Tag Archive for Cosmetics

Beat the Heat: Beauty Tips

by  • 28 June, 2012 • 6 Comments

I’ve been very absent from the blogging world lately. My non-blogging life has taken over. I recently had a milestone birthday (which I’ll blog about soon), moved houses and had many homework assignments for my summer classes. Whew!

Thanks to the Beat the Heat Florida Fashion series, I am willingly forced to post.

This week, we are sharing Florida Heat  beauty tips. My tip is to take advantage of the sunshine and wear funky, bold colors and prints on your nails. Neon colors and print nail treatments are very much on trend, but they can look a little ridiculous in the “real world”.

For my birthday weekend, I treated my self to “vacation nails” where I applied the Sally Hansen Nail Strips in Check It Out. I also applied neon orange to my toes.

My “vacation nails”:

These nails, although a little out of touch with reality, made me smile all weekend long.

Take advantage of the hot weather to sport summer neon colors and prints on your hands and feet. It’s a great way to celebrate the season!

Do you tend to wear funkier shades of nail polish during the summer months?

Here’s the link to this week’s blog hop.

J9

J9′s Top 9 Skin Care Tips

by  • 4 June, 2012 • 2 Comments

While I am not a dermatologist or beauty professional, I’ve picked up some basic skin care tips throughout my adolescence and adulthood. Other skin care tips have also been handed down to me by earlier generations of my family. Although I’m all about affordable fashion, I believe that women should invest both time and money into their skin (as stated in #4 here). You can return clothes, but you can’t return your face. Here are my top nine skin care tips.

1. Remove Your Makeup Before Going to Sleep

If you go to sleep with your makeup on, all of the day’s residue gets left on your pillow. Gross. Unless you want to rub your face against dirty makeup night after night, take the three minutes to wash your face. Since I have sensitive skin, I use Olay’s Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin. After washing, I remove any left over makeup with Olay’s Toner for Sensitive Skin which leaves me feeling oh-so-clean.

2. Night Cream

After removing my makeup, I apply Night Cream which is different from Day Cream or regular moisturizer. Night Cream helps rejuvenate and tighten the skin as well as keeps it looking young. I recommend women over 25 to start using a Night Cream daily. Since I do want to stay looking young and fresh as long as possible, I splurge on Clinque’s Turnaround Overnight Radiant moisturizer.

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3. Eye Cream

Every night, I also apply night cream to reduce puffiness and dark circles as well as reduce fine lines. I’ve been experimenting with night creams for the past two years. So far my favorite is Clinique‘s All About Eyes. My grandma has been using Clinique skin products since I can remember, and at 78, her skin is as soft and tight as a baby. Side Note: I recently strayed and used Olay’s Regenerist Eye Serum Roller. After three days, my eyes puffed up and I had red spots under my eyes. Use with caution!

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4. Get Some Rest

This statement is more “do as I say and not as I actually do” since I am not the best when in comes to sleep. In fact, I probably should be sleeping right now instead of writing this post. With that aside, sleep is important when it comes to your skin especially under the eyes. So, be sure to get plenty of it (I promise to do the same).

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 5. Exfoliate

Exfoliate is a fancy term for scrubbing the heck out of your face. This process removes dead skin and lets the new skin shine. Since my skin is sensitive, I don’t do this everyday, but I do try to exfoliate a few times a week. For this, I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub for Sensitive skin. I love how this product makes my skin feel!

6. Moisturize for the day

Before I put on my makeup and start the day, I use a Day Cream. Different from Night Cream, Day Cream does not have the ingredients to tighten skin, but does have SPF to protect your face from the sun’s harmful UV rays. I use Olay’s Complete All Day Moisturizer for sensitive skin.

