Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 16

"On Spaceship Earth there are no passengers;

Everybody is a member of the crew.

We have moved into an age in which everybody's activities affect everybody else."

-Marshall McLuhan

Trish McEvoy Brush Bath

Everyone that has worked with me or knows me knows that I'm kind of obsessed with brushes.
To be more specific, I'm really anal about brush maintenance.
Many a people have received my look of horror when they tell me that they have never washed their brushes.

I recently discovered a new product to add to my beauty arsenal.
It's made brush washing a lot easier, quicker, and a much nicer experience.

I present to you

Trish McEvoy Brush Bath

Trish's high performing Brush Bath is a gentle shampoo for brushes of all kinds,

powerfully formulated to break down makeup collected in brushes whether powder or cream.

Brush Bath will add years of use to your investment in fine brushes.

Retail Price: $20- 4 oz.

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 15

"It is our collective and individual responsibility to protect and nurture the global family,

to support its weaker members and to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live."

-Dalai Lama

*~ Happy Halloween 2011 ~*

It's Halloween! It's Halloween!

The moon is full and bright

And we shall see what can't be seen
On any other night.

Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,
Grinning goblins fighting duels,
Werewolves rising from their tombs,
Witches on their magic brooms.

In masks and gown we haunt the street
And knock on doors for trick or treat.
Tonight we are the king and queen,

For oh tonight it's Halloween! 

-Jack Prelutsky







"I'm a Bag Lady!"

 



*~ Have a Boooootiful Day! ~*





   *All makeup by Make Up For Ever .
The Make Up For Ever Academy opens in NYC on January 2012*

 

Make Up For Ever Sunday Seminar Series- Fall/Winter 2011

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Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 14

"It has to do with keeping things in balance.

                               It's like the spirits have made a deal with us. We're on our own.

  The spirits have been good enough to let us live here and use the utilities, and we're saying:

                                                            We know how nice you're being.

                             We appreciate the rain, we appreciate the sun, we appreciate the deer we took.

                                                          Sorry if we messed up anything.
                                          You've gone to a lot of trouble, and we'll try to be good guests."

-Barbara Kingsolver

Your Relaxation Rx- Mind/Body Alternatives to Common Problems

"It is amazing how much crisper the general experience of life becomes

when your body is given a chance to develop a little strength"

-Frank Duff

Life can be rough. 
It can bring about a lot of different ailments.
So many people are stressed out, overworked/underpaid, tired, and achy.

It's easiest to take some medication to help with your ailments, but I believe it's better to get to the source of the problem to try and fix it instead of just masking it.

Here are some tips for some alternative methods to a few common health problems from Self Magazine:

Hurricane iRene.....

The past few days, I've been getting lots of texts about all the trouble "I'm" causing in the North East this weekend.
Yes, the irony...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be so bad... but better to be safe than sorry.

If you live in the North East, here is some of the latest information about all the public transportation closings, evacuations and what not that you should be aware of for Hurricane iRene.

Everyone~ stay safe!
Those iRene's are nothing but trouble!!!  ;)

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 13

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself"

-Andy Warhol

Makeup Testing Tips From The Pros At Allure

When people come to me to find new makeup, I always recommend testing it out before buying it.

I also highly recommend using the products correctly when trying things out (i.e. test foundation on your face, eyeshadow on your eyes). 
Just make sure to wipe the makeup clean and be sanitary.

There are some people who don't like to try on makeup before buying it.

For those people,  here are a few tips on the best ways to shop for beauty products from an online Allure article.

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 12

"There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves,

that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet."

-Brooke Medicine Eagle

Stressed Out? Why You May Be Feeling Frantic These Days...

"Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency."

-Natalie Goldberg

Do you feel like you never have enough time?
Do you  have a crazy To-Do List that just keeps getting longer and longer?
Do you pass out from exhaustion frequently... and in public places? (haha.. ok.. maybe that's just me...)
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you probably have a lot of stress in your life and should read on.
If you answered yes to these questions but don't feel stressed about it... please share your secret!


I recently read an article in an old issue of Cosmopolitan magazine that I totally connected with.
It seems like everyone is running around with too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Maybe this article will help you with a few tips to feel less stressed.
Maybe you'll realize you're not the only one who feels a lot of pressure and is always tired.
Maybe you'll be too busy to read this.....

