After you go ahead and cut along that line, try them on and see how they look. If they feel too snug in the legs (it is skinny jeans we are talking about) make a slight snip in the inner seam of each leg. Once you put them through the washer and dryer, they'll get that frayed look.

If you are thinking "GIRL, I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS" , I got you. Click the links below for the most perfect, premade cutoffs!

Denim Cutoffs

Slide Sandal

Square Neck Floral Top

"All weather" Bangle Bracelets

XO,

Hello.

I hope that today finds you well. It FINALLY feels like spring around here. This past Friday is when it happened. In the morning, it was 49 degrees out. We had the heat on. By late afternoon it was over 80 degrees, and we had to put the AC on. I am not complaining at all though. I LOVE this time of year.

Anyway, today I wanted to share my morning skin care routine with you.  Back in my younger days I had no "Morning skin care routine". Heck, back then my nightly skin care routine was nothing more than washing my makeup off. Now, that just won't cut it. In order to keep my skin looking and feeling its best, I need to put in a bit more effort.

Now, don't be mistaken. My morning routine is not long, drawn out or complicated. In fact, its quick, easy and seamless. Here is an overview.

Glow Recipe Hyaluronic Serum

Next, I use this Hyaluronic serum. This is such an amazing hydrator. It literally plumps your skin. A little bit of this goes a long way and works wonders. Aside from the moisturizing benefits, this potion reduces those pesky fine lines.

Murad Essential C

This right here is my product holy grail. I wear it EVERY.SINGLE. DAY.  It doesn't matter what the season is, sunscreen is essential. This is SPF 30. It also is infused with vitamin C. Vitamin C is an anti aging power house. It brightens skin and increases elasticity. Each and every time I've tried to use vitamin C prior to discovering this product, it would end up being too drying / irritating.  This is also a powerful moisturizer , therefor no drying.

** Bonus Item**......

Earth Harbor Anti-pollution serum

If my skin is in need of some extra TLC, this is what I reach for.  Its beyond soothing.

There you have it, my quick, easy but EFFECTIVE morning skin care routine.

XO,

 

Happy Friday!

I am not on TikTok , however, I find that I cannot escape it. I have seen that one of the "latest & greatest" fads on the platform is the "underpaining trend." I'm sure there are many folks who think that this type of makeup application was born from social media. Au contraire, this is an age old technique that is being rediscovered by the younger generation.

If you are unfamiliar, underpainting is a technique of make-up application  that involves applying contour, blush and highlighter under the foundation, not on top of the foundation as is done in standard makeup application.

Here in the year 2022, that heavy "Kardashianesq" contour look from 2016 is as dated as blue eyeshadow and "mall bangs". Underpainting is a subtle way to add dimension to your face without having those unsightly stipes of color that are indicative of traditional contouring. 

Underpainting gives a lovely "Glow from within" finish to the skin. Its a very understated and natural looking way of wearing your makeup.

There is a very good chance that you already own everything that you'd need in order to try underpainting.

In my opinion, they key to making this work is using liquid, not powder based products. Here are the exact products that I used.

How to nail the technique:

Start with clean, well moisturized skin. This is the moisturizer that I start with. After you have moisturized, you'll want to apply a primer that will help the blush, contour and highlight really grip on. Remember, there products are not necessarily created to be applied directly onto the skin. A good primer will make all the difference. This Primer is the best I've ever used. If they sold it by the gallon, I'd purchase it that way.

Once you are moisturized and primed, go in with your bronzer, blush and highlighter. Use a heavy hand. Warning, it WILL look garish. Don't stress though, once you apply and blend your foundation, it will look amazing.

Lightly apply foundation all over your skin. Take a substantially damp Beauty Blender Makeup Sponge and start blending. Its important to mention, you'll need to use a lighter weight foundation. If you  are using something full coverage, you'll cover over the blush, contour and highlighter.

After you have applied and blended your foundation, top off the whole look with a light veil of setting powder. This one by Fenty is my favorite. It helps lock makeup in place without settling in fine lines.

This tutorial is the one that I used while learning the ropes of this technique. This tutorial is to the point and easy to follow along with.

Hello! Who's ready to talk hair today? You know that is a favorite topic around these parts!

More specifically I wanted to talk to you about Lamellar Waters. "What is this?" you might be asking. Lamellar water is a water based hair treatment. Because its water based its very light weight and able to penetrate your hair shaft much quicker and arguably more effectively than some products that are thicker and heavier.  Lamellars are able to deposit their active ingredients (normally hydrating and repairing agents) to the specific parts of each hair strand that needs it. Where these products are water based , they are not heavy. They will not weigh your hair down. 

The benefits over traditional hair masks are these, Lamellars are faster working, no need to sit for 30+ minutes with a hair mask on. These work in under 2 minutes. These don't weight down fine hair. The repair approach is far more targeted and really gets to the damaged parts of your hair.

Now that we got all of that out of the way... 

I own both of the Lamellar Waters in the photo at the top of this post. The first one is  by Kerastase and the second one is by L'Oreal.

Shop L'Oreal Here

I used each of these 2X/week for three consecutive weeks. I  took a one week break in-between each of them.

Both of these made my hair shine like it hasn't in YEARS. (Think of how healthy a child's hair typically is.) 

Both help stave off frizz and cut down on drying time. Both made my hair feel strong and helped me to notice FAR less brakeage.

The only discernable difference that I could find was the scent. One was not "better" or "worse" in my opinion. They are just have different fragrance.