Spring it UP :)

With Spring Break just around the corner I cannot help but get excited about the coming of a new season. The fact that here in Blagoevgrad, we’ve had almost no snow, all positive temperatures and quite a lot of sunshine even in January and February has naturally helped my mood build up even more. My birthday is on the middle of March, so spring is the time when I really come alive. Spring also means some important beauty updates. While in winter we tend to cover up, in spring it is good to show off. Here are my basic transition rules to prepare for this wonderful season, which brings us so many new things.

Lighter and Brighter! – Winder is a dark season for beauty. We wear dark or neutral colors, more layers of makeup and heavier shades. In spring you need to make everything light and bright, so throw on some girly red/pink, or romantic blue/green. Garnish is with shimmery illuminating eye shadows and glossy rosy lips. Go easier on the eyeliner and the mascara. Too much blackness in the eyes does not look good in the spring daylight. As for the nails – when March comes, I personally go crazy on the colors!

Time for sun protection! – You probably have already heard a lot about the harmful influence of sun rays on the skin. I love the sun and like to stay in it as much as possible. But to enjoy it safely you need to start using sunscreen as early as springtime. Of course, that does not mean you need to wear beach lotion, because the sun is not yet that strong. But look for products with SPF in terms of foundation/facial crème, lip balms and low-factor body lotions and make sure to treat any parts of your body that stay in the sun for longer. Remember, even if it is not that hot, the sun still affects you.

Freshen up your face ;) – Back to the DIY topic, there are a few home remedies that you can do to freshen up your face and get rid of the dead skin cells piled up from winter. For what I use – mix some sea salt with milk and honey. Apply it to your face and stay with it for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy the softness after!

Peel the Orange Skin… - Cellulite is one of the words every girl shrieks at, even at its mere mention. NOW is the time to pay attention to it, because soon you will be getting rid of many layers of clothing. Exfoliate the problematic skin daily with a product of your liking. I am using one from Avon – Planet Dead Sea Minerals. If you want to go further use an anti-cellulite crème. I am happy with Eveline Slim Extreme 3D. All that, of course, go on top of your daily exercise routine to prepare a hot beach body for the summer :PpP

That’s it from my spring tips. Hit the drugstores if you need any new beauty products, but most importantly get your spring mood on. Happy spring break to everyone, who still has one!

Of course, for any Qs and comments use the comment section below :)

"Grandma's Beauty Recipes" that Work!

Our new topic is related to something I tend to worry about on a regular basis – dark circles under the eyes! To begin with the area under my bottom lids has natural bluish shades in it - something that I obviously inherited from my father. That is why I always wear illuminating concealer when I have make up on. Even so this feature of my face amplifies like three times more when I have not slept well or am overstressed, but I don’t want to be always wearing tons of makeup to cover the dark circles up. There are some active products on the market that can help with that but I have discovered some homemade remedies, which I think work better, at least on me. In Bulgaria we call them “grandma’s recipes” and in many occasions they actually work. Of course, here there are still places where you can buy real fruit and vegetables and make use of all their qualities. If you come from the so-called more developed countries, probably you will need to go to the farmer’s market in order to get good ingredients for your homemade masks… and salads for that matter. Here we go…

Lemons + tomatoes – this one is super easy to do and can work magic. Tomatoes are actually on the ingredient list of some commercial skincare products. Tomatoes contribute to skin renewal, while lemons, as I read, are a known antiseptic. To do this mask you simply squeeze the juice from one lemon and one tomato into a bowl and mix well. Apply the mixture under your eyes - I usually use cotton pads to do this. Leave it there for about an hour and wash off. Why this works? I am not really sure, but it does, and it sure leaves you feeling fresher.

Potatoes + olive oil + honey – and here it gets messier :p This one I use when I become generally busier and start getting little sleep on a regular basis. That is when dark circles become kind of permanent (like after finals week). To cure that you can apply this homemade mask two times a week. So first get one medium-sized potato and grate it in a bowl as finely as you can. Then add one table spoon of honey and olive oil (best use extra virgin). Mix it up and use enough olive oil to make it look like paste. You know the drill – apply it for an hour and then wash off. For this one you will probably want to be lying or at least leaning down in a chair. I like to take a nap with it!

