Michelle Phan Video On 5 Ways To PLUMP Your Lips

Want to plump up your lips without surgery? Watch Michelle Phan's video on 5 ways to plump up your lips.

Top 6 Eye Shadow Palettes This Season

These gorgeous eye shadow palettes are amazing and perfect for gift ideas this holiday!!

1. Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette ($60)

 Details:

You can never have too much of a good thing. Satisfy your eyeshadow vice with 20 velvety, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN shades - from an amazing soft black and a stunning burgundy to a rich, smoky red-black.

Every shade in Vice3 has a metallic finish that echoes the iced-out metallic look of the palette itself (more on that in a minute). The shades are arranged in columns: neutrals on the left, jewel tones in the middle and smoky shades on the right. Pair up the vertically color-coordinated quads or go wild and mix them up. Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System gives each shade its velvety texture, rich color, serious staying power and blendability.

With Vice3, UD pulled out ALL the stops. The extra slim case features hypnotic new artwork in an abstract stripe design, topped off with a bright, neon-green jeweled "Vice" icon to match the highly metallized green base. Use the coordinating bag to keep your Vice3 palette protected (and hidden from jealous would-be thieves), or as a place to store your UD brushes and other essentials.

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamanna Palette ($29)

 

Details:

An ideal fall and holiday palette designed in collaboration with world famous blogger and makeup artist Tamanna Roashan @dressyourface.

Shades include:

• Fresh (matte)
• Blush (shimmer)
• Venezia (shimmer)
• Gilded (shimmer)
• Custom (shimmer)
• Sangria (shimmer)
• Bengal (shimmer)
• Chocolate (matte)
• China Rose (shimmer)
• Noir (matte)

 3. Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eye Collection ($49)

Details:

Indulge your craving for chocolate with these 16 antioxidant-rich cocoa powder infused matte and shimmer shades of natural browns, delicate pinks and luscious plums - that smell like sweet chocolate. Inspired by Too Faced's best-selling cocoa powder infused Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, the collection of decadent shadows is the perfect complement to any skin tone. Includes Too Faced's signature how-to Glamour Guide with three looks to get you started.

Matte (6):

• White Chocolate
• Milk Chocolate
• Triple Fudge
• Salted Caramel
• Semi-Sweet
• Strawberry Bon Bon

Matte with Fine Glitter (3):

• Gilded Ganche
• Black Forest Truffle
• Cherry Cordial

Pearl with Fine Glitter (1):

• Candied Violet

Metallic (6):

• Marzipan
• Amaretto
• Hazlenut
• Creme Brulee
• Haute Chocolate
• Champagne Truffle

100% Cruelty Free

4. Cargo Shanghai Nights Eye Shadow Palette ($39)

Details:
Become entranced with the lights and seduced by the city with Cargo's "Shanghai Nights" Fall Eye Shadow Palette. Richly pigmented shades of  deep burgundy, teal and gold pop against the backdrop of classic black and navy for eyes that are beautifully defined and accompany a luminous, glowing complexion.
Cargo Shanghai Nights Eye Shadow Palette features a selection of bright hues reminiscent of the lights of Shanghai.

12 eye shadow shades include:

• Top row, left to right: Wai Tai (deep brown), Skyline (deep blue), Bund (taupe brown), Lychee (warm pink shimmer), Jin Mao (medium brown shimmer), Neon (pale gold shimmer)
• Bottom row, left to right: Hu (Ivory), Street Style (gray shimmer), Ginger (peach shimmer), Jade (deep green shimmer), Bar Rouge (fuchsia shimmer), Night Life (black)

These shades are limited edition and not available in Cargo's core assortment

5. Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette ($42)

Details:

Ulta Exclusive! Add a touch of luxe to your eye look with Smashbox's On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette! 28 party-perfect shades of Smashbox's best-selling, super blendable Photo Op Eye Shadows - from runway-inspired jewel tones to lush neutrals.

A $250 value!

