Find the perfect blush - Cool and warm undertones

Your skin tone is your guide for selecting a blush shade. If your skin has cool undertones (silver looks best on you), choose plums, mauves, and cool pinks. If your skin has warm undertones (gold looks best on you), choose earth-toned colors. If your skin has neutral undertones, choose colors like rose, coral, and sandalwood (pinkish beige).

How to know if you have cool (blue) or warm (yellow) undertones - Look at the inside of your forearms, if your veins are more blue then you have cool undertones. If they look more green you have warm undertones... yellow + blue = green. And again, cool tones look best in white metals and yellow tones look best in gold metals. However, some people are color balanced but most are cool. Here is a helpful chart:

Why use eye shadow primer & product review of Ruby Kisses 24/7 Magic Primer

The purpose of eye shadow primer is to prevent your eye shadow from creasing and to help the colors appear more vibrant. Your skin exudes natural oils throughout the day, even on your eyelids. When eye shadow is applied without primer, whether it's cream or powder, it'll crease at the skin folds on your lids where the oils collects. This makes for a splotchy uneven look. Also, when primer is not used eye shadow can appear dull and lackluster. Almost every cosmetic line makes an eye shadow primer and some come in various shades and textures as well. I have not tried them all of course, but my favorite at the moment is Ruby Kisses 24/7 Magic Primer for a few reasons: #1 its for all skin tones because it goes on sheer, #2 it's not thick or cakey, #3 it's inexpensive, #4 it helps the colors apply smoothly and makes them more vibrant, #5 its long lasting. I've had clients tell me they've even slept with their eye shadow on and woke up with it still in prefect condition the next morning (although I would never recommend going to bed with makeup on). Overall, I highly recommend using eye shadow primer, and Ruby Kisses 24/7 Magic Primer in particular. I purchased mine at my local beauty supply store, but you can also purchase it online at http://www.rubykissescosmetics.com/

How to exercise and still maintain your hairstyle

Limit the amount of sweat that gets into your hair by putting it into a ponytail and/or wrap your hair with a scarf before working out. Also wear an easy to maintain style that will not be ruined with exercise like a bob, layered cut or natural hairstyles. If you do water aerobics be sure to tie your hair up and wear a scarf and/or swim cap to prevent your hair from getting wet. Following these tips will help you stay cute AND fit!

Health & Hair Expo

I was recently informed about another health and hair expo coming up in Milwaukee.  I don't have many details but here is what I do know:

Event: United Healthcare Community Plan Women's Health & Hair Expo
Date: September 25th
Location: Frontier Airline Center (formerly Midwest Express Center)
Price: $27 (free if you have United Healthcare as your insurance provider)

Again, I'm not exactly sure what will take place at this event, if it will be geared towards African-American health & hair or if it will be a mixed crowd. 

Visit the Frontier Airlines Center website for updates http://www.midwestairlinescenter.com/events/704-united-healthcare-community-plan-women-s-health---hair-expo

Men and Facial Hair

There a lot of modern men prefer a clean shaven face.  However there are some who may look nice with a nicely trimmed mustache, goattee, stubble, sideburns, five O' Clock shadow or beard.  Now-a-days we see it all whether it be in the hip-hop world or other pop culture genres.  Almost anything goes.  The key is to find the best look for your individual style; classic, hip hop, rocker, urban chic, conservative, the list goes on.  Check out the links below to view some facial hair styles, old and new, and see what might suit you.
http://www.ftmguide.org/facialhair.html
http://www.askmen.com/grooming/appearance/top-8-timeless-facial-hair-styles_8.html
http://glo.msn.com/relationships/what-his-facial-hair-says-about-him-5099.gallery
     

New makeovers!

Check out new before and after pics of E. Pearl clients!  To view, click the E. Pearl link above and be redirected to our website.

Coco Curls Update - Ingredients

Good news!  I actually heard back from Coco Curls regarding my request for an ingredients list (or at least the featured ingredients).  Here it is:

Aloe Vera Juice, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Honey, Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Ceteary Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Dehydroxanthan Gum, Fragrance Oils.

Product review - Coco Curls Curly Styling Aid

This past weekend I went to a natural hair meet in downtown Milwaukee where we received little gift bags at the door.  They consisted of product samples, business cards and jewelry - very cute idea.  One of the samples was a styling cream called Coco Curls.  First let me say that I am the type of natural girl who prefers not to use any styling aids on my hair besides my favorite herbal oil, I normally blow it out then do a dry twist-out then rock a fro or some other cute style.  But this product smelled so good that I just had to try it.  It reminds me of a clean, fresh coconut/coco butter scent, very warm and inviting.  It has a smooth creamy texture and does not leave a sticky film or residue on my fingers or my hair which is key for me.  And there wasn't a whole lot of shrinkage after application.  So the next morning when I took down my twist-out my hair wasn't stiff or sticky, it felt soft and still had movement.  And the curl pattern was very pretty and bouncy, and again, no excess shrinkage.  Overall I give this product an A+ and I will be purchasing a whole jar for myself.  I know some of you natural ladies are avid ingredient readers but the seller of this product does not list the ingredients, however some are mentioned on her website which is www.cococurls.com  I hope you all enjoy this product as much as I do!

Hair Growth

Ladies, the average person's hair grows about 1/2" per month. No matter what your hair will grow. But certain factors play into whether or not you see the growth and how much it grows, such as pregnancy, breast feeding, malnutrition or hormonal imbalance. How to promote hair growth: eat lots of protein, keep hair trimmed, take vitamins E & D or even a supplement such as Biotin which is especially for hair skin and nails.

Men With Curly Hair

I got this tip from my husband who has thick curly hair. I never knew this but some guys with curly hair don't like it when they wet it and put on a styling product and when it curls up their scalp shows between the curls. Solution: grow the hair a little longer, his is about 2" long. That way when the curls curl up it'll result in a longer looser curl offering better coverage of the scalp.

Non-curly, curly girls

What do you think about women who have natural curly/kinky hair but choose to, or should I say prefer to, wear their hair straight?  Why might this be their preference?  A few things come to mind... manageability, fear or maybe even conformity.  Some women might have super thick hard to maintain hair when in its natural state, therefore they opt for the more convenient, less time consuming choice.  Then there are some women who don't feel they look good with their hair in it's natural state, they don't like the looks people give them.  Then some may believe that straight hair is less intimidating , less "ethnic" in the negative sense of the word, and that a more European look is the way to go and will open more doors in life.  I just read this article on http://www.happi.com/ which sparked the idea for this post.  Here is the link, let us know what you think.    http://www.happi.com/news/2011/08/26/salon_brands_roll_out_brazilian_blowout_alternatives?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+HappiBreakingNews+(Happi+Breaking+News  

Welcome!

Hello fellow bloggers!

We're so excited to finally have our blog up and running where we can generate open discussion about different topics such as beauty, health, fashion, hair, makeup etc.  And if you didn't notice this blog is for EVERYONE!  Some men might be a little hesitant to step into this world, but trust me, this isn't a girlie site only talking about hair and makeup, we plan to cover all bases and cater to both MEN and WOMEN, as you will see from our fav links on the sidebar.  So please hit us with some topics that might be of interest you and subscribe and share this page with your friends!  You can also take the poll on the sidebar and let us know what you might want to talk about.  Stay tuned...

Click on the E. Pearl Makeup & Cosmetic Service link above to be redirected to our website and contact information.