Ten Things I Learned in NYC

1. Heels are always great.
   It doesn't matter if you're wearing a ball gown or jeans and a hoodie. Heels look great with any outfit.
2. The old “pick one” doesn't matter anymore.
   I'm sure that everyone that loves makeup has been told at least once to pick only feature to focus on. But a smoky eye, great contour and highlight, and a bright red lip look wonderful together.
3. Skinny jeans aren't the only jeans.
   You can wear any kind of jean, and still create a great look. I only saw about 50% of the girls I saw there were wearing skinny jeans.
4. Age doesn't matter.
   Who says a 80 year old woman can't have purple hair? Who says a five year old can't wear band shirts? If you love it, wear it no matter how old you are.
5. All colors are for all year.
   I've never understood the point behind the rules for wearing white. White is the color of snow, do feel free to go camo and wear white during winter.
6. Go easy on the eyeliner.
   The thick black eyeliner look is starting to come back, and I think that's wonderful. But be careful! Well you can use makeup to draw attention to many of your facial features, too much eyeliner can really draw away from the rest of your makeup.
7. Don't be afraid to use a jacket.
   Some people seem to be afraid to cover up their outfit with a jacket or a coat, but it can actually add a lot to the look.
8. Show off your natural beauty.
   Curly, straight, skinny, curvy... you were born with it, so why try to hide it? Don't hide behind hair irons and baggy clothes, show off what your have and people will love it! Only change for your own fun.
9. The subtle art of jewelry.
   Jewelry is great, but not so much jewelry you blind everyone around you. Put on whatever you want, and then spin around in front of a mirror. Anything that catches your eye need to come off.
10. No one cares.
    I saw people there with ball gowns, I saw people in jeans, I saw people in sweats. If you love clothing, hair, makeup, or all three, you go for it. But if you don't like it, don't bother! No one will think less of you, I promise.
    
    

Spa Day Ideas

Hey guys, Ruth Anna here! I love spa days, So here are a few of my favorite ideas.

Food:

Start by making some treats! You'll want to get to your face masks and nail polish as soon as you can, so here's a fast and easy recipe for cookies, and they're also mush healthier than normal spa day treats!

You'll need:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg

1 . Mix the peanut butter and sugar together in a large bowl .

2. Mix the egg in a small bowl and add to the peanut mix.
3. Different peanut butter brands have different levels of oil, so it the mix is looking too wet add in a couple more spoonfuls of sugar or a different peanut butter with less oil.
4. Roll the dough into balls and put them on a cookie sheet. They spread out a lot in the oven, so give them space! Flatten the dough out with a fork.
5. Heat the oven to 350o and put the cookies in. Cook them until they get evenly brown. Watch them as they cook because they burn easily. Mine take around 10 minutes.
6. Let cook and enjoy!

Face Masks:

Face masks from the store can be pretty expensive! So here are a couple DIY face masks you can make at home.

Green Tea Face Mask:

This one isn't really your typical face mask, but it still works really well!

You'll Need:

• A washcloth
• Two green tea packets
• a cup
• water

1. Boil about a cup of water. If you can't boil the water just stick a microwave cup full of water in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it gets hot.
2. Stick in the two green tea packets and let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Throw away the packets. Put your washcloth into the tea and let it soak for 5 minutes. Green tea doesn't stain, but use a old washcloth if you want to be safe.
4. Rub the washcloth gently on your face. Again, I rub carefully for 5 minutes, but you can do it for whatever amount of time. Green tea helps shrink pours and brightens your face.
    

Aloe Vera Face Mask:

You'll need:

- Aloe Vera

1. This face mask is insanely simple. All you need to do is use your fingers or a makeup sponge to spread the aloe all over your face. When I use this face mask I normally leave it on all night, but you can also wash it off after 10-15 minutes.
   

Ice:

1. Hold ice to any parts of your face that are broken out to shrink your pours.

Exfoliating Scrub-

When I make this I normally make enough to use for a while, but you can also make enough for one time. The recipe is simple.

You'll Need:

• Sugar
• Coconut Oil
• Peppermint extract

1. Soften, but don't melt the coconut oil.
2. Mix the oil and the sugar together,
3. Add in drops of peppermint oil until you get the scent you want.
4. Rub it on your skin gently.
   

Moisturizer:

1. Moisturizer is a beautiful thing... But not for all skin types! Check any moisturizer or face scrub you use to make sure it's OK for your skin.
   

Feet:

Your feet are hard to take care of in the fall/winter time. Here are a couple foot soak ideas to keep them nice!

