Must Haves for a Perfectly Primped and Polished Valentine’s Day

by Erica Jones February 11, 2013

When asked what my Valentine’s Day must have were, I had no idea! We are lucky if we can catch a meal at the local Olive Garden, let alone get dressed up and go out. Then I thought, how about I do something easy, something that would take the same amount of time as a regular look, but that had a little something extra. I feel as though when I’ve done something a little special, I feel more attractive, and whether he’s responding to the look or my feelings of attractiveness, I get a response from my honey.

I have been having a lack of confidence lately, as with the stress of grad school, I have been having significant hair loss (not fun or sexy, but true!) Luckily, about the time I’m having this very specific issue, L’Oreal comes out with a product for just that. The L’Oreal Paris Advanced Haircare Triple Resist Ultimate Strength Solution promises nourish hair and reduce hair loss due to breakage by 64%.

I love the smell of these products and that all three smell the same. The scent is not overly floral or fruity, but clean and not overpowering. The leave-in Treatment has a nozzle that allows you to get right into the roots and, to me, feels a little cooling. It also recommends that you massage the leave-in product into the scalp to encourage micro-circulation, which is a good tip for anyone suffering from hair loss.

After I get out of the shower, I put the leave-in product in and then pull my hair into a loose bun while I do my makeup. The makeup I chose for this look couldn’t be easier.

I started with my Revlon Colorstay Whipped Crème Makeup in 200 Sand Beige (my winter color,) which I chose because it applies like a dream, has wonderful staying power and doesn’t need powder to set it or keep it looking great through the night. I then used a brand new product, the Starlooks blush in Cuty Peach, which is the perfect peach for a sweet, sexy flush on the cheek. I then did my brows with my new favorite brow product, the Tarte emphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian clay brow mousse, which I applied with the SOHO eyeliner brush that is the perfect strait edge for getting a uniform and neat brow line. The best part of this look is the eye palette, which I discovered recently and absolutely fell in love with.

This is the Lorac Unzipped Eye Shadow Palette. I have been obsessed with putting a midtone shimmering shade all over the lid and blending a dark matte shade into the outer corner and deep crease, and this palette gave me so many options to do just that. For this look I used Unreal all over the lid, blended Unspoken through the crease and Untamed into the outer V and lower lashline for a smokier look. I topped off the look with two coats of Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Mascara and Revlon Balm Stain in Honey. The finished look came out better than I hoped!

Finally, I took to the task of finishing my hair. I started by applying my Big Sexy Hair Root Pump to the roots of my damp hair and drying with a round brush. Then, employing a trick I learned from my stylist, Jacob Rodriguez at Alicia’s Salon who is Sexy Hair Demo Cut Certified and a Genius. He came back from a Sexy Hair event in LA with some awesome ideas, not the least of which was the return of an old friend from the 90’s – the crimper!

Jacob told me how another stylist had used the crimper at the roots of various sections to add body and from root to tip on strand sporadically as a sort of accessory. The crimped pieces in between strait pieces look almost like when we were doing hair feathers, but cooler!

As you can see, the crimp really pulls the hair away from the scalp and adds body.

While the interspersed crimped pieces add variety of texture and looks amazing! So here is the final look with hair an makeup! I love how everything came together and it looks totally fresh, romantic and a little edgy!