BEAUTY OF THE WEEK: TIA WILLIAMS

About three years ago, I was searching for a review on a beauty product when I stumbled upon a site called Shake Your Beauty. I was immediately enamored with the writings of this author. She was so humorous and witty and she instantly became “A friend in my Head.” I bookmarked her site, and have been a loyal reader since. Tia Williams is amazing! She’s an author, (I love all of her books, even her teen series!) a beauty editor, and she recently became a mother. Talk about following your dreams! Congrats to you Tia! I’m very fortunate that she’s allowed me to feature her as my Beauty of the Week. So without further adieu, let’s meet Tia!

) What's your beauty regimen morning/night?
Everyone thinks this is crazy, but I don’t wash my face. I pay good money for my blowouts...I’m not splashing water anywhere near my roots!! Instead, I cleanse morning and night with Garnier Nutritioniste Nutri-Pure Detoxifying Wet Cleansing Towelettes. They’re super-soft, non-drying, and they get rid of all my makeup—including mascara—in one swipe. Love! My skin gets really dehydrated in the winter, so I follow up with Bigelow Deluxe Facial Moisturizer SPF 15. It makes my skin feel incredibly supple and glow-y, without clogging my pores.

> 2) What makeup do you normally wear?
I usually just wear Bobbi Brown concealer under my eyes, black mascara, blush, and Revlon SuperLustrous Lipgloss in Raisin Glaze—a sheer, bronzey-red neutral. If I’m going out, I wear a sparkly gold Laura Mercier shadow and Clinique black liner on my upper lid.


> 3)What beauty product can't you live without?
Nars Blush in Taos. It’s a shocking, gold-flecked salmon-orange in the packaging, but it gives brown skin the sexiest, most natural-looking flush. A couple of years ago, I did the makeup for my girlfriend’s bridal party. The women ran the gamut from Rashida Jones-fair to Alek Wek-dark, and this blush looked gorgeous on all of them. I cannot gush enough about my Taos blush!


> 4)What beauty advice can you give us?
My top three are:
1.) Wear a lip gloss with a bronzy undertone—it really flatters brown skin.
2.) Don’t shave your legs with soap—it’ll clog your razor, causing nicks and cuts. Use shaving foam or hair conditioner, instead.
3.) Never rub wrists together after spraying on perfume—it makes the scent fade faster.


> 5) What is the best advice anyone has ever given you? (doesn't have to be
> beauty-related)
It’s cliché, but growing up I always heard that the key to happiness is finding a way to turn your hobby into a career. I knew I loved writing and makeup—so voila, beauty editing was an obvious fit!

THANKS TIA YOU'RE AMAZING!



BIG HUGS,

Sorry-yet again

Hey guys, it seems like I"m always apologizing to you. I'm sorry that I don't post everyday like I normally have in the past. However,I'm trying to work full-force on my new career, and it's so much work. (It can be very discouraging too, but I don't give up, and you better not ever give up on your dreams either!)


So I'll only be posting on Mon/Wed/Friday till further notice.Please bear with me, and continue to read. I'll really appreciate it! My post next week will introduce you to a new Dominican salon, new nail polish, new hair products and possibly a new beauty of the week (waiting for her e-mail response).


Big Hugs and lots of love!
De

DE Friend Rec: Amla Oil

A close Indian/Jamaican friend of mine has gorgeous thick long hair. Perfect in its luster, volume, and shine, I often get jealous staring at it. (Isn’t it funny how we often want what we don’t have!) She also has these shiny thick curls! Gosh I love her hair. You girlies know my secret for great hair-coconut oil. Well her secret is using Amla oil. She says that Amla oil is just as popular as coconut oil in India. In Ayurveda treatments (ancient Indian rituals) Amla oil is used on all of their hair products. They swear by its abilities to strengthen the hair, increase its growth, and make it shiny. I always say, the proof is in the pudding. My friend has a beautiful mane of hair that is full of shine and bounce-and she doesn’t even really take care of her hair that much but she never skips her morning application of Amla Oil. Have you used Amla oil? She gets hers from her indian grandmother but a product that contains both of our hair beauty secrets is Global Goddesses Coconut Amla Hair treatment.



Have you tried amla oil?

UPDATE: I'VE POSTED A VIDEO ON MY EXPERIENCE WITH AMLA OIL.HERE IT IS:



Have you tried Global Goddesses Coconut Amla hair treatment?


Hugs,

DE

Golden Nail Goddess

I never used to like Gold nail polishes, but this winter I got turned on to them, and now I'm hooked. I love the gorgeous contrast with my tan skin, and with so many different shades of Gold polishes, I’m having a lot of fun. Here are some polishes that are turning me into a golden goddess. Are you rocking the gold stuff too?


Revlon’s Gold Get Em-a gorgeous light gold



Milani Good Morning Sunshine ( a bright sexy gold, on my nails today)




Tropez Golden Pearl ( a sexy light gold with glitter)


Sally Hansen Tassel ( a darker gold, and my favorite winter color)





Are you rocking golds this winter?

