Five Tips for Fabulous Skin

So you say you want to have great skin, huh?

Well, there are five easy, basic actions that you should take daily to keep your skin looking fab.

Step 1: Drink PLENTY of water...I drink at LEAST 32oz of water on a daily basis. A hydrated body equals hydrated skin.

Step 2: Eat well...a diet rich in minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants will keep your skin looking its best.

Step 3: Wear SUNSCREEN...simply put, protect your skin from the sun's harmful UV rays. FACT: 90% of what you will look like in the future is based on external factors. Soooo...WEAR SUNSCREEN!!

Step 4: Keep your skin clean...always wash makeup off of your face at night. Every night that you go to sleep wearing your makeup, aging of the skin will increase. And we all know that's not cool. So make sure you wash your face off at night, and if your skin calls for it, wash it in the morning too.

Step 5: Use products that are CORRECT for YOUR skin...if you have oily skin, why use products for dry, chapped skin? Or if you're dry, why use products that target acne? Make sure that you are using a skin care regimen that is specifically tailored for YOUR skin type. If you are unsure about that, seek out the help of a PROFESSIONAL...and by professional, I mean someone who has been trained and preferrably has been to school to specialize in skin care.


There you have it! Follow these five easy steps, and follow them consistently, and I can assure you that your skin will stay looking its best.

Style: My New Bag!

For the past month or so, I've been on the hunt. I've been looking for THE perfect bag. A bag that will take me through the end of the summer, well into fall and winter. And, finally, I have found that bag...

I had requirements for my new bag. First, I wanted for it to be colorful. Nothing too over the top, but still something that will stand out and catch your eye. This requirement was met as soon as I laid eyes on it...the beautiful plum color caught my eyes immediately, and from that moment, I knew that THIS was "The One". My second requirement was that the bag needed to be big and oversized, but not HUGE. I carry a lot of things with me throughout the day...generally, I will have my wallet, makeup bag, planner, hand lotion, reading book, umbrella, and any other necessity that I may feel I need at any given time. All of these items MUST be able to fit in my purse. This bag holds everything that I need! Next, I needed for this bag to have a shoulder strap, but also to be able to just carry around my forearm (so that I look extra chic ;P lol)...requirement MET! And lastly, I didn't want my bag to just be plain...I like the little details. My new bag is accented with a gold chain and gold detailing, which is great because I love and wear mostly gold.

I purchased my bag at Francesca's Collections at the Garden City location in Cranston, Rhode Island. This bag was well worth the $50.00 that I paid...I foresee myself getting more than plenty of use out of it and carrying it for quite some time! Hope you guys like it as much as I do!

Gratitude

I've decided that everyday, I am going to write out a list of five things that I am grateful for.

Here is what I am grateful for at this very moment today...

1. My lungs...I love being able to take in deep breaths and let it all out!
2. My crazy little chihuahua Macho...hes a lot of fun in the morning! That guy is crazy!!
3. My mom...yes, I said it. Shes a pain in the neck, but shes pretty cool to have around sometimes ;)
4. The comfy couch in the living room.
5. Silence :)


What are you guys grateful for today?

My Beauty Closet

There was a point in time when I had an incredibly HUGE overabundance of beauty products. Being that I am a hair stylist, makeup artist, and certified product junkie, I found that I was collecting all sorts of products. I receive free and discounted products on a constant basis from my full time job and my health and wellness business with Arbonne International. So, I finally found that it was time to clear out the clutter and get organized.

My beauty closet is in my bathroom. Its a rather large closet that used to have towels and all of my beauty items stuffed onto all of the shelves. Now, I have all of my products in an orderly way that actually even helps me get ready for work in the morning a little faster. See for yourself...

Shelf 1 (the top shelf) is my "Jewelry Shelf". Since jewelry is usually one of the last things that I put on before heading out the door, I thought it would be a good idea to keep it here. I was also finding that when I came home from work, I would take my jewelry off and leave it on the bathroom sink. So since it was finding its way into the bathroom, I figured it should stay there. I keep my bracelets, necklaces, and rings all separate.

Shelf 2 is what I like to call my "Treatment Shelf". I keep my waxing machine and accessories here because I wax my own eyebrows and my mother's at home. I also keep my paraffin wax machine here. I actually got that for Christmas a while back and have only used it once. But I thought that maybe if it were right in front of me, I would be more inclined to use it. In the right corner, I keep my facial steamer for when I want to give myself a more in-depth at home facial. And lastly, I keep small things that may be needed in a pinch in a cup...items such as a nail file, nail clippers, eyebrow brush, tweezers, etc.

Shelf 3 is my "Body Shelf". From left to right, I keep my makeup brushes in their rolls, body lotions and oils, facial skin care, and parfumes and fragrances. If you look closely at the picture, you will see just how much Arbonne skin and body care I actually use!!

