Beauty of a Site Blog

Hey friends!  I finally had time to play with the Katy Perry polish, so I wanted to post some swatches of what the colors look like on the nail, as well as under normal, at-home, low lighting.  Here are the four colors on the nail: The two glitter-y polishes, OPI Last Friday Night (blue) and OPI Teenage Dream (light blue) take several coats to get the results posted on our swatches from yesterday.  The results in the pictures above were two coats; full coverage would take at least three and perhaps four.  Perhaps the most interesting about these colors in the variety of glitter included in the polish.  Large flecks alongside more subtle shimmer makes a beautiful effect. My favorite: The One That Got Away.  This probably does not surprise you, based on my love for vampy colors, burgandies and shimmer.  Really, how could I not love this color? That being said, I was surprised how much I liked it.  More than a burgundy, OPI The One That Got Away is really a fuschia, way more pink than burgundy, featuring a rosy shimmer and nice, even undertones.  Really beautiful. Let us know what you're loving from the collection.  We'd love to hear about it  : )

GREAT NEWS!  We now have both the OPI Katy Perry collection AND the Black Shatter polish available for purchase at Beauty of a Site! You can order these colors right now!  We're stoked to be one of the first to offer Black Shatter, and we're excited that our customers will be among the first to own it! ORDER KATY PERRY and BLACK SHATTER HERE. Here are our swatches of the Katy Perry Collection: And, our absolute favorite thing we've seen from OPI this year: OPI BLACK SHATTER!!  Here's Black Shatter applied to all of the Katy Perry colors.  Read tips below for making Black Shatter work for you!  You can order all of these colors here. Note the difference an extra coat of OPI Black Shatter makes - cool huh! Here are some tips for really making Black Shatter work for you: 1.  OPI Black Shatter is perfect for coating on any OPI color - not just Katy Perry.  The crazy bold brights have a powerful effect, and so do the really vampy violets and greens.  Experiment away. 2.  For OPI Black Shatter to work just right, your base coat nail polish color must be 100% dry.  In fact, we're suggesting you paint your nails, go do something else, and come back sometime in the next hour to do your second coat, to make sure that the effect is perfect. 3.  Adding extra coats of OPI Black Shatter gives a totally different effect.  Check out the Black Shatter swatch all the way on the left (only one coat) compared to the swatch all the way on the right (two coats)- the cracks are much more prominent and separated.  The variety is awesome! 4. When you first apply the polish, it will look thin and uneven, but don't worry - it's supposed to! Shortly after it starts to dry, it will crack and separate for the effect above. Enjoy!!

Unsightly, persistent and downright annoying, blackheads are a serious killjoy.  Blackheads are just like any other pimples, except that they form in wide open pores and remain uncovered.  Touching the air turns the pimples black, and helps them pop out for the world to see.  So starting right now, we make it stop.  Here are six quick steps to help you stay blackhead free! 1. CLEANSE:  Keep your skin clean!  Choose an acne cleanser with either benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid to fight oily build-ups.  A routine is key- don't let the grime creep up on you!  We suggest something like Dermastage's Acne Cleanser. 2. TONE:  Choose an alcohol-free facial toner to balance the ph-level of your skin.  Toners are designed to keep your skin healthy, allowing for ultimate moisture absorption and shrinking pores.  We suggest Alba Botanica's Sea Kelp Facial Toner, full of certified organic and extremely powerful ingredients.  Perfect! 3. SPOT TREAT: When and if pimples sneak through your defense, treat them right away! Choose an acne gel or acid treatment very much like Dermastage's Acne Relief Gel to dry up the pimple as quickly as possible! 4.  MOISTURIZE: The key to avoiding blackheads taking over your face is constant exfoliation.  To offset this scrubbing, however, healthy skin needs moisture to keep proper levels of elasticity.  Moisturizing before exfoliating is key.  Exfoliating opens up pores and clears them out, and even though moisturizer is excellent for your face, leaving pores clear after exfoliating is a much better idea.  So let your face soak up some moisture before you scrub! Try a super energizing moisturizer like Cor Silver's Anytime Moisturizer. 5. EXFOLIATE: At least twice a week, scrub your skin and exfoliate dead skin cells.  Especially during the dry season, dead skin cells build up on the surface of your face and create blockages.  Keep your pores clear and open with a simple scrub, like Juara's Rice Facial Scrub. 6. MASK:  Once a week, polish off your skincare routine with a clarifying mask that not only removes built up deposits but also includes a chemical exfoliant to eat up tough-to-clear build up.  Our new favorite mask is The Holy Mud Company's Pumpkin Glycolic Mask. Work these steps into your routine and watch black heads disappear!

