beauty Archives

Corinna B November 12, 2017

How To Choose The Perfect Red Lip

Red lips always look so fresh and modern.

They imply strength and self confidence. Red lipstick refreshes and brightens any look. It can take jeans and a white t-shirt from casual to fabulous, and can turn a little black dress from merely pretty to absolutely stunning.

They are the perfect foil to not having time to put makeup on – a little foundation, brows, mascara and a swipe of red lipstick paired with tousled hair takes you from undone to French girl insouciance in the blink of an eye.

Red lipstick channels both your inner rebel and your inner seductress.

Choosing a red lipstick can feel a little overwhelming, with what seems to be an endless array of color variations to select from, but it’s actually quite easy.

Fair Skin

If you have fair skin or are cool toned you will look fabulous in pink-reds, blue-reds and cherry-reds.

Medium Skin

If you have medium/warm/olive skin tone your best red is an orange-red. If you want more depth you can also wear a brick-red.

Dark Skin

If you have a darker complexion your best reds are berry-reds and deep, resonant reds.

Technique

The trick to mastering the perfect red pout is in the technique you use. Red lips love precision, so start out with a good lip liner. Rather than trying to build your lip, stay along the line. The goal is a crisp lip line that also prevents the lipstick from feathering.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Product Spotlight

Is your skin starting to look dry yet? What about your hair?

Winter is notoriously tough on your skin and your hair, stripping both of vital nutrients, leaving hair looking frizzy and lackluster and skin looking dried out and grey. More than any other time of year you need to give your skin and hair extra loving in the winter!

Today’s Product Spotlight is the French girl’s secret weapon, Huile Prodigieuse.

Huile Prodigieuse is a dry oil. That means it doesn’t leave a baby oil type of slimy feeling to the skin, it feels like a lotion finish, definitely non-greasy! Made from six different plant oils, it nourishes, hydrates, softens and repairs skin and hair.

It’s not hard to see why Huile Prodigieuse is France’s leading beauty oil. This is a multi purpose oil, you can use it on your face and body for silky, smooth skin, and also on your hair to soften dry ends, or to get that French girl disheveled look. You can also use it on your hair as a mask before shampooing, for a super nourishing treatment.

You can use Huile Prodigieuse year round – it’s not just a winter skin product.

image by Brad Olson for Luca Magazine. Beauty Director Corinna Cooke

I use it on models for magazine shoots, like this image from the Summer 2017 issue of Luca Magazine. I also wear it and love it myself.

There are two types of Huile Prodigieuse. The regular and the Or (French for gold). Huile Prodigieuse Or has gorgeous gold flecks that make your skin shimmer in candlelight, or in any light. Either is gorgeous!

If you have friends traveling to Europe, or if you are traveling there yourself, you can find both types of Huile Prodigieuse in regular pharmacies, and they are incredibly affordable. If you are buying it in the USA it is more expensive, but worth every drop!

It can be a little tricky to find this fantastic oil in the USA, but I have found the regular oil here at Amazon.com and the Huile Prodigieuse Or here at Amazon.com

Corinna B November 5, 2017

Seasonal Candles – Luxurious Gift Ideas From Nieman Marcus

Have you started your Christmas/Hannukah/End of Year gift shopping yet? I have. I always have to start early because I have so many business gifts I have to buy as well as buying for my family and friends, so I like to think everything out, pace myself, and make it enjoyable.

This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure page.

I was super spoiled last month when my affiliate marketing company and Nieman Marcus Last Call sent me a gorgeous bonus box filled with really fantastic presents. I don’t think they realize that I am a single parent, and that I basically never buy myself anything. I work all the time to keep everything running, and I don’t really shop for myself. It felt like it was my birthday!

There were lots of lovely things in my gift box, but today I want to tell you about one in particular, the Smoked Birchwood Candle from DL&Co. I had a Birch candle from this company last fall/winter, and it was my absolute favorite. I had received it as a (very well thought out) gift, and had wondered where to find one for this season. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to find this one in my box!

Here is what I can tell you about DL&Co candles. The fragrance is gorgeous, they last for ages, and they are super chic.

I have candles burning all the time when I am home. Fragrance is so important in the home and in every aspect of our lives. Our sense of well being can be tied to fragrances, our memories are tied to our sense of smell, in fact perfume is the key to our memories. I adore the fragrances we attach to the Christmas season – the birches and pines. I always buy a real Christmas tree because to me the smell of the tree heralds Christmas more than anything else.

This candle has notes of smoked birch, vetivier and oak blend, cedar, earthy moss, and balsamic amber. Perfect for this time of year!

When I opened this candle I was really taken with the packaging. The box is elegant and the fluted glass jar the candle comes in is beautiful. we took these photos a couple of weeks ago and I have been burning the candle since then, so it is a little lower in the jar now. It is burning on my desk as I am writing this post, and I keep looking at the light dancing around inside the jar, bouncing off the crenellations and fluting in the glass is so pretty.

I received it as a gift but I am also thinking that these candles make fabulous gifts for people on my own list, and no doubt yours too! Nieman Marcus Last Call has a wonderful variety of candles for your home and for the homes of people on your gift giving list. Check them out here.

Related Post: Gift Idea, Sunday Riley Luna Oil

All images in this post are courtesy of Kristina Beth Photography