Get Some Beauty Sleep

 

In the morning: Wake up at the same time every day, whether that’s 5:30 or 8:30. This ritual will help maintain your circadian rhythms and make it more likely you’ll fall asleep at the same time every night, too. {Yes, you can sleep an hour later on weekends.} As soon as you wake up, get into some sort of daylight situation really quickly, even if it’s just stepping out on a balcony. Bright light suppresses the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone in your brain, and helps set your body clock.
 If you’re going to have coffee, this is the time, avoid it from noon on, and limit
your morning dose to a cup or two.

 

In the afternoon: At lunchtime, choose wisely: A high-fat diet has been linked with  disrupted sleep. At least three hours before bed, get some exercise that raises your heart rate. Aerobic exercise in the late afternoon — even just walking home from work — can help you burn off the stress of the day and raise your body temperature. This has the potential to deepen your sleep later on.

 

In the evening: Eat dinner several hours before bed to give your body time to digest, and avoid spicy or heavy foods if you’re prone to heartburn. If you drink wine or beer, do so three or four hours away from bedtime; while alcohol may speed the onset of sleep, it can disrupt the sleep cycle later.

 

Before bedtime: Avoid watching intense TV shows, paying bills, or engaging in other stimulating activities an hour or two before bedtime. Instead, dim the lights to stimulate the release of melatonin and do a few relaxing yoga poses {such as Legs Up the Wall and Child’s Pose} or 10 minutes of deep breathing or meditation. If you have a bathtub, use it. {Adding relaxing lavender oil will help.}

Seasonal Summer Makeup…

For most of us, summer is our favorite time of the year… no school, half-day Fridays, pool parties and late sunsets… but unfortunately it doesn’t bring with it carefree make-up.

Between humidity and heat, you can look in the mirror an hour after you’ve applied your make-up and it has either traveled across your face or it’s gone. Or perspiration has caused tiny sweat blemishes. And if you’re spending all day in an office with recycled air conditioning, your skin and lips are dried out, even though it’s humid outside. So this is the season to simplify your routine by going sheer and waterproof. Here are some tips to get you through in style:

After applying sunscreen, skip foundation or switch to an oil-free version, a mineral powder foundation or a tinted moisturizer.

Spot conceal any blemishes with concealer and immediately spot powder them to set it.

Skip powder on the rest of your face as it can get cake-y with humidity and perspiration. Use blotting papers instead. (Check the ingredients listed on the papers to make sure they do not include mineral oil which could clog your pores and cause breakouts).

Switch to a waterproof eyeshadow (ask a make-up expert at the beauty counter to show you the different cream shadows that are water resistant; there are so many gorgeous ones out there) or skip shadow and do a cat eye with a waterproof liquid liner or gel liner.

Finish your eyes with a waterproof mascara. Skip the bottom lashes if they tend to smear on hotter days. If you’re already sporting a tan, all you’ll need is to swirl a cheek stain on the apples of your cheeks (avoid cream blush as it won’t last in the heat).

If you’ve been protecting your skin with a hat and sunscreen, fake it with bronzing powder by applying it with a wide-head bronzing brush everywhere the sun would hit your face: top of your forehead, your nose, cheekbones and chin, then don’t forget your neck and chest.

Avoid a sticky gloss and opt for a sheer lipstick or if your lips are dried out, use a tinted lip balm.

So even though summer make-up is more high maintenance, once you’ve switched to waterproof and sheer products, you should be able to have fun in the sun and not worry about it.

Carrying a small compact mirror in your beach bag to keep an eye on things every now and then never hurt…

Pin it Up! Girl.

 

 

 

This updo looks gorgeous on any hair color but particularly amazing with hilighted hair because it gives the hair lots of depth and dimension. For lack of a better word, we love the way it becomes “swirly”. Best thing is; it’s easy to do, gorgeous and keeps your hair out of your way for the night. We made this a printable tutorial, so all of the steps are next to the photos. Enjoy!

 

Tools you’ll need: curling iron (to prep the hair with waves), sectioning clips, teasing comb or brush, clear elastic rubber band, bobby pins, light to medium holding hairspray (to mist over at the end).

Get the hair out of your eyes…

Long hair is pretty and all but it gets in your eyes.

Everyday I wash it, leave my house, wear it down, still wet, it gets annoying, I don’t have a hair-tie to put it up, so I just stick a pen in it or whatever else I can get my hands on, no lies, I’ve used a spoon before, or if nothing is around, I just tie a knot, and it falls right back town, so I twirl it back up again, and then I put in my hands through it when I don’t know what to do with my ten fingers, or I’ll make a braid that comes undone in ten seconds, and so I twirl that up as well.

Point is, I spend half of my day with  a bird’s nest on my head. How delightful.

