Now that we’re knee-deep in summer, one part of your beauty routine is probably pretty high up on your list: your high-visibility hair removal approach. You’ve likely asked yourself, “Should I shave? Wax? Laser off all that pesky hair in my bikini line, underarms and legs?!” If so, welcome to Hair Removal 101.

We all know that keeping our bodies hairless in all the right places isn’t always smooth sailing — all hair removal methods, whether it’s waxing, shaving, or laser has the potential for issues like nicks, bumps, ingrown hairs, and…general discomfort. Let’s take a cursory look at the multitude of removal options, and with them, the different levels of pain, commitment, expense, convenience and perhaps most importantly, longevity.

And as always, remember that how much hair you remove, if at all, is up to you and there’s nothing dirty or unsightly about body hair. It’s normal! It’s natural! So, you do you always. But if you do decide to jump into hair removal, these tips will help.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Completely Bare and Bella Verde are STYLECASTER sponsors, however, all products in this article were independently selected by our editors. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

BELLA VERDE.

Waxing

How It Works: Hot (but not too hot!) wax is applied to the desired area and removed in the opposite direction of the hair growth, pulling hairs out from the root.
Best For: Legs, underarms, and bikini areas, and great for those with coarse, darker hair that tends to be stubborn.
Pros: Temporarily removes hair at the root for an average of three weeks of smooth skin, which can range from two to six weeks depending on your hair type and thickness.
Cons: Waxing requires some regrowth in order to be effective, as the wax needs at least a quarter-inch of stubble to adhere to. Treatments can be moderately painful, as hair is indeed being ripped out at the root, but it becomes more tolerable over time. Waxing can also result in ingrown hairs.
Average Cost: Anywhere from $15-80 for salon waxing, depending on areas waxed and your salon of choice. Or, you can go for at-home options, such as Bella Verde’s Wax Warmer Home Waxing Kit.
Tips: “Don’t drink and wax,” warns Noemi Grupenmager, founder and CEO of Uni K Wax Centers. “Some people come in after consuming alcohol thinking it’ll ease the pain, but alcohol tightens pores, making it much more painful.” Stimulants, like coffee, can also increase sensitivity, so be sure to remember this if you DIY.

Gillette.

Shaving

How It Works: Shaving removes hair from the skin’s surface by cutting it off with a razor.
Best For: Legs, underarms, and those with lighter, finer hair.
Pros: Inexpensive, painless, quick, and easy; and shaving creams used can help moisturize the skin, keeping it soft.
Cons: Regrowth happens quickly, and because hair is cut off at the surface, regrown hair is blunt, not tapered, so it can appear thicker. Razor burn, nicks, and cuts are possibilities, and those who shave regularly can also become prone to ingrown hairs.
Average Cost: Razors and shaving cream can be inexpensively purchased at any grocery or drugstore.
Tips: For those who can’t quit their shaving habit, “growth reduction” products promise to help inhibit hair regrowth, thus reducing the frequency of shaving required.

Completely Bare.

Depilatory Creams

How It Works: Hair removal creams use chemicals to weaken the hair follicle, so you can effectively wipe it away.
Best For: Those who want quick, easy, relatively painless at-home results. Depilatories are most popular for facial hair, bikini lines, and underarms.
Pros: Can be done at home, and removes hair just below the surface of the skin, ensuring slower and less coarse regrowth than shaving.
Cons: Chemicals in these products can irritate sensitive skin, particularly in more delicate areas. These creams are infamous for their odor, and can also lead to ingrown hairs.
Average Cost: Around $6-$12 for a tube of cream or spray-on depilatory lotion.
Tips: Choose a cream suited for the specific area you’re treating—and maybe light some scented candles in the bathroom to mask the strong smell most of these products tend to have. A solid option is Completely Bare’s Easy Off Foaming Hair Removal Spray, which comes in an easy-to-apply foam that washes off in the shower.

MiSMON.

