Wavy Hiar Tutorial

  Big Wavy Hair that Lasts All Day 

I know, from personal experience, that getting your hair to have that perfect balance of effortless and glam can be tricky. After a ton of trial and error I have cracked the code. No more Curly Sue curls that look like the 'do that our moms gave us for picture day in the 80's. No more soft waves that fall out by the time you hit the doorman at the club. No more crispy, crunchy waves from our over use of extra strong hairspray in desperation to keep our waves from falling out. 

These easy steps paired with a good quality HOT curling wand or curling iron ALWAYS does the trick... Keep in mind that you should curl away from your face and only spray a little "flexible hold" hairspray. Or a "finishing spray" after all your curls are in place. After a brush with a paddle brush, those curls turn to flawless wavy hair. 

 

1) Brush out any tangles

2) Section hair

3) Take 1-2" sections of hair 

4) Curl sections away from face... for my length I wrap hair around a 1" curling wand 3 times. 

5) Repeat

6) Straighten bangs and top of hair to smooth out the overall look

7) Finish curling

8) Spay with a "flexible hold" hairspray 

9) When hair is completely cool, take a paddle brush and softly brush out any big curls. 

10) Go out and party. 

Naturally whiten teeth at home

 How to Naturally Whiten your Teeth at Home 

So many people ask me how I keep my smile so white. Years ago I used the crest white strips but my teeth became oober sensitive. When living in LA, my best friend who is also a dental assistant shared with me that hydrogen peroxide is one of the main ingredients in teeth whiteners. She said if I rinsed with it, I should get some pretty stellar results without the sensitivity. So I tried..... and IT WORKED!

Years later that is what I am STILL doing. Every night before bed I...
1) Floss
2) Brush my teeth with "Tom's of Maine toothpaste" with my electrical toothbrush
3) Rinse my mouth for about 30sec-1min (depending on how much it foams up) with "Tom's of Maine mouthwash" AND hydrogen Peroxide! I mix the mouthwash and the hydrogen peroxide, about 1/2 and 1/2. Hydrogen peroxide taste pretty foul on its own that's why I mix it.

THAT'S IT!  I do this every night before bed, and the health of my teeth and gums have never been better AND my teeth have never been this white for this long with any teeth whitening kit.

   

 Pumpkin Patch Time! 

Even if you aren't going to carve a pumpkin you can still go to the pumpkin patch. Instead of the traditional carving, I think we will be "decorating" our pumpkins instead. We found this local pumpkin patch that was beyond legit. It had 11 blow up bouncies and just enough pumpkins to make you feel like you are at a real patch of pumpkins. Levi ran around until he was out of breathe and then he played in the hey on the ground. 

There is something so magical when you are a kid and you are surrounded by thousands of pumpkins. And the same for us, the magic happens for us when we see our kids running around with giant smiles. There is no better feeling in the world than when your child is happy. <3   

 

  Fresh Faced Makeup  

All moms are used to this kind of day off; laundry, nap time for baby, Target, Trader Joe's, Starbucks drive thru while singing and clapping like a circus monkey all to make your little one giggle in the back, clean the house, make dinner and get everyone washed and ready for bed, pack lunches, then try to get 15 min to relax before laying in bed planning all the stuff you will cram into your next day off. Wheeew! If that run on sentence didn't make you run out of breathe, trying doing all of the above with a 30lb 1.5 year old who hates his stroller. 

We have all seen those moms at Target who look completely defeated. Trust me, as a new mom, I have been there plenty of times. BUT I can't help but notice the eye rolling and smirks those particular moms give to those moms who look like they have it all together... ie; cute outfit, makeup on, composed beautiful children and a smile. Do you think the mom who seem to have it all together is happier because she has found that extra 15 min to put on a spot of makeup and throw on a casual but cute outfit?! Is the sad, grumpy mom just jealous? Well being on both sides of that spectrum this last year, I would say, YES. 

With that being said, we can all find that extra few minutes to make ourselves happier and more put together. I bet your husband won't mind either. My simple and quick makeup tips make you look fresh faced and awake, even when you aren't. 

1) Mix Arbonne liquid perfecting foundation with the Arbonne primer 

2) Use a flat kabuki brush to buff onto your skin

3) Apply a concealer 1-2 shades lighter that your skin underneath your eyes and on the top of your cheek bones. Then blend out with fingers.

4) Apply a peachy or light pink blush to the apples of your cheeks and brush backwards toward your ears. This will make you look fresh and awake.

5) *optional* apply a matte bronzer on the border of hairline and along jaw

6) Quick coat of black mascara will open up your eyes

7) *optional* fill in brows to your liking.

8) Apply a tinted lip balm or lip gloss to polish it off.  

    

Music I Am Obsessing Over

I am obsessed with music, mostly of the electric, robot, flying unicorn on a rocket sort. These three songs have been on repeat for a week now. Hope you enjoy! Happy dancing!  

