A-M-A-Z-I-N-G giveaway today courtesy of my favorite people at Farrior Facial Plastics. They have kindly offered a line-up of VIVITÉ® facial products that are guaranteed to make you look and feel younger. Seriously. I use these products daily and am absolutely addicted. First up…
VIVITÉ® Daily Antioxidant Facial Serum provides antioxidant protection to help fight premature aging and delivers a regular application of glycolics to help hydration and renovation of the top layer of skin. Contains 15% glycolic compound. Next…
VIVITÉ® Revitalizing Eye Cream is specially formulated to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in the sensitive areas around the eye, as well as help minimize the appearance of dark circles. Contains 10% glycolic compound. We aren’t finished yet…
VIVITÉ® Exfoliating Facial Cleanser helps loosen the unproductive top layer of skin so you can scrub it away and reveal fresh, new skin. Contains 15% glycolic compound, as well as exfoliating microbeads to thoroughly help dissolve accumulated dead skin cells. And lastly…
I put my plumper on right after I wash my face in the morning. It is very gentle and makes me feel a little like Angelina Jolie – without the 6 kids. VIVITÉ® Defining Lip Plumper helps improve the appearance of lip volume, fullness, and fine lines and wrinkles. Gentle conditioners help make lips smooth and soft, while soothing botanicals help protect against environmental stressors.
A total value of $275 worth of VIVITÉ® products! I told you it was a fantastic giveaway. So, here are the Rules of Entry:
Confession: I LOVE getting my hair done professionally. I recently indulged over the past couple months with getting both my hair and make-up done just because. I would recommend doing this occasionally for everyone. It makes you feel absolutely gorgeous. And mama, you deserve it! Unfortunately, my bank account doesn’t allow me to do it every weekend or I would. But I have picked up some tricks. These side do’s are my personal favorites right now and not that tough to re-create at home.
The low side ponytail.
It is fresh, flirty and perfect for warm weather looks.
Begin by brushing hair with a boar bristle brush to get it smooth and shiny. If your hair is on the dry side, add a dab of shine boosting serum. When it its nice and knot-free, grab hair on the side of the neck and secure with a smooth hair band. Use a curling iron for soft waves at the ends.
For a chic finishing touch, wrap a piece around the base of the ponytail to cover up the rubber band. If you have thick hair, take a small section of hair from underneath the ponytail, wrap it once, and secure the hair with one or two bobby pins inserted underneath the ponytail toward your head. If you have thin hair, a one-inch-thick hair extension the same color as your hair will do the trick.
When you’re done, mist your entire head with a medium hold hairspray.
The low side messy bun.
This is basically the same as a low side pony but with a million more bobby pins. I love my hair this way if I am wearing something strapless or one-shouldered. It’s a dressier look than the low side pony but still doesn’t look too over done.
Brush your hair into a low-side ponytail. Don’t worry about bumps or fly-away hair. In fact, if you prefer, pull out a few bits of hair to have a more bohemian, effortless look. Do not secure the ponytail with a rubber band.
Begin twisting the ponytail from the tips of your hair until it is tightly coiled. Wrap the coil around itself until you have a bun on the side of your head. Pull out pieces of hair if you wish to have a more bohemian look.
Secure with a rubber band and bobby pins. Lightly hair spray.
The Deep Side Part
Very old-hollywood glam and perfect for date night.
Start by applying a styling cream to damp hair. Create a deep side part, then blow dry strands straight with a paddle brush.
Once hair is dry, mist 2-inch sections with a styling spray before curling them with a large barreled curling iron. Avoid curling the top three inches of hair, so curls are concentrated toward the ends.
When all sections are curled, rub a few drops of shine serum between your palms, then work through curls to separate and add shine.
I was at our club pool over the weekend when I overheard a dad talking rather loudly about his latest diet plan. It consisted of a kosher saltwater cleanse to be followed up with 2 weeks on the cabbage soup diet. I would honestly make my husband move out if he voluntarily ate only cabbage for 14 straight days. It did get me thinking about all the crazy fad diets there have been over the years. Here are a few of the kookier ones…
The Baby Food Diet
I seriously thought this one was a joke when I first heard about it. Made popular by designer Hedi Slimane, the diet is built on the idea that substituting one or two meals a day for tinier, baby-size purees leads to a slimmer waistline. Though the argument can be made that eating from small, nutrient-packed pots is healthier than snacking on junk food, the fact remains that baby food was meant for infants—not adults. Larger, similarly nutritious portions are necessary to stay healthy. But I have to say I really liked the Gerbers Bananas…
The Ayds Diet
If diet pills look like a box of chocolates, they’re likely too good to be true—as was the case with Ayds Appetite Suppressant Candy. Ayds (pronounced “aids”) was popular in the 1970s and early ’80s and came in a variety of decadent flavors. Once the AIDS epidemic entered the public psyche in mid-1981, however, the unfortunately named diet candy experienced a rapid drop in sales. Eventually, Ayds was withdrawn from the market entirely, which was probably for the best: The active appetite-suppressing ingredient in the product was phenylpropanolamine (PPA), which is now available only by prescription because of its potential to cause stroke in women.
The Soap Diet
As this 1924 print ad for La-Mar Reducing Soap reveals, lathering up used to be marketed as a workout replacement, offering a “magic” solution to unwanted double chins and tummy fat. Another popular cellulite-reducing soap was the aptly named Fatoff, but alas—the ingredients in these so-called body-fat-busters were nothing more than potassium chloride and other useless impurities.
The Tapeworm Diet
This diet is the grossest by far. You start it by eating the above tapeworm. OK, you eat it as an egg, but still. Tapeworms can grow up to 50 feet long in your intestines. They attach to your intestine and, yes, consume some of the calories that you eat. Often, they cause no symptoms, but they can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and even, in rare cases, seizures. To get rid of the tapeworm, you take a drug and then you poop out the giant dead worm. Sexy.
The Sleeping Beauty Diet
I am completely sleep deprived this morning (thank you, sweet Tennison) so while this is the craziest diet on the list I am finding it strangely appealing. In Jacqueline Susann’s best-selling 1966 novel, Valley of the Dolls, Neely O’Hara, a drug-addled, overweight character, resorts to the Sleeping Beauty Diet in hopes of slimming down and reviving her movie-star status. It’s rumored that Elvis Presley did the same, right around the time he had trouble fitting into his trademark 1970s jumpsuits. The belief behind the diet: If you were heavily sedated for several days, you would “sleep off” the weight and wake up thinner but likely with a very soiled bed.
*H&H Disclaimer: Please do not even THINK of trying any of the above but you may continue snacking on your little one’s baby food.*
Name: Amber Jones