So if you have problems with dark circles under your eyes, definitely try these two out. They are 100% organic and at least you know they can’t harm you in any way :p If you have and questions or tips of your own for this problem, please share in the comment section below!

My Top 3 Beauty Hacks

We all have those things that we do to get ready faster or easier and now I will share with you the most effective ones I’ve discovered. I am not sure if I read them somewhere or I saw them from my mom or one of my friends, but the fact is that they work and they have saved me a lot of time and efforts. So here we go…

1. Using mascara as gel eyeliner. This sounds weird but to me it’s genius. How do we do it?

Just get an eyeliner brush and dip it in your mascara container or even rub it against the mascara brush. Then line your lids like usual, trying to get it as near to your lashes as possible. I maybe wonder why I do this. The answer is simple – it is less liquid than most eyeliners, so it doesn’t smudge easily, so you can apply it faster. My mascara is waterproof so once it is on my lids it doesn’t go anywhere for the rest of the day. I mostly do this when in a hurry.

2. Using blush as eye shadow. Blush usually is a light color and is suitable for during the day. If it is endures enough to stay on your cheeks, then it sure will stay on your lids all day. It gives you a super soft glow and naturally it matches your face. When you have no time to pick the right color just do some blush, which you can even apply with your fingertips.

3. Putting freshly polished nails in ice. Believe it or not this makes them dry completely! Out of all the things you could be doing in your hurry, putting nail polish on is probably the worst. Even so, you can’t just go around with chipped nails, and you do it anyways, but like 99% of the times you mess it up right before you leave. Fear no more! Just let the polish dry a little bit, fill a bowl with ice and stick your fingers in it for a minute. Sure, it is cold, but it works, and as a bonus all the spots that you accidentally painted out of your nail and on your skin will fall off in the ice.

These are my top 3 dirty little beauty secrets. What are yours? Please, share in the comment section below! 

Accessorize with... Headbands!

Today we are going to talk about hair accessories and headbands in particular. For a long time

to me headbands were a memory of my childhood, of a time when I was so little that my mom did my hair and liked decorating it with colorful cutesy things. So when I grew up I stopped wearing all of those. This all changed 2 winters ago when I had a really bad case of tonsillitis and could do nothing but watch TV shows. That’s when I started a marathon of Gossip Girl and the character of the “it girl” Blair Waldorf introduced me to the fact that headbands are a super cool and stylish addition to many outfits even when you are already a woman. If chosen suitably they can even serve as a piece of jewelry and can give any lady that extra something to make her look a little bit more posh.

Just to clarify here we are not talking about sweatbands that are perfect for the gym or the toothed kind which have the sole purpose of holding your hair up. Other than those, all the variations of plastic and fabric bands, with and without decorations are a great way to freshen up your do. So when do I wear headbands.

As a quick fix – Lately I have been using headbands when my day has to start early. Naturally I still want to look nice but rarely have enough time in the morning. That is when a headband comes to the rescue. Put it on just like that or your hair is clean, but is still messed up from sleep, or throw your locks up into a bun or a pony and add some glam to it with a headbands. Something I think looks super cute and girly is a side pony with a headband – if it has a decoration like a bow or a flower, tie your pony to the opposite side.

With a classic/plain outfit – I do have a bunch of headbands that are suitable for an evening out. Those are more decorated and should be worn with outfits that is not too busy and has less ornaments. Then your band turns into and accent and should definitely complement your jewelry. Keep that in mind so you don’t overdo it and you are good to go. Plus you will stand out from the mass of girls who generally have their hair in big curls or just super straight when they are going out.

When it’s hot! – Oh, is the headband a little miracle when it is hot inside or outside… I especially enjoy wearing the thin fabric kind in the summer when it is just so hot outside to have my hair in my face. The fabric kind I can wear with my sunglasses on, while it keeps me cool and makes me look cool. Same goes for wild parties that involve lots of dancing, which eventually gets your hair sticking on your neck and forehead. An up-do with a head band is the absolute perfect solution for that!

So if you like this post or you at some point feel inspired by Blair Waldorf hit the accessory store and pick a headband or two. They usually don’t cost too much and will bring a fun variety to your choice of hairstyles. 

