D.I.Y - Chic Metallic Garden Flamingo

Hello friends,

       First off I must apologize for being so rotten about the challenge, I have failed miserably. I will explain why, a few weeks back, my cheek literally swelled to the point where it looked like I had a golf ball stuck in my cheek. I ended up on anti biotic for two weeks. Anywho, my dental appointment is this week and I DREAD going to the dentist. I know I have some teeth problems I need to work through and I don't like hearing about it all the time. That is why I hate the dentist. Anywho, I have spent the last two weeks mentally preparing myself for Thursdays ordeal, so my mind has been pre- occupied.

   I decided to share a weekend DIY with you guys today. Lately, I have been into gardening. To be 100% honest, I used to hate the thought of gardening. You know, the worms, the dirt, the bugs, yik!! Anyways, I recently planted a hydrangea and a rose bush, which I am super excited about. I wanted to add some lawn ornaments but my mom refused to let me have the ones I wanted. What I wanted was a lawn flamingo but without the tack factor. I used pinterest and found a really cute set that were a metallic rose gold. They looked super chic but cost my right arm so I decided to come up with a DIY. This project is super easy and only takes a day to do. So, without further ado, let's get this thang started...

What you will need:

- A plastic garden flamingo (I got mine at the dollar store for around $3.00 but it's a little smaller than I would have liked. I would check home depot for a.better one)

- A can of gold, rose gold or silver spray paint (I used the shade nickel with a satin finish) Also, make sure this is an outdoor paint.

- Old newspapers

- A garden (duh!)

First things first, if your flamingo comes with the legs already attached, remove legs. Mine did not, so this step was unnecessary. 

Next, lay down some old news papers down to protect the surface you are working on.

Lay your flamingo down on its side. You will need to paint each side separately. Be patient!!

Shake the can for a good minute or so to get the pigments nice and mixed up. 

Spray the flamingo in sweeping motions until covered. Note: Depending on the brand of spray paint, you may need to build the color on. Allow to dry for about 25 minutes. Flip and repeat. You will need to allow it to dry for a good two hours in between coats. Mine was covered in about 3 coats. Hot pink is super hard to cover so you can still see the slight hints of pink when harsh light hits it. 

I let it dry overnight to make sure it's good and dry. Reattach those body members and stake in your garden. 

I staked it in front of my rose bush. This gives the garden a chic Alice in Wonderland vibe. 

Bonus: Here is a little sneak peek of a pot of miniature roses I picked up at Walmart. 

Hope you enjoyed this fun little garden DIY. 

Until next time loves...

How to clean & disinfect your makeup brushes ♥

Hello Beautiful People!

            In honor of my day off, I decided to clean my makeup brushes. If you watched my January Favorites video, you know they needed a good bath. I get alot of people asking me how to wash and disinfect makeup brushes. The best part of this is that it doesn't take a store bought brush cleaner to clean your brushes properly. I did post a video on youtube a while back but since things always change, I have updated this since then. This way of washing your brushes take a few simple ingredients, ingredients that you can pick up at the dollar store even.

D.I.Y Home Facial

Hey All you beautiful people,

              Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. I have a treat for you just in time for a lovely Sunday spa day and it's all about how to give yourself a sweet facial to clean out those pores and reveal glowy squeaky clean skin. Please keep in mind that the products mentioned are products that I prefer for my skin type. Use whatever works for yours. So shall we begin?

Step #1- Clip Back Your Hair
This step is actually the most obvious thing ever but I thought I would mention it. You really want to get your hair out of your face so you can work tangle-free on your face. I like using a turbie twist which is a turban style head towel. This really keeps my hair away from my face.

Step #2- Cleanse
Cleanse your skin thoroughly with your favorite facial wash. This is going to get rid of all the surface dirt and oil. I like to use it with a electric facial brush. I use the Olay Fresh Effects Cleanser with the beyond belief electric facial brush.

Step #3- Exfoliate
Exfoliate your skin with a medium grain scrub. You don't want anything too harsh but you don't want anything too fine. I would not recommend microdermabrasion type scrubs as they are too fine for a facial. You want something to really get rid of that dead skin. I like to use the Queen Helene Mint Julep Facial Scrub from Sally's.

Step #4- Steam those pores
 Put on a kettle full of water and bring it to a simmer. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Pour into a metal bowl or pot. You can boil in a pot and use it directly from there but transferring it makes it less likely that you will hit your chest and burn yourself.  Sit with your face hovering over the hot water, place a towel over your head and slightly over the bowl to create a "steam room" for your face. Sit like this for 5-10 minutes. The steam will open the pores get all that guck out of your skin. And create a nice surface for our next step.

Step #5- Extract
Alot of bloggers and pro say that your should leave this to the professionals but I have something else to say. My nose collects quite a few blackheads (yuck!) and although after exfoliating and steaming, most are gone, I still have a few deeper stubborn ones that I like to get out. I use the tips of my fingers, NOT MY NAILS, to gently squeeze the surfaced blackheads. They usually pop out quite easily after steaming, as the pores have been enlarged. After this, I wipe my face clean with a clean warm damp cloth. Do not use a cool cloth because the cold will snap the pores shut and make it hard for the next step to do it's job.

Step #6- Mud Mask
This is my favourite step because you get to sit back and relax. Apply your favourite mud mask to your face and neck. After this, sit back and relax for about 5-10 minutes. I like to pop on some relaxing tunes and just lay down on my bed. The mask will settle in the open pores and really kill all that dirt and oil. Rinse the mask off with cool water to help the pores close. My favourite mask is the Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask.

Step #7- Shut those Pores
This step is pretty crucial since you want to avoid dirt and oil clogging your pores again. Take an ice cube and run it through your hands to melt it a little bit. Slowly run the ice cube across your face. Focus on areas where your pores seem to be larger. The cold ice will help to shrink the pores and avoid dirt getting into them. Pat Dry with a clean towel.

Step #8-Serum and Moisturizer
Apply your favourite serum and follow with your favourite moisturizer. Do not skip moisturizer! This is going to help to restore the oils that may have been stripped. If you have oily skin, this is also important because if your body detects that your skin is lacking in oils, it will produce more oils! I like the Beyond Belief Oil Control Serum and The Clean and Clear gel moisturizer.

You should now have smooth, glowy, clean skin! Follow this with your manicure routine for a full-on spa day/night.

Coming later this week, we get an interview with an up-and-coming makeup artist who will give us some makeup tips your can take to the bank. Stay tuned!!!

Have a great night!

XXO Sarah

DIY Makeup Brush Holder

Hey everyone.

     This is just a super quick post about a homemade makeup brush holder I made and it literally cost $3 to make. I was sick of having all my brushes floating around in my makeup bag. I couldn't find the ones I needed and I would lose them too. I decided to throw together a quick and cheap holder similar to the ones they have at Sephora. I basically bought a cheap vase from the dollar store and bought a cheap bag of clear acrylic vase filler. It's as simple as tearing open the bag of filler and pouring it into the vase and voila! You get this...

 

It's nothing special but it sure does make it easier to organize my makeup bag. Easiest thing I've ever made.

 

 

In other news...

 

 

Decided to get artsy with my nail polish the other night and came up with this...

 

 

 

Pulse nails!!!!! I saw a pic of similar nails on Pinterest and thought I'd try. Anywho, that's my mini post.