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When I was little, my mom had a quote from Mohammed Ali painted on my closet door. It said, "I can't wait until tomorrow because I get prettier every day." This was an ironic saying for a couple of reasons:
I was not a pretty child - I had the most awful chili bowl haircut.
Mohammed Ali wasn't necessarily a beauty aficionado.
However, now that I am older, wiser, and a little more experienced when it comes to beauty rituals and I feel I’ve paid my dues to when it comes to bad beauty decisions, I think I have a good grasp on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to hair and makeup.
This post is going to be about beauty trends that are hot this summer and the cheap way you can attain those looks – and not look crazy…or orange.
The first trend I LOVE this summer is the blue eyeliner trend. Now – here’s the for-warning. This can go wrong, terribly wrong. Mimi from The Drew Carey Show is probably the first thing that pops into your mind. The first worst case scenario that comes to mind when I think of blue eyeliner gone wrong was in high school when I thought I was being so cute and clever for showcasing Airline’s signature blue color in the form of cheap eyeliner to a football game in mid-August. These were also the first days that Facebook came to be. Sadly, the first few photos in my archive feature my super cute blue eyeliner running all down my face. In order to avoid looking like the next member of the blue man group here or Mimi re-incarnated, here are a few tips:
If you’re going to try blue eyeliner – buy the good kind, not the $.99 jordana brand at the CVS checkout counter. The blue eyeliner in the picture is Revlon’s Photo Ready Kajal Intense eyeliner + brightener for $7.99 at Target.
Blue eyeliner looks awesome on the upper lid or the lower lid – however, be careful you don’t have too much going on either above or below wherever your blue streak is being showcased. Stick with naturally colored eye shadow – or shadow-less!
Pair your bold blue eyes with a nude or neutral color lip. This is the key to avoid looking like Bozo the clown.
The next trend I really adore is the effortless side braid. This is the easiest way to bum it in the hair department without looking like a bum. Plus, it’s better for your hair! When your hair is up in a tight pony tail or a messy bun, you can do serious damage to your locks by ripping out strands (we’ve all been there – tears in our eyes, a pounding headache, and a small mammal attached to your ponytail holder after a particularly brutal battle). Here are a few tips and tricks to attaining a sweet Elsa-like braid:
First you have to LET IT GO! LET IT GO! Sorry I couldn’t help myself! But seriously, let it down, brush it out, sleep with it wet, the messier the locks, the better the braid.
Before I start braiding I almost always use a sea salt texturizing spray. This makes your messy hair a bit easier to work with by giving your hair some texture (duh). The sea salt spray I live for is Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray it’s an 8 oz. bottle of coco nutty smelling goodness that will only cost you $5.74 at Wal-Mart. Also, if I am having a particularly heinous fly-away day, I just borrow a little bit of my fiancé’s Axe Styling Aid Spiked Up Putty. Once again – it’s a cheap and effective way to tame your crazy locks and it smells great as well.
If you have seriously layered hair, here’s where I can help you out. My hair is so layered that I’ve got a major inch difference in my upper and lower layers, however, I can keep the hair on the non-braided side from falling out by French braiding from the opposite side from the braid. If you’re a horrible French braider all I can tell you is practice makes perfect – not on someone else – but on yourself!
The last tip I have is to go out and buy some of those clear rubber bands to tie off the end of your hair. Nothing ruins a braid quite like a gigantic pony tail holder.
This next one is great news to women everywhere! And it’s proven that men like this look more than a look that involves more work, time, and money. It’s the no-makeup bronzed glow that is making its way to runways as well as lazy summer days. There’s not much instruction to this but these are my two favorite products to achieve this look:
Garnier Skin Renewal Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream, Combination – Oily Skin, Medium/Deep $10.00 at Target – this is my secret weapon to flawless looking skin. I could go on about this stuff all day. This particular BB Cream controls shine all day, evens skin tone, and lessens the need for more make up. If this stuff was taken off the market I’d croak.
Laura Geller Beauty Blush-n-Brighten in Sunswept $33.00 at Ulta – I love this bronzer so much. It’s a bit of a splurge but I have a darker skin complexion and a cheap bronzer never quite does the trick for me. Dust this stuff under the apples of your cheeks, your chin, the bridge of your nose, and on your temples for a dewy glow.
The last look I love this summer (and I feel has been neglected by women everywhere) are the dramatic lower lashes. Mascara on your lower lashes absolutely makes your eye-makeup. A neglected lower lash makes an eye look incomplete. I wouldn’t go so far as to glue false lower lashes on to my eye for fear of ripping out those poor baby lashes, but I do love the Twiggy-ness of this trend. If you’re into the lower false lashes, you can by these at beautybar.com, they’re called Winks by Georgie Faux Eyelashes No. 10 Ma Jolie $18.00. The mascara that is featured in the photo is L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara $8.99 at Ulta.
Thanks again for reading! I hope you go out and try all of these beauty trends ASAP! Maybe just not all at once!
xx,
Jordan