skinDEEP

VALENTINE’S DAY CRUSHES <3

Valentines day is around the corner! I have some product suggestions you’re going to love that are fun, flirty, and fit the spirit of the holiday. For those of you still on the hunt for a crush, you came to the right place. For those of you who already have crushes, what’s a few more?  Here are three products to crush on this Valentine’s Day: 

FUN: Big Sexy Hair Spray

Valentine’s Day is all about having fun/being confident and so is Big Sexy Hair Spray. It really helps boost your roots to give you lasting volume for a big date or a night out with your girls. Have some fun this Valentine’s Day, and let your hair down (literally and metaphorically speaking) with a product that add just the right pop to your hair! 

FLIRTY: Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy

I may have strained away from Juicy in my closet (RIP Juicy Velour Track suit-we had a good run), but it will always have a place in my bathroom as my go-to fragrance. Juicy Couture’s Viva la Juicy is a year round favorite of mine, BUT specifically for those of you on a man hunt this Valentine’s Day, get this product! There’s something about Viva la Juicy that makes guy’s go crazy. What I really love about the scent is that it’s not TOO strong but potent enough to grab someone’s attention. Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself. Next time you’re at Sephora or a department store, spray it on your skin and clothes. You may end up finding your next signature scent!

FIT: Benefit Benetint

There’s no other product more fit for Vday than Benefit’s Benetint. I’ve been a fan of this product for years. Not only can you use it to add a rosy glow to your cheekbones, but it has dual purpose as a lip stain. What’s so great about this? It’s water, and might I add, kiss proof (you’re welcome to all the boys out there)! One tip to note about this product is that being that it is a stain, you need to react to it quickly once applying. Dab it on the desired part of your face and blend. This product is great for those of you who want to add a small tint of color to your face without going overboard!

I hope you crush on these products as much as I do! Happy Valentine’s Day <3

What are YOUR Valentine’s Day plans?

HAIR TRENDS: OMBRE ANYONE?

Whether it be highlights, streaks, or unnatural hair period, I’m not really a fan of hair coloring (after painful trial and error throughout my teenage years ofcourse-we all go through a phase of curiosity!). With that said, I do get an itching for a change every once in awhile! Having a solid hair color can get boring. At the same time, I don’t really want to go as drastic as cutting off 10 inches to suffice my craving to try something new. Lucky for me, ombre hair is sweeping Hollywood and gives me just the fix I need. If you think you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’re probably wrong! I’m sure you’ve noticed the look on your favorite celebs but just didn’t know the hair coloring tactic had a name. Here it is: 

Ombre hair is basically a dark to light fade of color in your hair starting from your roots. What I love is that this look can either be extremely dramatic or super soft. Depending on your personality and preference, you can go either way. Personally, I’m leaning towards the gradual fading of color, but as you can see from the stars above, it works for everyone! 

WARNING: This has to be done by someone who really knows what they are doing. Otherwise, you could take the risk of just looking like you really just need to get your roots done. I’ve been seeing DIY versions of this but nothing impressive. I say stick to a professional!

What do YOU think? Are YOU a fan of ombre hair?

5 FOR 5: TOP 5 PRODUCTS FOR UNDER 5 BUCKS

It’s nice to have some fancy shmancy beauty products, but when it comes to certain items that we use day to day, it’s important to find brands that are not only affordable but are trust worthy. Being that it’s the holidays and we all have a million gifts to buy, I figured now would be the best time to share my favorite five beauty products that you can get for under 5 dollars. Here they are:

1. FACIAL SKINCARE: St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub ($3.03): I LOVE the St. Ives apricot scrub. What’s great is that all the different scrubs in the product line have different levels of intensity. For those of you who want to get a gentle day to day cleanse, they have a product for you. For those of you who are looking for more coarse Apricot beads to get a deep down cleanse, they have a product for you as well! My personal favorite for my specific skin type is the Invigorating Apricot Scrub, but you may find that the Renew and Firm Apricot Scrub works best for you (my sister loves this one!). Every beauty magazine raves about this product with good reason. You will definitely get the most bang for your buck with ANY St. Ives Apricot Scrub you pick. 

2. HAIRCARE: Garnier Fructis Curl Shaping Spray Gel ($3.19): If you’re not a fan ofhairspray but are looking for a product to reduce frizz and maintain hold, this is the product for you. I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago and fell in love. The product feels very light on your head and works perfect for the days that I want to leave my hair naturally wavy. I am able to control my hair’s natural frizz and increase shine with a few sprays of this affordable product. 

3. COSMETICS: Maybelline Line Express Eyeliner Soft Black 902 ($4.79): I am always on the hunt for affordable makeup. What I love about this Maybelline eyeliner is that it works great for smokey eyes, believe it or not. The sponge on the other end of the liner allows for blending in the corners of your eye so the liner doesn’t look so harsh. Sometimes I like using a pencil liner because the smudge sponge at the end makes blending really easy. If you’re not a fan of the pencil liners and are looking for an affordable stick liner, I recommend my favorite liner of all time L’Oreal Paris Pencil Perfect Ebony ($8.49). If you’re a loyal Maybelline girl, they have a great stick liner for under 5 bucks as well called Maybelline Define-A-Lash Eyeliner ($4.79).

