The Salon Manicure a Users Guide

If you are considering treating yourself to a beauty salon manicure - and why shouldn't you! - the following are the details of what you can expect to receive from a professional manicurist. Your manicure might not follow this procedure exactly, but it should be very similar. So there shouldn't be any surprises. So just go and relax and enjoy it!

Here it is - how to give a manicure - in 12 luxurious steps:

1. Remove the old nail varnish by wiping with a piece of cotton wool soaked in varnish remover. Once all the varnish has gone, rinse the fingers with clean water.

2. File the nails into the correct shape and buff to remove any little imperfections and rough edges.

3. Dampen the hands a little with water and apply a gentle exfoliator, using a massaging action. Then rinse the hands thoroughly and dry.

4. Soak the hands in soapy water, using a moisturizing cream moisturizing soap, not an astringent. Leave them in the water for about ten minutes.

5. Apply moisturizing cream to the cuticles.

6. Push back the cuticles using a hoof stick (usually a plastic stick with a rubber tip, specially designed for moulding cuticles).

7. Gently massage the cuticles and the whole hand with moisturizing hand cream until it is totally absorbed.

8. Remove excess dead skin around the cuticles and trim any hang-nails using special very tiny, but sharp, nippers.

9. Buff the nails to remove all ridges, imperfections and any unevenness.

10. Apply a rich moisturizing cream to the hands, wrists and lower arms, using a massaging action until the cream is thoroughly absorbed.

11. Then immerse the hands in a Vitamin E rich paraffin bath. This is used to open the pores and let the heat and moisture be thoroughly absorbed. This is done several times, with a short delay between each immersion, allowing the wax to build up in several layers. Once sufficient wax has built up, the hands are wrapped in some thin plastic film or plastic bags and placed into insulating mitts made from towel. After approximately ten minutes the mits and plastic are removed and the wax peeled away. The hands will be beautifully soft.

12. Finally, nail varnish is applied in the form of a base coat, then two layers of your color of choice, and a finishing protective top coat.

That's it. All over! Another perfect, luxuriating, relaxing and beautifying manicure, making you feel good all over.

You can find more information on manicure types by Bianca Tavares in her regular contributions at Makeup Girl?s Makeup Tips.

Cleopatra's Beauty Secrets

The Legendary Queen of Egypt was known for her exquisite complexion. One of her secret beauty treatments, the milk and honey bath are still being used today.

One of the main ingredients, Milk, contains lactic acid, which helps to exfoliate your skin. The lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxy acid, which helps to cleanse the deepest layers of the skin.

Honey has an abundance of health properties. First of all, it is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose so it is also a gentle alpha hydroxy acid. It?s made up of both minerals and vitamins to help nourish and heal the skin. Since it also contains phytochemicals that kill viruses, bacteria, and fungus, it?s has a natural anti-inflammatory effect which heals wounds quickly. This makes honey a good substitute for wound dressings.

Here are a couple of ways to enjoy these 2 main ingredients found in her ancient beauty secrets.

Cleopatra Honey & Milk Bath

Ingredients
?1/2 Cup Powdered Milk
?1/2 Cup Raw Honey
?2 teaspoon Jojoba Oil (optional)

Mix ingredients in a large bowl and pour your warm bath. Soak for up to 20 minutes to infuse these beneficial ingredients in your skin. This recipe makes enough for one bath.

Milk & Honey Rinse for Wrinkled Skin

Ingredients
?1 oz raw honey
?1 Cup skim milk
?2 teaspoons aloe vera gel

Combine Ingredients in a jar and shake well. Apply to your face morning and evening with a cotton ball. Store mixture in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Incorporating these beauty recipes in your daily regime will help you to experience healthy, vibrant, and ageless skin.

Danielle Sims explored her library of alternative health, herbal books, and aromatherapy books and created a blueprint for making her own body wrap formulas at home. Now she offers this information in an e-book entitled Wrap Yourself Slim: Body Wrap Exposed. Monthly newsletter is also available at her web site. For more information go to Body Wraps Exposed

Skincare From Your Fridge

Beauty awaits you. Not at the make-up counter. Not at the day spa. Not at the plastic surgeon. It awaits you? in your kitchen.

Your best skin care secrets can come from your diet secrets. After all, you are what you eat. So, in the words of Italian mothers everywhere? Mangia!

When it comes to eating for beauty, the rule is: the fresher, the better. Avoid processed foods whenever possible. The fresher your foods, the more nutrient packed. Keep that in mind when planning and preparing meals. Shop like the Europeans. Buy what you need for a few days, not an entire week. Cook things healthfully, eat from all food groups and vary your diet.

Eat your veggies.

Fresh vegetables, when available, are preferable to canned or frozen. Raw produce has a greater concentration of vitamins and minerals. Less time at the stove, that?s attractive.

All vegetables are beneficial. So, if canned is all you?ve got it?ll do. But remember to hit the market tomorrow. Green leafy vegetables are high in beta-carotene which is essential for healthy hair, eyes and skin. Sprouts prevent wrinkles and age spots. Include some on your dinner menu tonight.

Fresh fruit are great for you any time of day.

Sweeten up your breakfast, indulge in a fruity mid-day snack, have a healthy dessert. Cantaloupe is high in vitamins A and C, which promotes healing and controls oil on skin and scalp. Tomatoes (yes, they are a fruit) are packed with A (wrinkle and pimple fighter) and beta-carotene. Citrus fruits provide great doses of vitamin C.

Again, fresh is best. What a sweetly indulgent way to take care of yourself!

Proteins are building blocks.

Turkey, chicken, fish, eggs, lean beef and soy all provide protein and B vitamins which support hair and nail health, and youthful skin. Prepared healthfully, they?ll satisfy your appetite and your form. Fish, like salmon and sardines, are full of protein and Omega 3 which promotes glowing skin.

Drink water.

Lots of water. It purifies you all the way down to your cells, and speeds the regeneration of damaged tissue. So, even if you aren?t at your best now, you soon can be.

Health and happiness equal beauty.

When you eat goof foods, you're nurturing your body. When you?re nurtured, you feel good. When you feel good, you smile. When you smile, you look good. So eat and enjoy your way to a healthier, happier, prettier you.

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Allison Saunders is a MAC qualified Make-up Artist and the author of an amazing new course, Hollywood Makeup Secrets a step-by-step simple video system for maximizing your inner and outer beauty potential. You can learn more about Allison, and subscribe to her free newsletter by visiting:

http://www.hollywoodmakeupsecrets.com/dt/s.php?id=9

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