Olive Oil!!!

You're probably wondering why I'm talking about olive oil on a beauty blog. Olive Oil has been used for centuries as a vital skin care product. It can be used for almost anything, recently I've put it to use.

My hair is super fine and thin, I've been losing so much hair lately and I have no idea what to do, since hair vitamins are doing next to nothing for me and neither did Almond Oil so my mom suggested I start using Olive Oil. Olive oil is great for dry, split, damaged ends too!

Now, Almond Oil was super heavy in my hair, and insanely hard to wash out. Olive oil washes right out with Herbal Essence's "Drama Clean" shampoo. No problems!

You can get olive oil almost anywhere, I'm using target's brand, and I like to use Extra Virgin because it's the purest form.

Olive Oil helps speed up the hair growth process, restores shine, strength, and softness. Yes it smells funny, but it's totally worth it! I also use it on my eyelashes to keep them healthy. I was blessed with long eyelashes, but they tend to get dry, so I've been using olive oil as a makeup remover instead, and just applying it on my lashes and brows when I use olive oil in my hair to restore its softness. It's great for skin too, and my eye area gets super dry from heavy eye makeup.
Here is my regimen for using olive oil in my hair:

1. Pour a small amount into a bowl
2. Warm it up for about 10 seconds
3. Use a cotton ball to dab it straight on to the scalp in sections
4. Rub the remaining amount onto your hands and smooth through hair, pay special attention to your ends!
5. Massage scalp to get the blood flowing
6. Comb, don't brush, your hair to evenly distribute the oil
7. Throw your hair up and in a shower cap

I leave mine in over night, 2 nights to 3 nights a week. You can leave it in for 30 mins and wash it out if you want.

When washing it out:

1. Soak hair thoroughly in water
2. Wash with Herbal Essence's "Drama Clean" or any cheap/regular shampoo like Fructis

3. Wash again with normal shampoo & condition as normal

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L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream Review

We use and wash our hands possibly more than any other part of our bodies, causing them to be the driest too. I'm not a fan of hand creams, but I'm also not a fan of dry, cracked, painful skin. Not to mention the fact that women probably don't want dry scaly hands touching their faces at work. 

Here's my issue with them, I hate feeling and looking greasy, not being able to touch things without leaving a nasty oily finger print, or literally having butterfingers. I also don't like feeling like I have a glove of cream on my hands, even after I wash them, I like to feel naturally smooth.

 I've seen L'Occitane products at Sephora, but wasn't sure if I'd like this hand cream, because of the above. I went ahead and bought the Shea Butter hand cream for $26, the smaller size is $10, but my Sephora only had the large size. 

This hand cream is perfect for people like me, who don't like feeling greasy. It absorbs into skin quickly, so the greasy feeling you get after putting on hand cream doesn't last, and leaves your hands feeling soft. It smells like honey and shea butter which is another plus.

The only downside to this is that it's not quite a cure for dry skin, meaning that once you wash your hands, they are likely to be dry again if you don't reapply. Good news is you can always layer it on really thick before you sleep and put on cotton gloves or socks over your hands to lock in the moisture. 

Overall, I really like this hand cream, and it's perfect for people who don't like thick creams, or having greasy hands.

Arabic & Vampy Inspired Purple Smokey Eye Tutorial

Hello divas,

I hope you enjoy this look, I'm in a totally intense eye makeup mood this week, and this look is the perfect example. It's really easy to do, and if you're comfortable with the intensity of it, it's a great look to do for girls night out! I did a similar look for work, minus the tape(which actually made the look a lot softer looking), so if you want to do this, but don't want to be too over dramatic, don't use tape and just go on normally as I do in my other tutorials.

Products I Used:

Urban Decay Original Primer Potion

Scotch Tape

Up&Up hand wipes

MAC Nocturnelle e/s

MAC Shroom e/s

Urban Decay Oil Slick e/s

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner- Black

Dior Diorshow Mascara- Black

Nails- Vintage Vamp MAC (see my review below)

I hope you enjoyed this, and NEVER be afraid of color!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel, and Follow me on here please! I need all the support I can get, and I know your watching me!!!

MAC Nail Polish Rant

Hello Lovelies,

Here is my mini review/rant about MAC Nail Polish. Their colors are gorgeous, quality? Not so much.
I got Vintage Vamp, which is a beautiful, vampy, plum/red color, perfect for fall and holiday season, or if you're going for a vampy look, like I am for the week.

I put on 1 layer, and it was streaky, way lighter than the bottle, and sticky looking if that makes sense, after the 2nd layer it looks pretty, but because the formula is so darn thin you can STILL see through the polish!! I didn't feel like going for a 3rd so I'll just have to deal. Also, when applying your top coat, it WILL come off onto the brush and get messed up, not to mention turn your top coat pink...so you have to wait a few extra minutes before applying a top coat.

If these minor details don't bother you in a nail polish than this can work for you, but on my quest to find the perfect nail polish, this doesn't impress me much.

Offering Makeup Services

Hello Lovelies,
So my friend and I were talking about offering makeup services, and we're starting up profiles on tumblr and model mayhem. It's gonna be a while til we're ready to go, but I thought I should share that info with you guys! Hopefully this come together nicely :) Look out for my unveiling of our sites and info on the services!

Jasmin <3

Stretch Mark Remedy!!!

Hello Lovelies!
I'm realllyyyy excited today to tell you about a new stretch mark routine I'm trying out. Warning, it's messy and quite annoying but I really think it works!! Now remember, stretch marks can't really be permanently removed, but they can be lightened and made smoother. So here we go!

You will need:

Bio Oil
Vitamin E gel-caps
Plastic shot glasses

1. Cut open or poke holes in vitamin e capsules
2. Put the goo/gel in the shot glass
^ do this as many times as you have to to get enough to cover the areas you need to cover (I need about 10-15 capsules to cover my hips, lower back, biceps, and random other parts of my body if that helps)
3. Smooth the gel over the parts of your body that have stretch marks, or even scars.
4. Smooth a small amount of bio oil over the vitamin e gel

This will leave you very greasy, so I suggest doing this after your shower at night, or if your not going to wear anything you care about. Also the Vitamin E can possibly smell gross, but applying the bio oil on top helps that.

I started taking 1 vitamin E capsule with the rest of my daily vitamins as well just for an extra boost. You can also use bio oil in the morning and the Vitamin E & Bio Oil at night.

I started noticing a difference instantly, but I'm going to keep doing this for a while to see, I'll take after pics soon and post them!

Try this and see how it works for you and let me know how it goes!

Lavendar & Purple Fall Look

Hiiee Ladies!

Hope you enjoyed this look, it's definately my favorite this season!

I used:

MAC e/s in Crystal

MAC e/s in Shroom

MAC e/s in Nocturnelle

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Dior Diorshow Mascara in Black 090

Sephora Medium Shader and Crease Brushes

Hope you liked this! Stay tuned for more! (Subscribe to the channel and blog pleeeasseee!)

Tips & Tricks: Liquid Foundation

Hello Ladies!

Here is my second Tips & Tricks video on liquid foundation application!

I used:

Nurturing Force Blot Out Offensive Primer

Smashbox Healthy FX Foundation in M2 or Medium 2

Smashbox Concealor in Medium

Make Up Forever HD Microfinishing Powder

MAC Pet Me Blush

Sephora Powder Brush

Sephora Concealor Brush

Sephora Mini/Travel Sized Retractable Powder/Blush Brush

EnKore Makeup Stipple and Swirl Brush

Hope this helps! For more tips & tricks stay tuned and request!

Gold & Black Smokey Eye

Hey guys I'm backk!

Here is my gold and black smokey eye tutorial. I ran out of time because I tried filming both eyes which is just a bad idea.. BUT have no fear I have a tutorial for my eyeliner up so if you need tips on that definitely refer back to that!

I used:

Urban Decay Deluxe e/s in Honey

Urban Decay e/s in Oil Slick

MAC e/s in Shroom

Enjoy!! And comment this or the video with any questions, requests or suggestions & FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to me pleeeasseee

Fall Nails

This fall it's all about purple and grey for me.. not just with nails but clothes too.  This was my way of combining those 2 colors for my nails. Fall generally calls for deeper colored nails than in the summer which is all about bright colors. I'm still tan from the summer so the deep colors work for me until it fades. 

As a side note, I do my finger nails once a week, although I use Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat my nail polish still seems to chip.. it may be the base I'm using so I'll give my fast drying top coat the benefit of the doubt. However I think that the fast drying agents make the nail polish more susceptible to chipping.. just my observation.. I'm not so sure if that's scientifically proven or not!!

