With the temperatures dropping and even some snowfall for some of
us, it’s more important now than ever to make sure you’re taking care
of yourself. Not just internally and preventing sickness but also
when it comes to the health of our hair and skin.

Today we will be focusing on skincare.

Skincare is important year round and it’s important to change up
that routine with each season. Now for those of you asking, “Why
do I need to change it if it’s been working”? Well, it’s not
changing it completely, but rather adapting it to the seasons. So
for instance in the Fall, we notice the temperatures dropping and the
air getting drier.

I joined forces with beauty expert Rachel Hayes from
totalbeauty.com to bring you some fun Fall/Winter must-haves and how
they will help our skin look and smell great..

1. Clearasil has a new line.
   This new line features a gel cleanser, exfoliating scrub, and
   on-the-go cleansing pads. Were you expecting me to list off items
   that fit that cleanse, tone, and moisturize rule? While that is
   important this new line is designed to make sure your skin gets the
   necessary nutrients since you’re most likely going to be spending
   more time indoors with the cold weather. Each product contains 1%
   salicylic acid (helps to keep skin clear) and they are also blended
   with super fruit extracts like cranberry, raspberry, and vitamin D.

• Oh, and make sure to
  choose products that are paraben-free. Parabens have been known to
  increase the risk of breast cancer. Also paraben allergies can
  cause things like skin irritation, contact dermatitis, and rosacea.
  They have been known to increase skin aging when combined with
  skin exposure.

2. Schick Quattro for Women.
   Many of us ladies don’t really think about shaving everyday because
   we are in the season of wearing jeans, leggings, boots, and
   sweaters. But who wants to let themselves go on to have a hairy
   mess as soon as spring comes. Schick Quattro has a new razor out
   that will make shaving less of a hassle. It’s high-performance and
   has an ergonomically-designed handle for a woman’s wrist. The
   conditioning strips contain asai berry (another super fruit…wink
   wink) and skin-nourishing Jojoba oils. It will make your skin look
   and feel really healthy and radiant.

• Asai Berry Benefits:
  it has anti-inflammatory properties and can help ease pain caused
  by damaged nerve fibres.

• Jojoba Oils Benefits:
  soothes and moisturizes the skin.

My final beauty
must-have is outside of skincare, but it’s a great way to spice up
that beauty routine for a night on the town, date night, and anything
else fun you might have planned.

3. Fragrance. We want
   to include several senses to give us the confidence to look and feel
   good. Every year around this time, we see many conglomerate
   companies and celebrities releasing new fragrances. One that is
   designed for the strong, confident woman is Katy Perry’s Killer
   Queen. It’s playful and daring while bringing out the royalty in
   you. The scent has been called addictive and is blended with
   jasmine, wild berry, and liquid praline. Perfect for the cold
   weather because it’s a warmer scent and a good transition from any
   summery floral scents.

• To make you feel more like
  a queen, the bottle is a queen’s scepter with red and gold jewels.

So whether you are embrace your
inner royalty and involve multiple senses in your beauty routine, try
asking yourself these four questions:

• Do you like the scent of
  your perfume?

• Are you happy with how your
  skin looks in the mirror?

• Does you skin feel smooth
  and flawless?

• Are you following the
  skincare rules?

Fashion is something that can bring
people together. Think about it. Do you have more fun at the mall
when you’re shopping by yourself or with one or two friends and
getting their opinions of different outfits? When we can get the
perspective from someone whether it’s another expert or a loved one
who’s voice means the world to us, we can learn a lot ourselves.

This blog post is a collaborative
effort. For my radio show, I got the chance to sit down and chat
about.  Fall fashion must-haves with fashion expert, Cristina
Ehrlich.

Cristina’s career began as a
dancer, she even studied dance at NYU, but she also grew up with a
mother who was a showroom model and interior designer and a
grandfather who was a clothing designer. So when she turned 27, it’s
no surprise that Cristina hung up her dance shoes to pursue another
passion…fashion. Since then she has had the fortune of working
with some of Hollywood’s finest including Penelope Cruz and Amy Adams
and most recently she has announced a partnership with QVC.

