Valentine's Day Makeup

Whether you love or hate Valentine's Day, there's no better excuse to look fabulous and spend a little more time on your makeup than a holiday.  Valentine's Day gives us the perfect excuse to look a little extra feminine and glam it up in pink, whether you've got a hot date at a fancy restaurant or are drinking champagne and catching up with Downton Abbey on your DVR.  Here are some great ways to indulge your feminine side:

• Today is the day to try the monochromatic look - go for pink from eye shadow, cheeks, and lips, just keep it in similar tones and pick one feature to amp up the intensity.
• Try a blush with a bit of shimmer built in or mix in a luminizer/highlighter in with a cream blush for extra glow.
• Play up your pout with a crayon like lip stain.  While it will rub off on your champagne glass, it has great staying power even after cocktails.
• Want a more subtle eye look?  Shade your eyes with a shimmering nude and then use a poppy pink liner on top paired with black on bottom.  Follow it with a couple coats of mascara or false eye lashes if you're feeling extra fancy.
• Show off your decolletage by sweeping on some bronzer or shimmer powder.  Use a small setting brush or a fan brush for the best coverage. 

What are your Valentine's Day plans?

Want to know more about the products above?  Click here to see the polyvore board complete with links.

~Kirsten

Nail Repair: From acrylics to healthy, natural nails

Stripped of acrylics and in need of love

Meet Leslie.  She's been wearing acrylic nails for 26 years and has decided to stop. Why?  Although she loved the hard core nature of her acrylics and their ability to bang away on key boards non-stop, fierce un-chippability, and relatively low maintenance,  the winter woes she went through was just too much.  Every winter, Leslie's acrylics would lift from the nail surface resulting in lots of pain and salon visits for repair.  So she's about to venture on a nail repair regime to get back to her natural, healthy nails.

She's currently on week four and feeling much better.  "The first week was awful, the nail bed is soft and my nails are sensitive to almost everything."  But weeks two and three were much easier, and at week four, Patrick was finally able to file and paint.  "I'm adhering to his plan, and every day they look better," she says.  

Want to embark on a nail repair care journey yourself?  Here are Patrick's suggestions to help you with the process.

Patrick says: It is important to keep the nails well groomed and cared for during your process. 3 easy steps to healthier, happy, stronger nails.

1. Hydrate 

2. Moisturize 

3. Exfoliate

Products to use

• A cuticle oil - if you have this already use daily.
• Cuticle remover - Blue cross/Blue shield makes a great one.  Apply prior to step three in process below.
• Moisturizer - Use your Moroccan Oil. This is awesome for the nails and the cuticles on both hands and feet.

Leslie's nails after week one, moisturized, manicured, and ready to heal!

Get Started - Week One

Go see Patrick at Nomi Spa and tell him you want to venture your way to healthier nails, he'll get you started then you can follow these daily steps for the first week:

1. Hydrate - This will happen when you shower or bathe and can be helpful in the process.

2. Moisturize - Any oil base will do. If you have a cuticle oil, place on nails prior to getting ready each morning.  Moroccan Oil is great for this.

3. Exfoliate - Use a buffer.  Make sure you only exfoliate the cuticle area and don't buff the nail bed.

4. Apply base coat - Turn back Time from Deborah Lippmann followed by top coat - Incognito by wHet daily

Check back next week for your nail care steps for the following weeks, week 2-4!  Good luck on your healthy nail journey!
~Kirsten

Hair Repair Challenge: Week Three

Photo from

So you've made it through the first two week's of Kirsten's Hair Repair Challenge!  Congratulations.  Pat yourself on the back, buy yourself something pretty, then dive into week three!  Need a product refresher?  Check out this post.  

Week 3 Schedule

Day 15 - Use Masque to clean and condition, use the CAT for 3-5 mins. Use Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in and style as usual.

Day 16 - Go without cleansing and conditioning. Leave hair dry and utilize the dry shampoo.

Day 17 - Go without cleansing and conditioning. Leave hair dry and utilize the dry shampoo then add [NEW PRODUCT ALERT] a dime size of Healthy Sexy Hair's Soy Renewal, emulsify the Soy Renewal and place on scalp and through midshaft and ends.

Day 18 - Go without cleansing and conditioning. Leave hair dry and utilize the dry shampoo then add a dime size of Soy Renewal, Emulisfy the Soy Renewal and place on scalp and through midshaft and ends.

Day 19 - Use Masque to clean and condition, use the CAT for 3-5 mins.

Day 20 - Go without cleansing and conditioning. Leave hair dry and utilize the dry shampoo then add a dime size of Soy Renewal, Emulisfy the Soy Renewal and place on scalp and through midshaft and ends.

Day 21 - Go without cleansing and conditioning. Leave hair dry and utilize the dry shampoo then add a dime size of Soy Renewal, Emulisfy the Soy Renewal and place on scalp and through midshaft and ends.

A note from Patrick: By this time your hair will be used to not having used detergents to cleanse. You will find after the 4th week, that it will be very hard to go back to using a detergent to cleanse (Shampoo). Once you have gotten to the 5th week, we will revisit and provide you with an alternative to use inplace of regular shampoo and conditioner.

