Month: July 2014

BRAND BUILDING

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The Woodlands, Texas, Houston hair stylist, jewelry designer, Luxor Living and Style, over 50 blogger, stylist, fashion blogger in The Woodlands Texas     Everybody has a fighting chance to obtain success in today’s digital world. This change is due to the advanced age of the Internet and the opportunity to share your business and your passion with the Universe.
      Through proper branding 
of your products, skills, company and persona even one single person can reach more potential customers and contacts than ever before. Across all social media accounts, while their should be a cohesive nature to images chosen for each… it is also best to realize that each account has a particular demographic and you may want to change up the methods that you use depending on that social media account’s genera demographic.
The Woodlands, Texas, Houston hair stylist, jewelry designer, Luxor Living and Style, over 50 blogger, stylist, fashion blogger in The Woodlands Texas
     While it can be scary to put your face out there and tell the world who you are and what you do…it can mean the difference between
giving yourself the best  
chance at success…
or never being heard
or seen.
     So that being stated, meet my new friend, Angel.  She is the designer and creative
mind behind
Waste Not Want Not Creations.  She creates Eco Accessories  and one of a kind pieces made from recycled items or re imagined vintage items. 
     There are fabulous book purses and whimsical lollipop necklaces as well as more conservative designs.
I recently created her online shop and website, and while doing so realized that we didn’t really have a lot of great artwork for the site.  It appeared rather heartless and generic without shots of the designer on the site.  I knew this would help to set the tone for her brand, and help future consumers connect with her.
     Products are one dimensional, however a Brand has many moveable components and layers.  People connect with
a Brand.
As a blogger, I realize that a lot of people do not care to read very much.  In those cases, people look to a photo
to tell them what they need
to know.  People are more likely to connect with your brand over a photo than they ever would if they had to read a three paragraph Bio.
    This is sad but true.
     Angel, a modest person, requested a little shoot to help 
bring her personality and heart to her brand. 
 
      It is very hard to make a person’s heart and passion shine through in photos, but I feel we accomplished this for her on this 108 degree day in Houston!
 
    While I am not the most talented photographer on the planet…I truly enjoy the creative process and being able to help people feel comfortable during a session.
      Check out Angel’s Waste Not Want Not Creations site to see more of her fabulous accessories!
-SDS
-July 20, 2014
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RADICAL SKINCARE

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 Six weeks ago, I received my first bottle of Radical Skincare Advanced Peptide  Antioxidant Serum.

     I’d never heard of the company before but my curiousity was peaked when I’d found that their brand mission statement was… 

     “MORE HONESTY, MORE POTENCY, MORE PERFORMANCE.  STRONG SKINCARE WITH STRONG VALUES…….”  

     I was curious after reading about the company.


     I stopped using other serums, and used only the Radical Skincare Serum, so I could form an accurate opinion.  I would use my moisturizer on top, of course.

     I do have issues with redness so I was curious if the product work work for that issue, which it did.  I had a clean, natural even look to my skin without makeup, and there was a noticeable difference.

     The serum boasts 13 different ingredients that work together to give your skin improvement in every area.  

     


     I believe that it is best to save money, and refrain from $30 lip liners, to have more budget to apply to your skincare routine.  There is tons of expensive science behind certain skincare lines, and it only makes sense to spend the money on something that will actually make a lasting difference.  I’ve never known a lip liner to alter the course of a person’s life, but great looking skin is a must!

     In a society in which 30 year olds are running to get their face botoxed… it just is common sense to try to preserve what you have before it gets to that point!

Click the link above if you want to read more and learn about all the products that Radical has to offer!  Their site is great and I’m excited to try more from their line.

     As for my skin,  I loved the serum, see benefits and am hopeful that continued use of great products will keep me out of the plastic surgeons office as long as possible!  I think at this juncture, I’d prefer to invest in skincare, health (and handbags) rather than injections that will make my face look hard as a rock! (Injections are not in my budget, my husband would murder me! This leaves me with having to work with what I’ve got!