I used O-P-I's Funkey Dunkey and China Glaze's Recycle

Have fun with your nails and NEVER be afraid to try out different fun colors, I never strayed from the reds, and deep pinks and burgundy's but once I did I fell in love with doing my nails and wearing all the pretty colors and experimenting with different designs!! PS it is also really important to me to keep my nails in shape now that I do makeup at Macy's I find that I big part of my clientelling is looking nice, including my nails.

All About Foundation & Application- Sponge vs Brush

I noticed that many girls don't quite know how to apply their foundation, whether its liquid, cream, stick, or powder so I'm here to help!

Primer- I think using primer is very effective but only after you moisturize your skin. So you'd wash and moisturize your face let it dry and then apply your primer and let that dry before you apply your foundation no matter what kind it is.

I use Laura Mercier's Oil Free Primer and I like it it's not bad.. I may experiment with Shiseido's new primer though. If I do I'll do a comparison review.

Setting Powder- very important for liquid and some cream foundations, if not you end up with a greasey, runny look and the makeup can run and get on clothes.

I use Make Up Forever's HD Setting Powder.. it's amazing you may get a little white cast if you don't blend it out well with a brush!

Concealer- use on dark circles around eyes, and scarring, hyper pigmentation, rosacea, etc. Apply after liquid, or cream foundations so that you use less.. if you want you can use it before it's up to you. Using a concealor brush works best, and they smooth it out with your fingers if you need to.

I use Smashbox Healthy FX(i think) concealer

Types of Foundations-

Airbrush- More rare special occasion use, pricey and full buildable coverage, no setting required

Liquid- Special occasion to everyday use, moderately pricey, medium to full coverage, need to set

Cream/Stick- Moderately everyday use, not too pricey, medium to full coverage, should set

Powder- Everyday use, relatively inexpensive, sheer coverage not too buildable, no setting required

I use Smashbox Healthy FX Liquid and Sephora Brand Mattifying Powder Foundations.


Okay now for application. Working in cosmetics and helping women choose what foundations are best for them and teaching them how to apply it I found out that many women aren't applying their foundation right. For a natural, polished look applying your foundation correctly is KEY.

Airbrush makeup if you have the compressor and airbrush you don't need anything else. However, you can use airbrush makeup with out all of the fancy equipment. Simply use a few drops on your hands and rub it into your skin quickly because it sets fast. You may not need to prime your skin when you do this, and definitely no setting powder.


Liquid Foundation-

Sponge

• Pros
• Full coverage
• Don't need as much as if you were using a brush
• Blocks out glands in your face
• Cons
• Looks unnatural
• Messy 
• May not get into creases in the face
• Doesn't blend well

Brush

• Pros
• Blends well
• Full/Medium coverage you can determine that
• Buildable
• Get all your creases
• Looks natural
• Cons
• Use more foundation
• If your brush isn't clean it can look streaky

With liquid foundation using a brush to apply is a must. For those of you who want the extra coverage then a sponge may work better but you can distribute the coverage better with a brush. 


Cream & Stick Foundation


Most cream foundations come with sponges, if it's a cream to powder finish a sponge is ok for application, other wise a brush is always better in terms of coverage and to get a nice finish. If it's a stick then you can use a brush to blend out the rough spots.


Powder Foundation


For totally sheer coverage a brush, for medium coverage a sponge. Most come with sponges.


All of the products I use can be found at a Sephora or Ulta :) if you have any further questions comment!!

Should I offer makeup services?

I made a poll above and here is what I am considering.

I was thinking about offering make up services for all occasions.. weddings, proms, homecoming, formals, fashion shows, dance troupes, parties etc for fun.

My rates would be :
$15 for eyes with or without falsies
$20 for full face (using your own foundation)
$25-30 for full face (using my products depending on the occasion)

For a group the rates will be lower*($10-15 per girl full face etc depending on how many girls)

I want your thoughts on if I should pursue this on a larger scale or not.. I always do friends/family members make up but I'm thinking about advertising myself on craigslist and facebook but I won't if no one's interested you know?

So comment below or vote on my poll with your thoughts on pricing etc.. if the poll disappears and I can't repost it PLEASEEE comment and let me know what you think!

Henna Darkening Tips

Hello Lovelies,

With Eid, Diwali, and weddings coming up, many of you will be getting your henna done, even on the boardwalk so I wanted to give you guys some tips on how to get the best color possible out of it.

