Dont Let The Media Define Beauty

I don't know how many of you guys have seen the Dove Evolution video, but I think that it is the perfect example of how the media is damaging our view of beauty.

See it here on youtube: Dove Evolution

We're all different, and we're all beautiful. Dont forget to vote for your fave Her Novice Stage Blog!
-have a great day, gigi

Michelle Phan

Have any of you guys heard about her? Well if you haven't, she is one of my favorite makeup artist on youtube. I highly recommend you watch some of her tutorials for some nice special effect makeup, or basic know-hows.

See her take on:
Makeup for glasses
The Smokey Eye
New Years Glam look
And Much more!

I hope you guys enjoy her tutorials as much as I do!
-gigi

Biore

I know I praise Pro Active like its the thing to do, but the truth is proactive doesn't work for everybody. In fact, I'm the only person I know that it actually does work for.

However, a product line that is more versatile is; Biore. This line is perfect for people who have large pores and don't feel like dishing out hundreds of dollars to get results.

My Favorites include:
Face wipes

Moisturizer

Face wash

If you have all of these products your good to go. They help to reduce the appearance of my pores by cleaning them out wonderfully. [note: that your pore size can never permanently be reduced, but I'll take what I can get!]
Tip:
Its also really helpful if you get a face scrubber or something like that. It makes it easier to loosen dirt and unclog pores. Another plus is that your skin will feel like silk afterward.
-gigi

Question

So for this blog I will be asking a question. So this post obviously won't work if I dont get any feedback:)
Also I am really curious. The product Im wondering about:

Zeno
Have any of you guys used this before? I was thinking about buying one but before I put out my money Id like to hear some more reviews.
-THANK YOU for any feedback.

This Seasons Makeup Look

Are any of you guys as worried about what kind of makeup to wear for spring that would also be perfect for summer as well? Yea? I thought so.

I have found, and tested the most flawless/natural looking makeup you can possible go for this season. You know, the kind that makes you glow for the whole day, but not with all that glitter. And yes, it is Bobbi Brown.

-First we take a look at coverage. You don't want to look cakey or overdone, so the perfect solution this season is:

Bobbi Browns Tinted Moisturizer
"SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer is the perfect alternative to foundation for a more casual look. Perfect for Normal to Dry skin types. This tint of natural-looking color combined with sun protection blends smoothly over skin, and moisturizes while providing lightweight, comfortable, sheer coverage."

-Next we take a look at blush. What kind of blush goes great with sheer coverage? Sheer blush:

Bobbi Browns Top Rated Sheer Color Cheek Tint $22
"Get flushed cheeks with a sheer tint of natural-looking color. The translucent, lightweight formula glides on and blends evenly onto skin. Comes in a swivel-up stick for portability, convenient and easy application. Available in six shades. "
[note: a better color for this season is called sheer mauve, not pictured above]

-Last we take a look at that perfect glow-from-within trick:

Bobbi Browns Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick $38
"This shimmering, brush-on powder creates a soft, warm pink glow. Works well with neutral and pink blush shades.To apply: Sweep the Face Blender Brush through all five shades of Shimmer Brick Compact and dust lightly on cheekbones after blush. Focus on applying shimmer on the top of cheekbones - where light naturally hits the face - for the most flattering look."

And that completes the perfect skin look for this season and on into the next!
-have a good day,gigi

Best New Spring Fragrance

To save all you beautiful people from having to search and search for springs best new scent, I have found it for you!
Chance Chanel Eau Tendre:

"A new facet of CHANCE is born—the third generation of the CHANCE Fragrance family. The new incarnation of the decidedly young scent, CHANCE EAU TENDRE Eau de Toilette Spray reveals itself to be both delicate and radiant, with an intoxicatingly light, fruity trail. An unexpected mingling of grapefruit and quince meets the crispness of fresh green notes, while a trace of Jasmine Absolute lingers in the air. Gently warmed by a sheer veil of White Musk, at once, innocent and seductive."
This stuff is addicting, and trust me, you WILL get noticed;)

1.7 oz
$65.00

3.4 oz
$90.00
Shop Nordstroms
-gigi

New Poll!

Thats right, you can now vote which Her Novice Stage blog is your favorite! I personally love them all, equally! But I know everybody has their own preference:)SO voting begins now at Her Novice Stage! And ends in 7 Days.
-have fun, gigi

Can Too Much Exercise Make You Gain Weight?

I love to run. Period. During my first years of college the only place you could find me was at the track. I ran at the track, I ate at the track, I hung out at the track, I brought my bunny to the track, I skipped class to be at the track! I think its alright to assume that i was a junkie [Hey, it could be something way worse right?]

During breaks I didn't run nearly as much because I lived in a city. There were hardly any open tracks or parks nearby and I hated going to the gym. I felt a little more sluggish and i barely had the appetite to eat more than a few bites. Everybody always complained about how rail thin I was, and that i should just eat more.

It was different at school, even though I ran non-stop i was a healthy weight, my body fat was within the "lean" percentile, and i had a healthy appetite.

This observation led me to speculate on some reasons why, and the only thing that seemed to correlate directly was the time i spent running. It seemed that running is what gave me an appetite, and according to Registered dietitian Keri Glassman, I wasn't too far off.

