Get a Glowing Complexion

It's getting close to that time of year again, ladies. Time to begin exfoliating and getting some much-needed color on those pretty faces of yours. How should you do it? Never fear, I've got a step-by-step explaining how to take your face from drab to fab.

For a gorgeously glowing complexion:
Step 1: EXFOLIATE
There are several ways to do this effectively, depending on your budget and your preference.

Revision Brightening Facial Wash and a Mia Clarisonic device.


Step 2: MOISTURIZE
Ensure that your skin is as healthy as your glow shows - here are several products that will help:

• Skinfo Vita Lite Moisturizer, packing a rich blend of antioxidant vitamins A, C, E, green tea extract and coenzyme Q-10 to quash aging free radicals before they reach your skin.
  
• Intraceuticals Rejuvenate Daily Serum plus Antioxidant Booster to revitalize dull skin and improve elasticity.

Step 3: SMOOTH ON SELF-TANNER
Skip the embarrassing streaks with Dermaquest DermaGlow Self Tanner- Face—the self-tanning ingredient Erythrulose promises a gradual and even tan. Plus, advanced liposome technology repairs and prevents UV-induced DNA damage.

Vani-T Bronzing Silk ( more on this next!)

Trendy Little Twistbands

I'm a frequent pony-tail wearer. Especially at the end of the day or on weekends. I end up wearing them on my wrists while my hair is down, and let me tell you, that is not a good look - for anyone!

Twistbands are cute! But even better than how they look on your wrist is how they treat your hair - gently. These sure cute Twistbands will not pull on your baby fine or super curly hair, nor will they leave a huge dent in your hair like other hair bands. So when you're ready to let your hair down, no one will know you had it up earlier. Hooray! Birchbox is offering an exclusive set of Twistbands, like the picture shown here. A little more expensive, but in my opinion, worth the extra cost.

Check it out:Twistband 12-Pack

Heat Stylin'

There's nothing I love more than leaving the salon and having shiny, sleek hair. I watch them work their magic every time I'm there, but it's always disappointing when I have tried to recreate that look at home. Until now. Hello Redken Satinwear 02! This little gem is perfect to put on the lower half of your hair before blow drying to keep it looking like you just left the salon. And really, is there anything more we can ask for? There's nothing like the feeling of confidence I have when I leave the salon looking great. Being able to reproduce this feeling at home is almost better. Almost :)

Satinwear 02 is easy to find in salons or the big box beauty stores and it's reasonably priced. Just make sure you dry your hair completely - that is the key - if you leave moisture in your hair, all bets are off. Take that from someone who has learned the hard way!
Redken Satinwear 02

Happy New Year!

I hope each and every one of you rang in the New Year in your own perfect way! I believe it will be lucky 2013 to bring about many people's dreams, passions and desires. So here's to you and yours - let's go get it!

Scream Worthy Salon Experiences

How do you handle leaving the salon looking nothing like you'd hoped? The color is no where close to they picture you discussed - the style is laughable.

How do cope?

First, check your hair out in natural light - those salon lights are better for working, not for showing your true color. Step out into the sun. You'll be surprised how different the color looks in natural lighting.

As far as the cut & style: while you can't reattach hair that's already been cut, you CAN go home and style your hair yourself. I cannot tell you how often I have left the salon and went straight home to style my hair myself. And that's OK!

But if you still aren't happy with your color or your cut after a day or so, go back! Let them make it right - it is they job and most take pride in their work. They want you to be happy!

Meaningful Beauty

Ok let's face it, ladies. We should all be so fortunate to look like Cindy Crawford - my lord, does that woman ever age?? It just doesn't seem fair to the rest of us, does it?

Well, when a box of her line of skincare Meaningful Beauty arrived at my doorstep to review, I must confess, I sorta snubbed my nose at it at first. After all the celebrities who have smacked their name on label for this or that, I just wasn't sold.

So the poor box sat. And sat. And occasionally, I'd open it up and see what Cindy had to say about her miraculous products filled with this rare melon extract. And then I'd close it back up and go back to whatever I was using at the time.

And it's not that I have "bad" skin or "troubled" skin - but I want that "lit from within" skin. So a few nights ago, as I was taking inventory of my stock in my bathroom, deciding what to keep and what to toss, I decided to give Meaningful Beauty a try.

This is what true love feels like! I look forward to washing my face everyday now - this formula removes makeup without causing my skin to become stripped. Skin just feels clean and soft after using.
Combine that with the Créme de Serum, Skin Brightening Décolleté and Neck Treatment SPF 15 and my oh my will your skin feel amazing.  I can't speak to the anti-wrinkle effects of the line, as I don't have any wrinkles, but I will say that your skin will feel healthy and moisturized while using this line and that, I believe, is half the battle!

I did not encounter any sensitivity issues nor did I break out at all while using Meaningful Beauty - in fact, I noticed a decline in hormonal breakouts! I would definitely recommend this line to anyone looking to change up their skin care routine.

Moringa What?

No really. What is Moringa, you ask? It's an oil, from the seeds of the Moringa tree. And it does amazing things for your hair. Matrix has bottled the Moringa Oil in a treatment called ExquisiteOil that is good for any hair type and provides several proved benefits:

The ExquisiteOil Replenishing Treatment alone can be used to:

1. MASSAGE before shampooing for a smoothing treatment.
2. RESTORE dry mid-lengths and ends for immediate luster.
3. REPLENISH extra-dry ends by using as an overnight treatment.*
4. DETANGLE after shampooing for additional manageability.
5. PROTECT during blow-drying or prior to flat ironing for softness and shine.

* When using as an overnight treatment, wrap hair to avoid transfer.
 

You can also combine Matrix ExquisiteOil Replenishing Treatment to other Conditioners and Masques to:

1. CUSTOMIZE with any Biolage treatment for added brilliance, softness and manageability.
2. ENHANCE 3-step service by adding to either Micro-Oil Shampoo or Oil Crème Conditioner.