5th Annual Beauty Awards

Once a year I like to create a post to share my current favorite beauty finds, because you know, when you're on stage, you want to shine like the star you are. And some high-powered beauty products always help make that happen. 

Okay, let's see what's currently in constant rotation in my hair-care and beauty routines! 

Note: I am not paid or compensated in any way to write about the products I pick. I haven't even received free samples of any of these items. I just include 'em cuz I love 'em.

Overtone Deep Treatment for Colored Hair
Now that my hair is purple, it's a cycle of constant maintenance to keep the color as bright as possible. Since I don't want to run to the salon every two weeks, I touch-up my color myself at home with Overtone. Overtone makes hair products designed to freshen-up your fun hair color quickly and easily at home. I love their deep treatment product, but wouldn't recommend the conditioner, which I felt left a straw-like residue in my hair. They have an array of colors to choose from and online consultants can quickly help you pick the right one. Tips: You'll want to wear gloves when you apply this product. 

dpHUE Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse
Staying in the same vein of hair color conservation, I think we all know that shampoo strips hair of color. Thus, if you have color treated hair, the less you shampoo the better. However, if you're like me and workout and dance everyday, there's really only so many days you can realistically skip washing. That's why I love this next product, dpHue's Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse. You can rinse the dirt, sweat and grime out, but it's not a true shampoo, so doesn't hurt color at all. Combine it with conditioner and you're golden. 

Benefit Cosmetics Goof Proof Brow Pencil
Filling in your eyebrows is an absolute must for performances. You need them well-defined to frame your face and your expressions. Enter my favorite tool for achieving that - Benefit's Goof Proof Brow Pencil. One end has a spoolie brush and the other a perfectly proportioned angled pencil that distributes just the right amount of color. Easy to use and layer to the desired level of darkness, while still looking natural. Love this product! 

Kiss Ready to Wear Nails
I used to be a big fan of the shellac manicure. But lately, I've certainly changed my tune. I'm now all about Kiss Ready to Wear Nails. These are acrylic nails that you glue on yourself at home. They are cheap to purchase, quick and easy to apply, last longer than shellac, and look amazing. In short, by using these I'm saving both time and money. And I always get a ton of compliments on my nails when wearing them. You can buy these online or at Target, Walmart, Bartells, or another local drugstore. Tip: I recommend also purchasing the Kiss Maximum Speed Nail Glue rather than the glue that comes in the package. I also recommend throwing the glue into your purse in case a nail pops off and you need to quickly glue it back on while away from home. 

Milk Makeup Holographic Makeup Stick 
Highlight is another one of my makeup musts for stage. I love the way a bit of well-placed highlighter creates an ethereal glow when it catches the stage lights. My go to highlight product is Milk Makeup's Holographic Makeup Stick in Supernova. A couple swipes on the cheekbones, and voila!, that radiant lite-from-within goddess-glow is all yours. 

Want more beauty? Read the 4th Annual Beauty Award post here. 

Unicorn Beauty Roundup

If you've been anywhere near the Internet lately, you know that unicorns are having a moment. Unicorn lattes, unicorn toast, unicorn headdresses. Pretty much unicorn everything. Which is certainly fine by me, since I'm pretty sure unicorns are my spirit animal. I'm also pretty sure that my favorite aspect of the unicorn trend is the rise of unicorn-inspired beauty products. Since they typically involved oodles of shimmer and sparkle, they make great additions to a dancer's beauty arsenal. Here's a roundup of some of my favorite unicorn beauty buys.

Milk Makeup Holographic Stick in Supernova

This highlighter in prismatic lavender is my to-go. I'm addicted to wearing it on my cheeks for both general everyday use and performances. It creates a beautiful shimmery sheen that can't be beat.

Too Faced La Creme Lipstick in Unicorn Tears

Another prismatic wonder. I love swiping this on over a deeper lipstick shade. Paired with the Milk Makeup holographic stick, it's a duo that has magical written all over it.

Nails, Inc. Unicorn Nail Polish Duo

Why stop at just your face for holographic makeup? Why not add holographic nails as well? This cute little nail polish duo can accomplish that for you in no time.

Tarte Magic Wands Brush Set

There's been a whole host of unicorn makeup brushes pop-up on the web recently. But Tarte gets my pick for quality. These brushes don't just look cute with their unicorn spiral handles and brightly-colored brushes; they also do a great job with makeup application. They are unfortunately sold out on Tarte and Sephora, but you might be able to snag a set on eBay!

Glow Cult Cosmetics Unicorn Oil

Because everybody could use a little more glow in their life. Use as a highlighter, or add a few drops to your moisturizer or foundation to get a lit from within look.

Lime Crime Chromatic Press-On Nails

I'm wearing these press-on nails right now as I type (yup, that bottom picture is me). These were simple to apply and so far have been durable (I'm a week in). You can file down the length to whatever size fits your style. Great for when you're short on time and don't have an hour or two to do a full-on manicure, followed by sitting around and waiting for paint to dry. Just glue and go!

Mod Bath and Body Unicorn Dreamer Sugar Scrub

If I had to guess what a unicorn smells like, this would be it. This sugar scrub starts out as a gentle exfoliant and melts its way into a heavenly lather.

Rose Garden Apothecary Magical Unicorn Whipped Soap

This is another lovely smelling product. I love the light-as-air soft texture of this soap. Every time I use it, it feels like an indulgence. Almost as good as eating dessert, only this indulgence is calorie-free!