7. Use Natural or Hypoallergenic Makeup

I’m a strong believer of not applying harsh chemicals to your precious face everyday. For this purpose, I invest in quality makeup that is usually Clinique (most because their products are hypoallergenic). There are many other brands like Bare Minerals and Origins. For a more affordable route, Almay offers fragrance free and hypoallergenic products at drug store prices. I love their eye shadows and wear them often.

8. Get a faux tan

A glowing tan always looks nice, but laying out in the sun is your face’s worst nightmare. To accomplish the look of a tan without worshiping the sun, use a tinted moisturizer. Gradually, the moisturizer adds a natural glow that will have you looking relaxed and well rested. Clinique makes the Surge Tinted Moisturizer with SPF.

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9. Drink lots of Water

Besides being plain ol’ good for ya, water is essential to skin health. I am adamant about fulfilling my recommended daily water intake (in addition to my unfortunate Diet Coke addiction). When I don’t drink enough water, it almost immediately shows on my skin. Be sure to drink your eight eight-ounce glasses a day!

I’d love to know what skin care tips you have and what products you use. Please share them!

J9

Outfits on the Cheap: One Lucky Girl

by  • 27 February, 2012 • 22 Comments

I won a contest with Lucky Magazine for a trip for two to NYC to visit their corporate offices. Last Thursday, my dream of walking into the Conde Nast building came true! My sister and I got to see where all the shoes, clothes, beauty products and accessories were stored. We met almost the entire staff and everyone was so friendly and welcoming. After the heavenly tour was over, we each got a Lucky Magazine gift bag filled with all sorts of goodies. Another part of the contest was a $750 gift card to Marshalls. Am I lucky or what? Here is what I wore to my amazing experience:

Occasion: In the hotel right before my Lucky Magazine tour

Dress: $19.99, Marshalls (of course!)

Necklace: $18, from a booth from the convention I attended in San Antonio

Belt: $0, came with another dress

Purple Tights: $3.50, on clearance at Target (I originally had on teal tights, but spilled soda all over them on the airplane. Thank goodness I had an extra pair!)

Boots: $14.98, on clearance at Target

Total Outfit: $56.47

I realized later that my outfit matched my blog (black, white and purple)!

Here are some other photos from that day:

 

 Some of the items from the gift bag:

 

I will share the photos and outfits from the rest of the trip soon.

Thank you so much Lucky Magazine for this wonderful opportunity that I will always remember! You are a talented and gracious team that produces one of the best fashion and shopping magazines! And thank you to Marshalls for the generous gift card!

Have you ever won a contest before? What did you win?

J9

Hair & Makeup: Rockin’ Bachelorette Party

by  • 30 November, 2011 • 6 Comments

I attended a bachelorette party during Thanksgiving weekend and went for a rocker girl look.

Hair: It was a very windy night, so I chose to wear my hair up. I started to tease the front of my hair to pull off a futuristic pompadour look – which was an epic failure. I had to take the teased hair and french braid it to the side to salvage my ‘do.

Makeup: I concentrated on my eyes with a dark, smokey look. I even added liner to the bottom lash line (which I rarely do since my eyes are on the small side and lower liner tends to make eyes look smaller). I kept the lips pale and simple to not compete with the dramatic eye look.

Tip: If you are going for a dramatic makeup look, stick to one facial feature. Dark or bright lips combined with a heavy eye look can make you look clownish. Be sure to keep the rest of your makeup look neutral and simple.

Have you teased your hair? Was it a success or failure like mine?

Be sure to check out the outfit soon!

J9

Hair & Makeup: Extended My Services

by  • 9 November, 2011 • 6 Comments

A while back I posted a few hair and makeup options to wear to a wedding. This wedding was unique because I was officiating the ceremony. I decided to go with the side bun, but I toned down my makeup. I wanted to make sure I blended in and didn’t take away attention from the beautiful bride.

I did try extensions for the first time. They are synthetic clips ons and added volume to my bun.

Can you tell I’m wearing extensions? Have you ever worn them before?

I’ll post my entire look soon.

