It's the little things that count.

        This 2 year old even knows how to look put together! It's all in the pose, baby, all in the pose.

    Pretend to look good. Sounds lame. Why would I want to pretend? Ooh ooh I know! I don't have time to get completely ready...or I don't feel like it...or I just straight up don't want to, but still want to look good!

   There are a few ways that you can look put together and probably feel better about yourself to and it's all in the little things. When you see someone with all the little things done, (little things are outlined below) you think "Now there's a girl that takes care of herself, even in the little things." And for some reason, her messy 'do now seems somewhat stylish and her mismatched outfit is quite the statement. Let's look at these little things.

   1. Painting your nails. Ever seen a 'good girl' (a girl that's good at being a girl. I have an upcoming giveaway idea regarding being a 'good girl') with chipped nails? No. That's because they understand that freshly painted finger nails (and toes if they will be seen) gives the glamour touch, no matter what you're wearing.

   2.  Waxing/Tweezing your eyebrows. Eyebrows make a huge difference to how your face looks. You'd never realize it until you try it. Bushy, unruly eyebrows make it hard for eye make up to look good or eyes to stand out and we all know we want our eyes to stand out. Shaped eyebrows make for a much cleaner, kept look. This goes for mustaches to. Don't pretend you don't have one. Except don't try and shape it. Just get rid of it.

   3. Bangs. This was mentioned in a previous post. If you don't have time to do your hair, rather than taking the time on your style and pinning your bangs back, switch it up; if you style your bangs, it looks like you did your hair, even when you just threw it in a ponytail. People notice the front of your head before they notice the back.

   4.  Chap stick. Chapped lips always makes one feel icky and look fairly blotchy. When you're lips are a pretty color and healthy, your whole face seems smoother.

   5.  Standing up straight. Sounds trivial but makes a huge difference. Especially when I'm having a 'I'm feeling fat' day.

   6. Perfume. Smelling good makes everyone think you look good. Don't overkill but a few spritzes and especially deodorant goes a long way. The senses are connected. People who smell good generally look good.

   7. SMILE. Find something to be happy about! Joyful people are never ugly. Even if someone isn't drop dead super model gorgeous, when she is friendly and happy, you can never say she's anything less than beautiful inside and out.

   8. Touching up regrowth. If you can't keep up with how fast your hair grows, opt for a color that's closer to your natural. Sure, the 'ombre' is in style but the truth is, you can tell when someone has the ombre and when someone just hasn't done their hair. Plus, when your hair is annoying, life is annoying. Regrowth tends to look greasy and un-kept. Chances are if you haven't colored your regrowth, you haven't had a hair cut and your hair is probably feeling too heavy and bulky along with the rest of the problems. I always feel like my hair is uncooperative and my face is fat and blotchy and my make up is defective when my hair needs to be done. Not worth it!

   9. Accept compliments. I have a hard time with this one but it is true... when someone compliments you, just say thank you. Don't turn it into a negative comment or downplay. Eg/ Sally says "Mary, you look so pretty today, I love that dress!" Mary replies, "Ugh, I just wore this dress because it covers all my lumpiness." Then Sally feels obligated to say "What lumpiness?!! You're crazy!" and her compliment has been successfully diminished and voided out. Over time, Sally will stop complimenting Mary because it won't help. Mary will always see herself in a negative light and nothing Sally says will make any difference. Just don't put yourself down. Let others' compliments build up your confidence. (Just don't rely on them for it!)

   10. Clear lip gloss. A touch of foundation to take away redness from lips (unless red lips works for you!) and a coat of clear lip gloss does wonders for the face. If you can pair it with a swipe of mascara across your lashes that'll open up your eyes, making you look prettier and brighter for the day ahead.

   11. Bonus round: back comb it. I'm not talking Amy Winehouse. Or even my gorgeous sister who allowed me to dress her up as a Who character from a Grinch themed hair show when I was in beauty school. (see the picture in post titled Tips and Tricks or click here: Tips and tricks). I'm talking about a little teasing in the crown of your head. It makes greasy hair last another day and gives you a little boost so you don't feel so flat.

