Backless And Beautiful

Now that party season is not only here, but is in full swing, its time to check out exactly what it is that you're flaunting in your sexy, fun party dresses. Typically you're going to be showing  a little more skin, with bare arms and varying degrees of backless staking their claim to fame.

Everyone remembers to get a facial, or to do facial treatments at home, but many forget to work with the skin on their upper arms and back. After weeks of wearing long sleeves, backs and arms start to look lackluster, dry and lifeless.






Just as the skin on our face needs a little pre party sprucing up, backs and arms do too.

One of the lovliest treats you can pamper yourself with is a back facial.

For those with blemishes or back acne it is a must, for those with clear skin on their back it is a party dress essential.

An in-spa or salon service can be a decadent treat.
As with a facial, your skin will be cleansed, steamed, exfoliated and massaged.

A mask will be applied, giving you a deep cleanse and detox.

 followed by a relaxing rubdown

giving you skin that is soft, smooth, glowing party perfection

Kim Kardashian backless dress

(If you are in the greater Phoenix area, 

The Skin & Makeup Institute's Violet Clay back treatment is to die for).

If you don't have the time or the budget for an in salon service, do a quick 4 step at home back facial.

1.) Dry brush your skin

2.) Soak in a warm (not too  hot!) bubble bath

3.) Use a salt or sugar scrub

4.) Moisturize with a dense, heavy body cream

Halle Berry, backless at the Golden Globes

3 Quick Ways to Get Party Perfect Skin

So the festive season is here, and a girl's dance card is looking pretty full. Her party clothes are lined up, she's shopped for naughty undies, new lipstick and heels, now she has to make sure her skin is party-ready, glowing and gorgeous.

Here are  3 quick options to last minute party perfect skin.

1.) Glycolic Peel
Sounds scary! In fact I only started having them myself a few months ago, as I was sure I'd have red, crusty, chemically blasted skin. Not so! This is an amazing high speed skin rejuvenation. I recommend having it done at a reputable salon, with a facialist you know and trust, but thats just me.
The Glycolic Peel's job is to improve, renew and smooth the texture of facial skin by using a chemical solution that causes dead skin to slough off and peel off. The peeling is minimal and you are left with fresh glowing skin.
It also gets rid of blemishes, brightens, and is the fast track to gorgeous skin.

2.) Microdermabrasion

This is another high speed, instant result remedy for dull, lifeless looking skin. It falls under the category of mechanical exfoliation, and in 2010 has been one of the top 5 non surgical procedures.
This one is performed in a salon(spa/dermatologists/plastics office) by a trained specialist who uses a microdermabrasion machine to mechanically remove the outermost layer of dead skin cells, with adjusted vacuum pressure to lift away the debris.
This is a good one to have done 2 or 3 days before the party, as sometimes you may have a little residual flaking.
If your salon uses DermaSweep you can have the treatment same day, and your skin will look divine.

3.) Enzyme Mask
This one you can either have your facialist do in salon, or do yourself at home. An enzyme mask uses fruit enzymes to eat away the top icky layer of dead, lifeless looking skin, pac-man style,  leaving you with a fresh, healthy, glowing complexion.
Celebrity favorite Kate Sommerville's ExfoliKate is an excellent, high speed option.

Make sure you keep your newly polished, beautiful skin nourished and moisturized, and balance out all those party drinks with tons of water throughout the day.

12 Days of Christmas

Here's a little slice of holiday shopping fun!
My friends at katie m designs have cooked up 12 fabulous days of designer shopping with their 12 Days of Christmas earring collection.

Here are my favorites

From the 5th day of Christmas Ruby Red Quartz faceted briolette drop earrings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jet Black Czech Glass Chandelier Earrings (8th day)

7th Day of Christmas Swarovski Pearl Chandeliers

So who is Katie m Designs? Hailing from Hollywood, one of the Industry’s Leading Jewelry Designers,
Katie m designs is worn by many celebrities, graced the Hollywood Runways, many Red Carpet events & has appeared in a number of Films & Television Shows. Katie m designs have also been seen on the Oscars Red Carpet as well as the Emmy's.
Her handcrafted beaded jewelry collections feature handmade beaded earrings, bracelets, necklaces and chandelier earrings using Sterling silver, Swarovski Crystals and pearls, fine imported glass as well as semi precious stones.
With meticulous attention to detail and superior craftsmanship, Katie m designs offers quality pieces that you will love & treasure for years to come…

Check out the 12 Days of Christmas here at Katiemdesigns.com

Get Caught Looking Gorgeous

 Want to look extra gorgeous this holiday season? Here are five quick steps to looking super fabulous!

Charlize Theron looking gorgeous

1.) Refresh and revitalize your skin by misting Hylunia's incredible Colloidal Silver with Lavender Water onto your freshly cleansed face before starting your makeup routine.

