Tag: Lifestyle

Upgrade Your Selfie Game With These Editor-Approved Ring Lights

Published on by Lee2 Comments

Whether you’re trying to upgrade your selfie quality or want the best light possible for filming makeup tutorials, ring lights should be on your radar. The perfect addition to every vanity, ring lights cast an even light onto your face, reduce shadows, illuminate your eyes and even minimize the look of blemishes. There are plenty of ring lights out there— each with different functions and lighting options — making it tricky to figure out which one is best for you. To make it easier, we’ve narrowed down our favorite ring lights on Amazon, ahead. 

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UBeeSize 12’’ Ring Light with Tripod

Never worry about bad lighting again. With this ring light, you can choose between five color temperatures and 10 brightness levels to find the best possible lighting for video calls, interviews, vlogs and makeup tutorials. 

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Riki Skinny Light Vanity Makeup Mirror

Although it’s on the pricier side, this mirror has received the praises of celebs, makeup artists and beauty gurus for a reason: it’s magnifying mirror ensures flawless makeup application every single time. Plus, the lighting can’t be beat.

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Neweer Selfie Ring Light 

Filming how-to videos and TikToks has never been so easy. This portable ring light provides top-notch lighting wherever you go and even has a clamp to hold your phone for hands-free recording. 

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AIXPI LED Ring Light

With its own height-adjusting tripod that rotates 360 degrees, this ring light offers optimal lighting at every angle.

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Yarrashop Ring Light Stand and Phone Holder

Don’t let poor lighting wash out your complexion on screen. Shop this desktop ring light complete with adjustable brightness levels and lighting will never be an issue again.

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APPS TO Streamline Your Life

Published on by LeeLeave a comment

Some of us may be thinking, “Oh no, I don’t need another reason to be on my phone,” and we hear you. We do. But hear us out. Where things can be complex, tech has tried its darndest to make it simple. There’s always an app for that. Here are some of our favorite apps for work, play, finances, self-improvement, and more so we can function like modern adults, but more optimally.

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Citizen

This app is excellent for safety, especially for those of us who live in a big city. Users get location-based safety alerts that can help us evade stumbling upon risky situations and know when to stay home if something dangerous is occurring in our ‘hood. 

We can access ongoing reports, leave comments and advice, and even share live videos. Their website touts “COVID-19 contact tracing, access to real-time 911 alerts, instant help from crisis responders, and safety tracking for friends and families.” If we’ve learned anything in 2020, it’s that we need more access to pro-safety apps like this.

Handy

We know what it’s like to let something broken in our home go a little too long without attention. Showering ankle-deep? Unacceptable. But easy to forget the second you step out, or block from your memory (seriously, ew). Streamline the arduous process of getting anything repaired or upgraded with the Handy app by comparing prices and hiring local contractors in your area. Services cover everything from home cleaning to a kitchen remodel, so no task is too small. 

Slack

2020 also brought us the great work-from-home era. It’s all fun and games and sweatpants until we call out to our work-wife and oh … right. Crickets. Or maybe our SO, or child. Still not what we were looking for. Save texting for fun convos and emails for attachments. Slack is the best workspace messaging app to streamline on-the-fly communication between team members. Create channels, set availability alerts, send reminders, attach files, comment, and organize all in one, without overloading your Google Drive.

Done

This app is not only great for productivity but straight-up self-improvement. It’s no secret here at BeautyLeeBar that we love optimizing for our best, healthiest selves, inside and out. Done helps us craft healthy routines by setting goals, tracking progress, and sending motivational alerts. Drop bad habits and carve out good ones by setting tangible daily, weekly, or monthly goals, and let Done be your gentle drill sergeant to hammer in the details so you can hold yourself accountable, and watch a digital paper trail of your progress. We’ll let you decide how you want to reward yourself.

