Blushblog

What I Learned from the Nordstrom Cosmetic Trend Show

(courtesy of www.sideviewmagazine.onsugar.com)

I have been promising myself for a while now that I am going to start paying attention to me again. While I love my family life and tolerate my work life, I have not been doing the things that I like to do for me. Now, don't misunderstand me I have never been a makeup girl.  I wear it when I am going out for an evening but lip gloss is all I apply on a day to day basis. With the inspiration of a few makeup savvy friends, I have decided to explore the endless world of lip colors, eye shadowing techniques, and all things face.  As I dig my heels into embracing my thirties, I do so with the knowledge that concealer will likely become one of my closest friends when my children keep me up at night.  Ahhh, discovery.

On Saturday, April 9th, I had the pleasure of attending the Nordstrom Cosmetic Trend Show.  What better way to spend my birthday morning than to immerse myself in all things girly and learn a few things about makeup.  I had no idea of the wonders that awaited me as I took my seat in front of the makeup runway in the center of Nordstrom's first floor level.  Here are a few things I learned at the Trend Show:

1. 6:30am is not too early for makeup.
2. Women will line up in the damp morning air hours before the Trend Show is to start much like groupies line up for autographs on their breasts.
3. Yes, some of these women will drag their incredibly sad husbands to the show.  Yes, these husbands will get pushed by restless makeup seeking hoards of women.
4. I am not above engaging in a light jog to get a good seat to see said Trend Show.
5. I am not above screaming for free makeup giveaways.
6. Cosmetic lines will fly in their most dynamic representatives from around the county and Norway to introduce drooling women to new products in their lines.
7. Apparently, every woman should have at least one Chanel cosmetic item in her purse.  
8. Tweeting during the Trend Show can get you free stuff.
9. Skin care is the gateway to the land of the beautiful face but makeup is the garden within.
10. When you sleep, your skin works to repair itself.  Yes, night recovery treatments are important.  Estee Lauder is the industry leader in night recovery.  Who knew?
11. I can love a makeup line other than Smashbox.
12. The Laura Mercier counter is my new addiction. 
13. Wearing a full face of makeup does not mean you have to overwhelm your face.
14. Cream eye shadow gives me goosebumps.
15. Black girls look damn good in bronzer.
16. You can wear tinted moisturizer, illuminating moisturizer, bronzer, concealer, cream eyeshadow, cream blush and a full lip and look natural and effortless.
17. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer w/ SPF 20 in Almond is my new confidant.  Ohhh, the things we will do together.
18. A tight line is a subtly sexy alternative to the standard top lid eye line.  With a gel liner and a small flat brush work the color under (not above) the top lashes.
19. Clarins Instant Gloss gives my lips the perfect red shade.
20. Avaha means love and is the name of a very nice skin care line.
21. The Tanda Zap greatly diminishes pimples in 24 to 48 hours.  Did I buy it? Yes.  Did it work? Yes!
22. Yves Saint Laurent has a beautiful eye shadow line.  Yes, it is expensive.
23. Any and all future Nordstrom gift cards I receive will be spent in the Beauty Department.

I will be attending the show in the fall and cannot wait.  Did you attend the Nordstrom Cosmetic Trend Show?  What did you think?

You get what you pay for?

Hello Blushing Ladies …it’s your girl Brown Sugar back with a review of a new type of hair salon popping up across the country – The Weave Express. For those of you not familiar with this concept the tag line is "Home of the $50 Sew-In Weave. They offer several types of weave services at varying price points with the entry level weave at the price point of $50. One girl will braid your hair, another girl will sew the weave in and possibly a third will style it. No appointments are necessary as clients are taken on a first come, first serve basis. Eureka..where has this salon been all my life….RIGHT! Pause your excitement as I give you my experiences at The Weave Express in Landover, MD.

