Happy Thursday! Also happy first day of June! I personally never feel like it is truly summer until June hits. One of my favorite things about summer is the fact that it is officially sandal weather! Growing up in Miami and then going to school in Arizona I never had to deal with snow and really the cold for extended periods of time. Since I never had to deal with this in the past it was always sandal weather, but now since living in New York City I get excited for the time of year that it really matters if you have a pedicure. This is the time you get to show off your personality with your toe polish and what better way to start summer off with National Nail Polish Day!!! I have been known amongst my friends to be an expert when it comes to nail polishes. There was once a quiz online to name all the names of different brands of polishes and needless to say I got a 100%. Some of my favorite brands include Essie, OPI, Tom Ford and Chanel. I personally wear Essie and OPI more than most because you can buy majority of their colors at your local drug stores. I usually purchase my polishes after one wear of them because 1. I want to make sure that I like it and 2. If I mess up my nails or chip them I can fix it on my own without having to go back to the nail salon. During summer I love to wear the lighter colors like Essie – Fiji, Essie – Go Ginza, OPI – Why Can’t We Be Friends and OPI – Alpine Snow. Also its not a rule that you have to match your toes to your hands. I always do a gel polish on my hands except for the off week that I put the nail strengthener on so it never truly matches the normal nail polish colors. Go out now and get a bottle of nail polish and help celebrate National Nail Polish Day with a fresh manicure and pedicure. <3
Sunday Hair Care
Happy Sunday! Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend and is preparing for the week ahead of them. Now since living in New York City I have noticed a big change in my hair. I went from living in Miami to Arizona to then going back to Miami briefly before New York. I color my hair often, but I always make sure that I don’t do things that will truly damage it beyond repair. Up until a year ago I used to do the Keratin hair treatment in order to make it easier to blow dry my hair and also have less frizz. It was very helpful when I lived in Florida with all the humidity and in Arizona because my hair would dry within minutes, but when once I moved to NYC my new hair colorist told me to stop doing it. She told me that because of the type of ombre I was doing that the keratin was causing my ends to look more yellow than frosted blonde. Once she told me that I noticed it myself and I couldn’t believe that I didn’t notice it until now. She also told me that she tells all her clients who are blonde not to do the keratin treatment for the fact that it affects the coloring of their hair. It is different when you are doing it on someone who has an all over brown hair color because it isn’t noticeable. Another thing she taught me was especially during winter that a lot of hair gets very dry due to the cold and that once a week I should do a deep conditioning masques. Especially since as I said I do color my hair about every 8 – 9 weeks. The products she suggested have forever changed my hair. There are two different products that I use on rotation once a week. For the week after I get my hair colored I always use the BB mending masque which as it says on the bottle is for the (truly) damaged hair. It helps my hair after it is colored to not automatically feel like I just damaged it by all the hair dye. The other masque I use is BB quenching masque for the (terribly) thirsty. This I use on the weeks that I feel like my hair is feeling super dry and that happens often during the winter. After using this I lightly blow dry my hair and honestly my hair looks like I just stepped out of a salon it’s AMAZING!!! Currently at Bumble and Bumble if you buy two products you get the third one FREE! Head over now if you have the chance and pick up these masque for your hair this winter. Hope everyone has a great Sunday and especially a great hair day! <3
The Best Moisturizer For Your Dry Skin
Happy Thursday! Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but growing up in Florida I always wore sunscreen, but once I went to school in Arizona and then moving to New York I have had to do more than that. Especially with the changing seasons in New York, I noticed that my skin would get very dry, particularly my legs. I have tried probably every trick in the book. There were articles that said by shaving at night and at the end of your shower, and with a specific shaving cream with baby powder helped with dry skin. The result:the baby powder shaving cream y does help, but not enough if you shave your legs everyday. I also tried using a loofa and scrubs on my legs once a week thinking that it would relieve the dry skin. The result:the loofa helped, but then my legs would be so red after scrubbing them that I felt like I was peeling off so many layers of skin it hurt. The answer to this is to find an unscented lotion that has coconut oil in it. Coconut oil is honestly the best thing ever! I use it to cook, but it also helps with sunburns and with dry skin. Depending on the day and what I have going on, if I am staying in for the day post morning workout, then after I shower I pat dry my legs so they aren’t fully dry and then apply the lotion all over my legs and feet. Yes you heard me, I said feet too. After that, I put on a thick pair of socks and sweatpants. I do wait a few minutes to let the moisturizer set in and I have noticed a tremendous change in my skin. If you live somewhere that it is warm out then I recommend finding a lotion that has no scent, but also has SPF in it. My face moisturizer has SPF in it. It is very important to protect your skin. This is the one skin that you have for your life and you want to make sure that it is well taken care of. Hope everyone has a great day <3
How To Keep Your Nails Healthy
