The Lantern Skin Studio | Murfreesboro, TN 37128

Where Your Journey to Great Skin Begins

Tools

Brow Tools I Can’t Live Without

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Top 3 Must-Have Brow Tools

I love some pretty eyebrows, and I’m often asked what my favorite brow products and tools are. Here are my 3 must-haves… I use them every day.

 

Brow Must-Have #1 – Anastasia Beverly Hills Duo Brush #12 for Brows

Anastasia Brow Brush

Even on “no makeup” days – I at least give a tiny dab of color to my brows. Your eyebrows frame your face, and it is absolutely amazing to me how much better most women look with a little brow touch up. The synthetic bristles of this brush are the perfect balance in texture: it perfectly picks up color and provides wonderful definition for a well-defined brow look, yet, it can also offer the lightest, most delicate, hair-like strokes for even the most nude makeup applications. The spooley end is fabulous for coming brows up and over, as well as for softening brow powder after application. I have owned more eyebrow brushes than I care to think of, and there is not a single one I like as well as this brush. There are definitely good and “ok” brushes out there, but this one is GREAT and I consider it an absolute must-have for anyone who fills her brows. By the way, if you aren’t filling your brows – you should start! If you happen to be a client of mine and aren’t sure how to fill your brows, just let me know during your next appointment and I’ll be thrilled to show you! This awesome little treasure costs around $18 and can be purchased through any number of outlets including Ulta, Amazon, and directly from Anastasia.

 

Brow Must-Have #2 – Anastasia Beverly Hills Precision Tweezers

Anastasia Precision Tweezers

I purchased my first set of Precision Tweezers in 2006. I still own them. They still tweeze just as beautifully as they did the day I purchased them. They have never bent nor stopped grabbing hairs with… wait for it… precision. But really, they haven’t. I now own several of these tweezers. I have one on my beauty vanity, one in my purse, and two at my skin care studio. The Anastasia Precision Tweezers do not break hairs off, they are precise enough to grab even the finest of little hairs as well as the shortest little hairs that you so desperately try to get but most tweezers just won’t grasp on to. These truly are “precise” tweezers and I consider them a must have tool. These tweezers run $28 – thus far, I’m working on my 11th year with my first pair – if only I got 11 years out of ALL my investments! As of the writing of this blog post, Anastasia is offering free shipping for orders over $25, so if you picked up the brow brush above and these tweezers – you’d pay nothing for shipping.

Quick note: I receive NO kickbacks from ANY of these products lines or companies. I just happen to be loyal to products I love – and I want my tribe (that’s all my guests at the studio and my readers) to know about those things I find extra special!

Brow Must-Have #3 – Matte Eye Shadow in a Perfect Color for You

Matte Eyebrow Powder Here’s the truth: I dislike brow pencils and most brow powders. I threw away all my brow pencils years ago, and if you were to dig through my makeup stash, you might find a long lost brow powder product – but it’d be so old, I’d hope you’d throw it away for me.

For some reason, the industry seems to think we need waxy and tacky substances to properly fill our brows. I am of a different opinion. I think most of us just need a little color and a good brush (see above), and unless we have particularly unruly brows – we don’t need the waxy, tacky, sticky stuff.

 

So, matte shadow it is. Cheap, a bazillion colors to choose from, lasts forever, easily removed if you mess up, no strange feeling residue, and can be applied as natural or dramatic as desired – with ease.

The key here is finding a matte eye shadow in a color suitable to your natural brow color, or in some cases, to match nicely with whatever dye color you’ve been using in your hair. I personally use a medium depth cool tone brown (meaning it does not have a golden hue) that’s in a bigger eye shadow palette that I love. I get eyes, brows, and a myriad of other uses out of one palette. But, I’ve had singles before as well. As for application, I really should make a video about this sometime in the future – but what you’re looking to do is gently tap the edge of your brush into your color, and using short, gentle strokes, follow  the natural lines of your brow and fill in the center. You only add more powder when you really need more color. Using short and gentle movements means you won’t be tracing harsh lines around your brows. To get a great inner edge to your brows, hold the edge of the brush vertically – and gently press it against the inner line of your brow. You’ll get a perfectly aligned inner brow and can then use that as a starting point for your fill. Use the spooley end of your brush to gently brush your brows up and over to soften any areas that need it. And, just like I mentioned earlier, if you’re a guest at The Lantern Skin Studio and need help learning how to fill and define your brows, just let me know the next time you’re in – I’ll be happy to show you!

