Anyone heading off and away for Memorial Day weekend? We are, and we just can not wait! One of the worst things about going on a 3-day weekend trip is that it is just the same, maybe even worse, than packing for a full week long vacation.  Is it just us, or do you think the same too?

That's why we couldn't resist on determining what fragrant essentials we'd take with us to make things a bit easier for your packing needs!

Essential #1

Euphoria by Calvin Klein for women is the perfect weekend getaway scent. With notes of black violet, pomegranate, black orchid, mahogany wood, persimmon, and lotus blossom, we may take this one with us wherever go.

Essential #2

For the manly man, Fahrenheit cologne by Christian Dior is no doubt a keeper and especially an essential cologne for BBQing and the first days of summer.

Essential #3

One of the most sold and popular men's cologne, Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani is a must not forget essential for this weekend getaway. With citrus notes, rosemary spiciness and jasmine wood, it's the perfect scent to transition from spring to summer.

Essential #4

Redken's Extreme Shampoo Fortifier for distressed hair, because if you’re anything like I, your hair will have it. From the wind on the beach or lake side with the sun and heat, your hair easily weakens without you knowing it…until now. Fortify and strengthen your hair while doing something you do on a daily basis, by doing something so easy as washing your hair! I love products that multi-task, don’t you?

Essential #5

Lovely Sarah Jessica Parker perfume by is the perfect feminine scent for a casual summer day, notes include amber, lavendar, orchid, musk and apple.

Thank heavens braids are 'back in style!  This simplistic hair look is, well simple to do, and there are SO many different varieities of the braid that you can probably get away with wearing a different braided look every day, for a week.

What's even more exciting about this look being 'on trend' now is that it's not about getting the that perfect bradided look anymore, but more of a sultry, sexy, messy braid. Take for example Alexander Wang's messy side bride, the look is effortless and simply gorgeous. Then we have Alexander McQueen to Zac Posen showing the same hair trend style too. We absolutely love it!

Ready to try the braid? Well, which one will you try first?

There are more than 10 types we know of...read on and be amazed.

There's the English braid, which is the most common, basic braid we know of and comes to our mind first when someone mentions the word braid. Then there is the French braid, that is far too often worn by cheerleaders, sorry but it's true.  There's then the swiss braid, the crown braid, the dutch braid, the fishtail braid (OMG, we love), the micro braids, the corn row braids,  twist braids, and the list can literally go on and on.

So now that you know your options are there, which braid will you try first? Plus, check out how you can get that fave of ours, the fishtail braid look down pat, in a few easy steps!

The dark color is a hit for sure and we have plenty of proof to back it up with the recent event, one of the biggest in the fashion industry, the Met Gala, where tons of celebs and fashion industry pro's played off that dark lip, oh-so-well. We've scored two of our favorite 'burgundy' beauties and couldn't help to indulge ourselves.

 You can wear the burgundy color on your lip for a dark, goth look that was similarly worn by Camille Belle and Jessica Alba, our two personally favorite dark lipped babes. Get the look by getting a quality dark lip color, Guerlain's Kiss Kiss Pure comfort lipstick (with SPF10 too) in brun moka is the perfect plum-per color that glides on effortlessly for a pretty pout.  Make sure to apply it on a moisturized lip and line the lip so the dark color doesn't feather.

Can't nail the lip color trend? Nail it, literally. Paint it on and go a bit dark on your own 10 tips. Apply a base coat, two to three layers of the burgundy color, we love Dior's vernis icone nail lacquer, and of course apply a glossy top coat to complete the look.

Are you completely obsessed with this beautifully hued trend?

We're seeing it all over, from Toddlers in Tiara's to kids in tanning beds and being injected with Botox, at what age is it considered 'too young' for a child to wear makeup and beauty products? Can it be or should it be considered child abuse?

