A Collection of Beauty Tips and Tricks!

     So I have come across many different health and beauty tips over the years. I didn't start caring about hair, makeup, and nails until a few years ago and I am 24 now. Prob when I was nineteen or twenty I started getting curious and experimented with fashion and beauty. Even now at 24, I am still discovering my own style. (Most recently I have added red lips to my frequent regime.)

     Being undecided in my look I need unbiased and general beauty tips. It's taken years but I am going to share some of my favorite ones with you here. I hope you enjoy and please leave some of your own in the comments below.

     First and foremost LOTS OF WATER and PLENTY OF SLEEP! You don't have to restrict yourself to only water, but keeping a decent flow during the day helps flush toxins, clean out kidneys  and helps with bloating. When I drank more water and cut down on soda and other drinks my skin cleared up some and my skin wasn't as dry.
Being well rested helps with overall energy and metabolism levels, mood, eye bags, dark circles, digestive systems, stress levels, etc. Being well rested really affects your overall body, and you as a whole. Those two are the most important. If you lack any of these in your daily routine, changing this will have a HUGE impact. I really can't stress this enough.

Now on to the fun stuff. . .

BEAUTY and MAKE UP!

-When applying lipstick, make sure you message a lip balm on the lips for a few seconds to increase the blood flow and moisturize. After that, if your lips are chapped or dry, take a toothbrush and massage the lips in a circular motion gently to remove any flakes. From there follow you regular lipstick application and it will be more even, softer, and last longer.

-In a Shape Magazine interview with Molly Sims, I read that she does a technique called dry brushing. It's a way to exfoliate the skin. Here is a link you a blog I found when looking up the interview, Dry Brushing Your Skin that explains in great understandable detail. Do this before a shower to help get smooth, even, healthier skin. Molly says "...It can hurt a bit at first but before I get in the shower, I use a loofah or brush to exfoliate. There's nothing better for getting your circulation going and helping with cellulite."

-EXPERIMENT! Most people have a set style. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the hair, makeup or outfit coordination skills seen in magazines and movies. We resort to the same hair or makeup, and always have a piece of clothing we fall back to. CHANGE IT UP! If you like wearing your hair up all the time, find simple different dos that are in your comfort zone but still a switch. Check out the Sock Bun, and its many variations. Also, check out my Pinterest Hair Board for other cute up-do style or funky hair ideas.

-When it comes to foundation, people tend to have one color all year round. The fact is, during seasons your skin will lighten or darker due to sun exposure etc, you should have a shade that matches and one a little darker. (ALWAYS MATCH YOUR FOUNDATION TO YOUR NECK or CHEST!!!)This allows you to keep consistent with your color fluctuations. It also can assist with contouring  and highlighting for more experienced makeup lovers. There is nothing tackier than seeing someone whose foundation is not blended and noticeably the wrong shade. Be conscience of this.

-When washing your hair, focus the shampoo at the roots mainly, and not the ends. This will help keep the ends from drying out and splitting, they will get shampoo as it washes down the stands, and then focus conditioner at the ends and avoid going to high toward the scalp. This will help keep your roots and scalp from getting oily.

-When painting your nails (resort to my prior blog) Use a base coat, at least two color coats and for longevity and protection use a fast acting top coat. It makes a huge difference. I suggest Essie products. I swear by them.


-There are so many awesome blogs and sites out there with DIY facial masks and peels, homemade soaps, lotions, and scrubs. These are wonderful especially because you make them yourself, you know exactly what's in them and it's so much cheaper than store bought. So look them up. There are numerous DIY beauty secrets out there, so dig them out. Here is a site for awesome DIY Facial Blackhead Peel, and that is just one of many.

This is just a short blog, but I hope it helps. These are unbiased to style.
I hope you enjoy and post you feedback below.

Jessica

Here is a link to my Pinterest Boards That have DIY, fashion, and more.

Perfect nails everytime!

I was getting so tired of painting my nails, and smearing them before they dried, them chipping by the next day, or them looking dull, and the paint not going on even. So I found some great and helpful links and I am going to show you how to make perfect nails every time!

First things first: 

BASE COAT: this made the biggest difference. This alone made a drastic improvement It helps the polish stay in place, it provides an even primed surface for the polish to go on and stick too.

NAIL POLISH: The base coat will help your polish stay, but another thing to consider is getting a decent polish. the 99 cent polishes really don't cut it. If you can, get a nice name brand polish, it makes a big difference. Don't have to spend a lot of money, but don't get the cheapest stuff you can find.

ALSO: make sure your nail polish isn't old or expired. Polish typically has a shelf life of 2 years or less. So it's important to keep up with it. Over time the bottle dries out, and colors separate making it undesirable to use when trying to achieve beautiful nails.

Make sure you have all your tools out and ready to discourage you from bumping or smearing before they dry. Also try to do your nails when you have a few minutes to sit down and spend time on them, as well as giving them time to dry.

WHAT YOU NEED:

-Base coat
-color polish
-nail clippers
-emery board/ nail file
-buffing pad (optional) 
-cuticle pusher/cuticle trimmer (optional)
-nail polish remover (to remove old polish and clean up after)
-cotton balls (optional, for removing old polish)
-Small paint or makeup brush (for clean up)

Step one: Set up your station, with your supplies in reach. Remove all leftover polish and wash your hands. Focus especially on your nails and cuticles to remove and particles, dirt and excess oils.

Step two: Push down and trim your cuticles if needed, then clip your nails to a desirable even length, file if necessary, and buff away any rough edges, and smooth down the surfaces. Wash and dry hands again if you want.

Step three: Apply your base coat. One layer should be okay, just make sure its even. Follow base coat and color applications shown in the picture below.

So the first link is to show you how to properly and evenly apply the polishes. Base and color. I usually do one coat on all fingers before I go back and start the second and third coat. Three coats are usually good.

The next link is how to clean up you nails after you get the polish done. Get yourself a very small paint or makeup brush, and dip it in remover and wipe around edges and any mistakes. 

Here is the link to her blog where she has a wonder manicure tutorial herself

7 steps to a perfect manicure

Other tricks people have mentioned is putting a jelly or ointment around the edges of the nails so any polish won't dry on the skin and it is very easy to clean up after. I have also heard about putting tape around the edges also. Hope it helps.

I hope you enjoy these tips and tricks, and if you have any more please let me know.

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Jessi Harms