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Materials:

-nail polish remover

-nail bowl soak

-cuticle oil

-cuticle pusher

-nail clipper

-emery board

-orangewood sticks

-hand cream

-cotton

-2 small towels

-base coat

-nail polish

-top coat

A few affordable and quality products, bright shades, and pre-cut and colored nail prints

Nail Treatments by Sephora
Nail Polish by Pop Beauty

How to:

• Prepare all your tools, place them on a clean area, and pour warm water with a drop of antibacterial soap in the bowl or a container big enough to fit your hand.
• Use  cotton and polish remover to remove any polish on your nails. Cut your nails down to desired length, and file them to the shape you’d like.

Pro-Tip: Short nails look great in dark colors, longer nails look classier  in soft shades or a French style mani.

• Place one hand in the warm water and let soak for a couple minutes.
• Take wet hand out and pat dry with the towel. Soak a bit of cotton in cuticle oil and wrap it around one end of an orangewood stick, use the cotton to distribute oil around your cuticles. Use the cuticle pusher to gently push cuticles down. Use the orangewood stick with the oil-soaked cotton around it to clean under your nails edge.

Pro-Tip: Never, never, ever, cut or allow your cuticles to be cut. This is the easiest way to expose your cuticles to bacteria, infections or a stinging cut. Plus, once you cut your cuticles they will grow back and need to be trimmed too often. Push them down with the pusher instead.

• Soak the other hand, and repeat the previous step.
• Use a moisturizing (non-greasy) hand lotion to gently massage your hand and arm all the way to your elbow. Use your index finger and thumb in circular motions to massage your hands, fingers, and up your arm.

Pro-tip: For a warm and soothing massage warm up the lotion for a few seconds, before using it to massage.

• Repeat the previous step on the other hand and arm.  Use a warm towel to dry off your hands and remove any excess oil.
• Starting on one hand, use base coat on your nails and let dry. Repeat on opposite hand.
• Apply your favorite shade of color, 2-3 coats depending on the intensity and let it dry. Repeat on opposite hand.
• Seal and protect the color with a clear top coat, let dry, and repeat on opposite hand.
• Once nails have fully dried apply a small amount of cuticle oil around cuticles, and use a moisturizing hand lotion for silky skin.

Enjoy your lovely salon-like manicure right at home, minus the price and tip!

There are many brands to choose from, which range in price and texture. I’ve been using MAC’s Fluidline for a couple years now, since it stays on all day and lasts a long time when it’s for personal use. Their colors are rich and it applies very silky. Since my eyes are green I love using purple liner to compliment them, and MAC’s Fluidline in Macroviolet has done the trick. As many MAC lovers know, their makeup line isn’t the cheapest but it does often deliver great results.

A nice makeup look is attainable at any budget, so I decided to give Maybelline’s eye studio a try. Their purple or “eggplant” gel liner costs half as much as MAC’s and it’s pretty comparable. It doesn’t smudge, lasts all day, and even comes with a travel size application brush. This gel liner was named “eggplant” for a reason, because once you open it you’ll see the color truly matches that of an eggplant. The color looks so pretty and has a bit of shimmer to it. Maybelline gel eyeliner in eggplant is available at most drugstores and is priced @ $6.99.

Maybelline “eggplant” vs MAC “macroviolet”

Maybelline is on the left, MAC on the right. As you can see the shades are different. MAC’s is a bit darker, but when they’re applied they look pretty close in color. They both have a bit of shimmer mixed with the color, and come in a .10 oz glass jar. They both last all day, don’t smudge and apply evenly. The only difference I seem to have found is that MAC’s is more smooth than Maybellines and the color applies a bit darker, though not by much.  MAC’s is also a bit tougher to wash off. The final application for both liners is a nice purple line that lasts all day.Check out the color swatches below….

Can you guess which is MAC and which is Maybelline?!

If you guessed Maybelline on the left, MAC on the right then you are correct! MAC’s is a bit of a darker shade, as i mentioned, and it does have a silkier texture than Maybelline. But you can’t really complain about the texture if you’re paying half the price for a product that delivers similar results. Since I am a self-proclaimed makeup junkie and decide to sometimes buy the same color product just in a different brand, I now have more than enough purple liner to last me quite a while. It is recommend to toss out your makeup and replace it every few months, but if it’s for personal use and you don’t notice a change of color or smell, that rule can be broken.

