Ways to Make Your Makeup Last in the Summer

Summer heat and humidity can cause all kinds of problems regarding your makeup.  It can run, smudge, streak, crease, get cake-y, or change colors on you.  Follow these tips to keep your makeup looking fresh and flawless in the summer:

·      Use tinted moisturizer instead of foundation- Tinted moisturizer is much lighter than foundation, meaning it’s much less likely to get cake-y and crease on your face.  Plus, as a lighter product, it’s less likely to clog your pores and cause breakouts!  You can build up the coverage of a tinted moisturizer by adding a little more at a time, so no need to worry about blemishes showing through.  If your skin is on the oilier side you may want to choose an oil-free formula to prevent a greasy look and avoid the chance your tinted moisturizer will turn orange-y.

·      Set your concealer with skin-tone powder- To keep concealer in place you’ll want to set it with a powder, but avoid dusting a skin-tone powder all over your face.  This can easily look a bit harsh and cake-y in the summer.  Instead, use a small brush to set individual spots of concealer with a pressed skin-tone powder.  Then…

·      Set your makeup with translucent powder- Use a loose translucent powder to set your whole face. This will keep your makeup in place and help prevent smudging and creasing, as well as keeping the look more natural.  If you have a medium-darker skin tone use just a bit of translucent powder and build it up to avoid creating a white cast on your face.

·      Set eyeliner with matching eye shadow- This not only helps your eyeliner to last all day, it also intensifies the color (it’s especially great for bright blues!) and helps to keep the eyeliner from streaking or running!

·      Use cream blush instead of powder- A cream blush can add a more natural flush in the summer than a powder blush, and it’s less likely to look cake-y and packed on throughout the day.  Set the cream blush with a bit of loose translucent powder to make sure it doesn’t smudge.

·      Use a lip stain or liquid lipstick- These last much longer than a regular gloss or lipstick and are less likely to run or smudge.  Make sure to exfoliate and moisturize your lips beforehand so they don’t look dry or cracked, and then wipe off any excess moisturizer before applying color to get an even finish.  A little bit of concealer around the lips will keep the color from feathering.     

~Alyssa

How to Care for Your Skin During the Summer

Summer is a perfect time to get some color, but as we know this has to be done responsibly. Here are some tips to care for your skin.

-Protecting your Body: Most importantly, protect yourself from getting too much sun. Everyone must be self conscious about getting burned and decreasing other skin problems, like cancer and aging, during the summer. That being said, no matter how intense the sun is, you must protect yourself from the sun everyday!!!! So wear sun screen! If you are really white, start off with SPF 50 minimum until you have a base to your tan, and then use 30. When you know you will be outside for a long time, put on the sunscreen at least 30 minutes before you go out so it can be absorbed into your skin. Bring the sunscreen you are using with you when you leave the house so after approximately two hours, depending on the intensity of the sun that day, you can apply it again. (Because just applying it once won't help you after awhile.)

-Protecting your Face: Yes it is also very important to protect your face from the sun as much as possible. Your face will also need to use the sun screen rule as stated above. Now if you have a major concern about breakouts, you can still wear sunscreen worry free. Just use a moisturizer that comes with sunscreen in it or use a clear facial sunscreen. When you use this, start by doing your body and then wash your hands very well before you apply the sunscreen on your face. You should also protect your eyes and scalp with a hat and sun glasses.

-Tanning: There are several things you can do to help get tan faster. When starting start by going in the sun during the morning and evening hours. This way you avoid the most intense sun of the day and it will decrease the chances of you getting burned. Then as you develop a base color you can stay out longer. If you can be in the water, then you can develop a tan a little faster by quickly cooling off and drying in the sun. The sun's effect will increase when you are wet.

-Burns: If you accidentally forget about sun screen, have no fear! You can fix the burn and turn it to tan by using aloe or Palmer's Cocoa Butter. These products should be used at 2 to 3 times per day!  I recommend using aloe or an aloe gel if the sun burn is painful once per day and then alternating with cocoa butter. This treatment will prevent the skin from peeling and will reveal a beautiful tan.

Be conscious of your skin and have fun!

~Katrina

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This recipe is easy, delicious, and vegetarian.  Plus it’s great for Instagram pictures.  I love it!

