Tag: Beauty

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.

Fenty’s New Bronzer Just Stepped Up The Game (And Our Makeup)

Published on by Lee5 Comments

Ever since Pon De Replay blasted through our old school boombox nearly 15 years ago, we’ve been die-hard Rihanna fans. We didn’t think we could love her any more, and then she proved us wrong when she stepped on the beauty scene and MAJORLY shook sh*t up! Championing inclusivity, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty line has products for every beauty lover, and she’s not just got every skin tone covered; whether you prefer bold af makeup vibes or natural and fresh, girl got your back.

Her latest beauty revelation is Sun Stalk’r, a bronzer that comes in eight shades, which is pretty great, considering up until recently, most bronzers came in a one-size-fits-all shade (Benefit’s Hoola now has four shades). Not only did this mean that people with deeper skin tones were almost completely excluded from the bronzer convo, but that even those with super fair skin tones would struggle to find a flattering shade. We tried the new Sun Stalk’r bronzers, $30, to see if they played on our face as well as they do in theory.

What it is: A long-wearing, transfer-resistant pressed bronzing powder designed to “Bring all skin tones to life with an instant sun-soaked glow.”

What it does: The formula was specifically designed to make bronzing foolproof – it’s buildable and transfer-proof.

What we liked: When we first applied this, our first thought was that this wasn’t a very pigmented bronzer, but by the end of application we realized why the ‘soft pigment’ is actually amazing. How many times have you slapped on your fave bronzer only to realize you’ve got waaay too much on? Then you have to spend a good few minutes painstakingly blending it out. And that’s why this buildable formula is actually great, because it makes going overboard almost impossible.

Application tip: For adding all over glow, use a fluffy brush and dust your Sun Stalk’r shade across the high points of your face and around your hairline. For a bronzing, contour effect, opt for a more densely packed brush, like the new Fenty Beauty Cheek-Hugging Bronzer Brush, $36, or the Real Techniques Instapop Cheek Brush, $10. But be wary; the more densely-packed the brush, the heavier the pigment.

The shade range is impressive, and there’s finally a complementary shade for fair and rich skin tones. Although we feel that the only real ‘bronzing’ shade for deep to rich complexions is most likely going to be the deepest shade, Mocha Mami, which has red undertones that look really gorgeous and add a stunning warmth to the skin. If you’ve not used bronzer before, check out Fenty’s tutorial on how to apply bronzer for deeper skin tones.

Shade-finding tip: We found that depending on how we built up these bronzers, they worked for multiple skin tones. While that means shopping online should be easier (you will probably suit a couple of shades) we recommend going into the store to find the perfect shade that can be worn lightly and built-up as there are both neutral and warm options to choose from.

The verdict: We’re impressed! We love the packaging and the fact is has a mirror inside, and we find the formula really easy to use and play with. We’re super impressed with the shade range and formula, and we’re dying over the shade names – I$land Ting, Coco Naughty, and Mocha Mami are our faves. Yet again, Rihanna nailed it.

Have you guys tried this yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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?

This $9 Cleanser Is The Answer To Clear, Smooth & Oil-Free Skin

Published on by Lee1 Comment

With summer so close by, we’re feeling the pressure to strip back our cake face and go as natural as possible during the warmer months. After all, sweat is the enemy of a cake face, so the less we have to pile on, the better we’re gonna look as the day goes on. So, with thoughts of less foundation, we’re taking our skincare routine into overdrive.

Fortunately, we came across a 2-in-1 cleanser that has become our new best friend – not just because it costs $9, because it works so well to fight oily skin, congestion, and skin texture. Trust us when we say the Neutrogena 2-in-1 Skin Detox Clarifying Clay Wash Mask* is packed with some of the best oil-controlling, pore-busting ingredients that will detox your skin and keep your oil in check for the hot summer months.

The oil-free, non-comedogenic (won’t cause clogged pores) formula is packed with salicylic acid, a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that cleans deep into pores to dissolve the glue that binds toxins and dirt in the pores, while their Barriercare cleansing technology helps preserve skin’s moisture levels. Glycolic acid also helps to clarify pores and remove surface dead skin cells that cause the complexion to look dull. Finally, Kaolin and Bentonite Clay draw out toxins, dirt, and oil that cause breakouts, while glycerin adds a hit of hydration.

We love that we can use this as an everyday cleanser but also use it as a mask two or three times a week. To use it as a mask, apply a thick layer to the skin and leave it on for three minutes, before thoroughly washing away. Prepare to feel super soft skin! After using this for just two weeks, we noticed our oily T-zone looked less and less shiny, our skin texture improved, and pimples also became less frequent. We also recommend using an exfoliator once or twice a week (like the Neutrogena Skin Detox Cooling Scrub).

*Note, if you’re based in the US, this cleanser is called the Deep Clean Purifying Clay Cleanser & Mask and for those in the UK and elsewhere, it’s called the 2-in-1 Skin Detox Clarifying Clay Wash and Mask, although both formulas are exactly the same!

Let us know if you’ve tried this in the comments below.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?