Best of Beauty Week 5: Body

Lotion

Sarah: iVi Scents iCing Body Frosting is amazing! It’s not like your regular body butter, it’s super light and not greasy but still moisturizing. Their claim is that you’ll “experience the softest skin you’ve ever felt after just one use”, which is true! Plus, it’s a small business with a female entrepreneur (need to support fellow business-women!), so you get personal attention. I love that she puts a bible verse on the package! $13

Grace: Trader Joe's Moisturizing Cream is really moisturizing and it's all natural! $6

Erin: Bath & Body Works Body Lotions are wonderful moisturizers. Vanilla scents are always my favorite, like their Warm Vanilla Sugar. $10.50

Haylie: Living in Florida, you are going to sweat! This is why I like Bath & Body Works Body Lotion because it is lightweight and won’t make your legs get really sweaty feeling if you do sweat. Plus, they all smell wonderful! I like to use the Charmed Life scent because it isn’t strong like most of the BBW lotions. The Charmed Life smells like sweet vanilla and fruit and it smells clean! $10.50

Soap/Body Wash

Sarah: I love iVi Scents iSmell Vegan Soap because it’s very moisturizing, unlike most soaps, because it doesn’t have those toxins that strip the protective oils from your skin. It’s vegan, so it’s not made of cow fat, which is always a bonus, since I don’t want to be using that on my skin! $7

Grace: I like Dove Soap because it smells good without drying my skin out too much and doesn’t leave that “scum on your skin”! $10 for 6 bars

Erin: Softsoap Pomegranate and Mango Moisturizing Body Wash lasts a long time, cleanses well, and smells amazing! $4

Haylie: I like a strong smelling body wash because I like to step out of the shower and people know that I am clean! Haha! I like the Bath and Body Works Body Lotion in Sensual Amber because it has a very strong smell of amber. (This was my favorite scent of everything but it was knocked to second by Twilight Woods) It wakes you up and invigorates you! $10.50

Nail Color

Sarah: Mint Candy Apple by Essie Nail Color is a gorgeous vintage minty shade; it reminds me of the color that was popular in the 50’s. I love it! It’s so unique and cute. (I’m actually wearing it on my nails in the header if you can see) $8

Grace: Revlon Nail Enamel in the color "Cherries in the Snow" is so rich and pretty! $5 (but I paid $1 with coupons lol!)

Erin: I love the colors that Pure Ice offers, if you use a couple coats they cover well and last a while! $2 -$3

Haylie: I like my toenails to always be painted! I feel so weird if they are ‘naked’! I also love to add a little sparkle and glitter to them! The Wet n Wild Fast Dry polish is an amazing nail polish! It dries nice and fast and does not chip easily (which is great for me because I’m very accident prone). The Party of Five Glitters is five different glitter colors in one (hence the name)! My dad likes to say I have confetti toenails which I don’t mind because they are AWESOME! $2

Fragrance

Sarah: Daisy by Marc Jacobs is for anyone! A playful, carefree floral scent, it adapts to your body’s chemistry to be a scent customized to you. It’s great for perfume beginners, but it’s also good for a perfume lover who wants a soft every day scent. It comes in nice sizes to try out before you go full size: Rollerball $20 or Travel Spray $35

Grace: I love Bath & Body Works Sea Island Cotton Fragrance Mist because it smells so sweet, clean and pretty! I'm not a fan of heavy, suffocating scents! $12

Erin: I love the different scents of Pink by Victoria Secret, I have Pink and Purple. You can buy this brand at Bath & Body Works also. $18

Haylie: Bath & Body Works Twilight Woods Fragrance Mist: I did an article on a lot of my favorite BBW a few months back, but this HAS to be my favorite fragrance of theirs. Their website says that it smells like juicy berries, soft mimosa, apricot nectar and warm woods, but to me, it simply makes me feel like I’m walking through an enchanted wood (which, ironically, the website says it was inspired by!). $12

You can also buy a bottle of Twilight Woods with shimmer in it! It costs two dollars more, but it is great for special occasions, or an enchanted walk in the woods ;)

