BeyondBlushing...

I am literally weeks away from turning 30 years old and to tell you the truth….very excited about it. I’m not all caught up in feeling like I’m getting old and all that hoopla. I’ ve always thought I’ ve looked young for my age and have enjoyed growing up and maturing. I was taken aback recently when somebody I see on a regular basis due to work related duties commented on me being the same age as they were after telling me they were 24 years old….I was shocked. I was like, “honey, you’re just a baby!” and he commented back about how we were the same age and I was like, “NO……I’m hitting 30 here!” He was really surprised. Well I thought about this little fortunate exchange of words for a while. What about me make people think I am younger than what I actually am? I’ ve always been on more of the mature side. My best friends are all older than me….even by 8 or more years. So it’s not me acting immature that makes me look young. I’ ve had two kids so I don’t have that cute hip body an

I'd like to take the time and share some information I have on some wonderful skincare products. There are so many different directions I can take with this subject and instead of doing a generic general synopsis I would like to take my time and dissect the different areas of skin care and focus on specifics. So with that said, here we go! I've been doing an experiment over the last few months that I'm excited to share with all of you. Kline-Becker, the makers of StriVectin-SD, sent me a very generous package with several different pieces of their products. I had always been curious about the "miracle cream" that I heard so much about. Especially since I've had a couple of kids and genetics proved to be unfortunately cruel with my UN-elastic skin. The stretch marks came and never went away. Faded of course but still remained. I decided to give StriVectin a go. I have to admit, I was totally skeptical and pretty sure it wasn't going to work. But I made a de

Due to the recent launch of MAC's latest addition to their Viva Glam family, Viva Glam VI, I would like to share with you about Viva Glam from MAC Cosmetics! My email is "i.heart.vivaglam" for a very special reason. I really love MAC products and I'm extremely proud to participate in their awesome charity program. For those of you who don't know, "First introduced in 1994, VIVA GLAM lipstick has become one of the fashion world's most glamorous and successful fundraising initiatives of all time. A success since its red-hot launch. The VIVA GLAM program was further enhanced by the introduction of VIVA GLAM II in 1997, VIVA GLAM III in 2000, VIVA GLAM IV in 2002, and VIVA GLAM V in 2004. M·A·C Cosmetics continues to underwrite all VIVA GLAM related expenses and along with its retail partners, contributes 100% of the retail selling price of each VIVA GLAM lipstick to the M·A·C AIDS Fund." This program is really helping lives. Where ever a MAC counter or

Beyond Blushing, literally! We are talking cheeks, baby! Summer is coming to a quick end and Autumn is setting in. Our sun kissed complexions start to fade a bit this time of year. We darken our hair a bit but we're not ready for the intensity that the winter brings out in our beauty scene. So I like to take this time of the year and really focus on cheeks! Cream blush, powder blush, cheek stains, highlighters, shimmer or matte? Whoa, what a lot of choices for the cheeks. Well, I'm about to share with you all the formula I use for beautiful blushing! I personally use a three step process that consists of a core color, a highlighter, and a contour color. It's a winning combination and a stunning finish. Really, sometimes this is all I do in the morning along with a couple of coats of mascara and a great gloss. It's so fresh and pretty! Depending on your skin complexion the color and textures you use will vary. I personally love using Nars orgasm almost everyday. I tend t

Need a good facial? My goodness it's been a busy couple of weeks for me. Too much work and not enough relaxation. Does this sound familiar to anybody else? I decided to treat myself to a manicure, pedicure and a facial last night. The manicure and pedicure I left up to someone else to give me but I really do find pleasure in relaxing at home, putting the kids down, uncorking a bottle of Stella Rosa ,** and giving myself a great facial. My sister taught me this great facial regime that I'm going to share with all of you! I seriously have the most awesome sister ever. I love you, Sis! First you take some chamomile tea bags and boil them in a pot of water. If you have lavender oil or another oil you love you can add this in with the pot for the fragrant aroma and sensory experience. Meanwhile, you are turning on some candles and soft music and finding a good magazine to thumb through. You're wine should be nice and chilled and ready to be poured! Once your pot of water with th

Jouer , "to play" in French, is a new line to me that I just tried out this summer and I have to tell you how pretty the colors are. So soft and sweet. Quite innocent really. I love the "I'm not wearing makeup" makeup look that I was able to achieve by using these great products. The line is innovative with how the products are uniquely packaged. The colors are in individual cases which the containers slide and snap together which are ideal for making your own custom palette. You could snap together an entire look for the evening and throw it in your purse so that after your day at the beach you could quickly find your palette and apply your makeup effortlessly! Brilliant! I'm looking forward to trying their new powder eyeshadows that they just came out with along with some other goodies. I'll keep you posted on how much I'm sure to love them! Oh, and a big shout out and "thanks a million" to Veronika with Jouer.