My first trip to The Weave Express occurred on December 15^th, 2010. I went on a Wednesday afternoon at around 3:30pm…our offices had closed early and I decided to treat myself for my birthday the following week. I walked in and was greeted by one of the owners. We discuss what service I want, the form is filled out (albeit incorrectly) and I get the services started. Let me add the following – it’s best if you come with your own hair washed and dried to ensure “express service” as there is an extra fee and adds time. Although you can bring your own weaving hair to the salon, you can also purchase their brand of hair. First I sit in the braider’s chair. Although I originally requested the ICON weave (which is a fully enclosed weave, leaving none of your hair out) by the time the braider was done I realized that the top of my head was out. Since this was my first time there I figured this would be rectified later. I wait a few minutes for the next available weaver, I hand her my slip and she realizes a mistake has been made. She offers to braid down the top of my hair but I requested to consult with the stylist to see if she could blend the two textures and if so let’s roll with it and go from there. She said that she could blend my hair and the weaving hair with no problem. Wonderful, issue resolved and the weaving continues. The next chair I sit in is the stylist….I requested a detailed cut and curl (normally this is included with the ICON but since my style of hair had changed I am now getting the $85 CELEBRITY and the detailed cut and curl is now an additional fee of like $20…still cheaper than the ICON so I’m all gravy with saving money). This stylist was amazing with her skills. I leave out of there feeling pretty and sassy at around 6pm …2.5hours…WONDERFUL!!!!!! I say to myself I will definitely be back!

My second trip to The Weave Express occurred on Monday, February 21, 2011-President’s day. I get there at 10:15 am ..I have to sign in and I realize that I am number 19 on the list of people to service. Now normally I would say I’ll come back another day, but I ignored the voice in the back of my mind because I wanted to go back to work with a new do. I politely ask the receptionist how long it would be before I get my services started and was told approximately 2hrs.  (red flag) I press on with my plan..I get checked in 30mins later and then I leave to go buy my hair…since I have time to kill and all. I come back and the line has moved significantly. WOOHOO. I get my hair braided then I’m sent to the back to wait. There’s a back waiting room? What? How’s that express service? When I realize the back waiting room is full I take a seat under the hair dryer and wait..and wait..and wait some more.  The different service techs come back and forth and request clients according to number. Then one braider takes a woman simply because she was nearest to the doorway…as soon as some of the other clients and myself realize that she was being taken out of numerical order we proceed to inform the braider that her number is 21 and there’s 15-18 sitting in the back waiting room and 17-20 sitting in the wash area. The braider seemed oblivious and said to the manager “they are saying her number is 21”…the manager proceeds to tell us that we have it wrong she’s simply getting her weave started. We quickly inform her that…no she’s getting her weave installed and proceed to demonstrate this by showing the manager the chair that she is in. The manager immediately rectifies the situation and gets the process back on track.  My head was finally touched again by a braider at around 4pm to get the weave started.  After two rows of weave being sewn in I was sent back to wait. Again, how is this express service? I was then called up an hour later to a weavers chair only to be told..”oh, I’m sorry, I don’t do full closures”..back to waiting I go. I get called up 20mins later and before I could sit down in the chair another woman comes over to get her hair styled because the other stylist has to leave early. So again, I am bumped…at this point I make it known that this is the second time this has happened and I’m not pleased. Her response…”oh, really? I’m sorry…” …smoke should have been coming from my ears. The clients that I have spent the day bonding with had quizzical looks on their faces and yet asked…”What’s Wrong?”

I get called up for a third time and apparently the third time is the charm. My weave is finally installed but the stylist that I wanted to perform my cut and curl was leaving. I am little apprehensive about letting the weaver style my hair because she is not a licensed stylist. Hhhhhmmm, wouldn’t it make more business sense to hire someone who can weave and style well? But I digress…she did an ok job but I know the work of the other girl was far superior..so I will have to go back and have it done correctly.

I finally walked out of there at 7pm. By this point the number of clients on the list had reached 50. They were only able to take up to number 30something which meant there were people who had been sitting around all day with their hair half braided that were sent home with unrendered services. I don’t know how I feel about that.

This may have been the perfect storm for a day from salon hell but I would like offer the following suggestions for the owners/managers/staff of The Weave Express, Landover Maryland.