4. BODY SKINCARE: St. Ives Body Moisturizer ($3.99): I have extremely dry skin, so it is important for me to find a moisturizer than keeps my skin hydrated. What I love about the St.Ives brand is the results it gives for the price you’re paying. This lotion in specific is great because instantly after you put it in your hands, you can feel the moisture. I know that my skin is getting a quality product and a moisturizer that lasts longer than most. If you’re okay spending a little more money, the Aveeno Natural Daily Moisturizing Lotion ($8.79) is a favorite of mine as well. The Aveeno brand carries great natural products that don’t feel harsh against skin. I recommend trying both to see which works best for your unique skin type. 

5. BODY SKINCARE: Caress Daily Silk Body Wash ($3.59): I have a million different body washes, but to be honest, the scent of the Caress body washes are unbeatable! Every time I’m in a drug store and see Caress line of body washes, I never know which one to pick, but I’ve finally narrowed it down. My two favorites are the Daily Silk and the Tahitian Renewel. The Daily Silk is nice because for someone like me with dry skin, it makes my skin feel rejuvenated. The Tahitian Renewel is great because of the beads in it. Both will make you come out of the shower feeling refreshed and smelling radiant!

To all the drug store product haters, try them before dismissing them. I truly believe that half of the stigma against drug store products are in everyone’s head. We are trained to believe that pretty packaging, higher prices, and fancy department stores carry the best of the best. Don’t get me wrong, I have to have my Sephora fix everyone once in awhile, but we are in a recession people! You can get all the products above and more at your local CVS right now on sale for the prices listed above. Click on the links above to see my top 5 for 5, and look around their website to learn about more great products you can get for under 5 bucks!

What’s YOUR top 5 for 5? 

OVERRATED VS. UNDERRATED: HAIRSPRAY EDITION

Everyone has different hair problems. Some deal with oily hair, some dry hair, some damaged hair, or some grey hairs (yikes). It’s important to find the products that works best for YOU rather than whatever the “it” product is at the moment, but of course the only way to find that is through experimentation! After years of trial and error, I found my go-to hairsprays that I’ve become very loyal to. Before I give my picks for most overrated and underrated hairspray, I want to share what I look for in my hairspray so you can evaluate whether these products are what you’re looking for. First off, I would describe my hair type as long, thick, and oily (and by oily I mean vs. having dry hair). I mainly use hairspray for the purpose of frizz-ease. I like to wear my hair with my natural waves, and hairspray is a great way to calm my hair down and let me wear it naturally without doing much work. It’s an easy, effortless look in which hairspray plays a large roll in. That being said, it’s an added bonus when a hairspray is multi-purposeful and adds lift, shine, and holds my hair in place, so when I try out different products I look for one that gives me these benefits as well! Here are my picks my most overrated and underrated hairsprays: 

OVERRATED: L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray

It’s all over every social media outlet with celebrities like Kim Kardashian claiming they love it, but I don’t know if L’Oreal Paris is just shoving out millions of bucks towards product placement or what, but I am NOT a fan of L’Oreal’s Elnett. I started seeing all these ads and magazine articles about this new miracle hairspray that’s supposed to be “the best kept secret for gorgeous hair” so I had to see what all the hype was out. I must say that I was severely disappointed. From the awful old school hairspray smell to the actual hold, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Also, one of the promises is that it’s “so fine, it disappears at the stroke of a brush” in which I’m calling BS! It makes my hair feel tangled, rough, and extremely dry. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and try it on your own, but be ready to shove out 14 bucks for a drugstore product. If you want to try this product out on your own, I recommend getting it at Amazon for half the cost. 

UNDERRATED: Garnier Fructis Flexible Control Anti-Humidity Aerosol Hairspray

LOVE IT! This is a MUST HAVE and might I add super affordable hairspray. Like I said above, this hairspray really does reduce my frizz (one less product I have to buy woo), but I also love that it doesn’t weigh down my hair. It gives me everything I am looking for in a hairspray for an unbeatable price. I mean, can you really go wrong with a product you can get for under 4 bucks at CVS? 

UNDERRATED: Oscar Blandi Lacca Hairspray For Volume, Hold, and Shine 

This is the first product I’ve tried from the Oscar Blandi line, and I’m officially obsessed. What makes it so great is the ingredients used in it including sugar creating it anti-static effect. I LOVE using this hairspray after I straighten my hair to add just a little lift at the root, especially at the crown on my head. Some might not like the distinct honeysuckle scent of the product, but I happen to like it and get tons of compliments for it. The downfall? I would say the price. It is pricier than your average hairspray, but I do love that it’s a unisex product that men can use as well, so think of it as half the price? There are all different sizes of this hairspray too which makes it great for travel or to just throw in your purse/clutch. You can get this and other great products apart of the Oscar Blandi line (like dry shampoo!) and Sephora.

