This story category covers skincare, makeup, hair and nails—plus treatments, procedures, products and supplies.

The Perfect Eyebrow

The Best Place For Eyebrow Threading

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Chasing the perfect brow? Here’s the best (and least expensive) place to have your eyebrows threaded locally.

The Perfect EyebrowCHEAP & FANTASTIC | Eyebrows can be tweezed, waxed or threaded. Of these three techniques, I prefer threading, and not just because I pay $5 to have them done this way. Threading is quicker than tweezing (typically taking fewer than 10 minutes), less painful overall than waxing and, to my mind, results in a crisper, more finished look than either of the other methods. Read more

Filing Nails - Shutterstock

4 Nail Care Products You Really Need To Try

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Even the most beautifully manicured fingernails need the occasional polish holiday. Here are four great nail care products that will give them a break.

Filing Nails - Shutterstock

 

STEALING BEAUTY | As pretty as polished nails are, they need to be left bare occasionally to give them some air. About once a month, Allison Emery performs a “nail ritual” that consists of four basic steps: trim/file, cleanse, buff and hydrate. “Regular nail maintenance keeps your nails healthy and strong,” according to this beauty expert. “With a little TLC, nails that are dry, brittle or even splitting will be shining in no time.” Here’s how she gets the job done. Read more

Super White Teeth

How To Use Baking Soda To Whiten Teeth

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Baking soda will definitely whiten your teeth. Here’s how to use it properly.

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CHEAP & EFFECTIVE | There’s no question that brushing with ordinary baking soda will remove surface stains from your teeth and contribute to a pearly white smile. Toothpaste manufacturers know this, which is why some of them have taken a page from 19th- and early 20th-century history books—when paste made from hydrogen peroxide combined with baking soda was a common agent for cleaning and destaining teeth—and included baking soda as an active ingredient in their product.

With baking soda’s proven track record, it’s no wonder people are curious about using it by itself as an inexpensive alternative to bleaching trays to whiten their teeth, though many worry that its abrasive properties will strip the enamel from their teeth. Read more

Get Pro Hair Products At A Drugstore Price

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International hair care leader Schwarzkopf delivers salon-quality performance at a drugstore price.

buy generic levitra onlinerzkopf_hair_color_idea_thumb.jpg”>1 schwarzkopf_hair_color_idea_thumbBEST BUY | Our wet, west coast weather may be nourishing for skin, but it’s murder on hair. The rain creates humidity, which leads to one of our biggest hair nightmares: frizz. For those of us with unruly hair, it is almost impossible to go without a styling product or we will end up “poofy” only minutes after we head out the door. If we want good hair days in Vancouver, we need reliable styling products. Read more

Korea Italy Towels, Classic Green, and Red

Use A Korea Italy Towel For Smooth Skin

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Nothing does more to invigorate and revitalize your skin than to scrub it with a Korea “Italy” towel.

Korea-Italy-Towels-Calssic-Green-and-RedCULT PRODUCT ALERT | Forget scratchy banana-shaped loofahs or stiff-bristled long-handle body brushes, the dirt cheap Korea “Italy” towel is the easiest and most expedient way to remove every bit of dead skin from your body and polish the new epidermis beneath it to a fresh and peachy glow. Read more

Beautiful Baby

All We Want For Xmas Is Silky Baby Skin

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Forget expensive moisturizers, body con celebrities like Gisele and Miranda Kerr swear that ordinary coconut oil is what keeps their skin supersoft and smooth.

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WHAT THE PROS KNOW | If you’re looking for a gift for a beauty buff who has a cupboard full of top-brand skin creams and potions, you might want to surprise her with a little inexpensive something from the grocery store. Believe us, she’s going to love you for it. Read more

Using Products at 1/2 Strength Makes Sense

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Using everyday products at 1/2 strength is often more than enough.

 

WASTE NOT | It all started with my first highlights. My stylist swung me around to the mirror for the reveal, and I basked in the glow of my glorious, glittering bangs, confident I would gleam forever in a radiant halo. Then he pulled me back to earth with a thump: “You’re going to have to stop washing your hair so much.” My wise stylist explained that daily washing strips the hair of colour and leaves it dull and dry.

I’d spent big bucks on my hair and was determined to protect my investment, so I cut down on the number of times I washed, and I revisited everything I thought I knew about shampoo. Instead of Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat, it became Shampoo, Rinse for me, all the way. Then one day it occurred to me—not only was my hair looking just as good or better, my shampoo budget had been cut in half. Read more

Topbox

2 Top Beauty Box Services In Canada

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Subscribe to an inexpensive beauty box service to receive monthly packages in the mail filled with top products geared to your specific needs.

Topbox

 

CHEAP & CHIC | I have been using the same brand moisturizer for over 10 years. Ditto eyeliner, mascara and toner. The facial cleanser I use? It’s been my staple since high school. It’s not that I’m not curious about other beauty products or uninterested in new things, but I am overwhelmed by what’s available these days. I need my own personal beauty editor, someone to curate the beauty aisles and find the best products for me. This is why I love the latest idea in e-commerce: the subscription beauty box. Read more

Smashbox Makeup Brushes

6 Best Makeup Brushes + 2 Top Brands To Buy

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Allison Emery selects 6 must-own makeup brushes—and shares her two favourite brush brands, one expensive the other not.

Smashbox Makeup Brushes

 

As a makeup artist, I’ve accumulated a variety of brushes. Because I often do multiple makeup applications in a short period of time, having two or three of the same type of brush means I don’t have to cleanse and disinfect them between clients. The average woman, however, is not applying makeup to several different people, so she really doesn’t require a multitude of brushes.

So which brushes do you really need? PICTURED BELOW are the essential brushes to have in your collection—plus my picks for the best brands to buy. Read more

How To Polish Your Skin To Perfection

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Cold, dry weather makes skin look dull; microdermabrasion can restore its glow. Here’s a top product that mimics this polishing procedure at home.

 

Winter is upon us, and while we welcome the sunshine instead of the usual dark, gloomy Vancouver weather, sunny days are cool and crisp. You may have noticed your skin feeling dryer, tighter and lackluster at this time of year. Even oilier complexions feel dryer and tighter than usual. As a result, we often reach for heavier creams and moisturizing masks, which can help, but the best solution is a good exfoliation or polishing of the skin. Read more