It’s almost summer and that means it is time to try something different with your nails! Lots of people use the change in the weather to try something quirky and unusual with their nails. Our new Shimz Desire tried Buzzin’ Bee Nails on her blog and here is a picture of how they look:
What do you think of the Buzzin’ Bees? I think it is daring and fun design! What other designs would you be willing to try on your nails? Send us a picture so we can share it with everyone!
Who is Ivo Pitanguy? Why is this Brazilian product line sold in Neimen Marcus?
Dr. Ivo is the “the Michelangelo of the scalpel.” as referenced by W Magazine. He is the cosmetic surgeon to the who’s who in movie stars, diplomats and other important people who can afford his services.
In the same article from W Magazine, Dr. Ivo states his true opinion on beauty. I guess his profession is just a way for him to feed himself and buy private islands?
Still, Pitanguy is quick to note that true beauty is not found in a jar. “The concept of beauty that I feel has been imposed on people in recent years is all about marketing products, selling things,” he says, as a flock of brilliantly feathered macaws strolls past his feet. “But to me, beauty is well-being. Today we are more focused on the superficial, and when people who just live for looks lose them, they will be unhappy. It’s a great mistake not to cultivate the brain and the spirit.”
Now, you can afford his hand cream and commercial line of skincare inspired by his scientists without flying to Brazil for his services.
The hand cream is BodyCare Hands Beauty. I received a sample from Neiman Marcus. The feel is thick, the smell luxurious and it has ingredients to help with age spots on the hands. Not much of the cream is left after a good wash on the skin but my hands feel amazing after a reapplication. It is a bit much for me to spend on hand cream but he has a devoted audience who swears by his services and products. And this is still less expensive than the alternative of signing up for Dr. Ivo’s services.
Neiman Marcus, 3.4 oz for $105; $50 off if you purchase $300 of his products.
OPI Nail Polish is known for their fun-sounding names– just a quick glance through my collection shows me names like “Naples Syrup”, “You Canoli Imagine”, “Pompei Purple”, and “Blushingham Palace”. Kim on her Makeup by Kim Porter blog just discovered the latest addition to OPI’s collections– “Shrek Forever After”, based on the new Shrek movie that is going to hit theaters soon.
While the colors look nice, we’re not sure how they would be for everyday wear unless you are more daring with your nail color choices. Ranging from the bright green of Shrek’s skin (The color name is “Who the Shrek Are You?”) to various shades of blue and purple, the colors look more like they should be in a cartoon than on your fingers unless you’re going out to a club.
Kim tried out “Who the Shrek Are You?” and said that she liked the color but the consistency just wasn’t good– it took her three coats to get good coverage. Check out her blog for the picture of her fingers with “Who the Shrek Are You?”.
Will you try a nail color like this? Leave a comment and let us know!
Have you ever found a beauty product in a store where you wouldn’t expect to find one? That’s just what happened to Mona of the Make Me Blushhh blog when she recently went shopping at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The store carried a brand of nail polish called Color Club and she decided to pick some up to see how it would work. A picture of the polish is below:
These colors are from Color Club'sColor Club’s Spring 2010 Rebel Debutante collection. The shades are (from left to right): Who Are You Wearing?, Uptown Girl, Ms. Socialte, and She’s So Glam. Mona said she loves the colors, especially Ms. Socialite, and that the price is right for $2.99 each.
Have you ever found nail polish in an unexpected place? How about lipstick or lipgloss? Tell us so we can tell other beauty mavens!
We love Kim and she uses laser hair removal but what if you are on a budget and can’t afford laser?
One Girl’s Passion for Makeup wanted to share with us her Top 3 Hair Removal products for girls with a passion for wearing a bikini but on a budget.
Kim Kardashian Ready for Bikini Seaso
So now that we have entered spring officially, it is getting warmer and then all of us will say “Schools out, let shout”, but amidst all of this, all girls totally forgot about their bikini line during the winter months. I know that we all like wearing bathing suits and freely showing your face but a lot of factors keep us away from that. The top three are leg hair, bikini lines, and sometimes upper lip hair.
With today’s stereotypes, it’s very hard to find a body like Kim Kardashian’s in a small beach in Wyoming, but with my top three favorite for hair removal, ever body will be one step closer to fitting in.
I have three staple items in my regimen for the summers that remove my leg hair, bikini line hair, and upper lip hair. Today, I’m here to share those secrets with you. First, every girl is self conscious around the time they hit puberty about their leg hair. This makes bathing suits and shorts as well as skirts off limits for them, but we can always bring back the limit by using waxing. Now, no one wants to go a spend tons of money at salons to wax for them so I can happily introduce to you my holy grail.
#1 Nair Lasting Effects Hair Remover Ready to Use Wax Strips
It’s called Nair Lasting Effects Hair Remover Ready to Use Wax Strips for legs. I’ve been using these since I was 18 and I can proudly say that these never disobeyed me. They don’t leave me burning and irritated as opposed to salon waxing. This is heat free and the easiest things to use. They don’t leave me bumps or ingrown hairs either which I really like.
