1. MASCARA – Keep it Fresh! The newer your mascara is, the easier it will glide and the less it will flake. When applying, press the wand into the base of your lash-line and wiggle it to separate out the individual strands. Sexy lashes are thick at the base and then taper at the ends in a natural, seductive way.


Photo Credit: Kyle Weber

2. BLUSH – Pink looks good on every woman, giving her a natural flush. The trick is for you to find your “go-to” shade and keep it on hand to brighten your cheeks and lips. To give yourself and enchanting glow, choose a creamy blush and mix it with some moisturizer. Blend and beautify!
3. KEEP EYES BRIGHTt – Dark circles are a major beauty buster. Use a fast absorbing eye cream in the day, then apply a corrector specially made to cover those dark tones. Finish with a concealer that is a shade lighter than your foundation and set with powder.
4. WEARING RED – While this may not be your regular look, you still need to know how to apply a bold red lip! Use a very sharp lip liner that is the same color as your red and smile a bit as you outline. This makes the lip-line tight and your outline precise and perfect. Fill in the lips with the side of your liner and then apply the lipstick with a lip brush. Do NOT try to rub out any mistakes- the red will smear and stain. Instead, use your concealer as an eraser.
5. FOUNDATION – Do you feel like your foundation makes you look unnatural? A great trick is to apply the makeup all over your face, then blot your cheeks to remove most of it off the sides of your face. This enables your blush to brighten your face without looking fake, and your foundation to perfect your complexion without looking overdone.
6. EYELINER – Liquid liner is tricky but it is important to master for a truly glam eye. Practice your application techniques when you’re planning a night in so that you have it perfected for a big night out.
7. CHEEKBONES – Contour your beautiful face by making those cheekbones pop! Three shades –light and shimmery along the top of your cheekbones, a deep nude under, and a peachy shade in the apple area – and your set to wow the world.
8. SMOKY EYES – Here’s the How To: Start by lining the inner rim of your lower lashes, smudging the color into the lash line so that there is no gap between your lashes and the liner. Close your eyes and do the same to the upper lash line. Use your fingers to smudge it in, and then sweep a dusky shadow of your choice over your lid and into the crease, blending up and out.
9. BROWS – First things first … don’t overdo the tweezing! Bold brows are hot and sexy. Use a spoolie brush or a clean mascara wand to smooth them out, and lightly use a brow pencil or a slanted brow brush to perfect their shape. Add a highlighting shadow under the eyebrow to give it lift. Now you’ve got a perfect frame for the masterpiece that is your face!

Here are some tips to start now before Jack Frost takes up permanent residence for the season!

Photo by: Kyle Weber

1. Choose a new shampoo. What you’ve been using all summer is not going to work on dry winter hair. Chose a quality product that will repair and protect your locks.
2. Wash your hair less. Shampooing washes out the bad stuff — it also washes out the good stuff, like the protective oils that your hair needs in order to keep its strength and shine.
3. Dry your hair carefully. Rubbing your head with a towel will damage the hair shaft by roughing up the outer layer, making your hair look dull and dry.
4. Make sure your hair is dry before you head outside – wet hair can freeze up and break off!
5. Deep condition – c’mon, you know you need to do it! Ask your Sizzor Shak stylist about our deep conditioning treatments.
6. Use a leave in conditioner with your hot tools.
7. Pay attention to your diet – what you eat nourishes your body, including your hair. Eat right, drink lots of water … it’ll make a difference!

Stop on into Sizzor Shak on Main Street in downtown Collinsville (across from Ashmann’s pharmacy) & one of our receptionists or stylists will show you exactly what products you’ll need to keep your hair healthy & moisturized this winter!

Photo by: Kyle Weber

Sizzor Shak understands that new season slump. We suggest that you take your solution from Mother Nature – when she begins to change her style, so should you!

Summer’s style differs greatly from Autumn’s, and you are probably discovering that your summer tresses are no longer as lovely as they were when you were poolside. Here are some tips and tricks to help you make the transition along with our good friend and guide, Ms. Nature!