What’s your opinion if you’ve tried either of these products… Are you a MAC or a Maybelline girl?!

In order to ensure your brushes last a long time and perform as well as when you purchased them, you have to wash and let them dry. This habit is also necessary to avoid bacteria from harboring in your brushes. Clean brushes= a clean face and better makeup application

I usually use a a cleansing spray specifically for makeup brushes, some prefer a bit of shampoo or soap and water. Then I hang them upside down to let the bristles dry without dripping on the handle. Depending on your brushes it can take up to a day for them to fully dry. Which means no makeup the next day…. That’s why Sigma Beauty decided to cut the drying time in more than half by introducing their new product, Dry N Shape!

The Dry-N-Shape system is designed to hold your brushes in an elastic pouch which helps dry them in 4-6 hours as well as preserving their shape, which means no more flat blush brush or bristles sticking out! This system is perfect for makeup artists who need clean brushes fast, as well as every girl who hates waiting for her brushes to dry!

Check out the instructional video below, which shows how simple the Dry ‘N Shape system truly is.

Thoughts or comments?! Share below!

I was given a great opportunity to try out and review their Hana pro flat iron in pink. My iron was shipped the same day and arrived the next week, very well packaged and ready to use.

The Hana ceramic flat iron is 1″ and as mentioned earlier it’s the pink edition. It heats up in less than ten seconds and has heat settings from 140-450 degrees. It’s 100% ceramic plates make it naturally hygienic and help provide even heat distribution, it’s no-slip grip and swivel cord with hanging loop makes it easy to work with. Tourmaline, which is a precious mineral, is ground and baked into the ceramic plates which provides a healthy, smooth, frizz-free finish. The iron can be used to straighten hair, or add soft curls. It also comes with a one year warranty and a pretty pink heat resistant pouch for easy storage!

My lovely model has thick, curly hair which at first made me a bit weary trying out the 1″ iron on her, but the final result speaks for itself! As long as you correctly section hair and apply a heat protecting product, your hair will look straight and sleek with less frizz and fly-aways as compared to other irons. Check out the before and after pictures below!

As you can see in the before picture, my model has a lot of hair. Over curly and with some frizz.

The after picture shows results with the pink Hana iron. Straight, shiny hair with no frizz. All I used on her hair was a heat-protection spray, a wide tooth comb, and a quarter-sized amount of hair serum.

So if you’re considering purchasing a flat iron, travel hair dryer, curling iron, mini flat iron, styling products, beauty products, or makeup, visit Missiko .com for great customer service, same day shipping, great deals, and quality products.

I would like to thank John from Misikko marketing for offering me a great opportunity by providing me a Hana pro flat iron for a personal opinion and testimonial. As well as my model for providing me with awesomely curly, thick hair perfect for this product review.

Have you tried Misikko products?! Share your opinion with us!

Better yet, would you like to win your very own Misikko flat iron?! Stay tuned for a great giveaway early next week

I decided on the travel kit nice in pink, which has 7 essential makeup brushes including: large powder brush, duo fibre brush (for an airbrush-style effect), large angled contour blush brush, eye-shading brush, concealer brush, tapered blending brush, and pencil brush for precise color application. You get 7 brushes in a very cute pink metallic clutch, making this kit perfect for travel or makeup on the go. These brushes are priced at $49, but Sigma hooks it up with a free gift! Click here to visit www.sigmabeauty.com

Before buying my Sigma kit, i used Mac and Sonia Kashuks line of brushes.Two very opposite lines, Mac is pretty expensive and Sonia Kashuk is priced pretty low, but they got the job done. I’d consider Sigma brushes to be a good alternative to Mac, not as expensive but pretty good quality, and definitely better than Sonia Kashuks line. With the money i spent on my Sigma kit, i would’ve probably been able to purchase two Mac brushes…

Makeup brushes can be expensive, so if you plan to splurge make sure to invest in a good Makeup brush cleaner

Clean your brushes after every use and hang them upside down to dry so the water won’t rust the metal part. If you want your brushes to remain in good condition, don’t skip this step!

