makeup

MASCARA WANDS: DO THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

photos + post by amy nadine

If you’ve always wondered if the type of mascara wand you use is important, this experiment is for you! I coerced my assistant Carissa to model again and to make sure that the only variable was the wand, we used the same formula mascara (L’Oreal Telescopic) with each wand, did exactly two coats of each and completely took it off in between applications. The results may look subtle but to me are maaajor!

  • PLASTIC COMB: You can see it really separated the lashes from each other, gave a dark color payoff and lengthened them.
  • NATURAL BRISTLES: The wand created a soft + light look, which I’m equally a fan of, especially when hanging with your honey and want “pet-able” lashes (revisit our dating makeup post here). And it made them look fuller + more voluminous.
  • PLASTIC BRISTLES: This wand kind of married the two above by creating dark, long + full lashes! Very interesting! The only downside is they are stiff (not soft + pet-able).


hair

ORGANIZATION STATION: HEADBAND HOLDER


photos and post by Kristin Ess

Tis the season for spring cleaning! Last week we did a DIY on hair jars for the bathroom. This week it’s time to organize those pretty little headbands! This is the easiest project ever and hopefully one that will be as beneficial to you as it was to me and my messy drawers of headbands. Here’s 8 easy steps to making one of these helpful holders…

  1. Get a large roll of paper towels. Test a headband on it to make sure it fits. If not, remove some of the paper towels until they fit properly.
  2. Get a fabric that coordinates well with your bedroom or bathroom. I went with a very thin taupe-y grey cotton voile fabric.
  3. Spray paint a ruler (or something flat that can stablize your paper towel roll) with a complimentary or matching color. I used flat white.
  4. Plug in your hot glue gun and get your scissors out!
  5. Cut a fabric square and leave an extra 6″ on each side of the roll. Hot glue the edge of the fabric to the paper towel roll as seen above.
  6. Wrap it all the way around the paper towel roll, overlapping by an inch or two. Cut and glue that edge into place. I folded my edge under before I glued it to make it cleaner.
  7. Once that’s secure, twist the excess fabric on the sides (like you would with a piece of candy) and tuck them into the paper towel roll hole.
  8. Put hot glue on your ruler or piece of wood and secure it to the base of the headband holder to prevent it from rolling.

Last but not least…

hair

HOW TO: LAUREN’S DIP DYED PONY

photos: Kristin Ess + Lauren Conrad, post designed by Eunice Chun

Did everyone catch a glimpse of Lauren’s pink dip dyed ponytail on her Instagram last night? It was taken just before she arrived at her last stop on the Fame Game book tour at Barnes & Noble in LA. This is a really fun idea for anyone planning to wear ponytails and fishtail braids this summer because it really adds a lil pop to the mundane mane. And though it stays longer than hair chalk, it’s still only temporary! Here are the steps we took to get the look (we literally “dip dyed” it this time):

  1. Put your hair in a ponytail.
  2. We wanted a subtle gradation with the fuchsia so there was no hard line where the blonde ends and the pink begins. Using a semi-permanent pink color + warm water we created 3 different strength pinks in 3 different bowls. (We used Special FX color in Atomic Pink. Put 2 quarter sized dabs of color in each bowl. Add 1/2 a cup of warm water to one bowl, 1 cup of warm water to the second bowl and 1 1/2 cups of warm water to the third bowl.)
  3. We dipped 6″ of Lauren’s ponytail into the lightest pink and squeezed it out over the sink.
  4. Next we went 2 inches lower and dipped the bottom 4 inches in the medium pink, then squeezed it out over the sink.
  5. Last we went 2 more inches below that, dipping the last 2 inches in the darkest pink color and squeezed it out over the sink.

After we finished coloring the hair we shampooed and conditioned the whole head. Beware that this color is not permanent but will definitely stay in light hair for a long time, brunettes for less time. The lighter your hair, the more vibrant. If you’re a brunette or redhead, you would have to have your hairstylist lighten the tips prior to dip dying your ponytail. Otherwise, chalking is another great temporary option.

makeup

HOMEMADE BODY SHIMMER

photos + post by amy nadine

Temperatures are rising and prom, formals + weddings are just around the corner! Which means our skin needs a little help after a long dry winter! After giving your body a good buff with our D.I.Y. brown sugar scrub, add a little shimmer to your lotion to get that perfect glow (without having to spend any money!). Here’s what I made last week in 3 easy steps to use on my clients on talk shows (Brittany Snow with her gorgeous new red hair on her visit to Conan, stunning + raven-haired Krysten Ritter on her visits to both Jimmy Kimmel and Conan and our lovely Lauren Conrad on her visit to Chelsea Lately last night!) that I thought you might like too:

TOOLS

Your favorite lotion (we’re obsessed with Korres Body Butter in Jasmine because it’s natural and smells divine but any lotion that you love will work)
Small jar of gold loose mica mineral pigment (I like Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Colour Concentrate in Clove for Fair to Medium skin tones, or Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics in Acacia or Mimosa for Tan to Dark skin tones). You can also crush up an old gold or pearl pressed eyeshadow to make it loose.
A mixing bowl or tumbler, chopstick + spoon
An empty travel-sized jar or bottle

1. Combine 4 parts lotion with ½ teaspoon gold shimmer (or measure by sprinkling the shimmer until desired shade is achieved).
2. Stir with chopstick until color is consistent (isn’t it gorgeous?!) then direct it towards one side for scooping.
3. Spoon out your creation and transfer it into the jar.

You can do this with coconut oil, tanning oils and many sunscreens. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll start wanting to try different shades of illuminating loose powders and add them to everything! Please share any of your ideas + potions too!