Archive for the ‘Beauty Tips’ Category

Top 5 Quick Tricks To Look Younger

Aging may be inevitable, but the Spa Boutique Team of Experts 5 Quick Tricks to Look Younger!

1. Show Some Skin

By your 20s or 30s, odds are, you’ve probably settled into a makeup/skincare routine that works for you. As you age, it’s important to update your routine with current colours and trends to avoid looking “dated”. Layering on foundation and powder to ‘recreate’ the look of your skin has fallen out of fashion.

Today’s look focuses on enhancing your skin rather than covering it up. Target wrinkles and loss off firmness through professional skin care. We love Guinot, Peter Thomas Roth, and Sothys! Opt for a tinted moisturizer, light  concealer for any discoluoration, and finish with a light dusting of loose powder to help matify.

Favoutite Tinted Moisturizers: Jane Iredale Dream Tint SPF 15, Guinot Teint Hydratant: Tinted Moisturizer

Best Concelers: Jane Iredale Circle Delete Under Eye Concealer Base, Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Concealer & Brightener, Jane Iredale Active Light Under Eye Concealer

Lightest Powders:  Jane Iredale Loose Mineral Powder Starter Set, Youngblood Mineral Makeup LOOSE Mineral Rice Setting Powder

2. Love Your Lashes

Like skin, your lashes loose some of their firmness as you age and start to droop. Enter the infamous eyelash curler! Giving lashes that extra boost before adding mascara is a quick way to open up your eyes and really make them pop.

A recent study found that, as we age, brows and lashes thin and lighten. This causes a decrease in facial contrast, one of the reason why you can look older. Fill in your brows with a natural pencil and opt for black mascara.

Tweezerman Classic Eyelash Curler
Talika Mini Eyelash Curler
Blinc Heated Lash Curler

3. Shimmer in Nude

Switch to a shimmery eye shadow. One of the best ways to keep your eyes looking bright, a soft powder can help refract light and make your eyes look brighter. Choose nudes and neutrals for everyday wear. Bold colours can draw attention to fine lines and wrinkles, especially in creams as they have a tendency to dry out, accentuate lines, and flake.

Skeyndor Makeup: Eye Shadow in Champagne, Bark, or Honey
Jane Iredale PurePressed Eye Shadow: Choice of Colors (2g)
Pure + Simple Face Colour – Eyes in Spice

4. Ditch the Red Lips

Hot Neon lips are fantastic for the occasional fancy dress event- but for everyday they can start to look forced. Same goes for those bright reds. Makeup that appears to be too artificial is an immediate cue that you’re trying “too hard”. Instead, opt for a more natural look. Choose a warm lip shade from the pink, berry, or bee-stung family.

Layer with a gloss, such as GM Collin Lip “Plumping” Complex: Clear, that has plumping ingredients to help restore fullness to your lips. Key plumping ingredients to look for are Cinnamon, Peppermint, and Cayenne Pepper, Menthol, collagen, hyaluronic acid or Capsaicin.

Make sure to exfoliate and massage your lips to help keep them plump and kissable! We love Jane Iredale Sugar & Butter Lip Scrub & Plumper.

Several of our results driven product lines offer lip serums. If your noticing fine lines, try out Guinot Longue Vie Levres: Longue Vie Vital Lip Care.

5. Rest and revitalize your soul!

Tired skin always ages you. Instead, make sure to tuck in for your 7 or 8 hours of dreamtime every night! If you’re really needing a perk, go for a mask or under eye patch to quickly restore nutrients and moisture to your skin. Personally, I love Vivescence Nutri-Energy Instant Vitality Mask for instant all over rejuvenation. Need an instant under the eye lift? GM Collin Instant Radiance Anti-Aging Eye Patch remove puffiness and fatigue in only 20 minutes!

 

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

 

New Additions to the Spa Boutique Family!

At Spa Boutique, we’re constantly expanding our selection of beauty and wellness products.

