» Health/Beauty

Hey! National Curly Hair Day is Around the Corner!

Marie Denee — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:44 +0000

Do you have curls?

Do you love your curls?

I do. I did. And will always!

However, it has taken me a while to get here!

I have shared my most colorful hair story before… after vowing never to let anyone else in my hair except Dede after a forever scarring trip to the hairdresser years ago. THAT man is the reason I rock my hair how I do today. AND most interestingly and comically enough, after having my hair straightened for a shoot, the next person I let in my hair literally burnt the LIFE out of mines… !!!!!! I wanted to scream.

It hurt this time too. I love my hair, its curls, its attitude, and its color! So, when I heard that Garnier is celebrating curls by dubbing the 22^nd of May “Wear Your Hair Curly Day,” I could not have been more excited!

And even when I wasn’t rocking my natural curls, I was in a curly weave! Ha! Yep!

I have always have had an affinity towards curls! Curly hair, for me has always had a free spirit, wild child, edgy, spunk, rebellious vibe to it, that I JUST LOVED. Even though it took some time for me to love my own curls, thank GOD there are now products that let my hair do ITS OWN THING!

Seriously!

SO. Drop the flat iron! Put down the Hair Dryer! Let your curls go free and bounce/sway/prance in the wind! (At least for one day!) I know, I know, some of you share the sentiment of controlling the curls, and maintenance, but if you have noticed, there are TONS of brands and products that are designed with YOU, the naturally curly woman you are!

DO you think you can do it? Go Curly for a day?

Well if you think you can do it OR already DO, head on over to Garnier on Facebook and take the pledge! While you are there, you can learn more about “Wear Your Hair Curly Day,” and why they started it and how you can make the best of it!

*This post was sponsored by Garnier and Style Coalition and I was compensated to write this but opinions are all my own*

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New Research Squashes an Industry Norm- Plus Size Designers and Retailers Take Note!

Marie Denee — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:02:05 +0000

So, brands, I ask you this: Will you continue to use an outdated marketing model or adapt to the new consumer mindset and reap the rewards?~ Ben Barry op-ed in Elle Canada

Before I go in, let me set the stage for you. This is a long, informative post, so grab your coffee, turn down the TV and read on. Imagine this:

What if the staid industry norms and advertising techniques used to attract, motivate, and inspire women to make a purchase NO LONGER MATTER.
What if new statistics emerged within Northern America that show that using a monolith model, white and size 2, NO LONGER ONLY INSPIRE.

Plus size bloggers and magazines have LONG been calling out designer and brands on this. Contrary to traditional fashion marketing belief, Ben Barry has found that women will buy fashion when models convey a realistic, attainable image and make them feel confident.

Say What?

Meet Ben Barry of the Canadian Ben Barry Agency. In pursuance of his PhD, Ben Barry recognized that while the impact of models on body image has been studied, very little research has been conducted upon how models—depending on their size, age and race—influence purchasing decisions.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! You would think though, that rather rely upon long-established and terribly outdated industry norms to guide their casting decisions, marketers, brands, retailers would use or conduct some kind of research on this! HA! Well, enter in Mr. Barry who wanted to challenge those norms to see if there was a business case to support a more diversified approach and shares his findings in Elle Canada.

And Guess what He FOUND OUT?

Thanks to Ben Barry all of those above IFS are finally proven to be TRUE! But for us plus size women, we already KNEW this… but having new research and findings? YES! With 2000 women, sizes 2-18, age and ethnically diverse, this two phase study looked at both purchase intentions and the reasons behind those. I mean if you care about your bottom line and running shop, let me tell you what Ben Barry’s findings reveal:

Phase 1:

Looking at models who had similar and dissimilar sizes, ages and races to themselves, each woman was randomly shown two of eight possible ads where the models might have reflected some of their traits, all of their traits or none of their traits.

“I found that Canadian and American women increased purchase intentions for fashion products advertised by models who reflected their own demographics: age, size and—for non-Caucasians—race.” ~Ben Barry

For those over a size6, women increased their purchase intentions by a dramatic 300 percent* when they saw curvier models. Conversely, when women saw models who didn’t reflect their size, they decreased their purchase intentions by 60 percent, and women over size 6 dropped their purchase intentions by 76 percent.