Happy Marathon Day for anyone living in New York City! On Sunday’s I like to relax and take care of whatever I need to for the following week. One of the things that I am very diligent about is getting my nails done. My parents always told me that the next thing that anyone sees after your face is your hands. The last thing you want is someone who you are trying to get a job from looking down at your hands to see them not groomed! Some people would disagree with me, but even one of my teachers in college and graduate school told me that they 100% agree with this. My graduate school teacher told me he didn’t hire someone partially because their nails looked like they had been through a war zone and didn’t feel like the employee would be a good representation for their brand. Personally, I am a huge gel manicure fan. The day that it came out when I was college I was hooked. I was always that girl that would somehow ruin my manicure even before I left the nail salon so this was the best solution to that. However, over the years the gel polish has gotten better for your nails, but still it does wreak havoc on them over time. I personally wait 3 weeks in between my gel manicures, but a week before I get my gel manicure I take off my gel polish at home. This gives my nails a break from the gel polish but also time to get stronger. To take them off I buff them with a nail file and then I take aluminum foil which I have already cut into small squares and place one around the bottom of my finger. After that i use half a cotton ball soaked in acetone and put on the top of my nail. Cover up the nail and let it soak for about 10 minutes. If the gel polish is done right it will come off 1 – 2 – 3. After that I take it off with one of those sticks that they use when you get your manicure to clean off the edges. After this I wash my hands with soap and water and dry them and then I proceed to do the other hand. I only do one hand at a time so if I need to do something the other hand is free. After both hands are done I then buff and file my nails. After that I apply a base coat on that is meant to strengthen your nails. I personally love either the OPI or Essie base just depends on your preference. If you hate having no color on your nails find a pale pink that with one coat it will look like you have polish, but won’t be able to tell if it is not perfect. Then apply a top coat and let it dry for a while. Having a simple coat of polish until your gel will allow your nails to truly heal and I have also learned that it helps the next time you put your gel polish on. I also like removing my gel polish at home because nail salons, especially in New York City, charge an arm and a leg to do it. Hope you all have a great Sunday and for all of those who are running the marathon good luck and hope you all aren’t too sore tomorrow :-).
My Beauty Routine with Noxzema Facewash
The skin on your face is the first thing that everyone sees and you need to take extra special care of it. I do the traditional facial once every 6 weeks, but in between then I always make sure to take great care of my skin. With working out so much, I have had to change up a lot of my skincare routine to take into consideration of how much perspiration my body was releasing. I asked my mom what she uses because- I won’t tell you her age- but her skin is FLAWLESS! She told me to go to the store and see if they had any Noxzema products. I went to CVS and found that they had a daily scrub and a night time crème face wash. I purchased both of them thinking I would use the scrub every morning after I work out and the night time crème wash at night. My facialist started to notice a change in my skin for the better and she asked me what products I was using. When I told her Noxzema she smiled and said “your mom told you to use that didn’t she?” I said “yes how did you know?” She told me that Noxzema products had been around for years and that a lot of women older than me use them. She said they are amazing products and to continue to use them. She was surprised that someone as young as me was using them already. One of my favorites things is to take the nighttime crème and make a mask on my face. It doesn’t say that is meant to be used as a mask but I have been using cotton pads and make a thick layer over my entire face. Then I let it dry and you will notice that it does dissolve a lot on your skin so it looks like it is even on your face. After about 10 minutes I take a warm wash cloth and I wipe it off my face. My skin feels moisturized and so soft after this, its amazing! If you haven’t tried any of their products yet go to the store now and pick up some and try it out for yourself.
(images taken from google and target.com)
Hair Color Anonymous
Here is a little secret about me: I am a natural brunette, not just any brunette, but a dark haired brunette. Now that is something that surprises most people after meeting me because the majority of my life I have had some sort of blonde coloring in it, but to their disbelief I am a natural dark haired brunette. I have done every color you can think of…blonde highlights, all over brown, honey brown, ombre, platinum blonde, honey blonde, and even grey. Yes I did try the grey trend on my hair for one month, but for anyone wanting to try this it does not stay in your hair very long even when using purple hair shampoo. Purple hair shampoo is what I was told to use to keep the grey in longer, but it faded very quickly. Despite trying various colors, , I always seem to go back to the ombre hair color. The benefit of the ombre is that since my hair is so dark naturally even when it grows out you can’t really tell, it still looks great.. hen I had all the blonde highlights or even the platinum blonde I would have to get my hair colored more often because my roots would show, but with ombre they don’t so the upkeep is easier and cheaper. When picking a new hair color it’s always best to trust your colorist. Regardless if I may say I want my hair to get this blonde or this color my colorist always tells me what is realistic and what will not kill my hair. Yes, hair always grows back, but as you get older your hair changes and the last thing you want to do is ruin your hair. Take care of it. My biggest suggestion if you get your hair colored as often as I do (I go every 8 weeks) is to ask for a conditioning treatment before you leave the hair salon.