I’m very excited to share the Fall
fashion must-haves that Cristina and I came up with:

• Jeans are a great place to
  start. Every woman, no matter
  what her lifestyle is always looking for a great pair of jeans.
  There certainly is a big trend going on right now with printed
  jeans, whether it’s a brochette ankle jean or a Jacquard slim leg
  jean. These are jeans that are going to add some texture and print
  to your wardrobe. A lot of the prints are done in darker hues which
  are very elongating to the leg and flattering.

• Colored cords.
  Whether it’s in rich jewel tones like teal, mulberry, or cranberry
  or in great earth tones like slate grey. Colored cords are a nice
  way to break up the regular jean for everyday. They are a great way
  to transition the colored pants and bright colors from summer so
  that you’re wardrobe doesn’t end up filled with the blacks, browns,
  and greys typical for winter. Cords are super comfortable and easy
  to pair with a great ankle boot, loafer, or pump. They are
  definitely a key piece that can mix and match with already existing
  pieces in our closet.

  • If
    you go for an earth tone or a color like oxblood red or poppy
    persimmon, it’s really easy to pair on top with something like a
    print or texture or even a solid chunky sweater.

  • You
    can also try pairing colored cords with a tweed blazer and a
    little camisole underneath.

• Texture.
  Adding texture in addition to color can give the outfit a little
  more pop and there’s also a new freshness to the style.

• Color blocking.
  We are seeing a lot of color blocking, and what Cristina and I love
  about that is that it breaks up the monotony of always having dark
  tones up against the face. As women we sometimes forget that there
  are different colors, tones, and shades that are going to flatter
  us. When you have color up against your face, it’s very warming and
  flattering. Then you can even try mixing it with gold/silver
  jewelry or a statement necklace. Color blocking can even show off
  your curves while adding a little pop of color.

  • If
    you’re a little hesitant to try color blocking for the fear of
    looking like an Easter egg, Coldwater Creek has a great color
    blocking sweater. The whole front base is done in jewel tones,
    then around the waist it has a slice of dark grey and the arms and
    back of the sweater are also grey. With this sweater you get the
    curve of the waist and also the richness of purple or another
    jewel tone. It becomes easy to find a pair for the bottom whether
    you choose cords, jeans, or leggings.

• Prints.
  Cristina and I like adding a print on either the top or the bottom
  and balancing it with something solid or textural on the other part.
  For instance if you choose a printed camisole, you can try pairing
  it with something like a black jean and a black blazer for a nice
  polished look.

• Make accessories the focal
  point. Often times this is
  the case, but at the same time most women forget that just by taking
  a simple printed scarf and tying it around their neck or even to the
  arms of their handbag or even through their belt loops, it adds a
  pop of color, sophistication, and a little bit of flare.

• Play with lengths.
  Every season boots make a big splash and a great pairing with boots
  can be a skirt. We are going to see a nice trend where people will
  play with the length of the skirts like boots skirts. Boot skirts
  are A-line on the bottom and pair very well with boots.

No
matter which trend you choose to embrace, remember that fashion
should be a seamless flow. What you want to do is choose your focal
point and where you want the solid to be. Don’t feel like you have
to mix and match. If it’s meant to go together, it will flow
together.

A Marriage Made in Fashion Heaven

~ Kisses Donte Calarco of House of Squirrels

Cooper and Ella

You probably read the title and were intrigued, but several
thoughts probably popped in your head. 
Were these some of them?:

• “In
  order to keep up with all the latest trends, I need to get to the stores
  right after they hit the runway.”
• “The
  designer brands are better quality”
• “How
  can that be?  All of the good
  clothes are so pricy.”
• “I
  just saw [insert favorite celebrity] wearing it and have to have it”

Well, believe it or not you can wear the same trends as your
favorite celebrity, get the looks from the runway, and go for those designer
brands without spending your whole paycheck in one shopping spree.

