Sunday, November 24, 2013

Help! I've Got Dry Skin & Hair!

Dear SYSters,

I’ve recently had several requests for help with dry hair and skin. There are so many products available and they can be quite expensive too. As a “fashionista” who also lives on a real budget I’m sharing some inexpensive (and natural) products that I love and personally use:

For your hair:
Mix 4-5 drops of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with your conditioner
Apply it to your hair
Let it sit for about 20 minutes wrapped in a warm towel (or shower cap)
Rinse hair completely
Do this one to two times a week (depending upon dryness of hair)

My favorite beauty product is coconut oil. What’s the buzz about coconut oil? By now you’ve been hearing the many praises of coconut oil. It has many natural beauty and health benefits you’ll want to learn more about it.

Most often pure (virgin) coconut oil is used as a healthy replacement for solid shortenings in cooking. However, it also moisturizes, conditions, nourishes your skin and hair!

Here are four ways to use coconut oil as a beauty product:

1. To moisturize skin. It is often an ingredient in expensive skin care products. Coconut oil has a lot of fat, which is great for moisturizing dry skin, as well as reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Use it after the shower or bath. It is usually recommended for the body—not the face (may be too oily).

2. Condition your damaged hair.
Just massage a dime-size of coconut oil into your hair and scalp—let set 15 minutes and rinse well. You may only need to do this every couple of weeks. Virgin coconut oil is the only healthy oil proven to penetrate hair shafts. It creates fullness to your hair and reduces split ends.



Forget about pricey hair conditioners, hot oil treatments, thickening mousses and gels to nourish your hair. You’ll save $$$ by using coconut oil instead.

3. To relieve itchy skin irritations and bites. Dab on some soothing oil and let set.

4. It removes mascara. One dab of coconut oil on a cotton swab gets off all the mascara build up.

5. Dry lips? No problem…try these DIY recipes using coconut oil, of course.

In addition to these beauty benefits, coconut oil could possibly protect against disease and cancer, relieve stress, promote weight loss, heal scrapes, boost energy, and aid in digestion. I’d say coconut oil is  pretty impressive! http://www.vitacost.com/Garden-of-Life-Extra-Virgin-Organic-Coconut-Oil
 (FYI: I buy my coconut oil from my local Trader Joe’s)

Here’s to happy & healthy skin!

Love, Leslie aka MissusSmartyPants



Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Lose Those Yoga Pants Ladies!!! Help For Moms...

Oh my gosh...I just found this old interview (2 years ago) with Hannah Keeley!

Take a listen here about losing those yoga pants and becoming a real "stylish" mom!


4 Steps to Chic

1. Start with a feminine top 2. Pair with classy slacks 3. Ground with bold shoes 4. Finish with statement earrings ...