2012-1
25

Planning a Goth Wedding? Don’t Forget the Skull Rings

Category: wedding rings | Comments Off

If you love Goth fashion and design and are planning a Goth wedding, then don’t forget that there’s no reason not to have a skull wedding ring set. There’s a wide variety of skull rings available and many will work just fine for a wedding ring. The sterling silver band below is a perfect example of the skull ring that would work as a wedding ring.
men's skull ring
It’s a very “demure” band style ring. But when you get up close you’ll see a band of skulls lined up jaw to skull. The black background and sterling silver combine for a fantastic design element.  It’s not really hard to find band-style skull rings. Take a look below at another more subtle example.
skull rings
The skulls in the above ring are smaller than the first with a different alignment. It is a titanium ring with a white ceramic inlay. That’s the white band that shows off the black skull and bones. So you see you don’t have to have a ring in the shape of the skull unless you want to.
skull ring with diamond
So if you do want a skull shaped gold ring with diamonds here’s one that you could use as a wedding ring. It is not for the shy Goth who wants to go unnoticed. Everyone will comment on this most unusual diamond wedding ring!

2012-1
24

Bridal Hair Tips – Five Ways to Care for Coarse Hair

Category: brides | Comments Off

Having thick and coarse hair can be a burden especially if you don’t know how to properly manage it and the big day is right around the corner.

 

A full head of hair can be very tricky to manage and style as it is easily susceptible to dryness and breakage. This is precisely why having coarse hair means that you need to devote a bit more time and patience in ensuring that your full head of hair stays healthy, lustrous and manageable.

 

From the hairstyling geniuses of OKC Salon 9309 comes five easy ways on how you can effectively manage your coarse hair without needing to reach for the scissors every now and then.

 

Tip 1: Regularly wash your hair with high quality hair care products such as the Keratin Complex shampoo and conditioner to keep you thick hair adequately moisturized. After shampoo, make sure to pacify your scalp and follicles by conditioning it. Doing this also helps keep oils locked in for a flowing and tangle free hair.

 

Tip 2: As thick hair can be prone to frizz and breakage. Make sure to apply styling aids such as mousse and gel to help manage your unruly hair. When choosing hair products, make sure to refrain from buying those with alcohol content that can also contribute to hair dryness.

 

Tip 3: Avoid brushing your thick tresses and settle for white toothed combs instead. This is to prevent unnecessary friction on your locks that can weaken it and cause it to fall into hair breakage.

 

Tip 4: The problem with thick hair is that they can take an awfully long time to dry and style. But it is still important to keep in mind that constantly subjecting your hair to intense heat can make coarse hair appear thicker and unhealthy.

 

Tip 5: Women with thick hair are often scorned by split ends. To prevent this, make sure to trim your damaged ends every six weeks to prevent them from reaching your hair shafts.

2011-12
24

Throwing a Great Bachelorette Party

Category: blog | Comments Off

Being given the responsibility of throwing a bachelorette party is definitely a huge obligation. It’s not something you should take lightly because it’s going to involve a lot of work. It’s a special occasion for the bride-to-be and you’re going to be responsible for an incredibly important event. At the same time, the planning process itself can be incredibly fun and educational at the same time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, make sure to ask for help from other members of the bridal group. It’s a lot of work for one person to do and you shouldn’t feel bad for needing a helping hand. When everything goes right, you’ll be able to put together a night of wild and crazy fun that will be memorable for everyone involved. This is a very special occasion that will play a vital role in the entire wedding experience.

The Right Guest List – if it’s your job to come up with the guest list, you should not take this step to lightly. You have to be as organized as possible and think about how all of the girls are going to interact with each other. A bachelorette party is for close friends and it’s not the same type of group you would have for a bridal shower. You don’t have to make polite invitations to acquaintances or family members that rarely see the bride anyways. With the right mix of girls, you’ll have a lot easier time making sure that things go smoothly and everyone will have more fun.

A Theme – a bachelorette party has a built-in seem already, but you can make things much more enjoyable by using your creativity. A good theme will get everyone involved and help to create an overarching element that makes the night goes smoothly. Just make sure that if you have any extra requirements such as costumes or accessories that you inform the guests well beforehand. And if the theme of the night is a surprise party, then make sure that the bride doesn’t find out!

Bachelorette Party Supplies – a good party is not going to be possible without the right bachelorette party supplies purchased well beforehand. Make sure that you come up with an eclectic list of interesting games and toys that everyone will enjoy. These days you can find some great options online in addition to specialty stores that will have everything you need. It’s the games and toys that really make an event like this come to life so make sure you choose good ones.

Focus on the Bride to Be – you should always keep the bride-to-be is your main focus whenever you’re planning this type of event. Sometimes people lose sight of the real focus of the event and it can descend into chaos. Every game, activity, and destination should be something that the bride will enjoy. You also have to balance a fine line between outrageous fun and going a bit too far overboard.