But isn’t a nice little pony tail easy enough to do?

The Year of the Redhead: Blake Lively, Drew Barrymore, Malin Akerman, and More Go Fiery

We’re only four months into the year and 2011 is already shaping up to be the Year of the Redhead! A steady stream of celebrities are changing their signature locks for the bold color: Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively daringly switched her long wavy blond strands for a fiery shade, Drew Barrymore unified her two-tone hues in favor of cherry, Malin Akerman ditched her golden color for deep red, and California girl Whitney Port traded in her sunny locks for a lighter shade of strawberry. And that’s not all! Some stars had brief love affairs with red dye, like Khloe Kardashian and Jessica Stroup, while others returned to their roots, like Mandy Moore.

http://news.instyle.com/category/drew-barrymore/

Hot Hair Cut.

Like her pillowy mouth and hourglass curves, Johansson’s messy, just-rolled-out-of-bed bob is pure bombshell. Ask your stylist to chop up and razor the ends and to check the length so it swings freely above the shoulders. This cut looks good on those with medium or wavy hair and any face shape. (If your face is round, keep the front pieces a little longer to slim it.) To play up the texture,  add volumizing mousse to damp hair and let it air-dry. Touch up random sections with a curling iron and finish with a beach spray.

Simple and Pretty

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes a ponytail almost every day is all we can do… especially us moms in the world. In an effort to jazz things up, we were happy to come across this idea of using a piece of fabric instead of a hair tie. Simple and pretty, don’t you think?

Get Hired Hair.

Fifty-seven percent of managers believe an unattractive (but qualified) job candidate will have a harder time getting a new job, and 68 percent feel that looks will continue to affect their job-performance rating once they’re hired, according to a 2010 Newsweek poll. One simple way to look ultraprofessional: having the right hair.

Go Sleek and Straight

Unless you’re going for a creative job, Olsen-twin hair won’t earn you any points. Wash your hair, apply a shine-enhancing volumizing spray to the roots and blow-dry carefully with a large, round brush from roots to ends. (For the best results, get a trim the week before to clean up any raggedy ends.)

Wear It Loose and Wavy

The trick here is to look effortless. It shouldn’t look like red-carpet hair with sausage curls from hours with a small curling iron. A large-barrel iron will give you soft, easy waves. If your hair is frizzy, condition it well and use an anti-frizz product like Kerastase Nutritive Oleo Relax before drying. Wild hair can give the impression that you are unpredictable.

Try a Professional Ponytail

Run a flatiron over your hair. The ponytail should be smooth—not a mix of curly and straight hair. Gather it at the nape of the neck and use a tortoise clip to secure it, or wrap a half-inch-wide section of hair around the elastic. Don’t curl the ends, or you’ll look like a cheerleader.

Bring on the Bun

A bun can make you look powerful, positive, and proud—plus it’s great for frizzy or fine hair. Brush front sections back to cover your part and fasten hair in a low ponytail. Twist it around the elastic and use bobby pins to anchor the knot. Finish with a mist of soft-hold hair spray.

Trim Your Bangs

If you have bangs, definitely get them trimmed within a week before a big meeting so you’re not constantly pushing them out of your eyes. Don’t have them cut straight across your forehead—they can look thick and heavy, like a paintbrush. Instead, ask your stylist for a piecy, face-framing look. We like a technique called point cutting, which is basically snipping little sections off the straight edge of the line.

Consider Camouflaging Grays

We would never tell anyone with gray hair to color it or not—it’s their choice. But gray hair does have certain negative connotations—people may see a woman with grays and think, Wow, she let herself go. Visit the salon three to five days before an interview.

Shine On

Gleaming hair is a sign of youth and vitality. To keep your hair healthy-looking, avoid styling products that ruffle the cuticle and rob hair of shine; volumizers, texturizing sprays, and salt sprays are the biggest culprits.Instead, look for a silicone serum or spray, which keeps hair sleek while it controls flyaways.

Keep It Lightweight

In the winter, when skin tends to be dry and dull, less foundation is definitely more. Your face will look much more awake if you can still see your skin. We recommend a creamy formula with light-reflecting particles. Apply it with your fingers, so it can melt into the skin.

 

Get Smooth Lips

1. Exfoliate: Slather on a lip balm and exfoliate those smackers.  You can use a soft toothbrush to scrub any dead skin away.

2. Moisturize: After exfoliating, re-apply a balm containing petrolatum, shea butter, hyaluronic acid, dimethicone, or ceramides. Avoid waxy formulas (their ingredients may not penetrate) as well as anything heavily flavored or fragranced (which can make chapping even worse).

3. Add color: Try one with a tint to add just a hint of color leaving your lips super duper kissable.