1. Leave it on for as long as possible. 
• Many people think that taking it off once it dries is good enough, and depending on the quality of the henna this may be true, but if you want a deep maroon/brown stain that will last over 2 weeks then you want to leave it on for several hours to overnight.
2.  To keep it from flaking off, apply lemon juice and sugar, if you don't have any on hand aerosol hairspray works too, just keep it at least 6 inches away from the henna when spraying.
• To apply the lemon juice and sugar simply squeeze half a lemon to a whole lemon depending on the size of the design and mix a few teaspoons of sugar into it until it dissolves. Then simply use a cotton ball to dab on the mixture.
• This acts as a type of adhesive to keep the henna moist, and from flaking off, you may have to repeat this several times.
3. If you toss and turn a lot when you sleep and are afraid you'll mess up the henna in your sleep there are several ways you can cover it to enable you to sleep. Make sure the design has been lemon juiced or hairsprayed before doing any of these.
• Masking or packaging tape if it's a small enough area. Press on the tape quickly and tightly making sure the design isn't messed up. Gauze pads with adhesive work too. 
• For a whole hand or foot you may want to use a plastic grocery bag/shopping bag and simply tie it around your wrist or ankle, and secure it with tape. 
4. When you go to remove the henna do not use water to remove it. The water will wash off the reminants of the paste and not allow it to get dark. Use a paper towel or just peel it off. 
5. After the henna has been removed apply Mustard Oil immediately with a cotton ball or paper towel, you can clean off the excess henna/lemon juice/hairspray this way. Mustard Oil or Mustard Seed Oil can be found mostly at Indian Grocery Stores and it's the best oil to apply after. If you can't get a hold of Mustard or Mustard Seed Oil you can use Olive oil, or any cooking oil. 
6. Last but not least, do not let water touch the designed area for 24 hours. The design will get darker as the day progresses, when you take a shower simply cover up the area with a bandaid or something, it may get a little dampened when showering but the idea is not to soak it in water and soap because it'll start fading the henna which is the opposite of what you want to do.

I hope this helps! Enjoy your henna :)

Liquid Eyeliner Tutorial

Hello Lovelies!

So here is my 2nd tutorial, I did it on Liquid Eyeliner because I get asked about how I do my eyeliner all the time! If you want anymore tips & tricks videos comment here or on the video!

I used Diorshow Mascara in 090 or Black & Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner in Black :)

Follow me & Enjoy!

Seche French Guides Review

Lately I've been obsessing over my nails, and decided I wanted to do my own french tips/manicure. I have shakey hands and I suck at doing my nails neatly so I bought Seche French Guides from Head2ToeBeauty.

I was so excited to try it out, so I put on my base, and then placed all the guides where I wanted on my nails, painted them accordingly with my nail liners everything looks great, until I went to take them off. I took off the guides and was left with glue that I couldn't get off without ruining the rest of my nails. I then tried lightly dusting my nails with baby powder after the base coat to see if that would keep the glue from staying, and it still didn't work. They were inexpensive so I'm not upset but I was so disappointed because Seche is a good brand for nail products.

I bought some random brands nail guides from CVS and they work great, with no residue however I find that with practice, free handing the tips with liners is much easier, it's just time consuming. So if you're in a rush when you do your nails french guides are great if you're not keep practicing free hand and it'll be a piece of cake!

Beach Nails

Although I love bright colors in makeup and nail polish, I never quite have the guts to wear them, I just like to look. Last month I went clubbing in NYC for my friends 21st birthday and had one of my girls do my nails to match my dress, grey base with black leopard spots colored in with silver and teal to match my dress. I bought this neon teal Milani nail polish from CVS and it was a gorgeous color, however I never considered wearing it by itself. I don't mind incorporating bright eyeshadows into my looks, but nails never.

 I got bored with my pinks, reds, and grey and was playing with the teal and really liked the way it looked all over my nail, so I kept my fingers grey and toes teal. I went to the beach and got mad compliments about how pretty my toes looked, thus beginning my new love for teals and blues.

This is the teal I talked about above, Milani Neon's 504 Fresh Teal from CVS or any drug store that sells Milani. I think this was around $5 so it's pretty inexpensive, and great color pay off, you really only need 1 coat although I used 2 above. 

Teals and deeper aqua blues look amazing on tan skin. I mean I always though teal/blue and brown looked pretty on clothes, jewelry, and shoes but never thought of applying that concept to my nails and makeup. I'm so glad I did!