Whatever the case may be, here is an interesting article on stress and a few ways to cope with it.

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 11

"We all moan and groan about the loss of the quality of life through the destruction of our ecology,
and yet every one of us, in our own little comfortable ways, contributes daily to that destruction.
It's time now to awaken in each one of us the respect and attention our beloved Mother deserves."

- Ed Asner, Actor

Make Up For Ever Pro Seminar July 28 and 30, 2011 at NYC Studio

Are UV Nail Dryers Safe?

I don't usually get my nails done in a salon (I'm more of a D-I-Y type of girl), but when I do, I've always been a little paranoid about using the UV Nail Dryers.
I typically try to avoid using them because you never really know how much damage can actually be done.
Also, I would never use a tanning bed for my body (use a self-tanner!), so why would I use one on my hands?

I recently read an article in the March 2011 issue of Allure magazine on this topic.

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 10

“So many people spend their health gaining wealth,

and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.”

-A. J. Reb Materi

Make Up For Ever Pro Road Show

MAKE UP FOR EVER is very excited to announce the launch of our first ever Pro Road Show! Beginning in August 2011, The Pro Road Show will bring the MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Studio experience to you.

Each stop on the Pro Road Show will provide your local make up and beauty community with exclusive access to MAKE UP FOR EVER‘S full range of professional products, bringing together make up artists, industry insiders, models and entertainers for a weekend of make up, education, career building and networking!

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 9

.

"Just because you're not sick doesn't mean you're healthy"

A Tip for Tidy Toilets

"I grew up with six brothers.

That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom"

-Bob Hope

As much as I like to clean, cleaning toilet bowls is one of my least favorite chores.

Personally, I don't understand the people that spend a lot of time sitting on the toilet.
(Do you really want to finish your reading on a toilet bowl?!?
Finish your business and get outta there!)

Whether you spend a lot of time in the bathroom or pop in and pop out, everyone should have a clean toilet bowl.  You never know what might fall in there!

Here's a great tip to help keep your toilet bowls so fresh and so clean for a long long time.

10 Reasons To Exercise

We all know that exercise is good for you and can be beneficial in many ways.
Here's a quick and condensed list of reasons that will hopefully motivate you to get off your butt and work it out!

These are tips from Oprah's trainer Bob Greene in Oprah Magazine's January 2011 issue.

The only exercise some people get is 

jumping to conclusions, 

running down their friends, 

side-stepping responsibility, 

and pushing their luck!

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 8

"The planet is fine.

The PEOPLE are f*cked."

-George Carlin

A Guide To Beauty Product Labels

With all the thousands of products out there, there are tons of words that are thrown at you that you might not understand.


I recently found a good article from  Real Simple.com that can help you out.
Here are some commonly found words used in marketing that will help you understand what you are buying or what you should be looking for to target your specific beauty needs!  

A Guide to Beauty-Product Labels

By Sally Wadyka

You don't need a Ph.D. in chemistry to decipher the terms: Real Simple translates.

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 7

"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man

if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature

and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"

-E.B. White

Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eye Shadow

A while ago, my co-worker gave me a product that she thought I'd like.
She was right~ I love it and have used it regularly for the past few months.

Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eye Shadow

Intense and lustrous, this dewy cream eye shadow transforms into powder that creates a glaze of brilliant shimmery color.

• Crease-resistant. Long-wearing.
• Color looks brilliant alone or in combination.
• Available in 13 shades

How to Use: Apply using the enclosed applicator tip or finger.

Retail Price: $25 (6 g/ .21 oz)

Thou Shalt Obey The 10 Commandments of Anti-Aging... OR ELSE!

"Say what you will about the ten commandments,

you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them"

-H.L. Mencken

There are certain things you know you should do, but don't end up doing.
Well... Here I am to help refresh your memory on the little beauty facts that you know you should follow, but probably don't on a regular basis.

Just as I'm pretty good at keeping mooooost of the real Ten Commandments (#3 is probably the one I break the most..... I can curse like a sailor....)  I DO keep most of the following beauty commandments.
Of course it's hard to follow the rules all the time... but the more consistent you are, the easier it'll be!

