Most Asked Question....as a Makeup Artist

How to choose your foundation.... this is the most asked question I get from evryone who sits in my makeup chair. Women think when they choose a foundation they are choosing a foundation color, but they don't realize, that is only 1/3 of the equation!

There are actually 3 questions you need to address when looking for foundation.

1. What FORMULA do you like: Liquid, Mousse, Stick or Pan Stick, Wet to Dry, Powder Foundation, etc

2. What type of COVERAGE do you want: Sheer, Medium, Full

3. And Yes, what COLOR: Keep in mind 80% of us are some shade of Olive, unless you are of Scottish decent, with the pinkish undertone, you will be a fair, medium, or dark Olive.

Personally, I stick to liquid, it is for the most part a sheer coverage, but can be built upon to make it more medium coverage just in the spots that need extra coverage. For the most part you will NOT find your exact color. I always mix to get the exact match. You can do it to, all you need is a nuetral

I always use a sponge for application, and never ever set your foundation until you are done with your makeup. Once it is set with powder, you cannot fix anything!

Fall Fashion Trends for Men... Yes MEN!

I thought I would deviate a little from all my Beauty Myths! So here's one for the men, straight from the runways, the top fall trends for men:

Go "Modern." Slimmer, trimmer, more fitted silhouettes. Two button jackets, slimmer lapels, side vents, and flat front pants in charcoal or dark brown.

Old School/Military. Tweedy jackets, checked shirts for that 1950's, early 60's on-campus look. Or make them snap to attention when you sport a military style jacket with your jeans.

Versatility. Clothes that can take you from work to out on the town, and vice versa. Hot item: the Corneliani ID Jacket. It adds an extra collar when you wear it as outerwear. Zip out the liner, and you've got a sports jacket.

Hats. Narrow brimmed fedoras and porkpies are the look this season.

Scarves. The new must-have accessory for men. They're not just to keep your neck warm anymore. Make a statement with a lightweight multi-color scarf tossed over - or under - an open neck shirt.

Cardigans. Very big for fall, but I'm not talkin your Grandpa's Cardigan, there are so many textures/materials and colors with a more modern fit. Great for the not too cold, but you still need a sweater nights in the fall. Make sure this fits well, there is nothing like a more petite guy wearing this huge cardi, or a well built guy wearing one too tight, try it on, OVER a shirt.

No one is saying run out and by a new wardrobe, I mean I know you are not WOMEN, but choose a few key pieces that are versatile, that can bring you up to date without breakin the bank!

Hopefully the gentlemen enjoy these tips, if not I know their girlfriends or wives will! :)

xo

Cole Saad

Do you have DMS????

You are probably wondering what "DMS" is? It definetly sounds like a chronic illness, and in my eyes, it is. It is one that I could bet 99% of Americans suffer from! So what is DMS , do you have it, and what can you do to cure it?

"DMS" is my term for Dehydration, Malnutrition, and Stress. These are the leading factors in aging. Our bodies are suffering from these three things that can lead us into destruction. The good news is this is something that we control, and yes it can be fixed!

Most of us live very fast paced, very hectic lifestyles, not pausing to realize that we are breaking ourselves down. Only until we get sick do we think that if we just stressed less, ate better, slept a bit more, and drank more water, we could avoid most of the ailments that plague us, AND look younger!

You should be drinking your weight in ounces in water. Hopefully everyone reading this knows this fact, and if you are drinking sodas, coffees, and/or alcohol, you are depleating water you drank, and must replace it. Personally, I hate to drink water, but I do it... I mix a little Organic Apple Juice into it, or Decaffinated Green Tea just to mix it up a bit since water is all I drink.

I recommend exercise also, I can feel the "But I don't have time to exercise" excuse, atleast do some streching in the morning, maybe park farther away from any entrance you need to walk to and if you are late even better, park far and briskly walk! :) Lift dumbells while watching TV, whatever you do is better than nothing!

Eating well, now I know how hard this can be, but I am not saying take away all the bad stuff like a Good Eater Nazi, but atleast add some good stuff. Even if all you do is blend a handful of spinach with a 1/2 lemon(peeled) cover with water and a pinch of Himilayan Pink Salt, buy some minerals (food grade quality), and eat an apple a day you will do your body an enormous wealth of good.

Next, stress/sleep: Do some spiritual reading before bed. It's important to wind your mind down before bed, so you don't toss and turn, stressing about the next day. No matter what you believe in spiritually, connecting with that before bed, frees your mind and relaxes you, prayers and focusing on the well being of others before bed is a great way to calm you and send you off to a restful sleep.

This blog is meant to point out some very real challenges we face daily that robs us of our youth and beauty. Beauty is something that comes from the inside, we must take care of our bodies from the inside to reflect beauty on the outside! Don't be a victim of "DMS", live a healthy lifestyle, and reap the benefits.

Stay fab!

xoxo~Cole

OMG!!!!!!

