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The End of Pregnancy Doesn’t Mean End of Beauty: 4 Tips and Tricks to Try Before You Pop

31.5.13

End of Pregnancy Beauty The End of Pregnancy Doesnt Mean End of Beauty: 4 Tips and Tricks to Try Before You Pop

I’m back! For now at least A little hiatus was needed to prepare for the arrival of baby Rocco! All the sudden you turn around and you’re in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. The month of May included my baby shower, a wedding, setting up the baby’s nursery (aka our bedroom), and remodeling the kitchen and family room. No problem, right?

After the panic wore off, I kicked it into gear and am happy to say at 39 weeks tomorrow, we are just about ready.

To top it all off, the third trimester had a few surprises in store for me. My feet and legs swelled up to Nutty Professor proportions, my fingers were too fat for rings, heart burn, weak bladder, and I moved up a size in maternity clothes. My cute little bump was more like an awkward watermelon and far from cute. But thankfully, there are some beauty tips and tricks that I used to distract from how I really felt:

Contouring is your best friend. When your face is bloated and fuller than usual, a little contouring can go a long way. For a day, I use a bronzer along the sides of my face, underneath my cheek bones and along my jaw line. For a glam night out, I use a cream foundation stick about 4 shades darker than my normal skin tone to really make the cheek bones pop. Don’t forget to top off the cheek bones with highlighter! Try Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer, $51.00 and Iman Cosmetics Second to None Stick
Hubby and I (his personal drink rest) at a family wedding. Contouring and lashes were a must!

Foundation, $16
Accessorize. If there is any time to try clip on extensions or false lashes. Pregnancy is a great time to do it. They are super easy ways to turn up sex appeal.
Take advantage of the pregnancy ‘glow’. I haven’t had a break out on my face since my first trimester. I’m loving the clear skin I have right now and I’m saving my full coverage foundation for special occasions and using just a tinted moisturizer for day to day. My fav? NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, $42.
Work with those growing nails and try a different nail shape. My nails grew faster than I could cut them, so instead of fighting it, I decided to shape them into a stiletto shape. Better to try it out before the baby arrives!

Most important tip? Don’t give up! But stay comfortable—the last 4 weeks will be the longest weeks ever!

fat feet 300x300 The End of Pregnancy Doesnt Mean End of Beauty: 4 Tips and Tricks to Try Before You Pop

Swollen feet? Nothing a fresh mani and bejeweled sandals won’t cure.

FA1291616E2C1EFFDFE71FFF82805E89 The End of Pregnancy Doesnt Mean End of Beauty: 4 Tips and Tricks to Try Before You Pop

Spring into New Eyelid Primers!!

25.3.13

Spring is officially here! (Well depending on where you are). I love this time a year when you clean out your closets and your makeup kit to make room for new stuff. Primers are a must have in your kit. There’s no way around it. Here are 3 of my favorites you should try.

1. Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion Tube – Original : A sheer nude eye shadow primer that glides onto the skin. This primer disappears instantly and is the ultimate eye prep for smoother, more vibrant shadow and all-day wear with absolutely no creasing. This squeeze tube is limited to sephora only. {Retail $20}

2. Benefit-Stay Don’t Stray: This dual-action primer works 360 degrees around the eyes to make concealers and eye shadows stay put. Concealers and eye shadows stay vibrant and true, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it! Its lightweight, blendable and brightens eye area to minimize the appearance of fine lines, and comes in a universally flattering nude shade.
Hydrates with sodium hyaluronate to lock in moisture, fights signs of aging with vitamins C & E, and does not contain parabens.
It’s long-wearing to keep makeup looking fresh, locks on ALL concealers & eye shadows and prevents creasing of eye makeup. { Retail $26)

3. Too Faced Shadow Insurance: This is your full-coverage insurance policy against all fading, creasing, melting, blurring, oil slicked, and hard-to-blend eye shadow accidents. Our silicone based eye shadow primer transforms any eyeshadow into a perfectly blendable, color-drenched, intensified version of itself, then locks it down perfectly until you take it off. This soothing formula evens out the skintone on your lids and smoothes lines while securing a barrier between the oils of your skin and your makeup, so no shadow catastrophes will ever happen again.

What it is formulated without:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petrochemicals
{Retail $20}

Would love to hear so feedback after you try them!!

Author: Danielle Minnella www.danielleminnella.com

Glowing Into the Third Trimester and New Product Giveaway!!

14.3.13

28 weeks down and 12 weeks to go! I’ve entered the last trimester of pregnancy and I couldn’t be more excited to meet my little guy in just 3 months

I’ve also enjoyed the “pregnancy glow” that arrived after the first trimester. No more hormonal breakouts combined with eating well and maintaining an exercise routine have made me feel luminous through out my 2nd and into my third trimester.

