Valentine's Gift Guide #valentine #giftsforher #giftguide

It's here! It's here!! It's finally here!

The Valentine's Gift Guide is here, and there are so many great promos, discounts and deals from really beautiful companies in it, that you won't want to miss a page!

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be featuring some of the amazing companies in the Gift Guide, talking about their products, services and why they are so amazing.

Need to send it to your honey and tell him which page your gift is on? Here's the direct link.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Bold Red Lipstick, a trendy giveaway!

I am developing a profound love for a rich, red lipstick. Finding the perfect shade? Not so easy.

Not until I found Cabaret by Aloette!

It is a dark bold cherry, that doesn't have the weir pink undertone that I find so many red lipsticks on the market right now have.

The aspect of the Beauty by Aloette line is that all of their products are infused with vitamins and minerals. This lipstick goes on smooth and leaves my lips soft. It is infused with aloe vera, Aloette's #1 ingredient, shea butter and vitamin E.

Brunette bombshell with bold red lips?

Muah!

Now's your chance to win this fabulous red lipstick for yourself!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I was not compensated for this post by Jennifer Zehr or Aloette. I just love the product, so bought two! One to keep and one to give away!

BlogHer Sponsor Love: Michele and Mary Kay

One thing I have learned in getting educated about my new beauty regimen from Michele, Independent Mary Kay Consultant, is the importance in your tools.

Similarly to being a painter and sculptor, the tools of the trade make every bit of difference in how you complete your masterpiece.

Take the amazing Mary Kay brush collection.

The set includes Powder Brush, Cheek Brush, Eye Definer Brush, Eye Crease Brush, Eyeliner/Eyebrow Brush and Lip Brush - all with sleek black wooden handles. They are oh-so-soft, made of 100% Pony and Goat hair...so you know that when the brush sweeps across your canvas, there is zero tugging, smudging, or damage like other brushes on the market that are composed of synthetic materials and sponges.


The brush set comes with an awesome rollup bag - all of the brushes have their own little spot and there are compartments for your compact, lip gloss, bronzer and mascara. Everything you need, and everything that I will need to put my freshest face forward at BlogHer'12 in just a few weeks! 

I love the entire ensemble. The roll-up takes up literally no space...it's smaller than the makeup bag that I used to have, that was a hot mess to say the least before Michele gave me some lessons, which means that it packs up nice an tight and leaves room for shoes, outfits, media cards...the essentials of BlogHer'12!

BlogHer Sponsor Love: Michele from Mary Kay

Remember a few weeks ago when I was showing off my {lack of} makeup arsenal? Yeah…it was pretty pathetic right?

Well, that’s when I sent an SOS to my fabulous friend, Michele Thomson who happens to be an amazing makeup artist and Mary Kay Independent Sales Director!

I showed her my blogpost, and she agreed; I needed help. 

I was so excited to have our consultation...I laid out all of my makeup and took a {little} inventory.

My makeup and my skincare...that Rimmel is about 8 years old...

Eye compacts that are at least 6 years old, mascara that is about 2 years old, lip gloss from my wedding (which Michele did my makeup for and made me look, and feel, stunning!) which was nearly 4 years ago…noticing a trend?

Then a before picture, no makeup. This is pretty much what I look like every day.

Well, hello there!

And we got to work. I showed her the amazing outfits that Kristine Cook Designs is creating for me and we started talking about trends.

I want to be able to represent myself as an artist, stay true to me, have a professional {yet quirky} look and represent my sponsors with a fresh faced. While, sure, I could do that without makeup…I want to…pull together a more pulled-together look and feel really confident at BlogHer’12.

Bold lips…dewy cheeks…smokey eyes…nude lips. We talked tips and tricks…and over the next few months, you’ll be able to learn how to….

Two eye looks...smokey peacock on the left and smokey pinks on the right

Create a gorgeous smokey eye…with a pop of colour!

Create a bold-lip-dewy-face look

Learn all about foot and hand care with a special Mama’s Time Out feature

And a few other tips and tricks that Michele has up her sleeve, like proper skin protection, favourite products and trends for fall and winter 2012!

Shop

WAHM Wednesday: Fresh Face Forward

A couple of week ago I started dreaming about BlogHer and the fantastic nights out with my roommates Shan, Shaun and Mel...

Who am I kidding? I've been dreaming about this for months! What I really started thinking about, since I'm working with an amazing fashion designer on some really great clothes to wear at BlogHer was my face.



Sounds silly right?

Well, I started thinking about the fact that I never ever wear makeup (what busy WAHM does?!) and rarely even get out of my jeans a tshirt.

All of that is going to change but the change has to come from within...

Within my makeup bag that is!



Serious slim pickins' in there...



Definitely am not afraid of colour, love to shimmer and shine...but I never wear the stuff. The Lancome compacts of four and single purple and green are about...oh...6 years old. The bronze at the bottom? About 4 years old.



Mascara (which I only started wearing 4 years ago...) was new...Christmas 2010. And the black Rimmel eyeshadow...you don't even want to know. I got it from my roommates collection in university, and I lived with her in 2004...

I definitely need some new tricks in my bag, and need to figure out how to put my best face forward at BlogHer to ensure that I'm representing myself and my amazing sponsors to the best of my ability.

I mean...I dont even have blush or bronzer! Who does that?! {this girl...this girl right here}

What are your favourite products, brands and tricks to keep in your makeup bag? Any trends that I'm missing out on by being makeup free on a daily basis?