Shades include: Ambient, Sumatra, Fizz, Cream, Sable, Juniper, Roast, Zoom, Lavender, Pastel, Navy, Royal, Snow, Smoke, Cabernet, Framboise, Marzipan, Totally Nude, Midas, Purple Mist, Sapphires, Lilac, Babycakes, Moonlight, Asteroid, Gypsy, Mink, Peacock.

6. Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette ($54)

Details:

Experiment with 12 NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN (and insanely beautiful) rose-hued neutrals from Urban Decay. From pale, shimmery pink to deep black matte with red micro-glitter, these neutrals will make you want to get Naked all over again. Urban Decay's previous Naked palettes have always included new shades, but this is the first time they've done a Naked palette with 12 NEW shades that aren't available anywhere else. Choose from every finish imaginable: ultra-smooth mattes, gorgeous pearls and glimmering metallics. Every shade features Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System, the proprietary blend of ingredients that gives each shade its velvety texture, rich color, serious staying power and blendability. Naked3 includes a NEW double-ended shadow/blending brush AND an Eye Shadow Primer Potion sampler with resealable samples of all four formulas (original, Sin, Eden and Anti-Aging). Each sample holds about a week's worth of Primer! Naked3 comes in an art-school-inspired tin case in a gorgeous rose-gold color that hints at the shades inside. Embossed on top with a big "Naked3" and cool facets that beg to be touched, this case is sure to inspire lots of jealous stares.

Shade Descriptions: Strange (pale neutral pink matte-satin), Dust (pale metallic pink shimmer w/iridescent micro-glitter), Burnout (light pinky-peach satin), Limit (light dusty rose matte), Buzz (metallic rose shimmer w/silver micro-glitter), Trick (light metallic pinky-copper shimmer w/tonal micro-sparkle), Nooner (medium pinky-brown matte), Liar (medium metallic mauve shimmer), Factory (pinky-brown satin), Mugshot (metallic taupe shimmer w/slight pink shift), Darkside (deep taupe-mauve satin) and Blackheart (smoky black matte w/rosy red micro-sparkle).

What is your favorite eye shadow palette?

xo

Redefine & Align 

How To Grow Out Your Eyebrows || Redefine & Align

Need to grow your eyebrows out because they're thin and uneven or because you over plucked one crazy night or because you're looking for a Cara Delevingne style eyebrow? Whatever the reason may be, here are some tips to deal with the annoying phase of growing out some bushy untamed eyebrows for a couple months or so.

Eyebrows are like the staple of the face, have you seen those pictures with celebrities without eyebrows? Scary right! Even Angelina Jolie looks weird and that's difficult for her to accomplish. Your eyebrows shape your face and define it. You can look surprised when not even trying or looking like you have RBF without meaning to, because the eyebrows tell us what you want to say without talking. 

If you have been over plucking or waxing for years and your eyebrows are just not sitting well with you anymore, the best thing to do is just let your natural eyebrow fully grow out and then get it professionally shaped and maintained to achieve the look that best fits your face. There really is nothing you can do but bite your lip and grow them out and only after that should you get them shaped by a professional at a brow bar.

 Step 1:
The first step is to LEAVE THEM ALONE!! Do not touch them at all. Hide your tweezers, step away from the nail salon waxing room and try not to look at them up close. You can help yourself to not have a uni-brow by taking your pinky finger and placing it in the middle of your eyebrows above your nose. You can only pluck there and nowhere else. Then you're allowed to trim but only those strays that stick straight ahead like they're pointing at something. This step is the hardest and the first step is admitting you have a problem (with your eyebrows). 

Step 2:
You might have to wait anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months, depending on what is going on with your brows. While you wait, there are a number of things you can do to not look beastly. Help them grow faster by exfoliating your eyebrows with a soft brush or an exfoliating sponge. This will help remove dead skin cells and stimulate the hair follicles to grow faster. Just use soft circular motions and do this daily. Also, use an eyelash or eyebrow growth serum to kick start the process. It doesn't matter if it is for eyelashes, it will work. 

