How To Be More Feminine

Hello Divas!!

A Diva in the best sense of the word is truly a feminine woman. In order to be a feminine diva there are a few steps you need to incorporate into your daily life.

They are very simple steps and they should be a part of your normal daily routine so that they do not seem like a chore.

Wear fragrance.
One of the best ways to be a true diva is to always smell nice. You don't have to always wear a heavy perfume...you can smell nice with a light body splash or a scented lotion.


Keep nails well groomed.
A true diva always has beautiful looking hands and this can be easily achieved by having a good manicure. You do not need to follow all the latest nail trends but you can easily take care of your manicure at home.


Keep yourself clean.
A true diva is always clean. Take a shower at least once a day and use a good antiperspirant to keep sweat at bay. If you are like me and you sweat a lot then you may need a strong, clinical strength antiperspirant but do what you need to keep yourself clean.


Wear simple makeup.
A real diva can be glamorous with a bare face but let's face it we all need a little help every now and then. Pick one feature that you can accentuate and keep the rest of your makeup simple and minimal. My focus has always been lips as I love lip gloss but for 2013 I will be trying out eyes. A simple tip is to keep a tube of mascara or your favorite eye shadow in your purse so you can touch up during the day if you need to.

If you follow those simple tips every day you will increase your femininity easily and you will not only look and smell better but you will also feel better and will attract more people to be around you.

How To Dress To Ring In The New Year: 2013

Hello Divas!!!

Monday marks the last big party of the year as it is also the last day of the year. Every diva I know will be at a New Year's party somewhere and we all need to look our best.

You already got a few tips on what to do with your nails to ring in the new year and we all know to wear something gold but what else will you wear to go all those fancy parties?

First off you need to know what the dress code is. If you go to a casual party and you are a little overdressed it is better than going to a formal party and you are under dressed. In any case they are both bad so you need to know which kind you will be attending before you make a dress purchase.



If you are going to a formal party you may want something like this dress above where you look classy and formal but still not too stiff and stuffy.

If you go sleeveless, depending on your area you may need a shawl or cover up as you walk from your car to the venue.



If you are going to a casual party then a short gold dress like this one may be totally appropriate for your event. You can always throw on some stockings to keep the cold off your legs if you are in a cold area.

Keep your makeup simple and remember to accentuate EITHER your eyes OR your lips but never both. Keep one feature dramatic and one subdued so that you do not look like a crazy made up doll.

Gold eyeliner is always a great choice because it is simple to apply and does not require all the technique that mixing colors does.



I think you can mix it up by wearing a pop of red as your shoes and you all know how much I love wedges so I think a pair like these will be an excellent choice!

As for me...I have already set my outfit. I will be wearing the following:
-black mini skirt
-gold and black tunic blouse
-black stockings (because it is freezing where I live)
-black calf high boots

I have not decided on makeup as yet except I know I will be rocking a red lip!!!!!!

Have a great party night divas and get ready to rock out 2013.

Dressing Up Or Dressing Down On College Campus

Hello Divas!!

I just wanted to ask you a question. Do you think that as a graduate student you should dress up or dress down.

I have been looking around my campus and notice that people's dress styles run the gamut from very dressed up to woefully under dressed. I have seen students in full on suits next to students in running shorts and flip flops.


I have seen students in creased pants and students in ripped jeans.
 

I have seen some elaborate hairstyles and seen some girls who look like they have not combed their hair for week.


I am currently a graduate student and I teach twice a week. I love being as comfortable as possible and practically live in jeans.

I do dress up a little more when I teach so I can differentiate myself from my students but I noticed that many of the other graduate teaching students do not do so.

I don't over do it but I do wear dress pants and a pretty blouse when teaching. When I am not teaching I can be found in jeans and a more casual top...sometimes even a tee shirt.  I have decided that I will NOT be wearing tee shirts on my non teaching days because I still walk around campus and can be seen by my students.

I need to invest in a few more casual tops that can dress up jeans but still be VERY comfortable.

So do you think that graduate students..or college students need to dress up or not?

Product Review: Tree Hut Brazilian Nut Body Butter

Hello Divas!!

It is time again to review a product that I have personally used. The product for today is Tree Hut Brazilian Nut Body Butter.

Try saying that three times fast!!

You ladies know that I love smelling delicious and my favorite range of scents are in the family of warm, vanilla and sweet.

I got a chance to use this body butter and it is available from a number of retailers..including your local friendly Walmart and at a great price too.

When I opened the container the first thing I noticed was the yummy aroma. It really did have a vanilla-y nutty scent which was not overpowering but did make me want to eat out of the jar.

This is a body butter and not a lotion or a cream so it really was quite thicker than I expected. The one thing I must say is that your skin needs to be a little bit more damp in order for this butter to spread evenly onto the skin.

I usually wipe myself pretty dry after a shower before putting on lotion but that will not work in this case. If you try to apply this to dry skin you will be left with a sticky white residue and you will need to rub a LOT to get it in.

If your skin is more damp then it glides on easily like a lotion.

The butter moisturizes the skin, just not as much as I have found with my Aveeno lotion. I will keep it in use but since it is so thick I might not use it during the summer.

It smells great, is low priced and moisturizes well so you might give it a try!!!

Secret Beauty Services: Massage

Hello Divas!!!

Are you aware that there are a few beauty services that you can have access to that not everyone knows about?

Some retailers are offering secret beauty services that you will only get if you are in the know and I would like to share a few of them with you.

Massage!!!


Some Nordstrom stores not only offer great clothing but they also  have a massage therapist at the Nordstrom spa.

It is a bit pricey at a cost of about $50 to $120 depending on your location but so worth it!!!!

Secret Beauty Services: Brows

Hello Divas!!!

Are you aware that there are a few beauty services that you can have access to that not everyone knows about?

Some retailers are offering secret beauty services that you will only get if you are in the know and I would like to share a few of them with you.

Brows!!


The Benefit cosmetics counters at select Macy's stores offers expert brow advice including
Waxing and
Tweezing

for the perfect brows.

You do need to call your store to make sure they offer this service so go ahead and check out yours now.

21 Days Of Beauty Habits: Great Skin

Hello Divas!!

They say it takes 21 days of doing something for it to become a habit. I have decided that I will be starting a beauty ritual that I would like to become a habit and I will do it for the next 21 days straight until it becomes second nature to me.

I have a bad habit (and you know you do too) of sometimes skipping washing my face when I go to bed. Even if I take a shower at night I will just let the plain water run over my face and not even use a cleanser.

This is really bad for your skin because you know that even one swipe of make up remover does not remove all the makeup...so why would plain water do any good.

So for the next 21 days I will be following my routine of what I do when I actually do cleanse my face at night.

1. Wash my face.
I normally wash my face with these Aveeno cleansing pads because I think they are great at cleaning. They are gentle on the skin but also have a slightly rougher side that exfoliates as you clean.

The pads contain soy which is great for getting a more even skin tone when used and they smell great and do not cause irritation, even on my sensitive skin.

2. Tone my face.

I use Clean and Clear sensitive skin astringent to take off the last bit of dirt and grime and dead skin that the cleanser missed. You would be surprised at some of the stuff that comes off on a cotton pad when you use an astringent after washing.

3. Moisturize my face.
After the cleaning and toning the next step for me is to moisturize my face. I use Clean and Clear sensitive moisturizer with salicylic acid. I know this line is generally for teens and the younger generation but it has worked well for me now that I am over 30 and since my skin is so sensitive I tend to stick with what works.

In order to maximize the moisturizing effects I rinse my face off after I apply the astringent so that I can wash off the lingering alcohol. I also leave my face a little bit damp when I apply the moisturizer so that it can seal in some water.

Some people think that this dilutes the moisturizer and reduces the effectiveness but I prefer to do it that way. I just apply a slightly thicker layer of moisturizer than the instructions call for.

So anyway...the goal is to do this every night for the next 21 nights and hopefully it will become a habit so that I do not have to think about it. I always wake up with great skin the next day after doing this simple routine so it should be even better if I go at it for three weeks.