I’ve got wavy hair that actually never ever looks right when I don’t put a gallon of product in it, and believe me, will NEVER look like the hair in this pic or any of these that are shown on NaturallyCurly.com photo gallery, but some of you might actually get inspiration from these styling samples and curly hair links. They also have a salon finder that may help you find a salon/stylist who specializes in curly hair.

For me, the only thing that works is either A. the blowdryer B. the hot roller or C. the flat iron.

thanks to Chaia for the link tip on her blog!! Hope you found a good stylist - and if you did, be sure to share the info

Technorati Tags Everything-Hair

I love this girl - her posts are way informative, funny and down to the bone honest. Check her out:

Technorati Tags Eyelashes, lashes, MAC-makeup, Make Up, mexilana, Product-Reviews

A tutorial on how to apply false eyelashes:

Technorati Tags Eyelashes, fake-eyelashes, how-to-apply-false-eyelashes, lashes, Make Up, mascara

This has got to be one of my favorite times of year - the Vogue Fall edition that is encyclopedia huge, and brand new trends for the upcoming season…which is going to be All about Film Noir this year. Think Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth and Lauren Bacall. Tres Fab…and this month I’m going to be blogging all about it.

Shadows in deep aubergines, plums & smokey grays are going to be HOT, but you can’t forget about your striking lashes - this month is going to be ALL about lashes. Get ready boys…the girls are about to get vampy!

Technorati Tags Eyelashes, eyeshadow, fall-2007, Make Up, makeup-trends, mascara

My aunt once told me “people with acne should never wear blush” - I was 12, ridden with adolescent zits and had a healthy dose of the cheapest pink blush in the county. I have not ventured into the blush realm since…until recently.

You see, I am 36 years old now, sans acne and somehow, the entire concept of blushing just seems so…young.

And so, the existence of how-to’s with blush come charging into focus. I’m obsessed with finding the perfect blush…and how to apply it. In rotation thusfar on my quest to find the perfect blossoming cheeks, are Bare Escentuals mineral blush, MAC cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, and Laura Mercier.

I bought the Bare Escentuals blush at ULTA and while the salesperson there was extremely nice, she wasn’t very helpful, and I ended up buying totally the wrong color.  Of course, I didn’t realize it was the wrong color until friends  ‘intervened’ and let me know. Fortunately I was able to swap it out successfully on MakeUpAlley.com

I also think the Bobbi Brown color is wrong. I had a professional consultation and makeover at the Macy’s counter, but still, it just doesn’t seem right. I think it’s past the return date, but I still have the box and the receipt so maybe I will see if I can at least exchange it out.

The Laura Mercier blush came in a pack of 4 in a holiday bookset that I was gifted, and while two of the pots seem to make a good bronzer, the other two pinky corals just don’t seem to work.

MAC - well, what can I say? It’s MAC, and it looks ok, but it looks like blush. And I don’t want to look like I’m wearing blush, I want to look younger and blushing.

Now that the colors have all not worked for me, we can move on to blush brushes, which I suppose I can’t really give a fair shot at review until I find the correct shade of blush.

Needless to say, everytime I see a failed attempt at blush, I can hear my aunt’s voice washing over me like a mirage in the desert…but I’m not giving up. I’m going to give it my all until I find the perfect shade for me. And I will look younger, even if I’m old by the time I find it.

Technorati Tags acne, applying_makeup, bare-escentuals, bare_escentuals, beauty_reviews, best_makeup, bobbi-brown, bronzer, corals, correct_shade, laura_mercier, look_younger, mac_cosmetics, Make Up, makeupalley, mineral_blush, pink_blush, Product-Reviews, professional_consultation, SpaBlog, zits

Ok so enter the world in which everything should really have dual purposes. If it smells good, it should be good for you, unlike most fragrance products that are out there, which is why I actually use alot of essential oils from Whole Foods and drop them into some basic lotion…but the these girls have stepped it up in the mainstream marketplace, namely Sephora, with the cult fave LaVanilla - Fragrance that is Good for you. Healthy fragrance? Yes!

Here is a quicklist of the most interesting details regarding La’Vanilla:

• Vanilla is considered calming and aiding in reducing stress.
• Vanilla also embodies antioxidants, moisturizing and vitamins.

• Skin absorbs up to 60% of what is applied to it - regardless of whether it is slathered, sprayed or massaged.
• LaVanilla is formulated with alpha hydroxy acids which aid in smoothing skin texture
• LaVanilla uses all organic materials which is better for the earth

So there you have it - good smelling perfume that is a healthy alternative for overall fabulosity. I bought the $15 rollerball from Sephora “Vanilla Grapefruit” with notes of Grapefruit, Bergamot, Lime, Orange, Cedarwood, Heliotrope, Madagascar Vanilla. Delicioso!

Technorati Tags anti-aging-skincare, AromaTherapy, Fragrance, GreenSpa, Product-Reviews, spicy-oriental, summer-perfume, sweetness

I know, I know, I said no more youtube flix tonight, but this one was informative and cute, and it shows how to get a cute, quick and pretty much DIY hair extension ‘do without doing damage to your hair or wallet. (my hair extensions don’t damage my hair but they do a number on my wallet!). Anyway, check it out - and if anyone has tried the snap-in-hair we’d LOVE to hear a review!