Here are the 10 Beauty Commandments of Anti-Aging according to an online Allure magazine article:

Helloooooo June!

“Better late than never,

but never late is better”

Wow, the past few months have flown by in a whirlwind and left me in a daze. 
I can't believe I only posted once the whole month of May!!!  =(

Life has seriously been too crazy for the past few months:  Between working 3 (technically 4 jobs), meeting with friends and family, and all the other aspects of my life, I literally had no idea what day it was most of the time. 

Luckily I had my planner: I looked at where I had to be the next day... and I'd make sure to be there  =D

An example of the craziness that was my life.... my room.
And yes.... those are bags of laundry at the foot of the bed
o_o



Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 6

"The bad people trying to make the world worse never take a day off, so why should I?"

-Bob Marley

Welcome to the (Concrete) Jungle- I ♥ NY

"New York is a different country.

Maybe it ought to have a separate government.

Everybody thinks differently, acts differently

--they just don't know what the hell the rest of the United States is"

-Henry Ford 

Ok, Ok.... I will be the first to admit that I don't always love NYC.

We have a passionate Love/Hate Relationship going on. 
And it IS two-sided:  NYC can be very good to me, and it can be a reeeeeal pain in the @ss.

Growing up in Jersey, right across the GWB (George Washington Bridge for those not in the know), I've spent most of my life in and out of NY.

* Being a little kid, going to NYC was always fun and exciting. 
Dinners, Theatres, Shopping~ Going into NY was always an adventure
* When I was in High School, NY was the place to sneak off to and hang out on the weekends
Ahhh..... so many fond memories of going into the city and carelessly dancing the night away, sitting on stoops, and all the crazy adventures I've had over the years.
* Now that I'm older and have to go into the city for work and to see friends and family, it's not as pleasurable as it was back in the day
("JUST COME OUT TO THE CITY!?!" my friends will have to coax me) 

The traffic and crazy drivers, the hustle and bustle, the chaos that can be NYC can put me in a state that I like to call "New York Neurotic".

* HOWEVER, I have literally travelled all around the world and one thing I can say without hesitation is that there is nowhere else in the world that is like NY. 
Love it or Hate it~ NYC is one of the most amazing places in the world.

Spring is one of my favorite times to be in NY.

The warm weather and carefree breezes, the flowers and trees blooming everywhere, and a renewed feeling of energy and positivity that New Yorkers seem to carry after a long and cold Winter help to make NYC a wonderful place to visit in the Spring.

If you are a tourist or have never been to NYC, here is my advice to help you get the most out of your trip.

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 5

"We have to shift our emphasis

from economic efficiency and materialism towards a sustainable quality of life

and to healing of our society, of our people and our ecological systems"

-Janet Holmes Court

Purify My Heart~ My Favorite Christian Songs

"But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things"

-Vincent van Gogh

There's a lot of really great Christian songs that I think are beautiful (even if you're not a Christian).
Since today is Easter (and I've been awake since 3am!), I figured it'd be nice to write about my favorite Christian songs.
I didn't grow up going to church, so I don't know a lot~ But the ones I DO know are AWESOME.

*Side Note- Most if not all my favorite Christian songs are the slow and emotional ones.
I'm a "Frozen Chosen"- I always feel awkward when we have to clap to the fast ones.  =P

Say Sayonara to Stinky Shoes: Sneaker Balls

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes.
 I had one thousand and sixty"

-Imelda Marcos

For the past year or so, I've noticed that my shoes stink!!!
I'm very sensitive to smells (or I should say odors), so it would drive me nuts when I would come home, take off my shoes, and my feet and socks would stink! GROSS!

I would wash my feet every night before going to bed... but the next day, my socks would still reek!


Say Hello to my Funky Friends:
Kate Spade, Pajar, Spyder, and Salvatore Ferragamo

 
* I have a habit of wearing shoes until they literally fall apart and cannot be worn anymore... many a times have my friends and family pleaded with me to throw out my shoes and get new ones. haha... *

I bought an odor-eating spray that I wasn't diligent with and tried sticking dryer sheets in my shoes~ They didn't work.
About a month ago, I discovered a product that has changed my smelly shoe dilemma forever!
SNEAKER BALLS!!!

