Beauty of a Site Blog

Hot summer days mean ladies everywhere are baring {almost} all.  Here are some tips for keeping you confident and beautiful all summer long. 1. Shaving Shaving is a necessary evil (for those of us not quite ready for laser hair removal), but it can be rough on your skin.  Shaving everyday in the right way, however, keeps you looking great.

• Best time to shave is at the end of a warm shower, when the skin plumps and exposes more of the hair follicle.  Not only is more hair exposed for trimming, but also softens hair and to keep it from snapping, which helps prevent ingrown hairs. The same daily shaving routine is actually more effective, and easier on your legs.
• Shaving is much more ideal for legs than for bikini line, because of how aggravating it can be for skin. No matter where you're shaving, though, keep a bottle of of Tend Skin handy to avoid bumps.

2. Waxing Especially during swimsuit season, waxing your bikini line is essential. Want to avoid the invasive nature of getting a wax in a salon? Follow these tips and do it at home!

• Just let me get this out: DON'T shave your bikini line. You'll be tempted to, but this easily irritated area can't take that kind of abuse.
• Make sure you're not waxing more than once a month, and you're letting the area breathe after doing so.  Your skin needs refreshing to avoid the sort of irritation that causes bumps and ingrown hairs.
• The perfect at-home waxing kit makes the brazilian process quick, painless (ok, not completely painless) and incredibly private. Try an easy microwavable product like Gigi, whose affordable kits help you get the body you want in the convenience of your home.

Beat the heat and humidity with these super-easy, breezy and humidity-proof styles for summer! 1. Loose Braid:  Not an excellent braider? Good news! Messy and loose is totally the style, to keep the romance while keeping your hair out of your face! For a little extra texture and a bit of hold, to keep your braid in one piece, spritz a bit of It's a 10 Miracle Leave In Product in your hair before you style. 2. Messy Bun + Headband: Add a twist to the classic bun with a simple headband. The addition of color makes the style look on-purpose, and add dimension and attention!  Make sure and give your style a little height behind the headband for maximum impact. For the extra boost of volume that will really help you pull off this style, try using Tigi Catwalk Your Highness Root Booster. 3.  Side-swept Pony: As with braiding above, side-sweeping your style makes a boring ponytail a sexy fun summer style.  Style with texturized, beach-style waves, great volume and maybe even a bit of a french braid. Get the right texture and perfect wave with a beach texturizer like Philip B Maui Wowie Beach Mist Texturizing Spray.

Essie makes a splash with their vibrant new collection, featuring bold colors from both a bright and neutral palette. Truly, a little something for everyone. Each hue in its bottle, listed from left to right: Essie Absolutely Shore: A soft sea foam green Essie Too Too Hot: A sizzling rich red coral Essie Braziliant: A hot orange with a touch of shimmer Last three colors listed from left to right, pictured above: Essie Super Bossa Nova: An upbeat bright fuchsia Essie Meet Me at Sunset: A vibrant deep orange Essie Smooth Sailing: A breezy lavender blue with a reflection of pearl We're super excited for these colors - let us know what you think!

So here we are, the week after Memorial Day, enjoying the first warm days of summer (at least that's what's happening here in the Midwest!).  We all flocked to the lake or to barbecues on Monday, stayed out all day, and now are suffering from our very first sunburn of the summer.  Here's a refresher on sun care for your skin and hair during the summer months ahead: 1.  PREVENTION:  As your mother and health professionals everywhere can tell you, the best way to care for a sunburn is to prevent it from happening in the first place.  Especially with the prevalence of skin cancer among our generation, we must be careful to protect ourselves from the damaging sun.  Here are some of our favorite protective sun products: Coola (SPF 45) is one of our favorite classic sunscreens, providing powerful protection, custom made for those leading an active outdoor life.  Endorsed by the American Lifeguard Association, this sweat-proof formula is the best we've got! If you're looking for a mineral alternative to classic sunscreen, Alba Botanica's Natural Mineral Sunscreen (SPF 30) uses a chemical-free formula that provides excellent protection from the sun without compromise. Orly's Sunscreen for Nails is a must-have.  As you beach-babes know, after long hours in the sun, your manicure can become discolored and faded.  Sunscreen for Nails is a high-shine topcoat that protects the colors beneath it with its UV absorbent formula. Rene Furterer's Protective Summer Oil (KPF 90) uses sesame and castor oils with UV sunscreen to ensure protection for exposed hair while swimming and sunbathing.  It's waterproof formula is a must for any beach bag. 2.  TREATMENT:  We know that there will be days that we didn't plan ahead and didn't apply the sunscreen as much as we should have.  Here are some treatments to refresh skin and hair after long hours in the sun: The absolute best in the business, Hempz After Sun Gel soothes heat and pain from sun-burnt skin, prevents peeling and uses the nurturing qualities of hemp seed oil and tea tree oil to start repairing skin damage and even minimize the look of fine lines and wrinkles! Bed Head Some Like It Hot Heat & Humidity Resistant Serum is not only treatment oriented, but also for prevention.  It, along with the Some Like it Hot Shampoo and Conditioner provide a shield to help hair that will be in the sun and water constantly.  This product in particular, though, is essential after sun, taming frizz and re-moisturizing burnt-out hair. Rene Furterer Repairing After Sun Shampoo is specifically designed to combat the drying effects of sun, salt water and even chlorine, enriched with palm butter to restore shine and softness to your hair! Awesome. So, enjoy the sun, ladies, but care for yourself while you're doing it! Check out these products and more at www.beautyofasite.com to help you enjoy the summer in style!