Laser Hair Removal

How It Works: Laser penetrates the skin to target the hair shaft and inhibit hair growth. It essentially destroys the follicle, meaning it can achieve permanent removal. Typically, the hair in treated areas falls out within 2-3 weeks.
Best For: People with hair darker than their skin—while professional dermatologists can vary the type of laser used, laser targets the melanin in the hair, so it’s not suited as well for people with dark skin or pale hair. The laser needs to be able to lock on to the dark pigment in order to differentiate the dark hair from the skin.
Pros: Great for long-term hair removal in all areas. “It causes no damage to the dermis, so even the most sensitive skin can be treated,” says New York dermatologist Dr. Ariel Ostad.
Cons: Laser hair removal can be painful, with most people describing it as a “snapping” sensation against the skin, as well as a sensation of heat from the laser. Also, it requires numerous visits to a dermatologist for best results. “It is important to go to a dermatologist who can offer different lasers which are customized to the patient’s skin color and hair color,” says Ostad.
Average Cost: $150 to $500 per treatment, with an average of six sessions recommended, depending on the area being treated. Several cycles of treatment are usually recommended to capture the hair follicles at different stages of the growth cycle. Some people require touch-up treatments to maintain, especially on larger areas.
Tips: While it may seem expensive, in the long run, many consider laser removal to be an investment that can pay off. “It is the most effective and cost-effective treatment, considering how much one can spend over a lifetime with options such as waxing or electrolysis,” says Ostad.

Finishing Touch.

Electrolysis

How It Works: Electrolysis uses a fine, needle-shaped electrode to apply an electrical current to the hair follicle.
Best For: Small areas such as the eyebrows, upper lip, and underarms, as it treats each hair and follicle individually, which is time-consuming and can get expensive.
Pros: Can permanently remove hair and is suitable for very fine and light-colored hair, unlike laser, which works best on darker hair.
Cons: When improperly done, electrolysis can lead to scarring or skin discoloration. Treatments can be uncomfortable and cause a “stinging” or “pricking” sensation, and as with laser hair removal, permanent results require multiple sessions.
Average Cost: Around $25 to $150 an hour.
Tips: Dehydrated follicles can be more difficult to treat, so be sure to drink plenty of water the day before, the day of, and the day after your treatment.

Adobe. Design: Cierra Miller/STYLECASTER.

Lisa Rinna’s Oversized Leopard Print Coat

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 11 Episode 12 Fashion

To say I am obsessed with Lisa Rinna’s oversized leopard print coat is an understatement. First of all, this coat is huge and looks so comfy and warm. Second of all, it’s also called a sleeping bag which is just pure genius. I wish I had this for all the terrible winters I suffered in Chicago (and one random mini one in Texas). There’s nothing you want more than a huge coat to immerse yourself in for the painful cold. Now idk how painfully cold for it was for Lisa Rinna on the West Coast at that time, but it’s a cute and comfy coat so I’m not judging. The best part is that when she’s tired from all the fun, she can just curl up in her coat and call it a very fashionable night.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Her Norma Kamali Leopard Sleeping Bag Coat is Sold Out

Originally posted at: Lisa Rinna’s Oversized Leopard Print Coat

Ahh. At last. There you are, lying out on your lounger underneath the sun umbrella, with an endless white sandy beach stretched out before you. Drink in hand, you will spend the afternoon reading and people watching, perhaps a brief swim in the warm waters of this tropical ocean.

You make sure you have your sunscreen on and keep yourself well hydrated. Later on, you will return to your hotel room and dine in the hotel’s extravagant restaurant. Tomorrow brings the promise of an exciting snorkeling day, to see the beautiful coral reef and the rainbow-colored fish that abounds in these warm waters.

You have worked hard to pay for this vacation so you will enjoy the time off. In fact, this place is so relaxing that you vow to visit it again and see some of the local amenities on your next visit.

Fast forward five years and there you are again… but WAIT! What has happened to the beach, the beautiful coral reefs, that little bistro you wanted to eat at just down the street…?

This has all changed.

The Picture Today

Over-tourism has threatened the very environment you saw as so relaxing on your first trip. That white sandy beach is littered with plastic from straws, water bottles, and other non-disposable plastics that have filled the ocean.

That coral reef has been bleached by the chemicals in the sunscreen creams that we are so careful to apply before going into the water. The loss of that coral reef also impacts the fish population that lives amongst the protection of the reef.

Lack of business for the local bistro means that it had to close its door and the big American-style fast-food franchises are moving in. I am sure you are getting the picture by now, so how can we, as travelers wanting an exciting vacation, change this. After all, we are just one person or one family.

New Term: Responsible Tourism

Vacations should be exciting and not limiting, of course, but we also want to ensure the sustainability of future vacations. This is where responsible tourism comes into the picture.

What exactly is responsible tourism and how can we become responsible tourists?

