What a wonderful name for a skincare/cosmetics line–Fresh.  That’s exactly how I want my face to look–Fresh.  My imagination conjures up dewy, healthy, clear skin that is radiating the glow of beauty.  Who wouldn’t want that?!?!

For this summer, freshen up your face with FREE FACIALS at any Fresh location nationwide!  It is called the Refresh Spa Express–a 10 to 20 minute spa experience in one of their private back spa rooms.  Listed below are the available beauty rituals as taken from their website:

REFRESH SPA EXPRESS TREATMENTS

SOY ESSENTIALS

Good skin starts with soy. This treatment calls upon the restorative powers of this amino acid-rich natural ingredient to optimize moisture levels and revive skin cells. Gentle enough for all skin types, this ritual leaves skin smooth and glowing.

HYDRATE & NOURISH

Perfect for dry, dull skin, this treatment reveals a soft, supple complexion. Delivering instant moisture where the skin needs it most, this ritual also addresses the first signs of aging.

PURIFY & BALANCE

Designed for combination to oily skin, this treatment balances the complexion without irritating or over-drying the skin. Umbrian Clay, a proprietary ingredient to Fresh, neutralizes acidity on the skin to purify clogged pores, soothe redness, and refine skin texture.

AGE-DELAY

This luxurious treatment transforms dry, aging skin that’s in need of intense moisture. It calls upon the exclusive Crème Ancienne, a rich moisturizer hand-blended in a remote European monastery. The ritual reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, increases elasticity and firmness, and provides long-lasting moisture retention.

What are you waiting for?  Call your local Fresh store and ask for availability!  Locations can be found on the website www.Fresh.com. (If your local Fresh store is South Coast Plaza, ask for Erin.  She gives wonderful facials!)

I had a few requests asking for more instruction on how I give myself the Nude Lip with a Hint of Stain look, so I made a video to make it easier to understand.  Please leave a comment and subscribe to let me know how I’m doing.  Thank you.

You’ve got great Nippers…meaning…you’ve got great lips.

How do you accentuate the lips that you have?  Do you wear bold red lips? Nude lips?  Lip stains?  Candy pink?  How do you pair great lip color with the rest of your make up and look?
Here are just a few tricks to great Nippers:

10 Lip Tips

1.    Exfoliate. In the shower, with a soft brush, gently remove the dead skin on the lips.  Then hydrate with lip conditioner.  (Jo Malone Vitamin E Lip Conditioner $20)
2.    Color Inside the Lines. Use a lip liner that is flesh tone to line the lips.  Also you can use the liner to act as a lipstick base.  (Sue Devitt Long Lasting Lipliner in St. Moritz $20)
3.    Here is a Red for You, Here is a Red for Me. Find the red that works for you.  If you have a pink undertone, try a red with plum tints.  If you have a yellow undertone, wear a red with brown base.  If you have both warm and cool tones, lucky you, you have more versatility…such as this lovely lady in the pictures below.

4.    Contrast Reds. If you have high contrast skin, hair, and eyes, you can pull off the dramatic bold red lips more so than someone with low contrast.  You are high contrast if you have dark hair, and eyes, but have pale skin.  If you are blond with fair skin, you have low contrast.  So depending on the contrast in your skin and hair tones, you can either wear bold red (high contrast), medium red with brown undertones (medium contrast), or a flesh tone red/lip stain (low contrast).  Nonetheless, if you have the confidence, you can pull off the dramatic red even if you have very low contrast.
5.    Bold Lips, Minimal Eyes. You don’t want to look like a clown, so when you wear a bold lip color, such as red, you want the minimalist look so that nothing else is competing against those lips.  This means, just mascara and red lips.

