Stephanie Sjoberg

RADHA BEAUTY EYE GEL

February 15, 2015luxorlivingandstyle

There is no better time of year, than the winter months to try out new eye cream. My reasoning on this point, is that the cold, dry air means your skin is even more thirsty than usual. It’s during this time of year, that you can see extra crinkles in the skin, due to the dry air so it’s easier to visually see results from the use of eye cream from day to day.

I’ve been playing around this season, trying out top eye cream brands. It seems that if there is true moisture going into the skin, I can see a difference the net morning with certain creams or gels.

The eyes are the first thing to go on the face as the years slip by, so this should always be a primary focus area for repair and moisture at any age.

I was excited to receive a Radha Beauty Intensive Youth Eye Gel to try out! I really was looking forward to using it, and to compare my appearance with some of the higher dollar eye creams I’ve currently been testing out.

I will say, I was excited about the results! My eye area has seemed very moisturized each morning upon my daily inspection in the mirror! I used it once at night, and then again in the morning, for additional results! And people, I am over 40, so I am hanging on and welcome any help possible that keeps me from feeling the need to inject chemicals into my face. (I am trying to wait until the last possible minute to resort to those types of procedures.)

After using and loving the eye gel, I decided to research and find out why exactly it worked so well. Here’s what I found out;

Contains a number a very powerful ingredients such as Plant Stem Cells, Matrixyl 3000, Hyaluronic Acid, Peptide Complex, Cucumber, Vitamin E, Aloe, MSM & More!

Radha Beauty’s Intensive Youth Eye Gel contains a innovative combination of ingredients for superior results. Plant Stem Cells enhance its strength to protect against sun damage and other external aggressors while Hyaluronic Acid hydrates the skin and plumps it up with moisture and Matrixyl 3000 firms the skin.

I’ve included the link to Radha’s Eye Gel on Amazon below, so that you can see the pricing and learn more! The price is amazing!

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VALENTINE’S DAY THOUGHTS

February 13, 2015luxorlivingandstyle

Happy Valentine’s Day! Or not. I have such an issue with Valentine’s Day, because it has been twisted into a thing that is exclusive to people in love and therefore leans towards the exclusion of those who are currently alone. It’s hurtful to many. I know, because I have been alone.

I remember being in high school, and it seemed absolutely everyone but me had tons of Valentines from friends and admirers. Ugh. I never had one. Not one. It was hurtful.

Actually, I would come home, and my mom would have tons of gifts and goodies spread out for me all over the table…so for years, she was my valentine.

Actually, in South America…my sister in law informs me that Valentine’s Day is to show love for friends…older ladies who are alone, girlfriends, etc. She actually has a party every year to show love for her friends, with this in mind. She is a fabulous party giver, and this year’s gathering was smaller than usual, but it was a blast being able to sit around and discuss girly things with her friends. Her party is always Valentine themed, with pink everywhere, gifts for attendees…etc. This year’s gift was a a flashy candle. Just a token of friendship.

So with that, I want to wish everyone who is alone, recently alone, alone for a damn long time…whatever the state of aloneness might be….Happy Valentine’s Day. You are loved.

You are loved by Father God. You are loved by someone that possibly you have not met yet. OR you were loved by someone who has left this earth. Everyone has their story. I choose to focus on being kind and especially sensitive to those who are alone at this time. It’s so hard because it appears as if everyone else’s life is perfect and full, except for yours.

Sometimes people are married, or in long term situations, but they are still alone emotionally. All that glitters isn’t gold, and alone can be many things.

So if you are alone, I am thinking of you. If everyone could think of two people they know who are not currently in a relationship, and reach out and surprise them with a small, thoughtful token, it would mean so much. That’s what I try to do every year, as my mom did for me when I was younger. Valentine’s Day should not be a yearly day of sadness for some, so especially if you are Valentineless….adjust your focus onto who you could treat special this week.

…love one another! (…and yes, I know that aloneness and Valentineless are not real words)

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BALM CHICKY ROCKS ON

January 25, 2015luxorlivingandstyle

I was so excited to receive my samples of BalmChicky Balm Balm in the mail! I didn’t know what exactly the company was about, but the name was fun so I’d waited with anticipation!

I work in cosmetics, where people come in to buy $22.00 tubes of lip conditioner that has no flavor or scent, which I never got all the fuss over that.

Oh but this is different! The tube is wider than normal, the balm is creamier than normal, it comes in great flavors with light scent! I’ve tried it on top of my lip color, as well as below…just to see how it worked and it was fine either way.

I got the Wild Mountain Honey, Juicy Melons and Sweet Baby Ginger…although there are more flavors to choose from shown here.

My husband loves lip balm since he’s out in the heat all day on the court with the tennis business, so I decided to be unselfish and gave him a tube and he absolutely loves this stuff.

