Tip: Fix a Broken Lipstick

Oh no!! Our favorite lipstick is broke!!

Never fear, there is a solution.  I have a lipstick that I like that broke recently.  Rather than just throw it away, I thought I would fix it.

Simple steps:

1.)Heat up each end of the lipstick (handle and the end of the bullet) with a lighter.

2.) Smash them back together.

3.) Let it cool.

4.) Clean it up and back in business!!

Product Review: Avon Pretty in Neutrals Palette

 

Gotta make travel easy!!

I am traveling a lot these days for a work and am constantly looking for ways to condense my suitcase, and making packing a breeze.  This Avon palette really does that for me. 

I am the kind of person that thinks.."What if?"  "I should pack for all possibilities."  So when I pack my make-up I end of packing a lot of loose palettes so I will have what I need when my mood strikes.  This doesn't make for a nice condensed packing strategy.

My answer came at Christmas.  My lovely mom gave me the Avon Pretty in Neutrals Palette.

 

This is a very diverse palette of nice neutrals.  If you want a classic cat eye, winged linear, smokey eye you can get it done.  Additionally there are great brown shades as well.  The shadows will work for any skin tone, hair color, eye color you name it.

 

The face products on the other hand, definitely aren't for all skin tones.  The bronzer is great for a medium to medium fair skin.  If you aren't competent with make-up and have fair skin, the bronzers might be too dark.  The blushes are great neutrals that compliment any hair color and can work with fair to fair/medium tones.  The highlighters are great as well.

 

The only thing I haven't used is the lipsticks.  Lipsticks in these kinds of palettes never work for me.  When you are out, you wont be able to touch up your lipstick because who is going to drag around a big palette.

 

 

So now when I pack, I just throw in my concealer, mascara, and liquid eye linear.  Makes my life EASY!!

 

Tip: Baking Soda

Just a simple easy $$$ tip today.

We ran out of laundry soap....AAAHHHH!!!  And I wasn't able to get out to the store and I had a mountain of laundry.  What to do.

I did a bit of research online and found a great solution: baking soda.


Seems a little silly maybe so I did a test load with my son's clothes.  WOW it worked great.  1/2 a cup of baking soda for a medium load of laundry, it worked great.

Baking soda is proving to be a lot of olive oil, great for a lot of things.  The old folks used to use it for toothpaste.  If you add baking soda and vinegar on a 1:1 ratio into a clogged drain you can unclog it.  To ease the itch of a bug bite, you can make a paste with baking soda to sooth the discomfort.  Then of course the most common use, deodorize...well..anything! 

Tip: Freshen up Dried Flowers

Super quick!!  Dried flowers looking...dry?

This is a quick and easy one.  If you like dried flowers like I do and you find that over the years they get dry looking.  Hit them up with some hairspray.  It will richen the color without damaging the fragile flowers.  The color will stay dark as well.  Check out the before and after as well as the after of a bouquet that I have done six months ago.  

No dried decrepit flowers here!!

Product Review: Wet & Wild Mega Last Liquid Lip Color

Who doesn't love no maintenance makeup!!!

Winter is definitely the season for dark lips.  I have recently really started to feel comfortable wearing dark lips regularly (mind you I do wear a lot of make-up).  But with dark lips, is a lot more maintenance which I don't have time for.

You have to line your lips to make sure it doesn't bleed (and it still might).  Lip stick is next, and sometimes you need a gloss on top of that.  Then comes the worst part...the re-apply.  Boo!

I was searching for the solution and a lot of drug store brands have the longwearing lip products that are basically stains, but they have a texture more similar to lipstick.  They are opaque and permanent for lack of a better word. 

Before I spent some money on the pricy-er stuff I wanted to see if something like this would even appeal to me so I gave the Wet n' Wild brand a shot.  They have a Mega Last Liquid Lip Color and it is awesome!!

I haven't had to try any other brand because these work so great.  Just put it on dry lips (if you have chap stick on they go on kinda gunky).  And watch it work.  It goes on like a lip gloss, looks like a lipstick, and stays like a lip stain.  You do need to use chap stick after you have applied because they are a bit drying (more similar to a matte lipstick).  But they are terrific.  After eating lunch, and a bunch of cups of coffee it is still sticking in there on my lips.  Love it and would recommend it to anyone!!  They are $2.99 and come in a variety of colors.  Whahoo for inexpensive and awesome!!

Below are the swatches of the colors that I have from left to right:
931A High Pitched Wine 929A Rose to the Occasion 922A Cherry on Top 926A Pink Perfection

Tip: Dream Book

Bout to get all "woo woo" on ya!!

This might be a little too woo woo for some of you.  I know you know what I mean.  A little too "quartz crystals, fung sh-we, shakra" etc.  But this is something that I have done for a long time and I think it is a great thing so I want to share.

Dream Books!!!

If you have a creative artistic bone in your body, you need to keep a dream book.  I don't care what it is that you are creating, you need to keep a dream book.  Whenever you are feeling without inspiration, you can take a peak at your dream book and get right back on track.

What is a dream book you might ask?  It is simply a book with full of inspirations.  Inspirational pictures, sayings etc.  Mine is full of things that inspire me artistically.  Whether it is awesome home design, cool design on a birthday card, or an awesome fashion layout (aka the new Dolce & Gabbana campaign!!) basically anything that stirs me.  Cool color combinations, an awesome outfit and more.

How do you make one?  The simplest way and the way I do it is just bet a spiral notebook and tape or staple pictures in it.  You of course can get more indepth, however why do it if you don't want to.  The fun part for me is finding the inspiration and re-visitng the inspiration.  Cutting perfect squares, gluing, labeling all sounds terrible to me.  So you will that mine looks and mess.  But it isn't for anyone else but me!!

What is your favorite "woo woo" kind of thing?

Product Review: Lansinoh Lanolina HPA

Great Product Review!!

This is a terrific product.  My sweet baby was having cracking toes.  It has been very dry this winter and Remy is always bare foot.  His toes have been cracking and peeling.

This cream was terrific!!  Our pediatrician thought it could be one of two things: dry skin or athletes foot.  Either way, this cream would work and boy did it.

It is very goopy and coated his toes well.  We put him in socks and over night he got the moisture that he needed.  There was not medicated smell which was awesome.  This is marketed as a cream for cracked nipples so it is a safe product for little-uns.

I would recommend this for anyone with cracked heels, toes, dry elbows, cuticles etc.

Plus, it is a terrific price!!

Stay warm & supple this winter.