Who were your favorites from the Golden Globes Red Carpet?  We were totally impressed with the creativity and variety of the dresses, designers and celebs this year.  Though others had truly beautiful makeup (um, Scarlett Johansson!), stellar dates (like Brad Pitt), or some gorgeous jewelry, here are the best and the worst dresses from the Red Carpet, based on our office vote! The very very very worst (by a landslide vote): Helena Bonham Carter Picking the very best was much much harder for us.  With such a variety, how do we decide?  Alas, we narrowed it down to our top five.  Drumroll, please.... For incredible glitter, gold shoes and some serious guts: Olivia Wilde For the perfect dress on the perfect body in the perfect color: Anne Hathaway For looking killer in black, with great curves and a beautiful back: Eva Longoria For an absolutely beautiful dress with stylish details and beautiful accents: Megan Fox And last but certainly note least, for pulling off a creative vintage look flawlessly: Scarlett Johansson: (and PS... she's my personal favorite. :) Let us know which you prefer! They're unbelievable!

Awards Season now fully in swing with the Golden Globes, we're celebrating our favorite time of year at Beauty of the Site.  We love watching the dresses, the routines, the red carpet gossip and the way that Hollywood's best designers pull out all the stops! We're looking forward to tonight's celebration of 2010 cinema, and especially the beauty and poise of Hollywood's A-List actresses.  Here are some of our favorites, both for their performances but even more for their incredible glamour!  Check back tomorrow for our Red Carpet Rundown! Natalie Portman, The Black Swan Nicole Kidman, The Rabbit Hole Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

New year, new looks and best of all: new products from Phyto!  The same quality and excellent formula that we've come to expect from Phyto has been taken to new heights with the unveiling of these newest products for 2011. Make sure and check out: Phytolisse Shampoo: Smoothing shampoo with extra anti-frizz components, straightening hair while detangling and protecting hair from breakage Phytolisse Mask: The perfect companion to Phytolisse Shampoo, the Mask deeply conditions hair, both helping to control frizz while shortening the blow-dry process and deeply hydrating hair Phytolium Energizing Shampoo: Perfect for healthier, thicker hair, the Energizing Shampoo stimulates healthy hair growth for all hair types Phytotheol Shampoo: Intensely calming, Phytotheol shampoo relieves itchiness while prevanting irritating dandruff Check out these and other favored Phyto products here

My cousin is "one of those people."  "One of those people" who own everything that they could want, are terribly difficult to shop for and someone for whom I always have to figure out SOMETHING to buy for Christmas. Beauty of a Site's Swedish Elf Soaps are truly some of the perfect gifts for "those people."  They are funky, different, extremely high quality, Christmas-y and above all, totally affordable.  They are small gifts to show people you care, without the stress of tracking down something they don't already have! From the Victorian Scandinavian Soap Company, these Swedish Christmas soaps are perfect for everyone one your gift list, and are currently on sale for only $4.50.  Stock up! Give them in gift exchanges, send them to school with your kids and surprise your loved ones with something totally original. We're featuring the soaps to help clear out our Christmas inventory, so the discount is only available for a limited time.  Make sure and order soon! Click here to browse all our quaint Swedish Christmas soaps!

January is the perfect time to get our acts together; a fresh start when we can all get into the habits that will make the upcoming year an even better one than the year before. Here are five beauty habits that will keep you looking and feeling beautiful in 2011: Fresher Feet (1): We challenge you to a weekly pedicure.  With OPI's tropical scented scrubs and masks, five minutes in the shower keeps feet looking professionally pedicured all winter long.  Nothing makes you feel more beautiful than perfect soft and smooth feet in strappy shoes! Stronger Nails (2): Thirty seconds every morning with a clear coat of Dabu Nail Hardener not only keeps your manicure looking shiny and fresh, but protects nails from breaking, cracking or splitting.  Stronger, more beautiful nails only takes a coat a day! Younger Skin (3): Wash your face every night with a soap that does the hard work for you.  Cor soap's proven formula keeps skin glowing with a simple wash before bed.  Three minutes before bed and twenty years off your skin.  Definitely worth your time! Healthier Hair (4): Pamper your hair in 2011 with a decadent hair oil like Leonor Greyl's Palm Oil (Huile de Palme).  A pre-shampoo treatment intended to infuse your hair with moisture and protect it from damage.  A perfect treatment for anyone who's hair suffers from heat damage, over styling or winter dryness. Sexier Smile (5): The very best of any at home whitening treatments, Supersmile will help you achieve the perfect super-white sexy smile in 2011.  An easy and quick routine just like brushing your teeth at night will keep your smile more beautiful than ever!

