event prep

Senior year is quickly coming to a close which means, among the many emotions that accompany the end of "the best four years of your life," there are many events to attend. Between cocktails, senior nights and graduation parties there is a lot to be excited about! 

In order to feel your best at an event it is important to "prepare" throughout the week so you aren't rushing around last minute trying to get pretty.

A few of my favorite preparation products

These are a few things I try to do the week leading up to a big event:

1. Drink a ton of water. Drinking more water than usual throughout the week is a natural and easy fix for making your skin look more radiant. Make a goal for yourself each day - it is easier if you always carry a water bottle!  Drinking more water also means cutting down on sugary and alcoholic drinks because they make your skin appear dull and exaggerate imperfections due to dehydration.

2. Get enough sleep. A lack of sleep also makes your skin look more dull and causes under-eye puffiness and darkness. If you don't have time to get the doctor's recommended 8 hours a night, consider investing in de-puffing eye cream and a creamy under-eye concealer.

3. Exfoliate. I am a huge fan of exfoliating because it makes your skin glow. Exfoliate your face, lips (especially if you're trying a bold lipstick) and body two days before an event. Exfoliating is also super important if you're planning on sunless tanning, which is best to do the day before an event so you have time to fix tan streaks if needed.

4. Do the big stuff the day before. Do not wait until the day of the event to do a face mask, hair treatment, tan, nails, shave, etc. Sometimes you may not have as much time to get ready as you planned so get the time-consuming, important things over with the day before so you don't have to worry about packing it in right before the event, which can be stressful.

5. Get inspired. An event is the perfect excuse to switch up your normal makeup routine and try something new! If you have always wanted to try a bold lip, smoky eyes or a cool updo but don't want to show up to class or work looking way overdone, this is your chance. However if you're trying a new beauty look for an event, try it out before to make sure you like it. Pick a night that you have some free time and try different makeup/hair looks so you know exactly how to do it the day of the event and feel rushed. (Hint: The Beauty Department and magazines always have great beauty inspiration!)

It's so much fun to get dressed up and ready for an event, so make the most of it - turn on some music and squeeze in front of the mirror with your friends!

How do you prepare for an event in terms of beauty?

DIY gel nails

Nail polish and my nails don't get along. Actually, they repel each other. I can spend an hour doing my nails carefully (cleansing, priming, base coat, two color coats AND a top coat) and the polish always chips at least 15 hours later. Expensive manicure? Forget it. It chips in about a day and peels off shortly after that.

Even through all the chipping, peeling and short-lived nail polish, I still love painting my nails. It's silly but I always feel prettier when they are painted and make a bad day a little better. There are few things worse than looking down and seeing nails that aren't maintained, or worse, having someone else (like an interviewer) notice a lack of maintenance. This may make me seem overly 'girly', but I strongly believe in taking care of yourself, and something as simple as keeping your nails moderately groomed shows you care about your body.

Due to the inability of my nails to keep nail polish on, I was ecstatic when gel nails became a "thing" a couple of years ago. Even better: at-home gel nail kits became a thing shortly after which allows me to save money on expensive manicures and fuel my polish addiction - wahoo!

UV light hardens the gel polish in literally one minute

My sister got me the SensatioNail Starter Kit for Christmas last year and I have been buying individual SensatioNail polishes ever since. There are so many color options, and even though they are slightly more expensive than regular nail polishes it's so worth it because it lasts longer and looks better.

Four days and still going strong with the perfect pink.

At-home gel polish doesn't last quite as long as a salon gel manicure (about 1 week versus 2 weeks), but it's still a better option than regular nail polish. It also takes patience and a little chunk of time to do gel nails correctly but it's about the same as painting with regular nail polish if you factor in drying time.

If you love having your nails painted but hate the constant attention it requires to maintain, definitely give gel polish a try - there are endless brand and color options to choose from! I'll take one in every color, please.

how to haircut

A haircut can change your life. 

Yes, I can be dramatic and no, this is not one of those times.

There's a reason why makeovers always involve changing a hair color, length and/or style - changing a person's hair has the most potential to make a dramatic difference during a makeover. A haircut done right can completely transform your face and overall "look" by giving you confidence, influencing your wardrobe and even the way you interact with people.

Whether you have haircut phobia and have your mom cut it once a year or get a fresh cut every six weeks, you should always be happy with how it looks. Unhappiness, frustration and even tears should not be a part of a haircut - even at GreatClips - because you're buying into an experience as well as getting those ends snipped off.

Short hair is super high maintenance, especially if it isn't a blunt (straight-across, un-layered) style because it looks awkward and heavy if it grows out too much. I usually get my hair cut every 2-3 months because angled bobs look horrible too grown out. I have been getting my haircut by the same woman for six years (hey, Jen!) and refuse to let anyone else come near my hair with a pair of scissors.  I will follow her wherever she goes and drive as far as I need to because once you find a hairdresser you like try to never, ever leave them!

Haircut day is always a day I look forward to

Get the haircut you want with these three tips:

1. Bring a picture. Telling the hairdresser you want "one inch off" or "layers" is vague; one inch may look different to you than it does to someone else. I always bring a picture of what I want, whether it's a celebrity or a picture of me when I liked how my hair looked, because an image is a lot better than a generic description. 

2. Ask questions. I can't stand when someone gets an amazing haircut then it looks like crap a week later because they have no idea how to do their hair. Not that I do much to my hair, but ask your hairdresser how you can re-create the style yourself so you can ensure it looks good until the next time you get it cut!

