Amazing Party Looks and Deals

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://moms.dailybuzz.com/channel/style.

It is pretty common knowledge that my other job is writing and testing out beauty products. I am not choosy either. From lipstick to liner, sunless tanner to hair serum I will give it a try. If it works I am on board. When the holidays roll around I go into a sort of hyper-drive in the make-up department. For amazing party looks and a break from the cold weather blues one of the first places I stop is my local drugstore.

One of the best places I have found to look my best each holiday season is Walgreens. I'm a sucker for their Essie nail collection. This month they have the brand new Cocktail Bling collection and soon to be released Luxeffects glittery top coat with texture. I cannot wait! You can find the whole set right there from "Bangle Jangle" to "Set in Stones". Did you know that setting off your nails with a bit of color is one of the easiest way to complete your party look?

Have more time and want more shine?  Check out the luxury hair care line from Frederic Fekkai.  It is a personal favorite of mine that I always keep stocked in my bathroom. Even better is that I can restock my own shelves from Walgreens.  The Fekkai Glossing Starter kit will get you on the right track for gorgeous hair.   Made with olive oil the shampoo, conditioner and glossing cream create gorgeous shine and help get rid of static cling in your hair. I use it almost year round because it is perfect for fine or color-treated hair that gets easily weighed down. 

Don't stop there though, creating the whole package for your office holiday soiree takes time.  You want your colleagues and your boss to see you at your best at and away from your desk.  This is where my absolute, all-time favorite mascara can help.  Lash Blast Fusion is a great volumizing mascara that stays put.  It has a tiny bit of glitter to it that gives lashes another dimension that works just like you.  The whole Cover Girl line at Walgreens is simple to use but adds a polished look that works for any party, be it holiday, office, happy hour or out with friends. 

So the next time you are looking to stuff some stockings, perfect your look for an upcoming event or simply try something new check out Walgreens for some really amazing deals and looks this season.

Blog Blast! My Ultimate Beauty Blunder

Green hair,Orange Hair,Gray Hair-It is all the same. Bad.

It was late at night. I was alone. My roommates were all gone. My boyfriend was out of town. It was just me and a box of Feria, the newest at home hair coloring kit on the market. The platinum blonde color oh so tempting. I just had to try it. It called to me from the shelves of CVS and I snatched it up and brought it home. Like a junkie in its paper bag I scurried into the bathroom to begin taking my already blonde and ultra highlighted locks even more blonde.

Around 11 p.m. I found myself coughing and running from the bathroom, the scent of bleach was so strong. There might have been some tingling. I can’t be sure. My brain has blocked out so much of the impending trauma. When I finally rinsed out the dye and put on the super softening conditioner I had such high hopes. I would be the blondest blonde in town. My almost-white due would evoke Marilyn Monroe memories. I would be stunning. Sexy and beautiful, a woman to be reckoned with and my boyfriend would not know what to do with this brand new woman. As I toweled off and looked in the mirror something looked wrong. Very wrong. My hair was not blonde, not even a bit. Instead it was orange. My once sunny blonde locks were now the color of a pumpkin. I screamed. I cried. Alone in my dark apartment just me and some seriously fried harsh looking hair. It was a true nightmare.

I called my Mom begging for the number of my cousin who is a stylist. She promptly called me back telling me to do nothing. Don’t touch a thing but the buttons on a phone to call a hair salon. Only a team of professionals could fix this mess. If I tried to dye it back myself it would only damage my hair more. I was distraught. I fixed a strong drink and vowed to go to a salon first thing in the morning. The next morning I woke up ashamed. My roommates could not stop laughing. I was even more mortified and distraught upon seeing the streaky orange locks in the broad daylight. I shoved my nasty burnt hair into a ball cap and trudged to the nearest salon that had an opening.

At the salon I reluctantly showed them my mess. They shook their heads sadly saying the see it all the time, these silly girls who mess with professional strength color without any thought to the damage it can cause. This would take some time. Did I understand that I would not be blonde anymore? Yes. Did I understand they would have to strip my color and I wouldn’t be any color? Gulp. Uh sure. No!!! WHAT? I just kept my mouth shut and let the professionals do their jobs. Three hours later I emerged from the salon chair with a grayish green mess. It wasn’t orange but it wasn’t anything. I looked like a sea witch. A Medusa in training. I was heartbroken. I trudged home, head hanging in shame, $200 poorer.

Later my boyfriend (now H)stopped by. He took the baseball cap off my head and said, “Uh it’s sort of green or gray. I can’t really tell. It’s like the absence of color yet every color! What were you thinking?” I don’t know! To this day I don’t know. Did I do it again? You betcha! A year later I was in a whole other salon asking them to turn my streaked mess of a head back into a blonde mess tout suite! I had a plane to catch to my parent’s house and I sure as hell wasn’t going to show up with another messy dye job. My mother wearing that ‘I told you so’ face. That was the last time I dyed my hair at home though. I walked out blonde again but it was five hours later and I was $300 lighter in the wallet that time. I vowed as God as my witness with all the Scarlett O’Hara in me that I would never dye my hair at home again!

Luckily no photos of this trauma exsist. For more hilarious and cringe-worthy beauty mishaps visit PBN. Pictures will be there! PLUS an incredible contest celebrating the arrival of one FAB book, Beauty Confidential by Nadine Haobsh a beauty expert herself with loads of things to share.

HERE ARE THE RULES AND THE PRIZES!!!!

Tell us about your biggest beauty blunder!

What can you win? The entire list of beauty editor must haves on pages 12-14 of Beauty Confidential:

NARS blush in Orgasm
Terax Original Crema intensive conditioner
Essie Mademoiselle and OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress nail polish
Mario Badescu Drying Potion
Shu Uemura eyelash curler
Bumble and bumble Does It All styling spray
Cetaphil face wash
Kiehl's Lip Balm #1
Lancome Definicils mascara
Phytodefrisant balm
Lancome Flash Bronzer Instant Colour Self-Tanning Leg Gel
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch

In addition, if you post a picture of your beauty blunder, you'll be entered to win another random drawing: Five lucky winners can ask Nadine their most burning beauty question, and they'll receive a personal answer!

GET EXCITED!!!!

Product of the Week!

So it's not really a product and more like a useful tool. One of my readers mentioned it in an email to me last night. Seeing the words 'Makeup Alley' made my eyes shine and spirits pick up a bit. What is this 'Makeup Alley'? Is it some seedy underground world where people trade illicit beauty secrets and regimes? I had to check it out.

It is not some dark, underworld order for make-up alas. It is however a great website full of reviews on virtually any product you can think of. Want to try a new concealer that you've heard a lot of magazine raves about but are still unsure? Head to Makeup Alley and get the skinny. This is truly a site for product whores and make-up junkies such as myself. They even feature some really solid reviews on Arbonne products. So the next time you are jonesing to try something new and there's a tad of nagging doubt, head over to Makeup Alley and see what other folks have to say.