Okay, time for a beauty confession…for the past few years, I have been doing my own pedicures.  After years of having professional pedicures done on a regular basis I noticed that my toenails weren’t looking too good; they were often dried out and covered in white marks.  In order to mitigate this, I began leaving my toes unpolished for several months each winter.  The result?  Although it would take months, eventually my nails would regain their healthy appearance.  Unfortunately the moment that I received my first pedicure of the spring, my nails would be destroyed again!  Then I made a discovery…after having anxiety over the potential for catching a nail fungus from an unsanitary nail salon (always a legitimate concern), I decided to do my own pedicures for a few months.  Guess what?  My nails remained perfectly healthy looking.  Then one day I got lazy and decided to head to the nail salon for a pedicure.  Surprise, surprise…my nails were destroyed once again.  I thought about what I was doing differently at home than what the nail technician was doing to me at the nail salon.  Then, it came to me…I was using non-acetone nail polish remover!  Eureka!  Yes, non-acetone polish remover is the old-fashioned polish remover that takes forever to remove your polish, but it does not dry out your nail bed and make your nails look unsightly.  This may not seem like a huge discovery, but I know for a fact that many women are plagued by unsightly toenails and are not sure what is causing this.  Ever since I have taken to doing my nails on my own they have been looking great!  Want to learn how to do a pedicure like a pro?  Here we go…
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Lush is known for their fresh, handmade cosmetics products; they use natural, organic ingredients and do not test their products on animals.  At the moment, I am OBSESSED with Lush’s Lip Scrub! It is AMAZING for giving you a quick, all-natural way to exfoliate your lips and comes in 3 delicious flavors: bubblegum, popcorn (my favorite!), and mint ‘julips’. Continue reading →

Okay, so let’s face it.  Who doesn’t want to have perfect skin?  Unfortunately, nature isn’t always compliant.  I always feel that my hyperpigmentation, due to past sun damage, is one of the most telling indicators of my age.  I want to cover my sun damage; however, I despise the look of heavy face make-up.
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Due to the nature of my work as an esthetician, I frequently experience back issues.  I do my best to stay ahead of my back troubles by receiving regular massage therapy and chiropractic care.  Recently, I was introduced to something different by my massage therapist…cupping.  So what exactly is cupping you may ask?  Well, cupping is an ancient practice wherein local suction is applied to the skin in order to increase blood flow and promote healing.  Cupping’s roots date back as far as 3,000 B.C. and there is evidence to support its use in ancient Egypt, Greece, and China. Continue reading →

Aging.  The mere word makes many women cringe.  Yet, the fact of the matter is that we are all aging and we are meant to do so.  So what gives?  Somewhere along the line, women were sold a bill of goods that says that we have to look like we are 20 years old forever.  Unfortunately, this is neither sustainable nor does it promote a healthy self-image.  You know what else is really weird?  I feel much better about myself, my appearance, and where I am at in my life than I ever did when I was twenty.  I am thirty-five and I do not believe that I am alone; I believe that most women do feel more confident in themselves as they get older.  If only we could harness a way to take how we feel as we age and incorporate it into how we looked when we were just a few years younger.
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