Get beach ready with Marc Anthony, Andrea Professionals, mark. and Dior

Beach hair is all about loose, soft, wavy effortless hair with body and texture - beach babies with easy and daily ocean access obtain it naturally, the rest of us have to work at it a bit and now it's easier to achieve thanks to:

Marc Anthony Dream Waves - Amplifying Shampoo - 250ml - $9.99 and Amplifying Conditioner - 250ml - $9.99 - prepares your hair for a full day of volume and texture, Amplifying Lotion - 340ml - $10.99 - for voluminous, defined waves or maximum fullness and bounce, Beach Spray - 150ml - $11.99 - offers super texture and waves.

The line offers conditioning polymers to help add body to limp hair, create an extra wavy bounce and block humidity for longer lasting style; hydrolyzed silk and provitamin B5 to add moisture and high shine; and powerful UV protectors to absorb ultraviolet light to save your hair from harmful sun exposure, dehydration and colour-fade.

With my super straight, fine and short bob, I figured these products would be a waste on me but strangely not. They don't add any wave because they aren't magic, but they are great for adding body and texture so that my hair will hold a sexy beach tousle!

Available now at Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmapix, Loblaws and other drug and mass retailers.

As for the body, now we need to de-hair, buff and colour with:

Andrea Professionals Face & Body Multi-Size Wax Strip Kit - 44 strips - $12.99 - includes three different sized wax strips designed to fit the area you are waxing perfectly. The kit includes: 20 body, 12 underarm/bikini and 12 face wax strips as well as a 4ml bottle of azulene oil which helps soothe and moisturize skin post-wax as well as instructions that include techniques for waxing various areas of the body and face.

mark. Just Buffing Body Exfoliator - 145ml - $12 - with a foaming formula that gently cleanses and exfoliates to reveal smoother, softer skin - with walnut and bamboo powder that polishes away rough and dry spots without stripping skin's natural moisture and a beautiful scent of citrus and sugar that will make you want to take bites out of yourself!

Available from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca

Dior Bronze Auto-Bronzant Self Tanning Natural Glow Body - 125ml - $39 - in a rich cream form that melts into the skin upon application leaving it perfectly moisturized with a tint that enhances the natural skin colour immediately while the tan is developing.

For me a self tanner is one of those purchases that is worth splurging on, cheap products can offer unnatural looking colour which you most certainly don't want if you are going to be showing a lot of skin!

All you have to do now is grab your bikini and head for the sand (or the turtle pool in your backyard, your choice)!

- Lisamarie -

Don't be a Sasquatch! Enter the Andrea Professionals Contest

This really is a picture of Christelle, no really!

Can you tell that Christelle hasn't bothered to shave all winter?! Andrea Professions was very concerned by this turn of events and actually came out with 2 new products to help her out:

Andrea Professionals Water Soluble Cold Wax - $13.99 - an all-natural based wax that is ready to use with no heating required and it's water solubility means that mistakes can easily be washed away!

Andrea Professionals Body Hair Removal Crème - $11.99 - formulated to quickly and effectively remove unwanted hair from arms, legs and bikini area and is enriched with cocoa butter and natural oils to leave the skin softer, smoother and hair-free longer than shaving!

What's really fun though is what's now included in all of their hair removal kits: SloGrow lotion! It's a fast absorbing lotion that contains Papain (derived from the unripe papaya fruit) and natural enzymes that inhibit the formation of new hair. I don't know if it's a sound business model to give people something that will eventually stop them from needing your product but hey, I didn't go to business school, what do I know?!

Now I'm very concerned that you might have gotten as hairy as Christelle here over the long winter months so I convinced Andrea Professionals to cough up some of their product for the good of (wo)mankind!

Up for grabs is  a full suite of Andrea Professionals product including: water soluble cold wax, body hair removal crème, facial wax strips, body wax strips, Brazilian hard wax, facial crème bleach, and facial hair removal crème. Each product comes with the brand new SloGrow™ Lotion to slow down hair re-growth. Total prize valued at over $100.

Sound like something you might want? Read on then...This contest is open to all of our hirsute Canadian readers. It's very easy to enter, just leave a comment letting us know that you follow (if you aren't a follower you can sign up through Google or Facebook - signups are in the right sidebar - or if Blogger is having one of it's constant issues, you can also find a follow link on the top left hand side)

1 entry for following and leaving a comment answering the question - what is your least favourite thing about hair removal? Please also leave your e-mail so we can find you!
And for an extra entry - follow Beautycrazedcan on Twitter and  tweet the contest!

