Hi!

It has been a long time.

I have moved over to a new blog for the time being that will incorporate both everyday life alongside the beauty tips and salon secrets. At some point I might get them both up and going but until then check me out at...

My Elephant Sanctuary


Hope to see you there.

Meg

Beauty Tip- Color in your Eye Brows

Even as a baby I had eyebrows

I was born with dark and bushy eye brows. I used to think it was a curse until I realized how to wax them and now I love them.

Well even after all these years of waxing, tweezing, and plucking I never really thought about coloring them in. They are so dark and thick that I just didn't see the point. Even after countless make-up classes suggesting that that everyone should color in their brows I still didn't think the rule applied to me.

Last summer when I was playing with my make up, I randomly decided to lightly color in my eyebrows. That night my husband came home from work and couldn't figure out what was different about me... but he liked it.



I wondered if it could have been the eye brows because it was the only thing I had done differently that day, so I did it again the next day and got the same "you look great" results. I still didn't tell him what I thought it might be that was making me look like a goddess in his eyes (wink) so the next day I didn't color them in and my husband didn't say a word. Okay. Well the 4th day into my little eyebrow experiment I colored my eye brows in again, waiting to see if just maybe he'd notice, he did.

I couldn't believe it! By the simple task of adding a little color into my already dark eyebrows I was able to"wow" my husband of (then) 8 years who had seen me with every hair color, make up style and other beauty technique out there. It took less then 5 seconds to add dimension to my face and frame my eyes in a way that would make them stand out. It is the best and easiest beauty tip I have found.

Here is why: Quite often peoples eyebrows are a dull and ashy version of their hair color. In my case my eyebrows were dark and thick enough to frame my eyes but the color was wrong. Another problem is that peoples eyebrows do not match. There is always one that is thinner, higher, lighter, better arched or uneven.

By lightly shading in your eyebrows with a color that matches your natural color you will brighten the eyes natural hue and help make the eyebrows appear to be more symmetrical and even.



Look at the difference in these 2 pictures of me





I prefer to use a powder that is similar to an eyeshadow over the commonly used eyebrow pencil, I think it looks more natural and gives you more control over the shade.

 I use Anastasia's eyebrow kit.   This kit offers:

•  2 Brow Powders- having 2 colors makes it easy to blend and customize a shade that looks natural
•  Angled Brush- makes applying the color easy and even
• Cream Highlighter- to use under the eyebrow on the brow bone, this lifts and accentuate the eyes
• Wax Cream- this is like gel for your eyebrows, it holds your eyebrow in the perfect shape all day and gives it a nice finished look. 

If you have never tried coloring in your eyebrows, try it! It is easy and will give you instant results.

DISCLAIMER: Always start out light and you can add more if you need. Remember you want it too look natural so that people can tell that there is something different but can't exactly tell what it is. It is more about adding a little color to your brow then it is adding darkness to your brow. Look for a color that matches you eyebrows already so it just brightens and fills in. 

I would love to see before and after pics if you try this!!

My FAVORITE things- The Clarisonic Cleanser

THE CLARISONIC CLEANER

Has anyone tried this? It is amazing!  I asked Santa Claus for one last year and fell in love. I have deemed it the one thing that every girl (and guy) should have. Within a month of having it, I had talked 3 family members, 12 friends and an unspecified amount of strangers into getting one.

I had seen them a Nordstrom since they made their debut and thought they had looked interesting but hadn't put much thought into it, I guess I figured it seemed a little silly to spend over $200 on something to help me wash my face. All of that changed last year when I was trying to decide what I should ask for for Christmas and I asked some of the Nordstrom staffers what their favorite products were and they all said the Clarisonic, I won't lie... I was intrigued.

I went home did a google search and found the most amazing reviews on this little hand held face washing machine. If you don't believe me, check out these reviews or these reviews or these.

After getting it home and charged (which was a 2 day struggle for me, I guess I shouldn't have put the thing in backwards-- oops), I fell in love. After the first wash my skin felt so soft, after a week it glowed, after a few weeks it was completely clear and my pores were so much smaller and my fine lines and wrinkles were fading and after a month I couldn't count the amount of compliments I had received on my skin.

How it works:

Did you know that our faces trap gross amounts debris and dead skin cells on the surface of our skin and that no amount of manual cleansing can fully clean this debris off of the skin. This leaves the skin dull, dirty, congested and unable to fully reap the benefits of skin care products and treatments.

 The Clarisonic is able to gently scrub off this debris and really clean the pores. By truly cleaning your skin you will receive the most amazing benefits!

You will notice that

• your skin will be so much cleaner
• your skin it will feel softer
• pores will look smaller (how to get smaller pores is one of the things people ask me the most)
• acne and dry patches will be cleared up
• fine lines and wrinkles will be appear less severe as you clean the debris off of your complexion
• will have a healthier and glowing appearance
• the sonic pulses massages and improves circulation which helps reverse effects of aging, improves tone and texture and gives you a much fresher complexion
• better absorption of treatments and products

I love that you can use this with the skin care products that you already use and that it helps your skin absorb moisturizers, serums and other treatments better, giving you even better benefits.

This thing really is awesome.  I will do a demo for you one of these days.

Who am I and why I am doing this?

Hello everyone! My name is Meg.  I am an esthetician who is lucky enough to work at the most amazing day spa/salon, which gives me access to the hottest beauty trends and techniques. I also review skin care products and know more about skin care products and how they really work then I ever thought possible.

I have always loved beauty and all the fun things the beauty world has to offer. I grew up with my mom selling Jafra out of out home (Jafra= the 80's version of Mary Kay). I would sit and look through her samples for hours and hours. Trying on the different colors, smelling the different creams, using the tools and studying the little pamphlets that had all the make up, skin care and coloring how to guides.

After high school and dabbling in something called college, I started my true passion, being an Esthetician. I loved school! Gossiping with my friends while getting facials, body wraps. microdermabrasions and chemical peels! What could be better?! And on top of that, I left my Esthetic school looking at least 2 years younger then when I came. It was fabulous.

As I started working I realized the the outside beauty world was bigger and better then I could imagine. It was amazing being able to help people meet their beauty, weight, skin and personal goals. I have helped people looked younger for their school reunions, helped them reverse acne scars, erase unwanted lines and lose unwanted inches, I've spayed people to be a beautiful golden tan for trips to Hawaii, Cancun and other tropical adventures and of course I have waxed many nervous brides for their honeymoons. It is a rewarding a fun thing to be able to help people look and feel their best.

I always have family, friends and complete strangers asking me about the best anti-aging treatments, the newest trends in hair and make-up, how different beauty services work and what spa services and treatments they should do. I thought this would be a good place to teach them and all of you all about what they beauty world has to offer.

I will take you into my home, my salon and to other fun places and let you see first hand what is out there, how it works and if it is something that will work for you.

I should also mention that I am a mom of 2 wild boys (ages 2 & 3), since working in a salon I have had all hair lengths and colors so I don't be alarmed if you don't recognize me in older photos that I may share and I never get enough sleep.

Here is a short list of services I plan on sharing with you, please let me know if there are any others that you are interested in.

• Microdermabrasion
• Gel Nails
• Brazilian Blowlout
• Hair Melting
• Chemical Peels
• Spray Tans
• Make up Techniques
• Eye Lash Extensions
• Hair Extensions
• Facials
• Body Wraps
• Slimming Treatments
• Glitter Toes
• Skin Polishing
• Facial Masks
• Botox
• Laser Treatments