Spring 2013 Beauty Trends

Spring is here at last (yay!), and it's time to try out all the new beauty trends.

Makeup

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For makeup this spring, barely-there makeup is very popular. The trick to this trend is to keep your face makeup clean and natural looking, but at the same time even out your skin tone and hide any blemishes. Keep your eyes very simple with a taupe eyeshadow (or no eyeshadow at all), very little or no eyeliner, and lots of mascara to make your lashes look thick. Make sure you don't use too much mascara so that you get spider eyelashes.

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Harper’s BAZAAR says “when your makeup is on the barely-there side, having defined brows is all the more important.” They suggest brushing brow hairs down to find your natural shape, and then fill in sparse areas with a pencil, using short, feathery strokes to shape and even out the contours of your face.  Seal with a coat of clear mascara.

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Pantone has called emerald the color of the year for 2013. I've seen it worn as eyeshadow the most, but you can also find emerald eyeliner, nail polish, and more.

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Blue eyeshadow is another hot color for spring. Two other popular eyeshadow colors for spring are pastels and metallic.

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Neon eyeliner has been seen lots of different places, I think it's a super cute way to add a pop of color without over doing it.

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Bright lips have been in for quite awhile, and a red lip is always a classic. But red lips are especially popular this year. I suggest going for a cherry color with a creamy finish.

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Glowy skin is very popular for spring. Harper’s BAZAAR suggests trying a light-reflecting primer worn underneath makeup. They also suggest using a glossy lip treatment like Shiseido makeup artist Dick Page used to make your eyes glisten.  They said, “just dab it around the perimeter (careful not in the eye) and finish with mascara for a lush glow.”



Hair

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A clean, center part, with the hair slicked back is a very chic and popular hair trend for spring.

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Undone updos are a new trend that I haven't seen before. It's a style where the hair is half-up, half-down. The hair is up, but it's messy, and coming down.

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Harper's BAZAAR tells how Redken hairstylist Guido describes the Calvin Klein Girl, as “super chic, super urban.” He translated that into a style that’s “a little bit grungy” but “overall very natural. It's not blown out straight, but just blow-dried with the fingers to achieve this soft, unrefined texture." He prepped hair with mousse, drew a deep side part and finished with hair powder and hairspray brushed out to give a little grit.

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Last year high pony tails were really popular (and they still are), but low ponies are now coming in.

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Harper's BAZAAR showed rock n' roll waves with their spring hair trends, and I love this style! Harper's BAZAAR said "hairstylists took inspiration from nineties grunge backstage, giving hair a tousled effect that suggested the hair wasn't really "done" at all, but left loose and flowing with a natural bend. Hair pro Guido applied volumizing foam to damp hair and rough-dried with his fingers, scrunching up the ends before twisting strands into a bun and misting with aerosol hair powder for texture. After hair had set, he released the bun and sprayed with more powder."



Nails

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Nails with a metallic strip down the middle, is an easy nail trend to try out. You can choose any color for the background  and then all you need is a metallic nail polish for the strip.

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Pale nails (light pink, off-white, or even white) are pretty and simple. I think they're perfect for people who aren't willing to spend a lot of time on their nails, and since the nail polish is light, it isn't as noticeable when it chips.

If you want to see spring fashion trends for this year, check out a post I did on my blog, here.

What's your favorite beauty trend for spring? 

xoxo, Becca

Taking Care of Your Lips

     Hi everyone!  Today we’re talking lips; taking care of your lips is really important.  It looks really bad if you have dry, cracked lips, and it doesn’t feel so great, either!

     If your lips are dry it could mean that you’re thirsty.  Cracked, dry lips could also be a lack of iron or vitamin B from your diet.  When your lips are cracked, licking them doesn’t help, it just makes them worse.  Biting or rubbing your lips with your fingers doesn’t help either.  If you have dry skin, gently rub it off with a tooth brush or a wet wash cloth.

     Make sure that you drink plenty of water and use something moisturizing on your lips like a lip balm or petroleum jelly.  Before going to bed I almost always put on lip balm so it has a chance to sink in while I sleep. 