If you prefer not to leave your info on a public post, please leave a post saying you want to enter and then e-mail your info to info@beautycrazed.ca, please put "Andrea Professionals Contest" in the subject line.  Remember to leave the post or you name won't actually end up in the draw! Winner to be decided by random drawing and you have until June 10th to enter. Good Luck!


And while you are waiting to see if you won, check out the Andrea Professionals summer website at www.andreahairremoval.com for amazing contests, hot trends and great tips for at-home hair removal!

- Lisamarie -

Summer in the City Girlfriend Giveaway - Contest!

You would have to be living under a rock to not know that Sex and the City 2 opens today and of course I am looking forward to seeing what my friends Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte have been up to!  We know the girls for their great hair and constant cocktails.  Of course being normal people, we don't have that kind of money but Goody, Andrea and Skyy Vodka can give us the lifestyle at a DIY price! Check out the nifty guide they sent to get your favourite SATC look -

I don't know how I feel about do-it-yourself brazilians, but I guess that's what the vodka is for...

Better yet, they have been good enough to offer up a prize pack to one of our lucky readers!

Here's what you can win:
Goody's entire Simple Style Collection - before they hit the stores!
A full summer supply of Andrea Professionals waxing products including their best selling Brazilian Hard Wax
Fiji Water to help hydrate after your girls night out!  - Oh who are we kidding, it's to help that wicked hangover you are going to have after consuming the -
SKYY Vodka Kit - complete with 750ml bottle of the official vodka of Sex and the City 2 (why don't I have an official liquor, that's what I want to know!) drink recipes and more!

Worth winning?!  Of course it is!  And don't worry, your chances are good I am absolutely not going to let Christelle enter even though she desperately wants that vodka!  This contest is open to Canadian residents 19 years old and older. All you have to do is join Beauty Crazed as a follower if you aren't one already.  You can either do it through Google or through Networked Blogs on Facebook - you can find both signups on the right hand side of the Beauty Crazed site.  Once you belong to our crazy family just leave a reply to this post letting us know you want in and which Sex and the City girl you are most like and why.   If you give the contest link a tweet and/or post it on your blog, there's an extra entry in it for you!  Including an e-mail address would be extra helpful and you can write it like this - info(at)beautycrazed(dot)ca - so the bots can't find you but we can.  If you prefer not to leave your info on a public post, please leave a post saying you want to enter and then e-mail us your info - info@beautycrazed.ca, please put "Summer in the City Contest" in the subject line.  Winner to be decided by random drawing and you have until June 11th to enter.

And because I love cocktails and think everyone should have a SATC2 party, I scoped out the recipes for you:

Glamour Girl - ode to Carrie Bradshaw

Fresh ice
2 oz. SKYY Vodka
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup (heat 2 parts sugar and 1 part water to a simmer, stirring, until sugar dissolves.  Let cool)
Splash créme de cassis
2 tbsp sugar

Place sugar on saucer.  Pour a splash of créme de cassis onto another saucer and tip the top of a martini glass into it to coat.  Dip into the sugar to form a rim.  Add ice, vodka, lemon and lime juices and syrup to a cocktail shaker.  Shake well.  Strain into prepared martini glass.  Carefully pour a few drops of créme de cassis on top of the drink at the side of the glass; it will float to the bottom.

Blonde Ambition - for Samantha of course

Fresh ice
1/8 of a fresh lemon
1 1/2 oz SKYY vodka
1 oz fresh orange juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
5 raspberries, plus one for garnish
Squeeze and drop lemon into cocktail shaker.  Add ice, vodka, orange juice, simple syrup and raspberries.  Shake well and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with a raspberry.

Red Over Heels - pays tribute to Miranda

Fresh ice
3 red grapes, cut into halves
2 fresh basil leaves, plus one for garnish
2 oz SKYY vodka
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
Muddle grapes and bail in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.  Add ice, vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup.  Shake well and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with basil leaf.

Park Avenue Princess -  for Charlotte, who else?

Fresh ice
1 1/2 oz SKYY Vodka
3 oz lemon-lime pop
1/8 of a fresh lemon
1/2 oz red wine
Pack a tall glass with fresh ice.  Squeeze lemon over top and add to glass.  Add vodka and pop.  Stir well.  Float red wine on top.

- Lisamarie -