Phase 2:

Why did women increase purchase intentions when models looked like them? The women shared that they could better picture themselves in the dress advertised by similar models. GO FIGURE.

According to Ben Barry, “They could imagine how the dress would flatter their shape, how the aesthetic would suit their age and how the colors would complement their complexion.” And for those idealized models? “… Their insecurity didn’t translate to purchase intentions as the industry hopes; it actually turned them off the product.”

His Conclusion?

“The women in my research want models—regardless of size or age—to inspire them with glamour, artistry and creativity.”

Basically, models should reflect the same size and age ranges of the brands target market. Ben Barry smartly deduces, It’s clearly in a brand’s financial interest to create samples in a few sizes to reflect the diversity of their consumers.

The underlying message is that fashion needs to sell aspiration, but it is NOT a standardized model’s age, size or race that is aspirational; it is the clothes, styling and creative direction of the shoot.

Why this matters? And how this affects the Plus Size Industry…

Far too many department stores, designers, and retailers have made decisions, assumptions, and choices based upon BAD and outdated information. For example, if a division in your department store, plus sizes, is not selling through, chances are the plus size consumer is not being spoken OR catered to.

To the online retailers that insist on using a size 6, 8, or 10 and label her as plus size AND the modeling agencies that force feed these 6, 8, 10, and 12 models down the retailers throats, please know that you are only hurting yourself and your business.

This means that YOU the businesses that cater to or are interested in selling to US, the plus size woman- please know we need MORE from you! We have voices now and speak up and out on what we like.

Understand this:

No, selling plus size will not dilute your brand.
No, using a size 8 model will NOT effectively sell your clothes to plus size women.
No, hiding the plus size brands in a corner, not merchandised, unsigned, and poorly attended to, will NOT sell the clothes.
No, using marketing people who are uninformed about TODAY’s plus size woman will help you understand her.

What will help your bottom line?

The first step is admitting you have an opportunity here…
Finding out who YOUR plus size shopper is and listening to her.
Finding out who she is and what she likes. Just like the straight size woman, there is junior, contemporary, high end designer, fast fashion plus size shoppers. There is new market segmentation!
Read the plus size blogs to see what is trending.
Data mine (READ BEN BARRY’s ARTICLE!), hire the industry professionals who know the business. They are there!
Commit to the plus size woman and make the changes we so hungrily need you to do!

I am stepping off my soapbox now, but I encourage everyone to head over to Ben Barry’s article and read, share, tweet, and comment on this piece! The fact that ELLE Canada backed him up in his findings already speaks volumes! You can also give Ben a shoutout on Twitter too! @BenBarryAgency is his Twitter!

But I want to know your thoughts. Are you as excited about this as I am? How do these new findings and research make you feel?

All images of models from Ben Barry’s Board

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In Honor of the Make Up Show NYC- My FAVE Beauty Bloggers

Marie Denee — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:30:07 +0000

I love make up.

I have ever since my mother introduced me to her Fashion Fair lipstick and when she put me in etiquette classes eons ago!

You will often catch me in a blue YSL eyeliner, my MAC Lip glass, benefit brow zings, or L’Oreal Mascara, but when I am looking for a specific item, the newest trends, the ins and outs of beauty and how I can make it work for me, there are a few ladies whom I turn to, have personally impacted me beauty wise, to make it work for me! And I have to share them with you!

In no particular order:

The Make Up Girl. @TheMakeUpGirl

Lianne Farbes. One of my fairy blog mothers who has introduced me to amazing skin care, great people, and the business of blogging. Learning how to balance life and blogging, she inspires me! Such the biggest heart and passion for life and all things beauty, she is a powerhouse! AND she is on the panel Beauty and the Blog for the MakeUp Show too! Goooo Lianne!!!!

This That Beauty. @ThisThatBeauty

Felicia, I absolutely adore her. From the first day we met in real life, she is my red lip inspiration. Literally! The One who challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and into bold lips! Before her, I was happily content with a tinted lip gloss with drama on the eyes, but now? She is my lipstick maven and she is also slaying them over at Bergdorfs as the Social Media Beauty Director! She’s speaking at Make Up Show Too!