After the Party

I hope all of you, ladies, had a nice weekend. In my case it was long and eventful since so my friends happen to have birthdays during one and the same week. This got me thinking about beauty fixes for the night after the party. Being still in college, I’ve had plenty of situations when I went out, but still had to wake up rather early the next day, so I have more or less figured out what works best to freshen up my look in such cases. Here are the few steps I follow.

First and most importantly, your face needs to be absolutely clean and hydrated. I really hope that you never go to bed with your make up on, no matter how tired you are, but if you somehow made that mistake, everything has to be removed in the morning. Even if you cleaned your face before sleep, you still need to wash the excess sebum in the morning and what I use is a foamy wash gel by Nivea. Then I hydrate my skin with a nourishing crèmeby L’Oreal, of course, you can use any product you like. Apply the crème by patting rather than rubbing it on.

Next step – base your face. Nothing says you’ve been out last night like the dark circles under your eyes. Some people put foundation on before the concealer, but I think doing if vice versa offers better coverage. Under my eyes I put concealer – and what I am using right now is Rimmel Wake Up with illuminating effect. It has some shimmering particles in it, which create the illusion of fresher eyes. I use some on my lids as well. After this, apply a thin layer of foundation or even better – BB crème. For my day make up I use the lighter version of the BB crème by Nivea.

Then we go to the really tricky part in such cases – the eyes. Lack of sleep, smoke and party lights make my eyes super red in the morning. My trick here is whitening eye drops, which you can get from every drug store over the counter. For my eyelids I use a very light eye shadow – white or rosy, which makes the eyes look bigger and more open. The eyeliner is preferably very thin and goes only on the upper lid. I wing mine at the outer corners, which makes my eyes look more open. DO NOT put black liner on the lower lid. When my eyes look tired I use white pencil on my waterline and this opens them up even further. Curl your lashes and apply your favorite mascara, really trying to pull them pointing upwards. Here, again I tend to not wear any mascara on my lower lashes, after a night out. Finally, define your brows with a pencil, since the eyebrows frame your face and drive some of the attention away from the dark circles, which may still be visible.

To finish up – put some rosy blush on your cheeks and a pinkish lip gloss on your lips for total freshness. If you have no time to wash your hair in the morning, use some dry shampoo for the roots and throw it up in a bun. Wearing your hair up pull the sides of your eyes a little bit and makes them look more open by generally bringing out a younger look.

This was my after-party beauty hack routine. It is quite fast and super useful. Always do try to get your sleep but if you fail to do so, you have makeup on your side!

All the products mentioned are linked to their company sites so you can check them out!

Fun Nail Art to Try Out

How it looks!

Hello my pretty ladies, today I want to talk to you about nails. Nails are something of accessory to every woman, as your hands do get noticed a lot during a conversation or a close interaction. They are also one more fascinating way for you to show off your personality. I normally keep my nails classic and in a solid color, but every now and then decide to do a fun decoration on them. What I am about to explain to you is suitable to try out maybe during the weekend, or when you have more time to spare, because it is very important to do it slowly and patiently in order to not mess it up. The first time I did it, things got a bit sloppy and I had to redo some of my nails a couple of times.

This nail style is all about moustaches, which as you may have noticed have grown quite popular in clothes and jewelry. So how do we grow a moustache on a nail? It is actually quite simple. To start off you need a light shade of nail polish of your choice and well-shaped nails of course. No matter if you like them round, pointy or angular, this style goes with anything. Wait for the polish to dry before you start drawing on it. Now you have six simple steps to follow for each nail.

1. Pick a black drawing nail polish (the kind with the thinner brushes). Imagine a line separating your nail vertically. Now draw a dot on one side of that mental line at the level at which you want your moustache.
2. Now do the same dot right next to the first one.
3. Draw two tiny black dots near the sides of your nails around a little bit off-center to the level of the first two. Do your best to have them at equal distance from the first two.
4. Now connect one of the bigger dots with the respective smaller one with a curvy line.
5. Complete the upper part of the moustache
6. Repeat the same thing on the other side

Now just do that to every nail and don’t worry it gets easier with practice :P There you have it – moustache nails! Look closely at the picture I am posting to see how this style is really done.

You can see a link to the Pinterest board that inspired me to do this manicure here. Credits to Velena Thompson, who created it, you can scroll to lots of other cool ideas if you decide that drawing on nails is your thing!