Technorati Tags Everything-Hair, fake-hair, hair-extensions, hair_extensions, how-to-get-temporary-hair-extensions, quick-and-easy-hair-extensions, SpaBlog, temporary-hair-extensions

ok, I promise this will be my last youtube scavenger post for the night. BUT I had to share this because it super-rocks, it has a soundtrack to the PussyCat Dolls (which is much more interesting that listening to someone stumble on works with bad sound quality) and is a cute & quirky presentation on using MAC pigments in application. HoochieEyes in less than 2 minutes!

Technorati Tags blue-eyeshadow, MAC-makeup, MAC-pigment, Make Up, makeup-tutorials, SpaBlog

I was surfing youtube.com for makeup tutorials (totally didn’t find any that were of any use) but I did find this cute video of a fellow product junkie, such as moi. It feels good to not be alone!

Technorati Tags Make Up, makeup-addict, SpaBlog

Ok so I totally have to shout out Rosalinda Macias of MakeupbyRosalinda.com for being probably one of the best makeup artists I have ever met, word up. On top of that, she does amazing skintone evening for us darker shade girls, which is almost impossible to come by. I know that I use any number of base foundations depending on 1.) how old I am, 2.) what season it is and 3.) How much money I’ve got at the time. No lie. I’ve worn everything from Covergirl to Shu Uemera and probably everything in between, and have never found anything that ever worked the same two seasons in a row. Maybe some of the other girls can chime in and give some opinions since I have been known to have makeup ADD.

I have GOT to get Rosa to start being active on this site. The brown skin girls need you Rosalinda!!!

Technorati Tags best_makeup, brown_skin_girls, concealer, covergirl, dark-skin-makeup, foundations, Make Up, makeup-for-ethnic-brown-skin, makeup_artists, Rosalinda, shu_uemera, SpaLinks

Dr Mark’s has a new video on Tumescent liposuction that he performs on an outpatient basis. I have to warn you though, it’s kind of yucko.

It still didn’t prevent me from booking an appointment though. After session 5, and another 1 inch lost through mesotherapy, I have decided that I just want to go in one final time and zap everything to high hell. I’m booked for early October. Rock on!

Technorati Tags cosmetic-surgery, Dr.-Marks, injectables, liposuction, los-angeles, Medi-Spa, Spa-reView, tumescent-liposuction

The first of it’s kind - a perfume themed after the entire essence of the Fig tree is pretty nice, but has no staying power on me at all. I gave it a test drive for a week but unlike other fragrances, I got no compliments at all, nor did I smell it after only an hour after application. It does smell lovely though, but perhaps a room fragrance may be a bit more enjoyable.

Plus, didn’t Jesus curse the fig tree? I’m just asking…

Technorati Tags AromaTherapy, fig_tree, Fragrance, fragrances, jesus_curse, perfume, Product-Reviews, watermelon-perfume

I think I have finally begun to successfully process the entire experience from our last Girl’s Weekend Out to the Glen Ivy for a day of rest, girltime & relaxation. The best way to sum up the vast sections of the grounds, I think that we should break it up and allow everyone to kind of talk about what thier most memorable exeperiences where, and make it a few entries with tag words as the naviagion of finding the info you may want to read. For instance, I think that the tag split up should be : Glen Ivy shop, Glen Ivy pools, Glen Ivy mudbath, Glen Ivy grotto, Glen Ivy Shower & Steam rooms, eateries, service and treatment areas. It truley is a spa-themed disneyland with each “treatment’ having a specialty…as you will soon find out with the next couple of weeks with everyone writing in thier personal experiences. More later!!

Technorati Tags AromaTherapy, best-spa-in-california, day-spa, destination-spa, Directory, girl-day, girl-time, glen_ivy, grotto-spa-treatment, mudbath, spa, Spa Treatments, spa-mineral-bath, Spa-reView, SpaBlog, top-destination-spa

I just heard on Jay Leno that Aqualina bottled water is essentially tap water - in bottled water. Which is seemingly upsetting alot of people, but you know, I drink tap water from time to time, and when you are thirsty, you drink water…so is it so bad that the water is from the tap? I don’t really know right now…it’s going to take some processing I think. More later.

Technorati Tags SpaBlog, superfoods, water

Let’s give it up to another MakeUpAlley.com swap gone great…I discovered a fab product in my battle against the good fight. BioTherm’s Aquasource kind of sounds like a superhero product - it’s claim: “Our pure concentrate of mineral-rich Thermal Spring Water revitalizes skin and improves skin texture with the equivalent of 5,000 liters of enriched water in each bottle.*“

It’s super light and not greasy and allows makeup to go on super smooth and still be pliable. I’m not sure that I would actually ever pay the $31 bucks for moisturizer, but it sure was a treat to try it through a swap!

Have you swapped on MUA? OMG you totally should! 

Technorati Tags biotherm, moisturizer, Product-Reviews, skincare, spf-15