Boost Your Blonde with Clairol Shimmer Lights.

Being a not-so-natural blonde takes a lot of maintenance. If you are like me and lighten your hair, you know that the struggle is real! Blonde hair and highlights take work in between appointments. Blonde hair can dull, fade, turn brassy and if you go in the pool or use the wrong products, it can even turn shades of green or orange. I've been using just one product that is helping me boost my blonde (or refresh it) by using it just one or twice a week.

How to Boost Your Blonde Hair

I've simply been replacing my normal shampoo with Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo once or twice a week to refresh my blonde hair while enhancing my highlights. The formulation is specially colored to balance pigment and to help condition and add much-needed moisture, vibrancy and luminosity to my color-treated hair.

The shampoo is violet colored so don't let that shock you, but that's how it works. It's gentle, but only designed to be used once or twice a week or it can discolor your hair. I use it once a week in the winter, but twice a week in the summer when I'm in the sun more and it's subject to turning too brassy.

Clairol Shimmer Lights is not only great for blondes, it is made for gray hair too. The formula is made to do so much:

  • tone down brassiness
  • renew and refresh faded highlights and ash-tones
  • reduce the visible green shade which can be deposited on blonde hair by excessive amounts of chlorine
  • remove dull yellow from gray/white hair
  • leave hair shiny without residue

Look for Clairol Shimmer Lights at professional beauty supply stores like Sally Beauty Supply. It comes in two sizes, 8oz and 16oz starting around $6.

Getting Smart with Skincare and Clinique.

One thing I am very particular with is my skincare products. With thousands of skincare products available, I just have to be smart about my choices. One brand that is super smart about their skincare is Clinique and they have designed an entire SMART franchise that is full of multitasking products. These are no ordinary multitasking products either; the products in the SMART line up all can do at least four things at once to the skin.

How to customize your skincare routine with smart solutions from Clinique. Includes reviews!

I told you about Clinique's Smart Custom Repair Serum when it launched about 18 months ago and that is how this line all began. Now there are four more products in the line-up that are equally smart.

Smart Custom-Repair Eye Treatment
Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer
Smart Treatment Oil
Smart Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Custom-Repair Moisturizer

I decided that the smartest solutions for my skin were the Smart Treatment Oil and Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer. No matter how much I have been moisturizing, my skin is just so extra dry.

Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Products

I have been incorporating oils into my skin care routine when I can and Clinique Smart Treatment Oil ($44) was a great choice.  This oil nourishes, builds up hydration, smooths, plumps and de-ages as it protects against daily aggressors. It's a really lightweight oil that is chock full of anti-aging ingredients that help to deeply condition dry and damaged skin. It is a non-greasy oil that leaves my skin instantly radiant and feeling smooth. Vitamins C, E and Cranberry Seed Oil (powerful antioxidants) work over time to help shield against harmful free radical damage. I use this oil in addition to my daytime moisturizer by adding in two to three drops. At night, I warm up a few drops and gently pat it into my skin right after cleansing.

Clinique Smart Treatment Oil

Also at night, I have been using Clinique Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer ($57). This multi-tasking oil-free cream instantly plumps and hydrates my skin and works overnight while my skin is in its resting night. It is filled with hard working ingredients like Glucosamine, Caffeine and Hyaluronic Acid Fragments to bind that moisture in and retain it in the skin. I wake looking more fresh. It says that overtime, skin will be more firm, lifted and toned. I honestly haven't used it long enough, but it does smooth and plump my skin better than my average night creams.

Clinique Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer
Clinique Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer

Look for the entire Clinique SMART range of products online at clinique.com and at all Clinique counters in Macy's and at Sephora.

Get Glowing: 10 Products that Will Have You Glowing in a Flash!

Whether I am fresh faced and wide awake or lacking on sleep, dressed up for a special event or relaxing in the house for the day, I always want my skin to glow. Sometimes it is easier to pull off a glow than other times, depending on my skins condition. I have to depend on some really great makeup products to do the trick and help make my skin glow when it's not up to par. I've tested a lot of makeup products that promise to give my skin that special glow, but some really do give it that glow, easily and quickly. If I want to add a touch of glow to my entire face, just my cheeks, my eyes or lips, these products work for me every time I have used them.

Get Glowing: 10 Makeup and Beauty Products to Help Your Skin Glow in a Flash!