Tags: Beauty

6 Natural Remedies For Your Skin

- Friday, June 26, 2015 No Comments

Tired of lotions and potions with dozens of unpronounceable ingredients? Not to worry: we asked top natural health experts to recommend natural products that are good for your skin—and you. Here are their simple and surprisingly effective picks.

Important: some supplements can interfere with prescription and OTC medications or may not be safe if you’re pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition. Check with your physician or pharmacist before taking them.

Arnica
Arnica ointment may help bruises heal faster. It also reduces inflammation and pain.
Dose: Apply several times daily.
Calendula
In addition to helping bruises clear up faster, this marigold-derived extract has antibacterial properties that reduce the risk of infection in open wounds.
Dose: Apply a cream, ointment, or gel with calendula several times daily.
Honey
Applied topically, honey is antibacterial and promotes wound healing.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal can relieve itchy rashes, like poison ivy and eczema, and the sting of sunburn. “Oats contain a group of compounds called avenanthramides, which block the release of histamine, dramatically reducing redness and itching,” says Tieraona Low Dog, M.D., the author of Healthy at Home: Get Well and Stay Well Without Prescriptions.
Dose: Make a sachet by mixing 1 cup rolled oats with 1/4 cup baking soda and filling the foot from an old pair of panty hose. Tie the sachet at the end and drop it in a warm bath. Soak your body for 20 to 30 minutes. Repeat as needed.
Tamanu Oil
Native to the South Pacific islands, this oil is high in anti-inflammatory fatty acids and may spur the growth of new, healthier tissue. Chris Kilham, founder of Medicine Hunter, Inc., and author of Tales From the Medicine Trail: Tracking Down the Health Secrets of Shamans, Herbalists, Mystics, Yogis and Other Healers, uses it to treat acne, bug bites, stretch marks, sunburns, warts, and minor wounds.
Dose: One hundred percent tamanu oil is available at health-food stores. Dilute it by adding a few drops to your own lotion, or massage it directly into skin. Apply several times daily. Avoid if you're pregnant or nursing.
Tea-Tree Oil
Made from the leaves of a tree found on the northeast coast of Australia, this oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties that help heal acne, athlete's foot, nail funguses, and dandruff, according to a 2006 Clinical Microbiology study.
Dose: Dab a drop of oil directly on your skin several times daily. The 2006 study focused on gels containing 5 percent tea-tree oil, but Low Dog recommends using 25 percent to treat tough conditions, like athlete’s foot.

[via realsimple]

Tags: Beauty

The Yummiest Smoothie Recipes You Won't Believe Are Full of Greens

- No Comments

We're willing to bet the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a refreshing, delicious summertime smoothie isn't a glass of murky, green liquid. How'd we know? A little survey told us. A recent poll found that just nine percent of Americans are on board with green-colored juices, while 28 percent of us actually fear it. So, how do you embrace the going-green trend without plugging your nose to gulp it down?

We did some digging to find the most flavorful green smoothie recipes out there that provide all the health benefits of a salad -- without tasting like it. From gateway green smoothies packed with fresh, fruity berries to full-on emerald green drinks with loads of nutrient-dense plants, these smoothie recipes will have you sipping your way to indulging in veggies on a daily basis -- no nose wrinkling required.

Sweet Escape
 

 

Good for: Green smoothie dabblers
Tastes like: A creamy, slightly sweet fruit smoothie with just a hint of nut
Benefits: "This smoothie is screaming with potassium provided by the banana and the coconut water," says nutritionist Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, owner of Better Than Dieting. "The nuts add fiber, protein and healthy fat to help keep you satisfied. Berries are low in calories and so tasty, and leafy greens supply iron and folic acid."

Create your own:
2-3 cups leafy greens, like kale, collard greens, chard or romaine
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 banana
1/2 teaspoon citrus zest
Squeeze of citrus juice
2 tablespoons raw almonds or walnuts
1 cup coconut water
1 tablespoon raw honey
Toss all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes one serving.
Recipe by Elizabeth Rider

[via totalbeauty]

Tags: Beauty

Quick Fixes for Common Makeup Mishaps

- Friday, June 12, 2015 No Comments

Let’s face it, makeup mishaps happen all the time. While smudging lipstick all over your face right before hitting the town may seem life-threatening, we promise it’s not the end of the world. To help you save face next time you’re in a beauty bind, we’ve got some awesome tips and tricks to share with you. And we recommend grilling these into your head, as you never know when the next beauty blunder will strike.

