moment," and it is a skin-brightening face polisher. It isn't as grainy and fine as St. Ives, but it sure does polish your face! It not only smells great, but it leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and moisturized. It will also last you months! A little bit goes a long way, so I don't mind paying a little extra for this product. Some people say that St. Ives is a bit harsh on the skin, If you are one of these people with skin too sensitive for apricot scrub, you'll really enjoy Origins "Never a Dull Moment," because it is gentle, yet effective. Plus, they don't test it on animals. They actually test their products on volunteer panels. Pretty cool. :)

Ahhhh. The king of all exfoliators. The Timewise Microdermabrasion by Mary Kay. This is the one exfoliator that I simply cannot live without! It is the most gentle exfoliator I have ever used, and it makes my skin look and feel younger. Simply apply a small dab onto warm moist skin and rub in tiny circles with your fingers all over your face. Two to three minutes is usually plenty. I know that sounds like a long time to scrub your face, but this is not an everyday scrub. If you simply follow the directions, and use a few times a week, you WILL see results. If I could only choose one exfoliator, this one would be it without a doubt!

Did you know cornmeal is great for your skin? Well it is! Not only does it cost about 2 dollars for a huge tub of it at the grocery store, but it will last you FOREVER! I use this on my face about once a month. Simply mix with a little warm water and apply to your face. Then, rub in tiny circles, moving in upward motions. (Avoid downward motions. Gravity is already working its course. Pulling on your skin everyday will only speed up those wrinkles!) Cornmeal is not only a great way to prevent breakouts, but it is also a good exfoliant for your body. I lather this stuff all over my legs and arms and scrub away, and there is just nothing like it! My husband has no idea the reason I'm so silky smooth is because of the same product he fries with his okra! This product is environmentally friendly AND it actually works! Try it out and let me know what you think!