Tips and Tricks!

Mental note: Must wear hair like this to work tomorrow.

  Sometimes we don't understand people.  Like the kid who sped his bicycle across the busy street...10 feet from a cross walk. Or the man that drove the wrong way down a one way street. Or what about the lady who, not once, but twice, tried to change lanes without looking and each time was honked back to her original lane? I don't get her.
   All those things happened in one car ride to work. Crazy, right? People! Those are extreme examples of not being able to understand someone but in reality, we really don't know what's going on in their mind. Let's take the man going the wrong way down the road for example; my first thought was, "Idiot!!!" then I caught myself. After hearing a sermon my dad preached awhile back, every mean word that comes to my mind stands out strongly and I've realize I can be very harsh person and judge quickly. So when I immediately thought what an imbecile this man was, I then wondered what could possibly be his reasoning for doing that. Maybe it's as simple as he wasn't paying attention, or he saw there was no cars and it was a quicker route being that he was late to work...but what if...just what if...he just got a phone call that something happened to his son, or daughter, or wife and they were rushed to hospital minutes earlier? What if turning that direction (seeing as there weren't any cars) avoided an accident from a car that ran a red light in front of him, that I didn't see? I'll never know and for that reason, I'll never have the right to decide whether he or anyone is a careless human or not. Really, who am I to decide that anyway? Look at my driving! I'm sure I make half the world angry when I get behind a steering wheel but yet I get to decide who the idiots are?!
    So, this whole scenario got me thinking; just because someone doesn't LOOK put together and fashionable does not mean they don't WANT to and that they're lazy good for nothing women. Maybe, just maybe, they woke up late (as I often do), or they can't afford the newest stuffs (as I often can't), or they just simply don't know the techniques to use! Hence the reason for this post. Below are some easy tips and tricks to make getting ready quicker and easier.

1. Shower the night before. Crazy right? Not so much. From a hygiene point of view, when you sleep, you shed thousans of skin cells during the night. In showering before going to bed, what with your loofahing, exfoliating, and towel drying, you will be getting rid of most of those dead skin cells meaning you'll be less likely to attract bugs or mites into your bed. Don't forget how fresh your face will be as washing your face in the shower is 47% more effective than in the sink when you are not washing the rest of your body. It also leaves your face clean for the morning, so it's much easier to apply your make up, rather than trying to scrub it off the next morning, running out of time and slapping new make up on over the old stuff. Also, warm water relaxes your body and prepares it for rest, so you'll wake up feeling more refreshed.
Not only that but if you wash your hair in the night and sleep with it in a braid or loose pony, it will dry through the night, leaving your hair ready for your flat iron or curler the next morning, eliminating the need for a blow dryer which will 1. save your hair's health a little bit and 2. save you time. (sidebar: for goodness sake, use a heat protector spray before applying heat to your hair...it'll save you from having to chop your locks later, like I had to; more about that in another post!)

2. Ready your clothes the night before. I find that when I lay out what I'm going to wear the night before, it takes me way less time to get ready in the morning, but also I tend to find cuter outfits than when I'm half asleep and running late in the morning. I have time to pick out my accessories and the right shoes, etc.

3. Make a shake the night before. Berries, protein, milk or yogurt, vanilla and cinnamon. Or whatever your shake consists of. Make it the night before and put it in the fridge, ready for you to grab and go. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism. We've all heard it: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Why don't we just listen and obey!
Might as well throw in making a lunch the night before here. Let's save some money eating out girls so we can buy some cute accessories to make our outfits awesome! Or even worse...make sure you actually eat at lunch time and don't just wait til you get home because you forgot to bring food and don't want to spend the money!!! Snackies are never bad either. Just sayin'.