Smudged Lipstick
Nothing’s worse than smudging your lipstick all over your face, especially if it’s a heavily pigmented formula. Assuming you’re not aiming to look like 90s-era Courtney Love, it’s an easy fix. Add a small amount of foundation or concealer to a damp cotton swab and gently trace over the area where the smudge occurred to cover the lip color. This will conceal the smudge in no time. You may also need to reapply your lip color in case any was removed during the process.

Lip Liner Ring
This is actually way worse than having lipstick all over your teeth. If a lip ring occurs while you’re out and about, apply a lip balm or gloss and rub your lips together until the liner is evenly distributed. Next time, apply your lip liner over your entire lip area, which will also make your lipstick last a lot longer.

Clumpy Mascara
You have perfected your entire makeup look like a pro, until you apply mascara and clump city happens. No fret. Wipe the formula off of the wand with a tissue and comb through your lashes. This will separate them and help to remove the clumps. Be aware, the shelf life of mascara is typically three months after breaking the seal, so clumping could actually be the result of using an old product.

Concealer Creases
When concealer gets spackled into your creases, it will draw attention to all of your fine lines and wrinkles — a look that most of us try to avoid. If this happens, you can quickly fix it by applying a small amount of eye cream around the under eye area to distribute any excess product.

Smoky Eye Smudges
In case you didn’t apply foundation before your eyeshadow, gently wipe away any loose powder or smudged areas around your eye area with a cotton swab. Dab a small amount of concealer around the area with your ring finger, and voilà, good as new!

Overplucked Brows
Unfortunately, overplucking brows happens to the best of us. While you can’t make your hair grow overnight, you can fill them in with a brow pencil or brow powder. If you don’t have either, clean off a mascara wand and dust your brows with a brown eyeshadow shade that’s similar to your hair color.

Too Much Rouge
Your first instinct is probably to try and blend the blush all around your cheek area to even out the color, but this will just make it worse. Instead, dust your cheeks with a clean powder brush to remove some of the blush particles. If you’re still too rosy, apply a little powder over your cheeks to tone down the color. In the case of cream blush, simply apply a little foundation on top.

[ via thefashionspot]

Tags: Beauty

How to Air Dry Your Hair Like a Pro

- No Comments

The last thing we want to do when it’s sweltering hot out is blast our hair with heat from a hair dryer. We love a good blowout, but summer calls for a low-maintenance approach, which is why we’re embracing air-dried hair. Heat-free is the way to go, but air drying hair takes some technique in order for your natural texture to look its best. Yes, you read correctly — drying your hair au naturel goes beyond letting it sit as is post-shower. So whether you’re taking a break from your curling wand or just feeling a tad lazy, here is how to air dry your hair like a pro.

• Consider Your Conditioner. The foundation for every great style begins with how hair is washed. Conditioner is key for air-dried perfection and it’s important to choose the right one for your hair type. Tame frizz with Living Proof No Frizz Conditioner or enhance bouncy curls with MopTop Daily Conditioner. 
• Skip the Towel. Using a towel to dry your hair sounds like a no-brainer, but should actually be avoided. Rubbing hair with a towel will rough up the cuticle and cause hair to frizz like crazy. Many stylists suggest using a soft cotton T-shirt or microfiber cloth to squeeze excess water out (this means no wrapping hair in your towel, either).
• Comb Hair. This is the part where you detangle your locks using a wide-tooth comb and set your part. For those of you with unruly tresses, try using a Tangle Teezer to gently get the job done.
• Pick Your Product. Choose a styling leave-in that is best suited for your hair’s needs. Kérastase Elixir Ultime is a classic oil for soft, shiny strands, while Living Proof Curl Enhancing Styling Mousse provides an extremely light hold for touchable curls. Leonor Greyl Eclat Naturel is an editor favorite that nourishes dry and damaged hair, regardless of texture, and smells like a dream, or try Sachajuan Ocean Mist for textured, lived-in waves. Make sure that you use the right amount of product and distribute it evenly using your hands and fingers.
• Scrunch or Comb Hair. Depending on the look you’re going for, you’ll need to either comb hair again if you’re going for a sleek and smooth look or scrunch it up for tousled waves and added volume.
• Finish the Look. Once hair is air dried and fabulous, you may choose to add some finishing products. We’re huge fans of R+Co Tinsel Smoothing Oil to work through from mid-shaft to the ends of our hair to add moisture for extra shine. If you’re in need of more volume, Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray will do the trick. Either way, you will have healthy, gorgeous hair that was untouched by any heat tool.