With all of these new items, it can be a challenge to stay on top of all the latest additions to the spa Boutique family! Here are some of the Brands our team is excited about:

Lashes thinning? LATISSE® has been clinically proven to more than doubles lash fullness in 16 weeks! The first and only FDA-approved prescription treatment for inadequate or sparse eyelashes. It helps grows longer, fuller, darker lashes. LATISSE® is a once-nightly treatment applied topically to the base of your upper eyelashes. You may start to see more length in as little as 4 weeks with full growth in only 16 weeks! Available exclusively online through Spa Boutique under the direction Dr. Bob Morrell.

LATISSE®, It’s real lash growth.

Learn More

A Swiss innovator, Medela offers premier Breast Pumps and Breast Feeding accessories. They are actively involved in Women’s Health Projects, Breast Feeding Advocacy, and Research. Medela aims to provide the best possible breast feeding experience for you and your baby. The versatile Swing Breast Pump is one of the smallest, lightest, electric pumps available. Looking for a hands free pump? try the Medela Freestyle. This double pump is perfect for moms who pump several times a day!

While Medela may be best known for their breast pumps, they also make a variety of feeding solutions for infants, breast care products (The nursing pads are superb!),  and Intimate Apparel.

Learn More

Omega Nutrition is the original flax oil company. A wide variety of health products, including salts, supplements, and more! Heavily involved in the organic and natural movement  they provide many Vegan and natural alternatives to traditional supplements! The first company to bring unrefined, certified organic flax seed oil to the North American market, Omega Nutrition is considered to be the forerunner in essential fatty acid (EFA) nutrition. They manufacture the freshest, highest-quality, unrefined, organic oils and related products from the best raw materials.

Omega Nutrition products are super easy to prepare! Drizzle good-for-you oils over salads and pastas, Sprinkle flax seeds onto cereals and into smoothies, or take convenient capsules with you when you’re on the go!

Learn More

We’re dedicated to bringing you the latest in skincare, makeup, health, and wellness. We’re always on the hunt for new amazing items! Is there a product you’ve been looking for but unable to find? Leave a comment, send us an email or a tweet and let us know.

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

Get Your Hands Ready For Summer – Best Lotions, Treatments, and Tricks for Youthful Hands

Winter Winds and Spring Cleaning can really take a toll on your hands. Now that the nicer weather and amazing summer nail trends are here, it’s time to start repairing!

Hand-y Masks

To help repair weather worn hands, try a hand mask. Like a face masque, these ultra rich lotions penetrate deep into your skin to maximize healing. Most need to remain on the skin for 20 minutes or so, just like your facial mask.  I try to do my hands at the same time, usually during a hot bath or while watching reruns on Slice.

While you can repurpose a hydrating facial mask for dry hands, I still prefer choosing a hand specific product to deal with issues such as tightness, dryness, weather damage, and callusing.

Babor SPA Mediterranee for Hands Hand Mask Super Rich (100 ml) An extra-rich mask designed for extremely stressed, dry skin.

Alessandro Thermasoft Self Heating Hand Mask (1 pair) 100% Natural, this Self-Heating Hand Mask is actually a pair of gloves that offer intensive care.

Alessandro Cream Royal Regenerating Hand Mask (50ml) This amazing Mask regenerates tired hands and is a great anti-aging treatment.

Cuticle Care and Nail Strengthening

When I first learned about manicures, nails, and all things glittery- trimming your cuticles was a critical part part of the routine. However, times have change. Current research recommends pushing back your cuticles. And, unless you’re a licensed nail technician, you should never trim your cuticles. Your cuticles help to protect and care for your nails as they grow. When cuticles are cut or trimmed, the nails lose their protection and can grow in distorted. I just adore my SpaRitual Cuti-Cocktail Pen & Pusher. This 2-in-1 uses a nourishing serum to help soften cuticles while promoting nail growth. Also, try out the Cuccio Cuticle Conditioning Butter Stick a great blend of Shea Butter, Vitamins A & E and Olive Oil.

There are two big things that you can do to strengthen your nails. First, opt for an amazing CND Solar Oil Treatment. There are a lot of nail and cuticle oils available right now. CND Solar Oil is my favourite. The Jojoba Oil is key. It penetrates deep into your nails and leaves them strong.

