Spring Scarves

Scarves are not just for winter anymore! This spring and summer season try pairing a light scarf with your outfit.  It can be a cute accesory with a summer dress, jeans, a maxi skirt, the possibilities are endless!  Scarves are not just limited to around the neck either.  They can be worn as a headband, tied to a bag, a bandanna, or around your wrist.  Here are some outfit ideas along with some cute scarves & where you can buy them!

The Gap, American Eagle, and Old Navy are some stores that have affordable spring scarves.  Other scarves, that are a little bit more money, can be found at J. Crew, Bloomingdales, and  Nordstrom.

These are just a few stores that carry spring scarves, but they can be found in hundreds of stores. H&M, Target, Zara, Express, Macy's and more!  Figure out your season wardrobe budget and make sure this is one of your new outfit spring staples.  

Now get to the mall & start shopping!

xo Dianna

 

Make your lipstick last all day and night!

 You get really excited because you are about to try that cute shade of pink lipstick that you got this spring. You put it on only to realize that two hours later the color is gone!
This is frustrating, but do not worry. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to make your lip color last all day:

1. Prep your lips. Flaky lips look unflattering when you apply color to them. Also, scrubbing your lips creates a clean canvas for you to apply color. Try a natural lip scrub recipe by combining sugar and a few drops of water. 
2. Hydrate your lips. Try a lip balm that contains Aloe Vera which can hydrate your lips better than chapstick.
3. Apply a first layer of color. Start from the middle of your lips, and then spread it to the rest of your mouth.
4. Apply a thin layer of translucent powder. This will help that layer of color to stay on. 
5. Apply a second layer of color the same way you applied the first one.
6. To keep color from bleeding, apply concealer to the corners of your lips and blend. This creates a barrier and helps color to stay put.

Keep in mind that you need to allow extra time to follow all these steps!

Beauty Aids

From Left to Righ, clockwise: Lip Scrub from Lush, Aloe Vera Lip Balm from Banana Boat, Eco Tools Bamboo concealer brush, and Revlon's new lip colors. All under $12

Simple Summer Makeup

Here's some tips for easy summer makeup that can be done in minutes :

•  Fresh face forward - less is best! Accentuate your glowing skin by brushing on a light shimmering powder instead of a heavy foundation. You don't want to appear like you are melting under the hot sun.
  
• Those of you who read my column know that I'm a big advocate of the powder bronzer. This is a great way to give yourself a pretty glow. I like to use a matte finish on my face and then a shimmer powder on my eyelids, above my cheekbones, and on my shoulders and collarbone.
  
• A hot look on a bronzed face is shiny lip gloss. The BEST is "Lip Glass" by MAC. It gives you ultra shine over lipstick (applied with a brush) or on its own. Plus, it stays put - a big bonus for die-hard lip gloss wearers!
  
• Try a light shimmering eye shadow in beige just under your brow bone to draw attention to your eyes.
  
• If you are wear mascara, try a waterproof. This way you will avoid "Raccoon Eyes" when you are perspiring or near water. Don't forget the must-have partner, eye make-up remover, or else you really will end up with the dreaded dark circles!
  

My number one beauty booster tip is simple: relax…and summer is the perfect time to do it. Take time to sit back, relax and enjoy time off from school ! - Cait

Achieve a Healthy Glow

A natural, healthy tan and a bronze complexion are anyone's dream, not your dermatologists though! But there isn't a science of sunless tanning and achieving a great and natural-looking tan. A good tanning product and a skillful application are two needs to meet for a nice tanning process. In most cases, people want their fake tan to pass for a real sun tan. That is why these self tanning tips should be taken into account. No one can get a glowing sunless tan without following the instructions. A self tanning tip is more valuable than a lot of creams or sophisticated products, as it prevents the need to remove or hide the bronze color. No fear of orange tan or of too brown spots on some delicate areas. 

The quality of the self tanning products is critical. A consumer should be aware of the high performances of a tanning product. Cheap ones might be tricky. Picking up an inexpensive tanning product might only get vitamins and minerals for his skin, instead of a tan. That's not bad, but it is far from the tanning goal.The tanners should respect the amount/the quantity indicated on the label and the instructions to apply the cream/lotion/spray. Choosing the appropriate shade is extremely important, also, since the skin type is extremely relevant in the tanning process. Never apply a darker shade on a fair skin type. It looks awful. It's like a mask and therefore a removal tanning product is needed, unless you want to hide tanning right away. 

Always EXFOLIATE before applying any type of self tanner. Also apply lotion to dry areas, so they do not absorb too much product.  I recommend these products for tanning:

Neutrogena Sugar Scrub at any local Target runs about      $4

 

Jergens Natural Glow at any local Target runs about      $5

Vaseline Cocoa Radiant at any local Target runs about      $5

Enjoy SAFE TANNING !! - Caitlin

Wearing Color Jeans

I'm sure you have seen twill pants everywhere. I know they aren't for everybody, but you have to admit they are really cute and a great alternative to wearing jeans. Here are some tips to start wearing them now: 

1. Choose to play it safe. If bold colors aren't for you, you can try  a color like the one in the middle. The color is cute, and it's close to a jean color.
2. Stick to neutrals. Your top, shoes and accessories shouldn't compete with the color of your pants. As you can see above, it looks nice to pair color pants with black, grey or white. 
3. Accessorize! Even with pants in these colors you need to accessorize properly. Otherwise, your outfit will look too bland. Proportion is key. For example, try not to wear a big necklace with a chunky bracelet. Pick one big accessory and minimize the size of the rest.
4. Don't be afraid to wear them in any season: Think of them as jeans. Just because they are in now, it doesn't mean that you can't wear them all year round. It all depends on what shoes, top, or bag you wear. I can definitely picture those red pants above with some boots and a jacket during the fall. 