Mouthwash Rinse:

Mouthwash is not something you think to use on your feet, but it's actually great for them!

You'll Need:

• I cup mouthwash
• Basin
• Water

1. Fill your basin with hot water. You can get big and cheap plastic bowls at the dollar store to use for this.
2. Pour a cup of mouthwash into the water. Give the mix 5-10 minutes to mix and cool down to the right temperature.
3. Soak your feet until the water gets cold.
   

Rose Rinse:

Rose's are beautiful, and they're also great for your skin!

You'll Need:

• 1 tablespoon powdered milk
• 2 tablespoons unmade oatmeal
• Dried roses
• Basin of water

1. Mix the powdered milk and oatmeal together.
2. Break up as many roses as you want into small pieces and add them into the mix. The more roses you add, the stronger the smell will be.
3. Add the mix to the hot water and let your feet soak.
   

Bath Bomb Rinse:

1. You can break up old bath bombs into hot water in a basin and use it as a foot soak.

Lotion:

1. After you're done with your rinses, lotion your feet really well and put on a pair of fuzzy socks for the rest of your spa day.
   

Hair:

Honey hair mask:

Hair can get broken and damaged by too much product and heat. So here's a all natural hair mask that will help repair your hair. The amount of honey and cinnamon should always be a 1:2 ratio, so you can make as much as you want as your hair gets longer and thicker.

You'll Need:

• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• A towel

1. Mix the honey and cinnamon together and slather all over your hair.
2. Wrap your hair into a towel to stop the mask from going everywhere.
3. Let sit for 15 minutes. Wash your hair well.

Other Ideas:

• Use eye pads and nose strips
• Do a mani and pedi.
• Put the hair mask on your face! It works just as well as a face mask.
• Put cucumbers all over your face, or blend a cucumber to make a face mask.
• Take a nap with a face mask on.
• Put on a movie or some music.
• Invite some friends over for your spa day!

Things to take note of:

• Don't put anything on your face you're allergic to. You can even do a patch test the day before by putting a bit of each product on your arm and letting it sit for a day. Don't use the mix if you get a bad reaction on your arm.
• More than one or two masks on can just make your skin worse. Don't overdo it!

Have you guys used any of these spa day ideas, or are you planning to anytime soon? Let us know in the comments! And if you have any other spa day ideas, or any blogs posts you want to see, put that in the comments too!

Emma's Health Ideas

I think being healthy is a very important part in beauty and can give you a real vibrance that is hard to get any other place. I've been on a health kick for a little less than a week and as I'm going, I've been doing excersize and eating healthy food. But I've really been craving something like cake or sweet bread (in this short amount of time, yes. Probably since I've been binge watching The Great British Baking Show waay too much this week). Even though I don't like bananas, this gluten free, sugar free banana bread recipe was fantastic and super healthy and kept my cravings down without cheating. Usually gluten free isn't the way I'd go. Just use normal flour. But when the pantry is running low, sometimes you've got to MacGiver it and use rice flour. Usually rice flour gives the batter a grainy consistancy that is really thick and close. But this had a really great texture and wasn't too grainy. Best part is, it didn't taste any different than normal banana bread. Will definitely be making this in the future (would've put a picture but it was gone super quickly :D). The recipe is at the bottom of this post.

So like I said, I've been trying to get in shape. But it's hard to get protein without having too much fatty, bready foods. Here's a menu to give you ideas, this is basically what I've had every day but with alterations to flavours and stuff like that.

*Breakfast*
Smoothy with frozen berries, spinach (can't even taste it and gives great nutrition), coconut milk, cottage cheese (make sure to blend this in really well. This is your protein) or cream cheese for protein count as well. (if you usually had cereal for breakfast, a great counteract to that is homeade granola. Just toss some oats, maple syrup and cinnamon together, bake until crisp at 350 degrees, cool and add dried fruit--serve with either cows milk or coconut milk, tastes great)

*Lunch*
Grilled chicken breast cut up over a salad

*Snack*
Chopped almonds and dried fruit

*Dinner*
BBQ meat with iceberg wedge salad sprinkled with feta and sliced, dried apricots (wedge salad is just cutting the iceberg head in half, then that half into fourths and just eating it in a big chunk).

I'd love to hear any excersizing tips as well. The best one I've gotten so far was--make a playlist of songs that you aren't allowed to listen to except when you're excersing. Any other tips? Meals?

Thanks for reading, stay classic and see you next time :).


