UPDATE: Hair Product Update

Recently, I posted about summer hair care products. I wanted to give a quick update on the Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray (that's a mouthful!) pictured below. (If you would like to read my summer hair care post, please click here.) 

I used it again today and had great results! Sometimes with new products I either use too much or not enough to get the desired results. My hair has beachy waves and doesn't look wet at all. Plus, it's wavy with absolutely no frizz, and it's literally 102 degrees here. Score!!

I highly recommend this product if you're looking for an easy, inexpensive way to get that beachy look. 

FYI: There's only a few days left to participate the nail polish poll (it's on the right)!!

MOTW - 6/25/13 More Fun with Tape

I am having so much fun with scotch tape nail art! It's so easy which is why I love it! The hardest part is deciding on a design.

Here's what I used this week:

From left to right: Snow Me White, Starfish, Kaleidoscope,
Orly Bonder & Seche Vite

I started painting my nails like this. Usually I do only one accent nail, but I went with two this week.

Before the tape. Do 2 coats of polish on each nail & apply a quick drying top coat.
Wait 15-20 minutes & apply tape to form your design. 

This is the end result! 

My Left Hand

My Right Hand

To see another scotch tape nail art post, please click here. That previous post has more specific information if you need it.

What's on your nails this week? Don't forget to vote in my nail polish poll to the right!!

Random thought of the day: I walked two miles in the Texas heat today! Get your fitness on!!! You'll be happy you did!!

Summer Hair Care

Summer is my favorite time of the year! It unofficially arrives pretty early here in Texas too! We don't even need to heat the pools, and it's only mid-June! I have a love-hate relationship with the sun. I love the color it gives me but hate what it can do to my hair. The sun and chlorine combined can do some major damage...especially if you color your hair like I do. Add humidity to that and you have a calendar  full of bad hair days! Here are some products that have helped me. I hope you find this information useful.

I have been using this duo for about a month now.  It's the Color Vibrancy Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner by L'Oreal. I only shampoo 3-4 times each week but don't want my color to fade. In the shower, I wash my hair first. Then, I apply the conditioner, clip my hair up and continue my shower. The last thing I do is rinse out my conditioner. I find that this particular conditioner doesn't weigh my hair down. My hair feels healthier than ever, and my color really is more vibrant.

L'Oreal's Color Vibrancy Shampoo & Conditioner

Then, one of my 3-4 shampoos is followed by a deep conditioner. The one in my shower at the moment is by Vidal Sassoon. It's a one minute repair mask. It's ok, but I don't see as much of a difference as I did with the Biofusion. For more information about it, click here.  

Vidal Sassoon's One Minute Mask

Most days I dry my hair with my hair dryer to smooth it out. Before any heat styling, I always use a heat protectant. The only other product I use sometimes besides hair spray is a shine spray. I find that the more styling products I use the more my hair gets weighed down and unmanageable. 

TRESemmé Heat Protectant & Shine Spray

@lisaalonso23 glad we're protecting your hair & keeping it shiny! Thanks for the write-up! :) #HairHug

— TRESemmé (@TRESemme) June 27, 2013

Summer heat and humidity can also make blow drying my hair so unappealing. That said, I try to let my hair air dry whenever I can. In the past few years, my hair texture has changed dramatically. It's gone from pretty straight to very wavy and somewhat curly. I recently picked up a sea salt spray to tame my waves/curls and love it! The only minor complaint I have is that it gives my hair a wet look after it's dry. My hair dryer doesn't have a diffuser to remedy this. (I have a Rusk Speed Freak dryer, so if you know of where I can pick up a diffuser for it, please let me know.) 

Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray

What are your summer hair products and/or tips? Please leave them in a comment below. 

If you haven't taken my nail polish poll yet, what are you waiting for? Giveaways to come!!

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Random Thought of the Day: Sleep is one of the best beauty products

How To Remove Glitter Nail Polish

Glitter polish is fun to wear until you have to remove it. If you'd like to know an easy, fool-proof way to take it off, read on.

All you need are:

1. Cotton balls
2. Aluminum foil (2 inches x 2 inches each)
3. Polish remover that contains acetone
4. Cuticle oil or something to return moisture to your nails and cuticles (I use argan oil)

Step 1: 

I use the large cotton balls, so I unroll them and split them in half. Then, fold up one half and saturate it with polish remover. Place the saturated cotton ball on your nail.

Step 2:

Take one piece of aluminum foil, and wrap your nail to keep the cotton ball in place. Do the same for all nails that have glitter polish on them. Relax for 5-10 minutes. The amount of time depends on how much glitter you have on your nails. 

Step 3:

Remove the aluminum foil and the cotton ball. The polish should be completely gone. If some remains, use the cotton ball the remove whatever is there. Acetone tends to be a little drying.  To combat this, gently rub some cuticle oil on each nail and your cuticles. 

Helpful Tips:

• If you plan to give yourself a new manicure, wash your hands well after the cuticle oil is absorbed. This will help your new polish adhere to your nails properly. If you don't, you run the risk of your nail polish chipping and/or peeling.
• This is not recommended for young children. The acetone in the remover can be absorbed through the skin. (How can you tell? You will smell it on your breath.) 

What's your favorite drugstore nail polish brand? Please take the poll.

Questions or comments? Please leave them below by clicking on Post a Comment.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

MOTW - 6/2/2013 Nail Art Using Tape Tutorial

I tried a new technique for nail art. Well, it's new to me. I used scotch tape to get the look below. It's really easy, and all you need in addition to polish is the tape and some time.

Here's what you'll need:

• Base Coat (I used Orly Bonder)
• Base Color (I used Sinful Colors in Sunburnt - a gorgeous burnt orange)
• Accent Color (I used Sinful Colors in All About You - a gold glitter)
• Fast drying top coat (I used Seche's Seche Vite)
• Scotch Tape

How to do a tape manicure: 

1. Get your tape ready by breaking off pieces larger than your nails and applying them to your palm 3-4 times. This will get rid of a lot of the stickiness to avoid lifting your base color. Then, stick the tape on the end of your table or counter until you're ready to use it. For triangle shapes, use two pieces.
2. Apply your base coat.
3. Apply your base color and let dry for 10-15 minutes.
4. Apply fast drying top coat and let dry for 20 minutes.
5. Once your nails are dry, apply the tape to create the shape(s) you want to make using the accent color. Make sure to press the edges down for clean lines. Do one nail at a time.
6. Apply your accent color and make sure to go over the tape to ensure coverage.
7. Carefully and slowly remove the tape.
8. Let dry for 10-15 minutes, so you don't smudge your design.
9. Apply another layer of fast drying top coat, and you're done! Easy, right?

Here's my finished product:

Please show me how you recreate this if you're on Instagram by tagging me @lisaalonso23. Can't wait to see the designs you come up with!

What's on your nails this week? Please leave questions and/or comments below. Have a great week!