Get #Downfor30 and Getaway to NYC!

Summer is about letting your hair down and flying free.   Have you had a chance to get #Downfor30?  Win the ultimate fashionable getaway to NYC with red carpet treatment.  Think VIP shopping, makeovers, luxury hotel and helicopter tour around New York’s original diva, Lady Liberty.

Show off your gorgeous tresses on Instagram with #downfor30 #sweeps in as many ways as you like to earn your chance to win the epic NYC luxury experience. Never pull back, get the details here. 

I styled myself with a "Modern Veronica" for a night out with my fashion school pals.  I always loved the mysterious elegance of classic screen star, Veronica Lake.  I started with two squirts of Frizz Ease Nourishing Elixir to smooth out the stray hairs and frizzies.  

I blew dry my hair around the crown in the opposite direction to give it a bit of body (my hair tends to flatten out midway through the day).  Next, I created a part off to the side with my fingers.  

For the soft waves, I used a vented, long barreled round brush and used the blow dryer to dry small sections of hair for a smooth wave with a bit of curl at the end.  You don't have to be perfect, you don't even have to curl your hair all the way around your head.  The pieces of hair that frame your face are the important ones.  

Great, now give me your own easy glam night out style.  You could win the ultimate Gotham getaway!

Frizz-Ease believes that when you pull your hair back, you also pull yourself back. So we're challenging women everywhere to take on the world hair-first and wear their hair #downfor30 days straight with the help their favorite Frizz-Ease products. Join the movement at NeverPullBack.com.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by KAO via Glam Media. The opinions

expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or

positions of KAO.

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Getaway Beauty with Elizabeth Arden

Memorial Day weekend = start of summer! For frequent getaways, you want to pack light but look fabulous!  Elizabeth Arden's expert Rebecca Restrepo gave great travel beauty tips at the Blog Meets Brand event I attended last week.

 I'm headed out to the Hamptons next week and a few more beach weekends around the country before fall.  I hope to get by with only one weekend bag (I just bought a Kate Spade one on sale!) This means I need to keep beauty products and liquids to a minimum.

The most practical way to do that is to carry multitasking products.  For the beach, I like moisturizers with a lot of sunscreen built in.

Restrepo also advised that solids always travel better than liquid.  She uses the company’s sponge-on cream makeup instead of something runnier.  Also, beware of being dehydrated when flying.  She cites Elizabeth Arden’s 8-Hour Cream Skin Protectant as something she uses on knees and elbows before landing.

I tried a few products from Elizabeth Arden myself to see how well they travel.   After a day in the sun, my skin feels tight and feels drained of moisture at night. Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Serum is perfect for travel.  Their tiny little pods with twist off opening  make them easy to slip into a makeup bag pocket.  You only need to pack as many as you need for the trip.  It was very light and surprisingly not greasy when applied on my face.  It absorbed quickly (I hate the sticky moist feeling of most night products).  I woke up with my face feeling silky.  

In the summer I (mostly) ditch my darker lipsticks in favor of a rich lip gloss.  Elizabeth Arden's Beautiful Color Luminous Lip Gloss has a great palette that looks like translucent versions of my favorite fall colors. Also, it has a mirror attached to the case, meaning I have one less compact I need to carry.  Some lip glosses are drying after long use.  This particular one has extra mango and shea butter for extra moisture.

Elizabeth Arden is an original New York company.  Their signature Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant was actually developed in 1930 and still runs on the same formula today.  I like to rub this stuff around my cuticles when I have handled too many pieces of paper or worked too hard on my embroidery projects.  In a pinch, I might use a bit to tame my brows or tips of stray hair.

Are you ready to venture off on YOUR summer getaway?  Always, always always, remember to bring the sunscreen! 

Want more tips? Connect with Elizabeth Arden on Twitter, Facebook and Instragram!

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Elizabeth Arden via Single Edition Media.The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Elizabeth Arden.

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Spring Beauty: My Top 5 Picks

One of fun things about being a blogger is that you get to try all sorts of fun beauty products.  The real story though, is determining which products do you love enough to spend your own money on after the PR provided samples are gone?

The five products I chose here are the ones I have been A) using and buying for years, or B) have been purchasing regularly since my first date with them!

1.) MAC lipstick.  I was at the Canadian fashion trade show way way back when Frank Toscan launched MAC cosmetics.  Who knew this homegrown line would dominate as the top collection with fashion divas and drag queens alike?  I have worn the Del Rio shade since high school, kissing the vanilla scented tube as my mainstay.  My springtime shade is Sophisto.

2) Garnier B.B. cream didn't look particularly sexy, but the the moisturizing tinted cream has replaced by daily moisturizer/sunscreen/foundation combo with one product.  It does help smooth out your complexion noticeably.  It's more affordable with one product too!

