DIY Pedicure Tips

Ah, sandal season is here. It's time to get your feet looking pretty and polished. When I feel like pampering myself I leave it to the pros at my local nail salon, but visits to the salon are sometimes few and far between when work, school, and other activities keep me busy. If you have a jam packed schedule to, not to worry, with these quick steps you can get your feet smooth and primped in no time.

Step 1. Fill a tub/basin with warm water and add Earth Therapeutics Tea Tree Oil Foot soak to the water.  Infused with natural herbs this dead sea salt soak refreshes and cleans your feel to prepare them for the pedicure.

Step 2. Soften rough spots with a scrub. Try True Blue Spa Walnut Shell Foot Scrub by Bath and Body Works. Walnut shells smooth rough spots and leave feet soft and fresh while eucalyptus oil deodorizes.

Step 3. Attack callouses with a pumice stone. Wet an Earth Therapeutics Natural Pumice stone with a little water and body wash. In a side to side motion buff callouses on the heel and ball of your feet.

Step 4. Clip and file. Use stainless steel tools and carefully trim and file nails straight across. Trimming straight across with help avoid any ingrown nails which can become painful and problematic. Smooth the edges of the nails with a glass file. Ones to try, Tweezerman Nail Clippers and Revlon Beauty Crystal Nail File.

Step 5. Moisturize and Massage your tootsies in a circular motion. Knead your arches with the knuckle of your index finger. Move all the way up to your ankles and even calves.  Try, Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme. It contains coconut, olive oil, glycerin and extracts of rosemary leaf oil. It will help tame scaly skin and leave soft extra conditioned and sandal ready.

Step 6. Use a non acetone nail polish remover to swipe off any creme from the tops of your nails. Apply a basecoat to your nails. This will help fill in any ridges and give the polish something to adhere to.  Once the basecoat is dry apply two coats of polish for better coverage. Swipe the brush in a downward motion over the nail in the middle and on the sides. Once both coats are dry apply a topcoat to help seal in polish.  You can also apply a little cuticle oil around the edges of nails to help prevent smudges. 

Enjoy your pretty tootsies and get ready for the compliments.

Some fun shades to try...

OPI Holland Collection

Wayward lipsticks, cream shadows and concealers, we have a place for you

Just last weekend I was rooting around in my makeup drawers trying to decide what to toss and what to keep. I came across some great lip shades that I purchased a couple of months ago and had stored for safe keeping. The problem is that my safe keeping sometimes means I never find it again. Enter the solution to my problems, the Japonesque 14 well Pro Palette. Ta Da... I found this goody by a recommendation from a makeup artist in the UK. What a perfect way to place all my wayward lip glosses and lipsticks for safe keeping. I can arrange by color, look or type. This way if I travel I can grab this and have way more colors than I can haul individually. You can also use this to store cream eyeshadows, concealer and more. The possibilities are endless.

Japonesque 14 well Pro Palette dermstore.com $31.00

Dior Addict Ultra Gloss

Shiny, long lasting, luminous and non tacky. These are a few descriptors for my new favorite lip gloss. Though Dior gloss has been around for a while I finally was able to try it myself. I was pleasantly surprised by it's coverage and non tacky wear. There is nothing worse than getting your hair stuck in your gloss when the wind blows, no thank you. These beauties are not inexpensive as they run $28.00 each but they are nice quality glosses and will probably become a staple in your make up kit. I picked up two colors that work great with different looks. Beige tweed which works very well with peach, copper and gold, eye colors, like the Naked palette from Urban Decay and Pretty Rose which I use when I am doing a smokey grey eye or a purple shadow look. You can even use a touch of concealer to cancel out the color on your lips before you apply the pretty rose color when you are sporting nude lips. This will allow only the gloss shade to come through.

Pretty Rose-pale pink 452

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beige Tweed-pink beige shimmer 227

Just in the NYX of time...

Spring is here in full force and with summer around the corner it's time to stock up our makeup bags with bronzer, glosses, and shadows. NYX is the brand to get the job done. From glitter shadows for girl's night out to matte summer shades for day this company has it all at very reasonable prices. I just stocked up my bag at the IMATS show in NYC and at NYX online. Check out this super fabulous selection of shadows and glosses that I picked up online. The first collection is called Butt Naked and it has a wonderful combination of matte and frost shadows that can be blended in so many ways. 

Butt Naked $25.00 nyx.com

For those of you who love a purple smokey eye check out this palette below...

Purple Smokey Look Kit $12.00 nyx.com

A bright beautiful collection of shadows that can be used light for day or more dramatic at night.  Below are some of my other NYX faves...

