Tag: Beauty

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?


BEAUTY Q&A: HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU TIP YOUR HAIRSTYLIST?

Published on by Lee1 Comment

Your hair appointment shouldn’t be shrouded in fear of tipping the wrong amount. Cutting your hair too short? Maybe. Making a huge mistake by getting bangs in the middle of summer? Definitely. Dealing with the pressure of wanting to leave the salon looking like your best damn self (even though the whole thing is kind of out your hands) is enough to deal with without factoring in tipping-related stress. So if you’ve been preemptively wondering how much extra cash you should bring with you to your appointment, quit Googling and stopping asking your friends because everyone’s going to have a different opinion. To answer this ever-so-popular question once and for all, we reached out to New Jersey-based hairstylist Jennifer Geoghan.

“Twenty percent of the cost of your service is a good rule of thumb for tipping,” says Jennifer. Simply plug the price of your haircut right into your phone’s calculator and multiply it by .20 to get the dollar amount you should give your stylist. For example, a $50 haircut will lend itself to a $10 tip; a $100 haircut $20, and a $200 haircut $40. “Hairstyling is a work of art,” Jennifer adds. “A stylist’s price depends on their education, skill, number of years in their careers, continued education and keeping their tools and products up to date. Keep in mind when paying for a service and tipping a hairstylist, you are paying for their history, not just the service itself.”

And what about the washer or assistant who had a hand in the whole thing? “Tipping the washer or assistant is ultimately up to you, but $3-$10 is always helpful and appreciated,” says Jennifer. “Even though it may seem that the assistant or hair washer isn’t doing much in the scheme of things, their wages aren’t super high, mostly because they are barely getting hours. So, the assistants and hair washers really rely on their tips. Plus, they’re helping out the hairstylist a lot behind the scenes to ensure you have a calm, successful and happy appointment. If you know that they played a big role in making your hair fabulous (say, washing it or blowing it dry) consider tipping, so they know their work was appreciated.

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These $10 Face Scrubs Will Leave Your Skin SO Soft!

Published on by Lee2 Comments

Exfoliation is easily one of the most important parts of your weekly skincare routine – it helps buff away dead skin to keep blackheads under control and keep your skin feeling smooth and soft. That being said, you need to be careful, because if done too often or too hard, you’ll risk over-exfoliating, which can lead to breakouts and general redness and sensitivity.

Our latest drugstore discovery is the L’oreal Smooth Sugars Scrubs, and we unexpectedly fell in love with them. The thing is, sugar scrubs can be notoriously harsh, which is why we often recommend them for body-only exfoliation. However, the new offering from L’oreal is exfoliating without being too harsh, and we were seriously impressed with the results. The three formulas that we tried combine three types of pure sugar – brown, blonde, and white – and each is concocted with cleverly-chosen ingredients to target different skin concerns.

For Oily Skin Prone to Blackheads: Purify & Unclog Kiwi Scrub, $10

With real kiwi seeds to smooth skin and reduce blackheads, the gel-like texture of this scrub doesn’t feel harsh as the sugars gently melt into the skin. The addition of peppermint essential oil, a natural antibacterial and anti-fungal, soothes the skin and helps control bacteria that can lead to breakouts, while lemongrass essential oil helps purify the skin.

The formula smells amazing and feels gentle on the skin – be sure to be light-handed with any exfoliators as the harder you scrub, the more you’re likely to damage your skin and the fragile skin barrier. We recommend using this a maximum of three times a week.

For Dry to Normal Skin: Nourish & Soften Cocoa Scrub, $10

This divine, chocolaty-scented scrub is ideal for those with dry patches or normal skin. Mixed with the trio of sugars is finely-crushed, antioxidant-rich cocoa, antibacterial and hydrating coconut oil, and nourishing cocoa butter. Post-scrub, your skin will feel moisturized and smooth as a baby’s bottom, without that tight or itchy feeling that some exfoliators can leave.

Add warm water to soften the sugar particles for a buttery texture that melts into the skin (don’t forget to do your lips as well), then admire how bright your skin looks after. Follow with a hydrating toner to remove any residue.

For Normal or Dull Skin: Smooth & Glow Grapeseed Scrub, $6.50

Packed with vitamin E to protect and promote even tone, grapeseed oil nourishes and soothes your skin while moisturizing monoi oil protects the skin. The addition of acai powder, and the fact it smells so good may make you want to eat it, but the vitamins and minerals are just as good topically for your skin as they are for your tummy.

Again, be gentle when you’re massaging this into your skin. As you add warm water, you’ll feel the sugars dissolve while the natural oils soften the skin and give a major post-exfoliating glow. We love that you can use this on your lips as well.

Primp Tip: We recommend using a gentle cleanser before using your preferred scrub and then following with a hydrating toner on a cotton pad. Continue with your essences, serums and moisturizers to ensure your skin stays hydrated, but avoid using any other exfoliating products, like toners that contain AHAs or retinol. Use these scrubs a maximum of three times a week and be prepared to see your skin glow.

Have you guys tried these scrubs? Let us know in the comments below!

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…