Anni Pretty Unicorn Food Mac the Unicorn Bath Bomb

A warm bath is a great way to destress, restore tired muscles, and indulge in some self-care. So why not do it unicorn style with this macaroon inspired bath bomb?

Miss Violet Lace Mermaid Shimmer Oil

Okay, so this one is technically mermaid beauty. But hey, we are accepting of all magical creatures on this blog. I love applying this shimmer on my arms, legs and torso before performing. The brand does also carry some unicorn-inspired items as well, in case you're interested.

Any readers with a favorite unicorn beauty product? If so, let me know! I love discovering new beauty products!

4th Annual Beauty Awards

Typically, each fall I like to put together a post on my favorite beauty discoveries. However, last fall came and went without such a post because I hadn't uncovered any new beauty finds that felt worth writing about. Then suddenly, all the great beauty products I'd been looking for seemed to find me all at once. Thus, I present the 4th (almost) annual belly dance beauty awards.

Note: I am not paid or compensated in any way to write about the products I pick. I haven't even received free samples of any of these items. I just include 'em cuz I love 'em.

Kayo Concentrated Slimming Serum

In my day job, I sit at a desk 8+ hours a day. And like most other Americans, when I'm not at a computer, I'm still frequently looking at my phone, Kindle, iPod, Fitbit, or other electronic device. Whih means a lot of looking down. And what does that translate into? Tech-neck wrinkles. Yup, horizontal lines on your neck that have developed from the frequent and prolonged head position of looking down. I have them. I purchased this product after reading multiple reviews that other users weren't using it as intended for cellulite, but instead were using it for neck wrinkles to great effect. I was hesitant about spending the money on this item, but finally decided it was worth a try. So glad I took that leap. Are my tech-neck wrinkles gone? No, it's not magic, people. But are they greatly reduced? Yes. Was the money worth it? Absolutely.

Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch

These are a game changer. Despite being in my 30s, I still get the occasional breakout. And like everyone of any age, if I have a zit, I want it gone as fast as possible. Enter the Cosrx patch. You just place the patch over the blemish before you go to sleep, take it off in the morning, and ta-da! Your unslightly pimple is either gone or greatly reduced. If it was a larger blemish, it might take more than one application. The patch acts as a small hydrocolloid bandage and literally pulls the gunk out of your zit (which you will see in the patch when you pull it off). When my husband recently had a zit, I gave him a patch to try and he was surprised to see how well it had worked by the next morning and gave them his stamp of approval. My recommendation: keep these stocked in your medicine cabinet.

Aveda Tulasara Wedding Masque Eye Overnight 

It doesn't matter how much sleep I get, I have dark circles under my eyes. I'm sure that I could pull a Sleeping Beauty, sleep for 100 years, and still wake up with dark circles. It's just genetic. Thus it been my lifelong battle to try and diminish the look of those circles. Enter Aveda's Tulasara eye treatment. They call it a masque, but to me it doesn't feel any different than putting on eye cream. However, the result is very much different. Are my dark circles completely gone? No, pretty sure I'd need a fairy godmother for that one. But they are drastically reduced, to the point that I'd even consider going to the gym or grocery story without undereye concealer on, something I never would have done before.

Verb Blow Dry Brush

I've been a Mason Pearson user for a long-time, so I was a bit surprised that I went from liking a $100+ brush, to loving a $14 brush. When I blow dry out my hair using this brush, it ends up shinier and smoother than I can recall it being in a long-time. I also like that the bristles have just the right balance of firmness and flexibility, as well as being long enough to reach and massage the scalp while brushing (which promotes hair growth). Winner.

Christophe Robin Cleansing Mask with Lemon

I've been coloring my hair purple for about a year now. To get a vibrant shade of purple, I have to unfortunately bleach the hair shaft first. As can be expected, my hair is not that pleased about having such a harsh chemical applied and I can see more damage and frizziness than I used to see. Which is why I love this hair mask. It fixes hair color, while promoting shine and restoring the scalp. It hydrates hair while cleansing, exfoliating, and nourishing the scalp. It's your ultimate hair and scalp multitasker. Now I can have my proverbial purple cake and it it too.

Hum Nutrition

Beauty starts on the inside. I'm a fairly big proponent of using vitamins to help supplement a healthy diet and lifestyle. In our fast-paced modern lifestyle, it can be hard to consume all the nutrients we need. Or some of us may have environment factors working against us (hello, lack of sun in Seattle!). Or perhaps an illness or disease where the body has increased nutritional needs. I've been taking vitamin supplements pretty much my whole life. But it wasn't until recently that vitamins have turned over a new "glamorous" leaf and become chic and sophisticated.

Enter brands like Ritual, Care/of, and Inner Me. However, my favorite of the new wave of vitamin manufacturers is Hum. From what I can tell, Hum maintains high quality in their products, while making it fun and chic to take your daily pills. You can take their 3-minute quiz and go with their selections, or go with your own choices. Two choices that I like (and are also on the cheaper side of their options) are Killer Nails (Biotin) and Here Comes the Sun (Vitamin D). I take these two daily and can tell the difference when I don't. You can buy items individually through Hum or Sephora, or you can can sign up for a Hum monthly subscription to reduce the cost.

Want to check out the beauty archives? You can also read the 1st Annual Awards, 2nd Annual Awards, and 3rd Annual Awards.

Photo Credits: Good Housekeeping (top image), all other photos via manufacturers websites