If your skin is prone to breakouts, over the counter acne products can be a big no-no come summer time since they leave your skin more susceptible to sun damage (and no one wants to trade pimples for wrinkles and sun spots!). So, ditch the creams that dry you out and spot treatments that leave you super-sensitive and instead hit up your kitchen for an all natural DIY facial using summer’s favorite treat: watermelon! With vitamins A, B6 and C and over 90% water content, watermelon will not only keep summer’s skin hydrated, but also will repair, protect and sooth skin too! (more…) read more →
Cool off. A hot, steamy shower in the winter may feel amazing but it wrecks havoc on your skin. As the temperatures dip outdoors, similarly lower your shower temperature too in order to keep your skin smooth and soft. Also, swap out your dehydrating soap and instead use a moisturizing body wash to help lock in moisture.
Exfoliate. Both you face and body need to be rid of those dull, dry skin cells that pile on when the weather gets cold. I love using Bliss’s Blood Orange Scrub on my body but just mixing sugar into your usual body wash will do the trick too! For my face, Arcona’s Cranberry Gommage is my favorite, but just some ground oats in your usual cleanser will work also! (more…) read more →
Frizzy hair is all the rage (literally) this time of year. As the humidity rises, so too do our strands – leaving us with puffy, frizzy, unmanageable hair. To keep our locks looking lovely (and our sanity in check!), we need to fight that frizz. And we need to fight hard. For most women, frizzy hair is actually a result of dry or over-processed strands that suck up the humidity in the air in a dire need for moisture and, as a result, go haywire. So, to fight that frizz we need to moisturize those locks of ours well before the weather can wreck havoc and, here at least, we’re doing it naturally. So, head to your kitchen, stock up your fridge and get out the mixer because this hair mask with rock (err, tame) your world! (more…) read more →
About this time of the year, as the weather gets warmer and we renew our love for the environment (both because we can actually spend more than a frost-bitten-second outdoors and because of Earth Day), we begin to re-evaluate our environmental impacts. Sure, turning off your low-energy lights when not home, using refillable water bottles and keeping the air conditioner in check help, but – perhaps surprisingly – so can revamping your beauty routine! Here are 3 products we’re putting in our makeup bags to help us look our best, while saving the word one makeup swipe at a time. (Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea.)
Physician’s Formula Bamboo Wear Bamboo Compact, Mirror & Brush, $6.95
Few of us know the process by which many of our beauty tools are made: trees are cut, environments are impacted, and don’t even get us started on the animal rights issues involved with some makeup brush bristles (although there certainly are companies that do a great job with cruelty-free brushes). Physician’s Formula, though, can make you feel better about all of this, without compromising results. I particularly love this Bamboo Wear Compact, Mirror & Brush because of its naturally sustainable, durable and beautiful design. With a full-size mirror and bamboo brush applicator (for easy on the go touch-ups) and a magnetic compartment to easy accommodate a (recyclable) powder or bronzer (sold separately), you can rest assured that your beauty tools aren’t making you more gorgeous at Mother Earth’s expense.
Cargo PlantLove Lip Gloss, $20
Pucker up with a gloss you can safely lick your lips with – without worrying about how much lip lacquer you’re ultimately eating throughout the day! This gloss from Cargo’s PlantLove™ line is not only 100% natural (formulated with natural and organic ingredients) but also offers the same high shine finish and non-sticky texture you’re lips have come to expect. Plus, even the packaging is as green as it gets considering its award-winning packaging made entirely out of corn and its Ecocert endorsement.
Your skin is your largest organ – and you certainly want it to look its best – but you also don’t want it to absorb all the nasty chemicals rampant in all too many skincare products. Thankfully, RMS (one of my all time favorite beauty lines, natural or not!) has us covered with their Raw Coconut Cream. The organic, raw, unrefined, virgin coconut oil is as natural as it gets. No chemical treatments here. Just an all natural, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial cream that not only moisturizes, but also acts as a cleanser (removing dirt and makeup), has anti-aging properties (because of its antioxidant properties) and even works well on acne prone skin (without clogging pores!).
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Editors Note: We are always stressing how the little things make a big difference at Bella life and with this guide to kissable lips it is no different. If you took an extra 3 – 5 minutes a day and pampered your sweet lips you are not only nurturing and loving yourself and your body, but you are also making it that much easier for those lips to get some loving from someone else! Want to know what to do with your lips once they are well moisturized? Take a look at our festive makeup tips! ~Nitika~
Chapped lips are the bane of a winter existence. Sure, dry skin (of all kinds) are pretty much par for the course as the seasons start to change, but there is something about dry lips that are a particular nuisance – and, not to mention, seriously unsexy. To avoid dry, peeling, cracked, chapped, painful and sometimes even bleeding puckers, prevention is key. Just as your skin requires exfoliation and increased hydration as the weather chills, so do your lips – albeit with special care. (more…) read more →