Good Gracious!

Nothing makes me cringe more than bad makeup. What's considered bad? It's when you see a woman made up and you do a double-take because you can't believe she walked out of her house that way thinking it looked good. Granted I do accept that artistic creativity can sometimes play a role in wanting to "stand out" from the crowd, but if your makeup is so distracting that people are giggling or whipping out their camera phones to take a picture, see that as a sign to tone it down!

I was standing in line at Starbucks this morning to get my hot chocolate with a pump of peppermint syrup and among the the usual crowd there was a "which-one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-others" standing two people in front of me. She casually turned around and glanced my way and I was a deer in headlights. Her makeup was atrocious and I am being kind when I say that. I looked around to see if there were hidden cameras to capture peoples reactions because it was THAT bad. Her clothes were completely normal, but her makeup looked like she lost a bet, did it in the dark, while color blind and without a mirror.

Without the given opportunity to disperse my makeup advice (by being asked!), I kept my glossed lips zipped and waited patiently for my hot chocolate while positioning myself to get a better look. Good gracious she needed my help! I tried to think of an opening to start a conversation with her while we waited on or orders, so I found something I could compliment her on, her attache case, and jumped in hoping she'd take the bait:

Me: "Morning. What a great bag, is it calf-skin?"

Woman: "Good Morning. It's actually treated leather"

Darn....that didn't work. What was I thinking, I need to talk about makeup!

Me: "This weather is so unpredictable. I'm wearing chapstick under my gloss so my lips don't dry out" (hey don't laugh, I only had a moment to engage her!)

Woman: "Oh I know what you mean. My skin and hair get so dry in the winter".

Double darn, that didn't work! Usually I find an opening to exchange beauty tips or advice with women in any situation. I know it might sound weird but it happens all the time. She got her order, wished me a good day and walked away. I looked at my watch to remember the time and felt it was now my obligation to hopefully run into her again and at the same time tomorrow to try and pick up where we left off. I can't let an otherwise attractive woman with no makeup sense continue to walk around looking like a clown's "before" photo.

I promise you if I could have taken a photo of her to post I would have, so in the matter of photo-shop fun, here is my rendition of what the woman looked like.

See what bad makeup on an otherwise pretty face can do???

Happy Holidays

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday. Think of all the beautiful things in your life to be grateful for and count your blessings. 

Be happy, healthy and enjoy every moment because we only get one life to live, so live it well.

"The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so." - Source Unknown

Looking for a Job? Only 90 Seconds to Make an Impression

Everyone has heard the saying "you never get a second chance to make a first impression", and this rule is most vital when you are going for a job interview. How you present yourself is as important as your work experience, and since your resume is what got you the interview in the first place, how you look during your interview will be the deciding factor on whether or not the employer will hire you, and it only takes 90 seconds for that impression to be made.

You would think the obvious advice applies: Dress to impress, but it goes beyond that. In today's job world you are competing with a handful of candidates just as qualified as you (or more), so you need to set yourself apart from the others in a good, memorable way. That means you must arrive at an interview in a clean, well-put-together outfit with neat fingernails, smoothed-down hair, light makeup and fresh breath. Keep the Louis Vuitton purse, Christian Louboutin shoes, Prada dress and Versace sunglasses at home. There is a fine line with looking like you need money to live or need money to shop, and you don't want to look like you are just there to supply your luxury brands habit.

Skip the glitter eyes and gloss, tight/revealing clothes and complicated hair. Keep everything simple, fitted, flattering and appropriate for the job you are applying for. Also, think twice about any eccentricities that you think make you look unique, such as pink hair or black nail polish, because it will affect their decision if you don't look "the part" of a professional. This rule does not apply if you are applying for a job at a fashion magazine, art-related industry, or ad/marketing firms, because there you can be a little more colorful with your appearance. 

Makeup should always be subtle and low maintenance. You don't want to look like you are headed to the bar after your interview so keep it simple, cover breakouts, dark circles and any visible tattoos. Personal hygiene counts too, so smelling like cigarette smoke can work against you, as can having body odor or wearing too much perfume. Because these conditions are within an individual’s control, an employee or job candidate who smells bad can be viewed as lacking professionalism. Skipping perfume all together is a better idea cause you never know who might be allergic and causing your interviewer a headache is not a good start.

Just remember, if you got the interview you already have a 50/50 chance of getting the job, so don't make your appearance be the reason you don't get it! Be sure to dress the part and make a lasting impression of someone they would want to work with and who would be a great fit for their company/office. Good luck.

Brow Beating

Ladies, ladies, ladies...I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to maintain your eyebrows. Whether you groom them yourself or get it done professionally, your eyebrows shouldn't be neglected, or abused. The right way to create the prefect frame for your face is having them start, arch and end in the right place. This is your fool-proof guide to great brows!