As we're running around finishing up our perfect New Year's Eve look for tonight (nothing like shopping at the office!), we thought you might enjoy hearing about what we used to get the look!  We loved sparkly pinks, silvers and dark matte greys to build the perfect New Year's Eve glam! For Nails: From the OPI Burlesque Holiday Collection, we chose Sparkle-icious.  One of the six glitters (not shimmers, but glitters), this shade is multi colored (that's right... it matches everything) and adds just the right glitz to our get up. For Skin: To get the perfect pink glow, we skipped bronzer and used classic pink blush (Bed Head has a perfect selection), coupled with all over shimmer powder.  We concentrated the shimmer along cheek bones and even under the brow line for maximum impact.  We got the best results using Bed Head's Shake It Loose Powder in Shimmer. For Eyes: Natural mineral shadow, like the Orglamix Pure Mineral Eye Color adds the perfect natural sheen, while being easily blended and applied for intricate looks.  We thought the Twilight eye color kit was absolutely perfect, because it used the playful pink we love with darker grey tones and white highlights. * Pro Tip: Use the eye color kit picture on the website as a guide to blending and applying the three shades. For Lips:  Shimmering natural lips seemed perfect for the occasion, so we chose DuWop's Lip Venom to gloss and accentuate our natural lip color to the perfect kissable pink.  DuWop's Pink Shimmer Lip Venom gave us both the perfect pink tint and subtle sparkle that was essential for our NYE theme. * Pro Tip: Never accentuate both eyes and lips on one night.  If your eyes are dark and dramatic, let naturally toned lips do the kissing.  Or, if you're sporting bright red lip stick, keep the eyes simple.  Choose where you want the focus to stay!

Far from your mother's nail polish company, OPI is making bold moves in touching the artistic heart of a new generation.  Their newest collection, the OPI Katy Perry Collection, releases in January, featuring four shameless new shades along with a brand new nail polish finish: OPI Shatter. The four new shades, from left to right, are Teenage Dream (lavender), The One That Got Away (burgandy), Not Like the Movies (gunmetal grey), Last Friday Night (light blue shimmer) and (not pictured), OPI Black Shatter. OPI Black Shatter just looks black in the bottle, but it's crinkle top sets it apart as special.  And that's exactly what it is!  Layer on top of any other color, as as it dries, watch it crackle, revealing whichever color is layered underneath.  Cool, huh? Check out this video from OPI featuring each of the new colors, the OPI Black Shatter effect and even a sneak peak from the OPI Serena collection, releasing next Spring! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1piNxgXJzI]

For the month of December, we're celebrating CND's Creative Scentsations lotions and washes by offering them at 30% off!  Each individual 8 oz lotion and wash, usually priced at $10 each, is $7 to help you enjoy the giving season. Creative Scentsations washes and lotions feature unique, beautiful fragrances ranging from classic and comfortable, like apple & cinnamon to surprisingly fresh, like cucumber and aloe, to festive, like sparkling champagne. This huge variety of "scent-sations" is what sets CNDs lotions apart.  These high quality formulas are used at salons nationwide, boasting extremely nourishing ingredients that make them professional quality. The best of both worlds - creative fragrances and superior quality - set CND Scentsations apart as some of the most coveted lotions and washes we've ever sold. Click here to check out all of the fragrances that we offer! Looking for a unique gift for someone in your life?  Check out this beautiful gift set from Creative Scentsations!:

Cher and Christina Aguilera graced the red carpet this week at the premier of their new movie, Burlesque.  Two truly talented divas, these women have come together to create a musical masterpiece. And we're pretty dang excited to see it. To get in the mood, consider trying out some of OPI's Holiday polishes, inspired and named after the movie, Burlesque.  Featuring as much glamour and exuberance as the movie, each of these colors either shimmers or glitters, just in time for a season of parties, holidays and reasons to look gorgeous. Click here to check out these new colors!