Alright, are you looking at the computer screen even more
confused now?

I stand by that statement. 
The reason why is because of consignment shopping.  No, I’m not talking about those stores that
take just any old thing you want to get rid of, but there are many stores out
there that will buy your old clothes and in choosing their stock they base what
they buy off of if it’s:

• Stylish
• Only a
  couple years old
• Not
  over worn or too well loved
• Properly
  laundered

Yes, I will admit I work for one of these stores which is
why I’m not using the names of any of these types of stores.  I can also tell you that if you give yourself
time shopping around one of these consignment or resale boutiques you will come
up with some high-end deal.  I’ve bought
brands like BCBG Max Azria, Lilly Pulitzer, and Alice + Olivia for less that
$20 bucks each.

So yes, the designer brands might be better quality than
some of the cheaper store brands we go to as a fall back, but that doesn’t mean
that you have to spend full price on these items either.

As far as the current trends are concerned, that’s another
focus these stores pride in when they are searching through your old
clothes.  They may not take those old
tracksuits that you loved bumming around the house in, but they are searching
for the hottest trends like skinny jeans, rompers, and even ways to color
block.

By consignment stores’ fashion guidelines alone, you can
guarantee that you’re paying at least 70% less than the original price for
high-end, high quality clothing.

Also, some of these stores will carry designer purses.  Now, are you looking questionably at the
computer screen again?  My thoughts are
that you’re asking “how do you know that they are real and not fake”.

Here’s how I know. 
There is special training and certain aspects to look for when it comes
to deciphering a real designer purse vs. a fake one (maybe those rules will
show up in a later post).  The pressure
is on the employees of each of these consignment and resale shops even more,
because for a person to sell a fake/knock-off designer purse to a commercial
venue it is around a $7,000 fine for both the store and the person who sold the
fake.

Does that make you feel better when you walk into a
consignment shop and see a discounted Coach or Prada bag?

So, don’t write off the consignment and resale shops because
they are taking in clothes that were technically preowned, because they make
sure it is the best of the best and the most stylish and trendy to sell to you.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

I’ll be honest and say that I have been sitting on this topic for a while wondering when the right time to write this was.  Then a personal experience happened, and became the inspiration and perfect timing for this.  I found myself relying too much on weighing myself after each gym workout, but also becoming discouraged when the number wasn’t reflecting what I wanted to see. 

Beauty is so much more than the number on the scale.  It comes in all shapes and sizes.  It is rooted deep inside of us and then reflect outward.  When I think about this, I’m reminded of a picture a friend once showed me of a scale and written on the scale is everything that the number does not tell you.

In that picture it says that number on the scale doesn’t tell you:

• What a great person you are.
• How much your friends and family love you.
• That you are kind, smart, funny, and amazing in ways numbers cannot define.
• That you have the power to choose happiness.
• Your own self-worth.

It’s important to remember that if we choose to step on a scale, that result is just a number.  That result doesn’t say how healthy we are and it doesn’t say what kind of person we are.  It just tells us this one number.

Many of us (and this is from the norms of society) feel that we’d be happier if we lost 10 pounds or if we had the trendiest clothes, but think about this.  If you lost that 10 pounds or got those designer clothes would you definitely be happier?  Happiness comes from more than the clothes on our back or the way we look. 

In truth, for those of you who are exercise fiends, that number on the scale is misleading.  You are working hard and yes you are losing fat but at the same time you are gaining muscle.  So while your body is changing and slimming down, the number on the scale may not change at all or it may increase by a pound or two.

So, I have a challenge for you.

Don’t let yourself think about that number on the scale.  When you wake up in the morning or you finish your workout, avoid stepping on that scale for one month. 

Rather than focusing on the number, focus on the changes
you see in your body. 

• Do you clothes fit
  differently? 
• Does your body seem
  more toned? 
• Do you have more
  energy? 
• Are you happy when
  you look in the mirror?