Too many good brows go bad because of over-plucking, so if you need to grow some back, conceal the process with a brow pencil or powder to fill in the blanks in the meantime. When in doubt, err on the side of fuller brows rather than thinner because you can always shape them more later. Brow trends change, but your facial features don't, so stick to what looks good on you.

Eyebrows can change your features tremendously, and not always in a good way either, so I recommend tweezing because you are in control and can do it slowly. After each hair you remove, take a step back to look in the mirror to evaluate your next pluck. I like Tweezerman brand, pointy tip, for good, clean tweezing. Keep the tip protector it comes with to keep them sharp and be sure not to drop them or you can misalign them, rendering them useless.

I could have posted a handful of bad-brow photos for laughs, because trust me there were TONS, but I wanted to focus on why it's important to have great brows and show the guide above for your tool of how to achieve it. This picture of Angelina is a great example of how the wrong brow on any face can look terrible. Whether you tweeze, wax, thread or pencil them in, follow the guide. Your brows need love too, so be kind! Good luck. 

What's in a Name?

Frosted, matte, sheer, stain, shimmer, gloss and long-lasting: what does it all really mean? The names give an insight to part of the ingredients, which ultimately help create the unique color and appearance the lipstick will provide, so knowing which is which will give you the best results when picking a shade.

• Frosted lipsticks include a pearlizing agent that adds luster to the color. Bismuth oxychloride to be exact, which is synthetic pearl, and imparts a frost or shine.
•  Matte lipsticks are heavy in wax and pigment but lighter in emollients. They have more texture than shine.
• Cremes are a balance of shine and texture. (most popular)
• Glosses have a high shine and low color.
• Sheers and stains contain a lot of oil and a medium amount of wax with a tad of color.
•  Shimmers have extra glimmer, which comes from mica or silica particles.
• Long-lasting color contain silicone oil, which seals the color to your lips.
• Lip gloss contains different proportions of the same ingredients as lipstick but usually has less wax and more oil to make the lips shinier.

There’s an old 1959 song called "Lipstick on Your Collar," where lipstick was the giveaway that her boyfriend had been unfaithful, and according to a 1996 survey by Shisedo Cosmetics, 87% of American women admit to having left traces of lipstick in unwanted places on purpose. 

So whether you are guilty of this practice, or just want to get the most from your lip color, read the label to see exactly what type of lipstick you are getting to make sure it fulfills its purpose.

Read My Lips

Lipstick, in some shape or form, has been around for a long time and has always been part of a fashion statement. History tells us that ancient Egyptians used henna to paint their lips with a reddish purple mercuric plant dye called fucus-algin, iodine and bromine mannite. Little did the ancient Egyptians know that it was potentially poisonous, but no self-respecting Egyptian would leave home without it.


Makeup has not always held an accepted place in society as it does today. In fact, it has traveled a bumpy road to acceptance. According to Thomas Hall, an English pastor and author of the "Loathsomeness of Long Haire" (1653), led a movement declaring that face painting was "the devil's work" and that women who put brush to mouth were trying to "ensnare others and to kindle a fire and flame of lust in the hearts of those who cast their eyes upon them." In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law condemning lipstick, stating that "women found guilty of seducing men into matrimony by cosmetic means could be tried for witchcraft." 


In the 1800s Queen Victoria publicly declared makeup impolite because it was viewed as vulgar and something that was worn only by actors and prostitutes. So makeup took a backseat and paleness became vogue for almost a century. However all that changed during World War II, aided by the movie industry, which gave lipstick and face powder respectability. It became the patriotic duty of female citizens to "put their face on."

In the 1930s, leaders in the industry such as Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, opened their first beauty parlors, offerings services that ranged from facial massages to hair dressing and makeup tips. Although it's had a rough start, makeup has paid its dues to have a place in society, so ladies, go "put on your face"!

Fa-la-la Fall....Here We Come

Emerald green. Royal purple. Bright red. Glittering gold. Cobolt blue. These are just some of the colors for fall this year and be ready to see it on everything from clothing, shoes, accessories and makeup. When everything around us turns from green to gold, to brown, then bare, a little bit of vibrant color is the perfect way to look radiant and not dreary this season.

When pairing a bold color in a statement piece of clothing or an accessory there is no rule that says you cannot match your makeup to highlight (or compliment) that color, so if you want to be daring and draw some attention to your eyes, lips or nails with a little flash of fall (and winter) colors, then do it, because all the makeup manufacturer's are following suit and you will see a rainbow of colors available.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2010, was this past weekend in New York, and it set the stage with what's in store this season.