1. Determine what your cap is for clients that can be serviced in one day.
2. Determine a wait time limit and send clients home if they have been serviced in that time. A four hour wait is unacceptable and bad business.
3. Turn your braiders into weave assistants. If you they can start two tracks then they can be trained to sew a half a head of hair. Especially for those only getting partial weaves.
4. Have a more open line of communication with your clients. Seeing a tech leave with their coat on is not a good business practice when a client has been there since 10:15am.
5. If you are an owner and you walking the salon floor take a moment to introduce yourself and thank the clients for waiting ….breezing through and talking your staff’s ear off only will infuriate the clients more.
6. Put your cell phones away. You are in a service based business …no one likes to see you talk on your cell phone while working on a client’s head.

To anyone looking to go The Weave Express I offer up the following tips for you as well:

1. Ask about the wait time up front..and include the time it will take from being braided to being weaved. That is what they DON’T tell you.
2. Be vocal about the services that you are receiving. If something is not to your liking please speak about it and they will gladly fix it.
3. Be prepared to wait. Especially on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
4. Inquire about the licensing of their stylists and how many of them are on duty the day you arrive. Their styles are pretty basic. So if you want something a bit more detailed it is best to seek that service elsewhere.
5. If you are truly unhappy with your overall experience at the salon put your grievance in writing. A quick email, facebook message or postal letter will go a long way.

Will I go back? I honestly don’t know.  What I do know is that I need to find a back up person or three. Please post referrals. I am serious about my time and money and do not like to waste EITHER!

 

Thanks for letting me vent blushing ladies………. 

 

What in THEEE hell? Would you trust your taxes to these guys?

This commercial has been playing over and over like a bad dance song here.  This has to be one of the worst commercials that I've seen in a long time.

I mean these people are asking to handle your finances and have a copy of your social security number.  It's a financial company for goodness sakes.  Crazy!

We've GOT to do better people.

~Rae

*If you're receiving this through the email distro, please click here to see the video

Miss Jessie's Grow Out Challenge Update: Does Your Significant Other's Opinion Matter?

The Miss Jessie's Grow Out Challenge is right on time.  I have finally fully committed to transitioning my hair from relaxed to natural.  I have long thought about saying farewell to my relaxer, especially after I have decided to live a more organic lifestyle;  however, I never truly committed to the transition until recently.

I have never been celebrated as a patient person.  By nature and design, I am just the opposite, so I am ever the impulsive, impetuous, impatient Aries who becomes bored very easily.  At times, this temperament has been reflected in my hairstyles.  I have had long hair, mid-lenght hair, short hair, very short hair, black hair, reddish hair, blondish hair and everything in between.  Although it has been quite some time since I have experimented with color, my husband has been entertained by my occasional hair impulsion.  He prefers my short hair to the mid-length look I am rolling with now.  

I guess every man has his limits.  When I vocalized my intent to go natural he said little, however, when I told him I was considering the "Big Chop" (BC) so early in the transition process,  I was met with flat out, eye to eye, stong "no".  This actually surprised me.  He said a short crop is one thing but having a "Meshell Ndegeocello" is something all together different. Now, my intent is not to keep my hair that short but instead of waiting months for my relaxed hair to grow out I was considering just cutting off all the relaxed hair.  If I were single, I would not be thinking twice.  The reality is I am a married woman who must consider her husband's feelings.  If he were the kind of man who always had an opinion about my hair, I would take him less seriously.  Since he has so vehemently bulked at this, I feel I must be sensitive to his feelings.  Though I am eager to see what my natural hair will do, I will wait at least until January for more new growth before I get to chopping.

