7 Steps to The Beach Hair Look

The hottest new summer hair style for medium to long length hair is sporting the look of hair that has been at the beach all day, kissed by the perfect breeze and sunlight. Hair stylist Wesley with Free people is featured in a YouTube tutorial teaching these 7 easy steps for Beach Hair. While there are many variations by stylist to achieve this tousled look, Wesley’s is easy to follow and gives fantastic results that last. Grab a curling iron (small barrel), thickening spray, sectioning clips, light dry hair spray, texturizing spray and a blow dryer.

1. Start with dry unwashed hair, and run fingers from top to bottom to gently separate any tangles. Clean hair is not recommended for this style, best results are obtained by up to 3 days of no washing.

2. Use a good thickening spray, Aussie products make a great one, as well as Garnier Fructis. Work thickening spray through with your hands, with a blow dryer do a quick rough dry to set the spray in. This step gives the hair lift and texture.

3. This step calls for your small barreled curling iron. Take small sections of hair starting with the front and clip into sections. First loosely curl any hairs left out of sections ,than curl hair in front sections one at a time away from the face. Don’t curl all the way to the ends for a more natural look. The idea is to loosely curl to keep natural and around face only curl away from face, curling towards closes face into a boxed look.

4. In the back of head you can curl in any direction, Wesley suggests you rotate from curling to the back and than to the front. Remember not to curl to the ends.

5. Take a light dry spray and use it all through the hair. Run your fingers through hair, this gives grip and set’s your curls.

6. Wesley recommends a good texturizing spray for this step like Bumble and Bumble, available at www.bumbleandbumble.com . This gives the hair a dry texture as if you have been to the beach. Spray it in well to dampen all of the hair with the product. This allows the curls to fall and by using your hands to scrunch until product drys you will have the most natural effect.

7. The last step is to turn head upside down and shake to give fullness. Flip head up and use fingers to adjust face framing pieces and off you go.

Follow Wesley’s 7 easy tips for fooling the girls into thinking you just left the beach with a great natural hair style. Enjoy your summer with this fun tousled look!

5 Tips on a Budget for Looking Younger

We all want younger looking skin and the latest products to help us maintain our appearance.  The cost of these  products could really break the bank! A few simple tips though can keep you looking great and holding on to your pay checks much longer.

1. Lipsticks work best on conditioned/moisturized lips. Buying a favorite shade plus a moisturizing primer could cost over $20.00.  Use chapstick or a plumper like Carmex under your lipsticks at an average price of $2.00 and what a remarkable savings for the same ingredients.  Also applying  a moisturizer like A&D Ointment or  Blistex (in the blue container) every night will help keep your lips moist and plumped.

2. Vitamin E oil is one  the top ingredients listed in facial moisturizers, this is one product that can be very expensive. Purchase of a jar of vitamin E oil  at a fraction of the cost of facial creams. A small amount of this oil is all that is needed on wrinkles. This oil is great applied to lips at night as well.

3. Don’t discard old mascaras, once they dry out they are perfect for eye brows. The brush, on light or thin brows, adds color and a fuller appearance. This trick saves money on the purchase of expensive pencils and looks more natural then drawing in a pencil line.   This is the cheap way around purchasing Lancome’s Brow Control which is $22.

4. Lipstick used as blush is so smart, one small dab on apple of the cheek, blended well, will  last longer and looks more natural then brushed on powder. While out and about lipstick won’t crack in your purse like a powder blush can after  bouncing around all day inside your purse. Some shades look fantastic as an eye shadow. One stick in the right shade can go a long way!   This is not a new concept.  Benefit Cosmetics has Benetint which is the same concept.  Before Benetint they had the perfect shade for my lips and cheeks.  But, alas, it has been discontinued.  Benetint will set you back $28.

5. Creams for redness and irritation are expensive as well as some requiring a prescription to obtain. Milk is the perfect solution. Milk ( 2% or higher) contains proteins, fat, amino acids, and vitamin A which all aid in the reduction of irritation and redness. Try this milk face mask for rejuvenating dry skin:  Mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 3 TBSP of milk and 1TBSP of honey.  After washing your face, apply the mask to face and neck and rub gently.  Relax and leave on skin for 20 minutes.  Rinse face with warm water and pat dry.

Five simple tips that have you saving money and looking sensational, now that is simply fabulous!

How To – Do Your Own Updo’s

March is such the perfect month for a vacation. Do you think it’s all those years of school and waiting for spring break?   I can’t think of any easier vacation than taking a cruise. No cooking or cleaning and everyone waits on YOU.  All you have to do is show up and look good for dinner. If you cruise on a ship that has formal dining, you’ll see lots of updo’s that gals paid heavily for in the salon.  I hate to pay that kind of money for an evening “out” on the ship.  And really, why should we?  With some expert advice and a little practice I think we can pull it off.  I love the first do, the topsy tail.  So, from our friends at SpinDaily, check out the video.  I am off on my Mexican “Riviera” cruise…

How to Get Soft Natural Curls

So the 80’s passed with the curly perms.  Then came the straightening period.  Now it seems that natural, soft, wavy curls are all over the models.  OK – they are NOT natural.  They are styled and you too can have them with a little patience and a curling iron.  It seems the key to having a more natural looking curl whle using a curling iron, is to wrap the hair around the barrel rather than to clamp and roll the hair.  Check out the video for full instructions.  If you are used to wearing your hair straight try adding a soft wave for a fun and flirty holiday look.

Over 40 and Fabulous

This has been a popular headline with so many actresses over 40 looking just fabulous at the Emmys.  It’s true that 40 may be the new 30.  According to 60 Minutes correspondent Andy Rooney, he values women over 40 most of all. Here were a few of his reasons:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask,’What are you thinking?’ She doesn’t care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn’t want to watch the game, she doesn’t sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it’s usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won’t hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it’s like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They’ll tell you right off if you are a jerk, if you are acting like one. You don’t ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it’s not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffe d, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, ‘Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?’, here’s an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Women have so much more confidence in their 40’s and a better sense of what they want or need in their life.  BUT, let’s face it, our faces and our figures probably give us away as “over 40″.  Yes the 40 year old stars look awesome but most of us don’t have access to airbrushed makeup and hair stylists every day.  Not to mention the amount of money that is spent on Botox, Juvederm, Implants, Photofacials, etc. I hate to say that on many days I go out looking like a before photo.  Thank God no one is around to snap pictures and publish them. But the point here is, don’t be so hard on yourself.  The stars do not walk around looking like themselves either.  When you need a lift, put on that extra makeup and SMILE!  and if you need to check out some more stars without their makeup just to feel more secure, go to stars-without-makeup and remember that even Andy Rooney values women over 40 because they are sexier, forthright, honest and dignified!