Summer Picks Part I: The Essentials

Summer Places

It’s summer finally! This is part I of a summer series I am going to do to get everyone ready to enjoy the summer! 

Here are some of the essentials you need to have to enjoy the summer weather. Sunglasses are a must! I am one of those guilty of not wearing sunglasses when the sun is shining outside. I have been getting better though at donning those shades when I step outside, it definitely helps when I have a super cute pair to flaunt.

 I used to hate the little marks you would get on your nose from wearing sunglasses, and I still do, but I have learned to get over it because it is way better for my eyes to wear them than not. 

These Marc Jacobs shades are my sisters which she sometimes lets me borrow. There are so many different shapes of sunglasses out there that it is almost impossible to not find a pair you love wearing. I personally love sunglasses from Aldo as well as a new pair I just got from Ann Taylor Outlet. 

A hat is also a great way to protect your face and you can find great hats at Ann Taylor Loft. They have fedoras as well as the glamorous floppy style. (http://www.loft.com/loft/cat/LOFT-Shoes-Accessories/LOFT-Sunglasses/catl000027)

Summer Essentials

Another essential is waterproof mascara.  I like to use the DiorShow Iconic Waterproof Mascara in black because it makes my lashes nice and curled without looking too overdone for a natural summer look. I only use this when I am at the pool, beach or lake but otherwise it is not good for your lashes to use waterproof every day. This is because it can dry out your lashes if you use it too frequently. So try to save it for those days when you will be swimming or going to an event where tears may fall and you do not want black running down your face instead of delicate tears. 

Definitely do not forget your lips! They need protection as well, I like to use the cherry favored chapstick for day to day, but I just discovered the new Chubby Sticks from Clinique. They go on very smoothly and give a nice soft color to your lips while moisturizing them. They are very easy to throw in your purse or beach bag and easy to apply on the go. To add great SPF protection you can apply this over your favorite chapstick with SPF or I have started using the Eye and Lip Sunscreen from Mario Badescu. It goes on without being sticky and is clear. 

If you feel you need extra definition to your eyes try the Aqua Black Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow from Makeup Forever. It is great and does not move until you use an eye makeup remover. 

My favorite sunscreen to use is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sun block. It is not greasy and doesn’t sting my face when I put it on. I usually get the SPF 30 for my face and SPF 15 for my body. You should always pay attention to the directions and reapply the sunscreen when advised. This will ensure a summer free from lobster look alike contests.

 Also according to Dr. Jessica Wu eat a bit of tomato paste each day and you will help your body build a natural SPF. This does not mean that you do not need extra sun block though; you still need to apply suntan lotion ladies and gentlemen.  Buy her book, Feed Your Face, to see other great tricks to help protect your skin from the sun as well as treat the occasional sunburn (which hopefully will not happen to those who are vigilant about putting their sun block on). 

Stay tuned for Summer Picks: Makeup, Hair & Nails, Summer Picks: Clothes and Summer Picks: Suits for more ways to prepare for the summer months ahead. 

Enjoy & Be Beautiful! 

http://www.marcjacobs.com/marc-by-marc-jacobs/eyewear/

http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/accessories/womens/sunglasses

http://www.loft.com/loft/cat/LOFT-Shoes-Accessories/LOFT-Sunglasses/catl000027

http://www.anntaylor.com/

http://www.clinique.com/product/9144/15520/Chubby-Stick-Mix-and-Match/Chubby-Stick-Moisturizing-Lip-Colour-Balm/index.tmpl

http://www.mariobadescu.com/#helpme

http://www.amazon.com/Feed-Your-Face-Beautiful-Delicious/dp/0312630778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340388617&sr=8-1&keywords=Dr.+Jessica+Wu+Feed+your+face

http://www.makeupforever.com/

http://www.neutrogena.com

All Photography Copyright Carolyn Thombs 

http://www.carolynthombsphotography.com/

Ojon Hair Products

Ojon Dry Recovery Hydrating Moisture Mist

I got my first Ojon product from Sephora as a Beauty Insider Perk. It is the Dry Recovery Hydrating Moisture Mist to put on your hair in order to help repair intense drying out of the hair.  I started using it and loved it, even though I really didn’t know much about the product or the brand for that matter. 

