Beauty Blog » 2009 » May

Before and After T!ntalize, courtesy Tintalize.com

I know sometimes no matter how much you scrub away corns, rub in those moisturizers, wish away those veins, they just won’t go away!  What is a girl to do?  We have make-up artist Allyson Carey to the rescue.  Allyson, best known for her work in the CBS show Bold and Beautiful came up with T!ntalize make up for your feet!  That’s right, war paint is not just for the face anymore.  It is a smudge proof, sweat proof and rub proof concealer especially for the feet intended to cover scars, blisters, veins, tan lines, age spots and blemishes.  It is supposed to dry fast and not stain clothes or bed sheets.  The concealer comes in a choice of seven colors ranging from Vanilla Mousse to Chile Chocolate and retails for $15.  If you want your feet to look princess perfect for that all important date or an imminent summer wedding but don’t have enough time to whip them back into shape, T!ntalize might just do the trick!

Find at Smarter.com: Shop for tinted sunscreen.

24HourFitness.com:  Three, 50-minute personal training sessions $119 - AMT4PRYNTV (Exp: 05/31/09)

Beauty Ticket: 10% off entire order plus free gift with $20 purchase - COUPONCABIN (Exp: 06/09/09)

Find at BeautyTicket.com:  Smashbox 2-Piece “Tips of the Trade” Makeup Bag Set: $3.99

ELF Cosmetics: Free 5 piece brush set with any $25 purchase - FREEBRUSH (Exp: 06/01/09

GNC:  Save 20% off site-wide - JUST4U (05/31/09)

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics:  Receive a free full size Glitter Lip Balm - Lips11 (Exp: 06/15/09)

Find at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com - Beach Body Scrub: $35

GreatSkin.com:  $60 off $300 - Spring60 (Exp: 05/31/09)

Murad: Free gift with your $95 - G9CAT (Exp: 06/01/09)

Find at Murad.com:  Sun Undone Active Radiance Serum: $89

Sephora: FREE Smashbox Photofinish Primer - PRIMER (05/31/09)

The Body Shop: Free Mini Body Butter - MAYDAY (05/30/09)

Find at TheBodyShop.com - Tea Tree Oil Face Mask: $15.50

Find more coupons and deals from top online health and beauty stores here.

Braids have been seen on the runways and red carpets recently and forecasters are predicting them to be a hot summer style for the hair.  This makes total sense.  Braiding your hair not only will keep you cool (a long mane on your back can act as a winter coat sometimes), but will keep the hair out of your face leaving you looking fresh and your hair looking well groomed.  One of my favorite year-round styles for my hair is to wear it in braids.  First, i part the hair in the middle, do two regular braids–one on each side, and then I pull both up, wrapping them across the top of the crown, and finally securing them with bobby pins near the ears.  I like to leave a few shorter pieces loose in the front to frame the face.  I don’t see to many gals wearing their hair this way, and I always hear them tell me “I wish I could pull that off…but I just can’t.”  Nonsense!  Even if you don’t do the ‘Heidi’ style I do, there are so many variations to try, that eventually you will find one that suits you.  Nicole Richie was seen recently with a cute little braided style…

This style is super easy.  Part hair in the middle, do a french braid on each side, then twist ends into a low bun in the back.

Diane Kruger also opted for a braid on the Cannes Film Festival’s Red Carpet…

This is similar to Richie’s except messier.  For this you will do a side part, keeping it loose and slightly tousled, then on each side start a braid using imperfect, uneven chunks of hair.  Resist trying to do a back part also.  When the two braids meet in the back, combine them and either create one single braid with remaining hair, or weave them together and create another small braid that will be meant to rest on your shoulder.  I hate the rubber band at the end.  A quick fix is to take a small piece of hair from the end and wrap it tightly around the rubber band, disguising it.  This trick is very chic looking and easy!

Maintaining your nails can be a chore in itself.   Makeover your nails in minutes with Talika Instant Manicure.  This unique powder gives you fresh, white nails in just minutes.  No long drawn out steps here!  Simply add the powder to warm water, soak hands for 3 minutes and dry.  Your new nails are revealed!  Plant botanicals help improve circulation, remove stains and soften cuticles. Talika Instant Manicure promises to leave a nice, light scent on your newly-refined nails.  At $33 for 8 packets I am dying to try this product.  My current budget doesn’t include a trip to the manicurist, so at $4/packet, this product is already a winner for me!   How about you?  Have you tried this product before?  What’s your routine for keeping your nails beautified?

Shop Smarter.com for more manicure supplies.

