Insta-inspiration

What inspires your beauty? Do you keep abreast the latest styles via magazines? Facebook? Fantastically amazing beauty blogs? (hint hint) I've been thinking about this a lot lately. About my beauty past, current trends and how media has affected all of it. Growing up it was always Seventeen Magazine and InStyle. Remember YM magazine? lol. 

Actually magazines and television used to be the only way. But now our culture is beyond media-saturated with Facebook, twitter, tumbler and my personal favorite, Instagram! I never thought a simple photo sharing app would inspire me to try new products, hunt for color or take my nails to the fifth dimension of fun. But it has! Every night before bed, I scan my feed and various hashtags for new products, inspiration and general awesomeness. My latest obsession to date is nail art, which you can find in abundance on the highly celebrated app. 

Lately I've been digging this candy coated with glittery-bits look...

So I picked up some new shades and decided to try the look myself! At CVS I purchased Loreal's I Will! #220----a creamy white polish and Confetti's Tazmanian Devil #004---a clear multi-colored glitter. And I couldn't resist a new pink from O.P.I's Minnie Mouse Collection, If You Moust, You Moust!

With the pink shade, I tried to keep the glitter towards the tips of my nails. Over the opaque white, I spread the glitter evenly over the entire nail to get that jaw breaker look. I was quite happy with the results. 

Some of my favorite Instagram #hashtags to check for nail inspiration : #instanails, #nailsdone, #lynnderella, #manipedi, #nailstagram, #tapemani, #halfmoonmani. 

Rooty Tooty...

Continuing with my summer-nail obsession, this week I convinced my mom to go Fruity! She's usually not one for glittery glam but as soon as she handed me her new red Essie Polish, A list, I knew glitz was imminent. Normally this particular 3D Nail Art is used in Acrylic Nail designs. But since Mom shares my passion for short-but-sweet length, I figured we could merge the two styles. Using Cinepro Nail Creation's Tutti Fruitti Kit, we crafted a cherry sweet look! 

click to enlarge

You may have seen these 3D treasures before, in popular Japanese Nail Art Designs. They are made from Fimo Clay and can be purchased in thin slices or long rolls that you can cut yourself. I picked up this small kit at Cosmo-Prof but you can order them anywhere online. I will advise: they are 3D so you'll want to apply on top of fresh polish while lightly pushing down with an orange stick or application tweezers. Once the fruit piece has set into the polish and is not lifting, follow it up with a few coats of top coat----and you're good to go!

I decided to give Mom's red polish a little extra punch! with Martha Stewart's Craft Glitter in Candy Apple. While the second coat was fresh, I shook a small amount of glitter atop the bright red polish. My favorite part? This glitter throws a yellowish iridescent cast that shines beautifully. A few coats of my current favorite top coat, Seche Vite Clear, and the look is complete!

This was actually my second time using the Fruitti Kit <3 I tried it on myself using a deep purple polish as my background. Its fun, easy and I highly recommend it! 

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

Lately I've been gettin jiggy with 3D Nail Art. This week I attempted to work the Caviar Mani, and I've gotta say it's awesome. I was inspired by the Ciate version but didn't want to fork over $25 bucks for the official kit at Sephora. In a DIY mood, I headed over to Michael's and picked up some micro-beads and a small arsenal of glitter. 

1.  I mixed a small mixture of opaque black micro-beads and a delicious, iridescent Martha Stewart    glitter called, Black Licorice, into an empty glitter tube. 
2.  On the first three nails I laid one light coat of a dark purple Essie polish in Sexy Divide. 
3. On the second coat of purple, I shook the bead/glitter mixture directly over the wet nail, working one nail at a time. 
4. After cleaning up the side with an orange stick and lightly pushing the beads into the polish, I waited for them to dry a bit. 
5. And for the last step I added two very light coats of Seche Vite clear top cloat. For this step, you'll want to have very little product on the brush when you drag it across the nail. To much top coat may take away from the three-dimensional aspect by filling the area---making the beads disappear. *this only applies to dark colored beads.  

Its a super fun, edgy look. Definitely not meant to endure or last very long---maybe 2-3 days at most---MAYBE five. But if you have a special event, party or dance---its a cool eye-catching look. And with the vast array of colored micro-beads at Michael's, you can taylor your caviar to your party dress!

Put ALL these eggs in your basket!

I currently have twelve lip balms sitting on my night stand. TWELVE. And that still doesn't count the five in my purse, one hidden in the car somewhere and three I'm writing about in this article. One might conclude this signifies a definite addiction. Addiction, fascination, passion, compulsion, infatuation, preoccupation, OCD obsession, idée fixe.....yeah it's pretty much all of those. Though I wouldn't call it "lip balm dependent."As I don't always feel the need to have it on, just to possess it...literally...like diving into one of those ball pits at Chuck E Cheese. I want it allllllll, all the lip balm in the world. 

