Halloween Makeup and Hair

There are all kinds of different ways to do your Halloween makeup. It all depends on what your costume is. Many people do a classic cat, or a devil, or even an angel. There are several different ways makeup can be done.

Last night I celebrated Halloween as Wilma Flintstone. I began my costume by puting my hair into a pony-tail. From there I began bobby pinning it around the pony-tail so that it would be up, similar to how Wilma wore here hair on the show. After I finally got it all pinned up I proceeded to hair spray it followed by red hair spray. This was a little tricky because I did not want to get it all over my face and neck but tying a towel around my neck helped.

Finally came the makeup. I did more natural colors with a brown eyeliner. My costume as Wilma Flintstone turned out better than I thought it would. I guess what I am trying to say is that no matter how you do your makeup and your hair on Halloween, just have fun with it.  Afterall, it is a holiday for fun, so just have fun with your costumes.

A Campaign for Real Beauty

A couple of years ago Dove started a campaign. The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a global effort that is intended to serve as a starting point for societal change.This campaign was started to let real women know that they are perfect and beautiful just the way they are.

The campaign has done a great job of spreading the word. There are commercials and advertisements everywhere you look. It shows us that sometimes the media plays a negatice role in our lives. I believe natural beauty is the best, and that no matter what, everyone is beautiful.

This is a great video that shows it starts when we are young--http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/. Dove is really doing a great thing for young people everywhere. It gives young people hope and excitement and most of all self esteem.

Nail Polish

Ever since I was a little girl I have been OBSESSED with nails and nail polish. I would save up all my money when I was little just to buy a package of fake press on nails or a bottle of nail polish. This obsession has never really gone away. Although I have less time for my nails now, I still try to make as much time as possible. They happen to look very bad right now becuase of my lack of time, but they do not always look that bad.

My mom is fortunate enough to have beautiful healthy nails, me on the other hand, mine are ok. If I want to grow them out it takes a long time. Not only does it take a long time, I have to take especially good care of them. However, when I do manage to do that, they are beautiful and even tend to look as though I got them professionally done.

My favorite brand of nail polish is OPI. OPI nail polish is one of the best kinds of nail polish out there. This polish gives your nail a fresh, right out of the salon look. This polish is also the kind used in many salons. I own several OPI nail polishes, but they can put quite a dent in your wallet. They run up to $7 a bottle. To me that seems a but extreme, but they are definitely worth the money.

If you want to find out what fall nail polish you should wear, visit http://www.seventeen.com/fun/quizzes/beauty/nail-polish-quiz and find out.

My Favorite Beauty Products

I am a pretty simple girl. I do not have to have top of the line makeup or beauty products; just something that works. One of my favorite beauty products however, is my CoverGirl Last Blast mascara. This mascara is AWESOME. I was not blessed with naturally long eyelashes, so I have to do what I can to lengthen them. This mascara does exactly that--lengthens. They aer lengthened and darkened without the clumpiness. It is a great buy and inexpensive running at about $6.50 a tube.

Another product that I like to use is the Cetaphil Skin Care line. I use the cleanser, the moisturizing lotion, and the face wash. These products are non scented and leave your skin feeling nice and smoothe. They can be found at most stores, with a price that won't break your budget.

I know a lot of people are not fans of lipstick, but I am a huge fan. If I am going out somewhere, I won't be caught dead without it. I feel as though lipstick completes a look. I usually wear a darker shade because this goes best with my complexion, but it also depends on the outfit and the time of day. The brand that I have always had luck with has been Maybelline. They  have good lipstick that lasts for a long time and stays on.

These are just a couple of my favorite beauty products. If you want to see more favorites from other young women a great place is Seventeen.com.

French Braids

As a little girl I taught myself how to french braid. As I have gotten older I have expanded the knowledge I have of french braids to fishtail braids and reverse french braids (cornrows). Although french braids remind me of being a young girl, and tend to make me look like a young girl when I rock them, I will continue to. They are a great way to get my hair out of my face and keep it contained.

The side braid, which is a french braid done on the side of your head, is such a versatile look. It can be worn very casually or it can be dressed up with a flower or some kind of hair accessory. I love this braid because it gets my bangs out of my face.

Another classic braid is the french braided pigtails--one of my favorites. I have spent countless hours french braiding other girl's hair into pigtails. Whether it was before a sporting event, or even so they could wake up the next day with a crimped hair-do.

I believe that no matter what, the french braid will always be in style. Thoughts?

Top 5 Need to Know Hair Tips

Ever been mislead when buying hair products? For example that the more expensive products are the better ones? If so, here are the top 5 things you need to know about hair and hair products according to Cosmopolitan.

1. The more expensive products aren't better.
The truth is, a lot of the expensive products have the same ingredients in them with a different label. In fact some of them don't work or protect your hair as well as affordable drug store brands. Many times at salons they try to get you to buy their more expensive products that do the exact same thing as the ones you can buy at your local grocery store.

2. You don't need to get highlights every time you get your hair done.
The reality is if your hair has been highlighted every time its been colored, the chances of overlapping and over processing are greater than not. Try breaking your base instead of highlights when it's time for your color touch ups. You can save money and it will still look fresh.

3. You don't need conditioning treatments every time you go to the salon.
Conditioning treatments aren't bad, especially on damaged hair, however, over conditioning with expensive treatments can sometimes leave you with a big bill at check out time.

4. Your hair won't grow faster if you trim it.
But the truth is your hair won't look as good as you're growing it out if you let too much time lapse between cuts. So just be sure to tell your stylist you want it to grow longer — that way she can trim only a little bit to keep it healthy, but she'll know to preserve as much of the length as possible. You can almost always tell when someone needs a trim; the ends of their hair look dead and dry.