Deodorant

Sarah: My sister recently introduced me to Degree motionSENSE deodorant when I felt like my other deodorant wasn’t doing the job any more as I was around heat such as blow dryers and flat irons all day at work. This stuff really does work! It’s supposed to re-activate every time you sweat, so you can stay fresh longer. $4

Haylie: Okay, this is going to sound completely insane to you readers, but I love deodorant! I love the way it smells and makes me feel so clean! I put it on at the beginning of the day and just before I go to bed (think about it, do you want your underarms to wake you up? I didn’t think so.) I love Degree because it works! I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t had a great thing to say about Degree. It leaves you feeling fresh and ready to go! My favorite is the Degree Natureffects Deodorant in Honeysuckle and Tea Tree Oil because it smells the best! $4

Best of Beauty Week 4: Hair

Shampoo & Conditioner

Sarah: As a hairdresser, hair care is something I definitely do not skimp on. Using quality hair products leads to beautiful and healthy hair. TIGI Colour Goddess Shampoo and Conditioner is great for colored hair because not only is it sulfate free so it won’t strip your color out, but it actually helps protect your color from fading, so it can look as fresh as the day you got it done at the salon. The shampoo is a moisturizing shampoo to battle dryness and breakage, and the conditioner is great for girls who don’t wash their hair every day like me, since it’s very intense, like a treatment. Shampoo $13.50 Conditioner $18.50

Grace: Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair. I love this shampoo/conditioner because it really helps prevent split-ends! $4 per bottle.

Erin: Suave Naturals Daily Clarifying Shampoo keeps my hair health and less oily! $2

I recently started using Suave Professionals Moisturizing Almond + Shea Butter conditioner and I love how it leaves my hair smooth and untangled! It smells great too! $3

Haylie: Most of you might know that I absolutely LOVE the smell of coconut, well, the Aussie Three Minute Miracle deep conditioner smells like wonderful coconut and it leaves your hair feeling so incredibly soft and silky smooth. I use it about three times a week because my hair is majorly dry and it works miracles, hence the name. $3

Styling Product

Sarah: I use Your Highness by TIGI Thickening Gel Crème on almost every one of my clients! It’s great to add a bit of thickness and volume, and it adds smoothness and shine and offers UV filters to protect colored hair from fading. $17

Grace: Fructis Garnier Leave-In Conditioner keeps the ends of my hair split-end free and moisturized! $5

Erin: When I scrunch my hair or let it dry overnight, TRESemme Flawless Curls Mousse seems to work well. It keeps my hair from looking frizzy without making it look less natural. I can’t find this exact product in stores anymore but I’m sure they sell a similar product. $5

Haylie: I have HORRIBLY dry hair on my bottom layer because of constantly coloring it over the summer. (I cannot begin to tell you how many different times I colored it and how I did it completely wrong!) Because of that, I had to cut my hair, BIG TIME. It was a very sad day. I now have some major split ends. I really don’t want to cut my hair again (and cannot afford it right now) so I use Nexxus Pro-Mend Split End Binding Targeting Leave-in Treatment Cream to keep my bottom layer from looking completely fried and believe it or not, it works! You cannot tell that I have split ends and it is actually helping it. I highly recommend this to the color junkies like me! $14

Finishing Product

Sarah: Bed Head by TIGI Masterpiece Hairspray is the best! This is my “tried and true” hairspray! It offers a strong enough hold to keep a bride’s hair in an updo the entire day, but flexible enough to be workable with every day styles such as curls, texture, or volume. It doesn’t flake like cheap hairspray when you brush through it. And it smells great, unlike most hairsprays. $19

Grace: Garnier Fructis Anti-Frizz Serum smooths out frizz and leaves my hair shiny! $6

Erin: I don’t use hairspray often, but White Rain Maximum Hold Hairspray seems to get the job done! $2

