Hello my friend. Alexandra here, how’s it going? Welcome to a new video! (Video is shown below).
Last week in the Relationships & Sex video, we talked about what great men want in a woman. If you have not seen that video yet, I recommend you watch it. The link to it is below in the video description. You probably noticed, today we’re not on the couch. We’re here, because I have lots to show.
In the FASHION & BEAUTY category today, we’ll talk about: Beauty Must Haves. Specifically, products for our faces and hair. Ask me your questions or leave your comments anytime here, or on my Facebook page. I’m also checking #askalexandra on Instagram & Twitter and I always try to reply as much as I can.
Make sure you’re taking notes in all the categories of interest to you, and put that journal to work. If you don’t know what the journal is, below is a link to a short intro video that will give you those details.
Also today: every time you see this [smiling sun icon], I want you to smile. Smiling is medicine for your soul, and a great source of beauty.
So let’s get to the topic. Face and hair beauty products that we should all have. And I’ll start with the basics, because I see a lot of ladies forget about them. And they are: Magnifying mirror & eye drops. I’m near sighted and I have astigmatism in my eyes, so I can’t see very well. But you don’t have to be a bat like me to miss the little droplets on your face. Almost every brand of mascara leaves Poopies behind, and you’ll want to see those before you leave the house. And eye drops, because red eyes are not very sexy. With it, you can keep your eyes crystal clear, while removing dirt, and keeping them lubricated.
#2. Good eye cream. Perhaps one of the most important things you can do for your face is to invest in eye cream. This is one product in your skin care routine that should never be sacrificed. And don’t think of its importance the moment you start noticing signs of crow's feet or expression lines. Preventing is easier than treating! (product details and links are HERE)
I’m using a combination of affordable and expensive and I prefer retinol, because it’s a great source of Vitamin A and counteracts the effects of aging skin. I mostly use Roc from the drug store.
(HERE is the list of products with links)
Try different ones for yourself, till you find the perfect one for your concerns. And always compare ingredients, expensive is not always the best.
By the way, a list of all these products is on my website, linked below.
#3 beauty must haves are: a good exfoliant & moisturizer.
Exfoliation helps scrape away dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, exposing newer ones, and leaving your skin looking and feeling healthier. I use Karin Herzog with this brush from Olay, once a week. I don’t do it more often, because I have very sensitive skin and too much exfoliating can cause irritation.
Then… moisturizing is key. Always moisturize. Never go to bed without applying moisturizer, never leave home during the day without it. I prefer Vitamin C, because Vitamin C is critical for our bodies in general. But from a beauty stand point, one of the most powerful functions of vitamin C is the role that it plays in the production of collagen. My favorite product so far is from Obagi.
When I realize that my face is getting used to the product though, I switch to either Karin Herzog or Yes to cucumbers, just for a week or so, then go back to Vitamin C.
#4. Use SPF on your face all day, any day, of at least 50. Apply it on your face and neck before putting on make up, and always have a Travel bottle with you as well, to reapply or use for the back of your hands. SPF is one of the best ways to prevent wrinkles and aging.
And always treat the neck with the same respect you give your face. I see so many women with faces aging gracefully because they’re taking care of them, but turkey necks, because they were so busy worrying about this (face), and almost completely forgetting about THIS (neck).
Next on the list is a good lip scrub and Lip balm. I use Mentha lip buffer once a week to exfoliate. I put some on a toothbrush that I don’t use on my teeth of course, and scrub away. For the balm, I use a slightly tinted one to get a little color in my lips, or I otherwise look a little corpsy.
Now let’s talk make up.
The number 1 Beauty must have in my book is a good concealer. You don’t have to put on foundation or powder 24/7, but you DO need a good concealer. At any time we can have dark circles, a pimple or a blemish spot… With a good concealer, we can hide those.
Second on my list is primer. Preferably with some additional SPF. Face primers are most commonly used to help prepare your skin for the foundation, because it smoothes out the texture of your skin and helps you apply foundation more easily and more smoothly. It also helps your eye shadow, blush, and lipstick last longer. I personally prefer a slightly tinted primer, because it evens out my face just enough to where I don’t have to put foundation or powder every day, so I get that evenness without the heavy look.
