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4/23/2021 0 Comments Play with your polish There’s something about spring that just makes me want to polish my nails, but I get tired of my polish options quickly - a girl can (and probably should!) only own so many shades. Today, we’re going to talk about super fun, easy ways to play with your nail polishes, level up your mani game and create pretty nails without buying lots of supplies! Are you ready to get started?
Double Top Coat Extend the life of your mani, add tons of extra shine and make your basic polish look like gel by doing not one but two coats of top coat. Simply give your nails a few minutes to dry after you complete top coat #1, then do it again! Add Glitter Pour a little polish onto a plate or paint palette, then slooowly sprinkle in fine glitter until you are happy. Remember you can always add more glitter, but you can never remove it. There are tons of ways to make it your own - add a little glitter or a lot, use tiny glitter, chunkier glitter or a bit of both, use clear glitter, white glitter or colorful glitter - it’s all up to you! Then, use your DIY glitter polish like you would any other polish! Add Dots Polish your nails however you want, then use a Q-Tip to add darker (or lighter) polka dots over the top. I’ve seen ideas like one huge white dot in the center of a nail to tiny, multicolored dots having a party on nails that are polished solid white. Keep it simple or throw a dot party! Mix Shades For the adventurous-at-heart, I give you the concept of mixing nail polish shades. Choose two polishes that you think would look great together, add a little of each to a plate or palette, stir them up and ~voila~ new polish color! To start, I’d recommend mixing a bit of darker pinks, purples, reds, greens and blues with white or cream to make a lighter shade. Eventually, you might try your hand at creating teal, magenta, etc! Of course, it’s all dependent on the polishes you have at home (and how brave you are!). Change Shape While this isn’t exactly a polishing tip, it will make your next mani look a little different from the one before it for free. Try to shape your nails differently or make them a different length than normal. If you typically have short, rounded nails, turn them into longer (but not weapon-like long) oval nails, or vice versa. You can find lots of different nail shape ideas online that will add a little pizazz to your polishing. I hope you enjoy these tips and the sunny weather! Which technique will you try first? Love, Abbie
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 So, I know this sounds more like a Room Redo than Health and Beauty, but my way of making your room smell good is actually GREAT for breathing, sleeping, and allergies!! Keep reading to find out how.
For the most part, my room smells pretty good. I’m not very sportsy so I don’t have a lot of sweaty sports gear to make a stink. But, all of our rooms get a little stinky at one time or another. Or if your whole room doesn’t, I’m sure your clothes drawers haven’t smelled good at one time or another. Maybe you haven’t even smelled it though. Us humans can tend to go nose blind to smells we are around often, but your parents or siblings might have noticed a stench. Thankfully, I invented a DIY solution! Check it out. Supplies you need: • cotton balls • Essential oils (orange, lavender, or cinnamon smell delicious and are very healthy) • Fabric scrap • Ribbon 1. Pick your essential oil scent and put a little on a cotton ball. 2. Wrap the cotton ball in the scrap fabric and tie the ends closed with ribbon. 3. Make a few of those and hide them around your room. ALL DONE!!!!!!! Wasn’t that so easy? And the best part is, it will help you feel better! The orange can improve your brain power, lavender helps you sleep, and cinnamon is good for your immune system. I hope it helps you feel and smell great! -B  Skincare can seem so daunting. There are so many products, so many types of skin, so many extensive skincare routines. Thankfully, though, there are simpler solutions. Today, I’ll be introducing you to an easy simple skincare routine that is perfect for tween and young teen girls!
1. Cleanse Find a natural cleanser that is designed for normal-to slightly-oily skin. I find that gel-based cleansers leave my skin feeling clean but not over-stripped. Then, use it to gently wash your face twice a day. 2. Moisturize Apply a very light moisturizer to your skin once daily. Since our tween skin is often fairly oily, make sure that you pick a lightweight, not greasy, moisturizer that will not worsen your skin. 3. Exfoliate Use a gentle scrub to exfoliate (deeply clean and smooth the surface of your skin) once or twice a week. You can buy a gentle exfoliating product, or you can make your own with a tutorial online. I hope these tips are helpful! Love, A 1/25/2021 0 Comments Tips for Surviving winter Around the middle of January or the beginning of February, I get fed up with winter. We’ve had a few good snowfalls and we’re still several months away from spring, so I often start getting a little bored due to the lack of holidays and sunshine. Here are a few ideas for caring for your physical and mental health and reducing boredom during the exasperating January and February months!