"1. Exercise makes you hungrier, causing you to eat more.2. Exercise causes feelings of entitlement. You may want to reward yourself because you worked out so hard at the gym.3. Exercise does not burn that many calories. Couple that fact with being hungrier and you may eat more calories than you burned."

So should we stop Exercising? No. Like any exercise regime, nutrition plays a big role in how we loose weight, or stay fit. You cant do one without the other.

The point is too much of a good thing could be bad

-gigi

Check out the full article at CBS

Eye Brows

Some of us are born with great eye brows, but most of us have to make it happen. I had the craziest eye brows when i was a little girl [thanks dad] and as soon as i was able to, i made them razor thin. as i got older i realized that i should embrace a normal, natural eyebrow line. Fortunately for me i hadn't done any permanent damage.
If, however, you think you have too thick, or too thin eye brows then there are always tricks to get the look you want. But remember, the closer to natural = the closer to beautiful.

Lets start with shape:
-The Most perfect eye brow is long enough to stretch from the outside of your nose to the inside corner of the eye. [Draw an imaginary line]
-Its important to measure from your nose because eyebrows structure your whole face, not just your eyes.
*tip: when you tweeze, start from below the arch, and tweeze alittle at a time to avoid major mistakes.

Filling in:
- if your eye brows are too thin then you can go over them with a pencil [make sure its the same color as natural]
-Layer powder over it [make sure the powder only touches the hairs, not the skin]
-Use a brow brush to comb in place.

Too thick and Unruly
-shape your eyebrows into a natural shape
-brow gel and combs are your best friends

Smokey Eye

The smokey eye is probably one of the sexiest techniques for eye makeup, and every gal should have it mastered.
So today we will talk about how to create the perfect smokey eye:

Step 1: Cover the entire eyelid with white shadow, or base. [preferable nothing sparkly]

Step 2: Cover the lower lid, and 3 quarters the way up of the upper lip with a medium shade [layer as much as you want]

Step 3: Darken color at the crease of your eye and along the edges. [blend with finger or tool, don't just have medium color to dark, let the colors flow into each other]

Step 4: Line top and bottom with whatever formula you feel comfortable with, and extend the line just a little bit to create a "wing". [smudge line with finger or tool for a more natural, smokey look]

Heres an exert from Women's Health Magazine:

"Men are drawn to the most feminine looking faces. A shocker we know. But a new study in the journal perception helps level the playing field. Turns out, woman's eyelids are darker than the rest of the face, so the greater the contrast, the more feminine the woman appears."

-what better to do this than the smokey eye?

-master this ladies, it'll do ya good.

-gigi

Food for the Skin

Back to skin! as you can see this is one of my favorite topics. But today we are going to actually incorporate "health" into "health and beauty". We will be talking about the foods that keep our skin in tip top shape.

Our skin works hard to protect us, is it too much to ask to keep it beautiful? Lets help our skin along by making sure to eat the foods that will benefit it. when our skin is happy, we're happy.

" Remember to look for the 'ACE' vitamins: A to help prevent aging, C to promote clarity, and E to protect against the environment." (bobbi brown)

Vitamin A:

Carrots have a good amount of vitamin A, and so do melons.

Vitamin C

We all think of oranges when we hear vitamin C, but Strawberries, peppers, and grapefruits have a great amount also.

Vitamin E

Your leafy greens are aboundant in this, and so are nuts.

-Another important nutrient for your skin is fat. Healthy fat is not only essential for your skin, but for almost every other part of your body.Some great ways to get good fats are avocados, and the essential omega 3 fats in fish.

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that evaluated the diets of over 1000 people found that "Those who ate a weekly serving of oily fish (such as Salmon or Sardines) developed 28 percent fewer potentially cancerous skin lesions" So be sure to pick up a nice piece of salmon fillet next time you hit the grocery store.

I probably dont even need to mention that vitamin D is also essential for you skin. the best form of VItamin D will always be a healthy amount of sun, but dairy products have lots in them too. Remember that vitamin D and calcium go hand in hand.

Hope this helps you all get the nutrient you need for you skin so you can have beautiful skin forever!-gigi

Makeup For Beginners [part 5]

LIPS

The last if the series for beginner makeup is probably the easiest, especially if your trying to look natural.

Natural=Nude

If you don't want to go completly bare and just glide on some chapstick [which by the way ladies look even better more often than not] then check out some nude lipstick or gloss.

Application:
Tips: try to get a color that matches your lips already, or at least does not clash with your blush.

-start with lip liner that matches the gloss or lipstick, line the upper and lower lips [bring the line down more on the top lip.
-fill in the lips with the liner
-apply gloss, or lipstick to the lips with brush or other tool.
-wipe the edges

Thats it!

Recomend:

Bobbi browns nude rich color lip gloss $18 at bobbibrowncosmetics.com
Rich Color Lip Gloss offers triple benefits: the full color coverage of a lipstick, the soft shine of a gloss, and the luxurious feel of a balm. Moisturizes, conditions, and lasts throughout the day without feathering. Doe foot applicator applies color smoothly and evenly. Available in 8 shades including pale, neutral, deep, and bright options.