• Get those ends trimmed! The sun, the pool, the highlights – these are the things that make summer fantastic! Your hair suffers, though, so getting an inch or two taken off the ends will revive it and give it a healthy bounce.
• Dive in Deep … Deep Condition, that is! Make an appointment to have your stylist give you a professional treatment. At Sizzor Shak, we use a four step conditioning process that will smooth and seal your hair, giving it the healthy nourishment that it needs.
• Don’t be afraid of the dark! Those blonde streaks that you loved all summer long are starting to fade, so why not try something new? Low lights are a great option, especially if you like to keep the dimension that highlights and lowlights offer. Another great option to consider is all over color. Just chose a shade that is slightly darker than your natural color, and you’ll find yourself loving the shiny, rich color. And get your eyebrows tinted to really frame your face.
• OR pick a whole new color! Reds are really on trend this year and you can give Mother Nature some competition with some Fall Colors of your own! Be bold, be dynamic … there are so many amazing colors out there and you can really wow yourself, your friends, and all your natural surroundings!

Photo by: Kyle Weber

Dear Beautiful Bella,

First of all, our very best wishes to you! Getting married is a huge event in a person’s life – the closest time that we regular gals get to being a princess and living out a fairytale!

The first thing I would recommend would be to find ways to make the day as low stress as possible. Hiring a professional to do your hair and makeup will give you a chance to relax and look forward to revealing yourself and your amazing dress to your groom!

If you want to make a party of it, invite your bridesmaids, your mom and mother-in-law, your flower girls, and anyone else to join you. Assign someone to pick up bagels and fruit, enjoy some punch, then sit back with your favorite people in the world and enjoy the pampering!

On another note, I would like to encourage you on a very important matter. You said you want to make sure that “everything is perfect.” Every bride wants a perfect day – but, as I’m sure you’re aware, things happen. Things that are beyond your control, things that are within your control. Life is full of annoyances, even on your special day. But please let me assure you … it will be okay.

Perfect days are hard to come by — Snow White got food poisoning, Cinderella had a wardrobe malfunction, The Little Mermaid got laryngitis, and Sleeping Beauty overslept. Fairy tales definitely have their share of mishaps. So don’t aim for perfection. Set you mind on amazing, joyful, extraordinary …words that are more about your delight in marrying your prince and celebrating with all your friends as opposed to logistical issues with the florist and the caterer.

Then you are guaranteed to have an amazing day!!

Best Wishes,
The Shak Staff

Dear Sizzor Shak,

What advice can you give me about static in my hair? It is sticking up all over the place, it won’t hold a style, and it’s starting to make me crazy!!! I just got a great haircut that I want to show off, but I feel like I need to put a hat on my head every morning in order to tame this wild hair.

Please help,
Electric Elena

First of all, do not wear hats all the time – they will add to your problem! Hats create static electricity, and so does rubbing your feet on carpeting, and sleeping on flannel. Switch your pillowcase out to a silk or satin one, which alleviates static and also helps with hair breakage and facial wrinkles.

The most important thing you can do is make sure your hair is adequately moisturized. Always use a conditioner any time your hair is wet; a leave-in one’s work great if you want a quick touch up without having to do a full wash.

Add a deep conditioning treatment into your weekly routine – you can make an appointment with your stylist to have one done professionally, or you can invest in purchasing one from your salon to do at home. Or you can do both!

There are products and tools you can use that will also help make a difference. Smoothing brushes

with ceramic coating help decrease static as you dry and straighten your hair. Glossing drops, serums, and moisture lock sprays are available and work terrific! There are even anti-frizz restyler sprays, which work great for second day hair. They smell really great too!

A fun and easy trick that my 10th grade science teacher taught me was to rub lotion into my hands

and then lightly pat my hair, or run my lotioned hands over anything that wasgiving me problems (my skirt, pants, coat, etc.). It really works, but since hand lotion will only make your hair greasy and heavy, I only recommend this for emergency situations.

If you’re looking for advice on what products to use on your hair & you’re looking for a salon near Collinsville, IL, stop into Sizzor Shak Salon & Color Spa. There will be a friendly stylist waiting to share their expertise with you!