It sounds crazy, but these things are actually happening under our noses, in the towns we live in, on an every day basis! The idea of beauty has always been an issue, but when you put two and two together, one of them being a child, it can be quite a problem and cause quite the stir .  With stick thin models and photoshop galore, the idea of beauty is perceived as unrealistic in this day and age. This is not natural beauty, and children are learning that this is 'true beauty' and 'beautiful' at an early age.

What are your thoughts on chidlren using makeup and beauty products at a younge age? Are there certain 'rules' or restrictions you would keep for yourself and your child?

Doesn't it feel like there are just not enough hours in the day, most days? We feel the same way, and we know a lot of you are probably puffy eyed and tired, but we have some quick solutuions to get a pretty, bright, wide-opened eye look when it's one of those mornings that you hit the snooze button a few times more than often.

It's not what you do in the AM, but what you do before you get to bed to have that gorgeous, wide awake look on your face. 

Here's option #1 to try, before setting your alarm at night, wear a cold compress or eye mask on your eyes. Don't have one, grab a bag of frozen veggies and wrap it in a wash cloth or paper towel before applying to your eyes for about 10 mintues. My personal fave is a gel eye mask, but any of these will benefit your eyes in two ways; it will boost the circulation around your eye area and drains excess fluids that stick around that make your eyes appear puffy.

Option # 2, drink up! Drink lots of water and stay hydrated, this will remove the toxins in your body and the extra sodium, which will make your eye appearance brighter, plus give your entire face a healthy glow.

Option #3, moisturize, but not with any facial moisturizer.  Get an eye cream rather than a regular lotion.  The eye cream has specific ingredients and higher concentrations of certain ones (like emollients) that will cater to and safely help your under eye for an appearance that is healthy and bright.

Option #4, use a roller ball pen for under eye circles. Clinique makes a great one for night time under eye repair. The cool, metal rolling ball is enough to minimize our dark circles and depuff our inflated eyes.

Option #5, dark circles appearing darker than usual? Give them the tea bag treatment! Make yourself some tea, drain and let the tea bag cool so that it is warm, not hot, and then close your eyes, keeping the tea bags over them. Keep them on for about 20 minutes and try this 2-3 times a week. 

Have your own depuffing, brightening eye remedy? Share it with us & let us know what works for you!

It's a popular growing beauty trend that is showing up on nails, eyes, and even in your hair! Animal print is no longer just a printed fabric, it comes in all shapes and sizes to fit your taste in beauty today.

Consider this.  Zebra striped nails, or how about a cheetah print design?  Beauty manufacturers are making these trendy nail prints easy as can be.  Take Sally Hansen's nail stickers for example, they are simply amazing to create a chic look with no effort at all.  Literally peel, stick, and file.  Getting a trendy nail look has never been this easy, so easy!

Now consider this, leopard print eye shadow. This one is not so much an easy task, yet more of a process, but after the process is complete, the final look is...well, ferocious! Get stunned at tons of video tutorials on how to get the gorgeous eye look.

Lastly, let's take a look at some animal print hair.  Lately, some wacky and weird trends have been emerging with hair extensions, and this may be one of the weirdest, but we just had to share it and show it off to you!  Forget the feather extension or pink hair strip clips, cheetah/leopard print hair is the 'new black'. Check out this DIY cheetah hair tutorial and let us know what you think?

What animal instinct beauty trend can you see yourself wearing most?

Get that gorgeous, just bitten, berry lip stained lip look in these simple, snappy steps.

• Start with clean, dry, freshly exfoliated lips. You can do this with a damp wash cloth or lightly brush your lips with a toothbrush.
• Be sure that your lips are completely dry
• Apply a matte lip color all over your lips, pressing and dabbing the lip color into your lips
• Blot lips with a tissue, this is an importatnt part of the staining process, so don't skip it!
• Clean up and highlight- clean around the lip line with a Q-tip and highlight with a concealer pen
• Want a deeper stain look? Keep pressing, dabbing and blotting until your desired look is achieved

We love a deep plum or rose lip stain look, which shade is your fave?

