Lighten Up Already! It's Summer

Wow, don't we get into a rut easily with our make up and beauty routines? So often when I'm at work I see women dressed in gorgeous sun dresses and light, strappy sandals - and then when you look up from the cute outfits to the makeup, Yikes! The amount of makeup these women are wearing! You'd think they were going to their husbands' company Christmas party! Layer upon layer of primer, concealer, foundation, powder, bronzer, blush, 4 or 5 eyeshadows, 25 coats of mascara, lipliner, lipstick, lipgloss...

...don't get me wrong. I'm the QUEEN of makeup! It's been my industry for 30 years (yes, I started when I was 8). I love every step of makeup application! And I REALLY, REALLY love those skin care lines that consist of 10 or 12 steps: Daytime cleanser, night time cleanser, daytime toner, night time toner, day cream, night cream, day eye cream, night eye cream, Day serum, night serum. Gott a love all the pretty bottles! It's almost like buying fine jewelry - at least it's almost as expensive!

Let's try to develop a new Summertime habit! Just for fun! Just to be fresh and bold and unconventional! Just to be different and rebellious! Let's try this.

FIrst of all, wash your face with a bar of soap! WHAAAAaa???? Soap? Yes. Dove for about $1.89. Amore Pacific for about $30. Sisley for about $50 - I'm estimating the prices, but I want to illustrate to you that there are BARS OF SOAP FOR EVERY LEVEL OF PRODUCT SNOB!! It's fresh and clean feeling! You'll love the simplicity of it!!!

Next, unless you're using a special toner that is targeted for break outs or some other specific skin concern, SKIP IT!

Then, assess how oily you are. Pretty darn oily? Check out a serum. Make it oil-free. If you're pretty darn oily, that serum might be all you need!! Trish McEvoy's Beauty Booster Serum costs $125 and will last you all Summer! Oily people like me will not need a moisturizer over it even though it feels as light as water!

If you are dry and need a little more moisture, keep it light weight! Use a little more of a light weight product, rather than going with something heavy. The humidity level this time of year will keep you reasonably well hydrated!

SUNSCREEN! Don't leave home without it! Lots of companies make Sunscreen that is mixed in with your moisturizer! Some companies, like Laura Mercier and Chanel and Khiel's make wonderful sunscreens that are not oily at all and feel like exactly NOTHING on your skin. INVEST! It's worth it.

Then check out one of those cool mineral powders like the original one that everyone tries to copy and can't: Bare Minerals. Yes, it's messy, yes, you need to buy a brush to use it, stop whining. Go get your color. They have TONS to choose from. You will get all the coverage you need and your face will feel naked! NAKED and FRESH in the Summer!! FABULOUS!! If you really can't stand the thought of a loose mineral powder, Trish McEvoy makes a nice pressed one. Not great coverage, but light and in great colors.

If powder doesn't do it for you, get a lightweight tinted moisturizer. Clarins is FABULOUS. Lancome has one, too. Chanel does also. Again, a product for every price point!

Then, BRONZER! Use it as eyeshadow! WHAT????? Yes! Use it as eyeshadow! Use it as BLUSH! Use it to fake a tan because of course, you're tanning your body and NOT your face. Use your bronzer to catch up!

Mascara! One or two coats! Get one of those Lash Growth products. NeuLash works like a dream, but can be a little stingy. Trish McEvoy works well, too. Latisse works great if you are willing to risk the side effects. Best price point: Trish at $125. for a 4 to 6 month supply. In a few weeks your lashes will grow and you can go with out mascara altogether!

And last but not least: SKIP THE LIPSTICK. Put it in the fridge till Fall! Break out the gloss. Sheer, shiny or full coverage it doesn't matter. Just stay away from the super crazy drying "all day" ones. Really......how long do you need it to stay on anyway??? It takes exactly 2 seconds to reapply your lip gloss!! And Gloss will fade much more gently that lipstick will. With lipstick you can end up with that pretty Lucille Ball over the lip line after you eat. Gloss will never let you down like that!

