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Here’s a riddle every beauty junkie should be able to answer: What beauty product promises to diminish fine lines, pores, and blemishes but costs less than a facial?

Give up? (more…)

Love it or loathe it pastel hair colour is making its way for a big Christmas 2012 trend. The most popular question of this trend would be how do I wear it and what would suit my style? (more…)

From stars on the red carpet, to models on the runway, to your average mom down the street, it is impossible to deny that beautiful long eyelashes are in style and are here to stay. Long eyelashes are stunning and perfectly frame the eye to give it an effortless touch of glamour. Yet many people wonder how to get long eyelashes in the first place, especially if they are not genetically endowed with eyelash perfection. Though the quickest and easiest way to achieve the look is to have eyelash extensions applied every three to six weeks, it is also possible to learn how to get long eyelashes on your own accord. These methods can fast track you to eyelash brilliance and leave you feeling glitzy and special every day.

Pregnancy Multi-Vitamins Yield Positive Results

Many women who are not pregnant have reported increased eyelash length and fullness after several weeks of taking any brand of over-the-counter pregnancy multi-vitamins. The way this works is quite simple. Pregnancy multi-vitamin pills contain a folic acid supplement that is extremely important for hair and nail growth. Often, folic acid can be used to reduce hair loss or encourage healthier nail and eyelash growth. So if you’re wondering how to get long eyelashes, a simple pregnancy multi-vitamin might be the answer for you.

A Committed Beauty Regime Enhances Lashes

There is always the option of using advanced makeup techniques to get long lashes. With the right products and tools, makeup can enhance eyelashes and make them look long and luminous. When doing makeup to enhance eyelashes, it is important to use concealer underneath the eye and then a light powdered foundation on top of this concealer. Black eyeliner like our Clarins Instant Eyeliner #1 also nicely frames the eyelashes and makes them look longer. The most important piece of the puzzle, however, is mascara. If you use black mascara and gently apply many coats, leaving ample time for these coats to dry in between, it is very possible to achieve the lush, long eyelash look without going through the expense or risk of other methods.

Prescription Products Reported To Be Effective

Finally, for those who want to try a more targeted route, there are many specially designed products that can be applied to the area around the eye and are clinically indicated to increase eyelash growth. Although currently in the governmental approval process and not yet available without a prescription, Latisse is one such product and users have reported excellent results. This product has been shown to increase lash growth in the laboratory and has many excellent reviews from consumers who say they will continue to apply it for the rest of their lives. Like any pharmaceutical product, it does come with the potential for adverse reactions. However, these cases are a minority and most consumers use the product often, love it, and are very pleased with the enhancement of their lashes over time. Keep a watch out for products like Latisse to arrive on the Australian market over the next couple of years.

Long eyelashes are beautiful and very in style, and every woman deserves to feel that they have the lashes of a queen and to be comfortable with the way their eye is styled. The above techniques are the most sure-fire methods to obtaining long eyelashes and using any of them separately or even in conjunction with each other will yield beautiful results.

You spend an hour on your nails. Your cuticles are moisturised, the shape is immaculate and your polish is flawless. When it’s completely dry you decide it’s finally safe to return to your normal activities. Not a minute later, your nail bends and breaks leaving you frustrated and wondering just how to strengthen nails effectively.

Repeat this Mantra: Nails are Not Tools

If you are the unhappy owner of nails that bend and break, you must take a close look at your habits. Do you use them to open beverage cans? Peel off stickers? Every time you use your nails to perform any kind of task that stresses them, you are weakening the keratin. Next time you wedge the tip of your nail under the tab of a tin of pet food, stop yourself and find a tool better suited to the job. Retraining yourself might take time, but when you are finally able to maintain you manicure for longer than an couple of days, you’ll be pleased.

