Beauty & Fashion Tips - Rags & Rouges Style Tips

Well with temps climbing, skin care is at an all time high in terms of importance. You want to eliminate the orange peel look of your pores, remove blackheads, and smooth down the rough texture the winter has given your face. The best thing to do for this is a microdermabrasion, and start NOW. It will take a few weeks, but the end result, smooth, bright, and tight skin. Perfect for getting all your glow on this summer. Contrary to popular opinion, this is NOT something you need to hit the clinic for.

What is Microdermabrasion?

It’s basically the quick fix without spending the big bucks. A microdermabrasion will give you similar effects of a chemical peel without the expensive cosmetic surgery or spa prices. It is also called a mini-peel. For any kind of scarring or discoloration you may have on your face, a series of microdermabrasion treatments will make a huge difference. And you can do this right at home.

The treatment is non-invasive, and it ultimately removes any damaged or dead skin from your face to reveal the new, and much healthier skin cells underneath. What this does is stimulate those deeper skin layers to produce more elastin and collagen, thus revealing the younger looking you. Your skin will look younger, feel more supple, and even feel firmer to the touch after a few treatments.

You will also notice that any acne scars you may be dealing with are smaller, or minimized; your pores will be tighter, and yes, those fine lines will be reduced substantially as well. No matter how busy you are, it’s really worth the 15 minutes or so it will take you. And why not in the comfort of your own home, with the comfort of your own budget. While these kits don’t look all that cheap to start off with, when you consider that an in spa treatment that provides you the same results will run you around $100 per treatment, you will see the affordability I am talking about. The key to the microdermabrasion really is in having repeat and consecutive treatments to ensure all of the dead skin is removed.

And well, who doesn’t want to look younger. Take the time and splurge on you. You totally deserve it!!

You can grab a microdermabrasion kit from the local drug store, or try the Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Polish + Moisture Kit, Normal to Dry Skin ($140 Value) . This at home kit is what the celebs are using when they are on the road and away from their fave spa. Dr. Brandt’s skin care line is FAMOUS in Tinseltown. This lovely version offers you not only the scrub, but the softness of chamomile and aloe as well. Chamomile is great for reducing puffiness and water retention in the face, and this combination is a very soothing one that your face will love you for.

Beauty Tip – At first, you will notice some redness on your skin, and I know, you all are picturing Samantha from Sex In the City and that horrid scarring. No. Unlike a chemical peel, microdermabrasion will leave some redness after the treatment, but it won’t last longer than an hour or two, so do this before you go to bed at night.

Whether the stars were going for old Hollywood glamour, or just sleeking things back for some elegance, we saw a lot of the same looks crossing the red carpet. The weather word was that there was some wind accompanying the stars on the red carpet, so celebs and their stylists compensated by pulling things back. You can achieve these looks too, a sexy or sleek ponytail is the simplest beauty secret there is to know.

Cameron Diaz is one that takes uber cas and pulls it together with a Dior gown for some major glam. Her ponytail was pulled back with a super messy look and she pulled some bangs in the front for a very pretty face framing look. For this look, you don’t want to care *too much* when you are pulling it together. The key really is in the mess.

Miley Cyrus was another beauty queen who took the ponytail with a sleek edge. The ponytail was pulled and pin very low and she gave the pony a much more elegant look with wavy side-swept bangs. Curl your bangs first to achieve the wavy look, and then comb them back with a fine tooth comb to get the sleek factor. Pin with a bobby pin sprayed with some hairspray and you got yourself a sleek ponytail. Spritz on some shining mist to give a little extra gloss.

Anne Hathaway was a timeless beauty in her Marchesa goddess gown and she went the other direction with a ponytail that was high and accentuated her intense features. Curl your hair in long loose waves with a wide curling iron. Tease the crown just ever so slightly and then pull hair back into a ponty. Anne has an extra piece pinned at the base here, which you can try too, or just go with the whimsy of the high pony if you like. This is a fun look for a night on the town or an afternoon at the mall.

Sleek is chic right now and if you are looking for a new look, sleek, straight hair may be just what you need to change your look without making any drastic changes. Whether your hair is long or short, straight locks are easy no matter HOW late you are waking up in the morning.

Tools You Will Need: clips or bobby pins, fine tooth comb, flat iron, straightening serum, shine spray or mist

Step 1: Separate hair into sections (with your clips or pins) that are as wide as your flatiron.

Step 2: For each section, start at the root with your comb, and glide it down each section. This will smooth the hair for your flatiron. Follow right behind with your flat iron. Don’t have a flatiron? Try this iTech Wet-&-Dry Ceramic Tourmaline Flat Iron, 1-1/8 , Model 83824. This tool is nice and wide with a 1 1/8” barrel and works on both dry and wet hair saving you those few extra minutes in the morning. In fact, if using this on wet hair will give you a much longer lasting hold.

Step 3: Smooth some straightening serum like Jonathan Product Create Straight, Straightening Serum over your hair. The best way to do this is put a dab in your palms, rub your palms together, and smooth your hands over your hair.

