Getting Thicker Lashes At Home Just Got Way Easier

The no-makeup makeup look isn't going anywhere anytime soon (thanks, Glossier!), which might help to explain why lash serums are becoming a regular step in multi-step beauty routines. These little vials of liquid promise to give you longer and thicker lashes — minus the mascara clumps, expensive lash-extension sessions, and hassle of falsies.

According to Lauren Bilon, founder of Calgary-based Plume Cosmetics Inc., you can see results within a few weeks if you use serums properly. Many serums use ingredients you might find in products that help strengthen the hair on your head, such as vitamin E or vitamin B5, which work to nourish and condition the hairs. These ingredients have the same effect on brows, giving lash serums like Plume's a dual purpose.

The catch? It's important to stay consistent. "You have to be committed to the process for at least a month or two, every day," Bilon says. "And, you need to stay on the program. If you use the product for a few months, achieve great results, and then stop, you'll eventually end up back where you started."

Wedding cake, flowers and electricity

The Green Mountain Energy booth looked seemingly out of place at the Bridal Extravaganza this past weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center,  wedged among the vendors showcasing bridal dresses, bridal cakes and bridal china place settings. Two company representatives stood in front of the electricity display, trying to attract the brides-to-be, mothers-of-the-bride and bridesmaids walking by with catering and flower arrangements on their  minds to think about something more mundane.

"Who is your electric provider?" they shouted.  "Are you happy with them?"

The electricity market in Houston is deregulated and electric utility providers like NRG Energy-owned Green Mountain Energy are in a constant scramble for new customers and hanging on to their existing ones. Energy retailers spend as much as $250 to sign up new customers when the cost of marketing and enrollment are figured in. NRG Energy has the largest share of the retail electricity business in Texas and also owns Reliant Energy, Cirro Energy and Pennywise Power.

Many of the visitors sailed past the Green Mountain booth on their way to the cake samples up the aisle but a few lingered long enough to shout out their current provider or pick up a brochure. Others shrugged their shoulders because either they don't know their provider or they don't care. Only about 16 percent of customers in the CenterPoint service area - the utility that serves the Houston area - switched electricity providers last year. But enough must be stopping and signing up because the personal sales technique is still an important way electricity is sold in the deregulated parts of Texas.

For years, Green Mountain Energy and other retail electric providers have set up tents at grocery stores, big box stores and festivals to promote their electricity plans to shoppers and fun seekers. The bridal show is one of those events when shoppers might have electricity on their minds, said Green Mountain spokeswoman Alex Angelina.

Many couples attending the show are planning new homes together, she said, and with any move, picking out an electricity plan is part of the process.

Japanese beauty products you need if you call yourself a beauty addict

For a while, Japanese beauty was shunned from the spotlight as the world became obsessed with Korean beauty. It seemed that our love-affair with K-beauty would never end, but Japanese beauty is set to become popular once again in 2018.

The truth is that Japan has exported some of the very best cleanser, lotions and best face serum that the whole world has to offer. In fact Japan's best-selling brand, Decorté, invented the world's first face serum; their Liposome Moisture formula is still the number one selling serum today.

Much of the obsession with perfect-looking skin comes from the geisha community. Japanese-inspired brand Tatcha's founder, Vicky Tsai, spent close time with geishas, who take skincare incredibly seriously – any flaws show up easily under their theatrical, brilliant white make-up.

'Underneath their iconic white make-up is the most breathtakingly pure skin I had ever seen in my life,' she writes in a blog post. 'I have met trainee geisha as young as 19 and senior geisha as old as 70, but regardless of age they all share the same exquisite complexion.'

So how can you get some of that flawlessly soft, baby-skin complexion for yourself?

Keep scrolling to learn about 10 of the best Japanese beauty products you can get your hands on in the UK, from fragrance to skincare.

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence
Japanese skincare and lotions go hand in hand, and SK-II's is possibly the most famous out there. Cate Blanchett constantly raves about the Pitera-rich essence, which clears and refine's the skin's appearance and texture over time for a “crystal clear” look.