Beauty Logic Blog @BeautyLogicBlog

Milly is a doll. So sweet, thoughtful, engaging and smart. She knows her stuff! I often lurk on her site as she dishes on the latest shade, hue, color, all from a playful perspective! Did you know she is also one of the CVS Board members? Yeah… She is that fly and most recently the Beauty Editor for Cosmo Latina! Milly rocks and tweets back! Woot!

The Style and Beauty Doctor. @StyleNBeautyDoc

Gotta love me some Danielle. Asides from being a fellow Virgo, I really love her wit and knowledge of foundations! MAN she has many times over inspired me to test out a new shade (I am going to get myself some MakeUpForever STAT). She is always wearing hues too that have me intrigued! Iman Lipstick? Yessss…

Afrobella @Afrobella

Eek! Patrice. I think she was my first beauty blog I ventured upon, even before I really started blogging. I admire her and she is one of my fairy blog sisters. Always a ray of sunshine, humble, gracious, honest, and one who knows her ish when it comes to beauty and hair, I ADORE HER! Oooh and before I donned red, I stepped out in All My Purple Life! I scored 2 tubes of the sold out live too!

Now that I have recapped my fave beauty blogs, please note that this is only a few of my daily reads AND does NOT include the hair bloggers that give me life!

These are a few (FEW) of my go to blogs for beauty for me! But I want to know, which are some of YOUR fave beauty Blogs?

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Join Dove for the “Show Us Your Skin” Event at the Del Amo Mall

Marie Denee — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:30:46 +0000

Have you heard of the latest Dove Campaign?

Since 1957, Real women have been at the heart of the Dove® brand, and they have used everyday women in their advertising; celebrating real women of all shapes, sizes, and colors! For their latest endeavor, Dove has launched its “Show Us Your Skin” campaign, giving all women the opportunity to be in a Dove ad!

Really? Yes, Really!

While this campaign is currently taking place on the Dove Facebook page, if you are in Southern California on May 10th, head to the Del Amo Fashion Center to participate in a mini-photo shoot as part of Dove’s “Show Us Your Skin” campaign during their Mom’s Nite Out event on from 6-8pm!

To encourage women to join the campaign, Dove® has collaborated with Simon Malls where attendees visit the Dove booth to get their photo taken by a professional photographer. That photo will be uploaded on-site to the Dove gallery on Dove.com and eventually featured on the billboard in Times Square. In addition to this, you get to take home product samples to keep your skin soft and smooth!

Can’t make it to the Del Amo location, but you want to participate?

Getting involved is easy! Jump over to the Dove® Facebook tab to submit* a photo showing off your fabulous skin. Every woman who submits a photo will appear in a Dove ad, INCLUDING a billboard in the famous Times Square and online digital ads! Woot!

And so that you don’t miss your “moment of fame”, Dove will email you your photo- the snapshot of YOU on the Times Square billboard! The “Show Us Your Skin” campaign celebrates the beautifully soft and smooth skin women get from Dove Body Washes and Beauty Bars.

Do you agree that all women should have the confidence to show off their beautiful skin?

Yes???!!!???

Then head on over to Dove’s Facebook Page to submit your photo! You can also do so on Dove.com at their Show Us Your Skin site!

*Photos must meet all requirements outlined in program rules

Will I see you at the Del Amo Fashion Center or on the Times Square Billboard??

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Dove Clear Tone to the Rescue!

Marie Denee — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:00:39 +0000

Okay, random post today, but I HAVE to share with you something that seems crazily embarrassing, but I KNOW I cannot be alone on!

HYPER-PIGMENTATION under the arms.

You know, the discoloration under your arms from shaving? Yeah, that’s me. It has been me, since like forever. And I do not know how to ever improve upon this, until now!

So the smart ones over there at Dove realized this sought to fix this. And How do I know I am not alone in sharing this? According to Dove, Thirty two million women in the U.S. (ALONE!) reportedly experience underarm red and dark marks. WHY, you must be asking yourself… Well, Dove answers us by sharing that we tend to neglect moisturizing this part of our body, which is an important step that reduces the dryness and irritation caused by shaving.

