Dre Does a Breathing Exercise

If you're like me you lead a pretty busy and fast paced life that can lead to crazy amounts of stress. Now sometimes we can sit down and take a look at everything we are doing to reduce the amount of stress we feel but more times than none, stress is unavoidable. For this reason, we need to focus our attention on managing the stress. Which brings me to today's post. Breathing exercises are one of the quickest ways to change our energy, anxiety, and stress level. Taking a few moments to calm ourselves and focus our attention differently can help you manage the stress you are feeling and turn your energy into something more productive. 

This leads me to today's post. I personally struggle with being able to turn my brain off when it's time for bed or focusing on something else. Even if I'm tired, my brain doesn't like to stop going over what needs to get done, what bills need to be paid, etc...so I can easily give myself way more anxiety than is necessary. 

If you find yourself having a similar problem I think you'll love this breathing technique I learned in school. You can either do it sitting in a chair or laying in bed. All you do is place your thumb and ring finger on each of your nostrils. This leaves your middle and index fingers to be placed in between your brows. Now use your ring finger to close one nostril and inhale deeply through only the nostril under your thumb. Before you exhale open the ring finger nostril and close the nostril under your thumb and exhale through the ring finger nostril. Now inhale again without changing anything, and before you exhale close the ring finger nostril and open the thumb nostril. Take about slow and deep 10 breaths this way, alternating which nostrils you leave open and closed. Depending on your lung strength you may need to start with only a few breaths so you don't get light headed, but you can work up to more breaths with time. 

This breathing technique is amazing for us overthinkers because it forces us to concentrate on opening and closing our nostrils (which sounds silly when written...haha) instead of worrying about tasks and problems. I love to do it before bed to relax myself, but if I ever find myself overthinking something during the day I'll take a 5 minute break and focus on my breathing.

Let me know if you try this and what you think about it! I'd like to start incorporating more stress management techniques into my blog so leave me a comment below if you like this idea or have any of your own! 

Have a beautiful and stress-free day,

Dre

Dre Does a Quick Fix: Broken Powders

Good quality makeup is expensive and if you're willing to shell out the money to have it, the disappointment is huge when we either break it or lose it. It's no secret that I'm absolutely obsessed with the tarte Amazonian Clay blushes. After I bought my first in the shade Natural Beauty for a pretty penny ($26 to be exact), I was broken hearted when I accidentally dropped it on the bathroom floor and it shattered. Luckily it was closed so I put my good old rubbing alcohol to good use to save my favorite little guy. Here is a picture of the sad broken blush beforehand.

And here is a picture of everything you need (however, the quarter and tissue are optional and you'll see why later).

You can certainly use a normal shaped Q-Tip, but I have these on hand in my makeup kit for touch ups, so I prefer them for this quick fix. The pointed end is great for breaking up the broken pieces and the flat end is great for smoothing the product before you let it dry. I got 75 of these guys for $1.79 at drugstore.com so click here for the link to these exact ones if you're interested. They're great for any touch ups or removal when doing your eye makeup too. But let's get back to fixing makeup! 

So the first step is to break up the product into as fine of a powder as you can. Be careful because depending on the product it can fly everywhere. 

The picture above is using just the pointed end and the one below shows how well the flat end works too. This is about how broken down you need it. The more broken down, the easier it will be to mix.

Next, pour the rubbing alcohol into the pan a few drops at a time. Be careful because you don't want to add too much. I ended up using about a capful for this size of a product. You can also use this method to set any mineral or loose products in a pan, but be careful because the finer the product is milled the less amount of rubbing alcohol you need to add. So start with a few drops at a time. The flat end is good for mixing it. The idea is to get a thick paste that you can easily spread but isn't too runny.

Now it's time to smooth it out. Using the Q-Tip's flat end, I smooth everything so it looks nice and even. This is where the quarter and tissue come in. If you want a smoother finish, simply wrap the quarter in the tissue and gently press the product to smooth (Shown below). 

Once your product is as smooth as you can get it, simply clean up the edges and let it dry! It should only take a few hours and then it will be ready to use again! Rubbing alcohol is really easy to find at your local drugstore or grocery store and is really inexpensive so this is an amazing way to save those expensive products. This is my finished product!

I hope you enjoyed this Quick Fix! Have a beautiful Monday,

Dre

Dre Does an Ipsy Review

It's already time for another Ipsy Review and I absolutely love this month's Glambag! It's a great mix of skin care, hair care, and makeup. It was my second bag and I'm still incredibly happy I chose to start my subscription with Ipsy. Read through to the end to see how much it's worth! Here is an overall glance at my January Glambag!