Freshen up your cosmetics bag with bright new colors for the summer season.  We've seen marigold yellows and chartreuses and limes in our nail polish palettes, and a with little skill, those same colors can be used with makeup to create a truly unique and beautiful look.  Here are our tips for this light and summery look: 1.  Shiney Pink Lips:  Drawing together all these bright colors is a classic, cool pink lip gloss.  Almost any shade of pink will do, but our very favorite for the job is DuWop's Pink Shimmer Lip Venom. The plump lips will draw attention to your traditional feminine curves in offset of your non-traditional color scheme. 2.  Yellow / Lime Eyes:  As strange as it may sound, especially girls with dark hair can beautifully sport these bright summer colors.  Apply lightly all over lid and under eyebrows, adding sparkly white at the inside corner of your eye.  We suggest Bed Head's Cyberoptics Eyeshadow in Lime. 3.  Pink Cheeks:  Set aside your orange-y bronzer for this colorful look.  Choose a classic pink to match your gloss! The Orglamix Pure Mineral Blush has the perfect consistency and shimmer for this light and airy summery pink.  We think the Pink Pepper color would be perfect. 4.  Flawless Complexion:  To keep attention on the vibrant colors, a flawless complexion is absolutely necessary for a carefree summer.  Find a light-reflecting, moisture rich tinted moisturizer that will even out your complexion without the added weight of thick foundation.  Our very favorite tinted moisturizer is Urban Apothecary's Supernatural Mineral Sheer Tint.  It's soft weight and beautiful luminosity is perfect for summer.

OPI Shrek Forever After Brights Collection features six beautiful brights to kick off a bright, vibrant summer. With lime greens, bright purples, creamy yellows and a totally unique pair of blues, this six color collection is flying off the shelves.  We're expecting to receive the polishes next week, but our pre-ordering has started already!  By pre-ordering your polishes, you're guaranteed to receive some of the first polishes that arrive!  We're expecting them to sell out quickly, so don't miss your chance! Click here to pre-order polishes now! [caption id="attachment_796" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="L to R: Who the Shrek are You?, Rumple's Wiggin, Ogre the Top Blue, What's With the Cattitude?"][/caption]

Sun screen is something we've been smearing all over ourselves since the time we were infants. We feel good about protecting ourselves from sun damage, but rarely pause to consider what exactly we're putting on our skin; what exactly we're allowing our skin to absorb. [caption id="attachment_347" align="alignleft" width="92" caption="Azur Sunscreen, SPF 30 & 40"][/caption] Sunscreens include powerful sun-blocking ingredients that, while being extremely effective at protecting our skin, can be absorbed into our systems and cause some serious damage.  Ranging from free radical damage, disruption of hormone activity and potentially carcinogenic activity, chemicals like oxybenzone, avobenzone, octocrylene & octinoxate found in many sunscreens might hurt your skin worse than a sun burn! Don't worry... we have a solution!  We're really excited about Azur sunscreen, an all-natural, mineral based sunscreen that is 100% chemical free- and effective!  Loaded with important vitamins & moisturizing aloe vera, this luxurious sunscreen attributes its effectiveness to using a physical instead of a chemical barrier against UV radiation.  What a good idea. If you're interested in ordering some Azur sunscreen, click here.  We'd love to send you some.

Learn how to keep your hair color vibrant all through the summer. With the right care, you can master having fun in the sun without color fading!