To All My Subscribers,

I am so sorry for the mixup! I have taken care of the problem, but to receive the correct emails about Beauty/Fashion/SkinCare/and Health tips, you must resubscribe... I promise it'll be worth the trouble :)

Stay Fab!

xo~Cole

Beauty Myths Uncovered #4

Hello My Beauties:

I want to uncover another beauty myth, that is for my Sensitive Skin Ladies. PAY ATTENTION to this one if you have sensitive skin: "FRAGRANCE FREE" MEANS NO FRAGRANCE

Now I think this is just plain mean on the part of the people in charge of labeling products. There are 3 terms in which they label and I will uncover what they all mean.

*FRAGRANCE FREE: product contains 3% or less fragrance

*NO FRAGRANCE: this one is the worst, the product contains fragrance, it also contains a chemical masking agent to cover the scent altogether! SNEAKY, HUH?

* NON FRAGRANCED: this is the one you want girls, this has NO PERFUMES ADDED, contains natural scent.

This is basically the same sequence for Oil Free products, you must learn to read the labels. A product can say Oil Free or Alcohol Free, but when you look at the ingredient list, it has those ingredients in them! We all should have a Cosmetics Dictionary, then when you look at the ingredient list on your fave products, you will really understand what is in them, and if they are doing more harm than good.

Keep your eye out for the word "HYPOALLERGENIC" this word was invented by the Lauder Corp, it is defined as: designed to reduce the possibility of an allergic reaction by using LESS IRRITATING ingredients. You will notice that term on just about ALL cosmetic products, logically all cosmetic products cannot be defined as hypoallergenic, right? I think that term is used so loosely, it's come to be a marketing gimmick.

It tends to be that European products and Organic products are of better quality ( a bit more expensive, but I always say you get what you pay for) . They tend to use better quality grades of ingredients. Not to say there are not any great American products, but again, learn the lingo, so you know what you are paying for.

To end this blog entry, I would like to leave you with some food for thought: Did you know that there must be 5,000 complaints on one cosmetic product or 5 deaths before the FDA will look into to the product?

It is true! You may check FDA.gov to see if there are complaints filed on a cosmetic product.

Have a fab day ladies!

xoxo~Cole

Beauty Myths Uncovered, Part 3

Here's another beauty myth I find astonishing... most women are unversed on why they use certain skin care products. We see what are mother's and grandmother's use and are obviously influenced by what is being marketed to us, but most women do not know why there are so many products on the market, what their purposes are, and if they are right for their skin type. I must admit, without schooling, it is SUPER confusing! This brings me to a mini part of the myth which is "One moisturizer is all you need"

I suppose explaining this one goes along with telling you about the basic products you need in a skincare regime, then actually customizing it for your skin type and problems you feel you have and want to correct.

This is a BUYER BEWARE tip: When it comes to moisturizer, you do need 2, a day moisturizer and a night moisturizer. DO NOT purchase a moisturizer that says you can use it day and night, it is not true.

If you understood the purpose of these two products, then you know why I say this. For those of you who don't know, the purpose of a DAY MOISTURIZER is one thing only: that is to form a barrier on the skin to hold in moisture and protect against the elements. That's it and that is why it is cheaper than night creams. For the most part you should purchase a light day moisturizer, nothing thick and heavy. It can have SPF if you want that. A day moisturizer is a also a nice primer for foundation.

The purpose of the NIGHT MOISTURIZER is to penetrate deeper to aid your body in repairing/rejuvenating the skin while you sleep. Your night cream should be adding moisture, your day cream holds that moisture in. This is why the night cream is more expensive, it should have better quality ingredients to do the job it is meant to do. Look at the ingredients in the night cream, make sure it does not have mineral oils, waxes, petrolatum, these do not allow for penetration.  Also, your day and night cream need to be the same brand because they work in unison, just like your face wash and toner. Another thing you want to know is the older you are the thicker the night cream can be. If you are 30, you do not need something like Dior Capture Night Cream, that may cause a breakout because of how thick it is.

So keep this in mind the next time you are at Sephora or the local Department Store, do not let the sales rep sell you the flavor of the week, or whatever the company wants them to push on every customer.

Having moisturized skin helps prevent against aging so knowing why you are using a moisturizer and the correct way to use it is important. Anti Aging is a PREVENTATIVE MEASURE ladies. If you are 50 and already have aging damage and decide to start using Anti Aging products, it will help prevent further damage, not repair the damage you already have, for that you need CORRECTIVE PRODUCTS.

This is the reason we have 50 jars of product under our bathroom sinks. C'mon, I know it is not just me! We get excited about all the claims the product label makes, all the hype we see in magazines and those clever marketers... well now, they spend thousands to go to school and learn exactly what to say to get you to buy their products. But think about it a TOPICAL product can not alter your skin. The damage is not just done to your top layer of skin, because if it were, that layer falls off every 28-37 days depending on how old you are, so at the end of that cycle you would have no more aged skin if that were the case. So the next time you are out and feel the urge to buy the cream with caviar in it, or placenta serum, or moisture gels with 24K gold in it for hundreds of dollars just think to yourself : Can this product be washed off? How far can this penetrate if it's in a base of petroleum or mineral oil? Is it really going to fix the problem I have? Save your money girls. The only things that can repair damage are products that work on a cellular and or genetic level. Genetic Products are on the horizon, you heard it here first!