Acorns

If any sort of financial jargon makes you instantly glaze over, then consider us a Krispy Kreme. It may not be our lingo, but we want in. Acorns automatically invest your chump change when you opt-in (think $1-$5) regularly, watching your portfolio for automatic balancing. But it’s not just investing in stocks. You can automatically save for retirement with recurring contributions based on your goals, employment, and income. It’s personalized and all laid out for you. You just fill in the blanks.

OfferUp

Not all our crap is total crap. Some of it is kinda worth something! Skip the pesky Craigslist ad and upload pics of your unwanted goods to the Offerup app to name your price, haggle, and get rid of things taking up space in your life, all from your phone on the couch. It’s also a great way to find amazing deals on used furniture, appliances, even cars! There is no limit to the goods you can find and sell on OfferUp.

If This Then That

The ultimate streamliner, If This Then That (IFTT) lets you connect all your services (which is what they call productivity apps like Google Assistant, Evernote, Fitbit, Twitter, Dropbox, etc.) so that you never lose track of a task, event, or goal via what they deem an “Applet.” Their example: “an Applet can sync your Amazon Alexa to-dos with your Google Calendar. Or create events in your iPhone Calendar, via Google Assistant.” If you’ve ever wished your productivity tools could talk to each other so you don’t need another app to remind you to check your apps, IFTT does that.

Headspace

After all this talk of productivity, who has time to meditate? You do. We do. Because of Headspace! What has seemed daunting in the past is now totally digestible thanks to founder Andy Puddicombe’s quest to bring his pivotal Buddhist monk experience into the daily lives of us all. We don’t have to quit our day jobs and shave our heads and take a silent retreat to embrace mindfulness and learn the major benefits of meditation first-hand. Guided meditations of all kinds and lengths can be found on the app to get us started and keep us going. 

Mint

So we’ve talked about investing, but what about just organization? Mint helps you create budgets, track spending, monitor credit and reach savings goals in one super-secure app. If you’re never sure where all your money goes by the end of the month, or want to get better at saving, or simply want to be in touch with your finances on an intimate level, this is the app that will get you there. Money can be a touchy topic that we tend to avoid, but Mint melts away that anxiety with clear-cut organization, goal setting, and encouraging clarity.

Up next, shop the newest items from the BeautyLeeBar Shop here.

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Barbie Feet: The Photogenic Pose That’s Become an Instagram Sensation

Published on by Lee1 Comment

There’s a reason we love wearing high heels—and it’s not that they’re especially comfortable. It’s that they’re hands down the most flattering footwear. But take a scroll through Instagram, and you’ll find the funny fact that models and bloggers have a trick for occasions when heels aren’t an option, what we’ll now refer to as “Barbie feet.” While Barbie’s plastic feet are permanently molded into a pointed position, Instagram pros are whipping out the pose when they want to elongate their legs in photographs.

To master this pose, there’s only one requirement: Act like you’re wearing an invisible pair of high heels, even though there’s nothing but air under your arches. From the front, it can be hard to tell you’re doing anything at all, but from the side, you can see that you’re balanced solely on the balls of your feet. Read on and you’ll find a breakdown of exactly how to nail this photogenic trick. Now, you’re all set to try it out for your next photo op.

Tip 1: Stand on the balls of your feel to lengthen your legs.

Tip 2: Bend one leg to the side, with the other leg back and behind.

Tip 3: Stand with your legs apart, at more than hip distance.

Tip 4: For extra support, try out a sitting pose.

Tip 5: Try crossing your legs and leaning against a background.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM-O8gAh7bI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tip 6: While this pose is great straight-on, also try it out from the side.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNGZ2NNF_BU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tip 7: It never hurts to add a big smile.

Tip 8: Separate your legs on two stairs for extra dimension.

Tip 9: Hold on to another object like a tree or chair for balance.

IS THIS AN INSTAGRAM HACK THAT FASCINATE YOU OR YOU ON TO THE NEXT ONE?