Tatcha Polished Classic Rice Enzyme Powder
Inspired by the Geisha ritual of gentle cleansing and exfoliation using rice water, Tatcha's rice powder exfoliates super gently every day for that smooth, 'baby skin' look.

Decorté Liposome Serum
This one is Japan's best-selling serum, and it's a hydrating dream. Dehydrated and unhappy skin's thirst is quenched almost instantly, with tiny capsules that absorb into the deepest layers of the skin, and slow time-release technology keeping its moisture levels topped up throughout the day.

Kosé Medicated Sekkisei
Licorice is a big name in Japanese beauty when it comes to trusted ingredients, as it calms and detoxifies the skin while brightening the complexion. Kosé's medicated lotion is full of the stuff, and improves radiance and skin texture over time.

Fairydrops Quattro Mascara
Fairy Drops was born when Japanese celebrity, Aya Yasude, customised her own mascara brush. Struggling to find a mascara that was just right for her TV appearances, she took a pair of scissors to a mascrara wand and cut away until she was left with a brush that made her eyes pop. The distinct 'bobble' wand is the perfect companion for the jet-black, water-resistant formula that leaves lashes big, bold and camera-ready.

Learn How One Entrepreneur Transforms The Color Of Our Lips

With New York Fashion week upon us, it’s only inevitable that many women will be focused on fashion, beauty trends, makeup, and skincare products. If you’re not in the industry, often there is little thought behind the story of a brand. As women, we often choose our beauty products based on packaging, word of mouth, comfortability, or need.

The Lip Bar, a non–toxic, vegan and cruelty free line of colorful lipsticks, was born out of New York City by Founder and CEO Melissa Butler. Melissa had a career in finance, before making the leap to launch her lipstick line. A few years in as an entrepreneur, Melissa was featured on Shark Tank where the sharks challenged her business model.

According to a recent article in Forbes, “the $445 billion beauty industry has become a gold mind for self-made women,” and this self-made woman is carving a slice out of the beauty industry at the right time. Melissa has grown her revenue to nearly half a million dollars, while maintaining a brand fueled by a corporate, socially responsible culture.

Melissa has an untraditional story that led her to create a market in the beauty industry, without formal background in this industry.

I sat down with Melissa to hear more about her journey from finance to the beauty, lessons learned along the way, and advice she would give to other women entrepreneurs.

Lauren Wesley Wilson: When and why was The Lip Bar created?

Melissa Butler: In 2012, I was working on Wall Street. I was completely unfulfilled, unsatisfied, un-everything. I decided that instead of complaining about it I’d change my path.

I’ve always loved lipstick. Lipstick is feminine and powerful and with one stroke, it can completely transform your mood. I was also looking for lipstick products that weren’t chemically laden. I noticed that it was easier to find natural hair and skin care alternatives, but the assortment of natural lip colors were frankly just boring.

The Truth About the Korean Beauty Routine

It’s no real surprise that when it comes to talking beauty, the conversation almost always lands on some exotic, nay, crazy concoction that has made its way from the East. You know those snail-infused sleep masks you’re obsessed with? Or that oil cleanser you use every AM and PM? Or the brightening serum responsible for your glow? All Asian imports. You gotta admit, when it comes to skin care, they’re onto something.

Sure, it’s likely due to the fact that they’ve been up to it since, oh, let’s say 700 BCE, and have been busy passing down their techniques since then. While the likelihood that our brains could compute centuries’ worth of skin-care data is, well, questionable, it doesn’t mean we aren’t going to try (big emphasis on try here, guys).

If you haven’t gleaned over countless multi-step K-beauty articles by now (we’re going to ignore the fact that you’ve been living under a rock), here’s the gist of it all: Getting porcelain-like skin is all about cleansing (twice to be thorough), hyper-targeting skin issues (that’s where most of the steps lie), and protection (SPF; duh). We might be simplifying a bit, but we’re trying to ease you into it, OK?

What we’ve learned is that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all type deal, nor is it that difficult. To help you (and us) mine the hotbed of info, we went to the experts to tell us why it’s actually worth your time and money (just think about how much you’ll save on concealer).