In my line of work, I deal with a ton of clients and to my lovely surprise, this month’s InStyle features a small little bit about how to work the counter .. and I wanted to share it with all of you as well add in my own lil tidbits!

Go when it’s slow
InStyle says: “You’ll typically get the most time and attention if you go from Monday to Thursday. (Make-up counters are busiest on Fridays and Saturdays.)” I completely agree! Everyone wants specialized attention when they go to the beauty counter; so if you’re going when its busy, whether it falls underneath those days or not, be patient. Your patience is super appreciated, trust me!

State your case
InStyle says: “Being up-front about what you’re there for (i.e., free services) can help you avoid the sales push. It also helps to meet your needs quickly and efficiently.” Again, another great point! Don’t feel guilty about coming to the counter for free services; that’s exactly why the brands offer them. Don’t be resistant however to education and product suggestions because that’s why the artist are required to do during these free services. Also, if it is super busy and you let the advisor know that you only need a quick service or sample, she might be able to assist you earlier.

Come clean
InStyle says: “Don’t feel like you need to say you use items only from that brand. Tell consultants the treatments you use so they’ll make better recommendations.” I’ve personally never had any issues with this, but I totally agree; never feel the need to lie to the advisor and say that you use their brand. They won’t judge you! Every artist has a kit with a myriad of different brands and everyone has a fave drugstore secret, or two or three!

Also, come clean is an awesome header for another crucial tip, come with a clean face! It’s a super pain to have clients that insist on coming with a full-face of make-up, yet don’t want to remove it or worse want a foundation/concealer match to whatever they have on already. A clean face and canvas makes the artist set up for optimal success with whatever she’s trying on you and puts your skin under less stress. Don’t be shy, we’ve seen it all.

Finally, Just Ask,
InStyle says: “Like a product? Then ask for a sample! If you like the product, 99 percent of cases will come back and buy it! Agreed. Be up front and say that you’re there for samples; but don’t abuse the program (whether it’s one sample per person or three) and don’t make the advisor tell you every single detail of every product when you’re more in the trying phase than the purchasing phase!

Any other beauty counter tips? Tweet me!
SHAN

I’ve always been so envious of girls who can actually do beautiful things with their hair like flat ironing, or curling or creating beautiful waves. Unfortunately, I’m not one of these girls and I desperately anticipate my bi-weekly appointment with my hairstylist.

The other day I had an event to go to and unfortunately my hairstylist was away and I needed a fast and easy solution. After my initial panic; where I called every friend of mine to ask if they could help me curl my hair “real quick”, I remembered seeing a television  commercial for a hair wand.  In the commercial, they promised that using this wand would be easier than using a flat iron and would create beautiful waves.

I rushed to my local drugstore, bought a hair wand and rushed back home to try it. If I could do this I told myself, anybody could.

After sweating profusely, anticipating that I’d do a crapping job, I finally started getting the hang of it.

Here is a picture that I took of myself after using the Hair wand (didn’t take a before shot because I assumed I was going to fail at doing it!).

The trick is to be very mindful of the temperature, most hair wands will have a temperature control. Also, it is important to use the glove provided for the hand that you’re using to roll the hair around the wand.  The bigger sections of hair you put, the bigger the curl will be.

You can find a variety of hair wands, at different price points, between $20 -$80; mine was $60 (Conair) from my local drugstore.

Have any of you ever used a hair wand to curl your hair? What do you prefer using, a wand or a flat iron?

Bisous, Winy

These little magic sticks allow me to muck around with my eyeliner and mascara until I get it just right.  No longer do I dip my Qtip into makeup remover – or attempt to remove anything with my chubby uncoordinated fingers…. I just simply snap one end of the swab and the other gets emulsified with makeup remover so I can spot correct.  It’s magic.  Swear.

Ha!

Available HERE and most drug stores.

xo,

coco

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Coty Spring/Summer 2012 preview for three of their lines; Sally Hansen, Rimmel London and New York Color (NYC).

It was so nice to get the inside scoop on the upcoming products and what Coty has been working so hard on for the past couple of months! Each brands respective expert; such as product developers and global beauty experts attended the preview to give, in great detail, not only the product itself, but how it was created and the ingredients. It was super informative and exciting that the beauty industry is making the ingredients a top priority, following through on education and listening to what we (the purchaser) have been asking for.

As a beauty aficionado, I’m uber pumped for Spring! Pastels and vivid brights, bronzers and flashy nails. Yes, yes and yes!

Thanks to ApexPR for the invite, I had a great time!

Can’t wait till it’s released in stores, look for the new lines releasing anywhere from January through till March at your local Shoppers Drug Mart!

xo.
SHAN

Former NFL player Chris Draft married his girlfriend Keasha Ruteleage on November 27.  Sadly she died just four weeks later on December 27th from lung cancer.  Below is a collection of beautiful clips from their wedding.

Keasha & Chris Draft Wedding Trailer from KRJ PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

“Strong is too pale, too shallow and too small of a word to describe Keasha’s vibrancy… Quite simply, she was ferocious. She fiercely held onto life, and love with a forcefulness that was absolutely awe-inspiring and completely breathtaking. Rest in peace, Mrs. Draft.” 

Chris Draft

This video is just a reminder of how precious life is. Really living every moment is definitely on my list of resolutions…

xo,
coco