Last quarter of 2007, Melette and I decided to both try Philosophy skincare products. She truly loves hers. She said that it makes her skin glow and I’m pretty sure the health of her skin is also improving.
For Melette, Philosophy is a wonderful product and she will enjoy other items in the product line. As a matter of fact, TJ sent her a Philosophy gift set for her birthday…..loves it.
My experience was greatly different though. The Hope in a Jar broke my skin out in a ridiculous manner….in the cheek area. I kept with the regimen for approximately 2 weeks and it got continuously worse. So I packed it up and returned it.
Kudos to the customer service commitment of Sephora. My experience in returning the product has truly made me a loyal fan. At that point I decided to stick with my Oil of Olay facial cleanser and moisturizer. I’m happy with them and my skin is quite nice.
My next experiment was Bare Minerals by Bare Escentuals (at Sephora of course). The variety of shades is amazing and wonderful for all of us….because there is nothing worse (for me) than having a sales person try to figure out whether to give me the brown side of the case or show me the tan line without appearing to be racially insensitive. I proudly held my picture up to the computer screen and decided that of the TWELVE options, Medium Tan was for me and I ordered my starter kit.
Do I like it? No. I LOVE IT! We’ve all seen the commercials and know the line “Swirl, Tap, Buff”. Trust me when I say that there’s nothing more to it. You follow those exact directions for a fabulous result. The starter kit includes:
- Two shades of bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation to ensure the perfect match. (Size: 0.06 oz)
- bareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper: can be applied daily before applying bareMinerals to rev up your skin
- Mineral Veil: provides a translucent finishing touch to your makeup, infusing it with softness and adding a flawless finish. (Size: 0.06 oz)
- Warmth All Over Face Color: add an instant sun-kissed glow to skin where the sun would naturally touch. (Size: 0.06 oz)
- Flawless Application Brush
- Full Coverage Kabuki Brush
- Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush
Can I just tell you that the Warmth All Over is my absolute favorite. It gives me that sun kissed glow that I want and adds a little touch of cocoa to my skin color. I look less pale and I love it!
I’ll be honest and admit that when I first applied it I was unimpressed….but then I stepped away from the mirror and came back…WOW! I was beautiful! TJ and I both use this product and we took a picture at the Space Needle last weekend that looked so good that I told the cashier to leave it up on the screen and she’d sell more. My skin photographs great in this makeup. It feels so light and natural and that’s exactly how I look….natural. I love it. Add to it a nice bronze shadow and iridescent gold gloss and I look gorgeous.
I haven’t decided yet if it will replace my MAC completely but for this upcoming summer……I’m all about my Bare Minerals natural look. I can’t wait to try other products in this line.
Last night I wrote about putting a new plan into place and in talking to someone about it today, they stepped on it. Just bust my bubble and let all the air of my big balloon. When that happens a person usually decided that their dream must have been stupid in the first place or they just stop telling people about it. And that’s sad. When we dream, the people we share our dreams with should be our “cheerleaders”…in our corner to say “you can do it” or “get to work”. They should motivate you, be there for you, celebrate with you. And I’ve noticed that most of the time, the people stepping on our dreams are those who still expect us to celebrate with them and take joy in theirs.
Wait a minute…you just poured water all over my fire but you want me to stand by and blow on your flame to help you keep it going?
Damn
When I was in grad school one of the Dream Team’s assignments was to organize a charitable project and execute it. The point was to review how we organized and operated….the charitable project was just a side sense of joy. The Dream Team decided to present a full day workshop to a group of young ladies in a special school that was associated with the Juvenile Detention Center. It was our own mini leadership academy and they loved it. Afterwards we sat down with them in a large group and just talked…sister to sister. One of our key points to these young ladies was not to just have a dream but to be careful who you share your dream with because people who are jealous or don’t understand will try to crush it to keep you from accomplishing it.
The Dream Team was a prime example because WE motivated EACH OTHER throughout the entire program. Some of our closest friends and family would say things like “why are you going back to school?” or “don’t you have enough education?”
NONSENSE…to keep you from achieving your dream. But we were there for each other.
At 31 years old I still have to remember that lesson…..I have to be careful who I share my dreams and “a-ha moments” with. Hell that’s just as hard for me as it is for those 16 year olds. You get excited! You want those closest to you to share in that….be there with you every step of the way. Yeah well that’s not reality apparently.
I have a dream….I have a plan…..I have resources…..I have connections…..and I have motivation.
Watch out free world……
Earlier today I read a post written by a sister that was truly empowering. In her post she reminisced on the opening of her business and the thought process behind the plan. See it starts with the plan.
Interestingly enough, I JUST received my January 2008 issue of Black Enterprise magazine and one of the cover stories is The Next Generation of Young, Rich Entrepreneurs.
In this issue, there was a specific segment that struck a cord with me. Black Enterprise has a segment titled “How Do You BE?” where readers write in and detail how the magazine has helped them achieve their professional goals. This particular entrepreneur realized her dream of owning her own Event Planning business in 5 years. I looked up her website and gave the silent head nod saying “go head sista!”
It all starts with the plan.
I’ve been re-evaluating and re-working my plan lately. I stepped away from the industry in 2007 to make this move, but in 2008 my plan is going to be a part of my move to Chicago.
My plan.
The one thing lacking from my plan was ascension. Any business owner out there knows that you can’t grow without plans for moving upward….expanding….all that good stuff. One of my mentors gave me wise advice once to never grow for the sake of growing…..grow out of necessity. You still must have a plan to grow. Today….TODAY….I know what my plan for growth is. Not only is it a natural step of progression in the hospitality industry, but it’s something that I’m extremely passionate about as well.
I’ll keep you updated.
2008 is my year of adventure…TRUST. I have at least 4 planned and this……is Episode 1.
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No not a drink….the magazine. Somehow in the move I allowed my subscription to Cosmopolitan to lapse and I have been resigned to purchasing each new issue in the store instead of having the luxury of it coming to my door every month. Woe is me.
Cosmo is such a great source for information and pleasure. I absolutely love it. Allow me to share.
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