#2 My Spring It
Then, for removing upper lip hair, I like to use my little friend I call “My Spring It”. I have a My Sprint It review and it’s the beast to remove facial hair at an affordable price. Its travel sized and doesn’t need batteries or anything. I really appreciate it. It hurts a bit when you first use it, but then after a while you get used to it. If you’re used to waxing your upper lip hair, this wont hurt at all.
How to Use My Spring It Hair RemovalVideo
#3 Emjoi Optima Dual Opposed Epilato
Finally, for your bikini line, it’s very hard to recommend something because different stuff works differently for different people, but for people who are super sensitive in that area; I suggest using the Emjoi Optima Dual Opposed Epilator. It removes your hair one by one without leaving bumps or irritated red skin in the bikini area. It also doesn’t hurt. These staples are things I’ve been using for the longest time and I hope you enjoy using these and feeling confident one step at a time!
My skin still feels dry and so parched in the morning when I wake up, even with the Spring weather. It is cold outside and the indoor heat really wrecks havoc on my skin, causing winter like dry skin. Sometimes the result from dry skin is flaking, cracking, even eczema. So I asked Becky what to do about my winter dry skin, my moisturizers need that extra kick to soothe, hydrate and nourish my skin. I use a oil based moisturizer but I still feel my skin needs more moisture. (Most night creams are oil based.)
Becky Watkins, educator for Christian Dior suggested to put essential oils into your moisturizer to help combat dry winter skin or as a dry skin treatment. It was difficult for me to find essential oils that I trusted to put on my face. I use essential natural oils such as coconut butter, almond oil and grapefruit essential oils on my body and hair but I am not ready to apply those oils on my face. I do have combination skin so I am not sure how this would work on oily skin but it can be used on face, body and even hair.
Not all oils are appropriate to apply on your face since many clog pores or just sit on top of my skin as a layer of grease. Essential oils which do not clog your pores are avocado oil, mineral oil, primose oil, or almond oil.
I found a winter and spring dry skin treatment: Dr. Alkaitis Organic Nourishing Treatment Oil. I guess so did model Alana Zimmer (right) because she lists it as “her favorite flawless skin secrets”.
All Dr. Alkaitis skin care products are created only from organically grown or wild-crafted plants without the use of synthetics and are aloe– rather than water-based. This nourishing oil has a base of virgin cold pressed organic oils of organic Jojoba, St. John’s wort and Andean Mountain Rose Hip Seed oil. In this base, the following organic and wild-crafted herbs are added: Indian Madder, Country Sarsaparilla, Amazon Root, Liquorice, Country Mallow, Tumeric, China Root, Costus, White Sandalwood, Cuscus Grass, Olive, Eagle Wood, Nut Grass, Bermuda Grass and Ashwagandha. Also added are a full spectrum of Vitamin E complex and a blend of 100% pure essential oils.
Tip For Acne and Oily Skin: Due to the high quality and natural oils in Dr. Alkaitis oils, it actually helps to balance oily and acne prone skin. Massage a few drops of the Dr. Alkaitis Nourishing Treatment Oil on your cleansed skin and over time, this also will help with acne scars. It is anti bacterial and does NOT clog pores.This is a great product to help those on accutane, which really dries out your skin.
Pros:
It is magically absorbed into my skin leaving it soft, treated and supple in the morning
It smells wonderful, rich but natural and not artificial
It is an oil so the texture feels like an oil so not a lot has to be used, it comes in a 4 fl oz bottle for $60 sold at Dr. Alkaitis. I have used it all winter on my face and barely used 15% of the bottle. If you use it for your hair or body, it is supposed to last two months
This Treatment Oil is perfect for pregnant women in helping to prevent stretch marks
This product is natural and organic, chemical free so it can be used on pregnant women or anyone who does not want additional chemicals in their skin or hair
Cons
It is not a drug store item or for those an a very tight budget
The effects are more natural, not harsh or drastic
I love food, and I love to see people’s enthusiasm about food. Well certain kind of people and certain kind of food. Anyway, I come across Chantal's post on her experiment in making chocolate-dipped strawberries, and felt it’s a good post to share with all you lovely readers. How do you make yours? Do you like to experiment with the ways you make them?
This is a fairly “guarded” collection. I dropped by Nordstrom yesterday but I was not allowed to touch it. What? Anyway, two of our Shimz, Mona and Em, have swatched it for us. Em swatched all but the nail lacquers on the back of his hand, while Mona tried the lipstick and nails. Coincidentally, both speak highly of “Blooming Lovely” lipstick. Some photos are below:
from Em
Left to right: Petals & Peacocks, Blooming Lovely, Bubbles, Metal Maven, and Riveting
Our Shimz Kim Porter and her big eye for style definitely ranks her as finding the best of the best on a regular basis.
This time is on nails. Kim swatched for us China Glaze’s “For Audrey”, an Tiffany blue and OPI’s “Jade is the New Black”. Very true to the color they look in the bottle. I personally prefer the China Glaze, green colored nails can be a bit hard to stomach. You?
Kim Porter discusses how most everyone has a signature smell. That one smell that people associate with you when you walk in a room has often been known as your signature smell. Which is the one smell that you have chosen to be associated with. But, Kim admits to having three. And in this post, she talks about her all time favorites Insolence by Guerlaine.
She thinks that this is definitely what purple smells like to her. What do you think? Is that how purple smells to you too?