These time-saving tips will let you give your body the TLC it deserves, even when you’re pressed for time.

Be a multi-tasker. You can do two things at once to save time, such as applying a face mask or wash before brushing your teeth or letting a deep-conditioning hair mask work while you shave your legs. Letting the face wash sit on your skin while you brush allows you to get more of the skin care benefits without the added time, and pinning up your hair in the deep-conditioning mask while shaving then rinsing it out will help your hair feel softer and more hydrated.

Keep up with conditioner. You may find it tedious, but hair care is no place to cut corners. Keeping your hair well-conditioned helps keep it healthier in the long run. Healthy strands are easier to detangle and style, which ultimately saves time. Have an all-in-one shampoo and conditioner on hand for days when you simply can’t do both and save detangling time by using a wide-tooth comb in the shower.

Use products that do double-duty in the shower. Using a multi-benefit body wash can give your skin and senses needed nourishment in the shower. One example is the new line of Softsoap Luminous Oils Body Washes, which contain a touch of luxurious oil, essence of peony or iris and an alluring fragrance. The sheer, non-greasy formula will leave your skin feeling radiant and soft.

Master a few simple hair styles. Whether your hair is long or short, experiment with a few go-to styles you can rely on when time is short. Sleek ponies and messy buns can disguise a hectic morning. For shorter cuts, look for a style that lets you air dry for a carefree tousled look.

Lighten up when it comes to cosmetics. You may be surprised by how pulled together you appear with a minimalist approach to makeup. Use a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen to even your skin tone, then use natural shades to enhance your best features. Save complex eye makeup for a less rushed day and stick to the basics: mascara, a dusting of blush for color and a pretty nude gloss.

Speed up those busy mornings with these time-saving beauty tips. For more information, visit softsoap.com.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

*FF

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In my last article, New Year, New You! Feel Beautiful! I wrote about a few different ways to change up your look and put your best foot forward this New Year.  Now I want to add a follow up on my favorite part the body that I think deserves a little more attention, the eyes.  Your eyes are the first things that people notice when they see you.  That’s how people can tell if you got enough sleep last night or if you were up with a sick kid.  You can play them up to create a dramatic sultry look, or keep them simple and bright.  “They” say that your eyes are the windows to your soul, and while I am not sure if that is true, they are a window to how you are feeling emotionally and how you feel about yourself.

The tell tale signs of a woman with too much on her plate are the puffy, dark circles around her eyes.  I have had them most of my life and I thought that they were just something that I would have to live with, until I found a product that was truly a dream come true!  My go-to eye product that I swear by is the Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller.  It is a concealer that stays put all day and works to decrease the puffiness and darkness over time!  Two-in-one products are lifesavers when you want to look good in a hurry.  This easy to use roll-on applicator is gentle on the delicate skin around your eyes dispenses the perfect amount of product.  So how does it wake up your tired eyes?  The secret ingredient caffeine, how else?

The foundation of any great eye-look is a set of long beautiful lashes.  If false lashes have never seemed appealing, your alternative is maximizing your natural lashes.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of cheap products on the market that just don’t work but the good news is that if you are willing to sift through the bad, you can find some truly great products that produce amazing results!  There are two main things to consider when looking for a serum, the brand and the reviews.  For example, Le Métier de Beauté is a luxury skin care company that is sold at high-end department stores (and online) and has an amazing reputation!  So, when they came out with Peau Vierge Lash Growth Serum, the beauty world was set a buzz.

Along with a great brand, look for great reviews!  People can be brutally honest when it comes to leaving reviews on products, so you know what to expect with the product!  It is hard to find a product with better reviews than GrandeLASH-MD Lash Serum.  You can see the quality of their product simply by going to their website selecting the product and scrolling down to see what people are saying about it!

There are few things that look worse than the raccoon-eye that develops through out the day from eyeliner smudging and smearing.  This is my problem with most crayon/pencil liners, they look great immediately after application, but by noon I look like an angst-filled teenager.  If this is a problem for you as well, try a gel liner.  I know that they can seem intimidating at first but I promise they are easy with a little practice.  My favorite gel liner is Maybelline Lasting Drama by EyeStudio Gel Eyeliner.  Not only does it stay perfectly in place all day but it also gives you way more control over the thickness of the line.  Invest in a flat, angled liner brush (I literally use a $5 drug store one) and give gel liner a try.  Just be prepared to say goodbye to raccoon eyes forever!

For daytime looks I love matte shadows in a color that complements your eyes, but for night looks there is one universally flattering choice, a champagne shadow with a light shimmer.  Somewhere between a gold and a light brown, champagne complements all skin tones and eye colors.  This is an easy, wearable color that helps to brighten even tired eyes.  To create this elegant look sweep the color over the entire lid from lash line to the bottom of the brow bone.  Finish the look with a thin line of eyeliner (in whatever shade you prefer) and few swipes of mascara.

Try: Shimmer-Wash-Eye-Shadow in Champagne by Bobbi Brown

If you give your eyes a little attention, you can transform your entire appearance.  Now go out into the world confident, batting your perfect peepers!

The post New Year, New You! Perfect Peepers! appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Well ladies, we have come to that time of the year.  On January 1^st we all made resolutions to change our lives in dramatic ways.  “I am going to the gym for 2 hours every day!”  “I will never eat carbs or chocolate ever again!”  Now it’s the end of the month and I don’t know about you, but I have already wavered on my resolutions.  The problem is that our resolutions are often too lofty and are no fun!  The New Year is the time to put your best foot forward and break out of any ruts that you might be in.  Here are some things you can do to update your look and find a whole new you! 