There’s nothing like some great beach hair.  The kind of textures, waves and body you can only get from being at the beach, in the ocean, under the sun.  I used to have it all the time when living near the ocean…its fabulous!  The ocean and its salt water can offer many vital nutrients to your skin, and it can give your hair a great natural look, but salt water and heavy sun exposure can also dry out the hair badly.  I know that at this time of the year and the closer we get into summer, the more women want “beach hair!”  Interestingly enough, with a stroke of marketing genius–products were created to help women achieve this look without actually having to go into the ocean.  They’ve been around for a few years now, but I have yet to try any of them.  It seems as though these products would work well on finer, more straight hair–I could be very wrong about this though.  As a curly-haired girl, I have plenty of texture and body.  After one dip in the ocean, the curls are somewhat weighed down and have a beautiful shape to them.  Unfortunately, the ends would feel like sandpaper and the roots would become a bit oily.  I am curious to see if the beach hair products work, and after shopping around, I found a few that I would consider purchasing:

Fekkai by Frederic Fekkai created a small line of products for summertime hair including the Marine Summer Hair Beach Waves Style Spray ($23).

Apparently this spray is formulated with marine waters, AquaNutrients, sea kelp and a UV Shield to give you moisture locked texture and shape.  A few spritzes of this stuff is good for sun-exposed, moisture thirsty hair.  Sounds like it would be perfect to use after you’ve come out of the ocean and rinsed hair with freshwater.

John Frieda created a product called Ocean Waves Sea Spray Texturizing Styler.  Made with “sea water”, this spray is only $6.49 and was rumored to be discontinued but available at johnfrieda.com

Ok, so picking up one of these products is convenient, but I did some research and learned how to make my own product for “beach hair” and found out it’s easy as pie! I’m going to save a few bucks and opt for creating my own.  All you will need is a small spray bottle, one cup of water, four or five drops of essential oil (this would include natural lavender, rosemary, or any other fragrance of your choice) and two teaspoons of sea salt.  Mix together in a spray bottle and your done!

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more Frederic Fekkai products and John Frieda products.

Neon bright colors continue to be a recurring theme not only in clothing this season, but beauty trends as well. Last week we explored electric blue eye shadow with nude lips, a great combo. This week, bring the color to your fingers and toes with a shocking burst of neon pink, purple or lime. Essie has issued a ‘Neon’ Mini Nail Polish 4-pack for a decent price. Essie nail polishes normally retail for about $8 per bottle, so taking advantage of this mini bargain isn’t a bad idea. The colors were created out of inspiration from fashion and art–bold, bright colors like these were seen on the red carpet recently. Check out Michelle Monaghan’s hot pink Versace dress at the Star Trek premiere on May 1st.

Then there is also the technicolor graffitti craze that has been influencing fashion for quite some time now. A great street style that reflects back onto fashion, clothes, style and beauty. Last spring, neon yellow and lime nails were popular. An interesting look to pull off, being both bold and daring. This summer, definitely expect to see bright nails and toes again, but I feel like neon pink is going to be the more popular choice over the others…or perhaps I am just being partial since that is the color I would choose. Nail polishes don’t really come cheap anymore, when they do you can usually expect chipping of sorts. This is a great deal for four colors–Funky Limelight, Flirty Fuchsia, Perky Purple, and Punchy Pink– that will be big all season long.

Essie ‘Neons’ Mini Nail Polish 4-pack: $9.49

Find at Smarter.com: Shop for more neon nail polish.

The Good and the Bad Tan: Elizabeth Hurley and Donatella Versace
Photo: Taken from best-spray-tanguide.com

With every star worth his/her salt embracing the tanned look, it has become an undeniable summer requirement.  And now that we are all aware of the inherent dangers of sun tanning, self tanners are more popular than ever.  All self-tanners are not created equal.  There is that dreaded orange hue that some leave behind.  Some have positively made women swear off them due to their nasty smell.  Some are messy to apply…the list is long.

We have compiled here a list of some of the most popular self tanners in today’s beauty market to address the needs of different women:

1) Bare Escentuals Faux Tan: $22 - The Bare Escentuals Faux Tan has been a top performer the past few years and has accumulated quite a number of dedicated fans.  Women love it as it is hydrating and does not clog pores.  Best of all, its built in color lets you see where the product goes to avoid mess ups.

2) Liz Earle Sun Shade Botanical Self Tan Spray: $31 - This British product is great for girls who crave for more natural products without harsh chemicals.  It has been receiving rave reviews from many editors in the business.