First off the bag is adorable. I really like the material of it because it's got that plasticy feel that seems like it would be really easy to wipe off and clean, so I look forward to using this for travel! Not to mention the cosmetic bottle cartoons are really cute. 

Now for the products, first off I got this MICA Cosmetics tinted lip balm. Seeing as I've never heard of this brand, at first glance this looked like it would turn out being a sheer tinted lip balm that wouldn't do much. Boy am I glad was I wrong! This is one of the most amazing lip products I've seen in a long time! It's a ridiculously pigmented product. Probably one of the best I've ever used. It's extremely thin and comfortable on your lips and even though it dries to a matte finish it didn't feel extremely drying. I wore it to school the night I got my Glambag in the mail and I got so many compliments on it! I love the shade I received (#6 Fiesta) and the wear was also really great through the evening! I found myself researching the price of these normally before the night was even over. So basically I'm already hooked and will be purchasing more of these as soon as possible, especially since Ipsy gives you a 40% code for MICA Cosmetics! A tinted lip balm normally retails at $30 for 4g, but this sample isn't too far behind at a value of $18.75 for 2.5g. So your bag is already paid for with this product!

The next product is from the new Proactiv + line. They sent me four Mark Fading Pads which contain Salicylic Acid in them. I like that they sent me more than one so I could get more of a feel for the product, but since fading is a gradual thing, four isn't really enough to see a difference and see if they work. I was excited to try them however because hyperpigmentation and dark spots are my biggest concern for my skin. The main thing I didn't like though is that Ipsy included a product that you can't buy on its own. You have to buy the whole Proactiv + line to get them so I probably wouldn't ever purchase them. It also made it pretty hard to calculate its value, but it looks like it only added a dollar so that brings our total to $19.75.

Now for something I loved. I have heard of the Nourish Organic brand before is I was excited to find their Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion in the scent Argan + Rose Water. It smells sooooo amazing and is a great sample size. You can get many uses out of it. The product is just like they say, lightweight and moisturizing so it's a great daytime lotion for me since I get oily throughout the day in my T-zone. The 1.7 oz full size retails for $21.99 so the deluxe sample at 0.5 oz is worth $6.47. This brings the current total to $26.22.

At first I was really excited to see a eye product called the Smooth Shadow Creamy Eye Pencil from the brand Elizabeth Mott because I love eye shadow bases, especially neutral ones. This one is in the shade Pearl and while I like the color, I don't like how much chunky glitter is in it. It was hard to photograph exactly how glittery it was but we're talking disco ball here. I will probably use it up since I have it and just place other eye shadows over it to tone down the glitter but I like bases that I can use on their own in a rush if needed. The 1.5g full size retails for $14.99 so this mini guy is valued at $7 at 0.7g. This brings our total to $33.22.

Lastly, we have the Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask. Depending on how much hair you have you can probably get a good two or three uses out of this sample which is pretty good! I recently got 9 inches cut off so my hair is pretty healthy. Therefore, I can't really judge it on how well it repairs but I can say it made my hair really soft and it smells nice. The 5.25 oz full size retails for $26 so this deluxe sample comes in at $4.95 for 1 oz. This brings our final Ipsy Glambag total to $38.17!! That's almost 400% the price you pay for the bag!

Overall, I'm still extremely happy I started my subscription with Ipsy last month. I loved this bag even more than the first, and as an esthiology student who loves skin, I was happy to see the broad range of types of products this month. I still recommend subscribing and will continue to review them every month! If you'd like to join the link is below!

http://www.ipsy.com/r/1ji4

If you'd like to see my review on last month's bag, click here!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does Quick Tips

Some of my favorite posts to share are my quick tips. I love being able to share tricks I've discovered with you all! So here are two new ones for you:

1. This is an awesome trick I learned in school for getting hair out of your hairbrush. Simply tap it firmly bristle side down, against the palm of your hand. This will cause all if the hairs to gather at the tips of the bristles and make it easier to remove them. 

2. If you have a hard time getting your eyelashes to curl try heating your eyelash curler with your blow dryer for a few seconds. However, ALWAYS test the temperature before you use it to make sure you don't burn yourself! Think of it as a mini curling iron for your lashes!

