I have long been a fan of any makeup line that makes it easier on women to comfortably purchase makeup that compliments their skintone, eyecolor, and style they are going after.  For example, Almay, first, they are great because their stuff is all hypoallergenic.  What’s not to love.  Their “Ideal” line matches makeup to fair, medium, and dark alike.  Brown, hazel, blue, eyecolors – got it covered.

I’ve tried the full line, but my most favorite thing of the line, no matter what the skin color, eye color is, are the lipsticks.  Almost every shade has worked on me, they all have a natural spf of 17 and again, because it’s Almay – they are all hypoallergenic.

So overall, the nice thing about the Ideal line is that you can mix and match the colors that are suggested best for you, etc. and then if a certain lipstick strikes your fancy, you can safely break out of the suggested zones and still pull off a great look.

Almay is also hands down cheaper than other hypoallergenic lines that are out there and is available in most chain stores nationwide, so it won’t require an extra trip to the department store counter.

Valentine’s Day is a wonderful holiday for crafts. Kids of all ages can and should get involved in the preparations and celebration. Of course, toddlers are too young to use scissors safely on their own, but they can still participate in craft making with the family. Here are some ideas for Valentine’s Day crafts that don’t require the use of scissors by your young ones.

Toddlers like to paint. They learn in preschool that painting is fun and safe. Give them some finger paints in red and white and have a good time decorating just about anything.

With finger paints you have to prepare the area so that the kids have a blast without your house looking like a construction zone. Dress the kids in play clothes so that they can get messy without ruining their good clothes.

They can use their little hands to make a heart shape out of their prints. You can get them to alternate red and white prints or they can mix white and red to make a batch of pink paint for more hearts. Guide their hands to write words like “I love you” on a piece of construction paper or a poster board.

Toddlers can give the gift of flowers that they have made by themselves. Give your toddler a variety colors and sizes of tissue paper so that they can make unique bouquets for each of their valentines. The best thing about tissue paper is that it best resembles a flower when it is crumpled up. Kids love to rip and crumble things up. With this craft, they can do those things for fun. You can crumple with them and let out your inner child too.

Once the paper is sufficiently crumpled, put the sheets together. Show the kids how to wrap a pipe cleaner around the bundle of tissue paper sheets and fluff them up. In no time they will look like flowers. Since pipe cleaners may be hard to manage, it might be a better idea for parents to add the pipe cleaner and let the toddlers shape the flowers.

Craft stores have all sorts of good things that toddlers can use for Valentine’s Day crafting. Foam shapes come pre-made. Kids just have to punch them out and apply them to whatever surface they need to. Instead of using glue, glue sticks are less messy and a toddler can learn to handle them much easier than a bottle of glue.

You can cut out some pictures of their face and place them in the center of the foam sheet. After they decorate with the shapes, the craft can be given to grandparents or other family members as a Valentine’s Day card that is unique and special.

Toddlers don’t have to use scissors to make crafts. Each of the above valentine crafts for toddlers required no scissor use and still they make excellent crafts that are fun and still allow them to be creative.

I have to share my latest find for my new shorter hairstyle.  I found myself in need of a hair straightener but my existing one was far too big for my new shorter layered style.  I came across Conair’s Satin Finish 3/4″ ceramic hair straightener.  I purchased it for roughly $15.00 at Walmart and I think it was worth every penny!

With the push of a button, this little baby heats up in just 60 seconds.  I can brush my teeth, floss a little and gargle and it’s nice and piping hot and ready for me to whip my locks into shape.  With the professional length cord (super long) of the straightener, I don’t even have to worry about electrocuting myself.

The straightener has what all good straighteners should have – evenly distributed heat to avoid hot spots in the flat iron.  That’s where the similarities end; this little straightener packs a power punch with 25 heat settings (will work for any hair!) and also has a turbo boost button – I get warm fuzzies using ANY product with the word “turbo boost” in it, makes a gal feel powerful! The turbo boost button is for those sections of hair that have a mind of their own on some days.

I think the main standout feature of this product is the ergonomic curved handle, it encourages the ends of the hair to “flip up” as the popular styles of today call for, and honestly, it is so comfortable to use, it doesn’t even bother my carpel tunnel.  A product that makes you look good AND is good for you, ok, that was a stretch.  At the very least, it is a handy dandy hair straightener that is powerful, lightweight, and light on the wallet.  If you forget to turn it off, no worries, it even comes with auto shut off.

Valentine’s Day is a whole lot of fun, but sometimes there’s a little pressure to get festive. With kids around, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on decorations for Valentine’s Day. They are full of ideas and amazing creative talents, so enlist their help to come up with decorating tips to spread the love this Valentine’s Day.

Start simple. Decorate the main rooms of your home. Give each kid a ball of ribbon in red, white, or pink and watch what they do. Ribbon can be wrapped around vases of flowers and draped above doorways. A pair of scissors can be run the length of the ribbon to create curls.