     If you’re dealing with dry lips, stay away from lip liners and dry lipstick.  Most lipsticks and lip liners are drying and they look bad if your lips are dry and cracked.  If you need some color, use a tinted lip balm or a lip butter.  Lip butters are a mix between a lip balm and lipstick.  They have great color, and they’re really creamy.

                                                                                   

    Maybelline Color Whisper               Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter

Exfoliation 

     There are so many different ways to exfoliate (remove dead skin from) your lips.  You can use a wet tooth brush by gently brushing your lips in a circular motion, a wet wash cloth, or you could make a sugar scrub.  There are lots of different sugar scrubs, but most of them have sugar and olive or extra virgin olive oil.  I either use a tooth brush or I use a sugar scrub and then use my tooth brush.  After exfoliating I apply a lip balm or petroleum jelly.  It leaves your lips soft and looking smooth.

     When my lips are super dry and cracked I don’t try to exfoliate them right away.  Instead I pile on some lip balm and wait to exfoliate till my lips are softer.  When you exfoliate your lips, a good time to do it is after you brush your teeth because your lips aren’t dry and it works better to exfoliate. 

Making Your Lips Bigger

     A lip plumper is used to make your lips bigger and appear fuller.  You can buy some lip glosses that plump your lips or you can make a lip plumper from cinnamon or cayenne pepper.  The cinnamon and/or cayenne pepper irritates them just slightly to temporarily swell them.  To apply it, use a little bit of petroleum jelly and cinnamon or cayenne pepper.  

 Here and here are some lip plumpers.

     Another way to make your lips appear bigger is by using lip liner.  Michelle Phan made a video on how to do it.

Lip Balms

     There are a lot of different lip balms to choose from.  They have ones to protect your lips from the sun, moisturize, all natural ones, tinted ones, and lip balms with shimmer.

Here are some popular brands:

Eos (my favorite!)

ChapStick

Baby Lips

Sugar by Fresh

Soft Lips

Or you can go with plain old petroleum jelly.  You can get little tubes for on the go, and they even have flavored ones.

What's your favorite lip balm? Let me know in the comments!
Becca xoxo

Kool-Aid Hair Dye by Erin

Today we have a guest blogger, everyone meet Erin! Erin is a junior in high school and a writer for Mod Style Lounge where she loves blogging about clothes and modesty. To learn more about her, go check out her bio, http://modstylelounge.blogspot.com/p/erin.html.

The Trend...

A trend that I have seen since this past summer is colorful streaks in your hair, or fun colorful tips. I always wanted to try it, but I would be nervous about going and getting it dyed somewhere, and not liking it. So I've seen the idea of dying your hair with Kool-Aid online and thought it looked like a great alternative. Depending on your hair type, it is very temporary, but I've heard that it can last anywhere from a couple washes to several months. Using Kool-Aid (or I've also heard that you can use a jello mix) is an easy way to add fun pop of color to your hair without committing to a long term dye. *Please be sure your parents are ok with this before you try it though!* You can do streaks in your hair, the tips of your hair, or even do your whole head and add a colorful tint to your natural color. Kool-Aid dye works best on light colored hair. If your hair is darker, and you really want to try this, you would need to bleach the section of hair first.

I did some quick research online, and it received mostly positive reviews. But like always there are people who post warnings and negatives they discovered when they tried it. A few common complaints were that if you use red Kool-Aid it can last too long...Some say that this washes out too quickly while others say they couldn't get theirs out and that they had to grow it out. I'd do some checking before you try it, even if it is a simple and temporary method.

Good tutorials on how to die your hair are very easy to find. I think this post was my favorite though. It explains different methods of using the Kool-Aid dye, gives instructions, and includes a video.

My Little Experiment...

I decided I'd give this a try today and picked up some purple (SUGAR FREE!) Kool-Aid packets at the store. When I was ready, I pulled out a small strip of my hair and ponytailed the rest on the opposite side. It's important that you keep all hair back except that hair you're wanting to dye. The tutorial will tell you this, but I boiled 2 cups of water and when the water had cooled a tad I added the 2 packets. When mixed dipped the hair into the bowl and kept my head there for about 5 minutes. I started with really thin pieces and added more when I liked the results. I took a napkin and dried the excess Kool-Aid and then blow dryed the section of hair. Although the results were more subtle than I was expecting, I was very pleased with it. I am a dirty blond and the color looks like a dark auburn/plumb. I will be definitely be trying this again, and maybe I will use a different method next time (like painting the hair and then wrapping with foil). I've included a picture, the quality isn't terribly great but you should be able to get an idea of how it looks. 