One word, respect, is the principal motivator to being responsible. As more and more tourists enjoy this beautiful planet, we should be respectful and sensitive to the environment, the people whose homes we are visiting, the cultures that has been formed in years past. As we do this, we will open up the many layers of this planet.

How to Be a Responsible Tourist

Some practical ways to show respect for the environment are to:

• Pack your own cloth bag for shopping. Use that when you buy locally handmade (not banned) products for souvenirs.
• Pack your own reusable water bottle and spend a little extra to get one with a strong filter so that you do not have to get the bottled water at the stores. Reusable straws are easily bought now too.
• If you must have your coffee, pack your own coffee mug or drink from mugs in the local bistro.
• Check the list of ingredients in your sunscreen, and do not use if it contains any chemical that may harm the ocean environment.
• Take shorter showers.
• At your hotel, do not ask for housecleaning every day, only as needed. Many hotels are now winning awards for their efforts toward sustainable tourism. This effort includes recycling plastics, recycling soap bits, using eco-friendly laundry soaps, composting.
• Do some research before you book your hotel. Even better, book your stay at a small homestay or locally run hostel. Stay a few days to reduce your travel and your carbon footprint.
• Use a bicycle to tour the area or enjoy a walking tour.
• Try to book a direct flight to your destination as direct flights will reduce the carbon footprint.
• Be adventurous with your dining options. Support the locally run cafes, bistros, restaurants and savor some of the local cuisines.
• Why not try a local cooking class. Perhaps you might even learn what is in Baba’s secret sauce!
• Book some exciting locally run tours that you have researched before to ensure that the employees are being treated properly; that wages are fair, living accommodation, if provided by the employer, is decent.
• Stay clear of tour operators who offer up-close encounters with local wildlife. Quite often, these animals are made to behave via physical abuse.
• Be sensitive and respectful of the culture. For example, head coverings may be required in some countries. Show respect and cover your head.
• Greetings are different in many countries, so learn the polite way of greeting the local people.
• Try to learn a few phrases in the language and use that language as much as possible. There are many translation apps you can download on your phone to help you with that. I know I would use those apps a lot as language is not my forte.
• Do some research on local customs, show respect for their history, and perhaps even engage in an intelligent conversation to learn more a custom you’re interested in. You might even learn more about how to dress in a sari!
• If you are traveling with children, this will be a great example to them of how to make travel more engaging, educational, and fun.

Responsible travel does not have to be limiting. It can, in fact, be quite the opposite, opening up endless ways to explore this planet. Be adventurous and continue to explore. Happy travels now and in the future.

Do you think you are a responsible traveler? What do you do to show respect to the people and places you visit? Have you re-visited a location only to see it had changed dramatically since your first visit? How had things changed? Please share with the community.

Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Sequin Tweed Blazer

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 11 Episode 12 Fashion

Sequin and tweed are both bold statement fabrics, so why not combine them? That’s just what Crystal Kung Minkoff’s sequin tweed blazer did. Though her blazer is making bold statements it doesn’t seem like Crystal is. The rest of the ladies were discussing Erika Jayne’s drama, but Crystal just sat there looking pretty. But that was only a glimpse in the preview so we shall see what tonight’s episode brings. Maybe she will end up making a bold statement other than her adorable sequin tweed blazer.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to See Her Veronica Beard Sequin Tweed Blazer

Originally posted at: Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Sequin Tweed Blazer

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I love the color pink. There isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not wearing pink eyeshadow, pink glitter, or pink lipstick (and sometimes all three!). Yes — I’m really living my own Barbie dreams thanks to pink makeup. When it comes to the shade of pink, I’m not too picky — frankly, I love it all. It can be bubblegum pink, hot pink, baby pink, pastel pink, or anything in between. After all, at the end of the day pink is pink.

I don’t mean to fall into the outdated cliche that “pink is for girls,” but I’m definitely a girl who adores the color pink. Whether it comes to makeup or my outfit, I wear pink lipstick because it makes me feel pretty, bold, and, well, beautiful. Regardless of whatever makeup trends are currently going viral, I almost always favor my pink hues. I mean, makeup shouldn’t be worn for others, but for themselves. End of rant.

As a self-professed pink lipstick connoisseur, here’s what I look for: vibrancy and color, ease of application, and coverage. Also, while I do I think about how the shade looks against my skin tone, if I like the color itself, I’ll usually overlook that. With that said, I went through 22 pink lipsticks from some of my favorite beauty brands and put them up against each other to see which ones will have a permanent home in my makeup bag. Read on to see what the best pink lipsticks are and where you can get your hands on them ASAP.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.  