3. Make it an experience. Haircuts can be pricey, so make sure you enjoy it. Even if you don't pay much for a haircut you will still feel better about how it looks if you put a little effort to your outfit and makeup before going. A new haircut looks a lot better when you're feeling good and not looking like you just left the gym with unusually bouncy, pretty hair.

Bad haircut? We've all been there. Throw on a cute hat or pull it up then don't worry about it; chances are you will be feeling a lot better about it after a few days! 

butter up

A six-month hiatus from the sun followed by a straight week of sun-worshipping is bound to have consequences, otherwise known as "The Week After Spring Break."

After generously coating myself in sunscreen last week during an unbelievable spring break in Jamaica, I still got sun burnt. Not that I'm surprised that my pink, freckled, Polish skin would burn even with SPF 50 (thanks, Mom). Now, a few days after my burn has settled in, I am peeling in some spots and generally dry all over my body - not comfortable or pretty. 

Whether you burn in the sun or or tan flawlessly it is SO crucial to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! The sun, pool and salt water zap all the moisture out of your skin and make it appear dull and feel less soft due to dryness, regardless of how much you think you're glowing with that new tan.

Moisture Cocktail - body oil, body lotion and Body Butter

In order to help itching, prevent peeling, and keep your tan lasting longer, apply some form of moisturizer at least three times a day (morning, post-shower and night) for at least a week. It may seem excessive, but this is the best way to prevent your skin from looking lackluster and feeling dry.

Showering with warm or hot water is also extremely drying, so consider using a moisturizing shower wash if you're prone to dry skin. If you have a lot of free time on your hands, you can also put on some body oil (or lotion) before showering to prevent your skin from drying out as much from the hot water - the oil will provide a thin layer of moisture protection even through washing.

There are few things I love more than a new Body Butter

I prefer to use Body Butter from The Body Shop because it is incredibly moisturizing but doesn't leave a greasy residue on my skin - it sinks in. Sometimes I opt for body oil or regular lotion - it depends on how dry your skin is plus your personal preference.

DON'T neglect your face, hands and lips with moisturizer because they need to be soft and radiant too - if not more so than the rest of your body. Even if you have oily skin it's great to moisturize because your oil glands are most likely overproducing oil to compensate for dryness, and therefore your skin is oily. Interesting, huh?

As for peeling on your scalp (like me), it's probably a good idea to NOT put body oil or lotion all over your scalp - unless you want your hair to look greasy.

A week of intense moisturizing will not only make you feel better, but look better too. Your body is thirsty for a Moisture Cocktail whether you realize it or not!

wax on, wax off

Beauty is pain.

We've all heard this common expression before, but it's never hit quite as close to home as it did for me yesterday. 

I got my first wax - a Brazilian.

I decided to go for it all out because countless women get waxes every single day so I know it's somewhat normal, and feel like it is almost a rite of passage into adulthood (questionable). Am I justifying the pain that accompanies an unnecessary beauty practice such as waxing? Absolutely.

I do have to say the half-off special (for first-time guests) and my new white bikini really did all the convincing I needed - without even saying a word! Imagine that.

A whole crew of my friends also got waxes at European Wax Center yesterday, so I kept telling myself that if they could do it, I could do it.

A couple of tips: take an anti-inflammatory an hour before the appointment, try your best to relax during the appointment, and avoid exercising, tanning (both UV and spray) and hot showers up to 24 hours after the appointment.

It takes confidence to wear these!

Going to great lengths to feel beautiful is not a recent concept. Even though waxing may seem ridiculous to some, women were removing body hair in the Renaissance period using much more painful methods involving arsenic - ouch! Melting the hair off skin just before the flesh itself burns off is not something I would never volunteer to do.

Taking "pain" in exchange for "beauty" isn't really about looking good, but feeling good. It is about the confidence that comes as result of the practice. (By pain I mean getting your ears pierced, wearing 5-inch heels for more than three minutes, or getting a wax). 

When it comes to hair removal, to each her own.

sunless prep for spring break

The last spring break I'll ever have (brb while I go cry) starts in three days. So while everyone else is stressing about midterms and papers due before break, I'm stressed about when I'm going to get everything done beauty-wise. First world problems, I know.

This I am going to JAMAICA! I'll take a tropical vacation over a cold one any day, but constantly being in a bikini means I have more beauty preparation. Since my skin never fails to turn ghostly pale during the Winter, I really need to have a little tan the first time in a bathing suit in months. Self-tanner can be extremely tricky - you have to strike a balance between "orange and streaky" and "still pale." 

I have had a few too many bad experiences applying self-tanner over the course of multiple days even though thats what tanning lotions typically suggest, so this year I am just going to apply one layer of tanner the day before I leave in order to avoid streaks and orange spots. Even though applying only one layer won't necessarily create a tan, it evens out skin tone and minimizes the look of cellulite.

It is so important to always exfoliate your skin before applying tanner in order to avoid streaks!

I am trying out Jergen's Foaming Daily Moisturizer  because the "quick dry" and "ordorless" features really sold me! Cheers to (maybe) not making my clothes and sheets reek of self-tanner. I am also trying Sonia Kashuk's face tanning towelettes (no longer available). Towelettes are great for sunless tanning because they deliver a consistent amount of color - check out L'Oreal's here.

Tip: if you do get streaks/too orange from self tanner, don't panic - scrub with a lot of body wash and it will fade.

Fingers crossed for a successful sunless tanning experience!