Posts from — March 2008

One of the greatest products on the beauty market today is sheer cover makeup. The whole concept is great coverage without a thick look. Beauty reviews are always talking about sheer cover makeup because it is an amazing creation.

Since the dawn of makeup there has been the issue of too thick coverage that looks more costume like then natural. The point of makeup is to enhance your look, not cover you up and make you look fake. With sheer cover makeup that is exactly what you get – good coverage of those less than perfect spots without a heavy made up look. It is the true dream product.

One of the hottest new products is airbrush makeup. It has been used in the entertainment industry for quite some time, but it is now in the mainstream. ModelCo Shimmer Airbrush Luminizer Shimmer Airbrush Illuminizer is a great choice in this type of sheer coverage. It contains plenty of vitamins for that something extra that leaves your skin looking radiant. You get sheer coverage and look amazing when you use this product.

Sheer cover makeup is a great option if you hate looking like you caked on makeup. It is also wonderful for your skin because it doesn’t clog pores and won’t cause a greasy look. Of all the new products on the market, sheer cover makeup is one thing you can not miss out on. You will wonder how you ever did with that old makeup once you try sheer cover makeup.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

I just discovered this amazing little boutique clothing store in Mary Brickell Village in Miami Florida called Blush. Actually it isn’t little. It fills two store fronts but the staff is so warm, friendly and helpful that you will feel as if you are in a tiny boutique. Hmmm that isn’t quite right either. When I think of boutiques I general imagine high prices and for a shop off of Brickell Avenue this store is really reasonably priced.

I began my shopping excursion across the street at another charming women’s store but walked out when I realized that one tiny blouse was about $250. Pretty, but I can do better than that. So I wandered over to Blush. Now by the style of clothing that I saw from the outside I expected equally high prices.

What I found was three blouses that I absolutely love for less than $200 all together. The material of each of their items is so soft and feels amazing against your skin. They also have a really nice selection of different styles and colors. Each of the two store fronts is run by an equally nice sales girl. The young lady that ended up helping me was great at picking out items that fit what I was looking for. She also didn’t try to upsell me on items that didn’t look right on my body.

I don’t know about you but I really appreciate tactful honesty from the staff at clothing stores. Returning items that look horrible in a “real” mirror just pisses me off.

The only thing that I wasn’t crazy about was the dressing rooms. They are huge but don’t have mirrors. So you end up having to walk out to view yourself for each item.

The clothes and service though makes this minor issue easy to overlook. They have items for casually strolling in this fashionable neighborhood and night time attire that is bound to turn heads. What more could you ask for?

Here are their locations:

Mon-Sat: 11:00-6:30

6633 South Dixie Hwy Miami , Fl. 3314 786-268-0678

1935 West Ave. Unit 106 Miami Beach , Fl. 305-531-3050

Happy Shopping!

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

I found yet another site to cash in on some major coupons for your favorite brands like thisProFlowers gift code discount coupon. The site is called:http://www.1-coupons.com and it has a huge selection of top brands to choose from.

Here is a brief sampling of what they have to offer:

Save 25% on Inspiron Computers plus get free standard shippingÂ

$500 off of a Pavilian Computer

Save $75 or more on your next vacation

Enjoy these savings and more. I love saving money on things that I need anyway, don’t you? I wish I had had these computer coupons when my last computer crashed a few months ago. It would have saved me a bundle. And I will definitely be checking back for even more vacation discounts and coupons. Paying full price for luxury vacations is so unnecessary. Every four and five star hotel that I have stayed at over the last few years has been found online at a discount. Paying retail anymore, especially in this economy, is just silly.

Thank goodness for sites like this that help us save and still enjoy all the pleasure of life.

Happy Shopping and Happy Saving!

Sincerely

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

I was in Miami, Florida this week on business and a client of mine took me to this amazing new sushi restaurant called Abokado. The restaurant owners have combined fresh sushi with Peruvian flavors.

Located in the back of Mary Brickell Village about a block off of Brickell Avenue, this unique restaurant is definitely worth trying.