START NOW!! START FRESH!! LIGHTEN UP!! Pare down your makeup bag and remember this:

If you're afraid to let your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife see you with out makeup, you're wearing WAAAaaaay too much!!!

LIGHTEN UP, GLAM GIRL!!

My Favorite Products of all TIME!

Why should you care what MY favorite products are? Maybe you don't, but that's ok. It's my blog, after all. I've been in the cosmetics industry for 30 years. I've worked for all the greats: Chanel, Trish McEvoy, Estee Lauder, Lancome, just to name a few! During this time I've had the opportunity to experience many many products and to learn why they work and why they hold a place on retailers' shelves! Here are some things to check out:

1. Body Cleanser. I love DOVE soap. If you're not a soap person, get the bath gel that matches the fragrance you wear. If you do not wear perfume, then get PHILOSOPHY AMAZING GRACE or PURE GRACE. Nothing but CLEAN!
2. Body Exfoliant: CLINIQUE SPARKLE SCRUB - Couldn't be more refreshing!!!
3. Body Lotion/Cream: NIVEA FIRMING BODY LOTION. Unless you're looking for a lotion to layer with the fragrance you're wearing, This is the way to go! FABULOCITY!!! Great Herbal scent and makes the skin look sleek and smooth!
4. Self Tanner. FAUX TAN from Bare Escentuals! Goes on brown so you can see where you're tanning! No surprises later!
5. Gradual Self Tanner. NEUTROGENA BUILD-A-TAN. Nicely scented! Just use it as your regular lotion until you get your tan!
6. Body Spray/All over scent. AMAZING GRACE or PURE GRACE from Philosophy. No one does this better!!
7. Nail Polish Remover. Well, I've learned that it's all so much alike, just buy what's cheapest! It will all damage your nails!
8. Nail Polish. OPI. Some colors are worth owning even if you don't like them just because the names are so great. If you can't find a color you love in OPI, you may have a problem! ;o)
9. Hand Cream. STUDIO GEAR BRIGHTENING HAND CREAM. Yummy and will lighten skin spots! Love it!
10. Foot Care! Save up and have a pedicure. No one will make your feet prettier than a pro. Go for the Parafin Wax - it feels AMAZING!!!
11. Face Cleanser: Trish McEvoy Glycolic Wash is amazing! Foams up like crazy and feels fabulous!!
12. Face Cleansing Lotion. If you can't take the bubbles, CHANEL CLEANSING MILK!
13. Facial Toner. ERNO LASZLO LIGHT CONTROLLING LOTION. If you're dry, the use CHANTECAILLE PURE ROSEWATER SPRAY.
14. Facial Exfoliant. CLINIQUE SUPER EXFOLIANT. Go lightly! Very effective. if you're super sensitive, TRISH McEVOY BETA PADS. Extremely gently Beta Hdroxy Acid Pads used 3 times per week will keep skin clear of those pesky flakes!
15. Facial Serum. TRISH McEVOY BEAUTY BOOSTER SERUM. Instant gratification. Hyalauronic Acid, Dual Action Peptides, Anti Oxident Vitamins. Food for the skin. Leaves skin smoother IMMEDIATELY.
16. Facial Moisturizer. CREME DE LA MER! All of them. Creme, Lotion. Oil control lotion. You can't go wrong here! Quite pricey though. If you need to mind the budget a little, check out TRISH MCEVOY BEAUTY BOOSTER CREAM WITH SPF 15. If you REALLY need to mind the budget, go for ROC products. All very well done.
17. Eye Cream. NATURA BISSE DIAMOND EYE CREAM. Great for puffiness, as well. For the budget conscious, check out Kiehl's Avocodo Eye Cream.
18. Lip Balm. TRISH McEVOY LUXE BALM. Not only can you use it on your lips, but on your cuticles, around your eyes when you're out in the cold, and I even use a little on the frizzy ends of my hair in humid weather!
19. Neck Cream. You DON'T need a neck cream. Just use everything you use on your face also on your neck! IF YOU INSIST ---Go for ERNO LASZLO DECOLLETE CREAM! It smells amazing and feels even better than it smells!!

