Week of Beauty -- Hair Care --Part 4

Note: I am not affiliated in any way with Kenra Hair Care Products or Purelolgy Hair Care Products, nor is this a paid advertisement.

Today's post is about hair care and the products that I personally found to be the best for achieving the results I needed as a hair care colorist and stylist for over 20 years. When I first opened my own salon fourteen years ago, the hair care line of products I started out with was Graham Webb, I was determined to only offer the highest quality products that produced superior results and Graham Webb certainly fit the bill. Over the years, I tried every old and new product available, just to see if there was something better, and what I found was Pureology. Loved it..........

But at first, I was worried about the higher prices being off-putting to my customers, until I realized that, yeah, you might pay a bit more at first, but as their products are not made with "water", making them ultra-concentrated, you end up using a fraction of what you use with cheaper brands, so the result is the products go so much further, you really aren't spending much more than you were before. (ex: if you normally use a Quarter-sized dollop of shampoo in your palm to wash your hair, you would use a Dime-sized dollop with Pureology)

Pureology Super Smooth System

Here are a few facts about Pureology...

COMPREHENSIVE COLOUR CARE SYSTEMS FOR ALL TYPES OF HAIR
ANTIFADE COMPLEX®
Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that attack hair follicles and colour pigments, compromising hair health and colour vibrancy. Pureology’s exclusive AntiFadeComplex® contains a blend of potent antioxidants and full spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreens to protect colour from free radicals.

ZERO SULFATE® SHAMPOOS
Surfactants are an essential part of a shampoo’s cleansing system, but common surfactants, known as sulfates, can fade colour vibrancy. To gently cleanse without stripping colour, our ZeroSulfate® shampoos include a mild cleansing system, with no added salt, derived from coconut, corn, and sugar to deliver a rich lather and help optimize colour retention.

NATURE-INFUSED FORMULAS
FOR PURE PERFORMANCE
100% VEGAN INGREDIENTS
Pureology combines the best of nature with advanced technology to ensure pure performance and radiant colour, and our products are made without animal products or by-products.

ORGANIC BOTANICALS
We are committed to developing naturally-based formulas infused with organic botanicals harvested from plants grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemicals.

CONCENTRATED FORMULAS
FOR PURE INDULGENCE
Indulge in the ultimate multi-sensory experience with highly concentrated formulas bursting with superior ingredients that deliver up to 80 shampoos—two times more than other shampoos. Our rich lathers, featherlight textures, and decadent masques surround the senses with aromatic essences, creating a luxurious experience and incredible results. Colour-treated hair is silky soft with dramatically improved condition and remarkable shine.

CREATED WITH INTEGRITY
From the beginning, Pureology’s philosophy has been uncompromising. Our superior colour care is created with integrity to preserve the future well-being of our environment while still providing 100% guaranteed product performance. Pureology is against animal cruelty and proud to use post-consumer recycled and recyclable packaging

Pureology Pure Volume System


It's only my opinion, but I've personally used Pureology on my clients AND myself with the exact result I wanted. Let me tell you the circumstance that orginally got me to try Pureology for the first time...

Salon Testimonial

I had an on-off client, she colored and lightened her own hair and just came to me for nails and hair cuts...she came to me one day with her hair literally "fried"...she had colored and highlighted, then gone to Florida, and into a chlorine pool...DISASTER!!!! She was practically in tears. Her hair had just a tad of a green cast AND about 6 inches that looked and felt like "cotton candy" (very gummy and stringy). She had hair that was normally very dry, SUPER curly, corkscrew curls, and we were going to have to cut at least 6-8 inches of it off just to get rid of the worst of the damage. In the hair care world, once hair is damaged, it has to be cut off, there is no "repairing" it no matter what products on the consumer market advertise.

Well, needless to say, she begged me to help her find some way to save what we could...I told her to give me a few days and I'd call her with whatever I found. Enter...Pureology

I had already been reading about it, so I checked into it some more and I decided to try Essential Repair Instant Repair Treatment and Nano Works Luxury System . I gave them to her with complete instructions and for her to come back in a week and we'd see what we had to work with.