The sushi rolls are all extremely fresh and unique, the appetizers were scrumptious and the service was outstanding. We started with their “nachos” which consisted of a tempura shiso leaves filled with delicious tuna tartar piled on top. Then we sampled a few of the different sushi rolls and finished with perfectly prepared churros. Churros in a sushi place? Yes it is still Miami and they were lick the sugar off the tips of your fingers good.

As for the sushi portion of our meal, the Sushi Diablo was particularly good, although not as spicy as I would have imagined with a name like Diablo. They also have an extensive list of of ceviches, tiraditos, nigiri and sashimi, that we didn’t have room to incorporate into this meal.

The prices were fairly reasonable for the Brickell area, as well, ranging from $25-50 per person.

Anyway if you are into trying unique flavor combinations and enjoy good sushi check this place out:

Abokado

901 South Miami Ave., Mary Brickell Village

305-347-3700

Bon Apetit

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

P.S. I also got to try a sushi restaurant in Coral Gables called Sun and Moon on US1 which was also awesome and unique. I will be posting a review of that sushi restaurant tomorrow.

Hi all

Normally the name penny pincher makes me cringe but in the case of the Penny Pincher Gazette, I will make an exception. Let’s face it, with this economy, being being frugal just makes sense. Plus as a general rule , the more you save on your day to day items the more that you have for both savings and those little luxuries that we can’t do without.

Use some of Penny Pincher Gazette’s Grocery Coupons where you can combine their online store coupons with in store coupons for even bigger savings. They have online grocery saving coupons available even before they hit your local paper.

They also have cooking articles and recipes so you know how to whip up mouth watering meals that are even more satisfying for all the money you saved.

Here is what I do:

For every dollar that I save, through coupons and discounts on items I would normally buy ( not impulse items that caused me to spend extra), I put 50% in a jar toward my savings account, and 50% towards something special like gourmet chocolates, a special brand of skin cream or a short vacation. When either amount hits $100 I put it in either my savings account or an extra account that I have open just for these little treats.

You can do the same. Let Penny Pincher Gazette help you on the way to savings and those little luxuries that we simply can not do without.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hair is a constant battle for any woman in the overall war of beauty. It seems nothing has received such attention as hair. Perhaps that is because it is so versatile and so different. There are so many types of hair and each woman has her own struggles and challenges with her hair. However, if there is common ground to be found it is with hair highlights.

Beauty reviews and experts will tell you that hair highlights are a great option for almost any woman who wants to change the look of her hair. They can add body, texture and dimension to hair to give it a whole new life. That makes hair highlights something to consider of you are looking for a way to pump up your hair’s look.

There is a huge market for hair highlights. Every company makes them so you can get the highlighted look at home without having to go to the salon. This makes them affordable for anyone. You have many options. There are a wide range of products with special tools that make the process less risky then it used to be in the past when streaks and chunky highlights were usually the result of at home attempts.

You can also find many shampoos and conditioners on the market that aim to bring out natural highlights in your hair. A good shampoo to try is Ted Gibson Glimmering Gold Shampoo which helps to bring out your true hair highlights and gives you an overall healthy glow to your hair. This line also features products for brunettes and redheads, so every woman, no matter her hair color, can enjoy a little natural lift.

No matter what method you choose, adding highlights to your hair is a great way to spruce it up and get a new look for summer. It tells people you are ready for a little fun in the sun. Plus it doesn’t hurt that you are going to be looking as radiant as ever.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

Not too long ago I was contacted by one of my credit card companies claiming that there was irregular activity of my card. Someone had gotten a hold of the number and had gone to town. Fortunately they called me fairly early on and stopped it before too much damage was done. I wish I could say that this was the first and last time that it happened. Running a business on the internet seems to put me at higher risk. It can be a bit scary.

Most websites are secure. Look at the bottom of the site and on the shopping cart to ensure that it is a secure site before purchasing. Also make sure that your credit and debit cards have protection against identity theft.