Alrighty, now that we've established my crazy...there is of course a product that you must buy, try and swear to love its whole lip balmy life. Evolution of Smooth,  EOS's Smooth Sphere Lip Balm <3 You may have seen it at your local Target, Walgreen's or other drug store. You probably caught yourself furrowing your brow in confusion while watching some other woman glide the smooth egg-shaped balm across her lips. And if you're anything like me, you thought, "WHAT the hell is that??" I stared at the packaging from afar many times. Their tag line reading, "Can a lip balm make you smile? We think so! That's why we created this one!" MmmmmmmmHmmmmmmm. Surrre. That's what they all say. Several months passed but I continued to resist. And I'm not even sure what pushed me over the edge, but of course I finally caved and purchased not one but TWO....I couldn't decide on which flavor to get! lol Well I purchased, I tried and I have two words for you. FREAKING AWESOME. 

Its egg-shaped, slightly smaller than an actual egg and packed with great ingredients. 95% Organic, most of them contain soothing Shea butter and jojoba oil, olive oil, palm oil, bees wax and antioxidant-rich vitamin E. A few of them even contain coconut oil and rosemary extract. And you'll be delighted to know they are petrolatum, paraben and gluten-free! Nor do they test on animals, a sure plus in my book. Currently they come in six flavors : Summer Fruit, Lemon Drop, Sweet Mint, Strawberry Sorbet, Honeysuckle Honeydew and Medicated Tangerine. The Lemon Drop Sphere is SPF 15. My favorite is Summer Fruit! Though the Sweet Mint does taste reeeally good. 

And get this---it actually will make you smile. I know I know I didn't believe it either! WHAT could this lip balm do differently that other lip balms don't? Let alone enough to make you smile? But it just does! Its a combination of factors: design aesthetics, good ingredients, pleasing scents/taste. The egg shape is different and just plain neat. Not to mention the nifty little irregular-oblong groove to place your thumb against as you twist it open. The Pièce de Résistance in design? When you screw the product closed, it has a thick, delectably reassuring CLICK! Ahhhh for the love of things that click! Be it pen or pop top, a crowning click truly is a paragon of joy. 

Prepare to set yourself back about $4 bucks and some change. Although I remember the product being cheaper at Target. One last suggestion : tis the season! Easter is upon us and these little gems make the perfect gift for a girlfriend, mom, sister or teen in your life. Plus they're egg-shaped, come in bright spring colors and will fit quite perfectly in a little basket along with some peeps! Or perhaps some lotion? EOS also boasts a small line of lotions and shaving creams! You can find them at Target, Walgreen's, CVS, Rite-Aid and most other drug stores. 

Stay chilly my friends...

I’m not sure if it’s the weird weather changes, excessive cold temperatures (for Cali) or basic PMS, but I’ve been experiencing some gnarly headaches. At least once a day I’m floored by these mind-numbing waves, to intense to ignore yet not exactly a migraine. Interestingly enough, while having dinner with friends last week, the subject of intense headaches/remedies/silliness came up in conversation.  “ What do you do when you have a headache?” our host asked. “No wait, let me tell you what happened first,” he begins. While visiting family in Texas, Aileen was suddenly stricken with a horrible migraine; right smack in the middle of holiday festivities. After trying pills, relaxing and such---it was becoming quite clear that nothing was working. “What are we gonna do????” I can only imagine her sweet face looking up at her husband. (She’s super cute btw.) And then came a suggestion from an unlikely source, her father-in-law. By reputation, a man who doesn’t speak---suddenly says, “Get her a Slurpee.” And so a few drug stores, one Coke Slurpee and one quick brain freeze later-----Voilà! Her migraine was gone.

Now enter silliness and a question that got me thinking. Flash foreword to a couple weeks ago: while Aileen’s husband was across the pond in London--Executively Producing a fabulous new flick---again she found herself with a migraine. “Hellllllp meeeeeee.” She begged from miles away. “Relief is around the corner. Why don’t you go get a Slurpee??!!!” he asked. “I was in to much pain to move!!” she stammered, laughing as they recounted the desperate phone call. And I completely understand this notion. Be it headache, cramps, backache---whatever. Sometimes you’re just in too much pain to want to move at all…period. Besides, that’s what loving, supportive, fantastically cute hubbies and boyfriends are for right? A creature of similar being, her husband lovingly and patiently directed her to kitchen to throw some ice cubes in the blender, add water and drink it “really-really-really fast!” And of course it worked.

His funny question was, “if it were you, would you have dissolved into the couch in pain or gotten up, got in the car and drove your ass to get a Slurpee??” We all laughed as Aileen flashed him a sweet look from across the table. “ I probably would have waited in pain till Kev returned from work and forced him to get me one.” I said proudly. You know I got my girls’ back. “Seeeee!!!” Aileen laughed. But this did get me thinking about the similarity between their home remedy and mine. Usually when I get a headache: I grab my silly lookin gel eye-mask from the fridge, strap that baby on and tear open a popsicle or similar frozen treat. That along with a few Ibuprofen usually does the trick. And sometimes the coolness feels so good I scratch the pills altogether.