The other Major Must for Nail Strengthening is always starting with a base coat when putting on polish. There are a couple of important reasons for this, intensely coloured polishes can stain nails, wearing polish can weaken your nails, and some base coats have additional ingredients to strengthen or help nails grow.  Our favourites? Butter London Nail Foundation: Flawless Basecoat, Mavala 002 Protective Base Coat, and Alessandro Nourishing Base Coat.

The Best  Daily Hand Creams

As with the rest of your skin, it’s extremely important to keep your hands well moisturized. Wind, weather, and daily life can take their toll on your skin. It’s recommended to moisturize your hands after every time you wash as constant water exposure, ironically, dies out skin! Plus, soaps and cleansers can remove some of the natural protective oils on your skin.

Keep hands soft with some of our favourite hand creams:

Burt’s Bees Shea Butter Hand Repair Crème (2 sizes)
Burt’s Bees Shea Butter Hand Repair Crème is a super rich natural hand cream that is perfect for a daily indulgence. Sunflower oil and glycerin are infused with the all-natural goodness of shea butter and essential botanical oils like macadamia nut, rosehip, lavender, neroli and borage, that impart antioxidants and fatty acids to nourish your skin, nails and cuticles.

 

Guinot Longue Vie Mains: Multi-Action Vital Hand Care (75 ml)
Longue Vie Mains is an ideal, intensive non-greasy hand and nail daily treatment that moisturizes protects and enhances the youthful appearance of hands by stimulating cellular renewal and minimizing the appearance of brown spots and blemishes, while moisturizing and nourishing the hands to keep them beautiful, soft and supple.

Yonka Nutri-Protect Mains – Hand Cream (50 ml) 
An ultra-repairing and soothing hand cream that acts as a 3 in 1 treatment for hands, nails and cuticles, Yonka Nutri-Protect Mains repairs even the driest and most damaged skin. Rich in shea butter, this hand cream prevents the premature aging of hands, yet is easily absorbed and non-oily, leaving hands feeling silky and soft.

 

 Looking for the perfect gift? Why not opt for a Burt’s Bees Tips ‘N Toes Kit (6 pc)? A collection of Burt’s Bees rich creams and softening butters that will keep your hands and feet naturally soft and beautiful.

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

 

How to give yourself the perfect manicure

All great manicures start with a fantastic nails! Here’s our 6 step guide to the perfect manicure:

Step 1. Gather the Tools for your perfect manicure:

• Nail File 
  
• Nail Buffer
• Base Coat Nail Polish 
• Nail Polish
• High Gloss Top Coat

Step 2. Choose a nail shape and get filing!

Check out our “Best Nail Shapes” chart on the right to find the one that suits you. Make sure you file your nails in one direction. Filing back and forth can damage the nail, causing it to chip and break.

I love my Nail Tek Regular Crystal File. Unlike standard board files, the glass doesn’t shred or snag your nails, giving you more control when shaping. I also feel like my nails are stronger than when I file them with an ordinary file.

Step 3. Buff and Shine!

Next, take a buffer and smooth our the surface of your nails. A true buffer system should have three parts, a semi-coarse file for cleaning,  a smoother file for smoothing, and an extremely smooth file for polishing.  Some fantastic Buffers are the Alessandro Nail Buffer Set and Trind Nail Magic 3-Way Buffer. By smoothing away fine ridges and scratches, you’re creating a smoother surface for your manicure.

Some days, I’ll opt for just the buff and shine on my nails as the high gloss option is fantastic when you need to give your nails a break between polishes or want a more natural look. To make your naked nails look fantastic, focus on creating a consistent nail shape and texture.

Step 4. Apply the Base Coat.

Start with your base coat. Often either clear or nude. Specialized Base coat polishes help to strengthen and protect your nails. Personally, I haven’t always been a fan of base coats, having to allow all that extra time for another layer of polish to dry? It wasn’t until I left my favourite red nail polish on for a week and found my nails stained. Ever since I’ve been a firm believer in my Butter London Nail Foundation: Flawless Basecoat. A sheer nude, it helps to smooth out ridges and goes on matte.  Apply a thin base coat and let dry.

