Supernatural Botanicals

  Blake Lively always gets it right when it comes to fab hairstyles!  Steal this look from Blake in a matter of minutes.  It’s actually a very simple hairstyle.   This style works well with long hair.  Here’s how it works:  Flat iron hair straight.  Next, part hair on the side and create a very low, slick and sleek, ponytail.  If need be, use hair straightening product to slick down your bangs.  Your low ponytail should hit the nape of the neck.  Next, create a bun by simply twisting hair around itself and securing it at the nape of the neck.  Secure with another ponytail holder.  Next, pull pieces from the bun to create a messy look.  Pull a few long pieces to depth.  Use bobby pins to secure pieces in place.  Flat iron the tiny pieces of hair from the bun to make them pop.  It’s super simple and a great fix if you are having a bad hair day.  Once you get the hang of it, it will take you less than five minutes to achieve this look.  This hairstyle looks great with a gorgeous dress….or even in jeans or Juicy Couture’s.  Try it!

We were so excited to receive WEN’s Fall Ginger Pumpkin Cleanser!  This is the latest product created by Chaz Dean, founder of WEN.  Chaz’s concept is much different in that he eliminates harsh chemicals, SLS and parabens from his products…which we love!  His products are not traditional shampoos like we know shampoo to be (sudsy and bubbly).  Chaz’s approach is using a cleansing conditioner formulated with natural ingredients to cleanse the scalp and make the hair feel amazing.  So we dug right in and couldn’t wait to put the product to use.

It comes with a DVD which explains the way WEN should be used.  According to the instructional DVD, the cleansing conditioner should be put onto the scalp and hair, and massaged, even combed through with a wide toothed comb in the shower.  From our perspective, this seemed to require more time than we had in the shower.  It felt rather unrealistic and unprobable that we would massage our scalp for a good five minutes while in the shower.  However, if you have the time, certainly do so.  It stimulates the scalp and improves blood flow, not to mention feels great.

Spending at least a few minutes on massaging the product in, however, was doable.  The scent of the new Fall Ginger Pumpkin is amazing.  In fact, I smelled it hours later in my locks while I was doing yoga.  The cleansing conditioner is thick and rich, and makes your hair instantly tangle-less.

I have very long hair, and need a great conditioner that really works to make my hair soft and silky, and easy to get a comb through while wet.  WEN worked absolutely perfectly to do just that.  My hair felt incredibly soft and silky.  Another thing noticed was that it gives your hair that “just from the salon” look and feel.  It made blow drying my hair like a professional blow out from a salon.  Bouncy, full, and soft.  WEN scores huge points for conditioning, hands down.

We give WEN Fall Ginger Pumpkin two definite thumbs us.  While some things,  in our opinion, could be tweaked, it’s still a sensational product.  The cons are packaging…while the amber bottles are great, the pump should be a flip disk.  It requires too many pumps in order to get the right amount of product in your hand.  A simple flip disk would solve this in an instant.  Also not a huge fan of the excessive scalp-cleaning with fingertips the product requires in order to thoroughly cleanse your hair.

Pros, however, is that the conditioner is literally one of the best we’ve ever tried…and we are picky around here.  Works well as a leave in conditioner, too.  The smell is fantastic.  Love that it’s an eco-friendly product and contains no SLS or parabens.  Love that it is salon quality and gives your hair a perfect blow out.  This product goes on the “Love It” list!  Definitely give WEN a try and let us know what your thoughts are.  Check out their entire line of products here.

Need some inspiration to start that business or follow your dream?  If you take a chance and are successful, you could join the ranks of Forbes Magazine’s Highest Earning Women.  Take a look at their W2′s for the year and see if it inspires you to follow your dream!

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Miss Oprah, a longtime reigning breadwinner earned a cool $290 million.

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Second on the highest earners list is Lady Gaga.  For this female artist, going against the grain and being outrageous has proven mega success, and a $90 million dollar paycheck this year.

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Breakout reality TV star Bethenny Frankel surprises the masses with her genius brand marketing of Skinny Girl that padded her checking account with $55 million dollars this year.

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Throwing the notion, beauty is only skin deep, to the curb, Gisele Bundchen made $45 million dollars off of her appearance this year.

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Ellen DeGeneres tickled our funny bones to the tune of $45 million dollars.

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Sweetest Day is October 15th this year.  Plan ahead and make it a night to remember.  Supernatural Botanicals has everything you need to get your skin looking, feeling and smelling its best!  Shop now: www.SupernaturalBotanicals.com

It’s always a surprise to see how overlooked our makeup vanities are.  Women spend an exorbitant amount of time and money on makeup purchases, so their makeup vanities should have equal exceptional value.  Creating a beautiful and functional vanity to your home will not only make your home more beautiful, it will make you more beautiful!  A functional, well-lit, well-organized vanity will naturally provide a better end result…beautiful makeup application.   One of our former makeup vanity blog posts continually elicits comments and inquiries on where to purchase them.  The following makeup vanities can be found at Pottery Barn Teen, www.PBTeen.com.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOU5lKR1Qo8

Have every intention to decorate your entire home for Fall, only to get half way thought the season and realize it’s too late to start?  Start thinking about your Fall decor now.  Give yourself a couple of weeks ahead of time to prepare.  Start looking through magazines and at your neighbors decor, and translate those ideas to your own decor.  Look for great ideas for decorating pumpkins (www.MarthaStewart.com always has great ideas every year, and so does www.WomansDay.com).   The secret to any seasonal decor is to start early…and tis the season.  Get crackin! 

For all day lip color, skip lipstick all together and go for a lip pencil.  The lip pencil has the ability to “stain” the lips far longer than ordinary lipstick.  After applying a great lip pencil shade to your lips, use a gloss or lip balm on top for moisture.  Lip pencils outlast lipstick by almost double the time.  And lip pencils are generally less expensive than lipsticks.  Go buy a handful of lip pencils and experiment on your lips.

It’s Spa Week around the nation.  Find the perfect spa to meet your needs.  Never had a spa treatment before?  What better week than this week, Spa Week, to get started.

Our great partners at Smart Talk Connected Conversations have been working very hard to line up the best speakers for Cincinnati’s 2012 season!  Get your first sneak peek right here!  Great ready for an amazing season with the following amazing speakers!  More info to follow….stay tunned!

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Tim Gunn

Gunn’s Golden Rules

Saturday, January 14, 2012

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Arianna Huffington

On Becoming Fearless in Love, Work & Life

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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Kara DioGuardi

Surviving Life, Love & American Idol

Thursday, March 22, 2012

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Vy Higginsen

Seeing No Limitations

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

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Andie MacDowell

Acting as a Way of Life

Thursday, May 24, 2012