Tags: Beauty

18 Pinterest Hair Tutorials You Need to Try

- No Comments

Pinterest is more than just pretty living spaces, healthy gourmet cooking and designer duds, it’s also a mecca of hair inspiration complete with instructions. Consider it a blueprint on how to freshen up for fall with a new ‘do. Just pin now, and try later.
Here are 18 tutorials worth trying and then Instagramming (natch) to show off how good you look!
1. Waves for Short Hair
As necklines rise, hair length takes a short turn. The blogger behind Like The Yogurt shows off her techniques for creating stylish waves for medium and shorter manes using a straightener

Tags: Beauty

How to (Successfully) Paint Nails with Your Non-Dominant Hand

- No Comments

Once you’ve settled on the perfect nail polish color and are ready to take a DIY manicure into your own hands — literally — painting gone wrong is the last thing anyone wants to happen. We’re talking about that point in the process when one hand is fully painted and looks great, but then it’s time to move on to the “other” hand, the non-dominant one. This painting problem plagues us all, but a few tricks is all it takes to steady that hand to make both sets of nails look equally gorgeous. We have some tips, including the use of our favorite tool, to wipe away your painting dilemma, so that you can have a professional-looking manicure.

• Paint in sections. This diagram is the perfect guideline for perfecting the art of painting a nail. Instead of using one large swipe to try to cover the whole nail, working in smaller sections will help with getting a perfect and even application.
• Use small amounts of polish. When you’re painting nails in small sections, using less lacquer is key to making that technique work for you. Use less polish on the brush than you normally would, so that excess product doesn’t take over your cuticles or surrounding skin. Less is more plus painting a second or third coat is better than starting all over.
• Be patient. Don’t rush to start painting, apply a second coat or a top coat. Wait for each coat of paint to dry about 80 percent before layering on the next. By doing this, your next coating will go on smoothly and evenly.
• Clean up edges. Tiny mistakes are bound to happen until you get the hang of it. In the meantime, use an old angled brush and dip it in remover to clean up any paint that is not on the bed of the nail.
• Invest in a tool. Julep’s Plié Wand is a $25 splurge that has been worth every cent since we got our hands on it. The long, ergonomic handle bends, so that it can rest in between the thumb and index finger to give the non-dominant hand the balance and leverage it needs to paint easily. The results speak for themselves — seriously.

Tags: Beauty

10 Amazingly Useful Tips To Make Your Manicure Last Longer

- No Comments

It is amazing if you take care for you look i.e if you do anything to look like you want. Your nails are also one detail of your look that should be always arranged. Decorating your nails could be amazing and very interesting. There are a lot of designs and ideas around the web. If you decide to arrange and to design your nails there are some tips that can simplify this job and save you a lot of time. In the post below can bee seen some clever ideas like:French Manicure cheat, Water Marble Nails With the Help of Elmer’s Glue, or how to Use a cotton swab to wipe down your nails with white vinegar before applying basecoat. Check more tips in the gallery below we are sure that you will find something that you need right now.Enjoy! 1.French Manicure cheat

Tags: Beauty

7 DIY Skin Tricks and Treats!

- No Comments

Halloween is right around the corner, officially kicking off the holiday party circuit, and with all the upcoming costume parties, Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas celebrations, and New Years Eve carousing, tis the season for festive evenings of entertainment, cocktails, and fun. Always wanting to dress to impress, you probably plan to up the ante on your regular, everyday makeup, and try something that is slightly more dramatic. We all know as Miss Jessie’s fans, it is important to always look your posh best, but hopping between all these seasonal social soirees, coupled with the drastic drop in temperatures, can do a number on a girl’s complexion. However, you don’t have to deny your adventurous urge to go outside the box with eccentric makeup styles, just because you are afraid of a couple breakouts. The key is to take incredible care of your skin in between parties, so when the time comes to bust out the glitter and false lashes, you always have an even, flawless foundation. 1. Eye Makeup Remover
Between liquid liners, heavy mascaras, and even eyelash glue, this is an absolute holiday must make, must have:

Tags: Beauty

10 DIY Beauty Uses for Coconut Oil, in a Nutshell

- No Comments

Coconut oil has gone from a cooking staple primarily utilized in countries of a tropical climate, to a popular health food agent carried at your local corner store. People used to steer clear of this product, believing that the saturated fats and high levels of protein within coconut oil were detrimental to one’s health. It’s only recently that people are starting to realize that coconut oil actually contains the good kinds of fat the body needs, and when incorporated into a balanced diet can prevent high blood pressure, regulate one’s cholesterol, fight against heart disease, and even can even promote weight loss by facilitating a natural boost in one’s metabolism. The lauric acid contained in oil coconut oil is also excellent for strengthening the immune system, as this acid acts as a defense against nasty bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Coconut oil can also work as a healthy, all natural beauty enhancing agent, for your skin, teeth, and even your hair. Coconut oil’s moisturizing and healing properties instantly eliminates the appearance of dry, flakey skin, even fighting against signs of aging, including wrinkles and loss of skin elasticity. Coconut oil can even act as a defense against certain embarrassing skin infections, including psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis. It can even kill harmful mouth bacteria, eliminating bad breath, increasing tooth whiteness, and improving overall dental health.

Not only does coconut oil possess the power to hydrate parched curls, but the natural ingredients within coconut oil facilitates an increase in hair growth, while simultaneously healing already damaged hair. It also defends against harsh environmental elements that negatively influence your hair’s health, protecting against UV rays, excessive humidity, and arid climates.

So, in a nutshell, coconut oil is so much more than another health food trend; when it comes to self maintenance, coconut oil is a DIY dream! So the next time you realize you are running low on your personal toiletries, kill multiple birds with one stone, by just picking up a jar of coconut oil.
Here are a few of my favorite coconut oil based, DIY beauty products:
1. Deodorant

Tags: Beauty

21 Elegant Black and White DIY Nail Art Tutorials

- No Comments

Monochromatic nail patterns are super hot right now, especially in black and white. While this may sound like a mundane combination, these two colors actually allow for much versatility, in terms of the designs. Combine glossy and matte textures for a stylish, mod look. Use delicate detailing to capture the essence of a Modrain Cosmopolitan painting, right on the tip of your fingers. Throw a little glitter and sparkle, for an additional sophisticated pop.

Black and white polish has the potential to create sexy, chic looks that are guaranteed to match everything in your closet, and are appropriate for any and all occasions. You will be sure to impress all your girlfriends with your nail art skills, with any one of these excellent tutorials.

1. The Chevron:

Tags: Beauty

13 Super-Easy Makeup Tips for Looking Perfect

- No Comments

Taste associated with the way of makeup differs from woman to woman, because each should assess what suits her best. But if you’re not sure exactly what you want and what is according to your style or just want to play around with the look, that it will be cool if you check these tricks and tips. If you are a person who want to sleep in the morning half an hour longer than do a made-up, then we provide some tips how to create a perfect and easy styling and still to have enough time for sleep. Enjoy!

1.At Times, Skip the EyeShadow

Tags: Beauty

20 Little Known Natural Beauty Tips That You Need To Know

- No Comments

We all know how important is care for hair, face and body. Below you can see how to care for your skin with orange juice, water of roses, honey and milk and and many such similar ways. Although today there are many products in beauty care market, there are some natural methods used for years and tested them even our grandmothers. Many products contain various chemicals, they are expensive and often do not give the effect that promise, so more and more girls and women decide to use natural products that they will make in the kitchen. The natural ingredients are the best friends of beauty. Their use will help to overcome the shortcomings of the skin facing each of us. Follow our simple tips and forget about expensive cosmetics and treatments. Enjoy. 1.Yarrow extract for stretch marks