3) Peter Thomas Roth Natural Looking Self Tanner: $28 - As the name suggests, it delivers a streak free natural looking glow which is completely fragrance free and enriched with botanicals and moisturizers.

4) Neutrogena Sun Fresh Sunless Foam: $9.99 - For a lady on the go, this fast absorbing foam that promises to dry in 5 minutes might just do the trick.  Has a pleasant grape fruit and nectarine scent.

5) Clarins Delicious Self Tanning Cream: $42 -If you are a girly girl and love the luxury of rich chocolate pudding like texture and scent on your skin, you will like this.Its caramel color makes it mistake proof while delivering an even honey glow.

6)  Dove Energy Glow Body Lotion: $15.19 - For women who don’t want to transition overnight into dark brown from pale white, Dove’s gradual tanning is the answer.  For subtle results and a natural gradation, this is the way to go.  Some ladies who want more intense results mix in the Dove lotion with their regular tanner for in between maintenance.

7)  L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Towelettes: $ 8.99 - Perfect for summer travel. Quick, convenient and best of all no mess!

8)  St. Tropez Whipped Bronze Mousse: $34.99 - This instant 60 second self tanning mousse is an all time favorite for its great color and staying power.  This is also a good idea for men due to its neutral herbal scent and non sticky application that makes for easier application over body hair.

Of course for the greatest of self-tanners to work, be sure to adhere to all the self tanning wisdom like:

1)  Set aside enough time. Rushing could lead to goof ups.
2)  Shower and shave before hand.
3)  The most important rule of self tanning remains exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate before application.
4)  Don’t forget to wear snug gloves to avoid tell tale orange palms.  At the end, take it off to apply product to back of hand and wash off the palms quickly.
5)  A wet cotton ball could be very handy to wipe out excess product that tends to build up near hairline and eyebrows.
6)  Wait 4-6 hours before swimming or showering and wear loose fitting dark colored clothing for the rest of the day to prevent any color transfer.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more tanning supplies.

Bold colors will be big for the remainder of spring…usually summer palettes fade into lighter, shimmery shades to compliment the suntan you’ve gotten on your face.  I like bold colors for the face, its fun to do a little risk taking when it comes to makeup and current trends.   You’ll make yourself the freshest in the bunch. I will admit that I’m not one usually drawn to blue eyeshadow, at all, but blue eyeshadow and nude lips are a new look meant to go together.

The secret to this look is to not coat your eyelid with blue shadow, but instead smudge on some navy eyeliner, and then top that with a bright blue shadow like Revlon’s Venetian Blue ($4.99), keeping it on the center of the lids, not the entire lid.  This will keep it from looking like a bad 80’s makeover.

Revlon Matte Eyeshadow in Venetian Blue: $4.99

MAC’s Eye Kohl in Blooz would be good to start with, it will go on smoothly. Don’t spend a lot on the shadow, Revlon will do the trick with its matte formula. If you accidentally over-do it on the eyeshadow, pat lightly with your ring finger to even it out…this usually works for me.

MAC Eye Kohl in Blooz: $13.55

Now for the lips…a good shade of nude or light pink will do for this.  Benefit Cosmetics has created a new line of Full-Finish lipstick for Spring ‘09. Try the “Ladies Choice” shade.

Benefit Full Finish Lipstick in Ladies Choice: $18

Combining the bright blue eyes with neutral lips is perfect.  The lipstick balances out the boldness of the eyes and will actually have you looking quite chic.  I don’t know if I would wear this look in the daytime, but it would certainly make for an excellent “night out” look when you want to be a bit more adventuresome with your beauty regiment.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more blue eyeshadow and blue eyeliner.
Discounts on MAC cosmetics and Benefit cosmetics.

A friend of mine makes her own all natural skin salves.  Amazing!  I was and still am in awe of this talent she possesses in creating her own moisturizing skin salves from her apartment here in Los Angeles.  I don’t have the details on the exact process or ingredients she uses but I was inspired to go out and hunt down some of my own little recipes for natural beauty remedies and perhaps try concocting a mixture of my own.  After just eating an entire small carton of strawberries from the local farmer’s market, I thought it appropriate to seek out a formula that calls for strawberries and I found a good one for exfoliation:

The Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant:

• First you will need 8-10 ripe strawberries, two tablespoons of olive oil, and one teaspoon of course salt such as sea salt.  You could probably even substitute this with some of the Epsom salts.  I highly recommend Walgreens Apothecary Natural Mineral Epsom Salt.

Buy 2 for $3!