Are you looking for a drastic change quickly?  Hair extensions are a great way to get a whole new look in no time!  Di Biase has a full line of options ranging from clip-in extensions to more permanent options, in loads of color to compliment your actual hair.  Go from a short cut to long, or get that glamorous super-full hair that celebrities rock on the red carpet.  Your options are endless with these simple, easy to use extensions!

Want even more great hair options?  HairUWear is a wonderful resource if you want a large selection of high quality choices.  Ranging from trendy faux fur clip-in braids and ombre extensions, to full wigs that look and feel so natural that even you will have trouble remembering that it isn’t that hair you were born with!  This is definitely the site to go if you are looking for a new look, but aren’t sure how drastic of a change you want, HairUWear has something for everyone!  With HairUWear at your fingertips you have no excuse in 2013 not try something new with your hair, whether it is a fun short wig, or dramatic colored extensions, go for it!

While we are on the topic of hair transformations, if you are having more bad hair days than good, it might be time to look into some treatment options.  Between coloring and heat styling, we put our hair through a lot!  That is why my next pick is a system that takes frizzy, difficult and damaged hair and transforms it into hair that is soft, silky and healthy!  The Keratin Gold Nano-Complex Rejuvenating System is an 8-piece system that takes even the most stubborn curly hair and makes it healthy and smooth.  The best part?  It doesn’t use the toxic chemicals, like formaldehyde, that most other treatments have.  Your hair won’t just look healthier it will be healthier!

OK, one final hair product to help you look your best.  As, moms we are constantly on the go and sometimes our ‘do needs a little mid-day sprucing or even some support to make sure that no one knows that you didn’t have time to wash your hair this morning!  My go-to product is Nexxus Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Dry Shampoo.  It removes oil, adds volume, and fights problems like dryness and breakage.  With ingredients like Omega 3, keratin and vitamin E, this dry shampoo makes tired old hair look fresh and young!

Now lets move from hair to skin!  When you look in the mirror do you notice large pores, fine lines or even acne scars?  This is not the year to be fighting an uphill battle with bad skin, but the year to let your radiant skin shine!  If you are looking for an affordable way to get dramatic results, look no further than PDM Personal Microderm.  This handheld device buffs away dead skin cells to leave your skin fresh and healthy!  With different heads for sensitive skin and tougher skin, you can use PDM anywhere from your face to your elbows.  With the results of a dermatologist without the high costs, we aren’t the only ones obsessed with this product.  The PDM has been featured everywhere from Good Morning America and Dr. Oz to In Style Magazine!

Last year’s beauty product V.I.P was definitely the B.B. Cream, and the good news is that it isn’t going anywhere in 2013!  For people yet to try a B.B. Cream all I can say is try it!  These creams not only make your skin appear clear and bright while you are wearing them, but they also help to improve your skin over use.  Urban Decay has one of the leading products in this category with their Naked Skin Beauty Balm.  After application you will immediately see fewer lines, wrinkles, redness and pores.  Even better, after only 8 weeks you will notice firmer, lifted skin!  You might expect that such a powerful cream would feel heavy and look cakey, but the opposite is true.  This cream is so light, you forget you are wearing anything and your skin will look naturally healthy!

There are always problematic new trends come out each year (neon ombre hair anyone?) but one trend that you can be sure isn’t happening is the au-natural body hair look.  While shaving is a hassle and waxing is messy and painful, I think we can all agree that grooming is a generally good thing!  That’s where permanent solutions come in.  If you aren’t ready shell out the big bucks for the professional treatments, go for an at-home solution like the Silk׳n Flash&Go hair removal system.  This handheld device can be used in the comfort of your own home to remove hair from virtually anywhere on your body!  Pesky leg hair?  Gone!  Embarrassing moustache?  A thing of the past!  Lets all make a resolution to get rid of hair once and for all!

Do you want thick, full, flirty lashes, but the thought of gluing fibers to your eyes make you a little uneasy?  No worries, Too Faced has the solution!  Their Better than False Lashes Nylon Lashes is more than just a volumizing mascara.  This system is made up of a base coat and the Flexistretch Nylon Fiber coat, that when used together, give you the va-va-voom lash effect without any of the mess of false lashes!

Have you admired bold eye makeup on others but never been brave enough to attempt it yourself?  That will all change with the Revlon’s line of PhotoReady Primer + Shadow.  I love these sets because they have everything that you need to create amazing dramatic eyes, and they couldn’t be more user friendly!  Even the biggest makeup novice can follow the simple guide to use the primer, three different colors, and shimmer top coat to create dramatic, multi-dimensional looks.  With 8 different color sets, you are sure to find the perfect one to complement your eyes!

In 2012 we got introduced to the hottest trend in manicures, the gel manicure.  Compared to regular polish manicures, the gel polishes last much longer and are way more durable.  The only problem is that going to the salon every couple of weeks for gel manicures can get pricey and paying the big bucks for killer nails is SO last year!  Sally Hansen (nail goddess) has just released a money saving at-home solution.  Sally Hansen Salon Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit is the brilliant new baby of the Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips that completely changed the way that we think about nail polish.  When applied correctly, these strips will keep your nails looking great for up to 2 weeks!  I highly recommend watching a tutorial on YouTube before trying it yourself to make sure you are doing it right, but once you get the hang of it application is fast and easy!

The last product is to help you get those smooth, gorgeous legs that other are sure to be the envy of your friends!  Somersets Women’s Sensitive Shave Oil is the go to product for women that get irritated skin from shaving.  With 100% natural concentrated ingredients and 100% pure plant extracts you will feel good about what you are putting on your skin.  Use on legs, underarms, and bikini line for silky smooth, soft skin!

So revamp those resolutions to make them manageable and fun, and don’t be afraid to try some new looks this year!

The post New Year, New You! Feel Beautiful! appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.