6.    Red on Red. When wearing bold red lipstick, your nail polish should match the color exactly.  If you can’t find the exact red, skip the nail color and go with a clean manicured look.
7.    Rouge Cheeks. If you are wear bold red lips and little else make up (as you should—rule 5), you may need just a hint of color in the cheeks.  Tap your fingers on your lips and transfer a little of the red lipstick onto your cheeks and blend.
8.    Glossy Transformation. Change up the lipstick color with gloss.  After you have on lipstick, apply lip gloss.  Warm up the color of your lipstick with a gloss that has gold undertones, or highlight the lips with a gloss that has pick/violet undertones.
9.    Nude Lips with a Hint of Stain. Although I enjoy the nude lip look, I still like to have some red in it.  So what I do is apply a lip tint (Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon $25) on the inside of my lips giving it the ‘just ate berries’ look (or the ‘vampiress afterparty’ look).  Then I use either translucent powder (SKII Air Touch Foundation $165) or a sheer nude lip color (Laura Mercier Stickgloss in Brown Sugar $20) mostly on the outer lips—try not to cover too much of the tint on the inner lips.  Click on the picture below for a video instruction of how-to create this nude lip look.

10.    Check, and Check Again. Bring a pocket mirror and check your lips every so often.  And if need be, reapply.  Nothing looks worse then feathering lips or flaking color.

If you have a Lip Tip, please leave a comment and tell us what it is.

I was once told that life would be so much easier, healthier, and stress-free if you could just get a massage a day.  I would love to live in that kind of world.  But most of the time, massages are very very expensive–a luxury.  Except now…

Here are two options that are free or truly affordable:

AVEDA:

FREE MINI-RITUAL (10 minutes)

When you first walk into the Aveda store, you are offered a cup of the tastiest tea ever.  (Be careful, sometimes it can be a little hot!)  And if you ask for a mini-ritual (hand-massage, scalp-massage, or back-massage), they will sit you down and give you one of the best 10 minutes of your shopping excursion.  They spritz the atmosphere around you with aromas that is matched with your needs (relaxation, energy, health, etc).  Then they begin to work on you…ahhh…very nice.

FOOT and BODY MASSAGE in Garden Grove/Westminster:

$15-20 (tip $5 and up) 1 hour of BLISS

I try to have this done as often as I do mani-pedis.  They are just as inexpensive and do wonders for your stress levels.  There are so many many massage parlors in Westminster/Garden Grove you’ve just got to try them all!  I am so amazed at the fact that I can get a full body massage from the hair on my scalp down to my tippy-toes for a whole hour for just around $25.  Of course you are in a room with others (you are fully clothed); but my goodness…I can’t get enough!  They work on you and work on you, until your muscles are mush and you are on the brink of falling asleep.  You can ask for gentle or strong fingers.  I, personally, enjoy the softer touch.

Here are some places for you to begin your journey to a stress-free life:

LH Hand and Foot Massage

9741 Bosla Ave, Suite #112

Westminster, CA 92683

(714) 775-0586

(Larger room, many people, $20/hr)

King’s Foot Massage

10161 Bolsa Ave, Second Floor

Westminster, CA 92683

(Smaller Atmosphere, Quieter and Better Ambiance, $15/hr)

There is no need for you to make an appointment, you just drop in and they will have someone at your hand and foot.  Also, be sure to tip at least $5.  Also, ask for their stamp card; every 10 massages you get 1 free.

If you know of any other places or better ways of relaxing, please drop a comment and let me know…I’d love to find new places or discover new activities.

Sometimes there are creations of art that tell a story and touches your heart.  I remember the first time I set eyes on a gorgeous pearl wrap necklace with delicate antique nic knacks which included an old antique locket and a silver Eiffel tower charm strung together with antique rosary beads, antique gem stones, and pearls.  I was in love!  I think I even came back to that boutique every week just to see what new pieces there were.  The artist had put together antique charms, trinkets, and jewelry and made them modern and very wearable.  There is this elegant charm and edginess to each necklace, earring, and bracelet.  The necklace I finally decided on is two-stranded.  It has an old gold rosary skull on one strand and a vintage 1910 watch face on the other.  When I turn the watch-face over, I can see the intricacies of the mechanics inside the watch.  It was truly marvelous.  It had so much history and I knew it would be something I would pass on as an inheritance.

When I was given the chance to meet the artist of that necklace…I jumped at the opportunity.  I’ve had time to get to know her, and Tami’s story truly inspiring.  That is why she is the illuminARTIST of the month.  Here are the interview questions and answers about herself, her inspiration, and her art: (Click on the photos to enlarge)

1.  What adjectives would you use to describe your jewelry?

You can visit Tami’s website for more information about where you can find her jewelry.  http://www.relicsbytami.com/

I realized that I should have explained what it is that I do as a style and image consultant.