Haylie: Florida is known for its sun, heat and humidity which are damaging to your hair if you don’t take the right precautions. With the humidity, you need the right hair spray to keep your hair from frizzing. Tresemme All Day Humidity Resistance Tres Two Spray works like no other frizz-free hair spray. It keeps your hair looking like you’ve just styled it even if you have been outside for awhile. Plus, it doesn’t feel like you have hair spray in your hair! Forget the stiff as a board hair! Say hello to touchable hair with this hair spray! I absolutely love it! $3

Styling Tool

Sarah: I could not live without my Rusk W8less 2000 Watt Hairdryer and my TIGI Pro Paddle Brush. I am able to style my hair perfectly using this combination, using the brush to get it straight with volume. The Hairdryer is super lightweight and dries hair faster than any other dryer I’ve owned, even more expensive kinds. It’s also really quiet for a hairdryer, which is nice for early morning hair styling. Dryer: $78 Brush: $18

Grace: I don't straighten my hair all that often but when I do, my Andis Ceramic Flat Iron works great and isn't that expensive! I've had mine for about 3 years. $15

Haylie: I love the beach wave look, but I can never find a product that would give me the nice waves that I wanted. The Revlon Jumbo Ceramic Waver does the job wonderfully! It is quick and easy to use and you will definitely get your money’s worth with this styling tool! $24

Hair Accessory

Sarah: I have short hair, so I love dressing up my hair with a headband with a big bow or a big flower on it!

Grace: I buy Scrunci No Damage Elastics because they don't have those annoying little metal things and they don't pull:) $3

Erin: I love headbands whether they’re bright, dark, think, skinny; they work well with every outfit. 

Best of Beauty Week 3: Lips

Lip Balm

Sarah: I love my Burts Bees Replenishing Lip Balm! It has a yummy smell from the pomegranate oil which is antioxidant rich and adds moisture to my lips. $3

Grace: I'm personally don't care for lipstick/lip-gloss. So I just wear ChapStick Original to keep my lips moisturized!  $2

Erin: I use Nivea Lip Balm almost every day. It moisturizes very well, and gives a natural shine to your lips. $3

Haylie: Living in Florida, you get chapped lips. Whether it’s from the summer heat or the winter winds, your lips will get chapped. Chapstick Moisturizer is heaven in a tube! It moisturizes your lips so well! If you have badly chapped lips, applying this Chapstick throughout the day and the next day they will feel so smooth and so much better! I should know. I did that the first week of December. After your lips are healed, apply it at least three times a day to keep them like that! Chapstick Moisturizer has 15SPF, so it is great for any weather! A pack of three of these costs $5 and is a great thing to always have on hand!

Lip Gloss

Sarah: I’m addicted to lip gloss! I have tried so many different kinds, but my favorite by far is Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lip Gloss. It has great pigment so it gives me color, and is super glossy without being goopy or sticky. It’s supposed to be plumping, but it doesn’t numb or burn like most; it’s cooling and minty! $19

Erin: I love Bath & Body Works Color Lip Gloss! They come in so many great flavors and scents! $7

Haylie: Lip Gloss, it can add a dramatic effect to your makeup or give it a simple shine. Covergirl Queen Collection Lip Gloss can do both, depending on what color you get! I have 2 different colors of this, a bright red and a soft pink. I use the red ONLY when I want to be dramatic (not all the often) and I use the soft pink when I want to add a bit of color and shine to my look. It goes on great and it moisturizes your lips which is always a plus! $5

Lip Color

Sarah: I like more of a sheer color on my lips, and I like Burts Bees Lip Shimmer for the fact it moisturizes and protects my lips while I’m wearing it along with a wash of color and shimmer. Plus it has a minty feeling and scent to it like their original Lip Balm! $5

Haylie: I’m not much of a lipstick girl, but when I get in the mood to girl-it-up more than normal, I wear Ulta Lip Stick in Cappuccino (I know, coffee is an obsession of mine). It’s a light brown and it goes on so smooth and lasts a long time! $8

Toothpaste

Sarah: Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste is great because it’s different than most “whitening” toothpastes. It gently exfoliates your teeth to remove surface stains and plaque and get them looking whiter! $4

Grace: I like Colgate Toothpaste because it’s cheap and it gets the job done! It makes my mouth feel fresh! $2