Step 4: Finish the look and set your sleek with some shining mist like this Frederic Fekkai Glossing Sheer Shine Mist to give your locks some gloss and set it in place for all day sleek.

We all have those days when we need a little touchup throughout the day. Or perhaps you are just one of those minimalist girls who doesn’t like to have a whole bunch of stuff on your face. If so, you don’t need to sacrifice the potential of highlighting your best features. You can have a minimalist look just like Angie Harmon with very little effort and very little maintenance. The key here is simply eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. If you ONLY have these three things on your face, you are still going to highlight your best features, and offer your fans a fresh, natural look with no effort. I like this too, because if you go cas on the weekend, but hate going bare, there is no easier way to freshen up your face.

Tools You Need – eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss.

Beauty Trick– if you are only wearing eyeliner and mascara, go with a volumizing mascara. Try this Earth & Water Mascara Duo. This is cheap enough to grab a couple, I keep one in my makeup bag at home, and one in my purse. And I love how you get both the waterproof AND the regular version all in one mascara, you can’t get better value than that. Grab the 2 in 1 waterproof and regular mascara from e.l.f. just $1.

Beauty Tip: Touch up your gloss before and after you eat or drink or um….see your man. If you are touching up your eyeliner, keep some q-tips in your purse and run one under your eye ever so gently. Then simply reapply your eyeliner.

When the celebs aren’t wearing navy nails, they are going with bright red nails to match the red carpets rolled out for them. Why are we so hesitant to try this look? More often than not I have slathered on a dark color and went EW in minutes. But go for it. Bright red nails tells the world, and your man (or…prospective) that you have confidence, that you aren’t afraid to take risks, and that you have your finger on the pulse of the latest trends. Literally.

Beauty Tip – Pick a color based on your skin tone. If you are in the warmer tones, you want to choose reds that have brownish bases. If your skin is cooler, go for tones that have a more bluish tint to them. I love this new formula by e.l.f. in their new revolutionary non-drip bottle, and you can’t beat the price. Try the Color-Lock Nails for a Buck! for a long lasting color with beautiful shine. And you will love the quick dry factor as well. Can’t beat it!

Beauty Tip – You also want to apply a shiny top coat. For starters, this will beat the chip factor and extend your manicure by at least a few more days. Also, shiny top coats are SO pretty. Go for e.l.f.’s
Chip Resistant Nails for a Buck! formula.

Beauty Trick – one thing about dark nails is that it will leave some pigment on your nails when you remove the polish. Scrub your nails with baking soda toothpaste and an old toothbrush to buff off the yellow stains. That will do the trick. Remember to moisturize your nails afterwards and baking soda can be harsh.

Ok, so it’s Saturday and I’m just feeling very *Saturday*. So this is hardly an inspiring beauty look, but it can be very pretty. A ponytail doesn’t have to just be a ponytail. And no, you don’t have to look like Rachel Bilson to make even a ponytail look pretty. This ponytail she has here is a poofy low ponytail and it’s very simple.

Beauty Tip – The key here is low, low low. You don’t want to go sleek, but soft and feminine. How you do that is by tying the elastic 2 inches below the nape of your neck. It may not feel natural at first, but the look is so pretty. Pull out a few wisps like Rachel to frame your face.

Beauty Trick – To take this look into evening, go sleek. Take the elastic out, and brush your wisps back into the elastic and make the pony nice and sleek. Mist on some spray or gel for a very pretty, elegant, evening shine.

This is a look that every woman covets. If you can not be blessed with flawless bone structure, perhaps you could learn a few makeup tricks that will give you the sculpted cheekbone look that Jennifer has. You can do it, and the illusion of a bone structure that is prominent and sculpted is very flattering, and slimming at the same time. You will see here, if you look closely, that Jennifer has two colors on her cheeks. A sweet rosy color on her apples, and a darker shade underneath. This is the look you want. You can apply whatever color you like to your apples, whatever generally works for you, today we are going to look at how to achieve that contour. How do you do it?

Tools You Will Need – a stiff blush brush, blush powders — one for your normal shade, and one for your contour. I really like this JOEY New York Chisled Cheeks Powder Matte/Highlight Blend Blush, Infatuate because it takes all the guesswork out of deciding which shade to use.

Step 1 – the key to this look is in the shade of blush that you choose. You are going to do your contour first because it is easier to correct the contour with your other blush application if it doesn’t work out perfectly. Choose a shade that is approximately one shade darker than your skin tone, not much darker than that. And the stiff brush will really help you with your precision, so try not to use a brush that is too ‘fluffy’. Using your stiff brush, sweep the powder underneath the raised line of your cheekbones. This will add contour to your face, which gives you the sculpted look.

Step 2 – Smile, and put that pretty fresh color right on the apples of your cheeks.

Beauty Trick — As we had in step 2, lot of blush tips tell you to smile and apply to the apples of your cheeks. This one is the exact opposite. If you are having problems finding the line to hit with your powder, smile, find those pretty cheek apples, and apply the powder BELOW those areas. Blend a little and play with it to ensure a natural finish.