Recently I was in Florida with my sister and we somehow found ourselves engrossed in watching QVC. Yes, I know we never think it will happen to us, but it is a very tricky program. They really suck you in with all of their enthusiastic hosts and seeing the products work before your eyes, it really blows your mind. So it was getting late and we had actually been watching it for about ummm 6 hours maybe (I know rough). And I saw that they were going to be featuring Ojon products; so I thought “Awesome I will finally learn more about this oddly named brand and see why it is doing amazing things for my hair”.  

The founder of the brand was on the show, Denis Simioni, and he laid it all out there why this ingredient has created miracle products. They also had a few stylists on the show demonstrating the amazing miracles the products are capable of on all types of hair. 

Here are a few little factoids on the amazing ingredient Ojon and the products it is in:

• Ojon was found in the regions of the Central American rain forests.
• This golden oil is obtained from the nut of the Ojon tree and is hand extracted according to                      ancient, eco-friendly tradition which has been in place for over 500 years
• When pure Ojon oil comes into contact with hair it helps to restore radiance, suppleness, bounce, body, volume and vibrancy and can help repair even the most damaged hair
• It is a restorative ingredient because it helps to replenish essential lipids to the hair
• The lipids in your hair are diminished by sun. water, heat styling and chemical processing
• Ojon is able to restore these lipids because it has a similar composition to the essential lipids found in unprocessed virgin hair and can help compensate for those lost lipids (www.ojon.com)

Another great advantage to these products is that all of their different lines all contain Ojon oil so if you need strengthening and volumizing you can create your own personalized regimen suited to the needs of your hair. 

Once I am in the market for getting new hair products these are the first products I am going to introduce into my regimen. You should definitely try them out as well! 

Enjoy & Be Beautiful!

www.ojon.com

www.sephora.com

www.qvc.com 

A Fabulous Tea Party: Part II: What to Eat & Drink

What to Eat & Drink

For the food I spent pretty much a full day slaving away in the kitchen creating these yummy delectable treats. I made Russian Teacakes, which were really easy to make and very yummy. They have a bit of a drier texture, so you want to make sure you have a drink with you. 

The little Petits Fours were another story, the batter was easy to mix and the cake was easy to bake. The tough part started when I needed to ice the little cut outs of cake. I started out adding too much to some of the cakes (I did not include those in the shoot), they were delicious when I ate them but were not as pretty as some of their fellow cakes. So those guys go to be the test runs with my decorating skills. After a few test runs I got the hang of it and made the beautiful ones you see in the pictures. 

For the tea I used one of my favorites, which is Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea. It has a wonderful robust taste and is delish with a bit of milk added. I also love using Green Tea and Darjeeling from them. These can usually be found at your local grocery store. 

Great tea can also be found at Teavana either go to the store or shop online for a great assortment of teas … www.teavana.com. 

For the photo shoot I used my own Tea set which the full set was from my Grandma and I have two cups and saucers (the ones with the gold handle) from my Great Aunt. So you can try out The Tea Pot Shoppe to find your perfect set. This site really had a plethora of different styles to choose from.

Similar styles:

Pricier side: http://www.theteapotshoppe.com/pisacupandsa.html

Real Pink Chintz Cup and Saucer with Gift Box

$30.97

www.theteapotshoppe.com

To find great deals and possibly less expensive sets, you can try frequenting your local thrift store and create your own mixed Tea Set with different cups and saucers that catch your eye. Who matches things anymore anyways! 

This was an amazing topic to explore and was so much fun to plan the photo shoots. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Enjoy & Be Beautiful!



Model: The Beautiful Statuesque Jenna
Tea Cups and Saucers: My own collection

www.anthropologie.com
www.aldoshoes.com
www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com
www.narscosmetics.com
www.makeupforever.com
www.lancome-usa.com
www.lauramercier.com
www.stilacosmetics.com
www.lenox.com
www.teavana.com
Dress: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/clothes-dresses/24482887.jsp
Wilderflora Patchwork Dress
www.anthropologie.com
$220
Shoes: http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/women/shoes/high-heels/89277216-wademan/17&flagid=nudes
Wademan
www.aldoshoes.com
$70

A Fabulous Tea Party: Part I: What to Wear

When I though of this idea for a post I got so excited as all of the ideas for the set up and what to incorporate into the post filled my head! For the past few weeks my head has been on creative overload creating the perfect look and set for a tea party, a Fabulous Tea Party at that! 

