Beach waves

I love summer! Here is how to make that beach look.
1. Split all of your hair into two parts and then braid each part and secure with a hair tie of your choosing. I found that the "waves" ended up looking better with bigger braids.
2. Take one of the braids and twist it tightly away from your face.
3. Place the straightener around the twisted braid and instead of just pulling the straightener down...
4. Twist the straightener in the same direction the hair is twisted. I started at the top and worked your way down the braid. Make sure you don't put the straightener where your hair tie is or else there will be a weird crease.
5. When your hair has completely cooled, pull out your hair ties and run your fingers through the braids to release them.

Don't forget to hair spray!!  I learnt this from a beach photo shoot:) 

Green cat eyes

So apparently I live a city where everyone has blue eyes. What most blue eyed bomb shells don't know is green looks amazing with blue eyes! To do this look you will need a high quality eyeliner brush (horse tail is the best).
1. Start with a highlighter and put it in the arch under the brow and around the tip of your eye closest to your nose.
2. To make the look sharp outline the area you are going to colour in.
3. Start at the tip of the cat eye with darker greens (you can mix them on your wrist and come up with some great ones) and work your way to the lighter ones.
4. Fill the tail of the cat eye with black and shade (use your eye as a guide you can start to outline the bottom this way)
5. Put some yellow if you have it in the centre of the lid, it really makes it pop.
6. Mascarra those beautiful lashes! (I use three different types in layers, people always think I have fake lashed on:)

And there you have it! Spring shadow. Meow

The sock bun:)

This is such an amazing technique. It looks classy when its up, and show no fear when you let that mane down to reveal beautiful wavy curls! Lets do it!  

1. Gently detangle and comb your hair away from your face.

2. Apply a dime-sized amount of moisturizer to the palms of your hands. Rub your hands together and gently distribute the moisturizer throughout your hair. Focus your moisturizing efforts on the ends of your hair. The ends of the hair are the oldest and most prone to damage and breakage.

3. Continue to comb, smooth, and arrange the hair into a ponytail. Ideally, your ponytail holder should be seamless and contain no metal pieces. Your ponytail placement will determine where your bun rests. Sock buns can be worn at any height on the head, and even to one side. Common placement is straight back (in line with the ears) or just above the nape of the neck.

4. Insert your ponytail carefully through the hole in the sock bun. This process is similar to putting on your regular hair band or scrunchie. Make sure that your entire ponytail is coming through the hole.

5. Press the sock bun form firmly down to your head to close any gaps between your head and the bun form. This will also ensure the tightness and neatness of the finished product.

6. Split your ponytail into a top half and bottom half. Lean forward, and fan your hair out evenly around the bun. Leaning forward helps the ponytail fall nicely and stay in place around the form.

7. Carefully smooth and tuck the ends of your hair under the sock bun form. You may secure your hair with hair pins, or leave your hair tucked without them.

Alternatively, you may skip Step 7 and simply place a large scrunchie over and around the bun and hair. Your hair’s ends will be sticking out. Gently smooth the extra hair around the sock bun and tuck underneath the bun and scrunchie to secure.

Enjoy your curls* xo

The perfect shave - Olive oil

It’s that time of year when trees are turning green, flowers are blossoming, and our legs brace themselves for yet another season of chafing and razor burn. Argh! But — this year, say no to suffering; there IS a better way.

Olive Oil to the Rescue

Did you know using Extra Virgin Olive Oil not only works just as good as shaving cream, but it also provides your skin with vitamin E and natural antioxidants? Turns out, it’s one of the best, most affordable skin moisturizers and blemish-removers out there! Plus, it softens the hairs, making for a smoother shave. (Just avoid using “pure” or “light” olive oils as those have been processed, chemically, and could cause irritation.) Of course, this means, you would need to shave out of the shower… wouldn’t want you slippin’ and slidin’ in that tub.

I tried this method myself to see if it works. It does. I was excited because my legs had that celebrity shiny-sheen to them. ‘Course, I also smelled like a tossed Italian salad. Though, after about 20 to 30 minutes, the olive fragrance does dissipate.

Add Your Own Touch

But, for you creative types, like me, who like flowery scents in your soaps and creams, pour some Extra Virgin Olive Oil into a glass jar or bottle or one of those olive oil spray bottles (what have you) and add a drop or two of rose oil or vanilla oil or any natural essential oil of your choice to create a more perfumed fragrance. (Just make sure the essential oil you choose is safe for your skin type.)