Erin: I have noticed a subtle whitening in my teeth since I’ve started using Crest Extra Whitening Toothpaste! $3

Haylie: For me, toothpaste has always been toothpaste. I had never noticed the difference between them, but when my mom bought the Crest 3-D White Vivid Toothpaste, I noticed a major difference! My teeth felt so much cleaner than they normally did and they felt that way for most of the day! Even after drinking a few cups of coffee my teeth still felt as though I had just brushed them. They also make your teeth whiter! Many types of toothpaste say they are whitening toothpaste, but they are nothing like this! $4 

Best of Beauty Week 2: Eyes

Eyeshadow

Sarah: The colors in the Urban Decay Roller Girl Palette all are nicely pigmented and make for a great natural eye and are very smooth and subtly shimmery, which I love. With the neutrals, it also includes a hot pink shadow for a pop of color when you’re feeling fun! $18

Grace: Except for mascara, I hardly ever wear eye makeup. But when I do, I wear a bit of brown eyeshadow and I like Covergirl Eye Enhancers! $6

Erin: I love the set of colors in Maybelline New York Impeccable Greys. Works great for a smokey eye style, and I like to use the darker grey almost as an eyeliner. $6

Haylie: I enjoy experimenting with eye shadows (normally on my friends!) but eye shadows can be very expensive. E.L.F. Essential Brightening Eye Color gives you a huge variety of colors! Each set comes with four different colors, normally 2 light and 2 dark. My two favorites for me are Butternut (deep browns and light oranges) and Ivy (light green, dark green, brown and a powdery color) because I like earthy tones on myself and browns and greens bring out the green in my hazel eyes! $1

Eyeliner

Sarah: The Urban Decay 27/4 Glide On Eye Pencil is the best eyeliner I’ve ever tried! I own them in the colors Whiskey, a deep brown, and Lust, a rich purple. They are SO smooth and just melt into your skin, so there is no dragging or pulling. $18

Grace: I think the brown Jane Eyeliner Pencil looks great! It enhances your eyes but still look natural. $5

Haylie: I like E.L.F. Essentials Liquid Eyeliner because it goes on easily and if you mess up, it can be washed away no problem. I always use the brown shade of this because it gives a less-harsh look than black does. The liner comes in many shades, black, brown, silver, gold and glitter (which is AWESOME!) $1

Mascara

Sarah: OrganicWear 100% Natural Origin Mascara has been my favorite for a long time. You can find it at most drug stores and it has a great brush, which in my opinion is one of the most important things about mascara. Plus it’s made with natural ingredients, so I don’t have to worry about it eating away at my naturally long lashes. $10

Grace: CoverGirl LashBlast Length Mascara makes your eyelashes look super long! It's my favorite mascara so far. $8

Erin: NYC Instant Lash is about the cheapest mascara you can buy, but it works great with me. I use another cheap brown mascara and then brush a small amount of black NYC mascara over it so it isn’t terribly dark or clumpy. $1

Haylie: I love my eyes, especially when my mascara goes on right and there are only two different ways I can achieve that. One would be to have my friend Danielle do my mascara, but I only get that when she stays over. The other is by using Rimmel London Lash Maxxx Mascara. It has a thin comb that is used to comb the mascara on. It makes my lashes look long and fairy-like! $6-$7


What products do you recommend?

Best of Beauty Week 1: Face

Here are the products for your face we use and recommend!

Cleanser

Sarah: Arbonne FC5 Purifying Cleanser + Toner is great for oily/combination skin like mine. It smells yummy and fruity and is pH balanced so it’s a cleanser and toner all in one. $25

Grace: True Elements Foaming Face Wash. The Nikken True Elements line is super pricey but SO amazing! It's the only thing that keeps my skin clean, moisturized, and oil free! I buy drugstore makeup and hair products, but this skincare line is something that I find is worth the price! $36

Erin: Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser is really easy and affordable. Its keeps my face pretty clear and all I have to do is wash with it the shower! $4