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

MAC Cosmetics in Candy Yum

My go-to pink lipstick has to be Candy Yum-Yum. Its creamy formula glides right on the lips in just one swipe for a highly pigmented super-bright bubblegum pink color. This lipstick claims to have a “no-shine matte finish,” but it’s more semi-matte. It’s not super drying and unfortunately is not transfer-proof so there’s no escaping the dreaded smudge — but it’s still a must-have in my book. Sadly, this shade is going to be discontinued, so if you want to get your hands on a tube, act fast!

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

Dose of Colors in Pinky Promise

I ~pinky~ promise you that you’ll love this lipstick just as much as I do. It’s less of a bubblegum color compared to Candy Yum Yum, and more of a hot pink with fuchsia undertones. The comfortable formula is quite thick so a little goes a long way when it comes to application. In about 30 seconds or so, watch your lips quickly dry to a velvet matte finish that will last for a large portion of the day (and won’t dry out your lips!).

Courtesy of Kat Von D.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss in Backstage Bambi

Pink lipstick is amazing overall, but, I’m not going to lie, amazing packaging never fails to get my attention. KVD’s lipsticks come in fun, creative packaging — think early 2000’s pop-punk. Backstage Bambi is a similar color to Candy Yum-Yum — a bright bubblegum pink that falls on the cooler end of the spectrum. Best of all, it doesn’t settle into the cracks and crevices on your lips, unlike other matte lipsticks.

Buy: KVD Backstage Bambi $27.99

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

ColourPop Creme Lipstick in Fizzy Pop

ColourPop is one of my absolute favorite brands. Unfortunately, my favorite pink shade of all time, Are You Surreal, is discontinued (sad face), but Fizzy Pop is a close second. This shade is a hybrid of hot and baby pink. It’s natural-looking but has enough pigment to stand out. Similar to the brand’s other Lippie Stixs, this pink shade glides on nicely and its precise application calls for even lines, which are crucial when wearing pink lipstick. 

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

Huda Beauty Power Bullet Matte Lipstick in Bachelorette

If you’re looking for an extremely full-coverage and ultra-pigmented lipstick, this is it. Bachelorette is a gorgeous long-wearing Fuschia shade that serves some serious color payoff. This cool-toned lipstick glides on seamlessly and doesn’t settle at all for a picture-perfect look. Oh, and It’s also cruelty-free so you can feel good about wearing it. 

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Poolside

I absolutely love this cool-toned pink lipstick. Not only does it go on creamy in just one swipe, but it’s infused with peptides to create the appearance of soft and supple lips. Its precise tip makes it easy to apply and line the lips while getting into those inner corners that often go missed. Plus, it gives a satin finish that leaves a subtle shine for a fuller-looking pout.

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

Makeup Forever Lipstick in Fierce Flamingo

If I absolutely ~had~ to narrow it down, this formula would probably be my second go-to pink lipstick because it’s a super vibrant and long-wearing. It delivers a seamless, one swipe coverage and a creamy formula that allows for easy application. Plus, it gets extra credit points for not sucking every ounce of moisture from my lips and the sleek black packaging gives it a luxurious look that’ll make you feel like a million bucks.

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

Ilia Color Block High Impact Lipstick in Knockout

This vegan pick lipstick is more sheer and glossy looking than some of the others I tested out, but it’s extremely pretty nonetheless. For those who want to achieve a subdued pink lip, this shade isn’t super loud, but it’s still highly pigmented. This lipstick applies super smoothly and creates a full coverage look with just one swipe.

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

Morphe Cream Lipstick in Loudmouth

With a price tag of just $5, you can’t go wrong with this hot pink lipstick. Its smooth and creamy formula glides right on the lips and leaves a demi-glossy finish. While not transfer-proof, carry it around in your purse to touch up throughout the day and you’re all set.

Courtesy of Casey Clark.

CTZN Cosmetics Lipstick in Los Angeles

Looking for more of a nude-pink lipstick? CTZN Cosmetics has you covered with this dark mauve shade. The lipstick has a creamy, velvety texture from its infused wild mango butter that coats the lips with moisture and provides opaque coverage. Best of all — there’s no transfer so you can eat, drink, and kiss without worry. Want more of a shine? Use the lip gloss on the other side.