She came back....in 3 DAYS! Walking on air and sporting a beamer of a smile! "LOOK at this"...I gotta tell ya, I would have sworn to anyone that asked, we would be cutting off 6 inches of her hair at the end of her trial...but the Pureology products had REPAIRED, yes REPAIRED almost ALL of the damage, we ended up cutting off 1 inch!!!!!! Their products became my shops featured line the very next day, and flew off the shelves after that.

Whether you have thin, coarse, color-treated, damaged, or even healthy hair, they have products that will work STUPENDOUSLY for your specific needs. I really just can't say enough good about them.

I find that hair gets "tired" of using the same brand ALL the time, so my favorite switch off brand is Kenra Hair Care Products. I will use my Pureology all week, and then switch to Kenra for a couple of days, then switch back. I am, with hair care products the same as I am with skin care products...always trying out whatever is new on the market, cause you just never know when something better might come along...but for the past 10 years, both of these hair care lines are my go to's.

Kenra Color Maintenance Shampoo

Tomorrow I plan to go more into the different hair types and the specific needs for those types, and I hope to finish up my "Week of Beauty" series on Monday with Hair Care Styling Products.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask here in the comments section or email me at mybluepeacock3333@hotmail.com and if you've found a great hair care product or have your own testimonial, I'd love to hear about it.

Week of Beauty -- Color -- Part 3

Note: I am not affiliated in any way with Mary Kay Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics or Maybelline, nor is this a paid advertisement.

In previous posts, Part 1 we discussed the importance of proper skin care and Part 2 the list of tools you will need for make-up application. Today I'm going to talk just a little about color. I'm not going to go into different looks and how to apply them, as I stated yesterday, you really need to get with a representive of one of the make-up companies of your choice, schedule a make-over (they are usually free) and they can help you out when choosing your look and what colors look best on you.

I just want to give you a list of possiblities and highlight items that I personally use and like. To start with, foundation...I have almost always used Mary Kay foundations because I can try them, and if the color is wrong, I can exchange it for one that does. Keep in mind that your color will probably change during the seasons, I tend to use one color for summer and another color for the rest of the year. The range of options for what type of foundations can be a little overwhelming (another reason it's good to go to someone who can steer you in the right direction)...there are moisturizers with added color if you like a really natural look, medium-coverage foundations, full-coverage foundations, powder foundations and sheer foundations. Different brands also make them for either dry/normal skin and normal/oily skin types (this is a huge help).

Mary Kay Luminous Wear Foundation

If you choose to wear eyeshadows, your choices are almost unlimited. Most companies offer a huge range of colors and even sets that go well together, taking a lot of the guess work out it for you. What I can tell you about color is that the most important part about choosing them, is first determining whether you are a "cool" or a "warm", meaning do cool colors look best on you or warm? If you've never had a make-over, look to your wardrobe, do you tend to gravitate more towards the pink family, or the yellow/orange? If you wear a lot of black, tan, navy...these are considered neutral, which means no matter what you choose to wear on your face, you're not going to clash. You could of course choose to go neutral in your selection of eye colors, white, taupe, grey, charcoal, navy...these are all neutrals and go well with just about everyone.

When choosing your eye colors, you'll want to probably plan on a very light base color (apply all over the eyelid), a contour color (usually in the crease, extending from the outside corner, up towards the inside of your eyebrow), and an accent color (usually a darker or brighter color that will go along your lashline and /or the outside corner of your lid.) And here I said I wasn't going to get into teaching application, it's just so hard to do in writing, much, much easier in person!

Mary Kay Minerals Eye Colors

Cheek colors "blush" are great for helping to accentuate your cheek bones or just to add a bit of color to the apples of your cheeks. There are actually many different ways to apply blush, get with someone who knows and you'll really learn a lot.

