Blush Report

"Just wanted to thank you very much for taking care of this so quickly! It arrived so fast - it came the next day!!" ~ Valentine's Day Gift shipped to Canada

"My skin has been suffering without your scrub!!" - S, Wisconsin

From NY: We have some amazing fans - this one sent a photo on her way to checkout! We luvs!

Happy Valentine's Day?

Sarah caught this at the local market.
What is a pristinely clean teddy bear doing strapped to the front of a Hummer? Hm, this is either:
1) Someone's way of diffusing the angry crowds for not driving a hybrid Prius
2) Valentine's Day gift
3) Effigy of Ex-partner that will be mutilated against a myriad of concrete dividers, bumpers and trees by the Day of Love's end.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Girls Night Out 2.0 - Mequon, WI Feb 21,22

Time again for Girls Night Out at Shoot the Moon Photography in Mequon. The event last year was hot hot hot and we hope to see you there. Stop by, say hello to Michelle, and get pampered!

MAC: Fafinugen

Fahrvergnugen = the pleasure of driving German

Fafinugen = the pleasure of French face painting

So I cruised by MAC tonight, braving yet another blizzard and 7* weather, to pick up another piece or two from the N collection when I realize I can't find it anywhere on the counter. I asked someone who was working the counter where it was and was told they had to make room for the new collection, so it was...and they all hunted around until they turned up a poor, little beaker with some sad used samples left. I really only wanted the lipstick, and all they had was N2.

Me: "Ok then, let's look at the new collection" I said, eyeing the whimsical display they were hard at work assembling. The French graffitti artist Fafi's art graces the boxes, and a set of 3 makes a complete picture.

Her: "Oh, it doesn't really launch until tomorrow...we don't usually put the display out until the actual day, but we needed to get a headstart because this one takes a little more work. Come back tomorrow!"

Me, contemplating yet another drive in crappy blizzard: "Ok, what if you show me the colors to see if I should come back."

Her: "Just a minute" (runs and checks with supervisor) "Oh, sorry, we can't even show the colors..."


Me:"Ok...(suspiciously eyeing very cute pink color on her lips)..."Are you cheating and wearing the new color?" (clearly she was)


Her: "Oh! Yes, I am cheating, and, but, oh..."

And I got the full rundown of what was available.

I am highly recommending those Lipglasses!

However, sans camera, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to get your own glimpse, or check out MAC's website.

You MUST read this!

Billy B had an extraordinary night at the Grammys last night. Read on for inspiration that dreams do come true...

Blush Report

"Just had to let you know how much I love your products. My friend gave me your body butter and sugar scrub. I can't get enough. I am 6 months pregnant and your shea butter is the best belly butter I have ever tried...and I have tried at least 5 other brands. Combined with the sugar scrub, my skin is itch-free and so soft. You must market your shea butter products to pregnant women!! " - Megan, Los Angeles

Thanks Megan, and congratulations! We have been getting a lot of requests for larger sized butters, and...we were in Stork Magazine last year. Keep your eyes peeled!)

"Honestly, after I tried the samples I didn't need to be sold by the sales rep. I was just "Give me an order form!". It works the same way with the customers. As soon as they try your product, they buy. Your product is so wonderful, it is the real deal." Julie, Glo Salon/Spa

This is How You Do It: Girl Power by Nely Galan

That her team on The Celebrity Apprentice is failing to gain ground on the guys does not make Galan a sore loser. As the rules go, the CA winners would have money go to a group of choice. With a defeat seeming imminent, The producer of The Swan decided to take fate into her own hands and earn a few benjamins for her group of choice by using a backup to her teammates: mass girl power.

Galan had announced she would personally donate $25,000 to her chosen group, Count Me In/Make Mine A Million. This organization empowers entrepreneurs via money and mentors, building a community of winners. To add to her 25k, Galan and Make Mine A Million asked members to pledge $10 each to reach a goal of 250,000.

On the Today Show, it was announced that a total of ***Two-Hundred Thousand Dollars*** was raised! I hope she in no way considers this a shortfall. It is rare to see celebrity pull through for the groups or charities they claim to back, and Galan's honest and clever efforts showed Trump and the world that women CAN pull the right strategy out of the hat when needed. You're a beautiful example Ms. Galan!

CosmoGirl!, Solessence and Valentine's Day...

Get ready for the holiday of love!

CosmoGirl! will be gifting 20 lucky readers the Solessence SheaShea gift bag set for their Valentine's Day Sweepstakes. Our signature gold bag is chock full of skin softening products, exceptionally yummy during winter. Valued at $45 each!

