Tag: BEAUTY DIY

HOW TO DIY THE PERFECT AT-HOME PEDICURE IN 10 EASY STEPS

Published on by Lee1 Comment

As tempting as it is to dish out money for a salon pedicure (with the soaking, foot scrubbing, massage — the works) it’s not always doable, especially when you already splurged on makeup in the beginning of the week and are left to question your self-control. So if you currently find yourself in a similar position and are in desperate need of a pedi, we’re here to prove that it’s possible to achieve salon-quality results pedicure in the comfort of your own home — for a lot less money.

STEP 1: Let Your Nail Polish Remover Do Its Thing

Completely remove any nail polish that’s still on your toenails using nail polish remover and a cotton pad. If you don’t have any leftover polish, you should still run nail polish remover over your nail to remove any excess oil.

Primp Tip: If you’re left with any weird stains or a yellow tinge (you’ll usually see this after removing darker colors, like red or black), rub cuticle oil over the surface of your nails to lighten any residue.

STEP 2: Soak Your Feet Like You’re at the Spa

Okay, before you start soaking, your first job—and this is important—is to go around your house and gather every candle you can find. Oh, and get yourself a glass of wine while you’re at it. The trick to making an at-home pedicure feel like a spa experience instead of, you know, rubbing your own feet in your too-small-for-comfort apartment is setting the ~mood~ at your makeshift pedicure station.

Once the ambiance is right, you’re ready to soak your feet—which softens tough skin and cuticles (and is downright relaxing). Lennon suggests using a basin (aka a really big bowl) if you have one, but your bathtub is also a sound option. Fill ’er up with warm water and add a liberal scoop of skin-soothing bath salts (Lennon recommends Côte Re-Treat Himalayan Pink Salt Soak, but you can also try my favorite Kneipp Mineral Bath Salts or just use a cup of kosher salt). Let your feet soak for a few minutes before moving to the next step. This is a great opportunity to multitask and try out that new face mask.

STEP 3: Get Rid of Dead Skin

After drying off your feet, use a foot file to remove any dead skin from callused (hard) areas. Parts to pay attention to are the balls of your feet, the sides of your feet and your heels. Scrape these areas until they feel smooth, but don’t overdo it. Try a pumice stone or foot file to gently smooth the skin. Then, switch your feet and repeat.

STEP 4: File and Shape Your Nails

Use a nail trimmer to achieve the length and shape you want (we recommend trimming nails straight across). Follow by filing the corners of your nails and buffing to make them smooth. According to Hadley, a big mistake people make at this point in the process is cutting their cuticles. “Trimming or cutting cuticles during a manicure or pedicure is purely cosmetic and sometimes it doesn’t benefit the nail in any way,” she explains. “The cuticle is a barrier to protect your surrounding skin and protect against infection.”

STEP 5: Apply Cuticle Oil

Apply cuticle oil to the base of your nail. Cuticle oil doesn’t just keep your feet soft and moisturized, but it also keeps your polish from chipping.

STEP 6: Moisturize

Take both feet out of the tub and dry them off with a towel. With a foot cream or body lotion, begin massaging your toes, feet, and calves until, well, you wanna stop. Moisturize your feet with an unscented lotion. “Scented lotions with synthetic fragrances can cause your nail polish to crack.”

STEP 7: Prep Your Toes

Use toe separators (you can buy a 12-pack for cheap online) to make painting your toes easier and avoid making a mess.

If you don’t have toe separators, Lennon suggests tearing off a piece of paper towel, rolling or twisting it into a rope, and weaving it through your toes to prevent the polish from smudging.

STEP 8: Apply Your Base Coat

Then, apply a thin layer of base coat on each nail. Follow with two thin coats of your color of choice, letting the paint dry for a few minutes between each coat.

STEP 9: Finally, Do the Damn Thing

Paint on your base coat and wait at least two minutes to ensure it’s dry. Don’t forget your base coat because it gives your nail polish something to sink into besides your actual nails.

STEP 10: Finish With a Quick-Drying Top Coat

Finish with a top coat so your nails maintain high shine and luster. Because nail polish takes about 12 hours to harden.

Primp Tip: Recommends sticking your finished toenails into cold water for a few minutes to make your nail polish harden faster and help it solidify.

Tell me: Do you do your own nails?


The Ultimate Hack for Super Soft Lips

Published on by Lee2 Comments

Summer is finally here, and I’m super excited! It shouldn’t have to cost thousands of dollars to achieve that beautiful supple, glowy and hydrated look… But fortunately, there are SO many ways you can cheat it!

One of the first places dehydration shows is on your lips, and not only is chapped and cracking lips uncomfortable, but it’s also not very attractive… and there’s no reason you shouldn’t look your best. Here’s what I like to do to keep my lips soft and hydrated:

DIY Honey Mask:

One of my favorite ways to keep my lips soft and supple during summer is a honey mask. It’s super easy, just slather your lips in honey every night before you go to bed, and just leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it. Honestly, this works wonders!

Lanolin Products:

During the day, a good lip balm is an essential. I’ve always found products with Lanolin in to have THE most amazing moisturizing properties, and it’s actually because it’s a completely natural ingredient that comes from sheep’s fleeces. My favorite pure lanolin lip balms to date have to be Lanolips (which literally lasts allll day) and Dr. Lipp. Carmex is also amazing and contains lanolin, beeswax, shea butter, Menthol, and Aloe, which all work together to really soothe your lips.

