Get the "Summer Glow" without the Skin Damage and Wrinkles

I am a big advocate for saving your skin from the damage of UVA/UVB rays. In high school, I would fake-bake all the time, and yeah the tan looked great but I was giving myself pre-mature wrinkles, dark freckles, and sun spots, and putting myself at risk for skin cancer. Nowadays, I never go to a tanning booth, and I always were moisturizer with SPF15 on my face. So how do I get that sun-kissed glow without the damage, Self-tanner!!! Self-tanner has improved greatly over the past few years. In the past, the active ingredient in self-tanners, DHA (dihydroxyacetone), reacts adversely with the skin causing your skin to appear orange. This was due to using poor quality DHA. Today, most self-tanners use higher quality DHA, and have different varieties of shades for different skin types. Some of the best self-tanners can also be expensive, but here are a list of great expensive and inexpensive self-tanners:

1. St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse:
"This super-lightweight, easy-to-apply, velvety mousse delivers the ultra-even all-over tan you’ve always wanted. Infused with conditioning aloe vera and long-lasting color, you’ll have a perfectly natural looking, streak-free tan that dries in an instant. Our innovative Aromaguard™ fragrance technology eliminates the tell-tale self tan aroma by a minimum of 70% and instead gives a beautiful subtle, yet refreshing fragrance."

http://www.sttropeztan.com/self-tan-bronzing-mousse

This stuff works miracles! If applied correctly it gives you an amazing bronze color, without the orange hue. It's a little costly though, $30 for 4 fl oz. and $40 for 8fl oz., But It is well worth the money! Make sure you exfoliate with an exfoliating wash and a washcloth, loofahs tend to exfoliate unevenly, and put a light coat of water-based moisturizer on your ankles, knees, elbows, hands, and feet to keep them from absorbing too much color.


2. L'Oreal Sunless Sublime Glow Daily Moisturizer, Medium Skin Tones

This is an inexpensive self-tanner and is a great choice if you apply sunless tanner only to your legs. If you are very fair-skinned, one application a week may be all the color you need.It contains mica, a natural mineral that provides a slight shimmer. The shine looks great on legs, not so great on the face. Available at drugstore and drugstore.com for $10.99; up to $13.00 retail.

3. Clarins Self Tanning Instant Gel
This lightweight and non-oily gel creates a natural, golden tan for both your face and body. It absorbs instantly so you don't have to wait 10 minutes before you can put your clothes on, but the gels texture allows you to feel exactly where you placed it so you know if you missed a spot. Available at Sephora and www.sephora.com, 4.4oz for $33.                  





4. Neutrogena Sun Fresh Sunless Tanner

The ultra-lightweight formula glides on evenly, dries quickly, and gives a radiant glow. With the hint of grapefruit and nectarine, it gives you a fresh sensation. Available at Walmart and drugstores, 4 fl.oz. for $9.99








5. Geurlain Terracotta Sunless Tinted Self-Tanning Gel

This gel provides a warm glow to your skin without streaking. It dries instantly leaving a hint of color. The formula is enriched with 100% Moroccan Argan Oil which helps hydrate, protect, and regenerate the skin for a smooth, flawless finish. Available at Sephora. 5.4 fl.oz. for $52.







6. Aveeno Continuous Radiance Moisturizing Lotion

This product provides moisturizer, a tan with no streaks, and the ability to control how much color you want. It has a dial on the top so you can regulate the amount of tanner comes out with the lotion. Available at Walmart and drugstores for $11.99.







7. St. Tropez Everyday Gradual Self-Tanning Mousse

This formula allows you to build your tan overtime. Apply it daily for the effect natural tanning. St.Tropez's formulas are infused wi+
th an innovated AromaguardTM technology that reduces the self-tanning aroma by 70%. Available at Sephora. 4 fl.oz for $30.







8. Jergens Natural Glow Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer

Much like the more expensive St.Tropez formula, this daily moisturizer allows to build a tan gradually. It comes in three shades for fair skin, medium, and medium/tan. Available at drugstores. 7.5 fl.oz. for $7.89.





9. Clarins Liquid Bronze Self-Tanner for the Face

This product is great for people with oily skin. It leaves the face with a bronzed glow without the greasiness. Available at Sephora. 4.2 fl.oz. for $33.








10. Victoria Secret Beach Sexy Tan Enhancing Shimmer Lotion with Tint

This isn't a self-tanner, but a lotion that boosts your tan and adds a little tint. Provides the benefit of a lotion along with skin perfecting shimmer, the bronze tint helps hide any imperfections caused by your self-tanner. Available at Victoria Secret, 7.6 oz for $12.







Remember that a self-tanner does NOT provide skin protection. Moisturize everyday and apply sunscreen often in order to prevent sun damage!

Having trouble lighting my makeup station for pictures and videos!

So I am trying to start making Makeup Tutorials for youtube and I am having a real difficult time with lighting. I try to take pictures of my eyes after I have done a new look and my eyelids come off all wrinkly and the colors are not popping out like they seem to do in the mirror. It is becoming very frustrating. Greg bought me this amazing HDCamcorder a month ago and we have a new Canon Powershot camera that we just got a few months ago, but I just can't get the lighting right! So aggravating. Anyone out there with some advice?

The Best Spring and Summer Perfumes

Ok, I'm up this early in the morning because I broke my toe last night and it's really painful so I thought what a better time to do a new post on the best perfumes for this spring and summer!!!!

I was at Sephora the other day and I love perfumes & the gorgeous bottles they come. I was sampling all of them on the little paper sticks they have. So here is my picks for the best perfumes for spring and summer.