J9

Hair & Makeup Help

by  • 3 October, 2011 • 14 Comments

So next month I will be an officiant at my family’s wedding. I am wearing a simple LBD, but I want to glam up the hair and makeup. Here are some ideas for looks. Help me pick one!

Soft Makeup & Updo:


Retro Waves & Red Lips:

Dramatic Eyes & Nude Lips:

Pink Lips & Side Bun:

Help me choose! Which look should I rock at the wedding?

Also, this fun makeover tool is available at http://bit.ly/4AI0Ib. All you need to do is register and upload a photo of yourself with your hair pulled back and without makeup. It’s addicting and a great way to try on styles virtually.

J9

Hair & Makeup: Full Eyebrows

by  • 18 September, 2011 • 9 Comments

I really love the look of full eyebrows for women (vs. the over-tweezed look). Full eyebrows help define the eye and round out the entire face.

Here is my makeup look before enhancing the eyebrows:

And here is after I brushed my eyebrows and filled in with an eyebrow pencil:

It’s just a subtle difference, but it does complete your overall look. To create this effect, make sure to buy an eyebrow pencil in a shade that is closest to your eyebrow color.

Do you like the full eyebrow look? Or do you prefer them thinner?

J9

Crossing the Eye(line)r?

by  • 30 August, 2011 • 1 Comment

Here, I am wearing a complete black & white outfit (which you’ll see later this week). I wanted to add a pop of color to my makeup, but didn’t want to go all the way with a bright color eye shadow. Instead, I used teal eyeliner. I love color eyeliner as it adds an unexpected, but subtle touch of color. My eyeliner color collection also includes emerald, navy and purple.

Hair & Makeup – Bridal Shower

by  • 18 August, 2011 • 3 Comments

Here was my makeup look for a bridal shower I recently attended:

Makeup: I chose pinkish colors for my eyes by adding a light pink to the lid, a darker pink to the crease and a  light natural shade to the top. I also added smokey liner to the top lid. For my cheeks, I applied a bronzy-rosy color and used a dark neutral rose on my lips.  I kept my makeup soft and romantic so so it wouldn’t overshadow the bold print of my dress.

Hair: I didn’t have time to wash and style my hair, but I didn’t just want to wear it down. I decided to simply braid it to the side which ended up to be a smart choice since it was so hot!

Tip: If you have sensitive skin, switch to makeup brands that are hypoallergenic or fragrance-free. My skin tends to be very dry and overreact to fragrances. Almost all of the products I use and are in the picture above are Clinique because of their fragrance free ingredients. Sephora carries a few fragrance free makeup lines and Walgreens and CVS carry the affordable Almay line which is also hypoallergenic.

What makeup products can you not live without?

J9

New Hair and Makeup Category

by  • 6 July, 2011 • 2 Comments

I believe hair and makeup pull an overall look together. If you have on a great outfit, but your hair and makeup is off, the whole ensemble can be ruined. Hair and makeup are also easy, inexpensive ways to change your style! If my new segment, I not only display the outfit, but the hairstyle and makeup I chose and why. Hope you enjoy!

Occasion: Night Out Downtown

Hair: It was a rainy and muggy night, so I decided to put my hair up in a high ponytail. Boy was I glad I did this when we started dancing! I also took my bangs (that I’m trying to grow out) and tied them in a french braid around the side of my head for extra sass.

Makeup: I added more than normal since this was a night out. I chose rosy colors for my eyes along with soft black liner. I also chose to keep my cheeks in the same palate with a rosy pink. On my lips, I used Covergirl Lipslicks in Hipster which is sort of a blend of lipstick and gloss. To fill in the color more, I used a cranberry liner.

Tip: My eyes are one of my smaller features, so I stay away from liner on my lower lash line. Liner on the bottom tends to make your eye appear smaller, so if you have small eyes – take note.

Would you wear cranberry colors on your lips?

J9