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October 29, 2005
Brighten Up!
Not a morning person? Been up all night? Jump start you body and brighten up your look with these simple tips. Get ready to fake awake!
How To Fake Awake
- Once you're out of bed, do some jumping jacks to get your heart going and the blood flowing. If you aren't a morning person or hate morning exercise, skip this step.
- Wash your face with a gentle cleanser and lots of warm water. The splashes of water should help wake you up a bit.
- Moisturize, apply sunscreen, and your usual base (foundation, concealer, tinted moisturizer, whatever). Set with loose powder.
- Apply black or brown eyeliner to the top lids making sure to stay as close to the lash line as possible.
- Using an eye shadow brush (for powder) or your finger (for cream), apply beige or champagne eye shadow on the lid and just above the crease.
- After curling lashes, apply black mascara.
- Using a blush brush, apply a peachy-pink blush to apples of cheeks.
Don't know where the apples of your cheeks are? Smile. See the parts of your cheeks that pop out the most? Those are your apples.
- Apply a peachy-pink lip gloss, finish with another dusting of loose powder all over the face, and smile!
TA-DA! You now look awake, but you still feel like crap, right? My favorite way to perk up is with, you guessed it, caffeine! Not with a giant mochaccino with three shots of espresso, but with green tea. Tea has more caffeine than coffee and is packed with antioxidants. So, instead stopping at the coffee shop for a high calorie (and high priced) mocha-frappa-cappa-al-paccino, brew a cup of green tea at home (Ten Ren is a great brand of tea and is my favorite). If you don't like the taste, add a little honey for some sweetness.
Have a Nice Day :-)
Posted by *Tammy at 08:30 AM
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filed under BeautyTips
October 21, 2005
Sunscreen in Winter?
Anti-aging products may help plump up skin that's already wrinkled, but suncreen protects against future damage to the skin. It protects your skin from the aging and burning rays of the sun which is why I call it the real fountain of youth. Suncreen should be worn everyday, not just on the beach or during the summer months. Both UVA an UVB rays can poke through clouds, so protect your largest organ from wrinkles and sun damage with a dollop of sunscreen everyday.
I know I've been skimping on the updates lately, so I'm going to make it up to you all with a brand new product review! Here goes!
I got a free sample of Murad Waterproof Sunblock SPF 30 with my latest order from Sephora.com
. So, I decided to hold off on my usual Coppertone Ultrasheer Sunscreen SPF 45 ($10)
and give this Murad stuff a try.
A full size (4oz.) bottle of Murad's sunblock is $27. Is this sunscreen really worth all of your hard earned pretty pennies (in this case, tons and tons of pennies)?
...Absolutely not!...
Where do I begin? Just the smell of this stuff scared me. It smells like medicine masked by essential oils. Yup, there are oils in this sunscreen and oils can clog pores, even essential oils. Not only does it smell bad, it's greasy and leaves a nasty film behind. The only good thing I have to say about Murad's sunscreen is that it did protect my skin from the sun. I can buy stinky yet effective sunscreen from the dollar store! I'll definitely be sticking to my Coppertone Ultrasheer Sunscreen, SPF 45 ($10). It's not greasy or smelly and full of vitamins and antioxidants. The best part about Coppertone's sunscreen is that it's only 10 bucks and comes in a bigger bottle (6oz.)! Thank goodness for effective, inexpensive sunscreen! Woohoo!
Posted by *Tammy at 04:47 PM
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Comparisons&Reviews
October 10, 2005
Gettin' Healthy
Woohoo! My classes were canceled today! So, what did I do? I went to the market. See, I've been on a fast food diet for the past month (sooo not good for me...or anybody) so I decieded to get some food that's good for me. No more fast food for a loooooooong time, or maybe I'll just give it up. That'll be really hard for me because I am a fast food queen. Ok, let's just see if I can go without fast food for one month. If I can, I'll keep on not eating fast food and eventually just forget it completely. You heard me people, I, Tammy Suriwong, will not eat fast food for one month (or longer) starting today, October 10, 2005.
Anyway, if you're wondering what healthy foods actually taste good here's what I like...
I'm not much of a leafy green veggie eater so I eat lots of fruits and veggies that are other colors. I also have a major sweet tooth so I try to eat fruit or yogurt to satisfy my cravings. If I want to sweeten something, I use half a packet Splenda (trust me, a whole packet is way too sweet) instead of real sugar.