Have a great, static-free holiday,
Love,
The Shak Staff

Some hair has more strength than others, of course. Your diet, the environment, your stress level, and chemical processes all contribute to the health and resilience of your hair.

Vitamins do a lot for your hair; they promote healthy growth and prevent damage from the environment. Taking a multivitamin every day gives you the amounts you need to strengthen and rebuild your hair.

In addition to vitamin supplements, a healthy diet of fruits, green vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins will assist you in your quest for strong, shiny locks.

Your daily hair routine can also add strength to your hair. Unless you need to, try not to wash your hair every day. Excess washing will strip your hair of its natural oils, making it dry and brittle. In addition to washing less, it is imperative to condition more. Add conditioner to your hair every time you wet it, because the conditioner will lock in your hair’s moisture and keep the your hair’s cuticle soft and flexible. A deep keratin conditioner once or twice a week seals the deal, creating hair that is healthy, shiny, and strong.

When you’re ready to style your tresses, prepare your hair with a protective styling product BEFORE you use your heated tools. Look for a product that contains silicone, which will protect your hair’s cuticle and give you a polished, smooth look. It is a good habit to clean your tools with alcohol regularly. The residue your product leaves on them can become seared into your hair and make it weak and brittle.

Finally, keeping up with your regular trims is the best way to keep your hair strong. You may have strands that are two years old or older, depending on your hair’s length. By keeping those ends in check, the split ends that crop up will have less of a chance of weakening the entire strand structure.

If you’ve been checking out other salons in Collinsville, salons in Edwardsville, or even salons in St. Louis, give Sizzor Shak Salon & Color Spa a try! We guarantee our work & we want you to love your strong, healthy hair!

Dear Sizzor Shak Staff,

I love my hair! I know, most people complain about it being too straight, too curly, too short, etc. But my hair is really silky and shiny and it’s a nice, light brown color. So all in all, I am really happy with my hair.

But … I’m kind of getting bored with it. I want to do something different and I’m toying with the idea of getting highlights, but I’m really nervous. I like how shiny my hair is and I don’t want it to get dried out and damaged looking. Can you tell me more about the process so that I’m not so worried?

Thanks,
Sharon Shinyhair

Dear Sharon,

I love that you love your hair! Every person has beauty, and I think it is a shame that so many people concentrate on what they don’t like about themselves. If those people would take the time and think on it, they would find that there are a lot of things that they really do like about themselves. And that is such a healthier and happier way to live!

Okay, enough with the psycho-babble … let’s talk highlights!

Highlights are a great way to subtly or dramatically enhance your look. When you meet with your stylist, she will provide you with hair swatches so that the two of you can pick out the shade that will look best with your natural color. Staying within two to four shades of your own hair color is ideal for a subtle tweak or for a more dramatic look, we also have an array of fantasy colors available.

Highlights are a lovely way to frame your face and add interest to your hair’s style. You can also add dimension by adding lights through the crown and back of your hair. The beauty of highlights is that you and your stylist can determine together how much or little you want, the placement, the intensity – you have so many options!

I know you’re worried about damage, so let me reassure you. The nature of highlights means that only a selected number of strands on your head will be changed, which means the majority of your hair will be untouched. Also, your stylist will be able to determine the lowest level of color lifter needed in order tobring about the desired results. I would NOT recommend using a box color, due to the fact that there is no way to tailor the formula for your particular hair type. For home jobs gone wild, a visit to the salon for color correction is much more expensive than the original highlighting. And when you are ready for touch ups, your stylist can highlight just the out growth, which saves the ends of your hair from being processed over and over.

Highlighting is definitely the way to go and adding highlights is a great way to introduce yourself to hair color. I am sure that as much as you love your hair now, you will adore it after your highlights!

Sincerely,
The Shak Staff

To make your own beauty treatment, puree 3-4 good sized strawberries along with the juice of one lemon and ½ cup of plain yogurt. Let the treatment chill in the refrigerator, then apply liberally to your face and neck. This facial helps to tighten your pores and lighten skin discolorations that are common from sun exposure. After rinsing, be sure to apply an SPF lotion, as Vitamin C makes you extremely sensitive to UV rays.