 Broods "Bridges" 

 Tritonal & Cristina Soto "Stil with Me" (Seven Lions Remix) 

 Michael Brun & Zashanell "Halfway" 

 A quest: Finding the perfect NUDE lipstick 

A friend called me up today asking "super weird question, how do I find the right nude lipstick? I always get one that is too dark or too light!" I laughed because we have all been there and it wasn't a dumb question at all. "Nude" is a broad name for an array of colors. If you think about it, theres hundreds of skin types and tones. So "nude" isn't one exact color, think of it as a color range. If you are fair with pink undertones you will wear a different nude than a girl who has medium olive skin tone. So the quest begins, finding the right nude for YOU! 

So I would suggest you go try them on before you buy. The darker your skin, the darker your nude lipstick will be. And vise versa, If you are like casper, then... you know you need a very light neutral tone nude. Pick nudes that will compliment you skin tone.

...SKIN...

Warm; think yellow, green undertones

Neutral; think peach undertones (not yellow or red)

Cool; think blue and red undertones

...LIPSTICKS...

Warm; light caramel to beige 

Neutral; light baby pink to apricot

Cool; think blush to mauve

 TOO FACED Melted lipstick in NUDE $21 

  MAC Viva Galm II lipstick $16 

 Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in 

 Liar, Native, Naked or  Naked2 $22 

   

Today... only 79 degrees AND it almost felt like fall! As temperatures and eagerness to diet fade, it's time to update our wardrobe. Swap out those itsy bitsy bikinis & bum baring high waisted shorts for a pair of leggings, flannel and fedora. Whilst sipping on my iced pumpkin spice latte I started to jot down (mentally of course) my Fall essentials this year. Fashion trends change more than Kylie Jenner's hair color. So I am going to take full advantage of it this year because I LOVE THE 90'S. The juxtaposition of glam and grunge make for an uber easy hip wardrobe.

 1. SIMPLE BLACK LEGGINGS 

 2. PLAID LIGHTWEIGHT BUTTON UP 

  3. CHUNKY BLACK BOOTIES 

 4. WIDE BRIM FEDORA  

 5. OVERSIZED STRIPED T-SHIRT  

 6. BLACK LEATHER MOTO JACKET 

These 6 Fall essentials can be as inexpensive or as expensive as you want. I always opt for quality staple pieces like leggings and boots and save on pieces that may or may not be in style next season. I know what you are thinking... why all black?!? These pieces build a wardrobe so you can add color. Fall wardrobes are at their best when they include, burgundy, mustard, olive, grey, white and camel. Each color can be warn together in conjunction with your black pieces. Add a few dainty stacked gold necklaces and I guarantee you will look put together and start turning heads.

Happy Shopping!
A  

My favorite booties:

Sam & Libby "Deanna Heel bootie" (Black) $44.99

www.target.com

Jeffrey Campbell "Ardmore platform ankle boot" $129.99

www.Urbanoutfitters.com

My favorite leggings:

Lorna Jane "Amy full length tight" $99.99

www.lornajane.com

Ahhhhh, Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkins, cool weather, legging and BOOTS... it must be Fall! My favorite time of year and most exciting when it comes to fashion, in my opinion. Booties are a fun way to dress up any fall outfit.  Ditch your worn out chucks for this season and opt for a cute boot. It adds that extra "umph" to your outfit that will make you stand out when going out for drinks after work.

Learning when to splurge or save .... the struggle is real.  But Target, oh Target.... they got our backs. When deciding when to splurge or save, take a look at these doops for Jeffrey Campbell's, and other high end brands.

 All of these fabulous booties are from Target and most are under $50!!!!! I have a pair from last season and they are so comfy and they still look new. I am beyond impressed with Targets boots this year. So go grab your Pumpkin spice latte and go shop!

Love,
A

 1990 Kylie Jenner Lip 

So Kylie Jenner's not so new lip color, circa 1990, is back! .... but who cares, right? She looks awesome and everyone is getting back on that 90's bandwagon. This brownish, mauve-ish MATTE nude is on every girls makeup wish list now. Here are some of my favorites to achieve that sexy Kylie lip.

1) MAC "whirl" lipliner; use alone to pencil in entire lip, or use underneath a lipstick.

2) MAC cream stick lip liner in "Buerre" 

3) MAC "Viva Glam II" lipstick; use alone or on top of lipliner.

4) Arbonne, "Mocha" lipliner  

5) Too Faced melted liquid lipstick in nude (with slightly darker lipliner underneath)  

6) Too Faced Perfect Lips Lipliner  in "Perfect Spice"

Application tip: Slightly overdraw your lips. It helps if you use your own lip shape BUT over draw near the bottom of your bottom lip AND if you overdraw and round out your cupids bow. 

Have fun,

A

Pop Art Halloween

Halloween, my favorite holiday, is quickly approaching. The hardest decision of the season is WHAT TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN?!? Well if you run out of time this pop art makeup is pretty easy and you only need a few products and the finish product is striking... people will be asking to get a pic with you all night!

What you need:

White cream makeup

black NYX jumbo pencil

everyday makeup

                                       

                                     

Happy Halloweenie,

A