Usually, the more colorful the foods are in your diet, the better. So, just try a little of everything and see what tastes best to you. In case you don't know what to try, here's what I like (and also bought at the market today):
- hummus with red peppers (tastes great with rye crackers or 100% whole wheat pita bread)
- hummus with artichokes and garlic
- light yogurt (Yoplait is my favorite)
- cantaloupe
- Ready Pac of sliced, washed carrots and celery (you can save more money by getting the whole veggies and washing and cutting them on your own)
- apple cinnimon oatmeal
- cereal (Total)
- chocolate soymilk
- vanilla soymilk
- granny smith apples
- nectarines
- low fat string cheese (makes a great mid day snack)
Ok, so there's more sweet stuff than veggies, but it's a start for me. Give these foods a try and your body will thank you. Not only does eating healthy help you on the inside, but it helps you on the outside too because the condition of your inside reflects on the outside. Yay for good health! Woohoo!
Posted by *Tammy at 12:40 PM
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filed under BeautyTips
HealthandFitness
October 05, 2005
The Mascara Results Are In!
Two step mascaras are very popular now a days, one side has a fortifying lash primer and the other side has a highly pigmented mascara. The first step is the primer which nourishes lashes with lengthening and thickening ingredients and also helps mascara stay put. The second step is the actual mascara which darkens, defines, and lifts lashes sky high.
On 09/13/05, I started my comparison between a pricey two step mascara and a less expensive one. I tried both Bourjois Coup de Theatre False Lash Illusion Duo Mascara
Bourjois Coup de Theatre False Lash Illusion Duo Mascara in Noir Diva 11
The Claim: "Coupe de Theatre is a unique, extra lengthening and ultra-thickening dual-ended mascara. One end contains a unique cero-fibrillar complex consisting of wax, nylon fibers and silica fibers that thicken and lengthen lashes, and the other end contains a pro-vitamin B5 enriched, highly pigmented, mascara for ultra rich color and shine."
The Result
-The primer glided on to my lashes smoothly and coated very evenly. When I finished this step, I saw that the primer had extended beyond my natural lash tips. It added little white "extensions" to them, making them appear longer! The primer thickened up my lashes nicely too!
- I thought the mascara was not going to go on so smoothly because the primer was already there, but boy was I wrong. It glided on just as smoothly and evenly as the primer did! After two coats, my lashes were super long, dark, and shiny. It really gave me that false lash look without looking too dramatic. I applied a third coat to see if my lashes would clump, but they didn't! By the third coat, my lashes were extremely long and shiny and I loved it!
- After being outside in 100 degree weather for a day, I thought my mascara had melted, giving me the dreaded racoon eyes. I checked in the mirror and low and behold, no sign of racoon eyes at all. My lashes looked just as great as they did when I applied the mascara that morning!
- Bourjois' mascara actually lived up to their claim! It thickened, lengthened, darkened, and didn't clump with many coats. It also withstood the Los Angeles heat without melting or smearing! Who knew lashes could look this great without falsies? This mascara is definately great, but a little too expensive for my student income to afford on a regular basis.
L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara in Blackest Black
The Claim: +60% Visibly Longer
Step 1: Lash Extender Base-Coat - prime, fortify, lengthen.
Step 2: Lash Magnifier Color-Coat - coat with rich color, magnify.
L'Oreal invents New Double Extend Mascara Lash Extender and Magnifier to create long, lush lashes...in just 2 easy steps!
The Result
- The primer glided on nicely, but I couldn't really see it on my lashes so I didn't know whether it distrbuted evenly or not. I used two coats just to make sure I applied it evenly.
- The mascara went on easily and thickened up my lashes really nicely. It made my lashes look multiplied! I had long, super fat lashes! Nice.
- DO NOT let the first coat of mascara dry before applying the second coat because it will clump.
- After being outside on a hot day, the mascara melted a little bit giving me me semi-racoon eyes, nothing severe though. I just used a tissue to wipe off the mess and applied powder on my eye lids and under my eyes to keep the mascara from running. After that touch up, the mascara stayed in place all the way into the night.
- Not only did L'Oreal's mascara lengthen and magnify my lashes, it also multiplied them! It's just as good as Bourjois' mascara and much less expensive. Now this mascara, I can afford regularly! Woohoo!
Conclusion: Both mascaras lived up to their claims of making lashes look great, but Bourjois' is a little too expensive for me. L'Oreal's mascara works just as well and the price is very nice. I'll stick with the L'Oreal on a regular basis and maybe splurge on the Bourjois once in awhile when I have a little extra money.
Posted by *Tammy at 09:15 AM
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filed under Comparisons&Reviews