How was your weekend loves?

I had a lot of fun.

Big Hugs,

DE

Best Bronzer for Under $5.00

Sorry for the infrequency in posting. My schedule has been insane. But let's get back to beauty! Now, I told you guys before, I'm an aspiring reporter so money is indeed incredibly tight! I need to try to find the best products for the most affordable price. Hands down the winner of my best bronzer for your buck is NYC's Sun2Sun Bronzer.



When I used to work in finance, I treated myself to many expensive make-up brands, but lately with my non-existent salary that doesn't happen too often. What I found with the NYC (my favorite shade is the Terracota tan) is that this gives me an incredibly beautiful bronze glow with just a slight but perfect amount of shimmer-looks very natural. It looks so stunning, it's my Best Bronzer for under $5.00.

Did you guys every pick this up?

What bronzers do you love?

What's new in your world?

Hugs,

DE

Best Scrub-Zia Bamboo Exfoliant Scrub

I try to use an exfoliant on my skin at least twice a week. (Got to get rid of those dead skin cells, plus with the winter, my skin is dry as heck!) My Favorite scrub for 2008 is the Zia Bamboo exfoliant. The granules in this aren’t too large or harsh, and this scrub has the amazing ability to really exfoliate my skin, removing all my dead surface cells, but it also leaves my skin so moisturized and hydrated. It contains bamboo extract which is the exfoliator. As well as Soybean oil, ricebran oil and yucca extract, these ingredients keep the skin super moist and it uses lemon oil to clarify. So many nourishing ingredients! My skin is left so renewed but not tight, just incredibly soft, silky and smooth, and this doesn’t break me out at all. This would be BeautyLogic’s Best Scrub for 2008

Best Serum 2008

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty uneventful. My Grandma is coming back home and I'm happy as a clam. All your e-mails and support are greaty appreciated. Now back to beauty! As a beautyblogger/junkie I try a lot of products. I’m a woman in my mid twenties, and I’m trying desperately to fight aging. I hope to stay looking 21 for at least another twenty years, lol (my mom looks like she’s 30 and she’s close to 60). The most important components in my anti-aging arsenal are serums. These creams are packed with a much higher concentration of anti-aging ingredients than your regular moisturizers. Anyway, this year I tried many of them to see which one was the best and hands down, my favorite was Jan Marini’s Age Intervention Serum.



This contains the highest peptide concentration ever made in a product, massive antioxidants and hyaluoronic acid-all potent anti-aging weapons. I’m on my second bottle of this and can honestly say this serum has left my skin looking absolutely beautiful. I’ve tried a lot of Jan’s items, and she has some really great products in her line. I use this at night before bed, and unlike regular serums, this is more of a cream consistency. What I noticed after three weeks of use was that my skin had this glow to it that it never had before. Because I never used to wear glasses (they weren’t cool) when I was young and always squinted my eyes, (and mommy always told me not to-but I never listened), I have a slight line on my forehead, (no one notices it except me but it drives me nuts, why couldn’t glasses have been cool when I was growing up!), but since I’ve been using this, the line is barely noticeable (and believe me I notice everything). My skin is so silky, and it has this gorgeous glow to it, that even abuela noticed it when she saw me! It really is effective, and it’s BeautyLogic’s Favorite Serum for 2008.

Have you tried Jan’s products?

www.janmarini.com

Grandma Rec: Alba Hawaian Spa Papaya Mango Body Cream

As you guys know my Grandma was in intensive care during this holiday season but I’m happy to say she’s on her way to a speedy recovery. The Doctors are amazed! I love that woman! She’s such a fighter, just like my mommy! Thanks for all your prayers and support. It really helped! Grandma loves you!
Anyway, I’ve been staying by her side, and she’s been lying on a hospital bed for over two weeks now so I’ve been giving her plenty of massages to keep her circulation in check. There is only one lotion that Grandma let’s me massage her with and that’s the Alba Hawaian Spa Papaya Mango Body Cream.

I gave it to her about two months ago, and when she woke up from being sedated, she specifically asked for it. This has a delicious aroma of pure and natural fruit. Abuela told me that once I started rubbing this on her, the scent seemed to lift her mood. It brought back memories of when she would pick the mango trees from behind her farm in the Dominican Repubic. It’s really delicious, but the best thing about this is how luxuriously soft and silky this leaves her skin, while making her smell fantastic plus I love the fact that 98% of these ingredients are organic and botanical. She loves this, and her granddaughter loves it too!


Today’s her birthday! She’s 86 years young. I’m making her a sweet Dominican pineapple cake. Yum!


I can’t emphasize this enough to you, please cherish and love your family. I come from a crazy and huge Dominican family. And although we all fight, and have disagreements, in the end, we all love each other deeply and would do anything for each other.

Big Hugs,

DE