Another fun thing about this balm is the friend end, which is for those annoying times that you have a dry lipped friend asking to borrow your lip product!

Check out this new company’s fun site and story, and although it’s coming to a store near you soon…you can order it on line here!

August 26, 2013

BALM CHICKY UPDATE:

I just got notice of something so exciting for my friends at BALM CHICKY! They are going to be featured on the February 3rd edition of one of our favorite shows…SHARK TANK on ABC!!!! Let’s watch and cheer them on!

As for us, I just had to part with my last tube of healing BALM CHICKY in GINGER because Ken’s lips are always out in the elements on the tennis court and he’s constantly asking for lip balm! He loves this brand and finds it very soothing.

In the meantime, learn more about BALM CHICKY and check out their SHARK TANK SPECIALS !

-January 26, 2014

-SDS

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TOP TWELVE SHOTS OF THE YEAR 2014

January 11, 2015luxorlivingandstyle

I welcome the year 2015 with open arms, but here are my top 12 picks for Shots of The Year from the blog! Some are from products that sponsored me, and some of other people I got to shoot. It’s fun to look back over the past year and gather some top shots. 2014 went by so fast, and in looking back, I see why… I was busy! I look forward to challenging myself this next year!

1. GLASSES USA

I was so excited to learn about GLASSESUSA and get an opportunity to try out their online prescription glasses service! Too cool! Check them out for discount prescription glasses that you can order online.

2. BOUDOIR

It was something totally new to try, and I had a blast doing last year’s Valentine Boudoir Shoot. The girls were fun and beautiful. It’s not trashy… more fun and flirty than anything, but it was fun working out shots for the girls. Out of all photos, I love this one the best. The girl is a beautiful, edgy rebel, business woman and mom. I loved the way this turned out.

3. BLACK FEATHERED ANGEL

This is a girl I ran into one night while out with my husband. We became friends and I was dying to do some portfolio shots for the aspiring actress. On this shoot, we went to Galveston Beach, (although we joked about saying it was some exotic destination in the Carribbean) and we laughed so hard as we tried different shots. Imagine this tall, beautiful girl in full makeup and long black gown, on the edge of a jettie, as the waves crashed in. Imagine the onlookers. Too funny. The rest of the pictures can be seen here. This was a great day!

4. TEXAS GIRL

I’ve always loved the Guess advertising campaigns. This was a spin on the Texas girl look. This is one of my favorite shots from that day with her. See the rest here, on the American Girl blog post.

5. SENIOR PORTRAIT TEXAS STYLE

Senior portraits in Texas are getting to be very elaborate, so I wanted to try my hand at a few! I absolutely had a blast working on this shoot, and this one is my favorite from the Senior Glam Texas Style shoot!

6. YOUNIQUE

I did a review for Younique 3D Fiber Lashes. This was one of the shots from the post that came out. I mean, how do you really take a mascara photo anyway? My vanity area was new, and it’s where I spend every morning getting ready, playing with makeup and trying new things.

7. THE WOODLANDS, BIOTCH

One day after church, my husband and I stopped to snap photos for the Retro blog post. I got this great shot of a nearby bridge in The Woodlands, and loved the way it came out!

8. LA JOLLA

We took a trip to San Diego this year. We wanted to return, since we had been the previous year. I packed terribly. I ended up buying a cool hat there, while we were shopping, and thus created a La Jolla outfit post out of scraps! We stayed at La Valencia hotel, right on the Cove at La Jolla… and had an amazing time. I love this shot that Ken took because it’s real. It’s me. My clothes. My life. I love that he lets me be kooky and fun. Good times!

La Jolla Cove

9. PURE BEAUTY

Pure Beauty was seen daily as we photographed the Seals at La Jolla. I was able to get inches from them and snap some cute photos. This was one of my best memories of the year! I adore nature and animals.

10. HOLIDAY RIVER WALK

In December, we went to San Antonio to attend a church service by one of our favorite pastors, and stayed on the San Antonio River Walk. It was my birthday, and Christmas lights were still up. I took photos in order to create a Monet look and love the way they all turned out!

11. ANGEL

I was fortunate enough to make a new friend this year, when Angel Blanchard was referred to me by a friend, to recreate her hair salon web site, Angels Hair Designs. She is a color and cut specialist in the Houston Galleria area, and also does extensions as well. She did my hair recently as well. Angel also is a jewelry designer, and is wearing some of her custom candy pieces in this shot! She does cuts for men as well!

12. YOU TUBER

One of my functions is that I work in Cosmetics and Fragrances. I do makeup. If you know anyone who does makeup, then you know we love You Tube Videos! Everyone would love to try and make a video at least once, so I finally did a full You Tube presentation called GLAMMY GLAM in 19 MINUTES. This shot was of the finished product after the video tutorial was made. Making videos is so fun, but it’s more work than you think! Check out my Channel here.

