Sure, movie stars have their own cosmetologists and access to some of the best hair and make-up products out there, but surprisingly not all Hollywood beauty secrets come with a designer name or hefty price tag. Many celebrity hairstylists and make-up artists will divulge that sometimes everyday things can become handy, Hollywood-worthy beauty products. Here’s a sneak peek to five secrets that celebrities use that aren’t difficult to find or afford!

• Salicylic acid — Sounds like a dangerous substance, but salicylic acid can play a key role in your skin’s health. Salicylic acid helps wash away dead skin cells which gives your skin a healthy glow. Look for salicylic acid in skincare products such as face wash. Or, smooth Pepto Bismol on your face. Yep, you heard us right. The stomach-soother contains a gentle form of salicylic acid that can make your tummy feel better and your face glow!
• Cinnamon oil — Angelina has genes to thank for her prized pout, but with the help of some cinnamon oil you can now have fuller lips, too! When applied to your lips, spicy cinnamon oil increases blood flow which causes the lips to swell temporarily. Apply a little bit with your lip gloss and enjoy a sexy smile!
• Exfoliaters — Stars have beautiful, flawless skin because they have make-up artists, amazing products, a ton of airbrushing, and they know to exfoliate. A lot. While most of those things probably won’t be available to you, you can easily (and cheaply!) exfoliate. All you need is a good loofah and products that can scrub away dead skill. Look for body wash and face wash that have little “scrubbers” or “beads.” Or make your own sugar scrub by mixing brown sugar, a little bit of olive oil and scented massage oil. Remember it’s not only important to clean your skin but to wash away the dead stuff as well.
• Dryer sheets — You probably didn’t know a secret beauty product was hiding in your laundry room, huh? Dryer sheets can quickly tame hair fly-a-ways. Just smooth over your hair and watch the static electricity and unruly hairs disappear. An added bonus—your hair will smell extra fresh!
• Homemade blemish repair — Got a pesky blemish? Many celebrity make-up artists recommend looking for the remedy in the kitchen. Dry it out by mixing a packet of dry yeast with the juice of half a lemon and pat over the blemish. Leave it one for about five minutes to reduce swelling and redness.

See our original post on five inexpensive Hollywood beauty tricks.

It’s the same question we always ask right around this time of year: What do I get So-and-So? You comb through catalogs and websites, amble past store shelves, and maybe even straight up ask them what they want. If you’re looking, maybe they’ll tell you. Sweet! Pressure is off! If not, you’re back to square one: coming up with great holiday gift ideas for your loved ones.

Well, if you have someone on your list who’s a beauty lover, we’ve got a solution for you: A new online Zazzle store that features unique beauty-centric designs that you can put on everything from tote bags to T-shirts, hoodies to iPhone cases.

For fashionistas, trendsetters and those who love to stand out, check out the #TrendsFollowMe design. A sassy and clever play off the Twitter hashtag, the T-shit comes in 11 different styles and colors – including long sleeve, basic and with a layered look. If you know someone going to or considering beauty school, it comes in black, which makes it perfect for many cosmetology school environments.

For an edgier look, check out the Life on the Edge design, which features a straight razor nod to barbering and an amazing vintage tattoo style. You can get this design in over a dozen different T-shirt styles, as a hoodie, or even as an iPad case or sticker.

All of the options are under $50, which means you don’t have to break the bank to find unique holiday gift ideas for beauty fans or barbering or beauty school students that tick off both the fun and functional checkboxes.

Get fashion gurus and divas and other important people in your life crossed off your Christmas gift lift by visiting the Cosmetology Clothes Zazzle store.

Who doesn’t love free stuff – especially around the holiday season?

We are on the lookout for unique and fabulous holiday hairstyles, and we want you to submit yours to our Facebook photo contest. The winner will get a collection of amazing hair care items absolutely free!

The Prizes:

• A hydration kit from Design Essentials Salon System
• A Brazilian Heat ceramic brush set by Mega Hot
• Vitae and Volumax professional hairsprays
• A hair taming system from Global Keratin

The Rules:

• This contest is only for hairstyles, so any entries focusing on clothes, makeup, nails, etc. will not be considered.
• Photo must have been uploaded to Facebook on or after Monday, November 28th.
• Participants must tag BeautySchool.com in the photo.
• Only “likes” that are entered before noon on Wednesday, December 21st will be counted.
• BeautySchool.com agrees to immediately ship the prizes to the winner once we have the correct contact information but cannot guarantee an arrival date.

