Beauty SOS: How to Survive a Beauty Disaster

They can happen at any time to anyone. An unexpected encounter. A
wardrobe malfunction. An image inconvenience. They happen swiftly and
when they do, our confidence is shaken, our stress levels raised and we
begin looking for the quickest exit. With these 6 helpful tips, you can dance
with disaster and step on ITS toes.

General tips:

· Avoid trying any new products within 2 days of an important event

· Before you change any beauty service provider (hair, nails, waxing, facials
etc), interview your options. Ask questions about their experience, give
examples of what you want and ask what steps they suggest to achieve it.
Ask to see a portfolio or ask for them to provide references who needs are
similar to yours. And then CALL the references.

· Be on the lookout for people whose styling features you like and then ask
them where they go or what they use. For products, ask how they use it and
why they like it. For services, ask them if you can have their name so you can
reference them when seeking a service. For example: “I met Jessica R. and I
really want her same hair color, or the shape of her nails, or the width of her
brows etc.”

· Don’t take advice from someone you wouldn’t trade places with. If you
don’t like the color she paints on her nails or lips, don’t ask her what she
thinks of your new green eye shadow.

· A sense of humor and a smile can fix everything. Most of us won’t
remember your beauty disaster, but we will remember how we FELT in your
presence. You have light inside-smile and let it SHINE.

1. I wanted bright blonde, not banana yellow!

At the salon: Didn’t get the color you were hoping for? Never fear, toner
shampoos are here. They work by adding pigments to counter the effects of
color gone awry. Most are semi-permanent and will fade after a few washings
so continue to use toner shampoo about ever 3rd day for lasting effect.

· If your hair looks too yellow or brassy, counter it with a purple/violet
toning shampoo

· If your hair looks ashy grey, use a yellow tone shampoo

· Hair looks green? Counter with red

· Hair too orange/copper? Counter with blue

Product Pick: L’OREAL Colorist Collection Shampoo $16 Beauty
Supply stores

At home: If you dye your hair at home and the color comes out
completely different than the shade on the box, act quickly.

1. Wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo immediately. As the color sets
into the hair cuticle, it becomes much harder to fix. Avoid blow drying or
styling with heat as it will set the color faster.

2. Contact a professional hair colorist within 48 hours to determine best
action needed for color correction. Most salons will provide a color correction
assessment as a free service followed with their recommended treatment,
time and costs.

2. Who brought the chimichanga? When the smell of your meal is
clinging to your clothes

Have you ever been sitting in a performance, a board room, a charity event or
an interview smelled the essence of Thai curry wafting through? But you
didn’t carry out your lunch! Or did you?

Certain types of food when prepared in a restaurant create smells that stick
to your clothing fibers. Since you don’t want to be known as the lady who
smells like a burrito, carry a dryer sheet in your car or Kleenex pouch. Moving
quickly to create static, rub the dryer sheet over your clothes. The energy
created from your movement and the positively-charged dryer sheet will
release the odors while depositing a fresh scent.

Product Pick: Gain Dryer sheets in Lavender, Island Scent, Apple
Mango Tango and more Walmart $3.49-7.99

3. My hair looks greasy and I am about to meet “the one!”

It’s happened. You got that unplanned call that your husband’s boss wants to
meet you, or your big presentation was re-scheduled for this morning, or
your social group has a “friend” you must meet for lunch. A shower is out of
the question and dry shampoo is out of your budget. Whether from a humid
day, a good workout or just over productive oil glands, greasy hair can be a
downer. The quick fix? Your face powder/bronzing powder. It doesn’t matter
if it is loose or pressed because it contains the same absorbing power of
baby powder, although is a better color to suit your skin tone and therefore
better for your hair color. It must, however, be a matte powder-NO

SHIMMER- shimmer will only draw attention to any oil or moisture. Using a
brush or a sponge, simply dab some of your face/bronzing powder into the
roots of your hair to absorb excess oil.

For a quick up do that looks like you meant to, let the grease go to work for
you. Twist and turn hair upwards and secure in a messy bun with a Spin pin.
The texture or your hair will appear more deliberate in an up style as
opposed to a down disaster.

Product Pick: (Holly’s New Favorite Find!): Goody Spin Pin &6.49
Walgreens

Product Pick: Any loose or compact face powder

4. The bottle said “Bronze Glow,” not “Oompa Loompa Orange!”

If your self-tanner didn’t blend evenly or even worse, turned a bright shade
of orange, there is still hope you won’t be mistaken as an employee at Willy
Wonka’s factory. Blotchy or orange self-tanners is one of the most common
beauty disasters today. The solution: Soak, Rub, Scrub OR Buff

Grab some sugar, a lemon and soak in a hot bath. Hot water will open the
pores of your skin and make skin softer which allows for the sugar to
exfoliate more effectively. The citric acid from the lemon can accelerate a
fading effect on the color. Vigourosly scrub the tanned area with sugar or rub
all over with a lemon. If it still isn’t even, grab your powder bronzer and
begin to buff into the skin to even out lighter patches.

5. One tear + 1 less hour and…poof! Puffy eyes.

You wake up and they appear. Puffy eyes that reflect last night’s sad movie or
the 2am car alarm that never turned off. Plop on some peas to de-puff puffy
eyes. A frozen bag of small veggies can quickly help with inflammation and
slow down blood flow. The trick? Give this eye pack at least 10 minutes to do
its job, anything less is just fluffing the puff. This technique works great for
swollen pimples too!

6. I popped a button, broke a strap, tore my hem, snapped my
necklace and what’s that? Pepper in my teeth!

My emergency stick is my lifesaver. Consisting of a large popsicle stick with
duct tape, safety pins, and a needle threaded with tan thread. Duct tape is
strong and can be used to keep a hem in-tact or can act like a patch for a
torn seam. A needle and thread can fix broken accessories or a button.
Thread can lift off dead skin from the tip of my nose or tie my hair back or
get that pepper out of my teeth. Safety pins can fix straps, replace buttons,
hold a broken necklace together or de clump my mascara to refresh from the
morning’s application