5. You don't need to shampoo your hair every day if it's curly or wavy.
The "wash and wear" haircut and the daily shampoo are really only needed if you have really fine hair. If your hair is wavy or curly, it tends to be a little drier, so you really shouldn't shampoo every day.

I am not so sure I agree with this last one becuase although  I have fine hair I have a lot of it. I do not wash it everyday because it does not style as well if I do. Because it is so smoothe and straight, not washing it everyday helps with volume and holding a curl.

Bronzer--Sunkissed Glow or Oompa Loompa

For the past couple of years now I have seen girls looking increasingly more like Oompa Loompas. There is a fine line between being orange and having a sun kissed glow. Many times this orange-ness is caused by tanning beds, but a lot of the time it is becuase of the Lancome, or whatever type of bronzer it is that they choose to use. Personally, I would rather be as pale as Kristen Stewart's character Bella in the Twilight series than look orange.

I have to admit though, I do use bronzer. It is a mineral poweder and only gives me a sunkissed look. I know that it does not make me look orange because my roommate would never let me leave my apartment looking orange, plus while standing next to people in pictures I never stick out because of my skin color. Has anyone else seen the increase in orange-ness lately?

I also hate the fact that everyone goes tanning all the time. I know people who continue to pay for their orange-ness even in the summer months when they could get it for free by simply going outside for a half hour or so.

Back to bronzers--A good solution is to use a tinted moisturizer in a shade or two deeper than your skin tone. Another option is to cut your liquid bronzer with a drop of regular moisturizer. This will boost up your color just enough makign it look believable, especially in the fall or winter. Ladies who use too much bronzer, cut it out. No one wants to see someone looking orange, especially when there is two feet of snow on the ground.

The Right Amount of Makeup

As I put on my makeup last night I contemplated how to do it. Since it was a Saturday night I decided to do my makeup a little bit heavier than I would on a normal day. I have gotten into this habbit for the past couple of days of wearing a lot of makeup. I know that this can be a huge no no, but I think there is a fine line.

Many times, according to men, when a woman wears too much makeup it is unattractive to them. The nataural look happens to be what is in style now. We have to remember, a little goes a long way. Putting on some mascara and lip gloss is the best way to go. It shows that you care enough about your appearance to try, without going overboard. A touch of blush is also good becuase it gives your face a bit of color.

Sometimes going completely natural has its benefits. Many times when I am wearing makep I forget that I am and I begin to rub my eyes. This tends to cause me pain  because then the makeup is no longer on my eye but in it. Then the remainder of the makeup that is on is smudged. Overall I believe that wearing makeup is more of an art than anything. I enjoy doing it and wearing it becuase it makes me happy and is fun to do.

What Guys Think of Your Makeup

According to Cosmopolitan online, the first thing that a guy notices when he sees a girl (between her eyes and her lips) are her eyes. From previous experiences I have noticed that with myself I tend to notice a man's eyes before anything else as well. Now, we all know that women and men differ considerably when it comes to how they pereive the opposite sex and I can't stress that enough.

Now a question that I have always wondered is who are girls wearing makeup for? Are they wearing it to make themselves feel better? Or for the guy that they are trying to impress? I wish I knew because I strongly believe it would save me a lot of time before going out at night. I tend to do it because I have fun with it, it is kind of like an art to me. Cosmo once again says that guys prefer dark lined eyes, but many girls are tempted to do bright fun colors. Oh, and guys totally dig the smokey eyes.

I am not trying to toot my own horn, but I am pretty talented when it comes to doing makeup (and hair which I will get into later). I have always found it very intriguing. The coolest part is that I learned to do it all on my own, my mom rarely wears makeup, she's naturally beautiful. I love trying new things and experimenting with colors. At night I uaually tend to do a dark smokey, eye while during the day I usually do a subtle skin color or just mascara. I love the smokey eye look, but it definitely has a time and place.

Mondays. Worth the effort?

Today is a rather cold fall Monday here in the beautiful city of Berea. I read my horoscope last night and it said that I should make myself up today. Normally, on any other Monday my hair is up in a  pony tail and my body is comforted by the warmth of a sweatshirt and sweatpants. This Monday however, I woke up and turned on my curling iron. I decided I would put a little bit of effort into my looks today. I actually put on a pair of jeans to go to class in. As I sit here and write this however, I am back to the comfort of my Ohio State sweatpants and a t-shirt.

As my Conair 1" barrel curling iron heated up I questioned myself on if it was really worth it to put makeup on or not. I decided it was, so I put on my usual mascara. When the curling iron heated up I began to curl my hair piece by piece. What should have taken me a good half hour only lasted about 15 minutes. Although I have a lot of hair, it is very fine. Curling it can take as little as 15 minutes or as long as 40. It depends on the amount of curl I want in my hair on a given day.

Although my wonderful curling iron has been so very faithful to me for the past 6 or 7 years, I do believe it is time to get another one. It has run its course, my only problem is I'm not sure what kind to purchase next. Should I stick with the faithful one or test drive another option? Does anyone know of a brand that has worked out in their favor?

I have heard that Chi works the best, but after doing some research I'm not sure it is in my budget to spend 75 dollars or more on a new curling iron. Some are going as high as 150 dollars! Now don't get me wrong I love beauty and everything that comes along with it, however 150 dollars seems a bit extreme to me. If I could find one that works just as well, but for less than half of that, I would be content.

Anyway, as the day progresses my hair becomes straight once again. I have always had naturally pin straight hair and have always wanted beautiful curly hair, so most times when I go out I curl my hair.  So I guess what I am trying to say is that on this ordinary Monday, the effort was not worth waking up an extra 15 minutes early.

I guess it is how the saying goes, "You always want what you don't have."