3) Nail Art is the biggest fashion AND beauty trend this year.  However, you need a very steady (ambidextrous) hand and a toMy fan patience.  I have neither.  My favorite easy manicure look is a glitter ombre combo.  I start with a medium shade like OPI's Coney Island Cotton Candy then dab on Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear glitter  nail polish on the tips.  This technique hides lots of flaws.  Finish with a topcoat of Essie's Good to Go.

4)  I was initially skeptical of Revitalash and its claims.  It just sounded like the PR fantasy claims that every high priced eyelash product came with.  I gave my mother some products for her brows.  Brows have always been her point of insecurity, going so far as to tattoo some in.  It was a shock to me (and her) when after using the Revitalash on her brows and eyelashes, she actually had to pluck for the first time in her life.  I have since used their mascara regularly and still amazed at the results.

5) Maybelline has been a regular sponsor of Mercedes Benz Fashion week for several years now.  Thanks to them, I have tried a large range of their goodies.  I can't say I would use all of them again, but my hands down favorite is the New York Studio Volumizing eye shadow.  They make dramatic eye effects super easy, with a clearly mapped out lid shade, brow bone highlight shade, crease shade, liner and sparkles.

Ok, I showed you mine, now you show me yours. What are your favorite products of the season?

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Spring Beauty: Smile Style

Mothers, grandmothers, boyfriends, strangers will all tell you that the prettiest thing on a woman is her smile.  My husband claims it was my smile that he noticed on the night we met.  You can put lip gloss and lipstick on your lips; even pump it full of collagen.  You can wax above and below.  However, you can’t add cosmetics on your teeth.

To battle this glaring void in the marketplace, dentists found ways to brighten up your not-so-pearly whites.  For those with the time and money, there were custom molds and prescription peroxide or laser treatments.  For most people the above options weren’t practical.

I was asked to try Rembrandt’s Intense Stain Dissolving Strips for two weeks.  I have to admit I was rather skeptical.  I had tried other strips before without much success.  The dissolving nature of them however, makes it much more convenient than I expected.  You just peel them out of their little packs and place them over your teeth.  About ten minutes later, the strips are gone, leaving a minty aftertaste. 

Just a caveat…Before those ten minutes are up, you might not want to engage in conversation with anyone important.  The strips in the process of dissolving look like sticky threads of spittle, so time your whitening ritual.

The real question of course, is do they work?  Yes, I did find a noticeable difference after a week and a half.  I’m not a smoker or a red wine drinker, so I couldn’t test them against those stains.  However, I am definitely partial to tea and I found them much easier to use than my previous attempts at whitening. 

So if a great smile is the biggest trend for your spring style, you know what you need to add to your season’s wardrobe.

REMBRANDT® INTENSE STAIN® Stain Dissolving Strips dissolve on your teeth in minutes to easily remove tough stains caused by coffee and wine. Get a whiter smile in 2 weeks. Visit www.rembrandtboutique.com to learn more or purchase REMBRANDT® products.


REMBRANDT® INTENSE STAIN® Stain Dissolving Strips & REMBRANDT®  INTENSE STAIN® toothpaste together:


REMBRANDT® INTENSE STAIN® platform uses 3x Triple Action ActiShiel technology to:


Remove: helps gently remove tough stains like coffee, red wine and tea
Repel: works like an invisible shield to help repel future stains
Restore: strengthens the enamel to help prevent daily acid wear


Visit www.rembrandtboutique.com to learn more or purchase REMBRANDT® products.



Compensation and product was provided by REMBRANDT® via Glam Media to facilitate my review. Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies is a sponsor of Glam.com. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of REMBRANDT® or Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies.

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Rock and Republic at Kohl's

Seven days and counting!  Fashion Week in NYC is almost upon us, and the event invitations are piling up… As part of the Kohl’s Rock and Republic blogger team, I am particularly excited to rock out at their launch event at the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom. 

In preparation for said event, I experimented with the ever popular “smoky eye” look, guided by a playlist of makeup “how-to” videos on YouTube.  Hmm, there is definitely a "range" in the quality of programming.  As long as it’s more smoldering than smoke damage, I’m satisfied. 

The Kohl’s collaboration with Rock and Republic is officially available online today, and I chose my picks from the collection for fashion week.  I loved the skinny jeans in the dark wash that has some stretch. There was a skull print scarf/top combo that projected scary and sweet at the same time…Great for keeping people on edge.  I like a good blazer as a wardrobe staple.  The one from Rock and Republic makes it a bigger fashion statement with rhinestone tassel embellishments.  Très glam. 

The new collection also has some edgy shoes.  How much do these studded platform heels rule?  I'm going to do some serious butt-kicking in these (if I don't topple over first).  What I really love?  So far, I haven’t found anything that topped $100.  

Ok, now it's your turn, what show or event for New York Fashion Week are you most looking forward to?  And, of course, what will you wear?

Kohl's provided compensation to me as an incentive to blog about the Rock & Republic launch event.  The opinions expressed herein are those of this author, and they have not been reviewed or approved by Kohl's in advance.

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