 Step 3:  
Now, you're going to have to leave the house and if you were like me, I felt like everyone was staring at my HUGE BUSHY EYEBROWS, but they weren't. Only you can tell that you haven't plucked, waxed or prodded at them. It's not so noticeable to the rest of the world and if it is...who cares what anyone thinks, you're doing this for yourself and to have beautiful eyebrows, eyebrows that make you happy, eyebrows that fit your face, eyebrows that make you sing, eyebrows on fleek! So, to help with the weird growth coming in that is almost an eyebrow if you squint, use MAKE-UP. First, brush your eyebrows down and if they stick up too much use a brow wax or even hairspray to lay them down. Draw in with either an angled brush or a brow pencil the spaces that are missing to form a complete eyebrow. Just use light short strokes staring at where you want your brow to start. You can also use concealer or a powder to cover up the strays, stubble and the random pieces of hair you haven't seen since junior high. Remember, no one can see that you're growing them out, only you notice because you're the only one up in your face in the mirror, so relax and keep going. 

Step 4:
You should already be doing this but if not do it for the brows. Eat healthy nutritious food. Eating healthy will help your skin look better, make you feel good, grow your hair and also help the growth of your beautiful brows. Your body reflects what you put into it. Put in garbage, get garbage. You need to eat good colorful fruits and vegetables as well as a variety of vitamins everyday on the daily.

Step 5
Wait, wait, wait and wait some more. This is the hardest like I said but its really the most important step. Eventually you will get there and just think of how much money and time you will save ignoring that part of your face. You will get there and when you do it will so be worth the wait. Remember it takes 6 months to make a Rolls-Royce and 13 hours to make a Toyota. 

Step 6
Research and walk proudly into a brow bar and get those babies professionally fixed for your face. What is great about a master browista doing your brows is that one they know what they're doing and two they will teach you how to apply make-up to shape your brows. They take time with you and its almost like a brow lesson. Ask questions and make sure you let them know what your ultimate brow goal is so you can achieve it. You don't have to go to a pricy brow bar every 4 weeks, just once to get the shape, knowledge and tools to do it yourself. But for someone like me that needs the extra help, go every 4 weeks until you got it down and your eyebrows are finally one of your best features. Then you get the complements on your brows which is nice. 

So, I know it might be rough and a long process but it is worth it for the brows you've dreamed of and deserve. It is now Winter so this may be a perfect time to get beastly with your brows. Good luck and keep going, never give up; your face will thank you. Leave questions or your thoughts or tips in the comments and get BROW STRONG!

xo
Redefine & Align (This is perfect for the eyebrow post)

What Is Your Oxidative Rate? Find The Right Diet For You!

In 1972, George Watson Ph.D. came up with a theory that not all individuals metabolize their food at the same rate. He discovered that eating the wrong foods for a certain oxidative rate can lead to serious health problems.

            Dr. Watson used a variety of laboratory tests to determine the oxidative rate of an individual including a questionnaire based on preference and symptoms that belong to each category. Our test that emulates his 52 question test and is somewhat shortened, however it will help you to reach your oxidative rate.

  

The Oxidizer Test is designed to accurately test how one assimilates food. This is very important because once you recognize your oxidative rate, or how you personally assimilate your food, you can better design a sensible diet. For example, if your results suggest that you are a fast oxidizer and you are eating fish and rice then you may end up feeling lethargic and sluggish because you should be eating more red meat, nuts, and only moderate amounts of carbohydrates. The same would be true if you tested to be a slow oxidizer and were eating foods that are less than favorable.

If someone reads about some “cookie-cutter” diet that happens to be high in protein, fat, and very low in carbohydrates and this individual tends to be a slow oxidizer, it is not going to be the best diet and they may not feel their best. The same can be true even if you are a mid-oxidizer that follows some extreme diet. Mid-oxidizers do not need to go to any extreme either way and they should just eat a wide variety of healthy foods and control their caloric intake if necessary.

Through a series of questions, it can be determined how one reacts to different foods throughout the day. For example, being constipated on a regular basis is one indication of someone possessing a slow oxidative rate. Slow oxidizers break down food very slowly, meaning a higher portion of their diet needs to be the types of food that break down easily, such as carbohydrates. Protein breaks down slower, and the same with fats, which is ideal for someone that burns up food sources too quickly like a fast oxidizer.

