It’s A New Year.. What Makes YOU Fierce?

It’s a new year and one of my favorite words is FIERCE!  It ignites my passion.. my desire to be strong.. my wish to be fearless.. my ambition to persevere and my goals of being unforgettable!

A year ago in February, my Grama passed away.  We were very close & I loved her with all my heart.  She was one of my most special people: my cheerleader, my mom, my voice of reason, my greatest sounding board and LOVED to watch me dance!  While I was back East for her funeral I stumbled upon a ballroom dance studio I had NO IDEA existed a few blocks from my home in LA.  I contacted them while in NJ (I swear Grama sent me to them) and the rest is history.. I fell back in love with dancing because of the owners Katie & Erick (below) and the wonderful instructors (the events & other students are just a bonus).

I started dancing at 10 yrs old.  I taught, performed & competed all throughout school.  I turned professional at the age of 19 and continued my career until 26.  I taught ballroom at a Fred Astaire studio from 22-24 yrs old.  I lived my dream of being a dancer and performing professionally all over the country.  But I hadn’t ballroom danced in about 15 years (even just for fun).

Dancing has ALWAYS been my heart, my love, my joy, my passion.

When I retired I couldn’t figure out how to enjoy it for fun.. so I gave it up.

Last February I walked into the studio (shaking & heart pounding – thinking WHAT AM I DOING? I can’t do this anymore!) I was greeted by one of the sweetest guys I have ever had the pleasure of meeting (or dancing with) and I haven’t stopped smiling yet!   In a year I have lost 25 pounds.. bought a dozen glittering gowns.. danced & sung more songs then I can remember, laughed uncontrollably (while dancing), felt like a princess (more than once) and entered my first EVER competition in December.

I am FIERCE!  I am having the time of my life.. inspiring others to dare to try something new.. sharing my joy, reminding others talent SHOULD be shared and hoping to become awesome in TANGO (my worst dance, in my mind) by this years end.  I am  not giving up!  I have over done it and injured myself multiple times last year.  But I’ve kept going. I can’t remember as much as I would like to or as quickly as I used to, BUT I AM FIERCE.  I feel good.  I’m graceful.  I’m happy.  I’m taking chances.  I’m NOT giving up!

What is it that you would LOVE to try this year?  What lights a spark in your heart? What do you do and no matter how hard you try, you can’t stop smiling (this is a problem for my TANGO).  Do that!  Try that!  If it scares you a little, it means there is a WONDERFUL treasure awaiting you on the other side.. it’s wrapped in a gorgeous package with a tag on it with YOUR name.. “YOU ARE FIERCE“.. It’s just waiting to be opened.. discovered.. shared.. and ONLY YOU can unwrap it!

Remember, DON’T let anyone or anything STOP you.. especially when you soul is whispering to you.. listen to it!  It’s usually IMPORTANT.

Please share your adventures & journey with me!  I can’t wait to hear what makes YOU FIERCE!(because you are)

Crazy 4 Curls

I love lashes.  Linda loves hair.. together we ROCK CURLS!

EYELASHES

If you are not into lash extensions creating gorgeous natural curls.. Or maybe you have great natural lashes.. You NEED a Lash Curler.  This is the ONLY one you will ever need!

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

I have used this for years!  I have one at home and one in my makeup kit and they have each lasted me almost 15 years! (great beauty investment)

1.  Start at the base of your eye with curler.. fit into eye pocket and gently pulse curler a few times.

2.  Continue to open and close curler and walk up lash – gently squeezing all the way up to increase curl.

3.  Straighter lashes can get a great lift by focusing curl just at the base of the lash.

4.  Change the silicone pad when curler starts cutting into pad and loosing bounce.

5.  Never use curler on lashes with mascara applied.  You can break your lashes.

HAIR

Curly hair needs extra TLC to tame the curls.  Everyone’s curls are different.. that is why sometimes it is frustrating to try and figure out what’s best for your hair.  This is where we come in.. meet OUIDAD.

  We have a line with products for ALL types of Curls!  Let Linda style your hair and teach you how simple it is to get these gorgeous curls that will last for days!  (Picture above is 3 Ouidad products & a diffuser.. that is all!)

Dry curls, we have moisture.. frizzy curls we have control..

Linda and I LOVE our curls and we LOVE this line. (Certified Cutting Techique coming in March)

Eyelashes or Hair..

WE ROCK CURLS.. LET US ROCK YOURS!

Makeup Brushes 101

Confession: So many brushes, so little time.  There are no RULES.. but this may help you start.

Everyone always asks me about brushes. Which one should I get for _______?

The answer is any one you want to use. There are no rules in makeup application. I use my fingers to apply shadow on myself ALOT (not on client though.. LOL). It is an art – Your Art. It is like painting. For different effects there are some basics, but it is all up to you! You can wipe your brow and know pressure is off. I will give you some basic guidelines and my favorites, but really the choice is up to you! 🙂

There are basically 3 types of brushes:

Round (which is circular)

Flat (which is straight across)
Filbert (which is curved) Think of this as your finger.

When choosing a brush, first think of the surface you are applying makeup to. Cheeks, eyes, face – this would work well for a ROUND brush. Liner, brows, contouring – you may want more of a FLAT line to blend. Under-eyes, lips, concealing creases – these areas are curved so a FILBERT would be just like using your FINGER. Make sense? Here is a visual to help.. this is a good guide to help you choose the basics of brushes.

Natural (Sable) hair vs. Synthetic:

Natural hair holds the product best (sable is the most popular and the more expensive, the nicer the hair). Synthetic brushes will not absorb the product and creams slide off the brush better. I use synthetic for special effects, glitter, cream liners, lipstick, etc. Powders tend to slide too much on the synthetic bristols and will discolor lighter hair fibers. If the brush is white or gold, ya synthetic.

These are my 5 FAV BRUSHES/MUSTS (besides my finger) for doing my own makeup:

1. Short ANGLE brush for eyeliner
2. Fluffy FILBERT for highlight under my eyes
3. Tapered/pointed ROUND for blending in my crease in my eye (my MOST fav of ALL I have 6 for personal/professional use)
4. Puffy big ROUND brush for powder & mineral foundation application
5. Full FLAT brush for blush application

As you can see I am creative with my choice of brushes for my personal application. I do use some different choices when working on others. Please share with me what you find works great for you.. I love trying new brushes!

ALWAYS remember to wash your brushes with shampoo or use brush cleaner and allow them to dry THOROUGHLY before putting them away. You should do this at least once a month.

Thanks for stopping by and happy brushing.