I recently bought BB tinted treatment by tarte. I like it, but I like Murad better, so I’ll get some more as soon as I’m done with this.
Next on the list. Good Eye lash curler & tweezers. You know I buy cheap as often as possible. But I never sacrifice the eye lash curler and the tweezers. Always stick with solid, stainless steel materials —no nickel or alloys—to avoid infection from any potentially rusted areas. That’s gross!
Then, we have Mascara.
This is the combination I use most often. (Lancome L'Etreme & Covergirl lashblast fusion). (Lancome) adds little extensions at the ends of my lashes making them longer, while this Covergirl separates the lashes very well, and helps give me some volume.
Next beauty must haves: Brow pen & brow gel. It’s amazing how much more sophisticated you can look with groomed eye brows. I’ll do a HOW TO tutorial in the future, but for now, let me just show you what I use. For pen, I use Covergirl from the drug store. You can tell I’ve been using it… and Mac for the gel. If you don’t have gel, you can use a little bit of hair spray, here’s how: Spray a little hair spray over a q-tip, then go over the brows after filling them in with the pencil. Afterwards, use a brow brush to arrange and shape them nicely.
Let’s keep going.
Next beauty must have is a rosie Blush.
But please! Be careful with how much you put on. This does not look right. There’s nothing normal about that.
I’m also married to dark pencils. My eyes are big and pretty far apart, and if I was to go on camera without just a little bit of dark pencil contouring my eyes, I’d look like a loonatic.
Now let’s talk hair: The number 1 on my beauty must haves list is Coconut oil.
I use it as a hair treatment. I warm it up, apply it over the entire length of the hair, massage the roots and scalp, then I put my hair up and cover it with a shower cap. If I can’t find one, I’ll use a plastic grocery bag. Nobody has to see it but you honey!!
Coconut oil is such a good natural repair system for your hair! Leave it on for at least 2-3 hours, then wash and style.
#2 on the list is an anti-frizz product.
My hair is SO freezy. This is how it looks like without product help. I’ve gone through tons of different products, absolutely nothing has worked better than this.
This stuff, I spray a little at the ends, then blow dry and style. I swear, the difference it made is amazing!! It’s even posted in my Pinterest beauty board, that’s how obsessed I am with it. He he!! (show screen shot)
#3. Dry shampoo.
It's not good to wash your hair every day because you'll strip it of its natural oils.So I only wash my hair every 2-3 days and I recommend you do the same.
But. In between washes, I use batiste. One of my dear girlfriends recommended this, and I haven’t looked back since. Smells pretty too.
Lastly, for an overall beauty must have, I’d like for you to consider vitamins.
Before getting my test results from the doctor recently, I would have recommended the same things that I was taking. Biotin, because it helps straighten your hair and nails, a daily supplement, etc. etc. But I haven’t been feeling good over the past 6 months, so I went to the doctor and she tested me for multiple things, we thought it was a thyroid issue. Results came back with some MASSIVE deficiencies, some of which put me at risk of going blind. And since being on these vitamins every day that are specific to MY needs, I started noticing not only an improvement in my health, but skin, hair and nails as well.
So please have your doctor check for your vitamin levels, and take supplements. Just make sure you’re taking what your body actually needs, not taking something just because it’s the hip thing to take.
Alright, there's more to come in this category, I will have must haves for your body and conditioning, so take a look at future videos.
In the Career & Money video coming out next Thursday, I will give you tips to help you find what you love.
How many times do you hear: do what you love and you’ll never feel like it’s work? But how many times do you have a hard time figuring out what the hell THAT is. I mean, I love paining my nails, but I don’t necessarily want to paint people’s nails for a living. If you sub’d to my YouTube channel you’ll be 1st to get these tips and apply them into your life.
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Thank you for being in my life and allowing me to be in yours. You’re amazing, I love you, I appreciate you, and I’ll see you next time!
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