Test Drive - Dove Nourishing Oil Care – Leave in Smoothing Cream

A couple of months ago I started scanning freebie web  sites looking for samples of goodies.  They don’t always have products that I’d want, but I get a lot of hair/skin/body care samples to examine.  I figured it was about time to start telling you about the products I take for a test drive.  The first one I tried out was Dove Nourishing Oil Care – Leave-in Smoothing Cream. 

My hair is incredibly fine so all it takes is a dash of humidity and I’m a mess.  Since I spend a lot of time with steamers and/or franticly applying makeup in small spaces, I’m a mess most of the time.  The unfortunate thing is that a lot of products weigh my hair down, so I’m stuck with "frizzies" or greasy-looking hair.

The Debut – Jaycee: May 12, 2012

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Happy 18th Birthday Jaycee!

One of the things about doing make-up is that I get to experience a lot of different types of events.  On May 12, 2012, I experienced my first Philippine Debut.  It is a coming-of-age party celebrated on (or near) the young woman’s eighteenth birthday.  It is a party where the celebrant has a court of 18 people – 9 men and 9 women – with a uniform outfit and a gorgeous gown for the birthday girl.  The party structure is very similar to a wedding with the court performing traditional dances for the guests.

The birthday girl is Jaycee, a lovely young woman who picked out a yellow gown for herself that was breathtaking.  Her court wore tuxedos and bright and flirty coral dresses.  Jaycee wanted her make-up simple and elegant so she was camera ready and not overdone.

Now if you’re counting, we had Jaycee, her 9 court members, mom of the celebrant and several aunts who wanted hair and make-up in about 4 hours’ time.  The stylists that joined me are independent stylist, Dana Espinoza and Salon Trisse stylists, Allison Perkins and Lindsay Vrane.

Side note:  Allison does my hair and I LOVE it.  She is a master at matching the perfect shade for your skin tone.  You should definitely check out Salon Trisse and all the stylists there.

Bridal Make-up – Christy: May 5, 2012

I spent the morning of Cinco de Mayo at Salon Trisse doing the make-up for a gorgeous bride named Christy.  When we did her trial the previous Thursday, she let me know she wanted to do a smoky eye but more charcoal than brown.  I started pulling out the things I would need and then she told me about her dress.

It was ivory and had lavender beading.

Someone with such style and flair deserved better than a regular old smoky eye in blacks and grays!  She has beautiful brown eyes and lovely skin, so I knew she could pull off a deep purple.  Also, she needed extra long lashes.  While she got her hair done, I pulled out all the tools.

When we were finished, she looked flawless…

© Day Spa Central
Make-up: Gretchen Wilson
Stylist: Chaunah Macewicz

Free Samples from Target

On occasion, you’ll see me post about free samples of make-up, skincare and/or haircare on my Facebook page.  Back in March, I posted a link to Target’s Sample Spot where they were giving away a Sample Bag “full of goodies”.

I’m usually pretty skeptical about these things.  I’m not saying that I haven’t gotten a lot of sample/freebies from the links, but it usually isn’t a lot of product and when it comes to skincare, you need to use it for at least a week before you can see if it is going to make any changes to your skin.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my mailbox and found a heavy little box (about the size of a box of checks).  What was inside was this…

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Bridal Make-up – Natacia: April 29, 2012

The last you heard from me, I had done a bridal make-up trial for gorgeous bride, Natacia.  She didn’t want a natural look.  She wanted something that popped and made her stand out.

As I said before, I love a bride that takes a chance.

I always take pictures of my brides after their trial so they can see what they look like on camera.  After some reflection and a slight hair-color change, she decided she wanted more dramatic liner coupled with a bright color on her lids without any shading.  She sent me a couple of pictures.  One is of Angelina Jolie, so I can’t post it since I don’t know where it came from.  The other was of the type of eyeliner she was looking for.

I did her eyes and some concealer before she had her hair done.  In fact, that’s the way I did all of the lovely ladies.  Once hair was done, I sprayed her foundation and finished off her face with contouring and lips.

Bridal Make-up Trial – Natasia

I love a bride that takes a chance.

Natasia contacted me to do a trial for her late-April wedding.  When I asked her what style she was looking for, she said she didn’t want to go with traditional make-up because she wears that every day.  She wanted her make-up to really pop, use color and look glamorous.

That’s my type of woman!

She doesn’t wear lipstick often, so we decided dramatic eyes were the way to go.  I picked out an electric violet and deep purple contour with deep purple eyeliner that would be winged.  That would be followed by three coats of mascara.  The rest of the face would be soft and enhance her natural features.

The minute I started putting make-up on her eyes, I could tell she has a face for make-up.  It took the color well and soon we were done.

Experiencing HydroMassage

As some of you may or may not know, I have Fibromyalgia.  It is a muscular and nerve disorder that causes constant pain, fatigue, memory and, when it gets bad enough, depression.  One of the things that can help someone with Fibromyalgia is massage, but that can get quite expensive if you need it more than once a month.  Also, not all massage therapists are familiar with this condition and you can end up leaving your massage in a little more pain than you anticipated.

At my monthly Fibromyalgia support group, we were given cards for a free trial for a HydroMassage from priorityfitness, a personal training center.  Some of the group members had already tried it and said it helped them, so I decided to do a little research.   

Essentially, you lie on a heated massage water bed (much firmer than a traditional water bed that you sleep on) fully clothed and a travelling jet works from your ankles to your neck.  It seems as though it is able to sense where your body is at on the bed so it conforms to your shape as the jets move up and down.  You start on your back, but you can turn on your side or on your stomach if that is something you need.  It is fully customizable, so you can select the pressure, speed and location of your massage.  The fancier models, like the one I was on, allow you to play music and movies as well.