Of course, self-tanners boast other healthy benefits as well: you can get the same results as laying out in the sun all day, minus all the risks of skin cancer. We all know the drill: it makes me cringe to watch girls lathering up with baby oil on the beach like my aunt used to do in the ’70s before they knew about skin cancer and sunscreen. I cringe almost as much as I do when I watch reruns of  “Mad Men,” when January Jones’s character drinks and smokes while pregnant. It’s wrong by today’s standards, and totally a sign of the times. Ignorance of the destructive properties of tanning, though, is inexcusable.

1. L’Oreal Sublime Glow for the Body

Rating:
Price: 9/10
Color: 7/10
Smell: 6/10

L’Oreal Sublime Glow is an inexpensive but name brand tanner that delivers satisfying results. You apply the product over the course of several days, and can substitute it for your moisturizing treatment. Consumers rave about the shimmer it leaves behind, and the smell got mixed reviews. But at around $10 a bottle, this is quite a steal!

2. Laura Mercier Bronzing Gel for the Face

Rating:
Price: 6/10
Color: 8/10
Smell: 7/10

This is a bit pricier than the last product, but boasts a whole new terrain: Mercier’s Bronzing Gel is entirely meant to enhance the tan on your face. Usually I wouldn’t have the guts to put self-tanner on my face, but listen up: Mercier has gotten pretty close to perfection. It’s a bit pricey (averaging between $30-$40 on the market) but leaves a just-after tanning rosy glow that I thought could only be achieved after a hard workout or day the beach: but now the shimmer and glow can be bought. I’m sold!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/foundphotoslj/45728344

Related posts:

1. Tanning Beds Are a Dangerous Trend
2. Best Mineral Make-up? Hits & Misses, Does it work?
3. Product Hits and Misses: French Manicures

If you have the right products and go slowly and steadily, you could easily have a friend you trust do your eyebrows, and I could do her’s in exchange.

Wondering what’s so simple about this? Let’s take a look at the video, and review the steps and products necessary to make at-home eyebrow waxing a cinch.

Supplies you Need: rubbing alcohol, baby powder, toner or astringent, aloe vera, cotton balls, an at-home waxing kit and strips to do this at home.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Prepping the Area:

1. Sanitize your hands and the area. Wear gloves if you can.
2. Remove all oils and dirt. So take a cotton ball, put some of the toner and astringent on it, and wipe the area. Next us the baby powder to dab onto the eyebrows and cleaned area to dry it out.
3. Check the consistency of the wax: you don’t want it to be too thick or thin.
4. Once it’s the right consistency, put a stick into the wax and apply a very thin layer (going in the direction the hair grows) across the area you would like the waax.
5. Then apply a strip to the area, pushing down in the direction you applied the wax.
6. To remove the strip, hold the skin taught on the forehead, and pull the strip down and against the growth of the hair.
7. If there’s any wax left, remove leftover wax with the toner and cotton ball.
8. To soothe the area you want to use aloe vera: again us cotton ball for application.

See? So simple! Again, I caution trying this on yourself, since you will be temporarily blinding yourself with the strips when doing the part under your brows. So grab a friend who’s also tired of shelling out the money for beauty salon waxing, and you can make a date out of it.

flickr.com/photos/do-it_do-it-now/460909989

Related posts:

1. Style Your Brows: Threading, Plucking, Waxing
2. Want Cleaner Eyebrows? Threading is the Answer!
3. How to Fix Over-Plucked Eyebrows

But what about the makeup? Same thing applies, at least for me. We go from the slick and spicy brown eyeliner and peachy lips of the spring to the glossy, translucent glow and tan of the summertime. So effortless, or at least that’s the desired look: I dread putting on the heavy foundations in the summertime, and instead opt for a light blemish cover-stick and some loose powder, making my blemishes and makeup cover up unseen to the naked eye. Same deal, especially when we’re talking about texture: I dread the bulky and greasy eye-shadows and pens that make application of makeup so easy and slick during the spring and winter months, but those melt in the summertime! Instead I opt for some light and fresh powder shadows and a single slick of mascara.

Well here’s a new texture I am dying to try out: Orly nail polish, inspired by the fantastic ’80s latex and plastic looks on the runway, has decided to come out with a nail polish that looks and feels like rubber! We’re all a fan of the sexy matte nail polish in electrifying (yet muted and understated) colors this season in comparison with the glossy pinks and greys of the spring, but how do you feel about a matte that goes beyond look, to touch and feel? Playing with the texture on your nails is simple and unexpected, too, and won’t effect how cool and breezy you feel.

So this is the perfect trend to take a chance on. These vinyl-looking, pleather-feeling, texturized nail polishes are on my wish list: I’ll let you know the status report!

flickr.com/photos/cliche/4261147115

Related posts:

1. Trend Alert! – Neon Nail Polish from Nubar
2. Neon Nail Color is In!
3. Flirty Fun Nail Colors for Fall