highlights!

highlights are serious business.. a friend of mine gets the best highlights ever.. well she has changed salons quiet a few times and finally settled with aveda. even though she gets the same thing done she still takes a cut out of the hair color she need. Its basicallya picture of a firl with hair that my friend wants. The process is time consuming can go from 10 min to 5 hrs! but she has awsome hair so i guess its worth it.
My friend gets her hair dyed first then gets highlights and lowlights to get a more complete and natural look. But the right highlights really do help bring forward a skin tone that complements you.

The thing ive noticed is most people just try to explain what they want they dont bother to take a picture with them. I know salons have color swatches but its best to have you picture in hand so you can match swatches to what you want then go blindly trying to find a swatch to match your imaginery hair color!

Also always get a trim with your highlights bcz highlights tend to burn the ends.

Let me know if this has helped you any!

you smell good! wanna smell me me??? (johnny bravo you have to luv him!)

sorry haven't written in a while.. but I'm back and will be more regular. now out of curiosity ever wonder what perfume could work out to be your signature scent?

well i have and I've finally mastered my scents for different occasions. at home i use a mix of vanilla and hint of sandalwood mixed body oils on my pulse points after i get out of my shower.

@ work i use princess by Vera Wang its light and yet it lasts on you through the day i just spray a little on my neck and wrists.

for any occasion I'm meeting friends or getting dressed up i put on addict by Dior.

now these scents work for me and the essence either keeps me in a mood that i want to portray myself as in each situation. as women peopl expect us to be mysterious and that's not easy. but perfume has an effect on us that takes us from sexy to happy to just Ive got a headache!

based on our own body perfume last son us. some smell better for longer. but you have to pick a scent and stick to it.

here's a list if scents you can smell and see what works for you.
lavender- relaxing
lemon- uplifting
vanilla- calming
sandalwood- sexy
cocoa- soothing
orange- energizing
rose- romantic
jasmine- romantic
Oceanus- relaxing
yin yang- sexy
cucumber- calming
apple- happy
musk- sexy

now you go to your local body shop store smell out each scent and create your own signature. i have one in a mix of cocoa, vanilla and sandalwood. i vary the strength of each oil on a daily basis depending on my mood. My husband loves how i smell and i like smelling me too. i even like inhaling my clothes! its weird i know. but we all have an animal instinct and smell is one instinct women don't employ enough. We should all have a signature scent something that empowers us and lets us feel good about ourselves.

Let me know what is your signature scent. is it something you created using body oils or is it a specific perfume?

something short and sweet

i was just surfing the net and came across this most fascinating article pointing to a vintage beauty book. i mean here is a book by a princess who is sharing royal beauty tips, as well as beauty tips of foreign top models and Sophia Lauren!
the style of the book is very Paris Hilton and is a very entertaining read.

name of the book: The Beautiful People's Beauty Book was written by Princess Luciana Pignatelli

i mean who wouldn't want advice by a woman who works out in her bikini and takes advice from Parisian homosexuals, royalty, models and Sophia Lauren!

this is a true collectors item for everyone. and just a really hilarious take on beauty.

some advice in the book:

On skincare:
"An excellent astringent mask, the rage a few years ago with Paris homosexuals, is this: Take the white of one egg, a teaspoon of the best olive oil, beat, apply for 20 minutes. Remove with a hot face towel, lace trim optional."

love the lace trim comment! i am purchasing the book on amazon. you can too :)

acne scars or marks treatment

a friend of mine recently had a massive attack of acne. so she did the triple combo got a birth control advised by her gynecologist, took skin medication by a dermatologist and had acne treatment facials done by aveda beauty school.

so now that her acne has cleared up she is dealing with acne marks. and well the recommendations made by friends are ones that are cheap but also what they swear cleared all their marks.



so here are the suggestions:

• one friend recommended going to the obagi clinic this is pricey but the clinic specializes in helping people get flawless skin. and most celebs use their products.


• another friend recommended mixing sandalwood powder bought online with water and putting the paste on your skin till it dries up.

they both used sunblock constantly, even at home to prevent acne scars from getting darker.

and used a foundation called cover derm. they said it can be found online and actually works better than neutrogena and mineral make up because it gives a smoother finish. and helps acne calm down.

i thought it a good idea to share this as many people suffer from acne marks once their acne clears up. if any of you have suggestions that work for you. do post them.

beauty treatment at bargain prices.

so i was having this discussion with friends about which beauty schools are good for what service and turns out.

regency beauty school offers the mani-pedi spa treatment from $20 upwards now that's a good deal usually the cheapest you can get is a pedi and that too for $18.

aveda beauty school offers the best facials starting $30 and up.

eye brows and upper lip cleaning can be most cheaply done by finding a south Asian lady (Indian/Pakistani) providing beauty treatments from home. they offer mostly threading which in most cases better than waxing because it doesn't tear the skin. (the lady in my neighbourhood does both my eyebrows and upper lip cleaning for $15; and that seems to be the going rate.)

aveda beauty school also offers the best basic haircuts and dye jobs. starting at $50 and up. they do a gr8 haircut and basic highlights. i don't recommend using a beauty school for highlighting hair i say stick to your regular salon.

a few tips to find contentment or peace without therapy!

i know we all lead busy lives. work, friends, dates, husbands, babies, house chores, chores, etc...
but you need to take a breather for yourself sometimes. no friends, no cell phones and no family.
this sounds like heaven but how? here's a list of five things i do and suggest you try to just feel content and happy with life.