A Backup Plan – this might be an unpredictable night so you have to have a backup plan in case things go wrong. Sometimes certain games or activities just fall flat so it’s nice to have something that you can fall back upon in case of an emergency. So if that trip to a local psychic to cast love spells doesn’t seem to work, make sure you have another activity like a scavenger hunt or a visit to a karaoke bar in place. You have to be able to go with the flow and be adaptable for a party like this to be a success.

2011-12
20

My Bridesmaids Outfit Challenge

Category: bridesmaids | Comments Off

I can’t believe it’s finally happening. Jenna and I have been best friends since high-school and now she’s marrying her Prince Charming. He’s a good guy and I’m happy for her, but I must admit, I’m a little bit jealous, too. Not because she is getting married before me, but because I feel like I ‘lose’ my soul-mate. Anyway, this is about Jenna and not about me.

Tory Bruch Dress

So, of course I’m one of her six Bridesmaids. Two of the other girls I know since forever, but as for the other three, I had never seen or spoke to them before up until very recently. The fact of the matter is I don’t know anything about them, which is a major problem because I was selected to ‘volunteer’ for getting the Bridesmaids outfits together. And let me tell you something, this has turned into a full time job. We have four weeks left and right now I’m back to square one. We basically had already agreed to go with a traditional blue cocktail dress, not too fancy, but classy enough. But then Mariah and Terry felt that the dress looked too ‘stiff’ and asked me to pick something more casual.

So here I am scrambling and running out of time. But last night I had a brilliant idea. I went online and emailed the girls a link to the Tory Burch Sale Outlet and gave them a selection of three different outfits. Each of the ladies has 2 votes which they will have to send me by the weekend. I will then just run a count and the one with the most votes will become our Bridesmaids outfit.

2011-11
22

Mature Brides Looking Their Best On the Big Day

Category: brides | Comments Off

Just as it’s important to pick the perfect dress, hair stylist and makeup artist for your wedding, you should also spend time considering and evaluating any skin care procedures or products you may want to start using several weeks before the wedding?

What exactly do I mean by this? Well more women are getting married at an older age. This could be because it’s a second wedding or possibly because a woman first focussed on her career before looking for Mr right. If this is you then you might consider using a wrinkle cream starting about 8 weeks or more before the big day.

Why so far out you might ask? Well today’s wrinkle creams contain powerful anti aging ingredients that produce a cumulative effect. By this I mean that for optimal results you must apply the product twice daily for at least six weeks to begin to see the best results. So if you’re wedding is about 8 weeks or more out, this is a good time to consider shopping for the best wrinkle cream you can find.

Other products that you may be interested in trying out are acne skin care treatments, Roseca skin care treamtents and even skin tone creams that even out the coloration and reduce age spots and redness on your cheeks.

The web is probably the best place to do both your research and your shopping for any of these amazing skin care products. You can find the better products available over the counter and have them delivered directly to your door in a matter of days very discreetly so that your everyone doesn’t know that your beautiful skin on the big day will be thanks to a tube or jar of amazing cream, lotion or serum.

2011-10
8

Swan Figurine – A Unique Wedding Gift

Category: blog | Comments Off

Swans are one of the most romantic and beautiful members of the animal world. Once they find their partner, they mate for life. So you can watch a pair of swans for years as they live and raise their young. It makes sense then that a swan figurine is the perfect symbol of a marriage made to last.

The graceful long lines of a swan figurine are a wonderful home accent. The clean white color of a swan will add a touch of brightness to a dark corner. If you choose two swans with their necks romantically entwined, I would love to see it placed on a night stand beside your bed. A Swarovski crystal swan figurine is also wonderful at reflecting light and brightening your room.

So as you can see when you choose to give a figurine as a gift or choose to include it in your own home, you’ll be able to pick out just the perfect sentiment. More importantly for this hard financial times many are experiencing you’ll be able to find a figurine to match your budget. When you shop on ebay you’ll find many lovely swan figurines for $10 or less. Unless your gift recipient or house guest is an expert figurine collector, they’ll never be able to guess the price you paid for yours.

2011-8
9

The Art of Modern Cosmetics

Category: accessories | Comments Off

The use of these “aids to beauty” has become so universal that it is fortunate that the art of modern cosmetics has produced preparations which are certainly less injurious than the cruder substances which flooded the market when the fashion first swept the country. There are still many, however, which are definitely injurious. Some of the cheaper powders are highly scented and highly colored, and some people may be specially susceptible to the perfume or coloring matter used. The only way for a woman to find out if she has such a susceptibility is to try several good brands and choose one which produces not the slightest sign of irritation. In any case very highly scented powders should be avoided. When the skin is naturally greasy, the frequent and thick application of powder may encourage blackheads and pimples by blocking the pores.

