Recessionistas unite!!

Sometimes skinny is a good thing, like your waistline. However no one likes a skinny wallet- especially when it translates into a skinny closet. Fortunately you don't have to give up your love of designer clothing. Check out one-day sale sites. One I like is Gilt.com, they always have great prices on awesome designer pieces. Check them out here.

Lip Service

No matter how you feel about Brad, babies, and the UN, you can't deny that you've wished for Angelina Jolie's lips. (Don't lie!) But no matter what kind of pout nature has blessed you with, here are some tips for making the most of it.

1. Lip Scrub-
A good exfoliation will remove all the dried, chapped skin, and expose the soft new skin,

 making lips appear soft and smooth.

2. Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize!

When your lips are dry and chapped, they tend to wrinkle and shrink. So lay it on thick! I absolutely love Neosporin Lip Health, it's a miracle worker. 

3. Use A Dark Lip Liner-

Please don't think I'm advocating the dark liner, pale lip look. (shudder!) The idea is to apple something a BIT darker to the corners and bottom of the lips and blend! Use your normal shade all over your lips, and then apply a touch of light shimmery gloss to the very middle of both top and bottom lips. Voila! Angie-worthy lips.

4. Lip Plumper-

For truly giant lips, especially if yours are thin, it's time to call in the big guns. A lip plumper can puff up those lips even more. But beware, the reactions to these can range from a mild tingle, to an irritating burn. However, for a special occasion this is the product you need. 

DuWop Pink Shimmer Lip Venom .12 fl oz (3.5 ml)

Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme Advanced Lip Plumping Serum .2 oz (6 g)

Foundation Finds!

One of the things I hate most in life is when I can see foundation (or concealer) The purpose of it is to blend in with your skin, while still camouflaging your imperfections. I've been looking at HD foundations for a while now, and finally decided to give Smashbox's High Definition Healthy FX Foundation a try. The idea behind HD makeup is that it's specially formulated for use with HD cameras (which show EVERY pore). My thought is, if they work in HD, they should work in RL too (real life, that is).

I love the foundation and concealer. They do exactly what they're supposed to do! When I put the concealer under my eyes, it was like a mini-miracle. As i blended it became my own skin, minus the dark circles. Same thing with blemishes. Then I topped it off with foundation (using my MAC 187, of course) The result? Flawless skin. And it doesn't show either. Even I have a hard time telling if it's my skin, or makeup.

Overall, I'm addicted to Smashbox and I'd recommend you run out to Sephora or Ulta and give some a try!

Sorry

Hey Everyone.

Sorry I fell behind on my blogging. It's been a busy summer, and I just lacked inspiration (as well as time) to write every day. So, starting Monday, I'm going to be back, but I'm gonna start out with once a week, and see how things go. Hopefully I won't let you down again.

Tune in Monday for my new foundation finds!!!

My Favorite Flat Iron

A few months back I finally threw in the towel with my cheap drugstore flat iron. My hair was always frizzy, and it took about 5 passes to get it somewhat straight. And so the search began for the perfect flat iron. I still didn't want to spend too much on it, but I was willing to, if need be. So I ended up at folica.com.

After searching their inventory, and reading hundreds of reviews, I settled on a Solia. From the reviews, it looked like it was just as good as more expensive irons (like the CHI), but it ran about $40-$50 cheaper. I think I actually ended up paying about $80, and got a nice little salon-style holster for it too.

I absolutely love this thing and wouldn't be without it! It has an adjustable heat setting, so you can go cooler to avoid damage, or hotter for really unruly hair. The blue tourmaline plates just glide through your hair and create a smooth finish. I used to have to blow my hair out straight, then flat iron it, and I'd still end up with kinks, and a ton of fly-aways. This gets my hair stick-straight (even if I let it air-dry) and tames all those little frizzies that I hate so much. I use the Solia in conjunction with my CHI Silk Infusion, and the result is super-soft, super straight, super shiney hair. What girl wouldn't want that?

Look of the Day

Harem pants are a huge trend right now, and let's face it, they don't really look great on anyone. And yes, I know that the pants above are not harem pants, but they fit the general feel of the trend. And here they look absolutely adorable! I seriously want this outfit to wear to work! I came across this on Lookbook. My new fashion inspiration is a user named Zina. Check out her pics: http://lookbook.nu/zina

Clear Skin

Hey Everybody! Hope you all had a great 4th of July! I know I had lots of fun.

I recently purchased a bottle of acneadvance from my local health food store. I'm always on the lookout for things that will reduce breakouts, and this caught my eye. Now, it says on the box that it helps balance hormones, and I know that most of my acne is hormone related (which means it's really hard to get rid of with topical treatments). Since I'm all for natural remedies, I bought a bottle. I'm about a month in, and I'm amazed. I've been able to cut back on my harsh topical treatments, plus it's helped clear up some of my scarring too.

That being said, I've seen mixed reviews about it online. My thoughts are that this will help if your acne is due to a vitamin deficiency, or a hormone imbalance. If it's more an issue of oily skin, or clogged pores, there may be a topical treatment that gives better results. But for under $20 it's always worth a try, the only way to find what works for you is to experiment.