Check cosmogirl.com Valentine's Week for updates on how you can win your own set.

Good luck!

I'd love to make my brown eyes blue...

I have been a bit bummed at the slow reporting on Fashion Week this season. I can't figure out what aligning of planets or supernatural experience is causing such a weak show this year (hey guys, no pressure!). However, bits and pieces have been coming in, and one in particular brought back some great memories. Annie at Blogdorf Goodman did a little writeup on Threeasfour. The clothes, photos from style.com, are total knockouts. However, it was the blue mascara that got me swooning.

Blue mascara is my absolute favorite, and most fickle, and hard to find, item. It has been so many ages since I found a good, waterproof blue. I don't mean navy (which in it's own right is a tad scarce), but a beautiful, nearly electric blue. And it really does have to be in season so as not to frighten the unsuspecting. I feel renewed and refreshed to start my hunt again.

That, and my next dream would be for Max Factor to revive the blue-with-silver-flecks, thick eyeliner pencil that once ruled in the late 80's or early 90's. Anyone remember what I am talking about? Spacey, but gorgeous. A girl can dream.

People En Espanol's 51 Most Beautiful?

Ah, it seems only yesterday when Solessence went to People Magazine's "Los 50 Mas Bellos" party in NYC. The 50 Most Beautiful issue is their hottest selling and biggest issue of the year, and now they've found a way to bring their following into the magazine folds: elect a non-celeb for the 51st slot.

Although entries closed on February 3rd, over 5000 submitted their picture online, with plenty of reader feedback. From this, ten finalists will appear on Telemundo, with the winner chosen on February 28. From there, it will be a March reveal and a trip to NY for a makeover/photoshoot, participation at People Magazine's 50 Mas Bello event, and a spot on a famed Telemundo soap opera.

What do you think of People's idea to include a "civilian"?

Good luck to the finalists!

Wedded Bliss Awaits

Congratulations to Leah Sarjoo and her lovely Nuku


















The last time I saw Leah, she looked like this (3 years old):




















I know there are better photos, and one in particular I remember, but at present I cannot locate them. C'est la vie. I will keep looking. Leah is the daughter of the Sarjous, the couple that founded Thembalethu Welfare Society in South Africa, the recipients for the Hummingbird Foundation. Hopefully we will be able to feature her more in the future regarding the fundraising activities of HummingbirdProject.org


It was a miserable, miserable drive down to Chicago and back, but it was all worth it - especially to find out she had just gotten engaged that morning. Leah is now engaged in her studies as well.

I just have one request for their first dance:


Sorry for the delay, but we needed to make sure parents were alerted before blogged. Sweet wishes to the lovely couple!

What have we here?

Soon, my dearies...

Blogs: Ab Fab 2007

Confess: Your closet blog-reading obsession now has your "Favorites" link in your browser on overload, your work hours and coffee break times reversed, and your head crammed full of cultural trivia/fashion forward fever. Sure, the screensaver altar of your favorite beauty blog writers is a little odd, surrounded by the lit, fragrant candles they've recommended in the past - but there are vices worse than blog stalking.

Take all of that devotion to good use and put it in a vote on the "The Fabbies", a lockdown of who's who among blog writers - a People's Choice Awards, if you will. Your contribution to pinpointing the web's finest will be rewarded with a virtually streaming red carpet on January 31 for the winning blogs.

At a complete loss for who to rally to the finish? Here, an earnest and honest request from Shannon Nelson, a blogger who has experienced a fairy tale rise from SAHM of 3 (now 4) to full-time blogger and PR rep. Her simple start: the lone woman in a male dominated household turned to blogging to share her love of beauty. She now attends Fashion Week in NY and interviews some of the top beauty experts in the world - and shares it with all of us. It doesn't get any more amazing than this.



Take a moment to vote for your favorites at Fabbies. VOTING ENDS JANUARY 30!

SAG-alicious

Due to work conflict I missed SAG and didn't Tivo either, so I resorted to the delightful Beauty Addict's posts (brillz!) and then this, the apparent brangelina network that is fox news. I am as eager as the next person to see if the bold and beautiful is carrying twins (and with that tent of a dress and set of new knockers, it will be a shock if she isn't) but I was dismayed the first 37 photos seemed to be of the two. I forwarded to the 60s and still was coming up Pitts.

What happened here?



I honestly thought this was CarrotTop. Mz Messing looks a hot mess, which is so unlike her! I'm one to talk, but I'm not showing up red carpet either. Some disaster surely happened beforehand. The gown is gorgeous, just think hair didn't make it to the church on time. If that stylist wasn't in a deadly accident, I would be expecting some trouble...