Bobbi Brown Blush


You're last step should always be adding mascara, if you choose to wear it, it really "opens" and "brightens" your eyes and finishes your look. Again, the nearly unlimited options can be daunting...waterproof, adding volume, lengthening.....it goes on and on. All I can tell is you is that I will personally try one and if I'm not jumping for joy, I'll still use it for 3 months then throw it away and try something new, till I find what I like...I'll use that until something new comes along and I'll give it a try, if I like it better than what was using, then I'll keep using it, if not, then back to my ole fav I go! (It's important to always throw away mascara 3 months after it's been opened as each time you put the wand back in the tube, you are introducing bacteria that will grow, possibly causing eye infections at some point)
Right now, my personal fav is Maybelline's Colossal Volum Express Mascara...for me it adds tons of volume and thickness (my lashes are definitely changing/thinning as I get older).



Maybelline Colossal Volum Express Mascara

There are many many many more products out there...concealers, powders, brow liners, eye liners, lip liners,.....just too much to get into here, so I really just high-lighted what I tend to use most days.

Whatever colors or look you choose, you really should just have fun with it, and remember...
your goal is to enhance your natual God-given beauty!!!

What products do you personally use and love?

Week of Beauty -- The Tools -- Part 2

Note: As stated in yesterday's post, this is not a paid advertisement nor am I affiliated with any of these companies.

In Monday's post, I explained the importance of proper skin care in it's relationship to good make-up application. I have a few more thoughts on that before moving on to today's topic of the tools you need for beautiful make-up application.

The application of make-up will enhance your God-given natural beauty...it will NOT cover up bad skin! (just in case you missed that message on Monday)...Being diligent with cleansing and moisturizing EVERY morning and evening, and exfoliating at least 2x a week EVERY week...will help you achieve and showcase your God-given natural beauty.

So now, on to today's subject....The tools you will need for beautiful make-up application, and yes, EVERYONE that chooses to apply make-up needs all these tools...they don't have to be the same brand or necessarily expensive, but you will need them to make this job easier and gets the results you are going to want.

First up are make-up sponges, I use inexpensive disposable ones that I buy at Wal-Mart, use them a few times, then throw them away. Mostly for applying your make-up foundation, I like to wet mine just a tad first, then smooth the foundation all over your face including your eyes, mouth, making sure to go a bit below your jawline. You may prefer using your fingers or a foundation brush for this step, but you'll still need the sponges to get a proper blending,especially at the hairline and under your jaw. Mary Kay Cosmetic Sponges

Make sure that the brushes you use are made of natural materials, such as sable, they clean up easily and will last you years if you take proper care of them. I wash mine weekly with a good mild shampoo, rinse well and lay flat to dry. Again, they don't have to be expensive, but keep in mind that you will definitely get your money's worth if you are willing to take care of them. The ones you will need vary depending on the look you are going for...if you don't like to wear a lot of make-up, you might just need a blush brush...but if you like to wear eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner, powdered brow liner, etc, you'll need a variety.

If using a gel or liquid eyeliner, you'll certainly need an eyeliner brush, but if you like a pencil, you won't...same goes for eyebrows and what you choose to use.

If you like wearing eye shadow, you'll need at least 3 brushes, whether you're going for a natural look or a full glam look. You'll want one for your base color, one for the crease and one for the outside corner accent color. I'm not going to go into eye looks and their application here, that's something better learned in person with someone teaching and showing you how to get the look you want. For those wanting a natural look, you still need to use 3 colors, hence the 3 different brushes. Blending is the key in any look you are going for, and to blend properly, you really need at least 3 colors!

A blush brush is a must no matter the look you are going for, everyone needs at least a touch of color on the apples of their cheeks, unless you spend a lot of time at the beach, in which case I would say (sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen). Not to take a detour from our subject, but I just realized I didn't mention sunscreen in Monday's post and it is sooooo important!!!!!! Make sure if you are not using a sunscreen daily that at least your daytime moisturizer has it.

Mary Kay Brush Collection

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics Brushes


And finally, for touch ups, blending, and correcting, I make sure to keep q-tips in my make-up drawer. Great for smudging eyeliner, blending shadow, wiping away any shadow that falls below the eyes and for when mascara ends up where it's not supposed to.
And the last most important step in make-up application is...

