Lilan from The Daily Cookie has found a new love in MAC Heatherette!
Mischo Beauty shares her best tips on how to prepare for a bikini wax and what to expect!
Jennifer and Christine from Beauty in Real Life are having a giveaway! Click here to take you there!
May is declared National toss your makeup month. What is your tossing habits? Check out Casual Lavish and give your thoughts.
The Beauty of Life finally figures out how to banish undereye circles for good! Check out her two miracle products!
Laurie from Beauty's Spot has a coveted moment's peace with Exhale Massage
Joy from Makeup Junkie gives us the scoop on Fall/Winter beauty trends from Toronto L'Oreal Fashion Week !
Got 10 minutes? Beauty411 reviews Clairol Perfect 10 haircolor and tells you how your haircolor can go from drab to fab!
Kathryn from Budget Beauty Love gives us the lowdown on Cosmetic Outlets.
The Muse discusses Aube's Early Summer Collection of Limited Edition Frutina Glosses and does a mini review of last year's releases!
Discover how pineapple and papaya reveal more radiant skin at A Mom in Red High Heels! Also, enter for your chance to win the product!
Around the Web with Total Beauty Bloggers
India Collection by OPI
I was at Ulta searching for the China Glaze Ink collection, but alas, I couldn't find it. So, I grabbed ElePhantastic Pink by OPI instead. The India collection is lovely, and I had a hard time choosing which one I was going to like the most. This color is actually darker than seen here (I love my iPhone, but it doesn't take the best photos), and gives a nice bright pop of color. I think it will look fantastic when I have my summer (bottled) tan on, which is exactly what I am looking for.
Now if I could just figure out how to keep my nails from chipping. Anyone have any good ideas? I'm willing to try just about anything!
Jewelry and Accessories
Some accessories that I'm loving lately, heavy on the Subversive collection for Target.
See more of my Jewelry and Accessories list at ThisNext.
Pesky Ingrown Hairs
It's that time of year again, where we start baring part of our bodies that haven't seen the light of day in six months. And so we start prepping, tanning, shaving, and exfoliating.
Unfortunately, all that new shaving can lead to a common concern: ingrown hairs. Many adults suffer from this in some form or another, especially in areas that are shaved often. Essentially, the hair is shaved leaving a sharp edge which then curls back into the same hair follicle as it grows. As this happens, the body responds with an inflammatory reaction, often in the form of raised red bumps, some of which can also itch or even hurt. What you may think is a pimple is actually an ingrown hair - the two look the same sometimes.
So, how do you treat the bumps you have? The preferred method is to use a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) such as salicylic acid (one of my favorite beauty ingredients EVER) on the area. They have the ability to actually penetrate into the plugged follicle and slowly release the hardened proteins. If you're feeling as if it needs to come out NOW, you can try removing the hair yourself. Start with a warm compress on the affected area for a few minutes. When the skin has softened enough, use tweezers to remove the ingrown hair from the area. If you can't get to the hair, please don't dig at your skin. Put a salicylic acid product on it, and leave it alone. It will eventually go away on it's own, or you can try again another day.
Preventing the bumps is key. This is where excellent exfoliation comes into play. Use gentle exfoliating products with salicylic acid and a washcloth or shower puff. You can even find special products for exfoliation, such as brushes and mitts. Try shaving in the direction of the hair growth, although that isn't always an option for people with curly, coarse hair - in other words, the person who is most prone to ingrown hairs! Instead, try alternative ways of removing hair such as depilatory creams or waxing. Both of those will drastically reduce your ingrown hairs.
Permanent hair removal is also an option, if it's in your price range. Many people have excellent success with laser hair removal.
A few products that you must have for shaving, if you are prone to ingrown hairs:
- Bikini Kitty's Clean Up Kit: Complete kit for bump-free shaving. Includes Smooth Shave Gel, No Nick Razor Oil to apply to your single-blade razor, Everyday Magic Spray for daily exfoliation, and a brush for physical exfoliation. $39.95
- Veet Hair Removal System with Bladeless Tool: a fast-acting depilatory cream with a razor-like tool for physical removal with no sharp blade. $7.99
- no!no! Hair Removal System: Conducts a gentle pulse of heat to the hair, removing it and possibly reducing hair density. Has an odor, and can be cost prohibitive. $250
- Bliss Poetic Cosmetics Waxing Kit: Popular do it yourself in the privacy of your own home waxing kit. Includes everything you need to wax. $45
- Emjoi Gently Gold Caress Hair Removal System: Highly rated epilator with "pain reduction" technology. $59.95
More on Nic's Sticks by OPI
Here is Carpool Mama by Nic's Sticks by OPI, as promised. I definitely like the color - it's more of a true red, which is right up my alley. Working with the brush again was a bit easier, and I think that the more you work with it, the better it is. It's just very different from the typical brush that I'm used to.
I'm not the person to review a polish based on chips, because I am seriously hard on my hands. I use my fingernails for everything, and I can chip even the best polish in less than a day. But based on what I've observed, this polish does a fairly good job staying on, although I think the regular OPI does a much better job.
The best part about the product is definitely it's portability. Fits easily into my small makeup bag in my purse, and it's great for touchups - which happen as often for me as lipstick, usually. You just have to watch how many times you pump your brush, however, as you can easily end up with far too much polish and a huge mess. Other than that, it's easy to use.
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