*Gluten free, sugar free banana bread*

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about four--best if previously frozen and then defrosted)
2 tablespoons of natural maple syrup (the legit stuff)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup chopped nuts
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup melted butter

Add bananas, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add eggs and mix well. In a large bowl. mix rice flour, nuts, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add banana mixture alternating with oil and mix at low speed in an electric mixer, or by hand till combined. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
This makes one medium size loaf. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese. (can be used for a breakfast or just late night munchies. 

Busy Beauty

Hey guys, Ruth Anna here, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm super busy this year. I mean, I'm writing this blog post in my free writing time for school. I have school, theater, social stuff... It's busy. I well I can go out without makeup on, I don't really want to. Makeup is fun! So here are 5 beauty tips for busy days.

1. Invest in brushes. And that doesn't mean that you have to spend $40 on a brush. I personally spend $13 on a set of artist's brushes at Hobby Lobby that work just as well. I just mean that it can make a hugs difference when you don't have to worry about two eye shadows mixing on the brush or a streaky crease.
   

   

   
   
2. Get a makeup bag I have three full drawers of makeup, and I have the first world problem of not being able to find the product that I want. So take all the makeup that you use, and put it in a makeup bag you can get to easily.
   

   
3. Do as much as you can in the car. Obviously this one isn't for those who drive! And I'm not telling you to try and do liquid eyeliner in the car without a mirror well you're moving. But you can do lipstick or brush your hair. If you trust yourself enough you can even put on blush or bronzer. To be honest, I barely ever put on shoes before I go out to the car anymore. It takes much less time to put them on in the car.
   

   

   
   
4. Give yourself an hour. I almost always have a bit of time on Saturday or Sunday where I don't have anything to do. I'm not going to lie, I normally spend that time reading or watching a movie. But well I'm watching a movie I paint my nails, or a put on a face mask well I read. I don't paint my nails every day, I take once or twice a week to really take some time on my nails, skin, and hair.
   

   

   
   
5. Plan your outfits and put them somewhere easy to get to. This kind of ties into point 2 and point 4. In the time you give yourself, also plan your outfits and makeup for the next day or week. Write down what you want, or even better put all your stuff together. Then put everything where you can get to it in the morning well you're still half asleep. If you can get into your closet easily, that's great. I can't. So I take out my clothes and put them on my vanity along with my makeup bag.
   

   

   
   

Another outfit and Food

Hey everyone, how'd you're first day of school go? It's Emma, and I have one more food in lunches thing.

Alright. Food. There's one very very important thing I forgot to mention.

In your lunch, PACK ENOUGH OF IT! And I don't mean pack tons of bread and crackers. That's not protein. If you don't want to get home dizzy, almost puking, have a lot of protein. You know your balance, but after the summer, you start to forget how much to put in and what is something extra.

Don't worry about extras. Here are some ways to add extra protein in without being overly zealous.

1. If you pack a wrap or a sandwich, put in extra of the good stuff. More peanut butter than jelly, a little bit more chicken in a wrap, just make sure you have lots of protein.

2. Add more nuts to your trail mix.

3. If your school is nut free, pack an avocado. It's may seem like a vegetable (or fruit, whatever), but it has the highest protein of all vegetables (or fruits, whatever).

4. High protein foods are simple to add into your meals/snacks. Cheese sticks, peanut butter, yogurt, eggs (especially the whites), nuts and seeds (even watermelon seeds!), lentils, quinoa, they're all things that have a lot of protein that are easy to sub in for other things. Think avocado, cheese, nuts and seeds can all be put on a salad. Apples can be paired with peanut butter, mix either lentils or quinoa with chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper is amazing.

Here's the outfit for this post. I think it's really cute :D

Remember that whatever you have in your closet is better than going and buying all new things. So look at these things. They're all very basic, but when paired, they are an adorable outfit. You probably have most of these components already.

(Oh and quick cheating tip, you're thinking, $40... I don't know about those boots. They're not gonna fit a very long time. Super cheap, almost identical, knock off version of the boots can be found at Rue21 [thank your lucky stars this store exists] for a little cheaper. Hit the boot sale at Rue right around the end of winter, they're on sale that time of year. I got a pair for $8 :D. TJ maxx also has the boots for cheaper if you're lucky enough to find them when you go:)

Start for the School Year: Keeping it Beautiful and First Day Outfits

Hey everyone it's Emma. Below are some tips on staying fit over the school year. Sometimes it's hard to fall into the habit of packing lunches that are less than healthy and snacks that are even worse. And when you get home from school, you're worn out and tired. How are you going to get in your exercise in if you're leaving early and getting back late?