Cabinets and dressers can be made festive with small construction paper hearts. The kids can stick them all over – wherever they can find a good spot. If you sit still long enough, there may be a few attached to you. Bigger hearts can be cut out and displayed on the walls. If you are afraid that tape will strip the paint off of the walls, use a hole punch to create holes in the hearts. Make a loop through the hole with a piece of string and hang over a push pin or a small nail.

Instead of streamers, try a paper chain in alternating colors. Cut several pieces of construction paper into one inch wide strips. Interlock the paper and create a link chain. When the chain is long enough hang it up in the kitchen or family room as a banner to remind the entire family that it is Valentine’s Day.

Kids can glue Popsicle sticks together to make coasters for the coffee table. Watercolor paints can be used to decorate the finished coaster with hearts and arrows. You can even add words like, Happy Valentine’s Day, Love, etc. to the coasters. The same Popsicle sticks can be used to make a poster or a mobile that says I Love You. The sticks are shaped and then painted bright red or pink. Once dry, mount them on poster board or attached to a heart-shaped hanger by pieces of yarn.

A cloth furniture cover can transform your living room into a Valentine’s Day celebration room. Measure the length of the couch or chair so that the cover will fit. Spread it out on the floor and let the kids get started on the decorations. They can glue felt words and shapes to the cover along with the names of each family member. Every year at Valentine’s Day you can bring out their handiwork and decorate the room.

Decorations are fun to make and display around the house. They don’t have to be for just one season. Store them in airtight containers so they stay clean and intact for next year and years to come.

I don’t know about you, but my skin has a tendency to look dry and dull in the winter. I have to pay special attention to good skin care to keep my skin looking good. And did you know that the damaging rays of the sun can actually be stronger in the wintertime? Don’t forget your facial sunscreen to help prevent premature aging, and try some of the following tips to get a rosy glow even during the dry, cold winter season.

Exfoliating: To exfoliate you will need a physical agent like salt or sugar, or an enzyme, which basically eats dead skin cells. There are even foods that are rich in enzymes which you can use to create your own at home mask to use in the process of exfoliation. These foods include pineapple and papaya. Milk also has fatty acids that mildly exfoliate. This is why the traditional milk bath has been so popular.

To create an easy inexpensive natural exfoliant, mix sea salt with olive oil. Smoothe in on in the tub and rub your skin gently, then rinse in the shower. You can do the same with sugar – not so great to eat, but awesome for your skin! Add a drop of your favorite essential oil to make it a spa treatment and relax you.

Eating: Yes, something that you already do on a regular basis if done correctly can change your skin. For example to help dry skin, include foods in your diet that are rich in fatty acids. Some of these foods include salmon, olive and coconut oils, avocado, and nuts. Incorporate these into your daily diet to see what a difference they can make. What may look like dry skin may even be eczema or a rash caused by food allergies, so be alert to that possibility too.

Homemade Treatments: You can make your own at home masks and treatments to treat other skin issues. Some common combinations are oatmeal, honey and water to create a mask, or avocado and honey. Smear these on your skin, allow to dry and then rinse them off.

A simple honey treatment can moisturize your skin and make it glow. Pat two drops of honey on your face after cleansing, while still damp. Your skin won’t be sticky when you use such a small amount.

Find more natural beauty tips here, including a free report with more recipes on making your own natural skin care treatments.

As a precursor to my Garnier Fructis Style hairspray, I purchased the Bold It! Power-Putty as well.  This stuff smells great (I haven’t found a Garnier product yet that doesn’t smell wonderful).  I like the fact that you can put it on damp or dry hair and the effect either way is pretty much the same – super strong hold in a matte finish – no glossy build up or greasy looking effect.  I can really see how this power-putty would work for short, medium, and long hair.

For me, I am using it on my new short hair and am not living in fear of it drying out my hair or having my hair fall down and look frumpy later in the day.  One word of caution with this stuff is that a little bit goes a long long way.  I accidentally overused it the first couple of tries and regretted it.  I guess I am just not use to getting my money’s worth out of a product or believing them when they say to use a dime size amount.

Still on my quest for the perfect mascara…I can now add L’OREAL’s featherLash mascara to my list of….well, I’m undecided at the moment.  It isn’t in my “yes” category, it isn’t in my “no” either.

What I like:

1.) The price..just $8 a tube and I got mine on clearance for 75% off…so well worth a try.

2.) The fact that it comes in water-resistant – this is what I bought -in black.

3.) How light-weight my lashes felt afterwards, not like they were coated numerous times.
What I dislike:

1.) My top lashes were “fanned out” so much that even though I had curled them before applying the mascara, the wand partially straightened them back out! (but more than the normal mascara wand would).

2.) There was a slight stinging sensation with this brand, I havent’ found this to be the case in other L’OREAL mascaras so it surprised me.

3.) My bottom lashes looked great, while the top lashes didn’t have the same effect even though I KNOW that my top lashes are longer, thicker, etc. than my bottom lashes.  This overall effect was not pleasing to the eye..I looked like I was being transformed into a lady football player with the dark smudges on the lower part of my eye.

So after reading my own post…I think I will move this to the “no” category after all.  I am wondering if the stinging sensation I picked up on was women’s intuition or outdated mascara (which might explain why it was on sale for 75% off).