How is it going for me?  Well.  I haven't really been as disturbed by not using shampoo and conditioner as I thought I would be.  There's only been a couple days I've felt my hair wasn't clean enough and I love the Pureology Masque!  It's been a challenge to find new and exciting hair styles as I'm discovering how thin my hair is.  Plus the intensive routine is adding tons of extra time to my morning makeup and hair time, but I feel my hair getting healthier!  Hopefully when I check in with Patrick he'll think the same thing! 

Are you taking the challenge too?  How's it going for you?
~Kirsten

Pinspiration: Hair Repair Challenge Style Ideas

If you've been following my hair blogs you know I love me a good updo!  So when Patrick challenged me to give up bobbi pins and wet up-styling I needed some hair inspiration!  Naturally, I turned to Pinterest.  So I invite you to check out my board Operation Anti-Bobbi Pin if you're in need of some hair down styling inspiration too.  Here are some of my favorites I can't wait to try.

Above, a look that my days working at a bridal shop makes me love...the hair jewelry meets boho inspiration.  And below, a chic updo created with a jumbo upside down braid and if you hair pin the very end instead of using a bobbi-pin, it's Patrick approved!

Check out these great styles and more on my Anti-Bobbi Pin Pinterest Board.  Do you have a board of hair style ideas?  Leave a comment with the link!  I've still go some time to go, so I'll need more ideas!

~Kirsten

I Tried It: Goody Spin Pin - Spiral Hair Pins

As you know, I'm venturing on a hair repair challenge, ie - operation anti bobbi pin, which means I can't use bobbi pins anymore.  So Patrick handed me a box of these spiral hair pins to try.  He said it's the clamping action of the bobbi pin that makes them bad for hair, so these would be just fine as long as I used them on dry hair.  I'd seen the Goody Simple Styles Spin Pins before but never been tempted enough to try them since I had been successfully creating buns with bobbi pins for year, but I decided to give them a go.  

Here's what they claim to do:

The Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin allows you to easily achieve three chic updo styles.  Simpley twirl your hair up and spin the two spin pins in for a perfect undone bun, side bun or double bun!  Does the work of 20 bobbies.

My verdict?  A fail.  Here's what I managed to create with them:

While I was able to create a small bun and get it to stay in place with the spiral pins, it didn't stay that way for too long.  It definitely doesn't do the work of 20 pins...more like 2-4 pins worth of work.  I'll give them this though, they stayed in place, it was just my hair that slid out.   I have fine hair and even though I dry shampooed and beach sprayed it, after about an hour my hair just slipped out into sort of a limp, lame, non-puffy bun...and all I did was go to the grocery store.  It definitely wouldn't have made it through a dance class!

What I did like about them?  They're textured and incredibly easy to slide in.  Maybe some of my thick haired friends will have better luck.  I wouldn't recommend buying these to anyone with thin or fine hair, but with some thicker hair or lots of product and teasing they could work.  Maybe I need to try the mini size?

Have you tried the spin pins?  What did you think?

~Kirsten

Hair Repair Challenge: Day by Day Instructions Week Two

Congratulations!  We made it through the first week of our Hair Repair Challenge!  Are you participating?  Make sure to upload your photos to Patrick's facebook page so we can see how you're doing!  As for me...my hair is feeling softer and silkier already!

Here's what's on tap for week two:

Day 8: Rinse hair very well and then use the Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in, style as needed

Wed- Leave the hair dry and use the dry shampoo

Day 9: Use Masque to cleans and condition, use the CAT for 3-5 mins. Use Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in and style as usual

Day 10: Rinse hair very well and then use the Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in, style as needed

Day 11: Use Masque to cleans and conditon, use the CAT for 3-5 mins. Use Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in and style as usual

Day 12: Rinse hair very well and then use the Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in, style as needed

Day 13: Leave hair dry and use the dry shampoo

Day 14: Rinse hair very well and then use the Anti Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in, style as needed

Need some inspiration?  Check out this horrifying photo of a damaged hair strand:

Inspired yet?  
How are you doing?  Following any of these tips or using any of these products?
~Kirsten

Hair Repair Challenge: Day by Day Instructions, The 1st Seven Days

Are you ready to get healthier hair?  Do you want to go on Patrick's hair repair challenge with me?  Then get ready to get started!  As a recap, here are the rules: No bobbi pins, no wet hair styling/updos, no shampoo, and limited heat styling.  Above, a little hair care inspiration board to keep me motivated.

We talked about products on Monday, so using those, here are the first seven days worth of instruction:

Day 1:  Get an awesome blow out and styling from Patrick!
Day 2:  Enjoy yesterday's awesome blowout using a little dry shampoo as needed.
Day 3:  Use your Masque to clean and condition followed by the CAT for 3-5 minutes.  Rinse out then use Anti-Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed together as a leave in and style.
Day 4:  Rinse hair very well and use the Anti-Snap and Iron Repair cocktailed and blended together as a leave in, style as needed.
Day 5:  Use Masque to clean and condition, the CAT for 3-5 minutes, rinse, follow with Anti-Snap and Iron Repair as a leave in.  Style.
Day 6: Rinse hair very well and then use the Anti-Snap and Iron Repair together as a leave in and style.
Day 7:  Leave hair dry and use dry shampoo.

So far so good, I haven't broken any rules and am figuring out how to style my hair without it being wet and pinned up.  And although sometimes I forgot to mix the products together and the extra shower time gave me dry skin, I think it's going pretty well!  At left, my 'do from day two.

~Kirsten