I was at a discount beauty store in the mall I work at and needed one more item to make their clearance sale, buy 3 items and get 50% off of your entire purchase so I walked over to the OPI counter and this blue caught my eye...

This color is a little less bright however it still looks so nice on my sun-kissed skin! It's called Suzi Says Feng Shui and probably runs around $5-$9 dollars depending on where you get a hold of it and has a great color pay off however you do need 2 coats!

If you aren't a bright colors person, but want a break from "normal" reds, pinks, and neutrals and have tanned skin like me I highly suggest trying out blues and teals for this summer!

Everyday Makeup Tutorial

I hope you guys enjoyed my first tutorial.. it's really rough right now but it'll improve I promise!!!

The products used are:

Eyes-
MAC e/s Bisque
MAC e/s Seedling
MAC e/s French Grey
INGLOT liquid eyeliner black
REVLON colorstay liquid eyeliner black
DIOR Diorshow mascara  090

Face-
Bare Minerals Powder Foundation in Sand Beige

Nails-
China Glaze Recycle

Question: Acne Scarring and Redness

I just got a question about how to get rid of acne scarring and redness.

There are tons of home remedies for this such as:

1.   Blend plain yogurt and fresh apples into a paste, and applying it onto your face like a mask and leaving it on til dry or about 20 minutes, rinsing your face, and letting the nutrients soak into your skin. I suggest doing this at night before you sleep.
2. Use plain yogurt and apply it to your face like a mask just like the above remedy.

These are both good for scarring and redness and are easy, accessible, and virtually free!

Non- home made remedies for acne scars are

Mario Badescu Whitening Mask-- I have been using this for about 1 month now and I love it so far, I haven't seen too much of a difference in my acne scarring but after another month or so I'll post before and after pictures and do a full review on this product. It's $25 and leaves my skin glowing however I think using it atleast 3 times a week and leaving it on for more than 20 minutes is the best way to use this mask.

Bio Oil- Although it is an oil using it on your face in places with scarring greatly lightens acne scars in a span of a few months. I personally haven't gotten used to putting oil on my face because my skin is naturally oily but your skin absorbs this oil unlike cocoa oil or baby oil. However be careful if you have sensitive skin. I also use this on my stretch marks and will post before and after pictures in a few months as well.

I'd use the whitening mask along with bio oil or the natural yogurt masks along with bio oil for maximum results for acne scarring.

In terms of redness I have found that the yogurt methods as well as the whitening mask have improved the redness I get from acne. There is another natural method you can try for redness and puffiness

Green Tea Ice Cubes-
You'll need:
1 plain green tea with antioxidants packet
1 ice tray
1 measuring cup
2-3 vitamin E gel capsules
toothpicks for every ice cube slot

1. Warm up water as if you were making tea
2. Place the tea bag and water in a measuring cup
3. Allow the water to absorb the tea for 5-7 minutes
4. Break open your vitamin e capsules and mix it into the tea
5. Allow the tea to cool
6. Pour into the ice tray
7. Freeze for about 6 hours(until the ice is partially solid)
8.  Place tooth picks in every green tea ice cube
9. Allow to freeze completely

How to use:

• Take 1 ice cube out w/ toothpick
• Gently massage ice cube all over your clean face
• Allow the nutrients to soak in
• Then go on with your normal morning routine

This method is good for puffiness and redness and the vitamin e soothes and moisturizes. This should be used in the morning.

I hope this helps Anonymous! Stay tuned for a full review on Bio Oil and Mario Badescu Whitening Mask!

Crystal Nail File

Hello lovelies!

I'm sure you've noticed that I've been going through a nail care phase, and you can't have pretty nails without filing them right? Say bye bye to cheap sandpaper and emory board files and say hello to crystal nail files!

I don't know about you but whenever I used to file my nails with those emory board things or sandpaper like nail files my nails would fray and not come out smooth. Also they were rough and kinda hurt. I bought a crystal nail file from Head2ToeBeauty and fell in love! They are pretty looking and are pretty inexpensive, ranging from around $3-$6 you can get them from Ulta or Amazon as well! Unlike normal files, crystal nail files leave your nails smooth and strong and don't fray your nails!

I'm trying to grow my nails long as well as strengthen them so filing my nails is very important to prevent breakage! If you like to take good care of your nails, then go get yourself a crystal nail file!