Okay you all. Hold on tight because I have an awesome product to share with you. It's Matte by MAC Cosmetics . This product is something I've carried in my kit for a couple of years but for some reason it had gotten pushed to the back of my case behind everything else. Kind of like that always great fitting t-shirt that you love and from time to time it gets misplaced or forgotten about but when you find it again and wear it, it feels so right! That is Matte for me in the makeup realm. I was reminded of it today. I was finishing up a consultation that I had with a client and soon to be bride. She looked beautiful. Stunning really! She was perfectly satisfied with her makeup application and felt gorgeous.....but I knew she was missing something. I couldn't put my finger on it at first because of her beautiful blue eyes that were so striking because of the soft smoky plum colors we had applied to her lids and her perfectly pouted peachy glossed lips and her sun-kissed bron

Beautiful Hair for Brunettes! When a dear friend of mine, Distressed Jeans, went to a wonderful little shindig a.k.a.: Melanie Segal's Platinum Luxury Suite for a pre-Emmy party, she was able to snag up all kinds of goodies. Read her post about the wonderful event and all her goodies here . Anyway, Distressed Jeans is a beautiful blonde while my head of hair is more of a mix of browns, reds, and a smidgen of blonde highlights. So I lucked out when she gave me her Bed Head shampoo and conditioner in Brunette Goddess . First of all, this shampoo smells good enough to eat. Like sweets that were freshly baked. I don't know, every time I've used this stuff I've craved a cinnamon roll! The sweet smell is surprisingly long lasting.....which I love! My hair feels like pure silk and is so shiny and pretty! I only like to wash my hair a few days a weeks and with this shampoo and conditioner my hair still looks fresh and clean even if two or three days have gone by between washi

Kiss Me by Blinc Whoa! Have I got an awesome liquid eyeliner for you! This stuff goes on so smooth, so fine, and SO black! It dries quickly and stays on like no other liquid liner I have ever used before. Seriously, I did some major "cat eyes" on myself over the weekend. We had a late night out and although I broke the cardinal sin of skin care by going to bed without washing my face, I woke up the next morning and my eyeliner looked as perfect as the moment I had originally applied it! Crazy! I'm a believer. Hallelujah! Rejoice! Check out their stuff at http://www.blincinc.com/ .

One of my favorite everyday scents is Maybe Baby by Benefit Cosmetics . Here's what the company has to say about their alluring scent: "Do you want to know a secret? Maybe Baby. Benefit's classic eau de toilette captures a tumble of white blossoms in this romantically spirited fragrance. Maybe Baby is playful and flirtatious, like a wink across the room, a lingering gaze or a shy smile. Tips and tricks: Layer maybe baby body lotion and the eau de toilette for a flirtatious fragrance that lasts all day long! Voted best fragrance to give or get by Elle magazine! Top notes: apricot and white ginger; Middle notes: water blossoms, lychee, bergamont; Base notes: white musk and warm peach This is a fragrance that I can throw on for an everyday scent and feel pretty and flirty all day! Or wear out at night feeling sexy and knowing that I smell irresistible! What are your favorite scents? Let me know ;)

Hello lovely dolls! First off, let me thank you for visiting this new blog. I know there are a million and one to choose to look at and read and I really appreciate you time, interest and support. Thank you :) I have been doing makeup since I was a young girl. My Aunt would go through her makeup once a year and give me all the cosmetics she didn't want anymore. It was like Christmas for me. I would then patiently anticipate snagging my sister's Vogue magazine when she was through reading it. Naturally, for me, the next step was putting those tossed out magazines and cosmetics to use! I would find a girl in the magazine whom I thought had cool makeup and then attempt to copy the look on my face with the colors I had. It was so much fun. Oh, and by the way....this was in the 80's so you can only imagine all the vivid blues, purples, greens, thick eyeliner, bright blush and heavy lipstick. Only if my mom would have taken pictures of my creations along with the tears from the m

Are you looking for that, "I'm not wearing foundation!" foundation look? Well, one good trick of the trade is to spritz your foundation brush with a product like Fix + by MAC Cosmetics after applying your foundation or while you are applying your foundation. Just brush over your entire face up into your hair line and down the base of your jawbone, chin, and neck. This will give you nice coverage but with a natural sheer radiance. Set with some blot powder and your skin will look refined and poreless!

Tried and True: A basic summer look Although I am not really one to bask in the sun and get super tan, I still love summer for it's long days and warm nights. My coloring usually turns a shade or two darker and my freckles come out. I find myself not needing to spend too much time on being creative with my makeup since my new summer color is pretty all on its own. A simple sheer SPF Foundation/moisturizer along with some mascara and a peachy gloss and my look is simple and pretty. On other days I get away with just spritzing myself with some Fix+ by MAC Cosmetics and adding a little bit of tinted lip conditioner with an SPF of 15. Of course I don't ever forget to add a bit of mascara. I love "X" by MAC Cosmetics. It's one of those mascaras that I like to use as a undercoat during fall, winter and spring but during the summer it's all that I need. I would love to hear your favorite summer looks and products. If you are a makeup junkie like me, you can't get