beauty & brand loyalty

In my early 20s, I was introduced to two brands that I fell in love with and have continued to use for years.  Years.  Considering how fickle I am with most makeup as I hop from brand to brand, always looking for the perfect foundation or best "pop" of blush, I took note when it finally dawned on me that a few brands have been by my side as I went though school, my first job, marriage, having a baby, and everything in between.  It's also random but awesome - great minds thinking alike? - that these brands are favorites of Christine, and she carries them at Vanity Cosmetics.

The first one's obvious - Senna Cosmetics.  I met Christine at the original Senna Encino location where we both worked and continued to learn under Senna's founder, Eugenia Weston.  Senna continually offeres innovative, wearable, flattering beauty makeup that its wearers swear by year after year.  Some of their greatest hits are their lip lacquers, a product line I was personally obsessed with when working at the studio - I'd continually reapply the already long-lasting gloss just because it felt and looked so great.  Their line of eyebrow tools - pencils, powders, stencils - is what they're perhaps best known for, and for good reason.  Their brow tools are timeless, and I personally saw the transformative power of a polished brow on many a client with the help of these tools. 

When Christine opened Vanity and had the opportunity to carry makeup lines of her own choosing, it's a natural fit that she chose to offer Senna.  It's a product line that immediately inspires loyalty and makes women feel confident and beautiful wearing.  

Senna's Nude Ambition line available at Vanity Cosmetics 

I'm similarly loyal to glo-minerals, a brand I first saw at a dermatologist's office, also years and years ago.  I thought that "dermatologist-approved" makeup couldn't possibly offer the coverage and quality that I expected from department store brands, but I lucked out, and the doctor's assistant that day applied some pressed base to my acne-ridden skin, and I fell in love.  On that day, and for many days after, glo-minerals' products helped cover and conceal my acne and scars, and it's helped my skin stay healthy when other products were clogging my pores.  I've seen the glo line grow and expand since then, and it's even better now. 

When I saw Christine at Vanity Cosmetics recently, I commented her skin looked great - fresh and radiant.  She pointed to glo's Luxe Liquid Foundation, the latest add to their already impressive base & foundation line.  I was so excited to see the brand carried at Vanity, I forgot to ask Christine where she first heard of it.  No matter - I know her decision to pick that line for the salon comes from her same love of quality products that help women look and feel beautiful every day, and that inspires product loyalty. 

Beautifully Simple,

Nicole @ Vanity Cosmetics 

beauty & the baby

Why would a(n already erratic) blogger take so, so much time away from writing? 

To have a baby! 

As new moms know, and as do family and friends of new moms, just about everything goes out the window when baby is born.  Hair can go unwashed for an unmentionable amount of time, clothes can get re-worn for days and considered passible if there's no (obvious) spit up on them, and what used to be a perfected winged eyeliner with a bold red lip can easily become a swipe of some lib balm and a few dabs of tinted moisturizer - for a special occasion! 

And - that's OK! It's more than OK - it's beautiful and normal and appropriate!  Baby is the focus, and things that were once so important - like a detailed beauty routine - get tossed out the window without so much as a second thought.  

However, in my own very recent journey into motherhood for the first time, I was quick to notice something, so I'll be quick to admit it here.  The more tired sometimes frazzled I sometimes got, the more helpful it was to take a few minutes a day to make myself up and look (what I felt was) presentable.  There's probably a hefty dose of narcism in there, and I accept that.  But a few other reasons resonate, as well.  

Motherhood is and was astoundingly beautiful.  And it is and was exhausting. So, I felt and feel like if I spend a few more minutes on making myself up, I am more prepared to face the day's challenges while also welcoming its baby kisses and smiles.  

I also used to move about my life without meriting any attention in public.  I could easily sneak into and out of a store without being noticed, even if I was unwashed wearing ratty sweatpants.  But, now I have my adorable, attention-getting little monkey with me, and people stop to talk to us constantly! I love it - it's made me more open and communicative as a person, but having the powerful conversation starter of a new baby also invites comments from strangers who mean well but perhaps over-share: "Oh, you look so tired, dear," and "Did you get any sleep?" (No, I didn't.  Thanks.  Maybe one day.)  And in these situations, it helped me feel a bit more...'together' if some concealer and blush steered those comments instead into "Wow - you look good for just having a baby!" Now, I know I can go home and very quickly undo the "looking good" with a swipe of makeup remover, revealing the dark circles under my eyes again.  But, for just a minute - I felt a small twinge of hope that I really did have it 'together' when I looked a bit more made up. (And it helped hide the unwashed hair and spit-up adorned clothes). 

I rarely wear makeup when I'm home all day with my son, and I cherish his sticky baby hands touching my face (not so much when he grabs a fist-full of my hair and yanks it out.  I have a small bald patch now, and he had a huge smile when he realized his tiny baby hands held such power!) 

Makeup is amazing in its transformative power, and each woman and new mommy will undoubtedly reevaluate her relationship with makeup in the wake of a baby.  I applaud women who go bare-faced, and I admire them.  For me, a dab of concealer and some lip gloss helped me be more confident in public and helped share my inner joy and glow on the outside.  

All things in balance can be beautifuly simple, 

Nicole @Vanity Cosmetics 

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