Another pre-cautionary measure that you can take is to join lifelock.This is a service that focuses exclusively on protecting your identity. They charge only $10 a month to keep your identity safe and carry $1,000,000 insurance policies just in case, hire lawyers on your behalf and do what it takes to recover your good name as long as you are still a member. They even make sure that your name is taken off of those pre-approved credit card approval lists. Yes, they help you lighten your junk mail load!

You all know I like to keep it light on this site but this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. If it could happen to me, it could happen to you. Be safe and take precautions.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

I know that we can sometimes be hyperaware of our bodies and breasts can be a big part of our self -image. I can sit here telling you all day that size doesn’t matter and that you need to be happy with what you have. This is something that I actually believe. Happiness comes with loving yourself as you are.

Some of you will choose to believe the fashion magazines instead. To save you money, time and surgery here is one suggestion that I have actually used to achieve firm breasts and have actually seen an increase in breast size - wild yam cream. I use it to keep them firm and see the bigger size as an added benefit.

You can buy it in just about any natural market like Chamberlains or Whole Foods. This is a safe alternative to surgery. The only downside, that I know of, is that if you stop using it your breast size does go back to normal. You should also test a bit out on your skin to make sure that you don’t have an allergy to it before you use it long term.

Also if you are looking for natural alternatives to breast surgery you should read this ebook - Flat to Fab by Lucille Sorella, Breast Enlargement Expert.

She is a personal friend of mine and I have seen her help hundreds of women achieve bigger breasts with or without surgery. I also know that she has personally used these techniques with awesome results.

Anyway, if you are looking to get bigger breasts naturally try wild yam cream and read Lucille’s book.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

As usual, I am always looking for ways to improve our lives both on the outside and the in. Getting an advanced education can make a huge difference in the quality of your life. The problem is that most schools give you theory without experience.

I have recently stumbled upon a school that not only teaches you but places you in on the job training from your very first year. They have tons of programs from Biochemistry, and Industrial Engineering to engineering co-op programs.

Here is how it works:

In your first year you are placed in co-op training programs with real companies. Then throughout your studies you are rotated to different companies every three months. You not only learn the “theories” but the actual day to day practices of working in that profession. How cool is that?

In fact, US News and World Report has ranked Kettering University as “the #1 University in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering” in its annual “America’s Best Colleges Guide for 2008″.

I wish that they had had a program like this when I was getting my degree. It would have saved me a lot of time and confusion and given me the contacts I needed to get a job immediately with a company I had already worked for.

It seems like a win win situation to me. Check it out for yourself.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

On your big day you want to look your best. That is why there is such a huge market for bridal makeup. Beauty experts know that you are searching high and low for your perfect look. There are a ton of beauty reviews slanted towards brides, and many magazines totally dedicated to brides.

A wedding is a huge deal. You want every detail perfect, including your bridal makeup. The good news is that you have a lot of information out there to help you.

Most of the information you will find is going to gear you towards a specific look. So the first thing you need to do is figure out what look you want. Consider everything about your bridal makeup and decide what features you want to play up. Think about incorporating a new look or a technique that you want to give a try. Take your time so you end up happy with your choice.

Now that you have decided on your look you can move on to choosing makeup. Depending on your look you will choose makeup that is going to be the right shades and types. For example, if you are going for rosy cheeks then go with something like Tarte Cheek Stain Blushing Bride. It is a bold look that has staying power. That is something else to think about – long lasting bridal makeup. You don’t want it to end up disappearing in the middle of the wedding.

One last tip – no matter what look you are going for, nothing caps it off like white teeth. Try GoSMILE B1 Tooth Whitener 20 Ampoules. You will get a brilliant smile that matches your radiant glow.

You are the highlight of your wedding. All eyes will be on you so you have to look your best. Choosing the right bridal makeup is a great way to feel more confident and assured that your big day is going to be fabulous.

Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

P.S. Unsure of how exactly to go about planning your wedding? Check out this wedding planning guideÂ