1. Surround Yourself With Plants Load up your house and bedroom with live plants! My family never had live plants until a few weeks ago, and now we have several beautiful, healthy green sprouts that are brightening up our house and our moods. Just seeing something fresh and green and watching it grow can give you hope that spring will come! For tips on what plants to surround yourself with, check out this great post by B. I am a huge fan of succulents, because they are hard to kill! :) 2. Chase Sunlight Sunlight is a rare occurrence during the winter, so whenever the sun is out, I am out too! I open all my curtains and sometimes bundle up and take a quick walk. Sunshine can actually help your mental health, so I’d recommend watching for sunny days and then taking full advantage of the golden light! 3. Get Exercise Exercising during the winter keeps your body active and your mind refreshed. B and I have both written posts about our favorite ways to exercise indoors! 4. Stay Hydrated Not only is winter, well, depressing, but winter is dry. Drink lots of water (or tea!), lotion your hands often, use lip balm frequently and follow B’s tip in this post. Keeping your body in good working order is paramount for winter survival! 5. Escape Occasionally, I just need to escape winter entirely! Try retreating into your bedroom with a good book (set somewhere warm, preferably!) for a few hours. Or, grab a computer, open Google Maps and take a virtual trip to your favorite locale. I’ve found that chatting with my besties or having a virtual sleepover are also great ways to distract myself! Thanks for reading! Which one of these ideas will you try first? Love, A 1/18/2021 0 Comments How to stay hydrated in the winter The easiest way ever!!
As the name of this post suggests, I am going to tell you the absolute easiest way to stay hydrated in the winter. No cream or lotion required! And the best part is, it requires very little prep. Ready for my secret? Drum roll please. .........and it is............ Use a diffuser at night!!! Ta da!!! Seriously?! Don’t give me that look. I know is sounds like a weird and “That works that well?” kind of an idea but I promise you it works better than you think! Just take a diffuser (if you don’t have one, take a look at different diffusers before you decide on one) and fill it with water every night. You can even add a couple drops of lavender oil to help you sleep, but it’s not necessary. Try it out for a week or two, then try not doing it for a week or two. You might not notice the results when you first do it, but when you stop doing it you will most likely realize how much it helps. It keeps your skin hydrated, you won’t wake up with a dry, sore throat in the morning, and for those that suffer with bloody noses in the winter, it will greatly reduce your bloody noses the next day. - B 1/11/2021 0 Comments Happy Hair: 7 Simple Styles to Try I love having styled hair, but I don’t like - or know how to - style my hair. Does that make sense? Because I’m guessing I’m not the only one, today I’m going to share 7 super-simple ways to add some style to your hair.
1. Headbands / Any Length Slip a headband in your hair for an easy, no-skill-required look. (PS - it’s also great to disguise 2nd or 3rd day hair)! 2. Scrunchie / Medium-Long Scrunchies are a popular way to keep your hair out of your face while adding a bit of pizzazz. I love fabric scrunchies because they are gentle! 3. Petite Braid / Any Length Separate a small section of your hair and gently braid it. Then, pull it back and clip it in place! This is a fantastic way to add just a bit more interest to your hair without much work. 4. Flat Iron / Any Length Flat irons exist for those days when your hair is crazy wonky and flipping out every which way. Use a flat iron to smooth, straighten or even gently wave your locks. 5. Clip Party / Any Length Go crazy with clips and barrettes! Big or tiny, one or twenty, it’s hard to go wrong with these fun accessories. 6. Back Braid / Long To achieve this look, brush the top and side parts of your hair back and then braid it down your back (or as far as it will go). 7. Wrap Ponytail / Medium-Long Make a regular ponytail and tie it off with a tiny hairband, keeping a very small section of hair out of the ponytail. Then, wrap that section around the hairband for a smooth, finished and elegant style. _________ I would also recommend looking for books or web searching for more ideas, because, as previously stated, I am not a hair expert. Just ask any human who has ever seen my hair before. :) Happy Monday! Love, A 12/21/2020 0 Comments Indoor Exercise Tips I’m not a winter kind of gal and I think A is the same way. I love sunshine, warm weather and soft green grass. So when winter rolls around I tend to grab a blanket and stay indoors. Which indoors is great, but I also find that I get less exercise and slowly become a couch potato. Thankfully, I have a found a few ways to keep me fit, healthy and happy, all winter long! Check them out below.
