Brooke Moinet

February is the most romantic month of the year, and the magazines, fashion industry, beauty industry, and the rest of the world knows it.

Check out February magazine issues for the sweetest and sultry looks to try through-out the year!  Glam it up for a special date, or keep it soft for a sweet night in with your sweetie.  Rip out the beauty tips and keep them for a special date that may come your way in a few months.

Let the romantic fabrics of what you are wearing to inspire your hair and makeup.  For instance, Tulle and lace, and silky fabric is very now, so keep your hair soft by adding loose curls or a soft french twist with your makeup dewy and light.

xo

Ah, how I love to experiment. If you had a moment with my mother, she would tell you all about my little science experiments when I was younger, and the messes I would make. As I got older I turned these experiments onto my hair, coloring it myself in the sixth grade. Yes, it was a disaster but, then like now, when I had an idea of what I wanted to do I wanted it now, and I could not wait for an appointment.
So, if I am out of town and want a change of style I do a quick Google and find the closest most reputable salon.
This time it ended up being Prive at Shore Club in South Beach. My intention was to go lighter and try to keep my length. Yet, upon meeting my colorist I got nervous and ended up going darker in fear that I would end up with fried locks instead of a healthy blonde halo.
She seemed confident but I could tell from her own hair that going lighter may not be the wisest choice due to her pixy cut and poorly toned blonde cut on top her head.
I also should have known this would make it much harder for myself to go lighter in the future , but I needed a change so I dove in and went for a rich #3, darkest brown…

Turns out the girl coloring my hair was in fact an armature (I knew it) despite her rave reviews online. It also doesn’t help that I consider myself an expert in hair color (on others hair) and I am super anal about making sure the hair is saturated when doing an all over color. (I noticed several strands that still had light spots once my cutting stylist blow dried my hair at the end of the service.) To be fair the poor girl didn’t really stand a chance doing my color. When I was an “assistant” to a “top” colorist at the last salon I worked at, I wanted to pull my hair out every time I had to endure the sight of  her doing a color.  Bleeds with high-lights, sloppy coloring techniques, same toner for almost every client, I said “WTF in my head on a daily basis… So this girl at Prive, who probably only has two years out of beauty school (at the most),  didn’t stand a chance once I stepped into her chair.
Thank heaven the stylist who cut my hair was a real expert, who even helped launch Toni and Guy salons, the makers of TIGI and BED HEAD in Europe. Nice work Franck!
So, in the end I was happy for the change but I was left unsatisfied and wanted more.  More Blonde!

 Damn my need for change…

The other day on TV I saw save vs. splurge beauty product comparisons on the NBC Today Show. This sort of information I try to store in the back of my head untill I am out searching for a certain item I think I “need” at that moment.  So, there I was in Walgreens yesterday and there in front of me was the Caress Evenly Gorgeous exfoliating body wash. What is so special about this body wash is it contains actual brown sugar to slough away dead skin cells, just like FRESH Brown Sugar scrub. Only difference , the price is a mere fraction of FRESH! I love you FRESH but in these tough economic times and with this diamond of a find, why would you pay more? Caress Evenly Gorgeous also smells delicious, so you aren’t deprived of the yummy scent of brown sugar that you get in the more expensive scrub.

I have stumbled upon a true treasure, SPONGE skin care.  This is an organic skincare line that is absolutely delicious on your skin.  SPONGE is formulated in Greece using ingredients so fine, even the timing of the harvest is pin point to deliver superior anti-aging care.

The second the product touched my skin, it felt luxurious and I fell in love with SPONGE. Its only been one week of using the line and I can visibly see a difference in the texture of my skin . In the evening I apply the velvety product called Ladi Avokanto, and  without fail my skin glows when I look in the mirror the next morning, thanks to this anti-aging serum. Day cream, night cream, aromatherapy mist, anti-aging serum, it’s all a heavenly combination of products I recommend everyone to try.

 I am always looking for the perfect shade of nude lipstick. I feel what might read as “nude” on  the tube may really come out as “mauve”, “pink”,or just plain “muddy”.  So, the other day when I needed a quick pick-me-up for my lips I decided to grab a random Maybelline lip-plumping lipstick that said it was “In The Nude”, I thought, “if its too pink, I don’t care because it was cheap anyway”.

Well, to my surprise it was actually what it said it was, NUDE.  Who knew? And as an added bonus it had a slight tingle, that gave my lips a little plump.  It moisturized them nicely too, and in the winter that’s a major plus.

So, thank you Maybelline for being affordable and honest, and for doing right by my lips!