Since having my daughter, I have tried numerous products on her hair in an attempt to find something that complements her textures. Yes, I said textures.  (Much like my sister, my daughter's hair texture varies in the front, middle, and back.)  I know you mom's out there can relate, especially those of you (who, like me) have always gone to the salon and relied on other people to care for your hair and have no particular knowledge of how to care for a child's natural hair.  I have found some hits and misses. Now, that I have committed to the challenge I have been stalking various sites for reviews.  There is a whole world of products out there I knew nothing about.  How exciting!  After watching several youtube demonstrations and reading various and many blogs, I made a dash to Whole Foods and bought the Kinky Curly Curling Custard.  I gave her a bath and a co-wash (cleansed her hair with conditioner only) and applied the Kinky Curly Curling Custard.  When her hair dried, it looked great!!!  I am super and super excited.  The KCCC brought out her natural curl beautifully.  Now she can wear her curly fro without it drying out and looking frizzy.  I can't wait to use this stuff when I transition to my natural hair.

Kinky Curly Curling Custard gets a mega thumbs up from me.  I still want to try the Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo, the Knot Today, and the Tiny Twirls.  I'll keep you posted.

A special shout out to the ladies in the Natural Hair chat on Twitter.  Thanks for the great info.  The group meets on Sunday nights at 10pm on Twitter.  Type #naturalhair in the search bar and you are in.

Blushing Ladies Speak:

Have you experienced a similar reaction from your significant other?  How did you handle it?

 

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Product of the Week

In honor and support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and those fighting the good fight, Blushblog endorses Save The TaTas and all things pink.  

At www.savethetatas.com, you can purchase T-shirts, hoodies, and shorts to show your support for breasts around the world.  A portion of all sales goes to the fight against Breast Cancer.  Men, there are Ts for you too!

     

     

Looking for something a little more subtle...

Needham Lane pink pajamas are $58 at www.needhamlane.com.  10% of every sale goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

This White and Warren pink scarf is $150.  50% of all proceeds will be donated to the Women at Risk program.

Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Makeup is available at BobbiBrown.com.  The company has pledged $35k to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

This bracelet is just one of the jewelry items in Pandora Jewelry Breast Cancer Awareness line.  Pandora has pledged $100k of sales to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Visit PandoraJewelry.com

Kitchen Aid offers a beautiful pink knife set for $50 at shopkitchenaid.com.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation will benefit from sales.

The Tumi Pouch, Hobo and Jewelry can be found at Tumi.com.  20% of sales go to The Susan G. Komen Foundation.

These are just a few things that designers are offering to raise money for a cure for Breast Cancer.  The options are endless so find what you like and support the cure.

Blushing Ladies:

Let us know what else you find.  

  
  
  

Product of the Week- Watches

Fashion rules have long decreed that men should have a few good watches.  Every stylish man should have a growing inventory in his watch box.  Why should men have all the fun?  Ladies, whether you are dressing up, being active, or keeping it casual, a nice watch is a great accessory for you too.  So, start a watch box of your own.  The next time you reach for your bangles also reach for a timepiece.  Here are a few watches that have caught my eye.

Casual - $150 and under

 

Don't be afraid of a big face or a pop of color!  You can be stylish and active.  TOCS watches are under $100.  Can we say great gift?!  G Shock's Baby G Shock line offers women a wide variety of color and styles.

Designer Timepieces...

   

Shown above, the Burberry White Dial Bracelet watch offers a classic look. For $395 at Bloomingdale's , it can be yours.  LIP's Red Small Fridge watch offers a modern look.  For $365 at Barney's, it can be yours. Gold is always a key asset.  Phillip Stein's Round Watch in Yellow Gold Plate is $550 at Neiman Marcus.  Also, the sexy and powerful Fendi Ceramic Quadro is $995 at Bergdorf Goodman's.

Luxury Timepieces...$$$$...

First in line is Cartier's Pasha C.  It is Cartier at Neiman Marcus so you know it is $5150.  I love and love this Tiffany Grand.  Relish it at Tiffany.com but due note that it is $510o.  Ahhh, one day, I say.

Product of the Week-What a way to Get It

My good friend CD is always finding ways for me to do things other than work and ways for me to spend my money.  The other day she sent me a link to a blog that I could NOT stop reading. 