Shelf 4 is my "Hair Shelf. To the right, I keep all of my "random" hair items...hair gels, hair sprays, shampoos, conditioners, spray bottle. These are all items that I may or may not use on a regular basis, but I just want quick access to. In the middle, I have a small basket with hair accessories like pins, elastics, head bands, and other hair jewelry. I also have a box of roller clips that I use to weigh some of my curls down, hold rollers in my hair or to hold my hair in a doobie wrap, and I also have my diffuser. Finally, in the white basket to the side, I keep all of my "salon products"...you know, the good stuff. Stuff I may not use everyday but is absolutely worth keeping. One item, for example is the blue jar that you may see...that is my MoroccanOil Intense Hydrating Mask.

Lastly, at the bottom of the closet, I have a set of white rubbermaid drawers that holds my nail items, hair appliances like flat irons and curling irons, and randome hair tools like clips and brushes. On the floor in the silver train case is all of my Arbonne makeup, and the black one holds random cosmetic items that I dont really use anymore, but may find useful at some point in the near future.

There you have it!! Hopefully, I can record a video to show you better what my closet really looks like, but hopefully you can see how I've organized and simplified one area of my life!!

How do you guys organize your beauty items?? Please share!!

Shots!!!

Hey there guys and gals! Just wanted to share some pics that a photographer friend of mine, Kevin Auger, did for me. He worked magic!! I did my makeup and hair for the pics, and he took them. I'm not sure if I can even express how HOT and muggy it was outside the day that we took them. I'm surprised that you cant see the beads of sweat dripping down my forehead lol. But I had a blast shooting the pictures came out absolutely beautiful! Hope you like them!! If you're in the Rhode Island area and you'd like more information on Kevin's photography services, shoot him an email at KAugerPhotography@gmail.com. Thanks again Kevin!!

Hot Summer Nails

Normally, I'm the kind of girl who loves neutral, natural colors on my fingers. I often times dont even wear nail polish at all because I am constantly doing things with my hands and I hate the way chipped nail polish looks. But I guess that maybe summer has gotten into me because right now I'm absolutely LOVING bright, fun, funky nails. Let me show you...

This morning, I was having such a hard time deciding which color to go with. I had pretty much my whole nail polish collection sitting out on my dining room table. I have tons of bright blues, but for some reason, I was really being drawn towards the warmer colors...like the oranges, hot pinks, and yellows, as you can see from my swatches lol. All of them were so pretty and looked really nice, so my decision was a pretty difficult one! BUT, a choice had to be made! Check out my final decision below..

The color I chose is called "Tarte Deco" by Essie. I've always been a fan of Essie nail polish...in my opinion, they have a great selection of colors, and they wear so well. I topped of my ring finger and thumb with some Crackle nail polish by China Glaze, and some chunky gold sparkles from Sephora. I'm LOVING my nails today!!

What about you guys? Are you feeling the bright, summer colors on your nails, or are you into the more natural tones or french mani's? Do share!!

Food For Though: Skin Care vs. Cosmetics

As many of you know, I am an Independent Consultant with Arbonne International, and I am building a business through that company. My business is still growing though, so currently, I do still work a full time job. For my full time job, I manage a beauty department for a national chain store. Every week, we get our sales reports in, and this tells us how each area of our department is doing. The main areas that I focus on are skin care and cosmetics. I'm not sure how other stores or beauty departments sales figures look, but one thing that I've noticed every week for the past few months now is that cosmetic sales always seem so much higher than skin care sales.

This got me wondering: What is more important to you ladies? The instant gratification of using cosmetics, or the long term benefits of using skin care items?? HMMM!!!!

Now, for clarification, cosmetic items would be considered your foundation, powder, concealers, etc. Skin care is considered to be cleansers, toners, moisturizers, eye creams and such. In the mass market (drugstores, department stores, etc.), companies are constantly coming out with new cosmetics that are formulated to clear breakouts, control oil, hydrate the skin, and fight the signs of aging...basically, watever your skin concern is, there will be a makeup that will cover it up! But what about good old fashioned SKIN CARE?? Do you ladies still find it important to cleanse, tone, and hydrate the skin with cleansers and moisturizers formulated for your skin type and concerns? Do you find it important to simply take care of your skin so that your face can ultimately become "makeup optional"?? Just a curious question that I've been wondering for a little while!!

Personally, I'm huge on skin care. I think its really important to actually care for the skin by cleansing it and keeping it hydrated. I also think its important to protect it by using SPF and other ingredients that will help it during the aging process (I WILL age gracefully gosh darn it!). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my cosmetics! On any given day, the least I wear is bronzer or blush, mascara, and a good lipgloss (Arbonne Lip Polish in Posh is my color of choice (; ), but I still find it more important to care for my skin so that I don't feel that its necessary for me to leave the house wearing makeup. Plus, I feel that since your skin IS in fact your body's largest organ, good skin is a sign of good health.

So fill me in ladies!! Whats more important to you, wearing cosmetics or having an actual skin care regimen? I'd love to know!!