Stay Out of the Water

One of the most challenging aspects of learning how to strengthen nails is avoiding water as much as possible. When our hands and nails are repeatedly submerged, it depletes the natural oils and the only way to replace them is through repeated moisturising throughout the day. Keeping a bottle of hand cream beside all the sinks in your home is an excellent way to remind yourself to replace the oils you washed down the drain. Another technique is ensuring you always wear rubber gloves when you are in contact with any cleaning fluids such as detergents or disinfectants. Not only will the water damage your nails, but the harsh chemicals can weaken the enamel as well.

Calling for Reinforcements

If you still find it difficult to strengthen nails naturally, you may need to invest in some expert nail care to help speed the job along. There are a multitude of products on the internet that promise ‘miracle growth’ or ‘longer nails in three days’ but the fact of the matter is, they all contain the same basic ingredients and many do not work. One product in stock here at RY that comes highly recommended by nail experts and customers alike is “Clarins Hand & Nail Treatment Cream”, which strengthens nails while moisturising and nourishing your hands. You will be surprised at the difference a higher quality product can make in the appearance of your nails.

There is no reason to resign yourself to a lifetime of unattractive nails. You are not genetically doomed and no damage is irreparable. All you need to do to have the manicure of your dreams is educate yourself on how to strengthen your nails and make a commitment to changing your bad habits. You never know… you could be frustrated with ragged cuticles today but with a little effort find yourself enjoying a full time career as a hand model a few months down the line!

Professional makeup artists agree that there is nothing that changes the shape of the face more than the eyebrows. To illustrate this point, think of models or certain actresses. The first step in their complicated transformation from male to female is waxing the brow out entirely and drawing a new one on. Brows give the face expression, beauty and obviously, extreme femininity when done correctly.

Learning how to pluck eyebrows properly isn’t a glamorous task. Many women quickly give up on doing it independently and pay professionals for monthly shaping and maintenance. However, with a few eyebrow shaping tips, a good pair of tweezers and a magnifying mirror, you can save yourself on monthly salon costs just by learning to do it yourself.

Create a Brow Blueprint

One of the worst things you can do is start randomly plucking and hope your eyebrows turn out all right. Experience tells us they won’t. Learning how to pluck eyebrows takes time and work. Grab a white eye pencil and a magnifying mirror and get ready to lay the groundwork to perfect brows. Lay the pencil against your nostril and point it straight toward your brows. Anything in between the brows needs to go. Use your white pencil to colour those offending hairs for later reference. Keeping the pencil against your nostril, point it toward the outermost corner of your eye. Anything beyond that point is also doomed to extinction and should be ‘whited out’ as well. Now, place the pencil at the right hand side of your iris. Where the pencil points upward is where your natural arch should occur. Use your white pencil to create a gentle tapering of the brow hair starting at this point, then stand back and take a look. If you followed the eyebrow shaping tips correctly, you should see the ‘skeleton’ of new brows almost guaranteed to flatter your face much more than a hasty pluck job.

Ice is Nice!

If you have a low pain tolerance, you will want to make some preparations in order to pluck eyebrows painlessly. The novice plucker will probably experience swelling, itching and may even find their eyes tearing a little. According to various experts, an easy way to prevent this is by applying ice to the eyebrow area in order to numb it. Some people swear by baby teething gel, a topical anaesthetic that temporarily dulls sensation in the area it’s applied to. It may seem like a lot of preparation, but you need to be able to concentrate so as to avoid any mistakes and the pain of plucking may cause your confidence to waver, resulting in some terrible brows for a terribly long time.

Once you learn how to pluck eyebrows, you never forget. In fact, more and more women and discovering it’s actually a very simple skill to acquire. Not only will you save up to six hundred dollars a year by doing it yourself, you will gain confidence to experiment with yet another aspect of your look and nothing is more beautiful than creativity. And remember – if plucking your eyebrows just isn’t your thing, you can always have them threaded. Be sure to visit our post entitled “What is Eyebrow Threading?” to learn more!