Ingredients:

Acorn squash

2 cups brown rice, cooked

About 1/4 onion, chopped

1 apple, chopped

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Cinnamon

Goat cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the centers so the halves can be stuffed.  (You can save the seeds, but they aren’t needed for this recipe.)  Place the squash halves in a roasting pan and brush about 1 tablespoon of melted butter on them.  Season with some brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  Bake for 25 minutes.

While the squash is baking, prepare the rice and chop the onion and apple.  (You can add celery, cranberries, whatever you like!  You can also add chopped walnuts into the stuffing mixture later.)  Melt some butter in a pan over medium heat and sauté onions until they begin to soften.  Add in the apples. 

Once onions and apples are softened, add the prepared rice to the pan and heat through, seasoning with salt and cinnamon to taste.  Mix in goat cheese so it melts evenly.

Stuff the pre-baked squash halves with your stuffing mixture (you can drizzle some melted butter over the top) then bake again for 25-30 minutes, until the squash is tender.

~Alyssa

Summer Flamingo Nails

Here’s a quick, fun design for summer!  Paint your pinky, ring, and index fingers a neutral color, like this light gray (OPI Moon Over Mumbai), and paint your middle finger and thumb a medium to bright pink.  Use a striper brush dipped in the pink to add a small flamingo to the middle of your ring finger.  Then do any designs you like on the rest!  I did a half moon on my pinky, light gray dots around the edge of my middle finger, a big pink dot at the base of my index nail, and light gray dots along the top edge of my thumb.

~Alyssa

Temporary Pink Hair (Bleach London Rosé)

I decided to mix up my hair a little and do something different, but I didn’t want to commit to anything permanent or anything that would cause any real damage or change.  So, I tried the Bleach London Rosé Super Cool Colour Non-Permanent Hair Colour from Bleach Worldwide!

This product comes in tons of really fun colors (I definitely have to try Blullini next!), but I started out with Rosé, of course.  It’s meant to go over bleached hair but works on multiple shades of blonde.  (The color will come out a different shade on slightly darker hair.)  As I said above, I didn’t want to do anything permanent right now so I skipped bleaching and just applied the dye over my hair as is.

The first time around I just wanted to see how it worked so I went light on the product, only applying it on the very ends of my hair.  The dye is a very thick consistency with a non-offensive scent.  The bottle says to apply it to shampooed, towel-dried hair, but I just put it over my already washed, styled, and dried hair (having used conditioner the night before and with a very small amount of product in from that morning).  I left it in a little longer than the suggested 20 minutes or so (no harm in that!) then rinsed it out and applied a small amount of conditioner.  Once dried, it was a very faint rose gold tone on me.  I like it, but I also wanted some more pink for Pink Friday!  ;-)

The color is supposed to last 2-10 washes.  My first round was faint and barely visible after washing it the next day.  So I tried round 2 the very next day.  This time I shampooed (skipping conditioner!) and towel-dried my hair, then applied the dye without any other products in my hair.  (Much better!)  I also went about halfway up my hair and added a lot more color.  After about 35 minutes I rinsed it out (skipping conditioner again; it leaves your hair very soft!) and let it air-dry over night.  This time it was very pink!  Without having bleached my hair the Rosé color is definitely a little darker on me, but I love the shade! 

For me the color fades very quickly (the very top picture in this post is from the first day after round 2, and the picture above is the second day), but it’s perfect when I just want fun hair for a few days!

Happy Pink Friday!

~Alyssa

Vacation the Healthy Way

Traveling is an amazing experience! But packing snacks can seem like a hassle and it may be easier to just get a quick fast food meal or pack unhealthy snacks, like chips. Here are some tips to make your trip healthier and fun!

-If you are going on a road trip, do your best to mostly pack healthy snacks for your trip. Bring a huge cooler and fill it with veggies trays, fruits, cheese spreads, and water. Spending money on these things will make your trip healthier and less expensive than ordering out throughout the trip. (We all like saving money and you can use it to buy other things you want, like souvenirs, activities, etc.)

