Thirty Handmade Days

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Natalia

Hello 30 Days readers! I am excited about today’s post because for one, I have been working on it for a while, and second of all it is oh so fun and perfect for summer. I just know that every.single.one of you will love it. Why? Because it is how to have fabulous hair in no time at all. Yep, read on young grasshopper, read on.

Are you ready for me to rock your hair world? Here it is:

I have before you 3 different ways you can fix your hair at night so when you wake up you have beautiful curls in less than 5 minutes. Apply makeup & you’re done.

Yep. What, you don’t believe me? It’s true, ladies. And to make it easy for you, I have put them all together in this post, with a video including all three. It works for me every time and have heard others love it as well. It really is worth giving a try!

First up – the “no heat headband” trick. You might have seen this look around before, and there is good reason, it works. In the video I have at the bottom, I explain how to get your hair into the headband and a few tricks to get the curls you want. Here is an example of how my curls have come out:

That took me absolutely no time at all and I have straight hair. And guess what the added bonus is? They last all day. I get more compliments when I wear my hair like this than when I sit for an hour and curl it. Compliments like “oh my gosh, what did you do to you hair? I love it!” and “how long did that take you?” Well, here’s what I did: I woke up this morning.

The next trick gives you a big of a funkier feel, but if you are like me and like funky, big hair from time to time, this one is perfect. Specially for the summer when messy, crazy and effortless is totally ‘in’. This is called ‘no heat: little buns.” You will see why in the video. If you want to skip to this section, it starts at 4:45.

yep, that's a Transformers shirt. I am a mom to two boys!

This last look is the simplest for the night before but the outcome is still wonderful. It gives a beachy waves type feel and at the very least it gives you a great base for some other styles. To finish this look off, all you need is a 3 barrel curling iron just adding a bit at the roots. If you just want loose curls you can try adding a few beachy curls with a one inch curling iron. I have a tutorial for this type of beach curl here. If you want to go directly to this tutorial in the video it starts at exactly 8 minutes!

I added the dutch braid in front for a different look, but you get the idea. Like I said this can be a great base for a lot of different looks.

And now I put together a little tutorial for your benefit, so you can see more specifically how it works. I hope you enjoy it! And seriously, this is the best thing that has ever happened to my hair/getting ready regime. It’s incredible. Just in case you want to jump to a particular tutorial, No heat curls with a headband is first up. Go to 4:45 to see no heat – little buns. Go to 8:00 to see the braid.

Thank you so much for reading, and seriously, give them a try! Specially during summer when the last thing you want to do is bust out a curling iron!

Have a great day!

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Natalia

Hello everyone!

It’s Natalia from Ma Nouvelle Mode and I am back today for another beauty tutorial! I have been trying to switch things up from hair to makeup each month, so this week I have a makeup tutorial for you. With the weather changing into the beautiful season we call spring I thought this would be a perfect fit. It’s called ‘No Makeup, Makeup.’

I don’t know about you, but when the weather starts getting warm the last thing I want on my face is gobs of makeup. I love spring and summer months because for some reason I feel like I have free reign for little to no makeup and messy hair. Somehow it fits! So today I am going to show you how I achieve that “I’m not wearing any makeup, but ssshhh… because I really am, although it took me 5 minutes” look. Ready?

Yep, you guessed it, those products are all you need! Lip gloss, bronzer, mascara, concealer, eye liner, & tinted moisturizer.

First you apply the concealer where you need it. And for a tired momma like me, I probably need a little more! Not too much because the whole idea is to keep it light. Then apply a layer of tinted moisturizer. I use either e.l.f. brand or Cover Girl, both are cheap and work great. In fact, they become my ‘go-to’ foundation in the summer months.

Now here is where you want to be careful. We are trying to make it look like you aren’t wearing any makeup. So when you are putting on your eyeliner, make sure your pencil is sharpened well. As can see in the photo on the left, put the tip of your pencil right between the lashes and the lid, not directly on the lid. Smudge along the lash line into the lashes without getting it up on you eye lid. Using a brown liner also helps keep the look natural. Then apply a coat of mascara.

Now to finish up the look, apply some bronzer to your cheek bones, kind of like blush. Or you can apply it all over your face for more of a sun kissed look. Just make sure it’s not an oopmah loompah kind of sun-kissed, if you know what I mean! Then you can apply some neutral lip gloss of lip stick. My favorite is this e.l.f. lip gloss in honey do.

And there you have it! Easy, right? In less than five minutes you look lovely, natural and effortlessly beautiful!

Well, what do you think? How do you usually do your makeup in the spring and summer months?

Thank you so much for reading, and if you have any requests for any kind of beauty tutorial, leave them in the comments, I would love to give them a try for you!

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Natalia

Hello again!
It is so lovely to be here again! Today I have something fun to share with you. I don’t know if any of you have heard of the show House Hunter’s International? Many of your probably have and watch it on occasion. Well, my husband, boys and I were on that show! Last Wednesday night if you tuned in you would have seen a tall American/Bahamian family searching for a home in France. That’s us! If you didn’t catch it, they replay that show all the time, (which I am not too sure I’m happy about…) so I am sure you will able to catch it at some point!

So today I am going to share with you how I did my hair for the majority of the show- a sock bun. I wore my hair like this the first day and was unaware that I would have to wear it like that for the rest of filming. Kind of a bummer for a hair girl like me, but oh well, it was a fun experience! Let’s get started!

So probably the best thing about this hairstyle is how easy it is. You can start with any kind of hair. As a matter of fact, this is a go-to hairstyle for me when my hair is dirty and I just haven’t gotten around to washing it. Which doesn’t happen much… hehe, I wish. Here’s a little picture explanation to make it easy.

Start with a high pony tail, trying to get the hair relatively smooth because this is more of a sleek look. Pull your hair through the hair scrunchie. Twist your hair all the way around making sure that your hair is covering the scrunchie. If you have long hair like I do, keep twisting until it is all around and under the scrunchie. If you have shorter hair, just pin it as you go into the scrunchie.

You can find the scrunchie that I am holding in picture number 3 at your local beauty supply store. It is really helpful because you can pin your bobby pins into the hair piece which helps it stay in place all day. Or in my case, all three days! Just kidding, I redid it in between filming days, promise.

And that is about it! Don’t you love it? This can be done with bangs and without, fancy and simple, pretty much a go to hairstyle if you ask me! b

I put together a simple little video for you to show a different way to way this hairstyle. It’s not your typical hair tutorial kinda video but cute nonetheless. I hope you enjoy it!

And if you got a chance to catch the House Hunter’s International episode, I would love to hear your thoughts! If not, keep your eyes open for “A Family Living Together in France,” that’s us! Although, not to call HGTV out or anything, but we have lived in France for 3 1/2 years. Oh well! Have a great day!