WASH IT OFF -- EVERY NIGHT BEFORE YOU GO TO BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then be sure to use a nighttime moisturizer specifically for your skin type.

A Week of Beauty -- Part 1

Note: I am not in any way affiliated with Mary Kay Products at this time, nor is this article a paid advertisement. It is my own personal opinion based on previous experience.

I thought it might be fun this week to talk about "Beauty", that is, the outside as opposed to the inside. You might ask "what qualifies" me? I've been involved in several different aspects of the Beauty business for the past 26 years, up until 3 years ago.

I started out as a hairstylist, colorist and nail technician and worked in a couple different local salons for a few years before starting my own. Over the years, I was trained in make-up artistry by a Bendel's representative...was the make-up artist for model's at several hair shows AND was a Mary Kay Cosmetics Consultant for 3 years. Having my own salon also afforded me the opportunity to offer my make-up application services to many, many bride's, bridesmaids, mother's of the bride's and girls going to the prom. Loved doing ALL those!

But I would have to say, my biggest teacher was my mother. She became a Mary Kay Consultant when I was around 13 years of age, the perfect time to teach a young girl about the importance of taking care of her skin. I would have to give Mom credit...teaching me to take care of my skin has to be in the top 10 of my all time most important lessons learned...Thanks MOM!!!!

One of the reasons taking care of your skin is sooooooo important, it is the surface you will apply your make-up to. If it is not properly prepared, there is not enough make-up in the world, nor high-priced brand that will make it look good. (Ever notice women with cake-y foundation or too much concealer giving them a yellow-ish look? They're probably trying to cover up what they never took proper care of in the first place).

Not taking care of your skin and properly preparing it for make-up would be similar to a painter, coming to paint your dining room walls, but doesn't take off the old wallpaper first. (ugh)

Like I said, Mom started me off right as a young teenager. As a Mary Kay Consultant, she taught me about the importance of starting my routine with the right cleanser for my skin type (which has always, always been dry), followed by the right moisturizer, and using a skin care mask to really clean things up 2x weekly.

Mary Kay's products have only improved over the years, trust me on this, I've tried nearly everything out there... every time something new comes on the market, yep, tried that. I'm not saying I don't come across good products, I do, but it'll work for a while, then I end up going back to my tried and true favs, which just happen to be Mary Kay Skin Care. They've changed, improved and added to their product line over the years, so I've gone from using the skincare for teenagers to now using their TOTALLY AWESOME TimeWise Miracle Set for it's incredible age-fighting results to help you maintain younger-looking skin. (I started using age-fighting products in my thirties and HIGHLY recommend it)

The Time Wise Miracle Set also has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval!!!! HA, guess they know what they're talkin' about!

If you want your make-up to look good, you've got to have clean skin, well hydrated skin...the surface needs to be as smooth as you can get it, otherwise make-up will only highlight these problem areas. Do I use Mary Kay's make-up in addition to their skincare? You betcha! For the ease of application, staying ability, quality and the reasonable prices, I just don't believe it can be beat...although I do tend to try a lot of others out there, just to see if I can find something better.

If you want to try their products for yourself, you can order order online or you can find a consultant neat you. (I personally highly, HIGHLY recommend contacting a local consultant as she will work with you on finding the right products for your skin type AND give you a complete makeover FREE... you get to try before you buy AND they have a 100% money back guarantee, you can't lose by trying their products, so it's a WIN WIN situation all around).

If you have any questions, you are welcome to ask them in the "comments section" here, or email me at mybluepeaock3333@hotmail.com

Nonteam Treasury Challenge

I've been enjoying composing etsy treasuries featuring some amazing etsy artisans as I've talked about in previous posts, but yesterday I entered one in a treasury challenge. The challenge was to compose a treasury around a specific item, which happens to be this absolutely Awesome Leather Folio/Case made by RuneLeather

As soon as I saw it, I knew EXACTLY what my treasury would be, and if you've been checking out my previous treasuries, you'll probably have a pretty good idea what I'll be doing with it...