To summarize in a sentence…As a style and image consultant using clothing fit and style, accessories, grooming and much more, I help men and women put forth an appeal that is amazing and appropriate for the situation–whether it be for the everyday look, for the workplace, special event, or for those who are turning over a new leaf.

The first thing I do when meeting a client is to listen and observe to determine their needs and how I can go about fulfilling those needs.  As a client of mine, I take in who you are and determine the best way to translate that into a style that is completely you. 

Level I Style and Fit Consultation: I would like to start with assessing what colors look the best with your skin tone, hair, eyes, and personality…what style and fit matches your body shape and proportion. From there, we do a Closet Audit: Together, we will go through your closet to clear out the clothes that should not be in there and find the missing essential pieces that should be there.  Personal Shopping: We then go shopping to purchase those missing essential pieces.  From there it’s back to the closet to do a Wardrobe Analysis, and this is where I show you how to create amazing outfits for every occasion and situation using the clothes you already have and clothes that were purchased.

From this point on…it’s just maintenance…we can update your look seasonally, yearly, or for that special event.

Remember, this is a process and not an overnight transformation.  It takes time and focus to develop your own style.

For more information, please feel free to contact me at christine@illuminart.com or (310) 430-6684.

Welcome!  This is my very first blog.  My name is Christine Le and I am a style and image consultant based in Southern California.  To tell you a little about myself…I’ve always been fascinated with the art of style and fashion.  Not only the creation of style art but of bringing light and joy to people through the medium of style art.  Thus the name “illuminART style”.  Even as an elementary school child, I ‘decorated’ my younger cousins (the only ones I could effectively ‘lord’ my pecking order as coercion) with my mother’s cosmetics, dressed them in clothes from my closet, their closet, my mom’s closet, or sometimes tablecloths (if I happened to like that particular print).  After which, I then had them pose for pictures.  (When I find them…I’ll post them.)  They were quite good, actually.

As I grew up, I decided to go into medicine.  I even studied and graduated with a Bachelors of Science, Biological Sciences.  All the while, I sought the ‘Art’.  Surrounded with medical terminology, numbers, equations, procedures, blood…I emphasized and focused on the creativity of medicine.  My medical passion was for the art of reconstructive surgery–healing people physically and spiritually.  It wasn’t just about putting Humpty Dumpty together again…but beyond that.  I saw the healing of the mind and confidence through the healing of the body.  Bringing beauty to a person is both physical and mental–they are connected.

After graduating…I acknowledged my passion for fashion and style.  My experience as a stylist for Club Monaco gave me the ability to train my eye in styling and bringing out the best expression of clothing and accessories for all types and ages.  Within a month of my hired date, I was honored as their top stylist for that location and in the following month was positioned as the second top stylist among the Western Region locations (second only to a veteran stylist).  Once I began to research deeper into image consulting, I stumbled across Erin Stafford–a truly gifted image consultant and speaker.  Through her training, I heard of Body Beautiful and Carla Mathis.  Studying under Carla is an incredible and amazing experience.  With Body Beautiful I was able to hone my skills and talents even more, put words to image consulting, and gained the confidence to express my styling knowledge, advice and gifts with other men and women.  In April, I will be studying the Universal Style with Mimi Dorsey and Alyce Parsons.  And in May, I will be taking the First Level Certification with the Association of Image Consultants International.  (I am already an associate member of AICI.)  In addition, I recently partnered up with J. Hilburn to provide men custom-made shirts out of the same fantastic fabrics as those high-end luxury brands BUT with a drastic cut in pricing…and did I mention that they are custom-made?  How amazing is that?

My life is so exciting right now and just a bit scary–but that’s the thrill of life.  I want to thank you for visiting my website and blog.  Please continue checking back as I will post my Style Notes regularly.  This blog I like to call my Style Lounge and my posts as Style Notes.  (Thanks for playing along with my word play.)

Oh yes, and the definition of the words ‘illuminART style’ is two-fold:

1. noun. Style, as art illuminating from a person; one’s own beauty expressed through style.

2. verb. To illuminate style art.

My hope and joy is help women and men begin to find their own illuminART style.