Blog Posts by The chicks at TotalBeauty.com

I was perusing Facebook this morning when I read a status update from my seriously tattooed friend. It said, "Getting the itch for more ink." Within minutes, her friends -- who seem to have vowed to prevent her from getting any more permanent etchings -- started offering up other ideas:

"Why don't you get a dog?"

"Buy new shoes!"

And my favorite: "Get married!"

Before my FB friend decided to swap permanent body ink for a permanent marital status change, I hastily typed, "How about a drastic hairstyle change instead?"

Related: 10 New Ways to Wear a Bun

It was a long shot, but I was hoping she might consider my slightly less permanent suggestion. Two hours later I got a text from her, asking what new styles were worth trying.

Score one for the beauty editor.

I knew she wouldn't go for the super trendy milkmaid braids (click here if you would). Nor would pretty face-framing highlights cut it for this edgy gal.

No, she required something much more

There are a few things that bug me in this world: Guys wearing jeans skinnier than mine; Kim Kardashian's faux love life; and unrealistic ideals created by movies. Don't get me wrong -- I love a good rom-com as much as the next gal. But nothing boils my blood more than the scenes when the girl wakes up the next morning in Ryan Gosling's bed looking gorgeous. No smudged mascara, blotchy skin, or puffy eye bags.

Yeah … I don't look that impeccably perfect when I wake up, even after a solid eight hours of blissful snooze time.

Related: The Best Makeup for Tired-Looking Skin

The reality is that no one wakes up looking fresh-faced, with perfectly tousled hair, and kissable breath. That's why movie characters have lighting directors and a team of hairstylists and makeup artists to hide those bags and spritz on some shine spray.

I may never have that posse of hair and makeup artists waiting by my bedside each morning, but these tips help me look good first thing in the a.m.

I can't wait for the Super Bowl to be over.

No, it's not because the quality time I've spent with my boyfriend for the last five months has involved sitting in front of a TV. Or even that every second of his spare time when he's not watching football is spent on his iPhone checking his fantasy football league. (I'm not bitter or anything, right?)

The real reason I'll be psyched when football dies for a little while? I can't stand the ridiculous amount of junk food in my house. Thanks to hosting weekly football parties, my kitchen has turned into a Mecca of high-cal crap -- and I've been overindulging in the chips, dip, and yes, even the unidentifiable chicken byproducts smothered in BBQ sauce.

Related: 7 Snacks That Taste Fatty But Keep You Skinny

It isn't surprising that my skinny jeans have been hibernating for the last few months and I'm terrified to step onto my scale. Enough is enough. With the end of football season so near, I need to start cleaning up my diet now.

I bought a new deodorant that said all the right things -- you know, "fresh scent," "wetness protection," "goes on clear," all that good stuff. I put it on and took a pit-whiff: It passed the test.

At least, it passed until about two hours later, when I lifted my arms to embrace an old friend and I smelled the unmistakable scent of my very own, very truly rank, B.O. Luckily, she's the kind of friend you can laugh with about stuff like that. What if it had been a co-worker? The guy I've gone out with exactly twice? When I slipped away to the bathroom a few minutes later to soak up the pools of sweat with toilet paper (classy!), I saw that my shirt had already done most of the clean-up job. I looked like I'd just logged a full day on a construction site.

Related: Fix Beauty Emergencies on the Go

There's nothing worse than finding out your deodorant is a dud. After all, you don't find out it's terrible until you're in the middle of a situation where it's suddenly

There are several rites of passage for tween/teen girls that leave a lasting impression. Among them? Getting your period, popping your first pimple, and your maiden leg-shaving voyage.

For me, shaving my legs was the most monumental. Not because it signified that I was growing up, or because I was particularly stoked to be freed of the fuzz. Nope, for me, shaving for the first time was memorable because, at the tender age of 9, I grabbed the razor my mom left beside the sink and, in a half trembling/half spastic hand, raked it over my dry shin. I still have the three-inch scar to show for it.

Related: At-Home Fixes for Skin Care Emergencies

Happily, I wasn't so traumatized that I never shaved my legs again. In fact, I quite like the ritual (I find it oddly soothing, is that weird?) and have never used any other means of hair removal. Don't get me wrong, I've yet to master the art and, from time to time, still manage to nick myself and bleed like a Carrie on prom night. What

Do you remember that Sex and the City episode when Samantha decides to get an impulse chemical peel, which promptly burns off the first two layers of her skin?

Ladies and gentlemen, that was me. Last week.

Except it wasn't a chemical peel, but an upper lip wax I impulsively decided to get during my lunch hour. The wax was too hot, and my skin responded with a red, bumpy rash. And yes, I had to walk into the office with my upper lip lit ablaze. Thankfully it blended into the crimson shade that was my face.

Related: When Beauty Treatments Backfire

To make sure this never happens again, I talked to Sharon Elizabeth, a California-based skin care expert and freelance makeup artist who has seen the results of many a well-meaning beauty treatment gone awry. She shared which treatments are most likely to backfire, as well as her best tips on how to prevent a beauty emergency.

Saboteur No. 1: Waxing

A fresh wax may help keep stray hairs away, but it could also

You remember your first kiss. Your first apartment. Your first paycheck. Well, I'm here to report that there's another "first" you'll always remember: The first time you look in the mirror and see horrifyingly dark under-eye circles.

This, I'm sad to report, happened to me yesterday. What can I say? As I get older, my delicate eye skin … well, it gets older, too. Now, eye cream isn't just an excuse to splurge on more products -- it's a necessity. (Skeptical? Take a look at these before and after photos of women who used eye creams for six weeks. I think they'll inspire you to join me in the search for the best eye cream.)

Related: 16 Best Night Creams

Of course, not all eye creams are created equal -- and finding the one that'll work best on your dark circles (or crow's feet, or bags) can be tough. That's why I'm using this list of the 7 best eye creams. Because frankly, I'd rather be known as "the girl who looks well-rested every single day" or "the girl who couldn't

Last week, I saw a picture of a model wearing a salmon pink lipstick that looked stunning. And while I didn't have her porcelain skin (or, OK, her otherwise stunning features), I was convinced that if I got the right pink lipstick, I, too, would look that amazing.

But when I went to Sephora, I was overwhelmed by the endless rows of pink-colored tubes. Is this pink warm enough? What are my undertones? Does this one look too coral-y? (If only I had had this helpful guide.) I got so flustered that after trying on and wiping off what felt like a bazillion shades, I left the store empty-handed. Major fail.

Related: 9 Perfect-for-Winter Lip Colors -- and How to Pull Them Off

Have you ever had a similar experience trying to find your most flattering (fill-in-the-blank-color) lipstick? If you don't have the time to swipe on a bunch of hues, keep reading.

I asked a posse of celebrity makeup artists for the shades they think are universally flattering. Then, I subjected four