-SDS

-July 13, 2014

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CHEAP BIOTCH…THE $30 MAKEUP CHALLENGE

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glam, blogger, beauty, fashion, Stephanie Dawn Sjoberg, Houston blogger, Luxor Living and Style, MUA, fashion, Profusion Cosmetics, Cover girl, NYC, NYX, ELF Cosmetics,

I got shocked lately, in trying to stick within my monthly Beauty Budget.  When I added up the cost of the products I used daily…I came to a conclusion…it’s expensive to be me. The other day, before purchasing yet another $30.00 tube of designer lipstick, I decided to  challenge myself and see if I could buy an entire arsenal for the same price.  Not only that, how would it look?

glam, blogger, beauty, fashion, Stephanie Dawn Sjoberg, Houston blogger, Luxor Living and Style, MUA, fashion, Profusion Cosmetics, Cover girl, NYC, NYX, ELF Cosmetics,

Back in the day, I was a District Manager for a retail clothing chain, and the chain also decided at one point to carry a small line of cosmetics, known as NYX.  Now NYX has added a longer list to their friendly priced products, so I decided to start with them for a  lip liner and lip stick.  The matte color shown here is Summer Breeze.      It has tons of pigment and is not so matte that it dries up your lips. I also chose the illuminator from NYX and was pleasantly surprised. It was more of a gold tone as opposed to a white so it looked more naturally dewy to me.

glam, blogger, beauty, fashion, Stephanie Dawn Sjoberg, Houston blogger, Luxor Living and Style, MUA, fashion, Profusion Cosmetics, Cover girl, NYC, NYX, ELF Cosmetics,

The ELF Cosmetics bronzer duo was fantastic, and was under $4.00 and I was not expecting much but it was fabulous! Look Ma, No lashes!  Being on a budget, I refrained from using false lashes and decided to try out New York Color Mascara.  Loved it!  I believe it was less than $5.00 as well, and that’s quite a savings compared to the designer $30 a tube mascaras out there! I will buy this again.

glam, blogger, beauty, fashion, Stephanie Dawn Sjoberg, Houston blogger, Luxor Living and Style, MUA, fashion, Profusion Cosmetics, Cover girl, NYC, NYX, ELF Cosmetics,

My personal theory is that by saving money on certain things, then there is a bigger budget allowance for bigger things, such as top of the line serums and moisturizers.  To me, this is where the money matters because you are paying for tons of research and better ingredients.  Moisture and repair is where it makes more cents to me to spend. Additionally, your technique of application has everything to do with how you turn out, as long as the product meets a certain standard.  The price friendly products above, all had decent features and benefits.

This was a helpful post to me, because it made me more mindful of the money spent on cosmetics in the past as well as what I will spend in the future!  Not only that, I pretty much look exactly the same as if I’d had on a $400 collection of products!

-SDS

-July 7, 2014

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LASH SEXY with Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lash

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Stephanie Dawn Sjoberg, Younique, Cosmetics, Fiber Lash, Luxor Living and Style, MUA, Texas, Houston
vanity9
    I love the opportunity to try out and share the cool things that are out there in the beauty market!
 
   While I am a false eyelash girl, and it doesn’t bother me at all to throw on some quick lashes…there are a ton of ladies out there who do not at all feel comfortable wearing false lashes.  Some will glue hair to their heads and parade around daily in colored contact lenses yet false lashes are still viewed as a major no by some.
 VANITYFINAL@
 Good news for those gals who want major lash play without the drama of strip lashes… there is Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lash by Younique.
 
     I’d heard of fiber lashes before, but didn’t hold out enough hope to ever go purchase them.  A rep from Younique sent me some 3D Fiber Lash to try out, and yes….it was amazing! (I’d posted a closeup of the lashes on my Instagram  account earlier this week.)
 vanity4
    I work, (well one of my jobs anyway) in cosmetics so I know a lot of cosmetics people and everyone wanted to try the Moodstruck mascara.  It was amazing some of the results people got. (And no, you shouldn’t share macara but we are professionals, people!)
 
   Some people really do have trouble applying false lashes yet want the glammy, over the top lash look… so I feel this product is the perfect answer!
     If you want to learn more about Moodstruck by Younque, or any of their other fabulous cosmetics…click the link above to see and read about it all.  The link above goes to the site of Taylor Andress, an independent for Younique.  She’s very friendly and would love to help you with any questions.  
 
    I plan on trying more products from Younique!
-SDS
-July 1, 2014
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