Most people tend to be a mid-oxidizer, which means they are the lucky ones that can eat a wider variety of foods without health problems. You can see why learning your oxidative rate is very crucial in figuring out one’s individual diet. Not all bodies are created equal, which is why there is not a one and only diet that will work for everybody. 

Food Oxidizer Test

In the morning, you

A. Don’t eat breakfast

B. Have something light like fruit, toast, or cereal

C. Have something heavy like eggs, bacon or steak, and has browns

At a buffet, the foods you choose are

A. Light meats like fish and chicken, vegetables and salad, a sampling of different desserts.

B. A mixture of A and C

C. Heavy, fatty foods like steak, ribs, pork chops, cheeses, and cream sauces

Your appetite at lunch is

A. Low

B. Normal

C. Strong

Your appetite at dinner is

A. low

B. normal

C. strong

Caffeine makes you feel

A. Great-it helps you focus

B. Neutral-you can take it or leave it

C. Jittery or nauseous

The types of foods you crave are (sugar is not listed because everyone craves sugar when they are tired or run-down)

A. Fruits, bread, and crackers

B. Both A and C

C. Salty foods, cheeses, and meats

For dinner you prefer

A. Chicken or fish, salad, and rice

B. No preference-choice varies daily

C. Heavier, fatty foods like pastas, steak and potatoes

After dinner you

A. Need to have something sweet

B. Could take dessert or leave it

C. Don’t care for sweets and would rather have something salty like popcorn

The types of sweets you like are

A. Sugary candies

B. No preference

C. Ice cream or cheesecake

Eating fatty foods like meat and cheese before bed

A. Interferes with your sleep

B. Doesn’t bother you

C. Improves your sleep

Eating carbs like breads and crackers before your bed

A. Interferes with your sleep, but they’re better than heavier foods

B. Doesn’t affect you

C. Is better than nothing, but you sleep better with heavier foods

Eating sweets before bed

A. Doesn’t keep you from sleeping at all

B. Sometimes makes you feel restless in bed

C. Keeps you up all night

Each day, you eat

A. Two or three meals with no snacks

B. Three meals with maybe one light snack

C. Three meals and a lot of snacks

Your attitude toward food is

A. You often forget to eat

B. You enjoy food and rarely miss a meal

C. You love food and it’s a central part of your life

When you skip meals, you feel

A. Fine

B. You don’t function at your best, but it doesn’t really bother you

C. Shaky, irritable, week and tired

Your attitude toward fatty foods is

A. You don’t like them

B. You like them occasionally

C. You crave them regularly

When you eat fruit salad for breakfast or lunch, you feel

A. Satisfied

B. Okay, but you usually need a snack in between meals

C. Unsatisfied and still hungry

What kind of food drains your energy?

A. Fatty foods

B. No food affects you this way

C. Fruit, candy, or confections, which give you a quick boost, then an energy crash

Your food portions are

A. Small-less than average

B. Average-not more or less than other people

C. Large-usually more than most people

How do you feel about potatoes?

A. You don’t care for them

B. You could take them or leave them

C. You love them

Red meat makes you feel

A. Tired

B. No particular feeling one way or the other

C. Strong

A salad for lunch makes you feel

A. Energized and healthy

B. Fine, but it isn’t the best type of food for you.

C. Sleepy

How do you feel about salt?

A. Foods often taste too salty

B. You don’t notice one way or the other

C. You crave salt and salt your food regularly

How do you feel about snacks?

A. You don’t really snack, but you like something sweet if you do.

B. You can snack on anything

C. You need snacks but prefer meats, cheese, eggs, or nuts.

How do you feel about sour foods like pickles, lemon juice, or vinegar?

A. You don’t like them

B. They don’t bother you one way or the other

C. You like them

How do you feel about sweets?