If you try this, or have done it before, let me know how it works for you! I'm curious how the results differ with different hair types, methods, and colors. Have fun ~Erin

Thanks so much for letting me use your post, Erin! Make sure you guys go check out her posts on Mod Style Lounge, and have a great weekend! 

source of first photo: The Beauty Department

Hair Chalk

     Hair chalk has become more popular recently because it’s temporary and easy to apply.  Hair chalk is chalk that you buy specifically for your hair, or chalk pastels that you buy from an art store. 

     A few weeks ago I was at my friend’s house, and she had some hair chalk, and we decided to try it out.  The brand she had was Beyond the Zone, and she had two different colors, pink and purple.   The package it was in didn’t have any instructions so we just took sections of our hair and rubbed the chalk on.  

     The chalk was pretty messy to put on; it got all over our hands, clothes, and all over the bathroom.  It didn’t really stay on our hair very well, either.  The chalk didn’t show up in my hair very well since I have dark hair.  My friend (Jessica) has blonde hair, so it showed up pretty well on her.  We washed our hair before we went to bed because it would have rubbed off everywhere in our sleep.  It washed out just fine, but the chalk left our hair really dry.  The color came out of my clothes, too, for the most part with the help of stain remover.

     Since my hair was so dry, I decided to do a hot oil treatment on my hair the next night; afterwards my hair was pretty much back to normal.  I noticed when I was washing my hair after doing the treatment that some purple was coming out, so if you use hair chalk, make sure you get it all out.

     The Beauty Department has a really good article that gives you tips and techniques to use when using hair chalk.   Chalk It Up

     Even though it didn’t turn out very well when Jessica and I did it, I really want to try it again and apply it like The Beauty Department suggests. 

     Here’s a video showing you how to apply hair chalk.

     Adding color to your hair whether it’s Kool-Aid or chalk is really popular right now because it’s super cute and colorful.  What do you think of the trend?  Have you tried it? 

     Make sure to check back next week for a post about another hair trend, Kool-Aid. 

Becca xoxo

Battling Dry Skin

      Winter is in full swing now, and with it dry and itchy skin.  Combating dry skin is fairly easy; all you need are a few tips and a good lotion.

     First thing is to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.  Water helps hydrate your skin; drinking water is good no matter what season it is.

     Limit the hot water in the shower.  I know it feels really good, but it strips your skin and hair of its natural oil, leaving it dry.  It can also be a good idea to get a moisturizing soap for your body.  I just use Ivory soap since it’s mostly natural. 

      An obvious fix to dry skin is to apply lotion throughout the day.  I put lotion on my hands all through the day to keep them soft.  Apply lotion on your hands before you go to bed, that way it has a chance to sink in while you sleep and it won’t get washed off.   It’s also a good idea to apply lotion after you shower.  Lotion will help replace the oil that has been stripped from your skin.  I apply lotion all over my body right after I’ve taken a shower and my skin is still damp.  That way the lotion locks the moisture into your skin.   If you need extra moisture, after you take a shower and dry off, spray yourself with a spray bottle of baby or body oil.  

  If you deal with dry skin on your face, there are lots of great moisturizing masks and scrubs you can make.  Honey is great for moisturizing your face and it gives you a silky complexion.  Make sure you apply face lotion every morning and night after you wash your face.  I also put face lotion on after I shower since my face is usually dry.  Michelle Phan made a great video showing how to make a sugar scrub.
  For your lips, buy a good lip balm.  Eos Sphere Lip Balm is my favorite and Chapstick also has some good ones.  Using petroleum jelly instead of a lip balm is also very moisturizing and it’s less expensive.  If your lips are dry, licking them makes them worse.  If you have dry lips, it could also mean you’re thirsty and you need to drink water.  Apply lip balm throughout the day and especially at night so it can sink in. 
  Use your richest and most expensive moisturizer for your hands and feet; they take the most abuse and need lots of moisture.   If your feet are super dry and crack during the winter, rub them with a pumice stone after taking a shower, and then follow with lotion or a special formulated foot cream.  Putting socks on after will help lock in the moisture. 