Get It Girl Style is a fresh, hip blog that features stylish wares from clothes, to furnishings, to invitations.  She's already got my creative juices flowing and inspired me to update a couple of things around the house.  Stay tuned.  I'll be featuring them here along with which of her post inspired me.







Check her out.  I'm sure that you'll be inspired too.

By the way, the shoes in her banner are one of my fave Christian Louboutin pumps.  I stalked the green ones.  I heart her already.

For the Frugal

While flipping through this months Glamour magazine, I came across information for Frucall.  

                                                       

If you're in a store and see a product that you like, you can call Frucall (1-888-do-frucall) and enter the barcode.  The Frucall system will tell you if the item is available online for a cheaper price.  And with so many stores matching competitors pricing these days, it may be a great way to get the store to discount it so that you can walk out with the product that day.

You are also able to use the system via text or mobile web.

Happy Shopping

Jive Nation

Ok, I'm still steaming and this is going to be a long post, so sit back and relax.  

I paid $36 for the Soul Music Festival in Raleigh NC.  The headliners were Musiq, Erykah Badu, Chrisette Michelle, Ginuwine, Chaka Kahn, Charlie Wilson, Monica, Chubb Rock, Doug E Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, and Chuck Brown to name a few.  It was advertised that the event was going to be hosted by Big Daddy Kane.

It was the worst concert experience that I've ever had.  I STILL can't believe it.

But you know what?  There were signs along the way that I should've just abandoned the whole thing and went to have drinks with the girls.

Alert #1: The line up was different based on what website you visited and what ad was being broadcasted.  Live nations official website only listed about three people.  The official website for the festival listed 11 people.  The radio ads had a couple others who weren't listed on either site.

Alert #2: The Time Warner Music Pavilion has more rules than the TSA at the airport.  You can't take in the canvas fold up chairs that come in the bags, your chair can't be more than 9 inches off of the ground (I'm short and that's to my knee), when they check your purse if you have prescription meds, you have to take it over to ems to have them double check your id against your prescription.  No aerosol sunblock.  I mean seriously! 

Alert #3: When you walked in, they had a program with information of the day's events.  It only listed about 6 entertainers.  No Erykah Badu.  No Chrisette Michelle. But you know.  That didn't even jump out at me.

Alert #4: We had lawn seats, and I wanted a great one, so we got there at about 1.  The concert was suppose to start at 2.  So we get to the steps that lead to the lawn.  We were stopped by the staff.  They weren't letting people on the lawn yet.  I'm generally patient.  Even though it was 1,000 degrees outside, we decided to wait patiently.  By about 1:30 or so, the natives were getting restless. 

At about 1:45, the staff member said ok, you guys can come on up.  Whew, finally.  When we got to the top of the stairs guess what?  We were stopped again.  Ummm why?  Because they're still doing sound check.  Excuse me Mr. Live Nation man.  You do realize that we can still hear them right.  They're only a few feet away from us.  Making us stand and wait isn't really serving a purpose.

At about 2:15, they FINALLY let us take our seat on the lawn.

Alert #5: The first performer didn't come on stage until 3:30.  By now, I'm about 10 shades darker and the water that I brought in is warm.  Not happy

Alert #6:  Play (of Kid n Play) came out to host.  He did a great job.  Glad to see him.  Looks great.  But wasn't Big Daddy Kane suppose to host? 

We interrupt for a good note: Monica came out to perform. She did a great job.  She looked and sounded great.  So then they said, are you ready for Musiq?  We all say yeah!

Alert #7: about 20 or 30 min later, they brought out a band from my home town of DC.  I'm always happy to see local talent, but didn't they say that Musiq was coming out?  By now, the crowd (me included) is not happy.  A couple of other local NC acts came out to perform, and again, any other time, I may have been happy to see them, but dang it, Where is Musiq? 

The whole time play is saying oh I just saw Musiq and Charlie Wilson backstage.  Ginuwine was getting dressed and ready to come on. 

What happened to Musiq?  and Big Daddy Kane?  Hello! 

