How To Add Volume To Your Hair

We've Tapped Into A Cool Idea Here!

I always have something brewing in my collection of beauty goodies.  Years of information, and now I can share all of my beauty-ful recipes.  One of my favorites, that I’ve been tapping into for years,  is beer for your hair.  Some head on your beer is good, but this time we’re talking the one on your shoulders!  

It may come as a surprise to you, but beer has many other uses than quenching your thirst.  One that is really great, is adding volume to your hair.

So how do you brew this great concoction of hair volume?

• Wash hair as normal
• Mix 3 tablespoons of you’re favorite beer with 1/2 cup of warm water
• Apply cocktail to your hair
• Let it infuse for 5 minutes
• Rinse and style as usual!

Cheers!

Cleaning Your Jewels Rules, With Antacid

                                                                     

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz oh what a relief it is, to have clean jewelry that is! Jewelry cleaner can be expensive, but considering the cost of your jewelry, investing the time to clean it is important.  So, here is a BB Bit on an uncommon use for a common product… Antacid, to clean your jewelry!
  
How To Do:

• Fill a small glass with water
• Drop in 2 antacids
• Drop your jewels in while the fizzing is still taking place
• Let your jewels soak for about 10 minutes, the fizzing needs to stop before you remove them
• Rinse and pat dry with a soft cloth

How does this work?

The fizz (bubbles) will cling to the jewelry and remove the dirt. As the bubbles rise to top, so does the dirt from your jewelry. Leaving your jewelry sparkling like new!

Important:  This works great on diamonds & gold.  However, do not try this on pearl, opals or with silver, this solution is too harsh for these.

Plumper Lips Without Surgery

A Touch of Cinnamon Please! 

CAUTION:  I am not a professional on this, so try at your own risk.  Keep in mind that too much cinnamon can burn & lead to possible other reactions. So you must be careful.  Never apply the oil directly to your lips, you must dilute it. Always TEST it prior to applying to lips!  If you fail to do so you can cause burning of the lip tissue, and other bad reactions.

So I was at The Heritage Store the other day.  It is a great holistic and natural food market.  While I was getting some last minute stocking stuffers for my Pantry to Pretty gifts, I overheard a girl asking about cinnamon oil for her lips. Out of curiosity and always wanting to add more DIY beauty products to my arsenal, I asked the lady what exactly she needed cinnamon oil for.  During our 20-minute discussion, I was able to walk away with a new Pantry to Pretty recipe... A lip ointment for plumper lips. 

So How Does This Work
Cinnamon oil increases the blood circulation to the area in which it is applied.  When applied to the lips it irritates the skin on your lips, causing your lips to temporary swell, giving you a fuller, sexier lip.  You may be thinking, how can irritation equal sexy, kind of seems like and a double entrendre  to me. However, the same thing can happen with the department store's  lip plumper as some of these  have cinnamon oil in them too.  And let’s be honest, it sounds like a much better approach than surgery.  None the less, I tried it and loved it!!!

Some Things To Keep In Mind

• To start off with, you want to make a weak formula, for a test.  And try it in one spot (like behind the ear or hand), prior to a full lip application.  I found this out by looking online at Lip Augmentation.
• Keep in mind, cinnamon oil can give you a tingling/warm sensation.  As stated above, this irritation is what causes the plumping. So don’t get scared, it’s the reaction the cinnamon oil causes. 
• The great thing about this beauty regiment is it is temporary, so no worries if you don't like it.

How To

• You need an oil or gloss to mix it with.
• Options: Vaseline, lip gloss, or even vitamin E works.
• Drop one to three drops of cinnamon leaf oil into one of your options. (Remember the first go around, make a weaker version)
• Stir with a cotton swab or makeup spatula.
• Apply to lips, with a lipstick brush.
• Leave it on your lips for a few minutes and wipe off.
• Your lips will be a little plumper.
• Now add some regular gloss to finish off your voluptuous lips.

CAUTION:  I am not a professional on this, so try at your own risk.  Keep in mind that too much cinnamon can burn & lead to possible other reactions. So you must be careful.  Never apply the oil directly to your lips, you must dilute it.  If you fail to do so you can cause burning of the lip tissue, and other bad reactions.

Clear Your Acne With GARLIC

Aside from warding off vampires, and cooking, garlic is also great for banishing blemishes.  And here we thought vampires were the only ones afraid of garlic; you would have never thought a zit would be too.  Well, it’s true! Garlic makes a great cleanser for your face.  Why? Because garlic is a wonderful antibacterial agent as well as being a great antiseptic.

So what do you need to do?

• Get a clove of garlic and smash it
• Mix the smashed garlic with ½ cup of warm water
• Once mixed,  now you are ready to apply 
•  I suggest using a pair of non latex gloves to apply the mixture to your pimple
• Once it is on, leave mixture on for 5-7 minutes
• Rinse off with some cool water& pat dry

IMPORTANT:  If you were thinking forget the water as I want this zit to go away now.  Don’t! Garlic applied directly to the skin can burn, so please make sure you mix it with water and most important be careful, you don't want to burn your skin.

