Summer Glow

Summer is here and it's time to get that perfect sun-kissed glowing skin. These are four beauty items that can help you to achieve that perfect summer glow.

1. The Body Shop - Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil. This is perfect for all over body coverage. It gives a nice bronze look to the skin when the sun hits.

2. MAC- Extra Dimension Skin finish in Glorify. MAC was genius when they came out with this product. It's absolutely amazing if you want to achieve a lovely shimmer above your cheek bone; such an amazing highlighter!

3. NYX- Blush in Copper. This is a nice shimmery bronze blush, that will definitely add a more subtle glow to your cheeks.

4. MAC - Lustre Drops is perfect for blending with your foundation to give that overall glow and dewy look to your face. It can also be used as a highlighter as well.

Happy Glowing!!!
Shannon

Red Rose Cuticle Oil

Maintaining healthy cuticles is key to gorgeous nails; contrary to popular belief cuticles should be pushed back rather than trimmed as they actually serve to keep bacteria from entering the nail bed and causing infections.

In order to prevent against dry, unhealthy looking nails it's important to moisturize your cuticles with a good cuticle oil; I'll show you a quick recipe for a Red Rose Cuticle Oil that I came up with;  you guys are welcomed to try and make for yourself , here's what you'll need:

  

Ingredients:                                                                      Tools:

Rose Absolute Essential Oil                                               Dropper bottle or cleaned nail polish bottle
Red Rose Fragrance Oil
Jojoba Oil
Olive Oil
Dried rose bud/leaves
Vitamin E Oil

How to:

1. First try to pick out a rose bud or two that's small enough to fit into your dropper bottle. This step is optional so you can skip it if you like.

2. Start adding your chosen carrier oils (Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil) along with your Vitamin E oil making sure to leave a little space for your other ingredients. I made the mistake of adding a little too much of the oils to the bottle in this instance.

 3. Once you have added your oils, the final touch would be to add your Rose Absolute Essential Oil and your Red Rose fragrance oil (which is also an optional ingredient).  If you're having problems pouring out your Rose Absolute Essential Oil then simply remove the stopper like I have done below. Shake vigorously thereafter and voila your done!!

4. Here's the finished product.

  

How to Use:

• Add a few drops to a bowl of warm water and soak nails for a few minutes then proceed with your manicure.

                                                                       OR

• After coming out of the shower place a few drops directly to the cuticles and gently massage to seal in moisture.

Benefits:

• Rose Absolute Essential Oil: has mild bactericidal and anti-viral properties that may help to prevent against certain nail infections and fungus.

• Jojoba Oil: has natural fungicidal properties and is similar to the body's own sebum so it's great for moisturizing and penetrating the nail and nail bed. 

• Olive Oil: great for moisture and helps to 'carry' the vitamin E oil and rose absolute essential oil into the nail bed and cuticle.

• Vitamin E Oil: makes nails stronger and less prone to breakage and peeling.

I've been using store bought cuticle oils for several years, but I recently started to make my own when I realized how easy it was to make. If you try this out let us know how it worked out for you.

Debbie

Brights On Neutrals NOTD

Hey guys, I thought I would bring you another simple nail design this time around and it focuses on remixing a classic french tip nail design by adding splashes of this season's bright and bold colours, and it will still look great on short nails.

Here are the colours I used

MAC Abalone Shell, Kiss Brush on Nail Art Paints in Soft Blue, Soft Purple, Pink,Yellow & Bikini Green

It's pretty straight forward as you can see; just apply your nude coloured base coat then follow up by painting on the coloured french tips. The fine tip brush on the Kiss Nail Art Paints make it much easier to achieve this design. Clean up around your cuticles and add a top coat and you're good to go :)

Hope you enjoy!
Debbie

Caribbean Style & Fashion Shows 2012

With the dawning of the summertide, the fashion scene here in Jamaica will be booming with fun and frenzy as two of our major modelling agencies, Saint International Jamaica Ltd and Pulse, will be hosting the hottest fashion events which are Saint's STYLE WEEK and Pulse's CARIBBEAN FASHION WEEK. This year's events are sure to be equally as exciting as previous years and, I know I'm a little behind, but they have already begun with the launch of Saint International's Style Week on May17 and also Caribbean Fashion Week. If you missed out on these stellar events, here are some pictures courtesy of Ishango and SKKAN Media.

Style Week Launch 2012 (you can see more pics here as well)

The man behind it all Dewight Peters

If you missed the launch, not to worry the big culminating event dubbed Fashion Block will be on May 27, and we'll see local and international models ripping the runway while showcasing awesome local, regional and international designers. With the entire island preparing to celebrate Jamaica's 50th year of independence, Style Week will definitely pay homage to our beautiful little island as well as the zeal, creativity and spunk of the Jamaican people.

Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW) Launch 2012 (more pics here)

 

Behind it all: Safiya Cooper CFW Sales and Marketing, her dad and Pulse CEO Kingsley Cooper, and Romae Gordon

 Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW) has officially launched, but the actual event will take place on June 7 -11 this year. CFW will be in its 12th year of operation come June 2012 and the event, like fine wine, becomes better as time progresses.This year we'll also see the likes of Joe, Mavado, Machel Montano, Beenie Man and several other entertainers gracing the week long line up of fashion shows with their musical talents. Pulse is the purveyor of class, beauty, entertainment and fashion and CFW is sure wow the masses by showcasing all these elements. Hopeful Shannon and I will have the opportunity to attend this fantastic event *fingers crossed*.