These color pants can be expensive or cheap, depending on which stores you like to shop. For some ideas on where to look for these items, check the labels. Also check out Polyvore, to plan your own outfits and save time when shopping. Just type what you are looking for and you will have more choices than you can handle. 

Nail Art As the New Accessory

This spring season pastel, neon, and nail designs are
trending and changing week after week.  On an average women get their nails done one day per week.  I go to Fresh Meadow Nail Salon in Seaford, NY and from Monday-Wednesday a regular manicure and pedicure is only $13.  From Thursday- Sunday a regular manicure and pedicure is only $16.  After you tip your maniucrist that is a pretty good deal! Especially that you get a hand, foot, and back massage added in as well.  As I head in I always say I'll try out a new color .. and I always end up walking out with a bright, neon color painted on my nails, no matter what season it is.  Neon, pastel, stick-ons, and designs are becoming very popular this season.

1) Neon

Essie is a very popular nail color brand.  

These four neon colors are (from left to right) 

Mini Shorts, Bermuda Shorts, Short Shorts, and Shorty Pants

Each bottle is $8.

2) Pastel

Opi is another popular nail brand among salons

  

 These three colors (left to right) 

Do You Lilac It?, Go on Green, Pink Friday

Each bottle is $8.50

 3) Designs
 If you want to change up your regular manicure & go for a drastic change, 
try some of these designs!

You can pick one finger and change it from the rest or make each finger unique in its own way.  I found these ideas on Pinterest.


Hope you enjoy these ideas & next time hopefully you'll try some of them out!


xo Dianna

Say It Isn't So

"All-natural", "reduced-fat", and "diet" are all words that make foods sound healthy, but are the products really good for you?  In lieu of our work out suggestions from previous posts, I wanted to share some facts about foods that are said to be "healthy" but truly are not .... 

Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is relatively high in fat, so you might think that a reduced-fat version would be better for you. Not so. The fats in peanut butter are heart-healthy fats, so don't let the higher number on the label scare you. You are better off keeping that healthy fat in the peanut butter and going with a natural version that is free of the hydrogenated oils and added sugars often found in reduced-fat versions.


Light Olive Oil: Light olive oil is not an olive oil with fewer calories. Instead, light in this case refers to the lighter color and milder flavor of the oil. Light olive oil can be a good choice for baking due to its more neutral flavor, but be sure it is 100% olive oil. Many times olive oil labeled as light is actually a blend of different oils-check the ingredient list to be sure.


Multigrain Bread: You might think the more grains a bread has the better and that multigrain bread is a great choice. But just because the bread may contain several grains, that doesn't mean it is a 100% whole-grain bread. Even if the label on the front of the bread says multigrain, if the first ingredient is enriched flour and not whole-grain flour, then it is still primarily made with white flour. Go for a 100% whole-wheat or 100% wholegrain bread instead.

Vegetable Chips: You've seen those colorful chips before that claim they are made with veggies, and they are, but don't think you are going to get all the benefits of eating your real veggies by snacking on these chips. They are still mainly potatoes, salt and oil, and their nutritional content is almost the exact same as a traditional chip in terms of calorie, fat and fiber content. Nothing wrong with having these as an occasional snack, but make sure you eat your real veggies too--these chips are not a substitute! And this is the one I am completely guilty of !! I LOVE VEGGIE CHIPS/STICKS. But hey, these chips make you feel less guilty than you would devouring a bag of Doritos because of the 7 Bud Lights you drank (at 110 calories EACH).

... LASTLY .. if you really want to tone up for summer, skip out on the alcoholic beverages. Light and Ultra beers contain as much as 120 calories a bottle and on a good Friday night who really stops at one?! If you are really craving a cold one (over the age of 21 ;) ) try a gluten free beer that does not contain all the carbs of a light or ultra beer such as Ramapo Razz Ale which is delicious and also brewed right in Upstate New York.

  - Cait 

3 Workout Tips for the Week

1. Interval Training

In as little as 10 minutes you will be sweating and happy it was over. It doesn't sound like a long time, but this workout burns many calories. Choose your cardio machine. It's better to pick and elliptical machine, or a stationary bike, but whatever you pick, make sure it is easy to work in intervals. Basically, during the first 10 seconds of the workout you will be going at a normal pace, the next 10 seconds you will workout as fast as your body allows you to. As you get stronger, you can increase the resistance on your machine to make it extra challenging.

2. Circuit Training

In 30 minutes you can have a complete workout. You don't really need to spend much time doing cardio. Strength workouts burn fat and increase muscle at the same time. You can concentrate con a circuit workout for legs 2 days a week and the rest of your body on the other 3. Try doing multitasking exercises to increase your benefits. For example, many butt workouts also work your core.

3. Always eat protein and carbs after a workout

Eating protein after working out promotes muscle to grow and if you don't eat carbs, your body may break down muscle to restore itself from the workout, which is something you don't want. This is the perfect time to enjoy simple carbs that digest quickly, so that your body can use them. Save that cookie for after spinning class!

-Karla R.