Ways People Try To Quick Dry Nails

Holding wet nails in front of a fan
Dipping nails in ice water for 3 minutes
Spraying the nails with cooking spray
The ‘cool’ setting on your blow-dryer
Put hands in the freezer for 2 minutes

Step 5. Apply Your Perfect Polish.

Ever since Nail Polish became widely available in the 1920 (thanks to the innovation of automobile paint!), each year brings a multitude of new colours, textures, trends and finishes. How is a girl to choose?! Look for a colour that you will enjoy wearing for the entire length of your manicure. Three days of neon pink is a lot easier to work with than a 4 week shellac in the same shade. That being said, this spring everything is fair game. Neon hues are right on trend, as are pastels, nudes, textured nails, and metallics.

I’ve seen several infographics on How To Apply Nail Polish, but the one below is my favourite. It clearly shows how to brush on Nail Polish for maximum coverage. Start by applying a drop near the base and brush it towards the cuticle. Then, brush towards the tip of the nail. Follow a similar procedure for each side until the nail is covered. With a steady hand, you should be able to achieve full coverage with only 3 strokes, once down the middle and along each side. Don’t worry if the polish seems thin, wait a few minutes and add a second coat. Most Nail Polish requires two coats to bring out the colour. Plus, the second coat will help the manicure to last longer!

Step 6. Finish With A Top Coat

Finally, always finish with either a clear or matte top coat. I love Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. The formula leaves nails strong, durable, and resistant to chipping / peeling. Plus, Seche Vite actually helps dry your nails faster! The glossy sheen to my nails also helps to keep my ‘at home’ manicure looking salon perfect.

 

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

 

Spring Trends – Nude Nails

One of my favourite trends this spring is the nude nail. These easy to wear neutral shades add a level of sophistication to your look. A fantastic complement to vibrant lipstick, Nude Nails are the perfect accessory this Spring!

How To Choose A Nude Nail Polish

“Nude” is a difficult colour to define as it varies from person to person. A true nude is considered the colour closest to the wearers skin tone. Treat choosing a Nude Nail Polish like picking out foundation. Look for colours that work with the natural coolness or warmness of your skin. Are you more of a tan, blush, olive or umber?

I like bringing my foundation with me when I look at Nude Nail Polish to help me find the right shade.  Don’t necessarily try to match the colour exactly. Instead look for your “ideal” nude, one that looks good against your skin, usually this is a shade lighter or darker than your natural tone.

If you tan, make sure to adjust your polish colour to suit your changes in skin tone.

Choose high gloss instead of matte shades. Matte nudes tend to look too much like skin. The high gloss finish helps the eye differentiate between skin and polish.

The Best Nude Nail Polishes

Fair Skin Tones
Essie “Don’t Sweater It”  , Butter London Nail Foundation: Flawless Basecoat  , Essie “My Way” , Butter London Hen Party

Medium Skin Tones
Butter London Starkers Nail Lacquer Collection (Crumpet, Shandy, and Tea & Toast) , Zoya in Pandora , Butter London Bumster , Alessandro Striplac in Parisienne

Olive Skin Tones
Butter London All Hail the Queen , Orly “Flare”  ,   Zoya in Codie , Trind Caring Color Nail Polish “Dark Tan”

Dark Skin Tones
SpaRitual SOIL Earth Day Lacquer Duo , SpaRitual Nail Lacquer The Giving Tree , Butter London Aston Nail Polish , China Glaze in “Call of the Wild”

Nude Nail Art Ideas

Feel a completely nude nail is a touch too risque? Try out some of these brilliant nail art ideas! There are a lot of fun nail trends for spring, neon  black and white, textured… but it can be a challenge to pull them off everyday. Instead, use your nude nail as a base and accent with trendy tones. A touch of design can keep your neutral nails fresh.

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!