That's it for skin care! Another time I'll talk about makeup! THAT will be fun!!! PLEASE PLEASE leave me comments on what your agreements and disagreements are!!!

Love
Donna

Convenience of Makeup

Wouldn't it be convenient to have all of your make up in one nice, neat, organized place. Easy to access and then easy to put away. And enough room for your skin care products as well! Wouldn't it be nice it if was a black leather case, maybe even quilted! Tres chic!

So what would you put into it if it was possible to have such a great thing?




Well first, let's talk about the planner. It's approximately 5 inches by 8 inches by 4 inches deep. Maybe a little less that 4 inches deep.

You unzip the main compartment to find a page. Like a planner page....but it has a magnet to hold all of your little metal pans of color securely in place. A large magnet that measures approximately 4 inches by 7 inches, and fits on rings inside the planner like a binder! On this page you can fit your foundation, your powder. Also, your eyeshadows, your eyeliner, your blush, bronzer, and brow color.

It's wonderful to know that if you want to, you can add another page to hold even more colors that you love!

On the other side of the planner you'll see a few little pouches! What could go in there? I'll tell you what! ALL of your brushes. And not just ANY brushes, but the finest make up brushes ever made. The kind of brushes that if you take care of them, will last you years and years and years. There's also room over there for your mascara and other "tubular" products!

Wow. Put your make up on in no time at all. It's all lined up in there, in perfect order so that you can move from one product to the next quickly and easily. And when you have to wake up at 5 am to get to work and you have mere minutes to get your look together, you'll LOVE how fast this little system works for you!! Just imagine!!

When you open the second zipper compartment, what will you find? I large empty compartment that will comfortably hold EVERYTHING you want to put in there. Skin care, toiletries, anything you want.

it's the ultimate in organization for the Make Up Diva. It's like your personal Paint by Numbers Kit. It's all the make up that used to fill drawers and drawers all condensed into a cute zip around planner!

WANT ONE!????



Get in touch with me and I'll tell you how. OK, OK. I'll tell you now. It's Trish McEvoy. I'd love to show you how to put your planner together. Trish had an brilliant idea. They best organizational system for your cosmetics that you'll ever see!!!

Get in touch with me and I'll put one together for you!!!

High Maintenance

I must say, I've always known I've been a very high maintenance person, but I was quite surprised when I actually added up all of the beauty products I use on a daily basis! Geeze! The cosmetics companies should be sending me thank you notes DAILY!!!

It's a good thing that I enjoy the process. Do I want permanently tattooed eye liner? Lip liner? Hell to the no! If I had that done, then I wouldn't need to apply my eyeliner every morning! I'd miss that! Not kidding! I love every second of doing my makeup!! Whether I'm in a hurry or not!

The question I must answer is this: What is high priority and what can I do without? What if I'm in a hurry and I only have time for 20 or so of my 50 or so product routine? Let's examine the products.

1. Body Wash. I guess I could use my husband's soap, but there are gross hairs on it and I won't touch it. Body Wash - HIGH PRIORITY.
2. Body Exfoliant. VERY different from face exfoliant. Trust me here.
3. Facial Cleanser. Use a SOAP on this fabulous face? NO WAY! Occasionally, when I'm feeling like down sizing a little, I'll use a bar of Clinique Soap, and then use the same soap on my body, but that's as far away from facial cleanser as i"ll get. Facial Cleanser - HIGH PRIORITY.

4. Facial Exfoliant. I only use this about 5 days per week, but I need it SO badly! HIGH
5. Shampoo. Really. HIGH.
6. Conditioner. Really. HIGH. Unless we want to see staticky hair all over the place! HIGH!
7. Conditioning Spray before Blow drying. HIGH!
8. Body Lotion. I'm using a gradual self tanning cream, so actually, this is 2 products in one! YAY FOR ME!!!
9. Hair Spray. HIGHly flamable.

