7.31.2011

How to Pull Off Red Lipstick


1. Go simple with everything else.
You don't need any other bold colors when you have red lipstick on. Make sure it's clean and polished but simple. If you use eyeshadow or eyeliner with this look, go for a neutral like black or brown.

2. Perfect your complexion.
Red lipstick always looks better when your skin looks perfect - so unless you are blessed with perfect skin, use concealer and foundation. (You might want to do this even if you do have perfect skin!)




3. Use lipliner.
This just makes sure that it stays only where you want it to stay - no bleeding, smudging, or awkward lines! Any drugstore brand will do.

4. Bring it with you, along with a compact mirror.
If you plan on eating, or doing anything else that doesn't require standing perfectly still, you'll probably need to touch it up. Also, you want to make sure you never have any on your teeth. Better safe than sorry!




5. This is the most important step - go to Sephora or a makeup counter and get color matched!
Don't waste your money on drugstore lipsticks if you're going this bold. You need an expert to help you find the perfect shade that will look good on you. Trust me, this is worth it! Whenever I need help picking out or applying new makeup, I go to Sephora in the morning on a weekday - there's always less people, and the makeup artists are bored and happy to go above and beyond for you.


This was after a night out in Hollywood, & my hair was starting to recurl! Kinda 50's, no?

I hope this was useful for you - let me know if you have any other tips & what your experiences are with red lipstick!

XO
Hannah Carol




7.30.2011

Calgel Love

I first heard about Calgel manicures from Gala Darling, and was immediately intrigued. At the time I was still in the Seattle area but decided to find a salon near me in LA once I moved. I love nail art and always love to try new nail trends - especially if they are supposed to improve my overall nail health!

I have very weak, brittle nails that seem to flake, chip, and break no matter how many vitamins I take or how well I take care of them (minus the occasional bad picking habit I have!). The only way I've ever been able to grow them out is to wear fake nails (acrylics) for a few days, then remove them before I get the urge to pick those off and cause even more damage.



Calgels seemed to be my miracle cure - a rock solid manicure that is dry before you leave the salon, lasts for what seems like ages, and actually improves the health of your nails rather than damaging it. Let me tell you - this stuff is AMAZING! It really does everything it says it does, and lasts forever. You can't even take it off with regular nail polish remover!!


There are so many cute designs you can get. They really can do anything you can think of, and the Japanese nail art magazines they have at Calgel salons have so many fantastic ideas, it's almost hard to choose just one!

Getting extra colors/designs on multiple nails does take much longer (and cost more), but it's definitely worth it - something you have to try at least once. When I went in, my nails were slightly shorter than I preferred, so I opted to get extensions as well. The way the gel goes on and stays strong even as an extension blows my mind, and I can't wait to grow my nails out again to try another style.

If you want to find a salon near you, go to www.calgelamerica.com and click on salon locater. I'd love to see pictures and hear your stories about trying these babies!!

XO Hannah


7.28.2011

How to Style Curly Hair (It's so easy!!)

I made this video the other day after I came home from getting my hair colored at the salon. My stylist did everything right except the style itself - which is very important! For curly haired girls like me, we often have to make sure we have time to go home & restyle our hair every time we go to the salon before we continue our day. Isn't the point of a salon to look even better when you leave than when you entered?! :P If you know any stylists who might enjoy this video please share it with them, as everybody can use improvement. :) I hope you'll enjoy this, and let me know if it comes in handy for you!!

7.27.2011

5 Ways to Ruin Your Day

1. Beat yourself up for sleeping in.
How dare you listen to your body and get some extra sleep! Whatever plans you have for laying around today can NOT wait.  Social events are much more important than taking care of yourself. Besides, everybody will think of you as lazy if you don't get up early enough. You've already wasted enough of your day - hurry up and get to the rest of these activities!

2. Skip breakfast.
Who needs food?! Not you! It's not like your body or mind actually needs nutrition before you get your day going.  You probably don't have enough time or room in your limited calorie budget, anyways.  Don't worry about what everyone says about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. You go girl - starve yourself!

3. Engage in some self-hate.
If you really want to have a terrible day, stand in front of the mirror before you think about doing anything, and point out everything that you think is wrong with yourself. Don't dare look at the positives or consider loving yourself just as you are - that's too much fun! It's much easier to tear yourself apart before you do anything, even if there's nothing wrong with you.

4. Compare yourself to everyone else.
No matter how much you've accomplished or how far you've come, you are not good enough compared to everyone else. Indulge. Really, everybody else is better than you. That guy who finished college before you, the girl who has better style than you, those people who have more friends than you, the person who actually followed her dreams when you were too busy worrying about what everyone else was doing to follow yours.. just sit there and think about it. Waste your day worrying about others - don't even think about what you need to do to accomplish your goals. It's ok, it'll get you somewhere, .. I think.

5. Don't take action.
Sure, you have dreams and ideas, but who needs that? It's much easier to just coast through life without actually fighting for anything. Who cares if you want to go to college? Just play video games instead. Who cares if you want to start your own business? It's probably too hard anyways, howabout you just get an easy part-time job that you loathe. Want to start a nonprofit? Nope, not possible, it's not like anybody would support you anyways, not that you've even asked or tried. Want to be a photographer? Not going to happen - just go admire everybody else's work instead, while you wish that you had picked up a camera.

(You know those dreams, ideas, & plans you have? Today is a good time to do something about it. Stop loathing, start living. Get on it, grrl!)

XO
Hannah Carol

7.26.2011

1 Way to Love Yourself Today

Make Art Now! (Tote Bag) / Upso

It's all too easy to get caught up in work, events and activities without really paying attention to yourself. For me, it's even easier to believe that I'm taking time out for myself when I'm doing things like catching up on facebook, twitter, and my rss feed, but really all I'm doing is passively distracting myself from the most important thing we should all be doing - loving and taking care of ourselves! Facebooking is not productive, nor does it help you grow as a person or learn anything. Of course, it's fun. But today, do something different.

Make art.


Paint the Skies [24/365]
There's tons of DIY's out in the blogosphere that you can watch other people do, or you can watch other people live interesting lives on reality tv, but there's nothing like sitting in a calm, relaxing space with some good music on and making art that makes you happy.  It's just you in your head, and you're connecting an idea in the intangible world with a material object. It allows you to express yourself, share yourself, and find yourself all at once. Go paint, draw, sculpt, write, color, repaint a piece of furniture, decorate a cake, photograph your dog, anything. Go make something and spend some time loving yourself. <3

Water / Movement / Photography


XO
Hannah Carol


7.03.2011

Sunday Songs

Here's a sassy song to get your Sunday going :)



Have a great day!

XO