So I searched on my favorite clothing sites and finally chose the beautiful Wilderflora Patchwork dress from Anthropologie. Finding the model was easy because I am so lucky to have such a beautiful best friend to help me out with this shoot. I chose Aldo to look for the shoes because they always seem to have the perfect shoes to go with anything. So I chose something subtle yet modern to go with this amazing dress. 

The first shoot I did was the full tea party set up, which let me tell you, made for quite a busy day. I had an amazing time baking all of these treats, but it definitely wasn't just a wave of my wand and Poof! I had little cakes. 

For the floral arrangement I used one of my Mom's Lenox pitchers and cut some Hydrangeas from the garden, for a soft pop of color, and added a bunch of my favorite flowers, Daisies, to give the fresh Spring look to the table. 

What to Wear

I put Jenna in this beautiful patchwork dress and paired these beautiful nude pumps with the outfit. The shoes had a beautiful gold wrapping on the heel giving them a modern and fresh approach to the classic nude pump. 

The dress from Anthropologie was love at first sight and she looked so perfect in it as well! In the images of Jenna you can see that she has the sash over her shoulders; this sash is removable or can be draped in the back of the dress or worn as a halter. Who doesn't love versatility? The fit was amazing as well and is true to size. You will want to look at the sizing directions for the dress so that you measure yourself correctly. It fits your top half and has a slight A-line over your bottom half, so order the dress to fit your top half. 

Makeup

I decided to do a light, airy, fresh, pink face for Jenna because when I think of tea parties everyone has young pink cheeks and rosy pink lips. So pretty and natural and the perfect look for daytime that can go from Spring into Summer. 

I started with the HD Primer which is an amazing base to layer the foundation over top. It gives the skin a smooth surface for the foundation to be buffed onto the skin. I then used the Lancome Teint Miracle foundation, which has light reflecting particles in it so it gives your skin a nice radiant and fresh look. I applied it a bit heavier for photography purposes, but on the reg you can just apply a thin layer with your fingers to give a barely there look and then if you need more coverage in certain areas just add a bit more and blend it in. 

I used my Bobbi Brown concealer palette for a bit more coverage, which you can just buy the individual concealer sticks in your shade. After the base was done I set everything with a bit of the Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder in the Universal Shade. This helps keep the concealer from creasing under the eyes and the foundation from moving. 

To add a bit of a sun-kissed look I used the NARS Laguna Bronzer, which is one of the products I use on a daily basis. I put this right below the cheek bone and then moved it up a bit in a C motion towards the hair line. I then added a beautiful pinky blush that really looks amazing on any skintone: the amazing NARS blush in Orgasm. This pinky color really gives you that perfect pink glow that adds a fresh look to your complexion. 

So with the face done I then moved onto the eyes.  I started with the Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eyeliner in Black Ebony and used the Tightline Activator to create a liquid liner. I have just recently started using this product because it was introduced to me by an amazing makeup artist I work with, Lora Elaine. She swears by it and convinced me to start using it and I now use it on all of my clients. At first I wasn't that used to it because the brush was a different shape than I normally use, but I really like how you can fill in the lash line in a subtle way. 

After I set the liner I then used the NARS eyeshadow Night Star all over up to the brow and then used D. Gorgeous on the lid and then Odine in the crease. This gave a very light and airy look to the eye. As a final touch I thickened the liner on the lash line and gently smudged it. I then used DiorShow New Look Mascara to give her beautiful long curled lashes. And for the lips I used a Stila Lip Glaze in Pinata, which was a nice complement to the blush I used. And voila a fresh, pinky, airy tea time look! If your guys really like how this looks, let me know and I will create a video tutorial on how to recreate the look! 

Stay tuned till tomorrow to find out what to eat and drink at your Fabulous Tea Party! 

Enjoy & Be Beautiful!

www.anthropologie.com

www.aldoshoes.com

www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com

www.narscosmetics.com

www.makeupforever.com

www.lancome-usa.com

www.lauramercier.com

www.stilacosmetics.com

www.lenox.com