Vanity Girl Hollywood

Ok guys, anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE my Vanity Girl Hollywood Mirror! I'll be doing a review of it on my YT channel soon. They have an AMAZING sale through 4th of July weekend for 20% off! Enter code "Remember13" at checkout!

Images are of my personal mirror!

This little gem....

What is it? Glad you asked. 

MAC's Volcanic Ash exfoliating mask. 

This is part of why I love it. 

Hahaha. Please tell me some of you are laughing at this as hard as I am! 

I don't know why, but the way I look in this mask, makes me laugh hysterically. I sort of feel like a man with stubble all over my face. Too bad the mask is not pink. 

100 ml, $28. Lasts forever! Ok not really, but it does last a long time!

On a serious note, I love this stuff! MAC owns its own volcano and this is literally the ash from it. How cool is that?!

My skin has been going haywire ever since the day I decide to put tanning oil all over my face. Due to the breakouts, I've been using more products which treated the acne, but dried my skin out big time. I've been doing homemade scrubs, my cheaper version of the clarisonic, and nothing was working! Then it hit me. Duh! My Volcanic Ash mask! 

Here's my favorite way to use it:

Wet your face with warm water.

Apply a nickel sized amount to your face and GENTLY rub it around until you look something like this picture above. (Go ahead, take a picture and send it to me!)

Wait for ten minutes.  (you'll start to feel a little tingle - totally normal!)

Add a little warm water to your face and GENTLY message your skin.

Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Voila! Flake-free, radiant skin! 

*please note the above is different than the directions on the back, and how my manager at MAC recommended it to me. I have combination skin that is not overly sensitive. If your skin is sensitive, leave on for 1/2 the time and work your way up.*

Check back soon for my favorite go-to summer foundation routine!

Xoxo,

Laura

How to grow long hair FAST and inexpensively!

Hello lovelies,

Some of you might know my latest obsession has been hair. Specifically, my hair and how to grow it out. My hair has never grown fast. I have been dying it for as long as I can remember, literally probably like... 12. I rarely cut it, I never used a heat protector and my hair was FRIED. Like an egg. I was forced to cut it off due to split ends, and when it started growing again, the split ends came back, preventing any real growth. It is now almost where it was before I had to cut it, and stronger and healthier than ever. 

So, that being said, I thought I'd share with you the tips and tricks that I have learned to quickly grow long, strong, beautiful, healthy, shiny hair.

#1. Ever heard of co-washing? This little known hair secret has become a favorite of mine. It's basically skipping past the shampoo and washing your hair with only conditioner. I know, it sounds crazy! But if you use a good handful of conditioner and a little water, you can actually scrub your hair and the conditioner will become all soapy, just like shampoo. Doing this even once a week with help protect those natural oils that are good for hair, which shampoos usually strip right out. 

#2. Another little hair secret is using coconut milk 1-2 times a week. Coat your hair in this delicious-smelling goodness and wrap with a hot towel or plastic wrap for an hour.  Then, shampoo and condition as normal. (I'd recommend doing this one in the shower, as it tends to get a little bit messy.) Coconut milk is known for stimulating hair growth and adding moisture and shine to those precious locks. 

When I'm not co-washing, I use the only shampoo and conditioner I think I will ever use again. A good friend of mine actually bought this for me after I couldn't stop complimenting her daughter on her long, gorgeous hair. (Thanks Gabby!) 

The secret? Organic. The price? Cheap. This stuff is seriously like my holy grail for hair care. I'm sure you've seen it, and not at some fancy high end salon. What is it?

#3. Organix, and I get mine from good 'ol trusty Walmart. Each bottle comes in at less than $6 and lasts quite a while. I have medium length hair, but it is very thick and I'm amazed at how long this stuff lasts. I'm currently using the Keratin Oil Shampoo, and I've been switching between the Keratin Oil Conditioner and the Brazilian Keratin Conditioner. Then, once or twice a week, I use the Moroccan Argan Oil Intensive Therapy, which might as well be called "miracle in a jar". Leave it on for 5 minutes, rinse with cold water and hello gorgeous!

        

#4. Lastly, I've really been limiting the amount of heat I use, which is normally daily straightening or curling. But, now that my hair is growing and thanks to our recent warm weather in MN, (finally!) I've been rockin' a top knot most days. In addition to not using heat, and I'm talking not even the hair dryer....

#5. I do not brush my hair. Seriously. When I'm conditioning, whether its the regular conditioner or the intensive one, I carefully brush a very wide tooth comb through my hair. That's it, and until its completely dry, I don't touch it. When your in the shower, it's good to give your scalp a little message to help stimulate the hair follicles, but after that, leave it alone girls! Your hair is so fragile when it's wet, and very prone to breakage. Trust me here, my split ends got so bad that literally no treatment in the world could save them. I had to cut it from the middle of my back to a very short a-line bob. It's not worth it. 

It might sound like a lot of work, but it's really not. If I busy mom of two girls under 3 can do it, so can you! Thanks to the above, my hair has never been softer and healthier. It is growing very quickly, is always tangle free, and.... Well, like I said in the beginning, I'm pretty much obsessed. My hair has grown a good 3 inches in the past 2-2 1/2 months, and my hair has always been so hard to grow. 

Miranda Kerr <3

Thankfully, I'm now on my way to that gorgeous Victoria's Secret model hair, and thanks to some great, inexpensive products and a little TLC, you can be too. 

Do you have any tips for growing long luxurious hair? Comment below and let me know!

Xoxo,

Laura

My first post! A little introduction is necessary...

Alright, here's the deal. I've been putting off posting and getting this blog going because I wasn't 100% happy with the layout, and I'm a huge perfectionist. I've been doing all of the coding myself, and it's still not what I want it to be, but I'm learning that sometimes....good enough, is good enough. So, here I am. Expect this blog to be adjusting over the next few weeks as I add to it.

So, I suppose I should tell you all a little bit about myself. 

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Laura.  I'm 23 years young and loving every minute of it. I'm married to the most wonderful, gorgeous man in the world and we have two girls, 3 and 1 1/2. I love my life, love my family, and love God.

On the business side of things, I am a freelance Makeup Artist for MAC cosmetics, and have recently started my own business, Makeup By Laura Kristine. I live near Minneapolis, MN and am willing to travel as needed. I have being doing makeup for about 6 years and have been with MAC for almost 2. If you guys have never heard of them, you'd better head on over to MAC Cosmetics and prepare yourself to fall in love. Their products are fabulous and completely addicting, so don't say I didn't warn you! :)

I am so blessed that I get the privilege to do what I love and something I am completely passionate about. I have experience with almost every type of makeup (not special effects - yet!) and working on literally every age range and skin type. 

This purpose of my little blog here is to share with you all some of the tips and tricks I've learned as a professional artist, whether its products or application techniques. You'll also be reading about different products, some diy beauty treatments (slight obsession), probably some fashion related posts, and watching some pretty awesome tutorials from my youtube channel. 

If you guys have any questions or requests to talk about a product or film a tutorial, just let me know in the comments!!

I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.

♥
Laura