So by about 5:30, I'm pissed. I've been in the boiling sun all day and the only person that I've seen, that I paid to see, is Monica. 

They have a dj spinning, but I could've went to a club to hear a dj and it wouldn't have costs half as much money.  And I wish that they'd stop announcing this damn after-party.  Get the concert right!

By now, facebook is on fire about the concert and so is my cell phone.  People saying that they heard the concert was garbage and nobody is coming, yadda, yadda, yadda.  And then I got the call that changed my day.  My cousin called and said that a friend of hers wrote a note on facebook that if you wanted a refund, you'd better come to the box office now.   

Aint this a mickey flick?  No announcement about that, of course.  Just that the performers were coming on stage and that there was an after party. 

So once she called her contact to confirm, my folks and I folded up our blanket, packed our stuff and headed to the box office.  Well it appears that a bunch of others got the memo too.  We waited in line for over an hour to get our refund.  And you could only get it at the box office if you purchased it from there.  Those who purchased online had to call Live Nation for a refund.  So heads up, if you haven't done it already, I suggest that you do.

The line had no order.  People were just kind of blending in.  And to my surprise, there were no police out to control the crowd.  I figured that these people are a trusting bunch to have hundreds of people who've been sitting in the boiling sun, mad because they didn't get the show that they paid for, and now they have to stand in a long line to get a refund, and they didn't request that the Raleigh police be on hand just in case.  That's Madness.

I will note that when we got to the window, there was one policeman.  Inside the box office.  One of the attendees politely told him that he and some of his coworkers should probably be outside helping out rather than standing inside the box office chillin against the wall.  He had no words for her.  And didn't move.  That DEFINITELY wouldn't have happened at many of the other venues that I've visited.

They processed my transaction and gave me a confirmation number.   My refund STILL hasn't hit my bank account.  They will be getting a phone call by tomorrow.  I figure that three business days is more than enough time to process my credit.

When we were walking to our car, I heard Ginuwine performing.  I heard that Charlie Wilson came out and tore it up and so did Chaka Kahn.  I also heard (although it wasn't confirmed) that the artist performed for free.

I've been to many Live Nation events and have never had this problem.  I am deeply disappointed and shocked.  It's not a good look Live Nation.  I don't know if there were money issues, promoter issues or what.  But I'll definitely be hesitant to attend another concert at the Time Warner Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek  (which is a Live Nation venue). 

With all that being said.  I STILL can't believe that Big Daddy Kane didn't show up.  He lives in the Raleigh area!

Damn Jive Nation!

House Hunters International Junkie

Since the recession has left me at home spinning out cover letters and resumes like a rickety little Dutch windmill, I need the small things to keep me sane.  In addition to praying multiple times throughout the day, I also have time to fantasize about becoming an ex patriot and jetting my family off to a villa in Portugal or chalet in Spain.  Until circumstances allow our retreat, I have HGTV's House Hunters International to keep me warm between job hunts.  For those of you who do not know, House Hunters International is a show dedicated to following home buyers as they search for properties around the world.  Some of the home buyers are only looking for vacation homes while others are seeking a permanent residence beyond the borders of their home country.  Whether they are searching for Caribbean getaways, Italian apartments, French lofts, or cottages with Mediterranean views, these home buyers are following a dream.

This show is a daily reminder that life is for living.  There is so much the world offers that we miss within our borders.  Other cultures appreciate life and appear to be far more willing to wonder beyond the day to day grind.  For example, Europeans take 5 to 6 weeks of vacation time per year.  Americans average 8 days.  Europeans take in the day.  Americans rush through it.  In Europe, maternity leave is substantially more generous than in the United States. 

I often ask myself what keeps my family in the United States.  I believe the answer is simple.  The United States is home.  However, just as I left home for college to grow and experience new things, the rational should be the same for a move out of the country.  If a search for a better quality of life for my family leads me to a foreign country, then leaving the United States behind only makes sense.  Perhaps, I should begin an international job hunt.  It only makes sense.  Tonight, House Hunters International takes me to Nicaragua.