How to Not MINDFUCK YOURSELF

Published on by Lee3 Comments

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was this: “Stop standing in your way.” And the thing standing in the way of us and our dreams? FEAR. Fear that we won’t succeed, fear that things won’t work out, and fear that we simply aren’t good enough. It is so easy to allow these fears to have control over us. And when we do, fear limits us by keeping us locked in our comfort zones, driving us to self-sabotage, and keeping us stuck.

But as author Zig Ziglar put it, perhaps FEAR has two meanings, one that confines us and one that empowers us:

Meaning 1: Forget Everything and Run

Meaning 2: Face Everything and Rise

Imagine the potential we would unlock if we began to use fear to help us rise to opportunity rather than run from it. Here are a few tips to help do this:

1. Question Your Thoughts

When the voice of doubt, uncertainty, and fear comes into your mind, take a moment to question its authority. Remember that you are not your thoughts; you are simply the observer of them. This means that you have the power to choose whether to trust and act on these thoughts or choose to ignore, replace, and overcome them. When fear tells you, “Don’t do it, you’ll never succeed,” take a deep breath, pause, and replace that thought with one that empowers you. Perhaps you could repeat a positive mantra such as “I am capable of anything I set my mind to.”

2. Be Ok with Discomfort

When fear tells you to “forget everything and run” and you choose to instead “face everything and rise,” you make that wonderful and liberating choice to step outside of your comfort zone. What inevitably accompanies this decision (to varying degrees) is a feeling of discomfort. Remember that your subconscious finds comfort in the familiar, even if that familiar is not something that serves you. So when you decide to rise (step outside of your comfort zone), your subconscious says to you, “What’s going on here? This doesn’t feel right. This isn’t what you normally do.” This creates a feeling of discomfort. At this point, you have another choice to make—do you allow the discomfort to push you to self-sabotage and fall back into old patterns, or do you sit with that discomfort, be OK with it, and keep going for the greater good?

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3. Heal the Source

Fear is almost always driven by a culmination of your insecurities, past experiences, and old pain. When you become aware of your fear, you can allow it to guide you to unhealed wounds that need some love, care, and attention so that you can break the fear cycle.

4. Find Your Reason

When fear rears its ugly head, you need a good enough reason to fight it off and move forward. You need to be clear on WHY you should choose not to Forget Everything and Run, but instead Face Everything and Rise. Ask yourself, “What change do I want in my life and why do I want it?” Allow your desire and passion for personal growth to drive you, undeterred by the doubt in your mind.

5. Get Ready

When you start to live a life that is not governed by fear but is fueled by it, your life will transform in every way. So get ready to let go of the past and embrace the endless possibilities ahead of you.

Essentially, what I’m trying to say is this: fears will come into your mind, but see them for what they are—unwelcome visitors. Don’t allow them to control your behavior or dictate what you do or don’t do. Don’t allow them to rule over you and your future. Do not allow yourself to be mindfucked by your fear. Remember that you always have a choice. So choose to take charge, rise above your fears and doubts, step out of your comfort zone, unlock your fullest potential, and manifest the life of your f*cking dreams!

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Roxie Nafousi is a self-development coach, manifesting expert, yoga teacher, and host of the podcast “The Moments That Made Me.” Head to her website to book a spot in her next self-development webinar, schedule a one-on-one advice session, or download one of her meditations or affirmation playlists designed to help you on your manifestation journeys. Follow her on Instagram.

The content provided in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice and consultation, including professional medical advice and consultation; it is provided with the understanding that BeautyLeeBar, LLC (“Hello Beauties”) is not engaged in the provision or rendering of medical advice or services. The opinions and content included in the article are the views of the author only, and BeautyLeeBar does not endorse or recommend any such content or information, or any product or service mentioned in the article. You understand and agree that BeautyLeeBar shall not be liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising out of the use of, or reliance upon any content or information in the article or any other article that is provided on here, BeautyLeeBar.com.