Another trick I tried was using the olive oil method BEFORE getting into the shower. (You’re probably like, “Ummm, yeah, duh!”) That way, I could just wash off the olive oil and smell lemony fresh from my favorite lemon verbena body wash.

Long Live Your Razor!

Oh and the bonus? If you pour some olive oil in a cup or jar and let your razor stand in it while you’re not using it, it’ll actually increase the life of your razor; apparently, the oil slows down the rusting process. How ‘bout them olives?!

Oil-Free Advice

Now, if olive oil is not your thang, try simply shaving your legs with COLD water instead of warm/hot water. (Again, you might want to do your shaving out of the shower… might get rather nipply in there.) Warm/hot water opens your pores and encourages blood-flow to the surface of the skin, which explains that redness and irritation that can happen when we shave in our warm, toasty showers… (In addition to the fact that we’re scraping razor sharp blades against our flesh.)

With or Against the Grain?

You also might have heard that shaving WITH the grain versus AGAINST the grain is the way to go. Pretty sure I saw that on Oprah once. So, of course, I tried it…and unless you have an enormous amount of patience and/or a weed whacker, I don’t recommend it. I found that my skin became even more irritated and red because when you shave with the grain it takes more razor strokes to get all the hairs since there’s nothing for the razor to grab onto, which just rubbed my skin the “wrong” way. Frankly, I would have had better luck plucking out my leg hairs one by one.

To Recap:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil as a shaving agent, moisturizer, blemish-remover as well as razor protector.
• Cold water instead of warm/hot water to prevent redness and rashes.
• Shave against the grain… no matter what Oprah says. (Sorry, Oprah. I love you, but I got extra sensitive skin to protect, here.)

Happy shaving olive you! (I can never pass up a play on words.)

Nail Ombre*

Bringing you the ombre stain mani! We’ve seen lots of ombre techniques in the past, but this one is pretty cool because it’s done on your bare nails and has more of a stain effect than looking like actual nail polish. This was much easier than I thought it was going to be, but you should be prepared to practice once or twice before doing the actual mani. It’s all about technique! Here we go:

You will need: 3-4 gradient nail polish colors (dark to light and all in the tonal family), a clear top coat, a triangle makeup sponge, a cup of water, a piece of paper for blotting the polish, a paint brush + nail polish remover for clean up.

1. 1-Unscrew the lids of your 3 or 4 gradient colors so they’re ready to go. Be careful not to knock them over! Here I used because I was feeling very mermaid inspired.
2. 2-Get a little cup of water and soak your triangle makeup sponge. Squeeze the sponge out about 80% leaving it damp but not wet. This will keep the polish from soaking up too quickly.
3. 3-Apply a single line of the darkest color toward the edge of your sponge. The first time, I went over the line twice so that there was enough polish to transfer to the nail.
4. Next, use the second darkest color and make another line above that one. Coat it twice also. Keep going until you build up your 3-4 colors. NOTE: you want to work somewhat quickly so the polish doesn’t dry out.
5. 4-Dab your sponge on a piece of paper and you’ll see the colors together but not quite blended.
6. Bounce it up and down in the same spot a few times and you’ll see how the separation of colors disappears and they become blended!
7. 5-Line the tip of the sponge up with the tip of your nail and when you’re ready, give it a med-firm press. Bounce it up and down a couple times in that spot. DON’T BE SCARED that you’re going to mess it up because you’re not. If you keep it in the same general spot it will be just fine. It doesn’t have to be exact. If it’s a little off each time you bounce it up and down that’s actually good because it blends the colors even more.
8. Re-apply a line of each polish color to the sponge for every nail. If you work quickly, you can probably re-apply polish to the sponge for every other nail.
9. 6-Now you have pretty polish but a mess around your nails.
10. 7-Take a little polish remover + a paint brush and clean up the sides and aroud the cuticles.
11. Apply a top coat once the ombre has dried completely. The top coat will also make it appear more blended.

Rainbow Tips

As I am sure you have all noticed, coloured tips are back! Its simple and fun for summer* I would only recommend this for lighter hair textures. Start with the lighter shades and work your way to the darker part of the tips. Have fun! 

Swirl nails

Since fun nails are all the rage lets get funky! Funky money!

First get a bowl of water, pour little bits of all the different shades you want, it should float on the top. Swirl with a toothpick or something like it and when it looks like you want on top of the water, then dip your nails through the water. Easy pees:) ...But don't forget to top coat or it will not last.