If you have any beauty questions or concerns, leave me a comment or message and I will do my beat to answer!

Have a fab day :)

xoxo, Cole

Beauty Myths Uncovered, Part2

Hello All:

This is blog is part of the Beauty Myths series that I will be shedding some light on. The one I want to talk about today is "When you buy a New Line (or product) of Skin Care, it will break you out."

This one is funny, because it is ingrained in us to expect a change in our skin- for the worse before the better- just because of a product change.

There are many reasons one could breakout when trying new products, and I have found the top 2 reasons are:

1. You do not use the product(s) correctly.

Let's face it, who wants to read a bunch of directions? We are just excited to slap it on our faces and wait for the results! I know I am guilty of this, and I know better! We don't realize that there is a reason you do not use a face wash, then a different brand toner, and a different brand moisturizer, and so on. As I mentioned in my first Beauty Myths blog, when using a face wash (especially a cream one) you MUST use the same brand toner, this is because the toner made by the same company is meant to take remove the oils in their particular face wash, another brand toner may not remove those types of oils. Same goes for moisturizers, a day moisturizer and night cream must be the same brand because they work in conjuction with one another. The explanation of a skin care regime and why is a whole other blog!

Moving on, the second top reason we breakout when using new products:

2. You may have chosen the wrong product for your skin type

It is important to know the purpose of buying specific products. It is very easy to fall into the traps of a cleverly marketed product that upon reading all it's promises you find you MUST HAVE IT! These cosmetic companies spend millions in research to market their products. From the ads you see in magazines, to the packaging and words they use to describe it, not to mention you have a plethera of options, it can all be so confusing! It all comes down to trial and error at this point, but if you know what your skin type is, and really what your skin needs, meaning knowing the purpose you are buying the product, it becomes less confusing to choose. So next time you are at Sephora or the department store counter ask yourself why you need the product & what are you trying to fix, so you can be clear on what type of product you are shopping for.

So as you can see it is not really the "New Products" that cause a breakout every time, it is the lack of knowledge. If you have any questions, be sure to subscribe and enter your name and email into the pink box, I will do my best to answer them!

Have a fabulous day!

xoxo~Cole

Beauty Myths Uncovered!

Hello:

My first few blogs will be uncovering some of the Beauty Myths I have come across over the years. The first one I want to uncover is "If you have Oily Skin you should only use Oil Free products"

I suppose it sounds like good advice and just plain common sense, but it couldn't be farther from the truth! My Oily Skin girls, you are involved in a vicious cycle and your faces being stripped and aged! STOP BUYING OIL FREE EVERYTHING!!! Some oil free products are ok to use, but for the most part your skin is screaming for moisture.

There are only TWO things in the world that will remove makeup/dirt/oil:

1.Detergent, your foaming cleansers

2. Oil, a cleansing oil (I know what you are thinking, but just keep reading :)

Detergents aka face wash, contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), look this term up in a cosmetics dictionary and you will find it is a Skin Irrantant, I know, it is in everything that foams including our laundry detergents, but right now we will focus on face wash. This SLS not only strips the makeup/dirt/oil from your face but it also depletes the water from your skin.

Using oil to remove the makeup/dirt/oil does the job, without stripping the water from your skin. You must use these oil based or cream cleansers with the same brand toner, the only thing a toner does is remove any excess oil the cleanser may have left behind. That's it, it does none of the hocus pocus it claims about shrinking pores, evening out skin tone, none of that, it only removes the excess oil from the cleanser. And PLEASE: NON Alcohol Toners only girls!

Think about it, you strip the water from your face with a foaming face wash and instantly you feel the need to slather on moisturizer... and your body thinks it's dry, so it works to replace the oils you stripped out, and also wants to replenish the water you stripped out, so since your body cannot produce water, what does it do: you guessed it, produces double the oil to replace the water! ~Vicious cycle. This is why you have "Oily Skin"

My recommendation for my oily skin gals is a creamy cleanser, something that doesn't contain SLS, an alcohol free toner that must be the same brand as the cleanser, an Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA, this is a whole other blog!:)), you may use an oil free day moisturizer that is or is no acne medicated, and a night cream, if you are under 40 look for one that is not too heavy, but still needs to be a Night Cream only, not to be used day or night.

I hope this was enlightening! If you have questions/comments, I will do may best to answer them!

Have a fabulous day:)

xoxo~Cole

Hello world!

Hello World! It's Cole, I am SOO excited about the debut of my new blog! My blogs will consist of Beauty Products, Skin, Makeup, Hair, AntiAging, Healthy Living, Clothing, Marketing/Branding yourself in the business, and much much more! Can't wait, so stay tuned! xoxo Cole