Lipstick Sales: Pucker Up or Pout?

We've all heard that lipstick is one of life's affordable luxuries - and one women don't go without in less spendy times, right? Credit Leonard Lauder, former Estee Lauder Chairman, for the insight. One wonders if this logic is the reason for their recent emphasis of the famous lipline at this point in time. However, things don't seem to be as they once were: overall lipstick trends were reportedly down 19% last quarter(source: IRI data Deutsche Bank). Is this where raw data and real world marketing collide?

Hold up. Lipstick has not been a hot commodity for years. As with all beauty items, colors and product come and go. Lip glosses, tints and chapsticky types have been pushed so hard in recent times that I feared an entired generation would never know the beauty of lipstick. Here are a few of my theories behind the seeming demise:

A component may be the nearly decade long push to greener cosmetics. As people continue to scrutinize the ingredient lists of their beauty products, more are becoming selective. How many internet posts have you read on bugs and the like used in your lippy? Whether this is outdated information or not, it became a huge concern for the growing vegan population. Animal free glosses then become a welcome alternative and were marketed as such.

Pricing and quality have also come into play. Where 'green' used to be associated with 'crunchy', many manufacturers have caught up to the fact that a clean product does not have to be, ahem, crap on the lip or for the wallet. Beautiful, and beautifully affordable products, below $20 became bountiful.

The dramatic lifestyle changes that have occurred over the last decade is most likely a major contributor as well. There is a certain formality in the creamy coverage of color in a tube - a seriousness to beauty that seemed to fall by the wayside with pantyhose. Gloss is indeed the symbol of youth and frivality. As we ease into a corrective-action of the wild ride that was the 90's, will that also ease us back into a bit more seriousness for the lip?

I, for one, welcome back the lipstick. Nothing provides such perfect, beautiful coverage, as a tube of lipstick. My theory is, yes, lipstick is on the decline due to intense marketing flux. It's the same flux that is going to bring it on the upswing now. EL has been around a long while because they know what they are talking about. We're just seeing the resurgence of the lipstick after years of submission, and it's going to be beautiful.

Go out. Explore. Be bold. And buy.

(we like pictures too)

01/26 - Last Day for Action Jackson - NLOL - please vote

It's Fast. It's Free. Your vote will save lives.

New Leash On Life has a chance to be the recipient of $50,000!

Sue Chipperton, friend and supporter of NLOL, is a finalist in a photo competition
and selected New Leash to be with recipient of the winning proceeds.

We need your help and your votes.

Go to www.firedog.com/kodak, click on View Finalists To Vote. Then find the photo
titled "Jackson" taken by Sue Chipperton and vote.

Each vote counts for an additional $1.00 on top of the $50,000.

The photo with the most votes wins. Please vote and pass this along to your as many
people as possible.

The polls close on January 26th.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Stephanie Hoefener

Director of Operations

New Leash On Life Animal Rescue

661.255.0097

www.newleash.org

If you aren't familiar with New Leash On Life, I have heard nothing but good things about the organization for a while now. Solessence previously donated for their annual walks. Any organization out to save a life is a worthy cause, but NLOL goes the extra mile to rehabilitate animals who otherwise would have a difficult time going back into society, possibly avoiding a situation of being euthanized. A great cause, and, a great photo! Find firedog and vote for Jackson - a few seconds of your time could help out thousands.

Apply Pretty (quick)!

Looking to get in on the beauty blogging phenomonon but hate to start on the ground floor? TheMakeUpGirlBlog.com has a wonderful opportunity for the right person....

Things are getting crazy around here...and I need someone to help me out. I am looking for a contributing writer for TheMakeupGirl. The right candidate will be able to post to the blog three to five times per week or more on topics ranging from beauty and makeup trends, product releases and beauty events.

Lianne is a former model, current makeup artist, and has a loyal blog following. Go to TheMakeUpGirlBlog.com for more info, and good luck!

Pick Me. Choose Me. Love Me, Milwaukee.

Do you have what it takes? FashionableMilwaukee.com is searching for the next great face. Models in the Milwaukee area, email a photo from your portfolio to : michael@wemergemedia.com for a chance to grace the pages!

Get It While It's Hot

Thank you Beauty Brands clientele!

Solessence products have been flying off of the shelves, and we are elated to hear that you are enjoying the product. More product is scheduled for your locations any day now, so if your store has sold out - hang tight. And again, thank you!

Red Shoes Diary

"They were treasures to me"