What’s YOUR favorite hairspray?

DIY HAIR TRENDS: SLICKED BACK CHIC

How many times have you gotten ready to go out and were so frustrated with your hair, just wanted to put it up, and not deal with it, but you couldn’t figure out how to and still look cute? Being that it happens to me hmm maybe twice a weekend, I decided to follow a common Hollywood trend of slicking my hair back. Here are a few different ways it’s being done:

SLICKED BACK AND DOWN: Megan Fox at the MTV Movie Awards looking greasy fab

SLICKED BACK PONYTAIL: Beyonce on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar UK (P.S How AMAZING is her navy blue eye shadow?! Watch the behind the scenes footage of this shoot here)

SLICKED BACK BUN: Kim Kardashian on virtually every red carpet event these days from her endorsement launches to the Teen Choice Awards (notice how you can go from elegant to fun with this look just by the height placement of the bun)

For starters, NOT a fan of the way Megan Fox did the slicked back look. It looks like she hasn’t showered in days or decided to put oil randomly on the top of her head, but I must say props to her- she is probably the only woman in America who can wear her hair like that and still look stunning. #notfair

If you decide to rock this look, stick to the bottom two. Beyonce and Kim are just two of many who have been slicking their hair back these days. My favorite part about this is how much it brings out your face. By slicking your hair back, you’re bringing a lot more attention to your face, in a good way of course, but here’s a tip:

• For those of you who aren’t a fan of the hair line on your forehead, you can still wear this look! Just wear your hair the way Beyonce has it in the Harper’s Bazaar picture. By parting your hair down the middle and tightly pulling it back, your disguising your hair line by covering up all those little hairs that just won’t stay down.
• For those of you who have a more defined hair line on your forehead, I definitely recommend wearing it like Kim. It’s the best way to accentuate your BEST facial features.

P.S I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but who else loves Kim K’s hair line? Are celebs just born without baby hairs? #poweroflaserhairremoval

What’s YOUR fav slicked back hair look?

DIY HAIR TRENDS: BRAIDED UP

One of my favorite hair trend is anything and everything with braids. It’s so simple and can make an entire look so much more fashion forward. I love that it exudes effortless style and so easy to do yourself! Although the braid trend has been around forever, it’s evolved significantly. Who can forget the Lauren Conrad braid from The Hills days?! I love that you can wear the braid messy or tight/sleek-either way is super trendy and goes with relatively any look. Celebs have really taken the trend to new heights: 

I love how Rachel McAdams used a bold lip while Mary Kate Olsen went with a nude and both colors worked perfectly with the braid. Of all the braid looks, I do have one have one favorite. I think it’s because it is simple to do as opposed to some of the fancy shmancy ones seen above. Here it is: 

I love how Blake Lively added a twist to the sleeked back hair look by not just pulling it back into a pony tail and adding a braid. Think there is no way you could ever get your hair to look like this? You’re wrong- it’s simple! Just follow these step:

1. Put your hair back in a tight high pony tail. I think higher the better. It’s not like you’re going to leave it just hanging like that anyways. 
2. Try to get rid of all the fly away baby hairs with the products of your preference. I use hair spray and a comb. It looks better without pinning it down with bobby pins (leave the bobby pin messy look for another braid experiment).
3. Braid your pony tail with whatever braid type you desire- go crazy and have fun with it! I like normal english braids for this specific look, but I’ve seen it done with a fishtail braid too. 
4. Depending on the outfit, make the braid as tight or loose as you want. Being that the top of the hair is so sleeked back, I prefer somewhat looser braids, but tight ones look great as well!

So the next time you’re doing your hair, can’t figure out what to do with it, and want to try something different, throw a braid in it. It may be out of your comfort zone, but who cares if none of your friends are doing it? Be the first and start the trend! You may surprise yourself with a fun, new look that you love.

Do YOU like braids in your hair? What’s your favorite braid do?

HOW TO ROCK IT: PINK LIPS

Heres a few tips to follow when wearing pink lips:

• MAKEUP: Pink lips work with the same rules as red lips or anyone other dramatic lip color. You can’t overdo the eye or face makeup if you’re wearing it or they look will go from glamish to clownish. 
• CLOTHES: When picking out an outfit to go with your pink lips, try something different too! You’re already going out of your comfort zone, so why not go all the way? I like how pink lips look with leather items (leather jackets, tights, or accessories). If you’re feeling really bold, mix and match the pink lip with a different color outfit rather than the standard white or black pieces. Pink lips with an yellow blouse? Pink lips with a green jumper? The sky is the limit!
• HAIR: This depends on the occasion, but if you really want the pink lips to stand out, wear your hair up. This will bring more attention to your face and specifically to your lips. If you are still trying to get adjusted to the look, wear your hair down but try something different. If you normally wear a side part, change it to the middle. If you always wear your hair straight, do some soft waves.

What do you wear and pair your pink lip with?