The time-tested curative powers of colloidal silver and lavender flowers are blended in this sensational tonic and healing floral water. Its antiseptic power may be used to reduce infections caused by acne, cuts or burns. For all skin types, it awakens, enlivens and soothes the skin.

2.)Replace  a dull, lifeless complexion with a healthy glow by giving your winter skin some extra luxe loving via fast absorbing, super moisturizing Zensation Super Hydrating Cream with SPF 15.

3.) Light your skin from within by mixing a drop of Nars Orgasm Illuminator into your foundation to magically transform lackluster winter skin into a lustrous glowing complexion.

If you're looking a little on the tired side and need to boost your makeup for an office to happy hour transition, mix a tiny amount of Nars Orgasm Illuminator, eye cream and concealer together, pat under the eye and be instantly, (orgasmically!) transformed!

4.) Replace your dull powdery blush with a beautiful cream blush from h.wood.beauty.com

Cream blush will softly catch the light and lift and mold your cheeks, keeping you fresh faced and lovely!

5.) Add a little gold to the inner corner of your eye and lower lash line to illuminate and brighten your eyes

Holiday Happy Hour!

Its Friday and we are officially in holiday season, so why not offer up something festive and seasonal at happy hour?

This one is from No.9 Park in Boston, and is quite fabulous!

Dieci E Lode

Ingredients

0.5 oz. Campari
2.5 oz Gin
1.5 oz. Grapefruit Juice
Lime Wedge

Directions

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add Campari and grapefruit juice and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with lime wedge.

Bottoms up!!

The Naughty List...

Face it - nothing says "dirty Santa" quite like sexy, risque lingerie!
So if you're on the naughty list, here are some fabulous items to ask for...

From Agent Provocateur, The Fifi Collection. Festive!

Very fab Agent Provocateur the Helena Basque.

Who needs to breathe when you can be clinched like this?

 

Agent Provocateur Side Tie Undies.

 From Faire Frou Frou (www.fairefroufrou.com)

I found these Toad Lillie Hot Pink Panties

  

 and this gorgeous What Katie Did Glamour Corselette.

Makes you wonder exactly what it was that Katie did...

These red frilly knickers are from SocksnKnicks

Order them online from the UK in time for Christmas

 Put a bow on it with the Demaris Peach Bow Pantie from Faire Frou Frou

If you're on the naughty list, naughty gets naughtier with a

Love Is Blind mask from Kiki de Montparnasse

Love/Desire bedding from Kiki makes a gorgeous gift too

For those who made the list this year, here is Kylie Minogue's Agent Provocateur commercial,
that not only became a cult classic, but got banned many places too.
Kylie loves great lingerie...

Lip Loving Holiday Gift Guide

Here are some holiday gift sets for lip lovers

Nars Follow The Boys Lip Gloss Set ($48)

This set of Nars lip gloss favorites makes lips look more luscious with dazzling shimmer and shine.
Four .14 oz lip glosses in Moon Fleet (clear with silver and gold flecks), Easy Lover (sheer, hot pink)
Turkish Delight (pink sorbet) and Sweet Revenge (sheer, pink grapefruit)

Tarte Good As Gold Lip Gloss Collection ($165) 

An amazing array of gorgeous glosses in shades that range from sheer to deep. 15 X .6oz glosses in the following universally flattering colors: bubblegum pink, true pink, vivid pink, warm berry, deep raspberry, nude, brown sugar, soft peach, coral, whisper pink, apricot, apple red, mauve, tawny brown and deep plum.


Stila Lip Glaze Set ($120)

A collection of 8 luscious lip glaze shades, packaged in Stila's clickable pens.
There are four top selling shades and four limited edition, holiday shades that give a splash of color and shine to the lips.
The top sellers are: Kitten, Guava, Grapefruit, Apricot
The limited edition colors are: Sea Shell, Blush, Majesty, Merry Merry


Buxom City Slickers ($72) 

A dazzling, eight-piece mini lip color collection that features four Big & Healthy Lip Sticks and four Big & Healthy Lip Polishes. 
Geared toward "Buxom Girls," who live for jet-setting around the globe. Each lovely lipstick and lip polish is infused with antioxidant vitamins E and A to keep lips soft, smooth and protected. Wear one or layer two for a one-of-a-kind fabulous look wherever you land. 
- 4 x 0.07 Mini Big & Healthy Lip Polishes in Amber (washed peach), Brandi (candied plum), Denise (cool pink), and Michelle (raspberry rose) 
- 4 x 0.05 oz Mini Big & Healthy Lip Sticks in Bombay (poppy rose), Marrakech (beige nude), Fresno (blackberry wine), and Vienna (pink lilac) 

All sets are available at Sephora and at Sephora.com