Video Troubles

So I filmed my first tutorial, but it ended up being a total failure. The actual tutorial was fine, but because I was filming with my laptop I guess it sped up the video and tuned out my voice, no matter what I did to it even uploaded it on youtube and it did the same thing, it wouldn't even let me trim it etc. So from now on I'm gonna have to figure out how to make my 2 inch tripod + camera work. Oh well ya live and ya learn.. Sorry guys! I'll try again on Wednesday! Thanks for hangin in there with me :)

Nail Craze!

I'm going through a nail polish phase after quitting my job as a Model at Abercrombie & Fitch where I was strictly allowed to only paint my toe nails red, pink, french manicure, or plain and finger nails had to be clear. When O-P-I first came out with it's line for Sephora I bought quite a few nail polishes, I liked them but they were kinda all the same color range.. and I don't like to be really crazy with my nail color, but I do like variation.

I bought China Glaze's Recycle and fell in love! This is a matte grey color which seems to be pretty rare because I couldn't find a matte grey in any other brand. I keep getting compliments on my nails because it's so unique!

Even on my tan skin this color stands out and makes my hands look fresh. I needed about 2 coats to get to this intensity and topped it off with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat for a near perfect finish! I always like to make sure my nail color is somewhat neutral in the sense that it matches what I wear and the rest of my makeup, grey is such a unique neutral tone that matches everything!

This is my favorite nail color yet, and I already ordered a backup from Head2ToeBeauty(scroll down and you'll see it!) because I know I'll be grabbing this every time I want to do my nails! Again I like to purchase my nail polishes especially China Glaze from Head2ToeBeauty because it's cheaper. At $2.99 a bottle you can't beat it!

If you're a nail nut like me check this color out!

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat Review

I don't know about you.. but I hate waiting for my nails to dry after I do them, and nothing ever seems to make them dry quicker. I always get impatient and end up going to sleep and waking up with my sheet marks in my nails, or I try to do stuff around the house and I get dents in my nails. I even tried dipping my hands in to a bowl of ice and water to "freeze" the polish but that didn't work either although many people suggested that method to me.. So I tried Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

This stuff is AMAZING! Not only does it dry your nails literally in 15 minutes tops, but it gives your nails a nice shiny finish which I love especially with matte nail colors. It smells kinda strong compared to other nail polishes/top coats but it works. Just make sure you apply it about a minute after applying your last layer of color and be sure to clean up your cuticles as well so that you don't have a difficult clean up later!

For all of you girls out there that are impatient like me and are constantly on the go this is a must have!

I buy most of my nail polishes at Head2ToeBeauty(type "seche vite" into the search bar, click the first link, and scroll down!) because it's significantly cheaper here and they arrive within 2-3 days of your purchase. A CVS or drug store sell this for about  $9.99  while Head2ToeBeauty sells this at about $4.35 which is a total steal! Head2ToeBeauty has just about everything you could imagine for nail care as well as hair and skin care!

 Enjoy :)

Youtube

Hello pretties!
I just got my mini tripod in the mail today so I should be starting my video makeup tutorials soon! My youtube channel is www.youtube.com/ranimakeup I'll be posting the videos on here too.

Here is my album with some of my past makeup looks- Click here

If you want any tutorials done comment below! (Don't forget to follow and subscribe to me!)

~Jasmin

Summer Legs Tips for Ladies- Request

I got a request to do a tutorial/tips post on keeping your legs sexy for the summer :)

So the first thing when it comes to skin care, of any sort is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. I use Olay's Ultra Moisture Quench body lotion and my legs stay soft all day. It has a little shimmer to it, so if you don't like that this may not be for you but it's not that noticeable.

Hair removal is such a pain  for us girls, especially in the summer. You want to make sure you do what is best for your skin type, and lifestyle and do it correctly.

• Always use a shaving gel/cream. Skintimate is the best and it comes in a Sensitive Skin formula. Soap may work and be quick, but can cause serious irritation to your skin and red bumps, not to mention razor burn. If you do get red bumps or razor burn then try Cool Fix(review posted below) only on those irritated spots because it may sting. 
• Make sure your razor is clean, and that you change the blade every month or so depending on how much you use it.  Usually you can tell that you need to change it when the moisture strip starts coming off and the blades are getting dull. I use disposable razors, personally the less complicated the better.
• When you shave you want to make sure that you're saving against hair growth, not with it in order to get the best outcome. I like to shave in the shower just because I think it's too messy otherwise.
• Never dry shave!
• Shaving everyday keeps your legs looking flawless if taken care of properly!

