Tag: samples

Five Tips to Help You Pack When Traveling

Summer time means travel for many, and with airline baggage fees being through the roof, plus stringent TSA regulations, your packing game needs to be on point.  Here are some tips that can help.

  1. Know The Rules

Any liquids must be in a resealable container that is 3.4 ounces or less and all containers must fit in one clear, plastic, resealable 1-quart-sized bag. You will need to take this bag out of your carry-on luggage when passing through airport security.  So either be super-efficient about packing all of your toiletries into one bag, or pay the fee and check a bag.

  1. Get Creative

Many products can do double duty.  For example, our Cosmopolitan Eye Shadow Palette can also serve as a highlighter (Angelic), blush (PS Pink) and contour (Kashmir).  So you’ve really got four products in one small palette.

  1. Sample or Travel Size

Sure our sample sizes are great for trying new shades on your skin, but they also make perfect travel companions.  Five shades of eye shadow would take up quite a bit of room in your makeup bag.  But you can pack lots of our little samples into a very small space, and not have to limit your color options.  Also, our soap samples are perfect for those overnight stays where you don’t know what (if any) amenities will be available.  And they’re great to take on camping trips.

  1. Gift Sets Do Double Duty

Our gift sets are a great value but they are also perfect for packing.  Why pack that 8 oz bottle of our Alcohol Free Hair Spray when the 2 oz size in our Happy Hair Gift Set takes up less space?

  1. Be Smart About Size

Our shipping manager Karla got a nasty sunburn last year, and the only thing that soothed it was our Facial Toner.  And personally, I can’t live without our Herbal Aftershave which I use to clean cuts and scrapes and any other malady I inevitably encounter while traveling.  But why make room for bulky bottles, when you can use this trick instead:  fill a small snack baggie with 10 cotton balls, and then pour in enough aftershave or toner to wet the cotton.  Seal up the baggie and you’ve got a little first aid kit to go.

Have a favorite travel/packing tip?  Share it with us!

 

I’m a “Spring”….NOT!



Ever since I was a kid, I remember hearing women talk about their coloring in terms of seasons. If you were a “Summer” you looked best in earth tones, if you were a “Winter” you looked best in blues and purples. This concept has always irritated me to no end.

Color analysis is the process of determining the colors that best suit an individual’s natural coloring. There are a wide variety of approaches to analyzing personal coloring. The most well-known is “seasonal” color analysis, which places individual coloring into four general categories: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. Many different versions of seasonal analysis, first practiced by Suzanne Caygill in the 1950s, have since been developed and promoted by image and color consultants worldwide.

I’m sure Ms. Caygill had the best intentions. However, in typical fashion, the masses took it to the extreme. Once they were told their season (or determined it themselves), that was the be all, end all. From that moment forth, many women felt they could no longer wear green because it simply wasn’t part of their season. How ludicrous! How could one possibly take ALL the skin tones, ethnicities, races, colors, etc. of 7 billion people and divide them into only FOUR color groups?! Yet women bought into it. Later, perhaps when some women realized they just didn’t fit into one of the four seasons, Caygill identified a wide range of sub-groups within each season, and gave them descriptive names such as “Early Spring”, “Metallic Autumn”, or “Dynamic Winter”, each with its own set of special characteristics. Once again, more labeling.

I hate doing trade shows (there, I said it) but one thing I do enjoy is talking to customers and breaking stereotypes. I can’t tell you how many women won’t try different colors because they were told they can’t wear certain shades. Don’t get me wrong, we all have shades we just shouldn’t wear (me and orange is just downright scary). But that wouldn’t stop me from picking up a coral sweater and trying it on. Maybe the shade of coral would look good on my skin tone. Or not. I wouldn’t know unless I tried.

My point is, don’t let anyone pigeon hole you into any specific color group, season, temperature, time of day or however else they’re trying to classify it. I often get emails from customers telling me how much they love our samples, because it allows them to try new shades without committing to full sized product. Don’t try only mauve samples of lipstick because you’ve only ever used mauve. Try a new shade! I’ll never forget when we were testing our new lipstick shade Superstitious, our darkest color to date. I’m pale and blonde. I was told I could never even dream of wearing such a bold color. So I tried it anyway. And I LOVE it. I wear it lightly, and the tone is perfect and very natural on me. Had I listened to everyone else, I never would have gotten to try a color that works so well on me. Be bold. Be brave. The results could be stunning.