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AMERICAN SUPERMODEL: MAKEUP TIPS AND TRICKS

December 27, 2014luxorlivingandstyle

This is the part where I am going to show you some of the makeup and cosmetics tips I used on Jennifer for her Next American Supermodel photo shoot!(You can also see more pictures from the shoot there.)

The eyes are the window to the soul so with that in mind, I decided to play up her eyes and strong brow area. We actually laughed so hard during our conversation about eyebrows, because a lot of salons want to end up giving everyone that walks into there doors…a cookie cutter, skinny half moon brow and she’s been smart enough to stay away from that practice. Eyebrows are so important! They can give your face the appearance of symmetry and a good brow is a rich feature.

FUNNY SIDEBAR: I went into my bank about a year ago, and the girl at the counter started talking to me about my hair or lip color…but the conversation turned into an eyebrow conversation, against my will. Hers were shaved off and then a thin line was tattooed on in place of them. She adamantly searched for the number to give me to the place that did it for her. EECK! I was polite, but I would never do that unless my eyebrows suddenly fell out into the street and I had no choice.

As for Jennifer’s lips did not need any help looking full, so we went with a barely there color and liner, to keep the main area of focus on the eyes.

I knew that I would be doing some black and white pictures, which can tend to make you look washed out if you do not enhance the architecture and bone structure of the face and define certain places well enough.

So lining the lips well, defining the brow and the hollow of the cheek, is important.

We also wanted some fun, real person shots that were full body shots therefore the makeup that may appear heavier close up, only looks more simple from further away.

My original plan was to use an old school, super glam red for the lip color, however, her eyes turned out so fabulous, and her lips are already perfectly photogenic, so we decided for a more reserved, pale and natural color.

Everyone’s face is different. People expect to walk up to a cosmetic artist, and ask for a Kardashian look, for example…when there’s absolutely nothing to work with in that direction. In makeup, you have to step back, assess the situation, and work with what you’ve got!

Here’s the listing of make up I used for Jennifer:

Additionally, a cosmetic look for photos will look different from cosmetics for say…a date. Have you ever noticed that when you look at a picture that was taken on a day that you thought you looked great…the picture was awful? Basically, the same highlighting techniques, just on a lesser scale.

-December 27, 2014

-SDS

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CREAMY GARLIC CHICKEN SOUP WITH KALE

December 11, 2014luxorlivingandstyle

Creamy Garlic Chicken Soup With Kale

This soup is by far the best thing I’ve ever created in the kitchen! It’s been a terribly cold winter, and nothing sounded great to eat except for some type of fabulous, hot soup.

Being a major fan of garlic, I decided it would surely be hard to mess up a creamy, garlic chicken soup with new potatoes. Too lazy to search for a recipe, I decided to wing it on my own! What ended up happening, was the birth of the absolute best soup recipe I’ve ever accidentally created!

Personally, I like hearty soups with at least a wee bit of meat, or I’ll just be hungry again in two hours without protein, so I opted to chock it full of chicken breast pieces. There’s also the Woolly Mammoth to keep feeding, so I prefer to make a huge and hearty amount of whatever I cook, so that it will last more than one meal, and I won’t find myself in the kitchen quite as often this way.

Here Is What You’ll Need:

1 Cup Minced Garlic

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cans Chicken broth

4 Cups Chopped Kale

1/2 Cup Green onions

1 Cup Chopped Celery

8-12 New Potatoes…sliced

3 pounds Chicken breast

1 tablespoon Salt

2 tablespoons black Pepper

2 Cups Water

All You Do Is:

Dump you Cup of Garlic in a heating pan, then place chicken breasts on top, and cook over medium heat until done, adding light salt and pepper to the chicken.

In a soup pot, you will put in all cans of soup and water, over medium heat, adding in new potato wedges first.

When your chicken in done in the skillet, cut up all chicken breasts before adding into soup pot, and use the remaining chicken garlic juice, to add to the soup mixture. Simmer, adding salt and pepper to taste… for one hour. Add cut green onions to top and BAMM! You rock a sexy Creamy Garlic Chicken Soup With Kale!

-SDS

-January 25, 2013

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CONNECT

RADHA BEAUTY EYE GEL

VALENTINE’S DAY THOUGHTS

TOP TWELVE SHOTS OF THE YEAR 2014

AMERICAN SUPERMODEL: MAKEUP TIPS AND TRICKS

CREAMY GARLIC CHICKEN SOUP WITH KALE

REBEL

PEEK-A-BOO

LA JOLLA !

THE ASHLEY MADISON PROJECT

JOHNNY GIRL

STREET GLAM

Are We Smart Enough to Vote?

CHICKEN COOP

SIX SHOTS DURING QUARANTINE

QUALITY QUARANTINE TIME

5 Things I Think I Need Right Now…

WYOMING