Shaving Alternatives- For those of you who would rather not shave there are a few alternatives

• Waxing is a good alternative to shaving. Moom is a natural wax that prevents skin irritation and can be done yourself at home. If you prefer to go to a salon to get waxed, make sure it is a reputable salon that is cleanly. They should not be reusing wax, or applicators and should be disinfecting the bed surface. 
• Waxing lasts around 2 weeks, but you have to let your hair grow to atleast 1/4 of an inch in order for full removal
• When you wax at home, make sure that the wax isn't scalding hot when you apply it, and have Cool Fix or Gigi Wax Off on hand to apply right after you wax.
• Cloth strips are the best and most affective for waxing. The natural cloth adheres better to the wax removing the most hair, paper strips just get messy.

How to wax-

1. Heat the wax according to the directions on it. 
2. Apply the wax with hair growth
3. Immediately put the strip on top, rub it a few times with the hair growth to ensure that it's adhered
4. Hold skin taught right under where you'll be pulling the strip off
5. Pull the strip off quickly against hair growth
6. Apply after care
7. Moisturize a few hours later, you don't wanna irritate the skin so avoid showering or working out for the rest of that day if possible.

Other alternatives include epilators, which  looks like an oversized razor but it's really an electrical bunch of tweezer heads that run along your skin and pluck out all the hairs. Sugaring is a natural form of waxing that usually is done at Indian beauty salons, it's cold so there is no risk of being burned and leaves skin extra smooth.

Hope this helps KC!

~Jasmin

Soothe Those Bumps and Ingrown Hairs w/ Shaveworks Cool Fix

This review is aimed towards guys & girls who get red bumps, ingrown hairs, or wax.

This weekend my boyfriend decided that he wanted me to wax his back for him, just for giggles. He shaves his arms, chest, and belly daily and always has red bumps all over and is extremely prone to ingrown hairs.

When I started to wax him I noticed he instantly broke out in bumps all over his back and was crazy itchy. So I reached for a sample Cool Fix by Shaveworks that I got from Sephora as a bonus and put it on his back to see if it helped.. Within minutes his back looked better and he was comfortable again, so the next day I bought him the full sized bottle for $25.




Cool Fix is awesome for using after waxing because it cools and soothes, prevents ingrown hairs, as well as helps get off excess wax and takes away the redness.

I got him to start using it daily after he shaves and his skin is totally clear now.

CON-When I used it on a part of my leg after shaving just to test it out, it kinda stung me and wasn't soothing at all so I don't suggest it to girls for use after shaving, but I would suggest it to guys that shave their body and for both genders after waxing.

Cool Fix may not work for everyone because it stung on my shaven legs, but soothes my boyfriends skin and he loves it. It was actually in the guys section of Sephora so it might even be geared towards men? Who knows..

Ladies- if you've used this product comment below and tell me your experiences!

~Jasmin

Flip Flop Ready in less than 5 minutes! ~ I got this from my momma

Now that we've all packed away our Uggs and boots, and brought out our flip flops and sandals we need to take really good care of our feet!

Getting pedicures every few weeks may not always be an option, I know it's not for me, so I do the following to keep my feet looking and feeling great in less than 5 minutes!

Here's how to do it:

1. After your shower use Avon's Anew Clinical Advanced Retexturizing Peel which is a Glycolic Acid Peel, for $25 you get 30 unscented pads, and each pad goes a long way! Glycolic Acid Peels remove all the dry, rough skin and make your skin smooth. You can also use these pads on your knees, elbows, face, and hands as well.

• Use 1 pad on both feet all over and gently scrub the rough spots and callouses that you may have. Then let it dry before the next step.
  

2. Then use Bath and Body Works Shea It Isn't So Shea Butter Foot Cream on your feet. It's $15 or 2 for $20 and again a little goes a long way! Let that soak into your skin before your put on your flip flops and you're set!

• When I shower at night I like to put socks on after I've done this to lock in the moisture over night!

For tutorials on this or anything I've posted before leave a comment!