Rouge does not as a rule produce any harmful effects if used in moderation, unless the ingredient producing the color is an aniline dye to which the individual is susceptible. The practice of putting on fresh cream, rouge and powder during the day without thoroughly removing the old make-up is, however, a thoroughly bad one. The skin cannot “respire” and receive its proper nourishment when burdened with several layers of cosmetic preparations, and the result of such treatment will be coarsening of the texture, discoloration, flabbiness, and possible blackheads and pustules. It is not necessary to perform the whole routine of soap and water cleansing every time fresh make-up is needed, but cleansing cream should be thickly applied, removed and the face thoroughly sponged with rose-water or some other cleansing lotion before applying fresh cream

Lipsticks consist of wax, pomade, or coco-butter, with carmine or some aniline dye. In the latter case, if cracks or splits are present in the mucous membrane of the lips, there is a possibility that the aniline dye might be absorbed into the blood, with very serious results.

2011-7
28

Pageants: Older Dresses

Category: designer dresses | Comments Off

If you’re a newbie to pageants, you might not be ready to plop down a grand or two for a new glitz dress for glitz pageants. This is totally understandable, as you might be just “testing the waters” to see if you and your child are going to enjoy doing pageants. Maybe you started out renting dresses for pageants, which is a good idea, but perhaps now you’re ready to have your own dress. Still, you’re not quite ready to take the big financial plunge for a new custom-made dress for your daughter. There’s another option.

You can often find potentially good pageant dresses on Ebay. You have to be careful, though. Some of these dresses have some wear and tear, and they might even have stains that are visible onstage. Look closely at the pictures of the dress. If the style is good, you might want to bid on it. Don’t worry too much about the stoning. You can always add more stones or hire someone to stone it for you. You can add other embellishments, too, or you can pay someone to do it for you. If the skirt is damaged, you can always hire a seamstress to make a new skirt, provided she’s experienced with making glitz dresses for pageants.

 

2011-7
23

2012 Planners as Gifts for Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

Category: bridal party | Comments Off

When choosing a gift for your bridesmaids and groomsmen, you want to make sure it is something that they will actually use and appreciate.  Often, a bride will buy jewelry that goes with the bridesmaids dresses or a crystal vase or container.  However, one gift that everyone will need is a 2012 planner.

2012 planners can be ordered in bulk which will lower the cost of your bridal party gifts.  In addition you can personalize your planners for each member of the bridal party, or you can just put a special note to all of them embossed on the front cover or inside the 2012 planner.

Although it is only July, 2012 planners are available right now for sale, and some can ship immediately.  Some 2012 calendars and planners are not yet available to ship, but can still be pre-ordered for shipping in the late summer or early fall.  16 month calendars which start in September are already for sale now.

One of the easiest ideas is to get several Moleskine notebooks and planners for the bridal party, because they are used by just about everyone, men and women, and are easily adaptable to most purposes.  Moleskine is an upscale line and are made with excellent materials, some planners have leather covers.

2011-7
23

History of Hairdressing

Category: blog | Comments Off

Many early customs of hairdressing were based on tradition and ceremonial practices. In some primitive tribes, for example, men fastened trophies in their hair as symbols of their bravery. Disordered hair, strewed with ashes, is an ancient sign of mourning.

The ancient Egyptians and Persians shaved their hair and covered their heads with wigs. The first people to have professional hairdressers were probably the Greeks, and there was a flourishing curler industry in Athens. Some Greek hairstyles, such as the Grecian knot, are occasionally revived in modern times. The ancient Romans were accomplished at dyeing hair and often bleached their dark hair blonde. As a bleaching agent, they used a mixture of goat’s fat and ashes.

From the fall of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages it was customary for women to cover their heads with veils. The display of hair was considered unbecoming and immodest for a lady. In the 14th century, women began to decorate their veils and to arrange them so that some hair was visible at the sides of the head. By the 16th century the veil concealing the hair had been discarded.

In the 16th century the practice of powdering hair came into vogue, and it remained popular throughout the 17th century and most of the 18th century. When King Louis XIV of France began to wear towering wigs to add to his height, courtiers and noblemen, first in France and later in England, followed his example.

Women soon imitated the elaborate hairstyles of the men. They powdered their lofty wigs, often used wire and flour paste to keep them in place, and curled the hair at the temples. After the French Revolution these elaborate hairdressings went out of fashion.

In the early part of the 20th century, women revolutionized female hairdressing by bobbing, or cropping, their hair short. Although innumerable variations have become popular since then, there were no drastic changes in hairstyles until the 1960′s, when it once again became fashionable for women to wear wigs.