Want to get an extra like? Tagging BeautySchool.com in the photo is pretty much required if you want to enter, but any participants who tag BeautySchool.com in a status update as well will get an additional like from us.

So get into the holiday spirit and show us your creative hairstyling skills! We can’t wait to see what you got!

Wish you could get up out of bed and be instantly prettier? Of course you do. If you could altogether avoid or cut in half the daunting task of dolling yourself up for the day – wouldn’t you? Absolutely!

Well, now you can with this list of 5 ways to wake up prettier. No more of those days at work having someone tell you, “Ooh, you look tired.” Nope! You can kiss those days goodbye.

Shower it – then braid it

If you want to achieve that nice wavy look, then stick to this old motherly secret. You’ve heard the saying, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Well, this bedtime beauty secret is old school for a reason – it’s not broke, so don’t fix it!

Double layer it

Wearing primer over skincare products at night might sound odd, but it allows them to sink in and work their magic. Try it out if you’re a non-believer and see how good you look in the morning.

Keep it tamed

Want to protect yourself from the reincarnation of ‘80s riot hair? Then flip your hair upside down, pull it into a ponytail and secure it tightly (but not too tight – you’ve got to sleep comfortably after all) with a hair tie. No more striking a morning pose looking like Madonna.

The rub

You’re not the only one who wants to be comfortable when you lay yourself down to sleep at night. Your skin wants – no, deserves – to be comfy, too. Next time, moisturize yourself all over – elbows, knees, toes, ankles, armpits. If you can name it – moisturize it.

Get the glow

Self tanner is an important beauty product for maintaining exceptionally vibrant skin throughout the year. The best time to apply it? Right before bed. By self-tanning before bed and letting it dry overnight, you’ll find yourself waking up radiant-er.

By utilizing these 5 beauty-before-bedtime tips, you’ll be well on your way to waking up prettier and saving yourself that bothersome task of getting ready in the morning.

It seems like there’s a smartphone app for anything and everything these days. Now the beauty industry is even benefitting from our mobile devices.  You can check prices, read reviews, and test out hairstyles and nail polish colors with a simple click on your cell phone.  What’s next — sampling perfume scents and trying on lipstick?  Ok, maybe not yet, but here are our current top five favorite beauty apps for your iPhone or smartphone.

1. OPI’s iPhone app — Before you head to your manicure check out OPI’s iPhone app.  Instead of wasting time at the salon you can “try on” shades virtually.  The app gives you the chance to check out OPI’s latest colors without having to use any finger nail polish remover!

2. Sephora to Go — Our favorite beauty store now comes in the palm of our hand! Literally! This app allows you to shop, review past purchases, make a shopping wish list, post ratings and reviews, and scan bar codes for product information.

3. TotalBeauty.com — Never pay for a beauty product you don’t like or won’t use again! With this app you can read unbiased reviews of 45,000 products on your phone before you go shopping.
4. iStylist Makeover — This app allows you to load a photo of yourself and see how you’d look in a wide range of hairstyles and colors. Want to see what others think? Easy! You can post the potential hairstyle on Facebook.
5. MakeupTagg — With MakeupTagg, you can find makeup recommendations based on your eye color, hair and skin tone.  The best thing about it?  You receive three suggestions for each makeup category and at different price points depending on what you want to spend.

Ready to take your passion for the beauty industry from the smartphone into real life? Start looking into beauty school today!

In an attempt to compete with retailers like Sephora and Ulta, Macy’s is debuting a new self-serve beauty department in select stores around the country. These new beauty outposts have been named “Impulse Beauty”, and are designed to let customers peruse their favorite brands at their leisure.

I, for one, am glad to see this kind of presentation. I prefer to test out a product on my own, rather than have a sales person try it on me. What remains to be seen is whether or not customers feel less pressured by commissioned sales people to make a purchase.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to make your department store beauty purchases in an area like “Impulse Beauty”, or do you prefer traditional beauty counters? Share!

