Tag Archives: by Nancy Weinberg Simon

Smooth Operator

If you’re anything like me, your feet can use a little love right about now. Skyy Hadley of As “U” Wish Nail Spa in Hoboken, NJ  shares this all-natural, at-home DIY recipe to get your feet in the best shape of their life. It contains cucumber to refresh and revive, lemon to exfoliate and olive oil to moisturize and soften.

Refreshing Cucumber Lemon Foot Scrub:

You’ll need:

  • 2 whole cucumbers (one per foot)
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil

To do:

  1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until pureed.
  2. Pour the mixture into a bowl and heat it up to warm temperature.
  3. Divide the mixture in two and place each half in large Ziploc baggies.
  4. Slide feet into each baggie, rubbing until each foot is fully soaked.
  5. Leave on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing with warm water.

 

 

(featured image courtesy of pinterest)

HOW TO LOOK LIKE MIRANDA KERR. WELL…ALMOST.

I will never look like Miranda Kerr…and I’m okay with that. But it doesn’t mean I might not want to emulate her style every now and then. I love the look she had going on for the recent ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ Costume Institute Benefit Gala early this May.

La Prairie worked with celebrity makeup artist Lisa Storey, who found inspiration in this Louis Vuitton short dress and Miranda’s simple middle part hair. She paired fresh, natural makeup to balance this chic modern dress.”

HOW TO CREATE THE LOOK:

Miranda’s skin was prepped with La Prairie Cellular Softening and Balancing Lotion, followed by Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Dry Oil.

Her eye shape was defined with the Luxe Eyeliner Automatic in Noir, with an upwards kick to the edges to lift the eye. Cellular Treatment Eye Colour Ensemble in Les Bruns followed and then Storey gently contoured her eye socket extending the dark shadow out to the edge of the eye, and gently smoking it out for a soft look. She then smudged the lighter shade under the eye to continue the frame and blending it so it faded out with no hard line.

For her perfect-looking, luminous complexion Storey used two shades of Skin Caviar Concealer, Foundation SPF 15 in Soleil Peche and then Mocha for the contour followed by the Light Fantastic Cellular Concealing Brightening Eye Treatment pen under the eye and on the balls of the cheeks to highlight and help make her eyes stand out.

On Kerrs cheeks Storey mixed the Rose Glow and Peach Glow Cellular Radiance Cream Blush for natural radiance followed by a gentle dusting of Cellular Treatment Bronzing Powder before softly powdering for staying power and also so Kerr was still left with a dewy look.

The finishing touches were the Cellular Treatment Mascara Instant Build in Noir on lashes, the Luxe Brow Liner Automatic in Brun to play up her brows and the Cellular Luxe Lip Enhancer followed by the Cellular Luxe Lip Colour in Almost Pink.

For more information or to purchase La Prairie products, click here.

 

Photo: Larry Busacca/Met Gala 2015/Getty Images

SPEC-TACULAR SUNNIES

The purpose of sunglasses? Protecting your eyes. Looking cool is just the icing on the cake!

Here’s how to choose wisely:

  • Choose sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection to shield your eyes from damaging UVA and UVB rays.
  • Oversize lenses are the best choice. The more surface area your sunglasses cover the more your eyes are safeguarded.
  • Color matters. Grey-toned lenses keep color true. Green lenses enhance vision. Amber and brown tones improve contrast and reduce glare. Avoid red or pink which make everything look rosy-toned and blue or purple shades which can distort traffic lights, size and distance.
  • Think thin. Sunglasses with thick sides could block your peripheral vision.

3 YOU’LL LOVE:

Warby Parker Upshaw (starting at $145) has polarized lenses and is also available in single vision and progressive prescriptions.

Chloé Carlina Oversized Sunglasses ($346) cover a lot of territory and look so glam you won’t want to take them off.

RayBan Original Aviator ($200) is a classic that is just as cool now as when it first debuted and best of all, this style flatters all.

SPRING NAIL ART CONTEST

Enter JINsoon’s nail art contest and you can be one of 3 winners to receive the JINsoon x Tila March Collection.

To enter: Design your own nail art using nail polish only (no stickers or ornaments), tag @JINsoon & hashtag #jinsooncontest

Deadline for entries in 4/15/15.

courtesy of JINsoon

courtesy of JINsoon

REVIEW: LUSH SPA’S HARD DAYS NIGHT

My first experience with the LUSH Spa couldn’t have come at a better time. Like many working moms out there, I was beyond stressed trying to stay on top of all my work commitments. So much so that I couldn’t fully appreciate the quality time spent with my husband, children and friends.

Thinking some spa downtime might take me away from checking off things on my ever-growing to-do list I almost cancelled, but then I realized a little me-time just might do the trick to get back on track and find more patience and joy in my day to day – and that’s exactly what happened! In fact, days after the treatment I was still reaping the benefits. My mind felt clearer and the rediscovered happiness lingered.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by Ellysha, the warm and welcoming massage therapist who was to be working on me. She offered me some English tea and explained the treatment as basically a firm massage with passive stretching and a guided meditation at the end, all performed to a soundtrack of really cool, cleverly reworked Beatles songs.

Ellysha led me into a comfortable spa room and ducked out while I changed into the coziest pair of loose-fitting pajamas, set aside for me to wear during the treatment. They were actually wrapped around a hot water bottle so they’d be warm when I put them on. I rang a bell to signal that she should return and then I got onto a warm, cozy, heated treatment table that felt more comfortable than any bed I’ve ever slept in. I swear I was ready to move in!