Now let's talk about skin care:

10. Toner. I know all the experts say I don't need it, but I LOVE it. Clinique or Erno Laszlo feel best!
11. SERUM. Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster Serum is HIGH priority. And EVERYONE should be using this product. And NOT because I work for Trish. You'll see as you read on that Trish doesn't hold the highest place on my product list!

12. Eye Cream from Natura Bisse. HIGH
13. Facial Moisturizer from La Mer. HIGH HIGH HIGH.

Let's get into the makeup! Hold on to your keyboard. This could be a bumpy ride.

14. Foundation Primer! Yay for Smashbox Primer. HIGH
15. Eye Shadow Base. I HAVE to use this. It's Trish! It holds the shadow on ALL day AND it's SPARKLY!! HIGH
16. Brow color. It's just a Trish eyeshadow, but it's the PERFECT color.
17. Brow Brush. Did you expect that I'd use my toothbrush?
18. Brow Gel. Holds all of those tiny hairs in place! AND......SPARKLY!!
19. Brown Eyeliner. Every day. Urban Decay in Bourbon.
20. Black Eyeliner. Every day I tightline the Trish black pencil into my lashes - TOP AND BOTTOM. One day, if you're nice to me, I'll teach you how to do it!
21. TINY brush to blend the liners together!
22. All-over Eye shadow color in "Demure" by Trish McEvoy.
23. All-over eye shadow application brush.
24. Tweezerman Tweezers. The hairs show up better on a little light shadow.
25. Eye shadow for my crease!
26. Brush from Trish cut especially for the crease. Thank you Trish.
27. Fun eye shadow color on lid.
28. Fun eye-shadow-color-on-lid-application brush! Again, Trish to the rescue.
29. High Volume Mascara at roots of Lashes.
30. Curling Mascara layered over top of the High Volume Mascara.
31. Rose Gold Lash Curler by Tweezerman. At this point my lashes don't need curled, but for God's sake: It's ROSE GOLD!
32. Concealer. Only 1 for me: Dermablend. Mixed with my eye cream, which I already listed.
33. Special Concealer brush.
34. Erno Laszlo Shake it foundation in Beige! Nothing feels better when it's humid than THIS product!
35. Trish foundation brush to blend Erno around.
36. Bare Minerals Mineral foundation brushed over the Erno Laszlo Shake it.
37. Special brush from Trish that provides the perfect amount of LIGHT coverage used with the Mineral foundation.
38. Bronzer, applied all over so I can fake a little tan.
39. Bronzer brush. $78 from Trish McEvoy. Wow, expensive yet fabulous.
40. Blush applied to the apples of my cheeks.
41. Blush brush to apply the apple blush!
42. Lipstick in a fabulous color.
43. Lipgloss in an equally fabulous color. Usually the glosses are the plumping glosses from Bare Minerals. Yum!
44. Trish McEvoy Luxury Planner in Hermes Orange to hold it all together.
45. Rose water facial spray from Chanticaille because I'm sweating like a farm animal from all this work.
46. Perfume. Trish or Creed in the morning. Chanel at night.
47. Hair glossing cream.
48. Hair Serum.
49. Straightening spray before the flat ironing begins.
50. Brush cleaning spray to clean every brush before I put it back in the Orange Luxury Planner.

So, I think that's about it. I may have missed a product or two, but for the most part this is everything!

There you have it. This is me. What will absolutely SHOCK you after reading through these 50 items is this: I do my makeup in 10 minutes flat I've even done it in the car on the way to work. Not often. I don't trust the other drivers on the road. They're very busy texting. Why can't they just focus and put their makeup on like me?

How Many Products Does the Makeup Diva Use?

Wow. 51. Not counting my toothbrush, or my Clarisonic Brush - I only use the Clarisonic at night. How many products can I live without? Probably 40 of them! I'll edit this and add more tonight! Have a wonderful day, everyone!!