Hello Bright Eyes

I have blue eyes and am always looking for a way to make them sparkle. That beautiful clear eyed sparkle that you find in children. As I was researching cosmetics on the internet I came across Collyere Bleu eyedrops. They claim to whiten the whites of eyes and enhance the color of light blue or green eyes. At only $30.00 I decided to give them a try.

When I received the drops in the mail I was very skeptical. I've used Clear Eyes and Visine and keep it in my makeup bag to clear eyes before a special occasion or after a long night. Those brands work okay but sometime burn my eyes so they end up looking more red later after its worn off. I dropped the Collyere Bleu drops in my eyes and they didn't burn at all. After two drops and five minutes the whites of my eyes were clear and my blue eyes sparkled. It lasted all day long. I plan to use it on my models for photo shoots prior to the makeup application.

I'm impressed!

Up Close and Personal With The Brazilian Wax

Let's face it women's pubic hair changes with the decades.  In the 1970's a full grown "bush" was in style.  A bikini wax would have been used to remove hair from the legs and not really the pubic region.  I guess Free Love really "let it all hang out".  In the 1980's the high cut swim suits made it necessary to go a little further in with the wax and create more of a tidy little puff of pube.  The 90's brought on the highly coveted "landing strip".  The landing strip is still a great option for those who do not want to go completely bare.  Hair is waxed from the sides, top and behind to make an adorable little strip of hair leading to a bare down there appearance.  In 2009 I am a professional waxer and what a great time to be in this industry.  Its getting very exciting.  My clients are wanting it all gone and I mean ALL!  One day last summer I counted six waxes in one day, when I returned home from a hard days work I told my husband that I was no longer an esthetician but a pubic hair artist.  I was slinging wax, holding up legs, pulling back flesh and all for a worthy cause of ridding women of the embarrassment of anything peaking out of their swim suits.  Last month I took a class on Sugaring.  Sugaring is an all natural paste that looks like honey and is used to remove hair.  It is applied in the opposite direction of the hair growth and then removed in the same way the hair grows.  This makes it less painful because waxing pulls hair in the opposite direction it grows which allows for more breakage of hair.  With Sugaring you get baby soft skin and it leads to permanency overtime.  I can attest to this as I was the guinea pig in class and was very surprised at the difference between waxing and sugaring.  I am now a fan of sugaring after using wax for almost seven years.  Sugaring is great for Brazilians because of the way the hair detaches from the follicle and the ease of it all.  

The protocol for Brazilian Sugaring is this and this is precisely what you'll get if you come into one of my salon spas:

1.  Apply gloves and consult with client about whether they would like to wear a paper panty or nothing at all. It doesn't matter to us but sometimes those thin little panties make the client more comfortable.  

2.  Trim any excess hair down to 1/4 of an inch.

3.  Prep area with a cleanser, spray tonic and powder

4.  Begin at the very top of pubic bone and work your way in.  

5.  When top is removed have client hold her leg up so skin is pulled tight and work your way in from the top of the leg into the vagina.  (yes, I just blogged vagina)  

6.  If there is hair on the bottom the is not able to be reached by this method you must then flip client over and remove the hair from bottom.  

7.  Spray tonic to soothe, and apply Calming Lotion.  

8.  Leave room so that client can now gain her composure and leave the salon out into the world with a new lease on life.  Life without pubes!  Ain't life grand!

This usually takes 15-25 minutes and must be repeated every four weeks for best results.  Client must exfoliate area every day so not to get ingrown hairs.  This is very important.  

To book your Brazilian sugaring, wax or any type of hair removal visit www.theoxfordspasalon.com.  Sugaring technicians are Janee', Jaclyn and Amanda

Spinning is good for the Bootie!

I have heard of spinning and not being a fan of cardio it never interested me. That is until I found out it burns about 500 calories in an hour and I thought with my limited time for excercise this could get me fit for summer. I tend to put weight on like most women in the stomach, butt and thighs. Spinning targets those areas as well as fat burning cardio for a healthy heart and makes you sweat which is always important for detoxification. This is all done on a stationary bike which allows you to adjust the resistance dependent on skill level. Ashley, my super fit and adorable instructor, welcomed me and showed me how to adjust my bike. She made me feel very comfortable, the adjustments were simple and in minutes I was spinning away. In my class of about 10 men and women we listened to great music blaring and watched Edward Scissor hands simultaneously. The first 30 minutes all that was going through my head was, "I gotta get the hell out of here". Ashley had us sitting, standing, and a half sit called "hovering". Holy crap I was feeling the burn!!! My legs felt like my knees would buckle and I started sweating. I hate sweating! The last 30 minutes I actually started to enjoy myself. My muscles warmed up, my legs felt stronger and I enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with the others. At the end we dismounted our bikes and I knew that I would be incredibly sore tomorrow. But, I think that doing this hardcore workout twice a week along with not eating like a cow, I will be well on my way to being bathing suit ready for summer. M+ Yoga (www.yogamaggie.com) offers Power Yoga and Spinning almost all days of the week and is located in Wilshire Village in Nichols Hills. You should try it!

Getting Started

I can't wait to get started on my first ever blog.  

I have many things to write about.  This blog was a request from friends, family and colleagues who say they'd love a way to keep up with all the newest crazes that I am constantly talking about.  I am also rounding up some contributing writers that will bring even more beauty, fashion and fitness advice for you.  Stay tuned...