Have you tried Sigma beauty products?! I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments!

The holidays are usually busy, so busy i never got around to getting a haircut. You might have seen infomercials on TV selling Wen and talking about how amazing this product is. Of course i was a skeptic, but i was enticed to try it. My very thoughtful hubby decided to surprise me by gifting me Wen tea tree cleansing conditioner, a miraculous sounding product meant for sensitive to dry/flaky scalps that’s free of detergent and other hair-stripping ingredients found in most shampoos and conditioners. Sounds good to me! So i gave it a try and after the first time using it i was hooked…

I am very lucky to have a head full of thick, long hair and  Wen literally cut my hair styling time in half. It even somehow managed to get rid of my split ends!  The smell of tea tree is so invigorating and it feels great on your scalp. My hair felt silky soft in the shower and all i had to do after  was towel dry the excess water out and blow dry close to my scalp for about 5 mins. I let my hair finish drying naturally and was so happy when it still looked good in the afternoon. It didn’t get super poofy and no frizzies! I usually wear my hair down and straight, it takes between 30-45 minutes just to straighten! My hair has a bit of a natural wave to it and I’ve been wearing it straight  for about six years now, since it’s long and i color it split ends and damage are inevitable. Tried and truly satisfied, Wen worked for me. My hair looks and feels soft, shiny and is split-end free!

Wen worked for me, and I hope it does the same for you If you have tried Wen don’t be shy, share your experience with us!

Pro-tip: If you’d like to try Wen for yourself, I recommend ordering it through Amazon because if you order it from the infomercial they automatically put you on an auto-pay program.

]]> http://www.beautycareme.com/wen-cleansing-conditioner-review/feed 0 http://www.beautycareme.com/how-to-get-shiny-hair http://www.beautycareme.com/how-to-get-shiny-hair#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 23:02:43 +0000 Beauty Care http://www.beautycareme.com/?p=1565 Check out the following homemade recipes for beautiful shiny hair!

1. Olive oil recipe for dry hair

warm olive oil for 20-30 seconds in microwave or stove and distribute evenly throughout hair. Make sure to fully cover ends since they’re usually drier, and cover with plastic hair cap. Leave on for 20-25 minutes and rinse off. Use this recipe once a week for better results.

2. Avocado

Mash up half an avocado in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of warm olive oil. Apply to hair and use a comb to ensure full coverage. Leave avocado mask in hair for 20-25 minutes and rinse with cool water. Shampoo and condition hair as usual and enjoy your shiny hair!

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3. Mayonnaise

Use 2-3 Tbsp. of mayonnaise ( depending on hair length) and apply evenly throughout hair. Cover hair with a plastic cap and leave mayo mask on for 25-30 minutes, shampoo and condition hair as normal.

4. Beer

After shampooing hair, pour one bottle of beer through hair and massage in. Rinse with cool water for sexy shiny hair!

5. Honey

Use equal parts of honey and warm olive oil and apply over hair. Cover with plastic cap and leave honey mixture on for 25-30 mins. Rinse with cool water and shampoo as usual.

The shampoo comes in very festive packaging and includes a tube of peppermint bark lip gloss. Perfect scent for the holidays!!

If you already have everything neatly wrapped stored away or under the tree… Good job! Share your early shopper tips with us:)

If you’re not quite there yet, don’t stress here are a few great ideas for everyone on your list!

Gifts for women

Any of these sexy scents make a great gift.

Give her the gift of movies. Her favorite tv series is an entertaining gift.

Can’t go wrong with a great coat!

Gifts for men

Keep him warm in any of these stylish coats!

If he loves games, buy him something he’ll definitely enjoy…

Cool gadgets for guys.

Gifts for kids

These outfits are adorable!

Fun toys make great gifts…

Books and movies keep kids busy, which keeps moms happy:)

Gifts under $25

Don’t forget a gift for your pooch!

Happy Shopping!!!

It will leave your hair soft and hydrated with an invigorating smell of cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin. Perfect for Thanksgiving!!

Shop soon!!! $10 off purchases of $60 and up for a limited time.