Red Lips Green Heart

You know those teeny tiny little safety pins that are sometimes used to attach a sales tag to you clothes? Here’s a great way to reuse them: Pin a safety pin in the seam of a clingy dress or skirt and it will keep away static cling!

Bangs are everywhere, on short and long hair styles, on straight and curly hair…Here’s how to tame your bangs so that they lay how you want them to, even if you have a cowlick. The crisscross motion she talks about is key: it is what overrides the hairs natural inclination to lay to one side or the other. How? by confusing your hair so that it just gives in and does what you want it to. You can’t get great hair without first breaking it’s spirit. True story.

Learn How To Do Bangs like Eva Scrivo from evascrivo.com on Vimeo.

Fast. Easy. Cheap. No, I’m not talking smack about that one girl in high school. These are the three reasons I love false lashes. Talk about an instant beauty boost!! They’re fast to put on, and instantly add a bit of glamour to your look. False lashes are easy to apply, after a few practice runs you’ll be a pro. And they’re cheap, ranging from $2.00 to $10.00 for a single pair of lashes, so they can fit into everyone’s budget. Perfect for any special occassion or for just any time you want your eyes to really “pop”, this video shows you just how easy it is to have long, lucious lashes in minutes.

here’s links to the specific lashes and glue used in the video.

Very few men and absolutely no women look good in a mustache. True story. And the best way for women to eliminate the hair on their upper lip is by waxing. Shaving is not a good option as it cuts the hairs at the base (at their widest and coarsest point) so it grows in quickly and stubbly and very noticably. Bleaching is an option for some, but only if your hair is very very fine and you don’t mind putting bleaching agents right on your skin…I’m not a big fan of this option. Electrolysis is painful, time consuming, costly (as repeated sessions are necessary) and can cause little white bumps on the irritated follicles. Laser is a great option but a pricey one too.


Waxing, if done on a regular basis (every 4 weeks), over time will reduce the amount of hair permanently. And since the hair is being pulled out by the root, it takes longer to grow back and when it does, it comes in soft and fine. To be its most effective, waxing should be done every 4 weeks and not touched in between. No tweezing, no shaving, no nothing…just waxed once every 4 weeks…this gets all the hairs in that area on the same growth cycle (since they are all being pulled out at the same time!). After a few months of this, you will have a few weeks of hairlessness and then a week of the hair growing in just long enough to wax again.
And the longer you do this, the less hair that will grow back each time.


These days, everyone is cutting back on expenses where they can, and while lip waxes may be a neccesity, having someone else do it for you may not. Everyone is in the market to save some green…just don’t sacrafice your skin in the process.

If you are going to do your own waxing, lip waxing is a safe place to start (save brows and bikini for when you have some waxing experience under your belt…and after someone professional has already waxed your bikini or brow). I prefer soft wax (removed with a muslin strip) to hard wax (hardens and is pulled off as a whole).


Start by wiping upper lip with a cotton ball soaked with astrigent. This eliminates excess oil so wax will stick better to the hairs. Then apply some body powder (talc free, of course) which will absorb any excess moisture and keep wax from sticking to your skin too much. Wax small patches at a time (one to two inches at most) as hair will lift better and it will be less painful (this does not apply to waxing your legs…it would take FOREVER!). Wax should be very warm but not super hot (test on the inside of your wrist before applying to your upper lip) and always apply the wax in the same direction as the hair is growing. Then apply muslin strip, pressing down in the same direction as the hair growth. Let wax cool for 5 seconds or so. Finally, hold skin tight (pull taught at bottom, from where you are about to pull from) and pull muslin up in the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth. It’s important to pull parallel to the skin (not lifting up and away) as any lifting motion when pulling the strip can peel off the top laying of skin, aka “lifting the skin”….this is not good and will leave you with red, raw skin. So pull the strip off parallel to the skin, more of a “peeling back” motion than a “lifting up” motion, in one swift move.


I’m not going to lie to you: waxing is going to hurt. After all, you are pulling loads of little hairs out by the root all at once. But take heart: the first time is always the worst, it gets easier after that…the more you do it, the less hair there is to pull out and the more your skin gets used to it. And tons of other women do it, you can too.


Wax at night, before bed, as this gives your skin overnight to calm down from any resulting redness or irritation. Some people find putting ice or a cold washcloth over a freshly waxed spot helps too.


My friend Emily does a shot of whiskey right before she waxes….swears she doesn’t feel a thing.


Here’s a quick video for those that like a visual:

Want to shine up all your bling without all the harsh chemicals? Try this super easy trick. Line a glass casserole dish with aluminum foil and place your tarnished jewelry on the foil, leaving a little room between each piece. Sprinkle it all with baking soda and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 10 magical minutes and abracadabra, everything is shiny again! Okay, it’s not actually magic (the tarnish gets pulled to the aluminum foil) but the bottom line is it works. Ta da.

Thick brows are where it’s at. Thin brows are VERY hard to pull off…they tend to look harsh, overplucked and instantly age you. Spend a minute flipping through any beauty magazine and take a close look at the brows in both the ads and the features…very few thin brows (with the exception of pencil thin models with teeny heads). Thicker brows give nice definition and framing to the eye area, make the face seem thinner, and add a youthful touch.


Check out this video with great beauty tips on how to temporarily get a thicker brow look, or fill in while you are growing your brows in.

I thought this was a cute idea, but since my hair is too short to try, I turned to my friend Sarah into a guinnea pig. Her hair is similar to the model’s, long, layered, and on the thin side (not too bulky) so it worked great on her. If anyone with thick or curly hair gives this a shot, I would love to know how it worked for you!

I love the look of red lips for any special event, especially around the holidays. They are a little too dramatic for me for everyday wear, but I know lots of people who pull it off equally brilliantly at a party and toodling through the grocery store. Choosing the right shade of red for your skin tone is crucial. The general rule of thumb is if you have warm, tawny skin, your most flattering shade of red will have an orange, yellow, or brown base. If you have a fair complexion with cool, rosy undertones, try a blue-based red.

I think the most fool proof way to do it is with help from the girls at the makeup counters. Let them help you find your perfect shade. Invest in that one and if you want to go less expensive on the next tube, you can take it to the store with you to match the tone. It’s worth mentioning that while blue based reds will make your teeth look whiter, it’s only a good thing if the blue based red actually compliments your skin tone, which it won’t if you have warm skin tone.

Since all reds tend to bleed, you will need a lip liner whenever you decide to go red, whereas you don’t have to with other lip colors. And finally, remember that it’s all about balance: bold red lips play best with neutral cheeks and eyes. Wanna see how the M.A.C. girls do it? Here ya go: