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Hair

11 Winter Beauty Tips

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1. Try a creamy facial cleanser

Cleansers strip away moisture as part of the job of removing makeup, and dry winter air tends to magnify the problem. Gel cleansers can be very drying, but creamy ones like Dove deep moisture creamy facial cleanser and Neutrogena deep clean cream cleanser should help.

2. Mask the problem

Use a moisturizing facial mask to replenish moisture lost throughout the day.

3. Look for a humidifier

If your skin feels dry and tight even when you’re inside your home, there may not be enough moisture in the air for you. Scan the sale pages for a portable humidifier. Make a note to yourself to clean the filter regularly (if they get yucky they breed bacteria).

4. Turn down the heater

It’s a beauty catch 22, but overheating a cold home will worsen dry skin problems, so experiment with different settings on your heater to find the right temperature for both you and your skin.

5. Any device that heats your environment will also steal your moisture

Even electric blankets. If dry skin is driving you crazy, throw another comforter on the bed, and see how you feel after you’ve left the electric blanket unplugged for a couple nights.

6. Moisturize in the shower

Moisturize throughout the day, but try using body lotion even before you’ve left the shower, right after rinsing soap or body wash. It will help lock in some extra moisture. Rinse off and pat dry.

7. Watch the shower temp

Hot showers feel great in winter, but they wreak havoc on dry skin. Try a lukewarm shower instead, then pat your skin dry with a towel. Apply moisturizer (again) as soon as you step out of the shower.

8. Use alcohol responsibly

Avoid skin products and hairstyling products high in alcohol. When alcohol evaporates it feels cool and refreshing, but it’s also stripping away moisture, so look for alcohol-free products when the air is already dry.

9. Don’t blow it

If you’re already dealing with dry, brittle hair, resist the urge to reach for the hair dryer. It’ll only make things worse. Dry and style your hair with a towel, and if you still use a dryer, time yourself and try to use it a little less.

10. Moisturize meh!

Moisturize throughout the day and don’t forget to drink extra water when it’s cold and windy. Your hands, feet, knees and elbows may need a little more help, too. I like rich products containing shea butter, petrolatum, mineral oil, tea tree oil, linoleic acid or glycerin. For intense relief, moisturize hands and feet at night, and then slip on gloves or socks to lock in moisture.

11. Pucker up

Chapped lips can be a big problem in winter. The air dries out my lips, which makes me lick them, which makes them chap even worse! Use a lip balm with at least SPF 15 and preferably one with antiseptic agents to aid in healing. Some lip balm products are made with tea tree oil, which helps heal painful cracks. I also like lip balms with phenol, beeswax, aloe, vitamin E and essential oils. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Do You Keep Your Salon Style?

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Happy Thursday, gals! I’ve been thinking about doing something new with my hair for a while (still can’t decide), but I wanted to ask…

How do you keep your salon style?

What tricks do you use to keep your hair looking like you just stepped out of the salon? Do you ever take notes while your hair is getting styled? I’m totally guilty of that one, LOL!

Here’s a video with some of the things I do to get the most out of my trips to the salon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Gabrielle Union: Her Best Hair?

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Ever since a minor part in 1999’s She’s All That (and before that appearances in some TV shows), Gabrielle Monique Union’s star has steadily climbed. She now has 26 films to her credit, including one of my favorite popcorn flicks, Bring It On, where she played bad ass cheerleader Isis opposite Kirstin Dunst.

Here are some of the hairstyles Gabrielle has worn over the years.

Which of Gabrielle's hairstyles do you like best?

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“Bring it.”

“Oh, it’s already been brought’in”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I got an e-mail this morning from Stila saying that they’ve got the Barbie Decades of Beauty Cans available for purchase right now! Hurry over and get your Foxy on! 😉

3 Easy Steps to Loose Waves

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Left to its own devices, my naturally wavy hair turns into a big, frizzy mess.

I may not have Jennifer Aniston’s enviable loose waves, but I can almost fake ’em with the help of a few products — Sexy Hair Organics Styling Creme ($20), Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine ($20) and L’oreal Elnett Hairspray ($15).

Used together, they do a great job loosening naturally wavy hair.

1. Apply Sexy Hair Organics Styling Creme to damp, towel dried hair

It loosens my waves and eliminates frizz without killing the bounce. It’s neither crunchy nor sticky and moisturizes, too — a big plus for dry hair!

After washing and drying with a towel, I coat my hair with the creme from the roots to the ends, and then run through it with a a wide-toothed comb. The comb distributes the creme and starts loosening the waves.

2. Add definition with Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine

Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine works and smells great (like freesia). It’s a thick styling lotion that adds shine, smooths away frizz and creates touchable, malleable chunks of hair.

Choose a few pieces of hair around the bangs that you want to stand out. Dab a tiny bit of Brilliantine on your pointer finger (a little goes a long way). Then, pinch a piece of hair near the roots between your pointer finger and thumb.

Distribute the Brilliantine by running through the hair all the way from the roots to the end and repeat a few times on different pieces of hair until you have about 5-10 well defined sections around the face.

3. Set the look with a layer of L’oreal Elnett hairspray

Spray on a layer of soft and flexible Elnett to lock in that style. It keeps my hair in place without making it flake or feel sticky or crunchy.

It takes me about five minutes to apply all three products. Then, I air dry and let the products work their magic.

Do you have a special hair “cocktail” of products you use to get your hair looking its best?

Your friendly neighborhood beauyt addict,

Karen

Rosario Dawson: Her Best Hair?

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In Seven Pounds, the great new film (I really enjoyed it!) starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson, Rosario looks lovely in long hair. Over the years, she hasn’t taken many chances with her hair color, but she does like to mix it up with different styles.

Which of Rosario's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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