I hope these help! Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Brush Guide

This has been the most requested post so here it is! It took some time to really choose which brushes are my favorite since let's be honest...I have way more than I'm going to show below. But I've chosen my top 12 brushes that I think every woman needs. Now some were purchased in sets or years ago, so they might not be available for purchase right now. However, the point is the shape and type of brushes. If a brush as a really unique shape, I've made sure to choose it only if it is still available. I'll leave links to all of the ones that I can at the end of the post, as well as information as to which were purchased in a set. I've also taken the pictures of the face brushes next to a normal sized nail clipper, so you have a guide for the approximate brush sizes. (Sorry if some are a little dirty, but I used them before I took these pictures...haha)

1. Foundation brush: My favorite is the Expert Face Brush by Real Techniques. I love this brush for the unique shape and because of how dense it is. It's really good at applying foundation evenly. A lot of people like flat top buffing brushes because you can get a really good natural looking application, but I find this brush gives me a similar finish. It's also great at getting around your nose and chin because of the rounded shape. 

2. Concealer Setting brush: Now I didn't include a brush for concealer because personally I prefer applying with my fingers. I find the warmth of my finger tips melts the concealer just right to give a more natural look when covering. However one place you can't skip out on is setting your concealer, especially under your eyes. A small fluffy brush will do the trick and as I've talked about before I love the Setting Brush by Real Techniques. It's slightly pointed at the tip, so it gets right under the eyes nicely. It's also fluffy enough to apply just the right amount of product. 

3. Contour Fluffy Brush: Now I know everyone doesn't contour their faces, but I still think a fluffy medium sized brush is important. It's a great multitasking brush. You can of course use it for contouring, but also for applying highlight or even blush in a pinch! I really like this one called the Contour Brush from Real Techniques (are you seeing a trend here yet? But more on that later...). It's the perfect medium size. 

4. Flat top dense medium brush: This brush is great for cream products. The synthetic dense fibers are great for picking up and blending cream products. So once again this brush is great for blushes, bronzers, or highlighters. The size is perfect as well. This one is called the Buffing Brush by Real Techniques but many brands make a similar one.

5. Fluffy blush brush: Everyone needs a brush for blush and I'm obsessed with this one from Sonia Kashuk. It's available at Target and it's a must have. It is super soft and going strong after at least 4 years of use. The thing I like most about it is the density. It's pretty fluffy so it doesn't pick up too much product, so it allows you to build up cheek color to just the right amount. I think the packaging looks a little different now.

6. Powder Brush: Now this brush is the least unique but it's still a must-have. In order for your makeup to stay all day or night long, you need to set it with powder. This is simply a large fluffy brush from a Sephora set from at least 5 years ago, but it's obviously great quality and has worked so well setting my powder all of these years that I still haven't needed a new one. 

7. Eye Shader Brush: This is another typical brush shape, but it's another must-have. You need a good  flat shader brush to pack color onto your lids. This is another Sephora one that has lasted me years, but every brand of makeup brushes sells a dupe for this.

8. Fluffy Pointed Shading/Blending brush: So this brush is extremely unique shaped but I had to include it because it is a dream for blending the outer "v" of your lid (aka the outer corner). It's fluffy enough for blending but the pointed tip gives you enough control to make specific shapes. I just love it and use it for almost every eye look that I do, so I'm being serious when I say you must own it! It is called the Base Shadow Brush by Real Techniques.

9. Fluffy blending brush: The key to beautiful and smooth looking eyeshadow is blending. That is no secret. While I own and recommend having multiple blending brushes of different densities and sizes, a simple fluffy brush is the first step. This one is the E35 Tapere Blending brush from Sigma Beauty but many companies make great ones. 

10. Definer Pencil Brush: Whether you want to do a dramatic crease, outer v, smokey eye, or natural eye, a pencil brush will work wonders in applying the darker shades where you want them before you blend them out. They are dense and great for smudging color into the upper and lower lash lines as well. This one is the Smudge Brush from Ulta and is a great size for getting into all of these places. It's a great multi-use brush. It is years old as well though, so it could be hard to find this exact one.

11. Eyeliner brush: A fine pointed eyeliner brush is key because it can do a lot for your lash line. Whether you use it with gel eyeliner, eyeshadow, or to smudge out pencil liners, it gives you precision. So make sure it has a nice density and a good tip. I got this one free with a Sigma Beauty purchase but it is the mini version if their E05 Eyeliner brush. 

12. Angled Brow brush: Lastly, we have a brow brush. I use this one every day to fill in my brows with shadow and I love it. This shape also works nicely if you want to smudge out pencil eyeliner, or set your liner with eyeshadow for a smokier look. This is another shape that you can find easily from a lot of other brands, but I have to say I love the quality of this Real Techniques one.