A. Sweets alone can satisfy your appetite

B. They don’t bother you but don’t totally satisfy you

C. You don’t feel satisfied and often crave more sweets

When you just eat meat (bacon, sausage, ham ) for breakfast, you feel

A. Sleepy, lethargic, or irritable

B. It varies day to day

C. Full until lunch

When you eat heavy or fatty foods, you feel

A. Irritable

B. Neutral-they don’t affect you

C. Satisfied

When you feel anxious

A. Fruits or vegetables calm you down

B. Eating anything calms you down

C. Fatty foods calm you down

You concentrate best when you eat

A. Fruits and grains

B. Nothing in particular

C. Meat and fatty food

You feel more depressed when you eat

A. Fatty or heavy foods

B. Nothing in particular

C. Fruits, breads, or sweets

You notice you gain weight when you eat

A. Fatty foods

B. No particular food. You gain weight when you overeat

C. Fruits or carbs

What type of insomnia, if any, applies to you?

A. You rarely get insomnia from hunger

B. You rarely get insomnia, but if you do, you often need to eat something in order to fall back asleep

C. You often wake up during the night and need to eat. If you eat right before bed, it alleviates the insomnia

Your personality type is

A. Aloof, withdrawn, or introverted

B. Neither introverted nor extroverted

C. Extroverted

Your mental and physical stamina are better when you eat

A. Light proteins like egg whites, chicken or fish and fruits

B. Any wholesome food

C. Fatty foods

Your climate preference is

A. Warm or hot weather

B. Doesn’t matter

C. Cold weather

Your eyes tend to be

A. Dry

B. Fine

C. Teary

Your facial coloring is

A. Noticeably pale

B. Average

C. Pink or often flushed

Your fingernails are

A. Thick

B. Average

C. Thin

Your gag reflex is

A. Insensitive

B. Normal

C. Sensitive

You get goose bumps

A. Often

B. Occasionally

C. Very rarely

You are prone to

A. Constipation

B. No stomach problems

C. Diarrhea

When insects bite you, your reaction is

A. Mild

B. Average

C. Strong

Your body type is

A. Short and Stocky

B. Average

C. Tall and thin

Your nose is

A. Dry

B. Normal

C. Runny

Scoring your metabolic typing test

When you have finished the test, add up the number of A, B and C answers you have circled A____B____C____

If your number of C answers is 5 or more higher than your number of A or B answers, you are a fast oxidizer.

If your number of A answers is 5 or more higher than your number of B or C answers, you are a slow oxidizer.

If your number of B answers is 5 or more higher than your number of A or C answers, or if neither A, B, nor C’s are 5 or more higher than the other two, you are a balanced oxidizer.

*Fast oxidizers

You require foods with higher percentages of protein and fat than carbohydrates. Make sure there is protein in everything you eat including snacks. Your ideal macronutrient ratio is 20 percent carbs, 50 percent protein, 30 percent fat.

All proteins are not created equal. The ones that are best for you are high-purine proteins, which are commonly found in fattier meats. This is not to say that you should cut out chicken and fish, but you need the heavier proteins most because they help slow down your rate of oxidation. Choose from this list of proteins when deciding on a meal or snack.

High Purine: organ meats (pate, liver, etc.), herring, mussels, sardines, anchovies.

Moderate Purine: beef, bacon, dark meat chicken, duck, lamb, spareribs, dark meat turkey, veal, wild game, salmon, shellfish (lobster, shrimp, crab), oysters, scallops, octopus, squid, dark tuna

Low Purine: cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, white meat chicken, turkey, fish

The best veggies for protein types are asparagus, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms and spinach

The best fruits are avocado, olives, apples and pears(in limited quantity and never without protein on the side or better yet first)

It is best to avoid grains altogether, but the best grains would be sprouted grain bread.

The best legumes would be tempeh and tofu.

The best nuts are (in order of protein content) walnuts, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, filberts, pecans, chestnuts, pistachios, coconut and macadamias.

Good fats are butter, cream, almond oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil and walnut oil.

*Slow oxidizers

Your ideal macronutrient ratio is 60 percent carbs, 25 percent protein and 15 percent fat.

*Balanced oxidizers

Your ideal macronutrient ratio is 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat. 

If you have any question, please ask below. This comes from a book that was written by myself and my finance Scott called The True Bodybuilding and Fitness Guide available on Amazon.

xo

Redefine & Align