If you'd like to learn more about this challenge, check out the blog

Here are a couple more items in the treasury, to see the whole treasury, go to the bottom of this post...

Blue Ball Mason Jar Lantern by BrigidsFancy

White Horse and Mountains Fine Art Photograph by TailedBluePhotos


And here's the complete treasury...Prairie Style my way...Collection #3

Go check it out and leave comments at the bottom of the treasury page...this will go a long way towards helping it get noticed!!!! Then come back here and let me know what you think....

What's on my needles...

In my newest series, What's on my needles..., or "hook" as the case may be...this is my 2nd post. In the 1st post I talked about a round lap blanket I'm working on, which had to be put on hold for this one. (Not quite finished in this pic)

Nikki, of militarywifestampinspot.blogspot.com and BondGirlCreations26 etsy shop contacted me about a custom order. The idea for this lap blanket had been in the back of my mind, so when she mentioned that she wanted neutral colors in the brown family, I knew this one would be perfect. She also mentioned that she liked my Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Baby Blanket, she remarked "I love how cozy it looks".

Since I made that pattern up as I went, and didn't write it down (bad me), I had to go back and look at it, write it out, then try to adjust for the size difference. As I am NOT one to EVER use a "guage swatch" (very very important when size is an issue in knitting...so BAD ME), this was more difficult than I imagined.

For the colors for her custom blanket, I knew I wanted it to graduate from the darkest to the lightest. I planned to do this by using two stands of yarn of the same color together for the first stripe, then for the next stripe, 1 strand of that color and 1 strand of what would be the next lighter color. The 3rd stripe would be two stands of that lighter color. (example: 2 strands of "charcoal"--1st stripe

1 strand of "charcoal, 1 strand of "dark chocolate" --2nd stripe

2 strands of "dark chocolate" --3rd stripe), this would have made the graduation less noticeable, more gradual.

I chose an organic cotton yarn for the ease of care AND so that she could use it year round. I was half way finished when I realized it wasn't going to be long enough AND it was way too heavy...ugh. NOT what I had in mind! Sooooo, I spent 2 days, yes 2 whole days, taking it apart...the reason it took so long was that I had to rewrap each ball of yarn as I went (10 BALLS)!!!!!! Having to use more yarn to make it longer was not only going to mess up my color design, but it was going to make it toooooo costly for what Nikki & I had agreed on. And did I mention the "heaviness"? Who wants a lap blanket the weighs you done and is like a ton of bricks to carry?!

Replanning my design, I realized that the only way to use 2 strands of yarn together to get my original look is to use a much lighter weight yarn (and I'm sure I will in the future) as I have Nikki's permission to make more of them to sell, and I'm also going to sell the pattern on etsy (as I wrote the pattern down as I went this time and plan to do so from now on).

I am extremely happy with the end result (which is now laying flat to dry after washing it)...I hope to have it ready for finished pics and listing on etsy for Nikki within the next couple of days. I'll be sure to post a finished pic.

Man's Best Friend -- Dutchess & Gus Update

"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too!"

--author unknown

If you've read my previous posts about Dutchess and Gus, you'll know that Gus is the one on top...this is his favorite position when playing with Dutchess (sometimes she lets him and sometimes she doesn't). He is neutered, so get your mind out of the gutter,... he likes to wrestle and chew on her ears, he will try ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to get a reaction out of her.

Gus has been teaching us alot about training a puppy, (he's now 8 months old, FINALLY potty-trained, it's been a long haul). ALL of our previous dogs and puppies have been easy-peasy compared to him...(check back to previous post 2 and previous post 1 to see all he's taught us up to this point).

I thought I'd share a couple more very important lessons we've learned..

Lesson #15
Praise, reward, repeat
Praise, reward, repeat

Lesson #16
Correct, replace, praise
Correct, replace, praise

I had to include this pic of Dutchess...her expression says it all, you can just imagine the heavy sigh she let out right before the photo was taken. (also in previous posts, Dutchess is our dog pound rescue, she has now been here a year, and could not be more perfectly mannered,... it's very hard to believe her previous owner gave her up)