So those are my favorite brushes! As you can tell I'm obsessed with the Real Techniques brushes because they are amazing quality for the prices. They are extremely soft and durable. I also love my Sigma Beauty brushes, however they are a little more expensive. If you have the money, I say invest in the Sigma ones, but if not the Real Techniques ones are amazing as well. 

Now for where to purchase! 

Brushes 8 and 12 came in a 5 piece eye starter set from Real Techniques for $18 that you can find below online or at Ulta.

http://realtechniques.com/shop-collection/your-eyes-enhanced/starter-set

Brushes 3 and 4 came in a 4 piece core collection set from Real Techniques for $18 that you can find below online or at Ulta.

http://realtechniques.com/shop-collection/your-base-flawless/core-collection

Brushes 6 and 7 came in a 7 piece Deluxe Antibacterial Brush set with a case for $60 from Sephora.

http://www.sephora.com/deluxe-antibacterial-brush-set-P197107

The rest were purchased individually:

Brush 1 is $9 below online or at Ulta.

http://realtechniques.com/shop-collection/your-base-flawless/expert-face-brush

Brush 2 is $8 below online or at Ulta. 

http://realtechniques.com/shop-collection/your-finish-perfected/setting-brush

Brush 5 is $17.18 online or in stores at Target. 

http://www.target.com/p/sonia-kashuk-kashuk-tools-domed-blusher-brush-no-29/-/A-14346298#prodSlot=medium_1_49

Brush 9 is $14 below. 

http://www.sigmabeauty.com/product_p/e35.htm

Brush 10 I couldn't find online anymore but lots of brands including Sigma Beauty make pencil brushes. 

Brush 11 is $12 below.

http://www.sigmabeauty.com/product_p/e05.htm

Hope this gives you a place to start or add to your brush collection! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Makeup of the Day

I posted this a sneak peek of this makeup look yesterday. I think it's the perfect Natural makeup look. It's also really quick and easy. I did my normal face routine, but I wanted to point out some key aspects of the look. First off, whenever I'm doing a super natural look I always make sure to fill in my brows. It's a simple way to give your face structure and make you look polished and put together without much makeup on. I use the color Faint (a medium to dark brown) from my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette and a small angled brush. Then I just set it with a clear mascara so my brows stay put and the color lasts longer. 

Next, I did all of the tips from yesterday's post on making your eyes look bigger and brighter. You can especially see how I defined my eyelids. I applied a Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Barely Branded (70) and then on top I used my Naked Basics palette again (I wasn't exaggerating in that post a couple of weeks ago about how much I loved it haha). I added the lightest shade Venus in the middle of my lids, added Faint in the inner and outer corners, and blended everything together nicely. That's it! Even though they're matte shadows, I love the glow it gives my eyes. They really pop and look bigger! 

All I did after this was apply my Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara and add some Chapstick and I was done! I've listed all the products below to achieve this look. It's seriously my go-to easy makeup when I'm rushed and still want to look put together! 

Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation in buff beige

Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette in 07 light

NYX Wonder Pencil in 01 Light

tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess

tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush in treasured

tarte Amazonian Clay Highlighter in Champagne

Revlon Photoready Transulecent Face Powder

Maybelline 24 HR Color Tattoo Metal in Barley Branded

Urban Decay Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette (colors Venus and Faint)

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Clear Transparent (for brows)

Rimmel Lash Accelorator Mascara in Extreme Black

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a How-To: Bigger and Brighter Eyes

Do you get way less sleep than you should and have the resulting exhausted looking eyes when you wake up like me? Don't worry. Thanks to my third cup of joe I've compiled a list of tips on how to make your eyes look brighter and bigger and thus fooling everyone into thinking you've gotten enough shut eye! 

1. Highlight your inner tear duct. Do yourself a favor and get a nude colored pencil eyeliner now! I love this new one from NYX called the Wonder Pencil because it comes in concealer-type shades but is in a easy to apply form as a pencil eyeliner. This new best friend makes it super quick and easy to highlight the inner area of your eye. You'd be surprised how quickly this trick brightens and makes you look more awake. 

2. Highlight your bottom waterline. You can use the same nude pencil liner to line this area. Normally you would put a darker color here to define your bottom lash line, but applying a nude color will help open your eyes and make them look bigger. Some people like to use white for this, but I prefer nude because it's less harsh and more natural looking. 