Then the Beatles music started and Ellysha worked her magic—a combo of deep kneading, manipulation of my muscles, passive stretches and meditative moments—and took me on a journey that was a spa experience like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Each movement was somehow synchronized to words of the songs and the music but in a way that felt natural and organic, not forced. Every muscle and pressure point in my body was worked and before I knew it, I heard birds chirping and a rooster crowing. Seriously. Somehow, during the guided meditation I’d actually fallen asleep!

When I awoke, I felt completely rested, calm, restored and more in love with this one spa treatment than any I’d ever experienced before, so much so that when I was checking out I was ready to book one again. And then I remembered Mother’s Day is right around the corner…this year I deserve to get what I really want…don’t you?

Hard Days Night Treatment ($175 for 75 minutes). Expect passive stretching techniques, pressure points throughout the body and a hint of psychedelia. You can bring a bit of your experience home with the Hard Days Night Soundtrack ($15.95) available for purchase only at LUSH Spa locations. I’ve been playing it for pure enjoyment or when I need to be transported back to the most restorative experience of my life.

 

RECREATE RETRO!

If you’re not familiar with Birchbox, now is good time to get in the know. You can get monthly boxes for as little as $10 or pay a yearly subscription rate of $110 and in honor of Mad Men’s final season, Birchbox has partnered with AMC on a special Mad Men-inspired guest editor box (for women or men) chock full of beauty and grooming products for a cool mod look.

And…if you can’t get enough of Mad Men and everything about it, here’s how to recreate Joan’s power sex-kitten look thanks to this 1-2-3 how to from Christina Hendrick’s makeup artist Vanessa Scali.

Retro in a flash:

  1. Apply wash of a clean, champagne color shadow from the lash line to brow bone. Try Armani Fluid Sheer #2 ($62) or Dior Fusion Mono Eye Shadow in Mirror ($31).
  2. On the upper lash line, use black liner to draw a soft, winged line
  3. Finish with a strong, siren mouth. Try NARS Semi Matte Lipstick in Heat Wave or Jungle Red ($27).

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A LITTLE ADORNMENT…

Laid-back luxury is so much better than being primped to perfection. When your hair is less than perfect add a touch of adornment instead of taming every last strand.

Hair jewelry can help you embrace the frizz, the flat, the untamed and elevate it to something spectacular indeed. After all…perfection is overrated!

 

(featured image, jenniferbehr.com)

Get Your Greens!

It doesn’t have to be Saint Patrick’s Day to go for the green…makeup that is! Emerald lashes, a wash of color on the lids and graphic liner are all great looks that show you like to have a little fun.

Here, the tips and product picks to get it right:

GREEN LASHES: Green mascara will make your eyes pop. Brush it on top and bottom lashes, paired with a flesh toned shadow, bronzed skin and tinted balm. If subtlety is your specialty, layer it over black mascara instead.

GREEN LIDS: When it comes to color on the lids, a little goes a long way. Keep in mind, the darker your complexion the brighter and deeper (think emerald, seaweed and forest) you can go with your makeup shades but fair-skinned women look best in lighter hues like celery plus sheer washes of color.

GREEN LINES: Graphic liner is having a moment right now. Line upper lids and wing out slightly. Wear with or without mascara and keep the rest of your makeup clean.

By Terry Terribly Mascara in Dark Forest ($48, bloomingdales.com)

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow ($10, ulta.com)

Yves Saint Laurent Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils in Deep Green ($34, sephora.com)

 

(featured image courtesy of mpdrolet.tumblr.com)

Nationwide Model Search and Giveaway

Calling all male and female wannabe models…have you got what it takes?

If you’ve got great hair and great style you could be the next L.A. Looks® model! All you have to do is be a fan of L.A. Looks Facebook page and  submit a photo with your best “L.A. Look. All 18 and older male and female fans will get the chance to win a trip to L.A. for a professional photo shoot and a surprise VIP experience, including airfare, L.A. car rental, hotel and even a trip stipend.

Plus, The Beauty Wall readers will get a chance to win a basket full of L.A. Looks® products. The basket contains L.A. Looks Absolute Curls, L.A. Looks Volcanic Rush Glue Gel, L.A. Looks Mega Mega Hold gel and L.A. Looks Define & Shine gel.

To enter to be a model, simply click here and like L.A. Looks Facebook page. Also, submit a hair shot of yourself (your personal L.A. Look). The deadline for this is 9/6/14. *

To enter to win the basket of L.A. Looks® products, simply leave a message on this post or leave a message on my Facebook Wall. One winner will be randomly selected. The deadline for this is 7/25/14.

*Model search entries will be judged on originality, creativity, quality of photo and overall appeal. Using these criteria, the judges will select 10 women and men for the finalist stage. Starting on Sept. 22, 2014, L.A. Looks will ask its fans to vote and determine who the two grand-prize winners will be, with the winner announcement to be made later in the fall. The model search will be promoted on product packaging, social media and the website.

GOOD LUCK!!! xoxoNancy

Add a Pop of Color!

Product Review: Laura Geller Love Me Dew Moisturizing Lip Crayon, $16 at laurageller.com

For someone who doesn’t wear a lot of lipstick, I’m crazy about my new Laura Geller Lip Crayon. I’m loving it in Purple Currant but it also comes in shades of pink, cranberry, plum, orange, coral and more.

Laura Geller Love Me Dew Moisturizing Lip Crayon is the perfect blend of balm, color and shine. It leaves my lips super-moisturized and it never feels tacky.

Since the bright, bold lip trend is going nowhere I keep it in my bag at all times–whenever I need to look good, out it comes and on it goes!

 

(photography courtesy of laurageller.com)