-Having plans to go out to dinner during your trip? You want to have fun on your trip and try different foods, but no one wants to think about their diets at this time. Well all you have to do is just think about what you are eating. This doesn't mean you can only choose the salad, choose things that are lower in calories and lower in fat. If you happen to forget, just remember that everyone slips up once in awhile. Whats important is you get yourself back on track for the next meal and those after it.

-Continuing with the theme of ordering out, be cautious of what you drink. Alcohol, soda, and fruit juices all have calories (some of them very unnecessary). Try to stay hydrated with water mostly, as it has no calories and is very good for you.

-Are you finding that your slip up is really bothering you? Well if your hotel has a pool or a gym, then just do a little work out. I find that swimming is really fun and it doesn't even feel like a workout. So have fun with your friends or family in the pool and work off those calories.

-Another way to incorporate exercise in your vacation is to walk as much as you can. Walking to places near by not only will help you stay fit, but it will also save you money.

Make your summer vacation fun! ~Katrina

Keep Flowers Fresh Longer

If you’re anything like me, you love having fresh flowers around the house but struggle to keep them alive for more than a few days.  Here are a few tips that I’ve found useful in keeping a vase of flowers fresh for a much longer period of time!

·      Cut stems diagonally- Once you’ve determined how much you need to cut the stems to fit your vase, cut them at an angle rather than straight across.  This allows the flowers to absorb more water.  I like to alternate with each stem to mix it up. 

·      Cut slits up the stem- After cutting the stems down to the right height, cut up each stem just a bit to open up the bottom.  I like to cut 2-4 slits, depending on the width of the stem. 

·      Run stem ends under warm water- Running the tips of the stems under warm (but not too hot!) water helps to melt some of the sap and allow the flowers to get more water from the vase.

·      Add sugar and lemon juice to vase- If your flowers came with a mixture to add to the water, add that when you first fill your vase.  If not, add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar and a splash of lemon juice to the water before placing the flowers in the vase.  You can also add sugar and lemon juice to the water after a few days or so to revive flowers.

~Alyssa

Salmon with Mango Salsa

Heres a simple, delicious, and healthy meal that can be enjoyed all summer long and is very versatile! If you aren't a fan of salmon, this can also work with a white fish (like Halibut), chicken, or pork. 

Ingredients: 

1/4 of a red onion, minced

1 mango, diced

1/4 of an English cucumber, diced

1/4 tsp of cayenne or 1 jalapeno

1 lime, 1/2 for the salsa and 1/2 for the salmon

1/4 green pepper, diced

1 clove of garlic minced

1 tbsp of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 small tomato, diced

salt and pepper to taste

1 salmon fillet, bones removed

Directions: Cut all of the veggies and season the salsa to taste. Let the salsa sit for a couple of hours to marry the flavors and drain off any juice.  Put a generous amount of pepper and a little salt on each side of the salmon fillet and squeeze half of the lime over it. Let this marinate in the fridge for 2 hours. Now for this recipe I grilled the salmon, put doing it in the oven or on the stove top works perfectly fine. Let the pan/ grill heat and sear the skin for 3 to 4 minutes. Next flip it and cook it on the other side for 4 minutes. Flip it back on its skin and put the salsa over the salmon and slightly warm it for 3 minutes. Finally its ready to eat. This is perfect served over some rice or can be served with little warm flour tortillas to make delicious fajitas!

~Katrina 

A Touch of Tropical

If you’re part of the (unfortunate) majority of us that isn’t spending the whole summer on the beach, you can still look like you’re having a cool, beachy summer!  Here are a few ways to add a touch of tropical into your look!

·      Add pineapples to your nails- Or palm trees, or hibiscus flowers, or whatever!  Just paint your nails a solid color such as white or a sheer neon (these are great to enhance any amount of tan you may have achieved, even if it came from a bottle!) and use a striper brush a couple colors to add a tropical accent nail.

·      Get a watermelon phone case- Show your phone some tropical love with a cute case in a bright color and fun design.  This one is a cute watermelon print with a touch of Beyoncé sass.

·      Wear a palm tree print- A pair of shorts or a flowy tank top with palm trees on it is a great way to add a summery vibe to your style.  Keep the print black and white to avoid looking to trendy.

·      Carry a fun tote- A tote bag screams summer, and this one is really adorable with palm trees and a “beach please” print!

~Alyssa