Ombre has been a big part of the beauty industry lately, whether it be ombre hair, ombre nails, or the latest trend, ombre lips. Want to try the new 'it' trend of the season, grab a duo of lipsticks and let's begin.

• First, start off with the lighter of the two lipsticks you have chosen to work with. Begin to apply the lightest color to the center of the lips.
• Add the darker color to the edge of your lips
• Use a lipstick brush to feather and blend the two colors together
• Add another coat of the lighter lip over the first base application of the lightest color
• Again feather the light color with a lip brush into the darker color to blend.

Not only is this a cool, and not to mention easy trend to try, but it also helps you achieve the effect of a filler lip! 

All the single ladies, all the single ladies, when it’s time for him to put a ring on it, have you thought about what perfume you’ll wear on your big day?  Perfume is an accessory too, don’t forget it, and it saddens us to see that brides-to-be don’t get it.  Hello! Don’t you know that smell is the strongest sense and is the strongest memory trigger?  Wouldn’t you think that choosing the right perfume is (almost) as important as the dress you’ll wear and how you’ll incorporate that something blue?

We’ve rounded up what we think are the PERFECT scents to wear on your memorable day. Let’s start off with Ralph Lauren’s Romance perfume. This romantic scent says it all, with notes of fresh rose, ginger, marigold, and violet, this sultry and feminine perfume will probably be as beautiful smelling as your bouquet.

Want to feel even more like a princess than you’ll ever feel, your wedding day is the perfect excuse for that…and you can easily achieve this with the enchanting Vera Wang Princess perfume. Feel like royalty with lovely fragrance notes of water lily, golden apricot, pink frosting, precious amber, lady apples, pink guava and so many more yummy things! The scent is simply gorgeous and sticks so well, you’ll never have to reapply, so enjoy your day!

Dance the night away and feel like a star doing it! Twirl by Kate Spade is a citrus/fruity scent with orange blossom, tiare, watermelon, blackberry, and French macaroon as it’s fragrance notes.  As sweet as it’s scent is as sweet as your wedding day memory will be.

Can’t figure out how to wear that something blue? Why not do it with your scent? Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbanna is a perfect, yet unique way to tell your friends and family how you did it.  Light Blue has notes of mandarin, bergamot, grapefruit, juniper, rosewood, rosemary and musk..once you wear it, you will fall in love.

Want to know what other fragrances you should consider? How about Angel by Thierry Mugler, Beauty by Kate Spade, or Love & White by Creed.  Do your research and see what fragrance notes you’d like to wear on your special day.   

Headin’ to a weddin’ or down the aisle soon? Let us know if you would consider these scents. Already married? What did you wear on your wedding day, we’d love to know!

Just a little spray here, a lil dab there, soon you'll see, the pounds will start to spare. Really? Do you believe that perfume can help you lose weight? To us, it sounds crazy, so we just had to get our hands dirty and dig deep with this one.

Dr. Hirsch at the Smell & Taste Treatment & Research foundation conducted a study that consisted of four groups of men (about 50 of them) who all had to look at a woman and estimate how much she weighed. Sounds like fun? With each of the three groups, the woman was wearing one of three different types of fragrances (citrus floral, sweet pea/lily of the valley, and floral/spicy) and with one group, not wearing a fragrance at all.  When it was time for the weight estimates to be done, they found that the men estimated the woman who wore floral/spicy fragrances to weigh less than her actual weight. 

A dumb study if you ask us, totally..who cares how much a guy thinks we weigh, not I. But it get's us thinking, what does the floral/spicy scent trigger in a mans mind to make a woman look thinner? Dr. Hirsch, get on that one for your next study!

So you want to try this out? There are tons of floral/spicy fragrance that will suite you, why not try Gucci for women for an oriental/spicy scent, or Amarige by Givenchy for a soft, sweet, floral spice scent. Let us know your thoughts!