I'm an April Fool- Jokes and Pranks

"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance"

-Japanese Proverb

It seems that my co-workers and friends didn't get the memo that April Fool's is on April 1.
Lately, a lot of them have been having fun at my expense by pranking me   =P
Although I usually like to be the one playing the prank, I have to admit that practical jokes are fun.

So, if you really want to play an April Fool's Joke on someone, do it after 4/1!  =D

Here is a clip of the prank my friends Josh and Susan played on me the other night.

* Side note: I was ALREADY in a scared mood because we were going to watch a scary movie and Susan had already scared me with the mask a few minutes before!!!!
- I think I was trying to say "Stop!" but couldn't even get the words out.
- As you can see, I was so scared that I couldn't even look or stand up
- Josh found it amusing that I hadn't even really looked at him before screaming.

I am currently plotting ways to get back at them.  The Prank War is ON!   =D

Prank vs. Prank is a You Tube Channel that features a couple that are always pranking each other.
I can't believe some of the stuff they do to each other.... but it's pretty funny.
Here are my two favorite videos from them. 
* How to wake up your hot girlfriend with a fake head
* Girlfriend scares the hell out of sleeping boyfriend

Awesome April 2011 Giveaway: Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow"

Spring is FIIIIIIINALLY here!
After a horrendously cold and snowy East Coast winter, the flowers are starting to bloom, the Spring air smells oh-so-deliciously fragrant, and the short skirts are starting to come out!

SPRING CLEANING.  Two words that I love~

Spring Cleaning doesn't have to refer to just cleaning and organizing your home~
It's time to Spring Clean your makeup and cleansing routine!

Have you been following some of my Beauty Resolutions for 2011?? I hope so!  (Although I have to admit that #2,6, and 7 have been really hard for me to keep up with!)  =P
If you haven't been keeping up with your skin care routine or organized your beauty products (wiping away, throwing out), it's a great time to start fresh!

One beauty basic that not enough people seem to keep up with is Exfoliation.

So this month, I am giving away a full size Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula!

All you have to do is:
1. Subscribe
2. Leave a comment telling me some of your favorite Spring Cleaning supplies!

(Here is a list of some my favorite household items)
If you subscribe and comment to this post by 11:59 pm PST on Saturday  4/30/11, you could win a Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream!

Every Day Is Earth Day: Week 4

"Till now man has been up against Nature;

From now on he will be up against his own nature."

-Dennis Gabor

Make Up For Ever Pro Seminar Schedule 2011

There's a lot going on at the Make Up For Ever Studio NYC Boutique this Spring and Summer!
They are holding a lot of seminars that are basically free- The cost is redeemable in product:
Backstage Card and TPG Members -$95

General Admission- $120

I am lucky enough to have learned from or seen the work of many of the educators (Orlando Santiago, James Vincent, Floriane David, Wendy Karcher)~

I HIGHLY recommend taking a class if you have the time and money

(and if you don't.... make it! it'll be worth it!!!)

Cinema Secrets Professional Brush Cleaner

I hope all of you are cleaning your brushes!!!
I have seen some diiiiirty brushes... and it's terrifying.
All the makeup, dirt, bacteria that has collected onto your unwashed brushes..... YUCK!

Here are my tips to wash your brushes thoroughly.
* I recommend washing your brushes this way at least every week or two weeks (depending on how much you use them). 
At the very least... every month.
* If you can apply a whole face of makeup from your brushes without applying any product... they're too dirty!

Although I don't like using chemical brush cleaners, they can come in handy.
Sometimes, you can't always deep clean your brushes.
* When I'm doing a makeover on 5-6 women in a row, I need to be able to clean my brushes well.
*  In the past, I'd just end up using all new brushes for each person (and I tend to use a looot of brushes for one makeover), but then I'd spend practically an hour washing all those brushes!!!!

I stumbled upon an old makeup cleaner that I'd bought but never really used.
I recently tested it out, and I was surprised by how well it worked.
My recommendation for a Brush Cleaner is Cinema Secrets Professional Brush Cleaner!