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Must Have Makeup Brushes For Your Face

If you’re one who uses your fingers to apply your foundation, don’t. Your fingers can deposit oil on your face, along with bacteria, and then you pack that in with the foundation, Yuk!  Instead, you need to make sure you are using the correct makeup brushes.  Foundations already have oil in them to help with coverage, so you don’t need to add to it by using your fingers to apply.  By using a makeup brush, you will pick up the pigment, not the oil in the foundation. Using a makeup brush will also help with great coverage blend ability, without the oily look.

My Approach To Makeup Application: I look at the face as a blank canvass and your makeup brushes are the tools completing the wonderful masterpiece.  There are a lot of great brushes for your face that help you achieve a flawless, airbrushed look.  I’ve listed a few of them here. 

190 MAC Foundation Brush:  This thin MAC foundation brush gives you a smooth, airbrushed look. Its firm fibres work well with foundation, uh duh! This brush is better for applying to the face first, followed up with other brushes.

187 MAC Duo Fibre Brush:  This MAC brush allows for a softer application, and works well with highlighting and liquid or cream products.  It is also known as a skunk brush, due to the black & white bristles.  The white hairs are synthetic and are used to pick up the product. The black hairs are goat hairs and are for buffing. Another name for this brush is a stippling brush.  What is a stippling brush you may ask? Stippling is a technique for applying liquid or cream foundations, blushes or highlighters. 

134 MAC Large Powder Brush: I love this MAC brush as it covers a lot in a few quick swoops.  The fibres are soft and this brush provides the perfect application of powder to your face. 

116 MAC Blush Brush: This is a MAC tapered brush that picks up the right amount of color.  It really allows you to highlight your cheeks and face. 

For some details along with pricing, you can go directly to the MAC WEBSITE.  It is a plethora of information; it’s like your own little pretty party online!

MAC Images : Mac Website

 

How To Make Your Own Nail Polish

 Eye See You Nailed It!

Here is a short but sweet BB Bit on what to do with the small Bits of your favorite eye shadow.  

First don’t throw it in the trash; you love the color, so use every last Bit of it 

by making it a new nail polish color!

What You'll Need

• Clear nail polish.

• Eye shadow

• Toothpick

• A funnel

How to: 

1. Remove the eye shadow and place it in a small baggy or cup.
2. Smash the eye shadow to make crumbles out of it.  Because you want your polish to apply smoothly without bumps, make sure to smash the Bits into dust.
3. Place a small funnel into the clear nail polish.  
4. Slowly pour in the crumbled eye color(make sure to mix well as you don’t want large chunks).
5. Use the toothpick to mix up the color into the bottle. The final touch is to shake it a bit so it will be evenly disbrused.
6. Want to add that polished look to your creation?  Add some glitter, now you're polish pretty! 

Lipstick Tips

Staying Pucker Pretty! 

Do you catch yourself pouting because you can’t seem to achieve the perfect lip? 

Well here are some lip tips you can stick with!

Are You My Type:  Matte or glossy?  Both work great, but depending on the time of year, one may be better for your lips. 

·         A matte lipstick lasts a long time, but it can dry out your lips.

·         A glossy look, wears off quickly, however they are hydrating.  Another great bit about a gloss is it can give your lips the illusion of being plumb. 

Know Your Lines:  I know the thought of lip liner can be scary, but if applied correctly you won’t look like an 80’s chic!  The goal is to make sure you are picking the right color, and most important that you are lining your lips correctly.  Way above the lip line is a big no, no. Instead lightly outline your lips with a shade that is close to the color of your lipstick.  Lip liners can also intensive the color of the lipstick when applied to the entire lip prior.

Are You In Your Prime: As with your face, primer is essential.  It helps prep your lips, ultimately extending the life of your lipstick, as well as helping to even out the tones of the color.  Another alternative to primer, is to apply a light coat of foundation and powder to your lips.

No Cake For You:  You must make sure that you start with a clean lip, and I don’t mean just removing your old makeup.  You want to exfoliate your lips. (Click here for a tip on this), this will make your lips smooth, preventing your lipstick from caking on dry skin.  When your lips are exfoliated, your lipstick will apply flawlessly.

By Cupid's Bow: The which, by Cupid's bow she doth protest. A little Shakespeare's to show some love for your lips!  None the less, if you want your lips to look fuller, add some highlighter to the Cupid’s bow (this is the double curve of upper lip).  The highlighter will draw attention to your lips, giving you a better shape as well.

Remove Marker With Toothpaste

If only the marker would stay on the paper. Well if you have kids, this doesn’t happen, as kids give new meaning to the words; “wall art!” Masterpiece not, an oh no moment, most certainly.  But no need to flip out as even permanent marker can be removed, by using toothpaste.  Depending on the texture of the wall, I’ve found that the bottom two BB Bits, work the best.

How To: 

Option 1 BB Bit…

• Fill up a small cup with water
• Add about a quarter size of Non-gel WHITE toothpaste and mix 
•  Apply mixture onto the permanent marker stain and scrub the stain with a toothbrush

Option 2 BB Bit…

•  Instead of making a mixture, apply the Non-gel WHITE toothpaste to the wall
• Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes
• Rub the paste into the stain and scrub
• Wipe clean with a cloth and some water