DIY Balm

Take your lanolin lip balm (or another lip balm) and whip it up in a mini container with a couple of drops of rose oil. This is totally optional, but rose oil has the most amazing hydrating effects.

Be sure to drink as much water as you can in the evenings so your body can catch up on the hydration it needs.

Let me know in the comments, which DIY is your favorite! Check out the review I did on Lanolips…

Tone It Up: DIY Avocado Hair and Face Mask

Published on by Lee5 Comments

Love reading articles from, Tone It Up! We’ll be sharing Tone It Up’s best fitness and healthy living tips. In today’s, Serena and Katrina will be showing you how to add shine to your hair and a glow to your skin with two of their favorite DIY mask recipes:

Hi everyone, it’s Katrina and Serena here from Tone It Up! Today we’re excited to be telling you about two DIY masks you can make for your hair and face. They are both so easy to make and for when you are in the mood for a relaxing evening at home. Plus, they will freshen up your pretty locks and clear your beautiful skin! The key ingredients in both of these masks are avocado and apple cider vinegar, both of which will make your hair shiny and soft and add a glow to your skin.

Here’s how to make them (be sure to pin the image below to remember it for later!)…

To recap, here’s how to make these masks:

Avocado Hair Mask

You will need:

  • 1 banana
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Blend all the ingredients together and massage into your hair from roots to ends, covering thoroughly.
  2. Let sit for 30 minutes.
  3. Shampoo well, then rinse with apple cider vinegar.


Avocado Face Mask

You will need:

  • ½ ripe avocado
  • 1 tbsp of honey
  • 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

  1. Blend the ingredients together or mash in a bowl.
  2. Apply to your face and leave on for 15 minutes. Focus on your breathing and relax while letting it set.
  3. Rinse off with cool water and a damp cloth.

We love the avocado in these masks because it helps to moisturize and rejuvenate your hair and skin. The healthy fats act as an all-natural and super hydrating moisturizer. And let’s not forget about the apple cider vinegar (one of our favorite elixirs). You might remember us talking about the benefits of apple cider vinegar here on BeautyLeeBar.com couple weeks ago. Not only is it good for your body, it’s great for your hair. It closes the cuticles, allowing your locks to lay flat for shinier hair that’s easy to style. It also acts as an astringent that clears your skin as well.

Now that you’ve read a bit about two of our favorite masks, we want to know…

Will you give our DIY avocado hair and face masks a try?

Let us know how they work for you in the comments below! And don’t forget to pin the image above so you will have it for later 🙂

XO Team BLB

P.S. If you liked this post, be sure to check out last week guest blog about apple cider vinegar by clicking here.

There’s A Skincare Super Ingredient Hiding In Your Kitchen

Published on by Lee5 Comments

There’s literally nothing I love more than discovering ingredients that will solve all your beauty problems, and it turns out, Apple Cider Vinegar is SO much more than an addition to your salad dressing. Yep, apple cider vinegar is one of nature’s most potent creations, full of active ingredients, vitamins, mineral salts and amino acids. Its magical properties as an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal, have been used in medicine for thousands of years, and it’s now a staple skincare supplement in my beauty regime.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR:

Banish acne and fade age spots: The malic acid found in apple cider vinegar makes it a potent antibacterial and antifungal substance that kills bacteria and prevents pimples from popping up. It also removes excess oil from your skin, balances your pH levels, and over time works to draw out toxins from your skin for a glowing complexion. It also works wonders on age spots and acne scars, as the alpha hydroxy acids penetrate deep into the skin, removing dead skin cells. Try washing your skin a few times a week with one part apple cider vinegar and one part distilled water, or create a toner with the same solution. For age spots, apply the vinegar directly, rinsing with warm water after 30 minutes – repeat every day for results within six weeks.

Whiten teeth: Say adios to stains and rub apple cider vinegar directly on your teeth before rinsing with water. Or, try mixing one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with a cup of water for a homemade mouthwash, which also kills bacteria that cause bad breath. Avoid doing it daily as it can break down tooth enamel.

Get glossy hair: Get the Pinterest mane of your dreams and use apple cider vinegar to cleanse your hair. It’s awesome clarifying properties remove excess buildup from products and seals the hair cuticle. Dry scalp? With natural antifungal properties, it will restore your skin’s natural pH balance and destroy dandruff by killing fungus and cleaning clogged pores and hair follicles. Try rubbing a solution of equal parts of cider vinegar with water, and a few drops of tea tree oil, onto your scalp for 5 minutes, and let it sit for 15 minutes before rinsing and shampooing as usual.

Say bye bye wrinkles: Apple cider vinegar also hydrates skin and will minimize the appearance of fine lines. Make a mask with equal parts of honey and apple cider vinegar and leave it on your skin for up to 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water. Or, soak a cotton pad in diluted apple cider vinegar and dab it on your skin. After ten minutes rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Soothe sunburn: When your glow is veering more towards a tomato tint, add two cups of apple cider vinegar to your bath and soak for ten minutes. It will restore your skin’s pH balance, soothe your skin, and get rid of the burning sensation.

Be careful always to dilute apple cider vinegar, as it’s a strong substance that can irritate or dry sensitive skin, and remember, you need to buy organic, raw, unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar – otherwise all the magical enzymes will be lost during the filtering process.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?