 "Couture Couture by Juicy Couture": I fell in love with this! First you get the smell of a mixture of succulent pink grape with a mixture of orange flower and mandarin. Then blushed plum, honeysuckle, and bold star jasmine come into play. Finally, it's base consists of creamy sandalwood with moist amber and rick vanilla. The combination of all these smells just scream spring fun and party time. It isn't too heavy but when you put it on all you want to do is go out for a night on the town! $67 for 1.7oz

"Hello Kitty Hello Kitty Fragrance": This is a very sweet perfume that combines Cassis Sorbet, Italian Mandarin, Apple, Magnolia Blossom, Freesia, Orange Flower, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, and Musk. It is a very makes any girl feel sweet and pretty. $55 for 1.7oz

"Very Hollywood Sparkling Eau de Toilette by Michael Kors": This is definitely a perfume for a girl who loves the sense of Hollywood Drama. If you want to be the "it girl" this is a perfume for you. You get the combination of black currant, neroli, and mandarin. It is a very bold fragrance definitely for a night out clubbing with the girls! $40 for 1oz

 

 

 

"Armani Code Pour Femme by Giorgio Armani": I fell in love with the perfume when I smelled a sample in Glamour magazine. First of all it caught my eye because the incredibly gorgeous Megan Fox is modeling the perfume, and second of all it made me feel sexy like something I would wear to seduce my man. It is rich in Blood Orange, Ginger, Pear Sorbet, Sambac Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Seringa Flower, Lavender Honey, Precious Woods Complex, and Vanilla. The smell is so fresh and feminine. I can't wait to purchase this one!!!! $65 for 1.7oz

 

 

" Harajuku Lovers Wicked Style Baby": For a lighter perfume that is more day time appropriate I love this one. Inspired by the Harajuku shoping district in Tokyo this scent is features white peach, pink plumeria, and glowing amber. Baby is part of the limited-edition Wicked Style fragrance collection that features deliciously fun scents in bottles that take cues from the obsessive Japanese fashion that Gwen Stefani introduced to America. It is a perfume that makes you feel cute with it's vanilla and floral scent. $45 for 1oz

These are definitely my top picks for perfumes right now. Some of them have been out on the market for a while, but I love them and better yet, my husband loves them. 

After I went to Sephora I went over to TJ Maxx and they have a whole aisle dedicated to perfumes. I found Juicy Couture perfumes, Vera Wang perfumes, Calvin Klein perfumes, and many others for prices as low as $15!!! I'm going back for the Juicy Couture one later today! Hopefully it's still there cause there was only 2 bottles when I left. 

Much love and sweet smells! ~Dani

Review of the Olay ProX Advanced Cleansing System

So I have been dying to get this little dohickey called the Derm New Facial Rejuvenation System forever! But it's $80, and I could never seem to part with that kind of money for it. This is what the website says...

Description

Polishes and refines with perfectly sized naturally mined Corundum Crystals and added antioxidants.

• Gentle, thorough skin resurfacer for sensitive to normal skin types
• Polishes and refines
• Diminishes wrinkles, fine lines and pores size
• Decreases visible signs of aging and sun damage
• Reveals healthy new skin with a radiant glow

Recommended Use

• Attach the Teardorp Foam Applicator to the Dual Action Resurfacing Tool. Apply Sensitive Formula Microdermabrasion Creme onto the Foam Applicator.
• Dot onto clean, dry skin. Using upward circular motions and gentle pressure, massage the creme into the skin for approximately 1-2 minutes (2-3 times per week)
• Rinse off the remaining Crystal residue with warm water. 

 

I have been putting off getting it for over 5 months now! But as I was just about to give in due to a mad case of breakouts lately, Olay came out with the new Olay ProX Advanced Cleansing System.  It is professionally and clinically designed to cleanse 6x better than using a face wash. It has proven to be just as effective as the $200 cleansing systems. And guess what! 

IT'S ONLY $30!!!!!! (I happened to get mine at Target while they were doing a promotion of buy the system + one other Olay ProX product, which I got replacement scrubbers for $9.99, and get a $10 Target Gift Card. So basically I got replacement scrubbers for free!) It comes with a small tube of the face wash you use with it, which isn't very big but you need only about a dime size of the stuff.

IT IS AMAZING!!!!! I had several areas on my face that had some breakouts, and just after one use they looked a million times better! All you do is apply a dime size amount of the face wash all over your damp face (avoiding the eyes), turn on the wand which has 2 speeds, and for about 60-90 seconds move the wand all over your face! And oh my can we say relaxing! It felt amazing, not harsh. I had already washed the makeup off my face with makeup remover before I did it, but the amount of gunk it pulled out of my skin after I had already cleaned it was disgusting. I thought the remover had gotten everything, but the ProX brush was still showing signs of makeup. Now, after a week of using everyday before bed, my face looks AWESOME! It's so much smoother, and I have this awful dark splotch on my chin near the left side of my lip and it's already lightening up! My makeup glides on so smoothly now with how clean my face it (I hate using foundation primers to get smooth skin before makeup application cause I always seem to breakout from them clogging up my pores so the ProX helped eliminate that reason for using a makeup primer). It is also supposed to help fight aging which really hope it lives up to that because I am deathly scared of aging! The thought of my face sagging and full of wrinkles makes me shutter. The only downside I can see is if you use a self-tanner on your face. The scrubbing action will scrub the tanner right off. So use a self-tanner (love St. Tropez) on your body and then apply a daily bronzer on your face along with your makeup. 

So there is my review of the Olay ProX Advanced Cleansing System! I give it an A+, 5 STARS!!!!!!!

It is definitely a MUST in my book!!!!!

~Love~ Dani