Ideas:

1. Lunch packing is a huge pain. Even if you don't have any dieting restrictions (either medical or self induced). What do you pack if the only thing that you can find is a hot pocket and leftover pizza? Try this. Have three parts to your lunch. First the side. Pack something like sweet potato chips from Trader Joes, veggie straws, apple slices, something snacky. Then the main bit. Take a head of iceberg lettuce and peel one big leaf off. Fill that with chicken salad or something of your own concoction. Bake a sweet potato at home, a salad with nuts and cheese, chicken breast cut into slices etc. Whatever you take, make sure that it's full of protein so you're not starving throughout the rest of the day. Then the last thing you want is something like a fruit. Apples, oranges, bananas (which are my personal hatred but that's just me) or blueberries.

2. Snacking throughout the day is tough as well. In between periods you will probably want something. I'm planning on keeping snacks in my locker that are non perishable like granola bars, dried fruit with almonds, stuff like that. So when you feel hungry it's like your fridge away from home.

3. Take a jog around the campus, or if you don't want to get sweaty before your next class, just take a walk to get your blood moving.

Hope this helps you get ideas.

First day impressions are the worry for every girl. Should you dress it up? Down? Bright or should you do something simple?

Go with your style. Whatever you're comfortable wearing, wear that. Here are two adorable outfits I put together that are really cute and each have a different style. One is more casual, the other less. :) Please comment on what you plan on wearing :D

Travel Makeup

First off, my blogger account is being weird, and for some reason it won't let anyone subscribe to any of my blogs... I'm trying to fix it, but well I'm working on it, could you leave a comment down below if you're reading our blog and plan to subscribe once I have it all worked out? We would love to see how many people are reading this blog! Thanks guys! And of course, if anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know!

I went to Boston this last week, and of course I had to look all over Pinterest for the most random beauty hacks ever. And I actually found some great ones that worked really well for me! I also found/created a lot well I was on my trip.

1. It was so hot in Boston, and I became I sweaty mess. I found myself using tons of powder on my face, and that's really not good for your skin. It also made me look really pale! So I finally kinda got in on the trend of baking my face. Baking your face is using powder, but only in certain places on you face. I start by putting on my concealer (Wet and Wild) under my eyes, on the corners of my nose, and on all the other places I need it. Then I take a contour brush (Cover FX) and really pack on translucent powder (Hard Candy) under my eyes, on my chin, on my forehead, and down my nose. I then do my eye makeup well the powder sits on my face. After 5-10 minutes I brush the extra powder around my face with a fluffy brush (Ben Nye). This makes the powder stay for much longer.
2. I spend way too much money on makeup for it to break in my bag. So I took my compacts and put cotton balls on top of the product. Then if my suitcase gets thrown around, the cotton will pad the makeup and not let it break.
3. On my trip I brought a concealer (Wet and Wild), a regular eye shadow primer (Hard Candy), and a shimmer eye shadow primer (Wet and Wild). I actually only used the concealer well the two eye shadow primers just sat in my makeup bag taking up space. See what you can use in two different ways. I used the extra concealer I picked up as an eye shadow primer.
4. This one seems obvious, but it actually isn't to a lot of people. Bring travel size beauty products! And that doesn't mean that you have to spend a ton of money on a travel size shampoo or something. You can pick up empty travel size bottles at the dollar store or really cheaply at Walmart or Walgreens and fill it up with one of the shampoos you already have. You can also bring travel size makeup. I always watch for a deal at makeup stores like Sephora and Ulta that gives you a travel size product as a sample with the full size product you buy. Lines like Urban Decay and Too Faced or stores like Sephora and Ulta have free samples with any order at checkout.
5. Don't bring your most expensive or favorite makeup. I didn't want my $50 eye shadow to break on the plane, so instead I brought a travel size sample from Clinique that I got for free. I mostly brought drugstore makeup that I don't wear every day and that can be replaced easily and cheaply. Things can be broken easily or your luggage can be lost.
6. If you forget your makeup bag, or something breaks, there are makeup stores in airports. In two of the airports I was at I found a full size M.A.C store, and I found a bunch of Benefit Cosmetics vending machines in the airports I was at, and those vending machines were probably the best thing that happened to me during the whole trip :) ! There of course will also be a Walmart or a Ulta wherever you're going, but if you need a touch up well you're on the plane, don't panic!
   
   
   Does anyone else have any travel beauty hacks? Leave them in the comments section! I hope to have some pictures up of some awesome vintage looking stuff I found and makeup vending machines sometime in the next week.