3. Set your under eye concealer. If you want to keep those dark circles under your eyes hidden until bed time and avoid creasing, you must set your concealer. Make sure to use a good concealer in this area that brightens this area (try pinkish tones) and set it using a fluffy brush and a finely milled powder. I like the Sonia Kasuk Hidden Agenda palette because it comes with three concealer shades and one setting powder. I use this 'setting brush' by Real Techniques to set the powder and I love how it applies the powder! You want to make sure you use a fine powder so that you don't run the risk of it settling in any fine lines, making you look more tired.

4. Define your eyelids. One technique that I love for a really natural look is to define both the inner and outer areas of my lids and highlight the center of my lids. This makes your eyes look huge and gives them a really nice glowy appearance. In the picture below I've done my makeup this way and you can see how it enlarges my eyes and gives them that glow. You might be surprised when I say that all I used is two matte shadows to complete it. So it's an extremely quick and easy look. Come back tomorrow for a post on how exactly I created this look! 

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Quick Tip

Happy Monday!

I'm here with a quick tip dealing with dehydration and exfoliation. As I previously wrote about, you can check your skin to see if you're dehydrated. Click here if you missed that post where I show you a cool trick to do it yourself. I recommended water intake of at least half your body weight in ounces every day. If you're drinking this much water but still finding that your skin seems dehydrated, this is a sign that something else is the issue. A huge reason for this could be that you need a good exfoliation. If you have a lot of dead skin cells sitting on the surface of your skin, it doesn't matter how much water you drink, you will not hydrate that top layer. So I recommend giving your skin a good exfoliation. I also recently did a post on exfoliation that describes it's importance and what happens to the skin cells as they reach the surface. Click here if you'd like to read about that!

Have a beautiful day,

Dre

Dre Does a Makeup of the Day

We've had quite the blizzard in the Midwest these past few days. Seeing as work and school were both cancelled, I took the opportunity to play with some new makeup items I picked up before the holidays that I never got to play with. I thought I'd share it as well as a list of products I used. If you have questions or would like a review of any of the products, leave a comment below and I'll get right on it! 

Products used:

Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation in buff beige

Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette in 07 light

tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess

tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush in treasured

tarte Amazonian Clay Highlighter in Champagne

Revlon Photoready Transulecent Face Powder

Urban Decay Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette (colors Venus, Foxy, Naked 2, and Faint)

Bh cosmetics 120 color palette 5th edition

Loreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner

Rimmel Lash Accelorator Mascara in Extreme Black

NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brûlée 

Dre Does Cleansing

I cannot stress enough the importance of cleansing your face. It does not matter how late, how tired, and how lazy you may feel, you will not regret going to bed with a clean face. I know throughout college it was especially hard to follow through with this, but if I missed one night of cleansing my skin even after a whole month of good routine, I would get breakouts. If you are lucky and this doesn't happen to you, you're still not off the hook. Everyone should be cleansing in the morning and night, no matter your skin type or age. If you're crunched for time, do it in the shower. 

Now if you're already consistently cleansing, that's wonderful. Are you using the right type of cleanser though? First off, don't ever use products that are meant for your body, on your face. I know it may seem more convenient and cost effective to use one product for everything, but the skin on your face can be completely different than the skin on your body. Don't ever use bar soap on your face. That's a big no-no. It will completely strip your skin of oils because it's meant to clean your body.

The two most common types of cleansers are cream and gel. Until I started esthiology school, I didn't really understand the skin types they were targeted for, so chances are you don't either. Cream cleansers are thicker and less 'soapy' feeling. They are targeted for normal to dry skin types. The cream aids in removing impurities, dirt, and makeup while still leaving the skin feeling super hydrated. Gel cleansers on the other hand, are targeted for those in the normal to oily range. The gel helps rid your skin of excess oil. The first question I ask clients when they tell me they have dry skin, is if they use a gel cleanser. The reason for this is that if your skin isn't excessively oily and you are using gel, it's going to strip you of even more oils than is needed. The same can be said for super oily skin, if you're using a cream cleanser. Try a gel cleanser if you're experiencing excessive oiliness. 

So go take a look at what you're using to cleanse your skin. Within the next week, I'm going to be posting a guide on skin types so you really understand what you're working with. Many of us think we know what type of skin we have, but it may be the products we are using that are making it dryer or more oilier than it actually is. 

Have a beautiful day (and stay warm if you're anywhere within the snowstorm's grasp), 

Dre