Change is good. This is something I tend to forget when I am too busy keeping up with my baby to  even bother washing my face in the morning. I admit,  life has changed this year, quite dramatically, and I love every messy hair, no makeup,  moment. Funny, I always pictured life as as a mother as being “over”.  But life has become more than colorful, and more meaningful.  In fact there was a moment where I became sick of the flakey beauty industry, full of phonies, and pretentious and boring repeats. I was ready to move on.  Then I realized something, I am fabulous at what I do. I know what I am talking about and I know better than the newbee’s coming in  to the industry to try their hand at a “trendy career”… 

So, where am I going with this? I’m going to continue to bless you with the honest knowledge and advice about skincare and beauty, in 2010.

Happy Holidays!

 Congrats, you’re in the know!

I was recently sent a few new products to test from the makers of Proactive. I was a little taken a back at first seeing as I don’t have acne issues.  How was I suppose to properly “test” these products when I was not an acne sufferer? I eventually dug through the box of goods, and was pleased to discover a few “anti-aging” products and some other things I might find useful.  Like, a “clearing” body scrub and body “acne” lotion.  I don’t have body acne but I figured if it could possibly help with razor bump prevention and even work a little anti-aging magic with the salicylic acid in the ingredients, it was worth a try. 

 Just as I has suspected it helped smooth any red, bumpy skin I had on my legs or arms, and gasp, dare I say I may think it worked better than KP Duty?.. Also, I think I may be in love with the Vitamin A, and E Eye Treatment, and the pore clearing strips… Not to mention they had a mattifying primer-like product that works as a great base for my make up!

Keep it up Proactive, and spread the love to the rest of your customers. I think they will  be very happy with the new product candy!

I am very blessed to have had the experience I have had and work with amazing people. I feel very lucky to be able to share my professional opinion with everyone, and also choose when to share my talents with people, hands on. 

That being said, I am so over offering my services and generosity in exchange for the experience to work with unappreciative people.  So, if you are like me and are blessed to pick your ”work”. Pick who you offer your services to wisely, and if you get taken advantage of, don’t do favors for that  person or company again… Thanks for letting me vent.

xoxo

Everyone longs for luscious locks, and unfortunately not even supermodels are blessed with a picture perfect mane.  Lets face it, pretty much everyone fakes it. What I mean by “everyone” is anyone you see in a magazine or on your favorite TV show, who sports long, luxurious, hair. These dolls either have extensions or some sort of hair piece in their hair, and lucky for you, any “girl next door” can too.

Salon extensions can cost you a pretty penny so, a great way for you to get a new look is with adding a clip-in type piece, like what Jessica Simpson, and Ken Paves make. I have tried one myself  and really loved it. Their hair pieces are very easy to clip in and take out, and it’s fun!  It is extremely important that you make sure the color of the hair piece matches exactly to your own, otherwise you might get called out on the fake hair on your head. Not that it should be embarrassing, but it might be if you get called out on it. So, take it in to your salon and get your color matched, or make sure your stylist or good friend helps you match the hair to your own.

There is a stigma out there I would like to get rid of. The one that says, when you get pregnant and become a mom, you lose a bit of your sex appeal, and feel a little less beautiful. So many women lose confidence after having a baby, and it often starts during pregnancy.  To me, this seems completely backwards and wrong, in so many ways! Becoming a mother should make a girl feel like a woman. She should feel strong, confident, and one hundred percent without a doubt, BEAUTIFUL!

I have to say, I was extremely blessed throughout my pregnancy. I had little to no discomfort, practically zero stretch marks, and it left me feeling even more confident and happy with body after having my baby… Now, I understand it’s kind of rare for a woman to say these things after having a baby, but that’s why I want to share steps I took in taking care of myself throughout my pregnancy.

First, I ate healthy and exercised prior to getting pregnant. And once I did, I was determined to keep my exercise  routine, and to eat as healthy as my hormones would allow. Now, this doesn’t at all mean I deprived myself. Once a vegetarian, I was now eating meatballs about once a week, and splurging on dessert after every meal. However, I made sure I kept my meals light ( just because you are pregnant doesn’t make it ok to eat for two!). I walked at least 30 mins every day, did lunges, and lifted dumbbell’s. I even rode my bike up to about my eigth month. I’m not saying you should, as I didn’t exactly tell my doctor.  But I felt healthy enough, and it made my happy…

Second, I slathered my skin in body butter. I loved Lavanila Body Butter, and Clarins Body Treatment Oil. I swear these two products saved my skin from over stretching and kept stretch marks at bay.  This is not a time to skimp and buy cheap lotion. The time and money you spend on your skin in these crutial days, can save you thousands in trying to correct stretch-marks post pregnancy.

Third, after the baby I wrapped my tummy in a Belly Bandit. It helped to speed up my recovery, and shrank my belly. Also, as soon as I got the okay from my doctor, I returned to the gym. Exercise is a great way to relieve post baby stress, and keep your post-baby hormones in check.

Lastly, remember that being a mommy is what makes you beautiful. It’s one more step up to being that much more fabulous!