Who would have known? I sure didn’t and have long envied those women whose underarms are baby smooth! To achieve this fix, Dove’s Clear Tone Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant is specially formulated with Calendula and Sunflower Seed Extracts, which contain added moisture, to help repair irritated skin and even skin tone over time with regular use! I cannot wait to reach my desired outcome!

So, as I play with my new deodorant, courtesy of Dove, I invite you to check out the new Dove Clear Tone line! So far, the scent is right, the wear works for me, and I could be crazy, but I think that I have noticed the difference!

Are you one of the 32 Million, or am I alone on here?

I do hope they continue this technology into their body products!!!!!!!Popular Posts:

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If you LOVE the Sally Hansen Nail Effects, You will LOVE this…

Marie Denee — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:30:39 +0000

Hopefully as much as I do!

I mean, it is no secret my affinity for the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips. I cannot even tell you the last time I have got my nails done… Maybe Jan? Anyways, so I have been playing around with the new colors, just switching from the pink and black striped ones (which I shared on Instagram. Follow me! MarieDenee) to a pink animal print today!

Out of curiosity, I tried them on my toes… and fell in love! But the kicker here is when I found out: Sally Hansen is introducing a limited collection for our toes! Featuring five new shades for our feet, this exclusive collection of Salon Effects is perfectly shaped for our toes!

SCORE!

Salon Effects for your toes, aptly called Pedicure Salon Effects!

While they come in five shades, I do have four for you to take a gander at! Puppytooth, Snake, Rattle, and Roll, Strike a Posie and Pink Boa are shown above, respectively! Do you love these Salon Effects as much as I? I mean, while I adore those who can paint a mean nail, I do not possess those skills, although I do admire them on Pinterest.

You will be able to shop these and test them out by just heading out to your local drugstore!

How fun is this launch??? It was as if they were reading my mind. I am kind of excited about these Pedicure Effects and will be testing these out stat!!

What do you think? Will you rock the Sally Hansen Pedicure Effects?

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OOTD: Keeping it Teal

Marie Denee — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:30:35 +0000

I would have had another outfit to post, but somehow, someway, when I went to upload my photos, the memory card was ERASED and then Corrupted!! UGH… I could have reshot it on another day, but I was over it… especially knowing I had another event in which I could share what I wore… Thus, we have my keeping it teal look.

Sunday, I co-hosted a LA’s Prom Closet Dress Drive with Luiba of Survive Wedding Season and Jessica of You Be Your Best at her BYBY Studio in LA. We gathered over 50 dresses to donate to high school teens that otherwise would not have the resources to attend and go to prom! I was happy to donate 3 dresses alone! So dresses it was!

For this event, I felt a playful dress was in order, so I fashioned the Renata dress in Jade Green (which is more TEAL) from the Igigi Breath of Fresh Air Collection. I got the size 14/16, because I wanted to make sure this puppy was fitted! I really liked it fitted because of the RUCHING! Quite Forgiving! And even though I am not too blessed up top, there is ample room for you ladies who are well endowed!

I received the Spring Sweet Temptations from Iman Cosmetics for review and I feel in love with this really amazing lipstick RED (005) and it lasted all day long! I think I only had to reapply midday- but this was after drinks and cupcake nibbling! SWEET! Don’t be surprised if I am rocking this color all spring!

I paired this dress with heels from Chinese Laundry, bracelet from Fennimas, rings from Lane Bryant and earrings from BeBe!

The day was quite nice; thanks to fabulous sponsors- Sweet E’s who made the MOST delicious mini cupcakes, Two Birds Bridesmaids dresses, Sole Mates, Sole Society, Rent the Runway, and quite a few more!

Our DJ was tre cool and we even had makeup demo’s and a seamstress on hand to take measurements for those who wanted to check and double check! Here we are all together, at the end of the day!

Thank you to all who came, sending over 50 dresses for that teen to feel her absolute best for Prom! Geeked!

What do you think of my look?

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