I also make sure to care for my skin while pregnant. While I’ve given up certain products like retinol and salycic acid, I still make sure to cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize and protect my skin daily.

Enter POND’S® Luminous Line. I recently got to try out this line and have incorporated every product in the line in my skin care routine to further enhance my preggo glow. The line includes:

Wet Cleansing Towlettes- I’m exhausted these days and the towlettes are absolutely perfect when I’m too tired to wash my face, but want to remove all my makeup.
Cream Cleanser- a perfect complement for a cleansing brush. It’s gentle, but removes all the dirt and makeup from the day.
Daily Exfoliating Cleanser- On the days I don’t use a cleansing brush, the microbeads in this cleanser help to exfoliate my skin leaving it glowing and soft.
Luminous Moisture- I never ever leave the house without suncreen and this provides both moisture, SPF15 broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection, and a nice glow thanks to illuminating minerals.

If you check out POND’S on Facebook, you can enter their POND’S® 30-Day Luminous Photo Challenge for a chance to win a $500 Target gift card and more! From March 4 through April 2, women can upload pictures to the POND’S® Facebook page or share via Twitter or Instagram by using the hashtag #LuminousEffect. Visit POND’S® on Facebook to enter the “POND’S 30-Day Luminous Photo Challenge,” get tips on how to look luminous from Molly Sims, and to join the beauty conversation.

And a lucky reader will get to win all four products! Let us know what makes you feel luminous in a post and you could win. See details below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I participated in this sponsored campaign for One2One Network. I received product to facilitate my post and monetary compensation, but all opinions stated are my own.

Products of the Week 3.9.13

10.3.13

When compiling my group of products this week, I wanted to get outside the box a bit. We’ve covered eye creams, concealers, etc and they are fantastic, but today I want to show you some products that aren’t at your standard department store counter.

1. Make Up For Ever Aquarelle ($21 at Sephora.com).

This product is incredibly versatile. It is a liquid that can be used in a plethora of ways. I use it in my airbrush gun (for those fellow MUAs), I have used it straight out of the bottle with a liner brush, it can be used as eye shadow, etc. My recommendation: chose one of the lighter (or brighter!) colors and using your ring finger, dip your finger on the lid of the bottle and pat the color all over your lid, blending well. (Note: a LITTLE goes a LONG way, so start with a tiny amount). Then, using a liner brush, apply the black along the lash line to create a perfect winged cat eye. The color will last all day without touch ups!

Untitled 2 Products of the Week 3.9.13

2. Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in # 13- Warm Beige ($23 at Sephora.com).

The Aqua Creams from MUFE are one of the longest lasting products I have found to date. I keep this shade (#13) in my kit and use it as a highlighter for the entire face. My recommendation: Dip your ring finger into the cream and apply it to the top of your cheekbones, your inner corners of your eyes, brow bones, cupids peek (the top, middle of your top lip), and collar bones. The effect cannot be seen when looking straight at the face when close up, but when the light hits those places, it bounces off and you have the appearance of glowing skin. I use this on ALL my brides and often in photo shoots. The glow that is created is simply gorgeous.

3. MAC #217 Blending Brush ($23 at MacCosmetics.com).

When applying eye shadow the the crease, it is so important to blend blend blend. If you do no blend properly, you have a dark, crisp line just above your brow bone that looks messy. The solution? This brush! I do not use a lot of MAC products and tend to favor Make Up For Ever products, but when browsing my local MAC store, I cam across this brush and could not pass it up. My recommendation: Apply you contoured eye look as usual (lighter color on the lids, darker color in the crease, etc). When you have applied all your colors, use this brush (clean, with no product on it) and using a firm hand, blend all the lines until they are buffed to perfection. You will find many uses for this brush, but this is my favorite!

4. Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation SPF 15 ($65 at SpaceNK.com).

I am completely in love with the entire Ellis Faas line- the performance, the pigmentation, the presentation, the storage, etc. I love it! One product I absolutely cannot live without is the foundation pen. Now let me preface with $65 is quite a bit of money for foundation, but you do get a refill with it. So it ends up being twice as much as the pen can hold. Being that I only use the pen for under eye concealer, I have found it lasts me a very long time- months. I have used their concealer as well and I love it for blemishes and such, but there is just something about the Skin Veil Foundation that gives me the perfect coverage for my under eyes. My recommendation: pump once every two days (or two applications), drag the brush back and forth under your eyes to spread the product and then with your ring finger, blend. It melts into your skin beautifully and covers any hyper pigmentation under the eyes.

I hope you love these products as mush as I do! If you try them, please let us know your thoughts