• Mash up the strawberries, and mix with olive oil and salt.  Apply over hands and feet, rinse, and pat dry.

For those of you who like taking indulgent baths, you know…the kind that you see offered at fancy spas with rose petals and stuff like that?  Well now is your chance to create your own!  Creating your own rose water bath is easy.  You will need one cup of rose petals, OR one half cup of rose water which should be fairly inexpensive, and one half cup of coconut milk.

Home Health Rose Water is basic and should do the trick, it usually retails for about $4.69 (Lowest price on Smarter.com).

Add all ingredients to a warm bath and sink in!

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more Epsom salt.
Discounts on Home Health products.

1 . Philosophy ‘Shelter’ Tinted SPF 30 Sunblock: $20

This antioxidant-rich, broad-spectrum sun protection moisturizer tops as an absolute summer must have for it not only provides basic moisturization, but also incorporates anti-aging benefits of peptides and protects us from the harmful effects of the sun with SPF 30. Wait there’s more- it even provides sheer coverage with a universally flattering tint that compliments most skin types.

2. Nars Monoi Body Glow II and South Beach Multiple Set: $49

Who does not crave for that sensuous Jennifer Lopez glow? The South Beach Multiple set helps you achieve that bronze goddess look by giving your eyes, cheeks, and lips a sun kissed radiance while the Minoi Body glow lends a luminous sheen to the whole body to achieve that perfectly stylish summer chic.

3. Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15: $22.50

Remember, lips need SPF too!  Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 blends reparative oils and waxes together with real sugar for an intensely moisturizing sun protection.  Sweet and tart blackcurrant oil cushions the lips with essential plumping fatty acids, while antioxidant grapeseed polyphenols and vitamins A, C and E provide extra protection.

4. Bare Escentuals Perfect Bronze 100% Natural Lip Trio: $ 30

This all natural paraben free lip trio is all you need to give your pucker that sexy, bronze pout.  The lip liner, gloss and lipcolor set come pre-matched for you in a creamy, moisturizing formula that is sure to help you pack a punch in your summer look.

5. Guerlain ‘Le 2 de Guerlain’ Waterproof Mascara: $35

Summer definitely calls for a water proof mascara.  Who better to deliver it than the legendary Guerlain?  It comes with two brushes: the main brush provides volume, length and curls the lashes, while the mini-brush helps to precisely define all small lashes and lower lashes.  It contains polymers to first surround the lash with a flexible coating by encasing natural waxes and then a humid resin a humid resin, to form a setting film over the first coating as it dries to protect curl and maintain hold .

6. MAC ‘Fix+ Rose’ Mist: $17

This rose water mist formulated from spring water, rich in added minerals hydrates and conditions the skin.  It is the perfect finishing touch for your summer makeup.  Smells great.  Feels so refreshing against the skin.  A real summer pick me up!

7. Matte Cover FX Oil Absorbing Powder: $22

While we love the seductive summer heat, we can certainly do without the oil and grease that make our faces look shiny and our makeup blotchy.  The sweat and dirt of summer days require this mineral rich oil absorbing pressed powder compact to absorb the oil and deliver an evenly matte appearance..

8. Frederic Fekkai Summer Hair Marine Clean Detox Shampoo: $23

We all know that the sun can do a number on the hair.  Add to it all the chloride in the pool and the salt water in the beach-you definitely need extra help!  Frederic Fekkai Marine Summer Hair Marine Clean Detox Shampoo contains marine botanicals to moisturize and gently detoxify chlorine, residue and other impurities. The Aqua Nutrients infuse deep hydration into sun-exposed, moisture-thirsty hair, and the UV shield helps prevent fading.  Moreover the summery smell just gets you into the mood.

9. Blot Away! Oil Absorbing Sheets, $2.99 on sale!

These troopers from Avon at just under $3.00 are the handiest things you could ever have in your handbag during those long hot perspiring summer days.  These portable, disposable compact blotting papers that come in sets of 50 help you blot away oil and sweat through out the day without messing with your makeup.

10. Marc Jacobs Splash - Lemon: $68

Have you put away your winter perfume yet?  It is time to get into the spirit with Marc Jacobs Splash in Lemon.  It promises to capture the essence of summer with the fresh, crisp scent of sun-drenched citrus.  Even its yellowy sparkling tint is reminiscent of the warm, sensuous days of summer.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more tinted sunblock, SPF lip treatment and waterproof mascara
Buy absorbing face powder, detox shampoo and Marc Jacobs fragrances.
Discounts on NARS beauty products and Bare Escentuals products,