Eat! I know that you're probably not eating the healthiest snacks lately (I’m not either). Most people have a small stock of treats by now that are very tempting to munch on. Try to counterbalance that by eating healthier meals. Try to eat an assortment of veggies or even eat a bowl of vegetable soup! Eating healthy foods will give you more energy to exercise. Stretch! Before you do any exercising I recommend stretching, especially if you plan on a heavy or long workout. Try moving your arms in a rotating motion, touching your toes, reaching as high as you can without moving your feet, or put an arm over your head and tilt to one side. Stretching will make you more flexible and less likely to pull or damage a muscle while exercising. Move! After you have stretched, it’s time to get more serious. Hop on the internet and find some workout ideas that suits your skill and abilities. You could try running in place, doing jumping jacks, or trying a few pushups. If you have a gaming console you might be able to find an exercise program to do on there. You could also check out this post! You don’t have to be a couch potato this Christmas season. Get up and get moving! Maybe you could even find a friend to virtually workout with you. -B 12/14/2020 0 Comments 5 Nail Care secrets Do you want sparkling, beautifully healthy nails? Here are some of my favorite nail care secrets!
1. Always Use a Base Coat When you polish your nails or get a manicure, apply a clear nail polish or a base coat first to keep the polish from staining your nails. 2. Avoid Frequent Gel Polishing While gel nail polishes are fun, don’t use them all the time, as they can damage your nails. Give your nails a chance to strengthen up before your next mani. 3. Lotion Moisturize your nails, hands and cuticles by gently rubbing lotion into them. This helps eliminate cuticle and hang-nail problems that detract from your pretty nails. 4. Push Your Cuticles Back A few times a week, gently use your nail or an orange wood stick to push your cuticles back and round them out. I prefer to do this right after I shower when my cuticles are soft and pliable! 5. Be Careful with Your Nails Aka, don’t bite them, pick at them or use them as a tool to open or separate things. Thanks for reading! Lots of love, A 12/7/2020 0 Comments Pimple Problem? No problem! Pimples are a pain. They get red, puffy, and can cause a big mess on your face. Every teen and tween girl gets them, so it’s not just you. And you know what the best part is? Every teen and tween girl grows out of them. When you get older, you will get less and less zits. Your face will clear up and you will only get occasional pimples. But until they clear up, I have some tips and tricks for you to hide and erase pimples! Are you ready? Just keep scrolling.
1. Resist Easier said than done. Trust me, I know. It can be so tempting to pop a juicy pimple or blackhead. But please resist. Unless the pimple has grown so large that it has formed a big whitehead on top of a large red lump, do not squeeze them. When you squeeze a pimple it will send part of the puss shooting out, and the other part shooting under your skin. The part that is shot under your skin will slowly work it’s way up and cause another pimple. That is how breakouts happen. 2. Shrink Shrinking is the best way to get rid of a pimple. What I mean by shrinking is using different techniques to make the pimple dry out. The easiest way to shrink a pimple is by holding an ice cube against the pimple for a few minutes before you go to bed. When you wake up the pimple should be reduced. But if you have a pimple or a breakout that is really stubborn, you might want to consider getting a pimple cream. I recommend getting a high quality cream so that it doesn’t cause skin irritation. 3. Cover Pimples can seem so embarrassing. They stick out and are a major pain. If you are allowed to wear makeup, put a little bit of green eye shadow on each pimple, then apply your makeup as normal. As weird as that seems, it works! Just apply a very little amount of green eye shadow, not a huge dab. Use my method of “Resist, Shrink, Cover” every time you have a large pimples or a breakout. Come back next week to hear what A has to say about health and beauty! -B 11/30/2020 0 Comments Give others health and beauty Welcome back, ladies! Thanks for joining me. Today, we’re not just going to talk about pampering ourselves; instead, I wanted to do something a little different and encourage us to give the gift of health and beauty to others!
Every night, over 500,000 people in the US are homeless. They do not have a place to sleep, enough food or basic personal care supplies. Because of COVID, many more people are in need of food and supplies. As tween and teenage girls, we can help! Here’s what we can do. The next time your family goes grocery shopping (or places a grocery order) buy a few extra items like: Toothbrushes Toothpaste Soap Tissues Socks Hairbrushes Nonperishable food (cans of food, peanut butter, granola bars, etc) Other supplies your local charities need (you could check their website or social media to find out) Then, donate these supplies to your local homeless shelter or charity (if you need to find a good charity to donate to, you could see if your church partners with any). My neighborhood also has a few Little Free Pantries, which are small wooden boxes offering free food, household goods and personal care items to those who need them. You could consider dropping off a few health & beauty items at your local Little Free Pantry! These ideas can help make this holiday joyful for everyone. It’s fun and important to take care of ourselves, but blessing others feels even more incredible! Love, A |
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