4. Ready your purse the night before. Keys are my nemesis. They always make me late. I have a wonderful husband that hung up a key hanger as soon as we moved in so it's not an issue anymore. Well...for the most part. If you don't have a key hanger, always put your keys in your purse and that will illuminate having to look for them and locking yourself out of your house. Trust me, it can be a problem.
Readying your purse also includes readying whatever you need for work. Doing that the night before makes your entire next day less stressful. You won't have forgotten anything you need, you won't be wondering if you've forgotten something; you'll just have a slightly easier day since you'll be prepared.

5. Lastly, bangs. This is kind of out there, but as a stylist I see a lot of foreheads and a lot of hair and I'm a firm believer that everyone can pull of some sort of bang. There's so many different kinds, I know they work for everyone. The nice thing about having bangs is when you don't have time to do your hair, you can throw it up in a messy bun or top knot, pull down some pieces by your ears and give them a little curl or straightening, if necessary, style your bangs and you're good to go!


What do 4 out of these 5 tips have in common? Utilizing the night before!! If you do that, you can sleep quite a bit longer and have a better day and we all know the cheesy fact of life- a smile can make the biggest difference in what you look like and how you feel!

State your beauty...don't make it fast.

    Almost every little girls' dream is to be exquisitely beautiful on the most special day of her life...her wedding day. Generally, a little girl will know what kind of dress she wants, where she wants to get married, who she wants in her wedding, how she will wear her hair, what colors she will have, and quite possibly, who the groom will be by the time she is anywhere from 9-12 years old. Although all of these factors are variables and change throughout the years, it never gets pushed out of a girls' mind. 

    Having gotten married just over a month ago, I can safely say that all of my ideas and thoughts I had carefully prepared my whole life, took no part in the finished product called The Wedding Day and it was still perfect!

     Now, speaking of my wedding day and going back to being exquisitely beautiful on that day...I don't think that's just a little girls' dream. That's something that continues into adulthood. Brides rarely hold back appointing someone to do their hair and make up. They go on crazy diets to be the shape they want for that one day. Brides can plan for months, even years sometimes for that perfect look (among other things to plan of course). There's facials and manicures and pedicures and hair removal and body wraps and steaming and hair coloring and cutting... the list goes on; all in preparation for those few hours... and don't forget waking up at the crack of dawn to start getting ready! The result? Perfection. I've never yet seen a bride that I thought "If only she waxed that upper lip before today..." or "Chipped nail polish must be in." Nope. It's all taken care of. Or hidden if forgotten. 

    My question in all of this is... why work so hard to be so beautiful on your wedding day and then settle for mediocrity the rest of your life? This is not to say you must spend 5 hours every day preening yourself before the mirror. I'd get very bored of my face if I did! (Actually, on a side note...you'd begin to think of yourself negatively if you spent too much time in the mirror. After once complaining of an atrociously sized zit that was threatening to ruin my very existence, my wise daddy told me, "You know how when you look at a word for too long, it looks like it's spelled incorrectly? That's what's happened to you. You look in a mirror too often and you only see what you think is wrong with you." Wise words, Dad!) So, back to my point; being beautiful shouldn't be limited to your wedding day. There is nothing wrong with being beautiful all the time! When God created Eve, Adam wrote a poem on the spot, just looking at her!

    Beauty isn't black and white. It's an individual idea but it is making a statement. Every hair or clothes style, every kind of look, every piece of clothing, jewelry, purse, belt, shoe; they make a statement about you. Whether it be intentional or not, the way you look, subconsciously peaks to others about who you are before they've even met you. You may think this shallow or judgmental but it's just human nature. So, why not take a little extra time to decide what your look should state.  I don't know about you, but I'd like to decide what I say about me. And it's that I'm fun and friendly and happy, or I'd like to think I am!

So, that is the LONG way of explaining why I named my blog "State Your Beauty" and I'll be posting regularly with ideas and tutorials for hair styles, make up and nail polish mostly with maybe a few other things scattered between!