Do you have favorite brow tools and products? Have you tried any of the ideas above? I always enjoy reading your ideas and feedback so feel free to leave a comment below!

 

Did you enjoy this post? If so, you might also be interested in Makeup Makeover: 5 Ways to Save BIG on Makeup and Still Look Great.

 

The Best Foot File – Ever!

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Get better feet – fast.

We’re quickly moving towards the spring season, and I know some of you will be ready to get a jump start on spring-ready feet. If you have spent a bazillion dollars on every crazy gadget that promises to give you softer paws, life will change for you after this post. It takes some elbow work, there’s no battery operated magic here, and you’ll want to sit on the edge of your tub to use this, but let me introduce you to the last foot file you’ll ever need…

Swedish Clover Foot File by Flowery

Folks, this is THE foot file. I mean, really – it is the one you need to have, and the one you will cherish above all foot files. Toss away those garbage Ped Eggs, ridiculously expensive rotating foot sanders like Amope, and flimsy files that lose quality within one use or the adhesive sanding paper is coming off within a month. Trust me. Do it.

The Swedish Clover Foot File has two sides – one with a coarse  grit and one with a very fine grit. The key to falling in love with this file is using it properly. Lots of people use these things dry, and you’ll get covered with a funky dead skin cell powder within minutes. You’ll be breathing in the old dead cells from your feet and the stuff goes everywhere. So, please – don’t use it dry. It is MUCH more effective damp (not wet).

Here’s THE BEST way to use it:

With dry feet, sit on the side of your tub (faucet turned off and no standing water in tub). Turn your faucet on to where you have a tiny dribble of water that won’t get near your feet. Take your file, pass it once through the water, turn off the water, and give the file a shake it to get rid of excess.  Now, and only now, do you start filing your feet. Best place to begin is the bottom of your heels – usually the toughest part – give it some decent pressure, and get that arm to moving. Once you’re doing it properly, you’re going to see dead skin start to roll up and off your feet. At this point, you keep going until you’re seeing the skin come off as dry – once that happens, re-dip the file in the same way you did in the beginning – again not saturating your feet or overly wetting the file. Continue on all areas of your feet that need to be softened – avoid tops of your feet, tops of toes, or coming up too far on the sides of your feet – stick with areas that are tougher.

This file means business, so don’t use it on delicate skin or normal body skin.

You can use the coarse or fine side – depending on the state of your feet. If you’ve got Flintstone feet like many of us get during the winter – start with coarse, remove excess buildup and finish with the fine side. If your paws don’t need a major overhaul, go with the fine side. The fine side also works really well if you get extremely dry palms or callouses on the sides of your fingers. The important part is the water balance – we want enough moisture to keep  the dead skin cells from being a dust – but not so much that everything is saturated to the point you can’t get a good polish. If you have a bunch of gray, funky looking rolled up skin cell blobs in the bottom of your tub – you’ve done well. Rinse your feet – pat dry – lotion up. Clean off your file – and go stare at the transformation of your paws.  You won’t need to replace this file for months upon months – if then. I replaced my last one after about a year – not because it didn’t work any longer, but just because I figured I could use a fresh surface.

These awesome files can be purchased at a ton of places online and are also available at your local Sally’s. They’re under $10 bucks, but I would literally pay $30 for this foot file if it was the cost. It’s that good.

P.S. If you struggle with finding something, anything, that will actually moisturize your feet and repair cracks, you’ll want to check out my article The Quickest Fix for Dry, Cracked Hands and Feet.