See you in my next post
Debbie

PSA: Jamaica Spa Week 2012

Yep, it's that time again ladies and gentlemen, Jamaica's annual spa week will be kicking off May 26, 2012 to June 2, 2012 so you have adequate time to put away some extra spending money to splurge on that spa pedicure or that massage that you've been dieing to get. Of course I'm always up for a great bargain and with a 30% reduction in selected spa services and products I'm definitely game!!

Here's the flyer showcasing the list of this year's participants

The greatest thing about spa week is that your able to purchase a gift certificate for a discounted spa service, so even if you don't have the time during the actual week long event, you could always use your gift certificate at a later date or you could purchase a gift certificate for someone special in your life.

I'm excited to tryout almost all the venues lol, but MARTINA'S NAIL PLACE is definitely at the top of my list, they are killer at on trend nail designing and I can't wait to check 'em out. I might pick up a gift certificate from ADAM & EVE DAY SPA as well as they are renowned for their superb spa treatments here in Jamaica and of course FACE FORWARD has great beauty products from brands such as Smashbox, Makeup Designory (MUD), Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC,), Sacha Cosmetics and so much more!!

So are any of you guys gonna take advantage of the great deals during spa week? I hope so cause this is an event you definitely don't wanna miss!!

See ya later!
Debbie

Mini Haul

Here's a quick mini haul showing you all a few things I picked up here and there....

Jewelry from JA vendor: Necklaces JMD$1500 each, Earrings JMD$500

Thrifty find: Scarves JMD$150 each. Great for head ties!

Style Saavy Colour blocking top: JMD$3500

Have a great day guys
Debbie

Gadgets & Tools: Panasonic Electric Shaver

Hello guys!! we love trying out new beauty and hair care gadgets and tools so we figured we would start a new feature on our blog where we review our own gadgets and tools. First up on the list is the Panasonic Close Curves Wet/Dry Ladies Shaver ES2216 PC.... have a look.

What it comes with:

Adjustable trimming attachment
Wall charger (for 110 voltage)
Small cleaning brush

Manufacturer's Description:

"The Panasonic Close Curves ES2216PC Ladies Shaver is a handy epilator for women, which ensures a smooth and close shave. With a pop-up trimmer, this epilator neatly removes longer hairs too. The Panasonic ES2216PC Electric Shave moves along the curve of your body with the pivot action shaving system to provide an ultra smooth finish. Featuring sharpest hypoallergenic stainless steel blades, the Panasonic shaver removes hair efficiently while being safe on sensitive skin types.

The Panasonic Close Curves Ladies Shaver comes with a bikini trimmer that makes it convenient for you to remove your bikini hair. Ideal for use it in tub or shower, this epilator can be used both dry and wet conditions. The rechargeable ladies shaver also has four floating head system that provides the user with close shave. This compact ladies shaver is easy to use and maintain."

Pros:

• The pop up bikini trimmer allows for a more precise and closer shave.

• The adjustable trimming attachment helps when shaving longer hairs.

• Rechargeable: no need to buy replacement batteries, once your done using it just plug in to the charger and allow it to charge.

• Able to use in or out of the shower and with or without water: whether you're rushing to get ready and you forgot to shave your legs, or taking a long shower, the best thing about this shaver is that it's quick and you can use it at anytime with or without water.

• Painless: even though the manufacturer describe it as an 'epilator' don't worry, it won't pull or snag at your hairs, it's virtually 'pain free'.

• No need to change blades: once again the hypoallergenic stainless steel blades in the shaver won't rust, but you should always dry it off once you're done using it.

• Pivoting and floating head system: as you glide the shaver along the curves of your body it will self adjust, so you can achieve a closer shave

• Easy to clean: just simply remove and rinse off the head system with water and spray with alcohol to sanitize it and that's it!

Pop Up bikini trimmer

Shaver with adjustable trimming attachment for longer hairs

Shaver without head system, these are the actual stainless steel blades which cut the hairs

Cons:

• Does not give you a smooth shave: one word STUBBLE; even with all the technology behind it you're not guaranteed a perfectly smooth shave.

• Pricey: the unit runs for various prices on the internet (about USD$30 and up), but I purchased mine from Ulta for about USD$40.

• Bulky & cumbersome; compared to a manual razor, this thing is significantly bigger so you can't just toss it into your purse and you will have to bring along the charger with you as well.

• If you're travelling to another country which uses a different voltage then you would need to carry some type of adapter in order to charge it.

Would I recommend it and why?

NO. The whole point of using this gadget is to achieve smooth legs and unfortunately I've never been able to achieve that with this electric shaver, I'm left with stubborn stubble everytime and it even causes more ingrown hair bumps compared to using a regular manual razor. I definitely do not recommended it for use on the face either. For the cost I was expecting better results, it's not at the top of my list for must have gadgets; you're better off using a good ole razor blade IMO.

Well hope this helps and I'll talk to you guys again in my next post
Debbie

Miss Universe Jamaica 2012 (picture heavy)

The Miss Universe Jamaica (MUJ) Pageant 2012 was recently held at the National Indoor Sports Centre on May 12, 2012 . The reigning Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes, graced us with her presence at the coronation event which saw the gorgeous Chantal Zaky capturing the crown and the title of Miss Universe Jamaica 2012 from the other 15 contestants and Racquel Jones took home the first runner up title. This was Chantal's second time vying for the crown as she had entered last year's MUJ competition but unfortunatley placed third in the event, this year she returned more determined and focused on winning the crown and she did just that. Take a look at the pictures of the event courtesy of SKKAN Media.

Miss Jamaica 2012 Chantal Zaky & Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes

2nd Runner Up Sherece Cowan, MUJ 2012 Chantal Zaky &  1st Runner Up Racquel Jones

All the contestants can be seen HERE

Hope you enjoyed
Debbie