Some good lotions:

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula

Baby lotion (any brand)

Jergens

Bath & Body Works

eos

 I hope this helped some of you guys!  Have a great week!

Becca xxoo

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Review

     BB creams have been the rage lately.  They were really popular in Asia, and now they’ve become popular here in the US.  BB creams are pretty much multi-functional foundations.   Today I’m reviewing Maybelline Dream Fresh BB. 

     BB stands for blemish balm, blemish base, or beblesh balm.   If you want to learn about the history of BB creams, here’s an article on it, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_cream.

     On the tube it says it’s an 8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector Titanium Dioxide Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30.

Enhances skin with eight benefits in 1:

• Blurs Imperfections

• Enhances

• Brightens

• Adjusts to skin tone

• Smoothes

• Hydrates

• SPF 30 protects

• 0% oils and other heavy ingredients

     There are 5 different shades to choose from, light, light/medium, medium, medium/deep, and deep.  I have the medium shade.  It’s about $8 for 1 fl. oz., which I don’t think is that bad. 

     Check it out here for yourself. http://www.maybelline.com/Products/Face-Makeup/BB-Cream/Dream-Fresh-BB.aspx

Pros:

• It goes on smooth and even. 

• It can be easily applied with your fingers, and it doesn’t require very much blending. 

• It’s moisturizing and it smoothens out any dry spots on your face. 

• It’s very natural looking; it doesn’t look or feel heavy. 

• It doesn’t have much of a smell.

• It has SPF 30 in it, which can be a good and a bad thing.

• Under $10; it was around $8 for me.

• It evened out my skin tone.  My skin looks all the same color now.

• I did notice when I first used this that my skin looked better, but it wasn’t a huge difference.  Even though it has light coverage it still makes the acne on my face less noticeable, and it covers up the red slightly.

Cons:

• I know most BB creams & tinted moisturizers have squeeze tubes, but I really don’t like them.  When you first buy it, it’s super full and a lot of product comes out when you squeeze it, and you end up wasting it unless you put it in a small container.   I would have liked it if it was in a bottle with a pump or in a different squeeze tube that worked better.

• They make it sound better than it is.  Did it smooth and hydrate my skin? Yeah.  Did it brighten it? A little. Blur imperfections?  Slightly.  Adjust to skin tone?  Yeah, kind of.  Enhance?  I guess.  It didn’t necessarily “not” do what they said, but it didn’t’ really make a huge difference like they made it out. 

• It’s very runny; if it was a little thicker, it might have better coverage. 

• It makes your skin oily; even with powder.  I have combination skin and this is for normal skin (in stores it says for normal skin and on their website they said ideal for normal skin).  It could partly make your skin oily because of what they use in sunscreen.  I’ve seen a few reviews on this and almost everyone said it made their skin oily.  It doesn’t make my skin much oilier than any other foundation I’ve used; even if the foundation was for oily skin, mine still got oilier than if it would without foundation.

• It’s only for normal skin (like I said above).  The reason I still tried this is because my cheeks are really dry and regular foundation makes my cheeks look dry.  And powder foundation (the suggested type of foundation for oily skin) makes my cheeks look chapped. 

Summing It All Up

     Overall, I like this product, and I think it works fairly well for my current needs.  Is it all that it’s hyped up to be?  Absolutely not.   I don’t know that I’ll repurchase when it runs out, but I’m going to use the rest of the tube, and it’ll last me for a while.  The BB cream works well for me during the fall/winter, but I don’t think I’ll be able to use it during the summer because it will make my skin too oily.

     I honestly think you could find a better BB cream than this, but you would probably have to spend a lot more money.  This BB cream definitely doesn’t give heavy coverage.  If you like light, natural face makeup then this might be for you.  Like other people have said, it’s basically a tinted moisturizer they’ve repackaged as a BB cream.

     I’ve heard that most of the drugstore BB creams are about the same.  L'oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream has gotten some good reviews, so that might be a good one to check out.  

     What do you guys think about BB creams?

Becca xoxo