1. mani-pedi. (go alone, just enjoy the quiet and feel pampered)
2. go for a walk around your block or to the nearest park. ( the park is just across my house so this works out great)
3. no need to tivo your shows if its on abc, showtime or most channels check if they have a website that plays their full episodes. and log on and watch that episode with a good cuppa when its a good time for you. you can even do this while in the kitchen and making sure that new recipe that should bake for only 20 mins isnt burnt toast! also its easier if you dont have the added stress of remembering to tivo.
4. a good book before you go to bed. some times your in bed and cant sleep. well read a good book, you will fall asleep and it will relax you.
5. sometimes well shit happens! and you cant control it. now you have two options either panic and bitch or just realize its happened you can only do damage control not fix it! so stay calm and just go with the flow. losing your head will not help the situation! mostly say this to myself in such a situation. "i can either make peace with this and be content or panic and get all frustrated." its amazing how quickly i calm down as compared to when my husband decides to say' calm down, relax.'

if you have better suggestions. do tell me. i can do with relaxing tips.

what products not to try

well i know people give tons of advice on products to try..but it is always nice to know what not to do.. make life simpler... so here's a list of ten products I steer clear from when in the beauty aisle/ skin care aisle.

1. proactiv: yes i know Jessica Simpson has had success but in most people with oily skin that break out with black heads or acne that is really deep and just has a painful bump on the skin surface for you to feel; this product seems to make the acne worse. it takes their acne from moderate or mild to severe. so try it but if you feel that in two weeks you've got more zits than b4 chuck the kit out and cancel subscription.
2. neutrogena skin id kit: well they say its customized but you know what everyone gets the same products. so its just neutrogena stuff in a new package and more pricey; based on monthly payments your making.
3. boots botanics skin brightening gel (normal/oily skin); this is way to mild. it does nothing to make your skin feel less oily and isn't strong enough to remove impurities. stay away from this. Friends who used it had break outs in a day or two and previously their skin was smooth and flawless. so stay away from this product!
4. origins checks and balances frothy face wash for oily/combination skin. this is better used as a make up remover for those that feel your make up remover is too harsh. follow this by a mild toner i suggest clinique. your skin should feel clean and refreshed but this is not a good cleanser for daily face wash use.
5. acne-spot treatment of any kind: this should only be used at night. apply an hour before going to bed it will either inflame your whitehead or kill it. depending on what stage the acne is in. do not use it during the day that tiny zit you covered in the morning is now a crater! so spot treatments are for the night time. day time i suggest use Revlon's green colored concealer.
6. neutrogena sun block of any SPF level. this sunblock is just too oily. it will clog pores and is difficult to blend. i suggest use aveeno sun block or olay total effects 7 in 1 cream with SPF 15/30. these are milder in oiliness and do not cause sensitive skin to have sudden break out sessions.
7. Burt's bees radiance eye cream it seems to highlight dark circles instead of diminishing them. so unless you plan to sport not one but two shiners i suggest you leave this cream in the aisle.
8. any redness reducing creams that do not have a green tint! that's enough for you to not try this cream. the green tint actually helps cover the redness and make it blend in more with our skin tone.
9. any moisturizer which is tinted yellow or pale yellow. now let me ask do you want to look yellow or sallow in your coloring? I'm guessing no unless well your trying to convince someone your extremely sick. but do not use moisturizers that are yellow tinted classic example clinique dramatic moisturizers its as yellow as they get and notice no celeb ever claims to be using it either. they all use Elizabeth Arden/lancome/la mer skin products all these products have no yellow tinted moisturizers all are the clasic white cream or tinted.
10. last but defiantly not the least. Zeno acne clearing device. this is only good if you have maybe two white heads on your face. not good for treating black heads. and defiantly waste of money if you have severe acne. my friends with severe acne swear its best to just go to the dermatologist. and black heads are best treated by getting an acne facial by a professional beautician ( my suggestion aveda outer peace acne treatment find a aveda school nearby and get the facial done for less than half price or half price depending on acne.)

Got more products that were a nightmare well do tell. we can all use with knowing what products to steer clear of. makes life simpler and beauty simpler!