Weekend Adventures: 6 Essential Steps to Get Ready for New Year's Eve- Part Two

Now that you have your outfit planned, accessories laid out, and an incline-treadmill workout complete, you're ready to actually "get ready" for the big night. And in case you need something to listen to while getting ready, here is my music playlist featuring the best of the best of 2013.

4. Renew your Skin

It seems as though blemishes always magically appear around the worst times. From prom back in the day to the morning of a big event today, I'm sure that you have experienced waking up with a surprise "friend" on your face. Lucky for you though, there are few tips/tricks to have your skin feeling renewed for the New Year. Better yet, they can all be done with products already in the house or found at the grocery store.

1.Many toothpastes are filled with chemicals that can harm your skin. For instance, when brushing with a toothpaste that contains peppermint, menthol or flouride, the paste can make contact with your skin and cause itchiness, inflammation, and breakouts. When brushing your teeth, opt for a chemical-free toothpaste such as Tom's of Maine. Pictures: Crest, Tom's

2. Pour boiling water into a mixing bowl. Add 4-6 drops of lavendar oil into the bowl. Place a towel over your head and breathe in the vapor, keeping your eyes closed. Continue to breathe deeply for a few minutes, occasionally removing the towel and moving your face away from the bowl. Pictures: Bowl, Kettle, Lavendar Oil. 

3. Pour 8 teaspoons of baking soda into a cup. Add in 4 teaspoons of water, creating a paste. Apply the paste onto the pimple. Leave the paste on until it dries over the pimple (roughly 15 minutes). Rinse the paste off. You can use the paste twice a week until the pimple fades. Pictures: Water, Baking Soda

4. Apply primer under makeup as a way to protect your face from the harsh winter months. Primer prevents that flakey look that can occur when you "cake on" your makeup over dried and cracked skin. The primer will allow your makeup to go on smooth, as well as serves as a moisturizer. Look for a primer with SPF for even further protection. My two favorite primers are from Nars and Smashbox. Picture: Nars primer  

5. Mastering your Makeup

1. Clean your brushes with a brush shampoo once a week. Allow brushes to dry completely before re-using. I bought my Elf brush shampoo at Target for $3. My makeup brushes were bought at the Body Shop years ago but have remained  in good condition thanks to weekly washes. (The disinfectant in the shampoo will prevent breakouts from occurring).
 Pictures: Make Up Brushes, Elf Shampoo

2. Try out different makeup looks on YouTube. I am a huge fan of Tanya Burr. Her makeup tutorials are easy to follow and all of the makeup products that she uses are basic items that can be found in any makeup bag. My go to tutorial by her, that I follow for a night out is her Birthday MakeUp Tutorial  
Picture: YouTube Pin, Tanya Burr Pin

3. When you apply dark eyeliner to both the top and bottom lid lines, it will give you that raccoon/ dark eye look. On New Year's especially, you want to look wide-awake and refreshed. By applying white eyeliner to the bottom eyeline,  your eyes will look bigger. Apply a little in the inner crease to really make your eyes pop.
Picture: White Eyeliner, Tanya Burr

4. If your lips are chapped, try to hold off on the lipstick until the big night, applying chapstick on the regular until then. When its time to go out, mix the chapstick with your lipstick and apply onto lips with your fingers. My favorite chapstick is by EOS, which can be found at Target for $2.99. I find that it stays on and the balm never runs out. I keep an EOS balm in my car console,  purse, and on top my nightstand. As far as lipstick goes, my favorite is NYX, which was actually suggested by Tanya Burr. I ordered it off Amazon and I absolutely love it.
 Picture: Eos Lip Balm, NYX

6. Mastering the Bombshell Curls

One of my favorite sayings is "your hair is your best accessory" and I believe this to be incredibly true. New Year's Eve is the perfect time for bombshell waves. This simple bobby-pin tutorial is easy and requires no hot styling tools that can be very damaging to the hair. When finished unraveling the curls, just spray liberally with hairspray to get the curl to hold.

I hope you all have found these 6 tips (the first 3 tips can be found in Part 1) helpful for mastering the perfect New Year's Eve look. I would love to see your finished looks! Upload a photo of your mastered New Year's Eve look to Instagram, Twitter, or the Creatively Lu FB page, and tag @Creatively Lu. 

Create a great weekend everyone! Below is your weekend dose of inspiration.

Glitter Gold Chevron pattern: Pinterest
Quote by: Neil Gaiman

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Friday Favorites- Fashion edition: Threads & Mane

Photo Courtesy of: Threads and Mane

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been on Pinterest, "pinning" amazing fashion outfits and have thought to myself: I would of never thought to have paired "that" with "that".  I always wonder who  those cool, fashion chicks are who can pull off mixing styles, such as leopard & flannel, and really make an outfit WORK. Well recently, I stumbled across the fashion blog- Threads and Mane, and the two ladies behind this blog are "those chicks" that make it "work."

 The Girls Behind Threads and Mane

The "threads" of Threads and Mane, is fashion/accessories lover and expert Ashley Thomas, while the girl behind the "mane" is hair/beauty/jewelry lover and expert Danielle Lareau. Ashley and Danielle started Threads and Mane as a creative fashion outlet to explore after work hours. Living just a block away from one another in South Boston, Ashley and Danielle had been spending the majority of their free time together, discussing all things beauty and fashion. As they constantly turned to one another when planning their outfits...down to their nail polish, to discus new beauty finds, and discover new places around the Boston area; they realized they should launch a blog to inspire others. 

Why I love Threads and Mane

I absolutely adore fashion, but when I walk into my closet, I often find myself overwhelmed by the idea of having to put an outfit together. Therefore, I tend to stick with a few "go to" items such as a pair of leggings and a chunky sweater. So to me, Danielle and Ashley are awe-inspiring fashionistas that I would love to be able to "call up" everyday, asking them how to "amp up" my basics. Luckily, however, their blog feels a lot like having them on speed-dial.

When I see their beautiful fashion shoots taken on the streets of Boston, I feel inspired to go back into my closet and choose something a little more daring like a sparkly necklace and leopard booties to pair with that sweater and leggings. 

Aside from the style section of Threads and Mane, I also really enjoy their "Beauty" section of the blog which features easy hair tutorials (like the DIY bun tutorial below) and time and money saving, makeup product reviews. Their "Life" section features local area reviews, in which I discovered there is a blowout bar down the street from me!

Since reading the Threads and Mane blog and pinning their pins (they have the best fashion pins), I have definitely created a keener eye for fashion and learned a heck of a lot more about beauty. 

So on this edition of Friday Favorites, I am saying "cheers" to these two fashion-rocking, "make-it-work" ladies! Thank you both for launching a blog that covers all the bases of beauty and fashion. I look forward to reading for many years to come and encourage all of you to do the same.  

Below are a couple of Ashley and Danielle's favorite things, along with Friday's dose of inspiration, inspired by Threads and Mane, of course.

 Create a great Friday, and I hope that Ashley and Danielle have inspired you all to go  into your closets and choose a bolder outfit that you can "work" this weekend. 

Photo Courtesy of: Threads and Mane

*Check out Threads and Mane on their website, & follow them on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and  Instagram.

*To follow the Creatively Lu posts daily,  "like" the FB page 

 Follow @Creatively Lu on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.