~Jasmin

Piercing Care

Hello Lovelies,

I'm going to tell you guys how I care for my piercings, new and old. When I was 15 I got my nose pierced and it got infected continuously until I went to my doctor and got antibiotics, at the time my mom and I thought that cleaning it with Hydrogen Peroxide and then dabbing some Neosporin on it would do the trick --> boy were we wrong. NEVER use those on piercings!

When I got my belly button pierced a few years later I realized that caring for a piercing is a bit more tedious than that.

My piercer gave me Provon Medicated Soap for my belly button piercing to clean it. This stuff works wonders on any surface piercing! At my piercer's it costs $5 a bottle however other places may charge you up to $15 a bottle. You can find it online at Amazon however I'd probably look for it at my nearest piercing shop.



I wish I knew about it when I had gotten my nose pierced over 4 years ago! Not only was my belly button fully healed in less than 3 months, but I never had and issue with it.

My piercer told me to mix warm water with uniodized sea salt in a disposable plastic shot glass and flip the cup over my piercing and then to lay down with it like that for about 15 minutes every night which helped soothe it on top of using Provon twice a day. The uniodized sea salt can be found at pretty much any grocery store and isn't expensive at all. Most of us have it in our kitchens, just make sure its uniodized.

Provon was also amazing for my upper ear cartilage piercings I got about a year ago. I had scar tissue growing around the backs of them so I started to clean them with Provon in the shower.

When you have scar tissue on an ear piercing you want to dab Tea Tree Oil on it twice a day for about 2 weeks and the scar tissue will disappear! I'm pretty sure you can use Tea Tree Oil on other surface piercings, as well as for acne blemishes. Tea Tree Oil can be found at any drugstore and costs around $9 for a little bottle of it. A little goes a long way!



H20 Ocean is the best sea salt spray! I've tried several brands and this one is the best! It actually sprays rather than kinda dripping out of the nozzle. I suggest this and Provon for cleaning dermal anchors as well as for ear cartilage piercings! It's a bit on the pricey side at $15 a can at most places, but it's worth it! You can find it at your local Piercing Pagoda or Hot Topic as well as a piercing shop.



I still clean all of my piercings with Provon in the shower even if they aren't irritated, especially after I work out and in the summer no matter how long I've had them. Piercings can still get irritated and infected no matter how long you have had them! As far as the other treatments go I wouldn't do those unless you get any bumps, possible infections, or scar tissue. Remember it's not good to over clean your piercings because that can agitate a perfectly healthy piercing!

I'm not expert at piercings, however I have quite a few and have experienced a lot of the common problems with them, and these treatments helped me!

~Jasmin

BH 120 Colors Palette 2nd Edition Review

Hey Pretties!

My first review is going to be on the BH 120 Colors Palette (2nd Edition). A friend of mine suggested it to me and I purchased it immediately. I'm not a fan of palettes and never really saw a point in getting them, but I love this one so far.

Before I bought this I compared it to the Manly 120 Colors Palette which was only available on Ebay and Amazon which makes me nervous because there wasn't a legit website. I compared pictures and I liked BH's 120 palette's better so I went for the most recent one, the 2nd edition. It was $29.95 from BH Cosmetics website. Which is very reasonable for what you get. It shipped quickly too!








Con: The packaging for this palette is a shiny black plastic. I couldn't really take a good picture without seeing my own reflection in it to show you BUT my problem with the packaging is that whenever you touch it you leave finger prints and smudges. I haven't even used it yet and there are a million smudges on it from just taking pics! I keep it in its paper box for storage to protect it a little, but I know that once I start using this for tutorials or when I do makeup for events it'll look terrible.

I swatched a few of them without a base in the pictures below and for the most part they are extremely pigmented which was a major plus point. When I was doing the swatches I noticed that they were powdery. I used a brush to apply them without a base and notice that they didn't turn out as pigmented when blended out but hopefully when I use a base that will change.



Overall this is a great palette to have whether it's for personal or professional use!



For tutorials done with this palette stay tuned!

~Jasmin

Introduction

Hey Guys!

My name is Jasmin and I'll be reviewing products and doing makeup tutorials on this blog :) I'm NOT professional, but I've been playing with makeup for a number of years now. The cosmetics I'll be reviewing have all been purchased by ME for use, and I give my honest opinion whether I like the product or not. I am not promoting any brands, I use a wide range of products that I think may be good & are affordable.

I'm new to this, so please bare with me while I figure out how to work this. If you have any questions or requests I'll be checking comments regularly :)