So the next time you have a headache, maybe try adding a little cool to your day. Plus your eyes can be sensitive to too much heat, bright lights, dust, etc. Using a cold eye-mask can help beat stress, headaches and even relax puffy eyes. You can pick up a gel eye-mask at any drug store, Target or Bath&Body Works. My personal favorite is a Target special that only costs $3 bucks and can be cooled in the fridge or freezer for the ultimate chill. 

And since it’s an unplanned snack, why not keep it healthy? My favorite frozen treat of the moment: frozen Greek Yogurt Pops by Yasso. They’re gluten-free, fat-free, kosher and contain no corn syrup. You can find them at your local Gelson’s Market. 

Baby you've got it!

It has been my experience that some of the best products, find you. At the start of winter I was walking through Target, hiding from the boy to prolong my shopping experience, and suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks. Seduced by the sweet smell of Johnson & Johnson baby lotion, I found my way into the baby section. Rows and rows of that famously powder pink bottle beckoned me. I was helpless to resist its charm, reminiscent of all that is good and clean and sweet about babyhood. Amongst the barrage of J&J and Burt’s Bees products were a few new names and one that I’ve repeatedly passed up, California Baby. Developed by a mother, their product line consists of vegan, gentle washes, shampoos, moisturizers and creams for babies, kids and sensitive adults. 

I had heard of the line in the past and actually used to give a friend a hard time for using their sensitive scalp shampoo.  Though my teasing was based solely on the idea of a forty-year old man using baby shampoo, it was all in good fun. However, one of their decadent products has me eating my own words. California Baby, Calendula Cream, to date is the single best moisturizing cream I have ever used. Fabulous enough to bump L’Occitane’s best-selling Lavender Crème Main hand cream out of my number one spot. Yes…its that good.

Botanically based, this cream is packed with vegan, concentrated, and organic ingredients. Aloe Vera, rosemary, French lavender and Clary sage paired with concentrated Calendula (Kal’len’dula) officinalis extract soothe and moisturize even the most dehydrated skin. Calendula is a genus of species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae or the pot marigold. It has anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, which make it perfect for soothing irritated tissue. In fact, after discovering the product myself, I went online to see what other consumers had to say regarding its performance and scent. I was surprised to find out that many of the women raving about the cream were individuals suffering from Eczema or severe cases of Dermatitis.  Even some women who are breast cancer survivors and have suffered skin damage from radiation treatments/scaring---rave about Calendula Cream and how it’s helped their skin to heal and recover. Did I mention it’s a baby product too?

The cream is light, fluffy and has a calming herbal scent. It completely absorbs into the skin, does not leave a film and the scent is not over powering. It smells fresh with a touch of lavender, reminiscent of a spa. Being a bit of a germaphobe, I wash my hands incessantly. Naturally this leads to desert dry skin and cracked knuckles. This cream has single handedly brought my skin back from the dead. No more granny hands! I keep it on my nightstand and it serves as my evening retreat. You can pick it up at your local Target and some Whole Foods stores. A 2 oz. jar will set you back  $12.99 and the 4 oz. retails for $22.00.

Whether you have kids or not, the baby product section of some retail stores can prove to be highly rewarding, especially if you have sensitive skin or allergies. The California Baby line of products is amazing. In my humble opinion, that’s saying a lot for a vegan brand.  Its hard to find eco-cosmetic companies that can actually master the science that is the fine art of creating the perfect “cocktail” of a product----that actually works. For example: You can open any random jar of vegan “miracle” moisturizer and it literally is just a crème base with a healthy amount of lavender oil---and that’s it! Next thing you know, your fingers look like you’ve been into the fried chicken, your skin is nowhere near soft and you smell like an apothecary. The California Baby brand does just the opposite. Their line of products mixes essential oils and botanical elements that not only smell divine but work together to create a product that actually works! Shampoos and washes that don’t irritate your skin and moisturizers that soothe cracked and dry skin. They also offer pregnancy products/gifts, Diffusers and Oils for your nursery room/bathroom/home, Bath & Hair products, sunscreens and so much more. All just as their tagline reads: Safe, Natural and Fun for babies, kids and adults.

visit California Baby online!

Gotta Get Down on Friday...

For all my LA peeps and valley homegirls, Sephora is having a grand opening this Friday, September 9, 2011. A new shop is opening up at the Northridge Fashion Center! Regular hours of operation will be Monday-Saturday 10am - 9pm and Sundays 11am-6pm. 

If you come early to the grand opening this friday, you'll have the chance to win a free Sephora Gift Card! That's right! For the first 100 clients in line at the grand opening, they will give out FREE Sephora Gift Cards with mystery values worth up to $100 bucks!! The value range is : $10, $25, $50 or $100. So at the very least you can walk away with $10 bucks! And if you're a registered Beauty Insider, you can get a free Sephora Makeup Bag. If you're not registered, don't sweat it! Head over to Sephora.com and click on the Beauty Insider link at the bottom of the page to sign up. 

Hope to see you there! <3