DIY-beauty can be a great way to save some dough. But if you’re thinking you have to resort to crazy (and smelly…) tactics involving mayonnaise, egg yolks or other odd kitchen items, think again!

Here are a few affordable (even totally free in some cases) ways to look and feel your very best with the help of common household items.

Great Hair

1.       Pump up the volume

Try adding mousse into your hairstyling routine. It brings more bang for the buck than some other hair-pumping products.

Another (totally free!) way to add some lift to your ‘do is by blow-drying your hair upside down. Flip your hair over and dry the hair away from the scalp. When it’s barely damp, flip it back and continue styling.

2.       Bring out the shine

Add a weekly hot-oil treatment to your beauty regimen. Sound expensive? It doesn’t have to be! Pick up some jojoba oil (you can find it at natural food stores for around $10) and substitute this for pricier hair-repair products.  Just spread the oil generously through dry hair, pop on a plastic shower cap, and cover your head with a hot towel for about a half-hour. When time’s up, rinse your hair with cold water to seal in the moisture. Then, head out and show off those shiny tresses!

Glowing Skin

1.       Erase the redness

To reduce redness and soothe irritated skin, all it takes is a quick trip to the fridge. When you soak a washcloth in cold milk and place the washcloth over your face for about 10 minutes, the proteins, fat, amino acids and vitamin A found in milk can rejuvenate your skin and help it look soft and glowing.

2.       Banish puffy eyes

The caffeine found in tea bags can help tired-looking eyes appear brighter and more awake. By shrinking the underlying dark blood vessels that create puffiness around the eyes, the caffeine can help your eyes look bright once again. Find two tea bags and soak them in hot water for about a minute. Then, dunk them in ice water for a few seconds. Lie down and apply the tea bags to your eyes for about 15 minutes while you take a breather.

Dazzling Smile

1.       Mix your own smile-whitener by creating a homemade paste of baking soda and water. By brushing with this paste a few times a month, you can whiten your teeth by as much as one or two shades.

2.       Keep your teeth white between brushings by treating new stains before they set in. When drinking red wine, choose some crunchy raw vegetables to accompany your drink. By chewing up the veggies, you can help rub away any new stains.

It’s time to go forth and look beautiful! All in the comfort of your own home, no less. Have some tips to add to our list? We want to hear ‘em!

Not much about soap is exciting. Some are interesting, but you can’t really say it’s provocative. Unless you’re talking about the naughty & nice collections from Villainess Soaps.

Villainess is a bit naughty because they have scents named after deadly deeds like Pyromania, which gives off a sweet, smoky odor and uses poppy seeds as a mild abrasive. I bought my younger sister a bar of Silk & Cyanide for Christmas, which gives off the scents and flavors one experiences while slowly being poisoned. She cautiously thanked me for my trouble.

Villainess is a bit nice because all their products are cruelty-free, and they operate through a full-disclosure policy about all materials used in manufacture. It’s kind of like how the arch-enemy details all her nefarious plans to the hero before she engages the unnecessarily slow-moving crane toward the shark tank.

Villainess Soaps and cosmetic products are hand-made in Waverly, TN by people who are truly passionate (and a bit evil) about their ideals. The soaps are nicely priced and arrive in un-sculpted hunks of glorious texture, color and odor. Ask your local beauty biz if they’ll stock some, or just visit their website at www.villainess.net to see what devilishly clever new things they’ve devised.

Photo: Villainess Soaps

As any savvy makeup and animal lover will tell you, it takes a lot of work to search for animal-friendly cosmetic products. Unfortunately, in the cosmetics world, many companies test their products on animals like mice and guinea pigs to help prevent allergic reactions in humans.

Driven by a ban on animal skin testing planned to go into effect in Europe by 2013, a New Jersey-based company called Hurel Corp. is making advances on the technology that could replace animal testing.

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“Going green” is becoming more and more popular, and people from all walks of life are finding ways to make their lives more eco-friendly. As a beauty professional, you’re in a position to make a huge difference right in your very own salon. Think about it. Plastic product containers tossed in the garbage, incredibly high water and energy usage, and chemicals being washed into water supplies are not doing the planet any favors. So try a few of our suggestions to make your salon a “green” salon! (more…)