Concealer Jar, Great Coverage and it doesn't settle into fine lines $5.50 nyx.com

Istanbul soft matte lip cream $6.00 nyx.com

Baby Pink Lip Sheer Tube Gloss $5.50 nyx.com

French Kiss Mega Shine Lip Gloss $5.50 nyx.com

 

 

 

 

 

Ruby Black Label Lipstick $7.50 nyx.com

Indigo Black Label Lipstick $7.50 nyx.com

NYX products have great staying power and are a good bang for your buck. Their site is full of other products including a few bronzers which I did not list here. I did pick up one of their bronzers, but the one I got is not listed online. It's very nice, not as dark at my MAC matte bronzer but nice enough if you want to warm up your cheeks and forehead for a day glowing look. Check them out online and send me your NYX faves. Happy Shopping...

Burt's Bees Citrus Facial Scrub

Run, Buzz, or Fly to your nearest store that carries Burt's Bees. Ok, maybe I am being a bit too dramatic but this stuff is the bomb! Another beauty blogger, Kandee Johnson, sang the praises of this citrus facial scrub recently and I had to check it out for myself. Well, now I know what all the fuss is about. First off Burt's Bees is a natural skin care line so you know you are getting pure ingredients and secondly this stuff is very reasonably priced at under $9.00 a jar. Which in this economy is a real plus and third, it smells like a holiday dessert. Spicy and yummy like gingerbread with lemon curd. I wanted to lick the jar. But I refrained. Actually, this baby is infused with citrus and grapefruit oils and is made with ground almonds, oats and pecans to help exfoliate the skin. Glycerin helps to moisture the skin.  It removes oil, dirt and make up like a charm. I have a Clarisonic that I love more that life and I have to say this scrub gave me a clean feeling that is perhaps matched to the Clarisonic. Granted I will never give up my machine but in between facials this is a great addition to my cleansing routine. Shh don't tell everyone or it may just sell out. Comment below and let me know if you enjoyed it as much as me.

L'OCCITANE en Provence Shea Butter

If I can't go to France yet, I can have a little tin of L'Occitane shea butter wherever I go. Actually, Shea Butter originates from the fruit of African Shea trees. So this rather exotic world traveler just happened to be waiting for me at the duty free shop last week. What a little bundle of joy in a compact tin this is. It is a true multi-tasker and can tackle your roughest cuticles, dry lips, face, hands, and elbows. It can soften the whole family and it also great for kids windburned cheeks and lips.  I bought six of these little guys and I plan on spreading the love or rather softness to all my friends. If you are looking for a compact softener without a strong scent then this is your little helper. L'Occitane has some wonderful products and I have been a devoted fan for a while. I am partial to their lavender and almond scented products.  Check them out online and comment below if you have a favorite from their line. www.usaloccitane.com

IMATS-New York City 2012

Hi all, I'm back from the Big Apple, NYC, and I had a fabulous time at IMATS. IMATS is a huge trade and industry show that was created by Make up Artist Magazine. It is in six different locations throughout the year. Sydney, Vancouver, LA, NYC, Toronto, and London. It is open to trade and non trade guests and it's an incredible way to get to learn, purchase and experience make up in a way you may never have before. I was lucky to attend this past weekend because my family and I happened to be traveling to New York for spring break. I could have stayed all day but I was with my husband and son and they were less than excited to be spending the afternoon at a make up trade show. But they were great sports and I managed to accompany them to their chosen activities later that day. All was fair. As they say, if mom isn't happy no one is.

Check out some of these amazing fantasy make up looks!

check out these booths and products....

oops you can see my reflection in the photo... These are super cool Liquid metal pigments that create amazing glam eye looks. They can be used with or without an airbrush. I picked up the silver, 1st one to the left and the purple, the third one. They can be blended with each other  and or other shadows.

NYX was rocking the joint with a huge, no... gigantic... display that was by far the biggest selection of make up a girl could want. You name it they had it. They also had a minimum 30 minute wait line to pay. But it was so worth it as their products were at wholesale prices. I got shadows, lip gloss, bronzer, and pigments here.

My selections... I could have gone crazier but I plan on attending IMATS in LA in June so I contained myself due to suitcase space this time around. Next time I'm driving so Uhaul here I come. :)  I selected some amazing pigments from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, I will review those soon. Some NYX shadows and bronzer, Kett metallics and NYX lip glosses. I also picked up a few MUD brushes. (Make up Design), they were 40% off! Now that's a steal.  Well, now that I am back I will be sure to keep up to date with news, reviews and more. Until we meet again.