DIY beauty recipe: Baking soda blemish blaster

For healthy, glowing skin that looks healthy even during the coolest months of the year, get on board with baking soda. The super cheap beauty wonder makes one amazing face buffer that gets rid of dry skin cells, diminishes fine lines and helps fight blemishes.

What you need:

-1/2 cup baking soda

-small amount of water

-tea tree oil (optional)

Directions:

Mix half a cup baking soda and a few tablespoons water in a glass bowl until the mixture becomes a paste. For pesky pimples, add in a few drops of tea tree oil. With a washcloth, hands or Clarisonic (Olay Brush works well too), rub a small amount of mixture onto damp, cleansed skin. Use a little bit at a time to buff dry skin and purify pores. For extra cleansing power, apply a thin layer and let it sit on your face before exfoliating. Rinse and moisturize as usual.

DIY: The how to clean silver without polish hack

Cleaning silver sucks. The polish smells bad, it takes forever to scrub and is just an overall pain in the you know what. I honestly can’t remember where I read this silver cleaning hack, but I’ve been doing it for years and it’s a great time saver.

Here we have some Tiffany’s I haven’t worn in forever, a vintage chain and my beloved Lee Brevards. Gross, right? Let’s get  started.

Step 1: Start boiling a pot of water

Step 2: Gather up a large pot, colander, tin foil and about a cup of baking soda

Step 3: Coat the large pot with tin foil (I used 3 sheets)

Step 4: Pour in the baking soda

Step 5: Add the silver

Step 6: Pour in boiling water and wait 1-2 minutes or until mixture stops bubbling. For larger items like trays and platters, carefully dip the item into the boiling water/baking/soda/tin foil mix. Be sure to use a pot holder–it’s hot!

Step 7: Have a colander ready in your kitchen sink for small items. Remember, to avoid tragedy, make sure to tightly secure your sink stopper (we don’t want anything going down the drain)

Step 8: Carefully pour the silver mix into the colander

Step 9: Rinse

Step 10: Dry with a cloth to remove any excess tarnish and lay flat to dry

And voilà! You’re done. How much better do these pieces look?

My step-by-step self tanning tutorial

Need a glow?  I’ve been using Neutrogena MicroMist Airbrush Sunless Tan for years and I love it. I layer it over my lotion self tanner so I don’t miss a single spot and use it every few days to keep my “tan” from fading.

If you’re a first time self-tanner, or just need a few tips of the trade, below is my step-by-step tutorial for getting the perfect faux tan.

Exfoliate: This means shaving and using a scrub to get a smooth, pre-tan base. I like to make my own by mixing about ¾ cup of brown sugar with a few tablespoons of olive oil. It’s super simple and lets you control how gritty you want the scrub depending on your skin type. Also, if you have dry skin like me, this gives you an extra dose of hydration so you don’t dry out your skin. Slather on in the shower and rinse.

For face, I like to use my Clarisonic with Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration Cream Cleanser. It keeps my skin soft and washes away all extra makeup. If you don’t have a Clarisonic, apply with a washcloth for a little extra exfoliation.

Towel Dry: Seems like a no-brainer but any excess water can create streaking.

Prep: Slather lotion on dry areas including feet and elbows. I spray my face so to make sure my tan isn’t too dark, I use Burt’s Bees Hydration Day Lotion. I like the consistency because it is hydrating but has a light consistency so I do get some glow.

Spray: It’s go time! Spray Neutrogena MicroMist all over body and face. Make sure you keep moving to different areas when you spray so you get a consistent tan. You should feel like you just walked into a light mist. If you’re dripping wet, you used too much.

For tan addicts like me, I wait for the first coat to dry then spray on another. AKA: double dipping.

Remove Excess Tanner: Ok, literally this is the most important part and the reason why many fake tans look well, really fake.

1. Drench a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and swipe over finger and toe nails. This removes tanner that can stain nails and cuticles (not a good look).
2. Wash your hands….and do it carefully. Soap up but make sure to not splash onto arms or you will end up with white spots. If that happens, spray a little bit of tanner over the spot.
3. Dry hands and swipe palms with rubbing alcohol.
4. Mix half tanner and half lotion and rub the backs of your palms together so the top of hands get color. Make sure to get in between fingers and avoid nails as much as possible.
5. Swipe nails with rubbing alcohol one more time

 One tanner is completely dry (it’s quick) you’re good to go.

Neutrogena MicroMist ($10.99) is available at neutrogena.com.  Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration Cream Cleanser ($10) and Hydration Day Lotion ($18)  are available at burtsbees.com.

The direct sales “ick factor”

Sometimes I really miss retail. Being on the other side of the counter or register, you’re completely emerged in the fashion realm and are always ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest.

About a year ago I went to a Stella & Dot trunk show with the pre-conceived notion that it would be icky, the stuff would be overpriced and ugly and I would be pressured to buy to appease my friend and the hostess. Yuck.

Being a semi-active stylist for about a year, I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not to quit the “biz”. I never want friends, family or anyone to feel pressured to buy, and I don’t want the reputation of being a scammy sales girl slinging jewelry.

Last night my friend and I had a late night merchandising sesh for a designer sale she’s hosting at her house and it really made me realize why I love doing Stella & Dot on the side. For me, it’s not about making money. I just honestly freaking love the jewelry and accessories and it fills that weird void I have from no longer being in the retail world.

Last night was fun. It didn’t feel scammy. We had the best time getting creative and going back to our retail roots merchandising a table which looks like a mini-boutique. Our totally out there dream of someday owning and operating our own store from marketing to sales to buying and management, it was a blast.

So, the point of the post is this: my blog is not to sell jewelry. It’s a creative outlet that I am so lucky to have. Beauty, fashion and home décor are all something I’m completely passionate about and I can’t thank my readers enough for allowing me to do what I do and spread the word about things I can’t (well don’t want to) live without.

Now that’s all out of the way, I want to share our photos from last night. Not at all meant to coerce you to buy, I hope you enjoy them and hope they inspire you in some way. Whether it’s tomorrow’s outfit, reconsidering that gem-colored bag you’ve been eyeing but don’t think you can pull off to going outside your comfort zone and wearing those killer pair of shoes you’ve never worn because they are too “over the top”.

Happy viewing! xo Carolyn

So domestic: Crafty ruffled tee

On my latest Pinterest romp, I came accross this ruffled tee and fell in love. We all know that I’m a sucker for anything over-the-top, frilly and of course, ruffles. Whether it’s an edgy Betsey Johnson look or straight our of the Anthropologie catalog, my style varies daily.

I like this DIY tee from P.S. I Made This because no matter if you’re a girly-girl or tomboy, you can do it up and create an item in your closet that’s all your own.