Haylie: Let’s face it ladies, we all get stressed out from time to time. Whether it’s a big test coming up, a family reunion you are not looking forward to or my personal favorite (insert sarcasm) an unexpected ‘visitor’ who brings unwanted ‘gifts’. All of these lead to stress and acne breakouts. Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power Gel Cleanser is a miracle worker for the stressed out teenager (or anyone for that matter). It goes deep into the pores and gets rid of all your ‘stress marks’! Hehe! $6

Moisturizer

Sarah: Arbonne FC5 Oil Absorbing Day Lotion is awesome! A lot of times when products say they are “oil absorbing”, have a drying effect. This does not. It keeps my face moisturized all day and filters UV rays to protect my face all while doing its job, absorbing excess oil. $39.50

Grace: True Elements Daily Perfecting Cream $44

Erin: Velocity is a skin care line from Mary Kay made especially for teens. Velocity Lightweight Moisturizer leaves my skin healthy and clear and gives it a beautiful glow. Velocity also sells a great cleanser. $12

Foundation

Sarah: Clinique Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup is great! It contains Salicylic Acid so it treats my skin while I’m wearing it. It’s a smooth formula and makes my skin tone look very even and natural. It feels so light on my skin I forget I’m wearing makeup when I have it on! $24.50

Grace: I love Covergirl NatureLuxe Silk Foundation because it feels really smooth and hydrating for wintertime but also feels nice and thin like lotion! $10 (I get it much cheaper with sales and coupons!)

Erin: I don’t like wearing heavy foundation, so Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation is great! It evens my skin tone and gives me just the little bit of coverage that I want. $18

Haylie: You my have seen the commercials for Covergirl NatureLuke Silk Foundation with Taylor Swift jumping around trying to act as ‘light as a ballerina’. Well, that is a pretty good picture of this foundation. It really is light! I could hardly tell I had any foundation on! It covers so well and you use about half of what you normally use! (Which is a good things too because the tubes of it are rather small). My bottle lasted through the entire summer! $10

Concealer

Sarah: I have gone through so many Arbonne Crème Concealers over the years! I have loved them for a long time; they are very creamy and cover well. A lot of other concealers I’ve tried are too liquidy or too cakey or don’t have enough coverage. The consistency of this one is just right! $22

Grace: Covergirl Fresh Complexion Concealer. I love this stuff! It works really well to cover problem areas and the bottle lasts forever! $8

Blush/Bronzer

Sarah: Stila Convertible Color in Rose is the perfect winter flushed cheek color, but I love it just as much for the summer. It’s very flattering on me, the color my cheeks would naturally flush to, and I love that’s it’s a cream blush so it blends out well and stays put. Best of all, it’s multi-functioning, you can use it for cheek color or lip color! $25

Grace: I only use my bareMinerals Blush in the winter when my skin needs a little color. I'm not too picky and would usually just use drugstore brand but my mom gave me this blush because she wasn't using it. $19

Erin: Jane Shimmering Blush is great at giving my cheeks a little color and sparkle! Works great on top of my powder foundation. $7

Haylie: How would you like to look sun-kissed year round?! I do! E.L.F. Healthy Glow Bronzer Powder is fine and goes on light and it gives you that sun-kissed look! If you have never tried a bronzer before, I suggest you try this one and try it in the sun-kissed shade like me! I really enjoy it and I think you would too! $1

Other

Sarah: Arbonne FC5 Mattifying Powder is a lifesaver for oily skin! I apply it to my t-zone under my foundation and it absorbs excess oil all day. You can also use it for blotting on top of foundation. The pressed powder is tinted green so it cancels out any redness as well. $25

Erin: This might not be the first acne treating crème that you think of, but Triple Antibiotic Ointment works great at reducing zits and problem areas on your face. Apply at night and look forward to improvements in the morning! $3

Haylie: How many times have you bought a face brush and hated it because it was too rough on your face? I lost count. The E.L.F. Kabuki Face Brush is so soft and it applies your powder or bronzer smoothly across your face without irritating it (or you). The Kabuki (isn’t that fun to say?!) cost $5 and is SO worth it!

What products do you recommend?