Makeover Mondays

Today I am featuring Amanda Sherrell.  She is getting married this August and wanted to get her makeup done for her engagement photo session.  She is too adorable and is wonderful to work with.  Not to mention she's a preschool teacher, so she definitely deserves some pampering.

Here's her before...

And her afters...

We did a classic gray smoky eye, and neutral blush and lip colors because she was going to wear some reds in her photos.

Check out her engagement photos here!  They're gorgeous!  She wanted dreamy, snowy photos, and the weather cooperated with her.  


Thanks, Amanda!  Looking forward to doing your wedding makeup in August!

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Tina Cunningham for winning the gloMinerals giveaway.  She will be receiving a package valued at almost $300!  Hopefully, I can continue to do giveaways, I just hope that more people enter the contests!!  I want to thank all of you who did enter, and please keep spreading the word :)

Makeover Mondays

Today's Makover Mondays will feature Sue Ann, a lovely client who comes to me from Glenville.  She was brave enough to agree to be interviewed by Stacy Jacobson for my WBOY feature.  A huge thank you to Sue Ann for being so willing to participate!

Her before...

Her afters...

I was going for an everyday, natural look.  I used two purple eyeshadow trios (Posh + Amethyst) for a daytime look.  I also used my favorite Lip Crayon in Majestic Sienna.  I think this looks healthy, put-together, and brings out the best of her natural beauty and features.

**Don't forget to participate in the gloMinerals giveaway.  See the post below, follow the steps to enter, and don't forget to comment to that blog post.  I will draw the winner this Thursday. Good luck!**

gloMinerals Giveaway

To celebrate my new blog...

  I'm giving away some gloMinerals!!

The winner will receive the limited edition luxe collection.  This collection includes two limited edition eyeshadow quads, two mini lipglosses, black micro eyeliner, mini lip liner, limited edition blush duo, mini bronzer, mini eye primer, and 3 great eye brushes- eye base, eye blender, and smudge.  I'm also going to throw in a collection of mini liquid lips.

Enter to win by doing one or more of the following...


1.  Like my page on Facebook.  Already a fan on Facebook?  Great, either way, just comment and tell me below.


2.  Follow Riversong Spa on twitter.  If you already follow me on Twitter, just say so in the comment.


3.  Share this blog post on your Facebook wall.  The easiest way to do so is to click the Facebook icon below this blog post.  


4.  Join my blog as a follower.  Look along the right hand side for the Followers section.  Join, then, leave a comment.  


5.  Tweet  --  Check out @riversongspa for a great giveaway!


6.  Re-pin any image from Riversong Spa's blog to one of your boards on Pinterest.


Each time you do one of the steps above, leave a comment on this blog.  That's 6 chances to win!!  Contest ends Wednesday, January 25 at midnight EST.  Winner will be drawn on Thursday.

Good luck!!

This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter,  Your participation with these associations is not necessary to enter the contest.

Riversong Spa on the news

So, I'm totally geeked about being featured on Channel 12 News, WBOY.  Stacy Jacobson has been so good to me ever since we met back in the summer.  I am so excited that she wanted to spotlight my small business on a news feature.  Tune in tonight, Saturday, January 21, at 6 pm, to Channel 12 for the story.  I think it may run again at 11.  And, if you still miss it, it should be online at www.wboy.com.  Please, check it out!

Here's a peek at the client interview...

And, here's a peek for the upcoming Makeover Monday...

Have a great weekend!

ETA:  Here is a link to the article for the story, and here's a link to the news clip.

Makover Mondays

Today's Makeover Monday features a friend who shares a common passion with me...photography.  She is a super busy mom of 2 little boys.  She helps her husband run their pipeline business, and she is a runner.  She always looks so healthy, and has great skin!

Here's her before...

And, here's her after...

Thanks, Jonelle for being a fearless model!

I did a classic smoky eye using gloMinerals smoky eye kit.  This palette is great-a perfect smoky eye every time.

Winter Skin Care Essentials

**You may want to get a warm beverage and a notebook before you read this, because it's really long, BUT informative!!**

Winter is here, and most of us are probably feeling a difference in our skin.  The dry air this time of year will sap moisture from our skin.  This leaves behind skin that is rough, dry, and flaky.  My first recommendation to combat tight, itchy, flaky skin is to exfoliate-both on your face & your body.  Here are some of my favorite facial exfoliants...

Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant

Rosehip Exfoliating Masque

Almond & Mineral Treatment

Pear & Poppyseed Microderm Polisher

Yam & Pumpkin Enzyme Peel, 5%

And, here is my favorite body scrub, it contains both sea salt and liquid soap, so it's a multi-tasking scrub. 

Once you've exfoliated, you need to treat your skin.  For your body, it's as simple as a good, rich lotion.  For winter time, I recommend a shea butter-rich balm, as pictured above.

For your face, my favorite treatments are the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum and the Strawberry Rhubarb Masque.

The ingredients in these products are perfection!  The masque is gently exfoliating, but also treating, infusing your skin with hyaluronic acid, which is an extremely anti-aging ingredient that can hold up to to 100X (times) its weight in water.  Hyaluronic acid is naturally-occurring in the deeper layers of your skin, and accounts for the springiness.  However,  in your early 20s, your body starts producing hyaluronidase, which is a family of enzymes that destroys the hyaluronic acid.  Not fair!  Luckily, Eminence discovered that hyaluronic acid is also naturally-occurring in the marshmallow root plant, and how we can put it back into/onto our skin.

I refer to the strawberry rhubarb hyaluronic serum as "the fountain of youth" and it is probably my best-selling product.  Clients keep coming back for more!

Onto the last step...moisturizing.  Depending on your unique skin, there is a perfect moisturizer for you!  Most people need to bump up the moisture this time of year, so it may be necessary to get a richer moisturizer.  Here are my favorites...

Echinacea Recovery Cream

Firm Skin Acai Moisturizer

Rosehip Whip Moisturizer

Naseberry Treatment Cream

Calm Skin Chamomile Moisturizer

Guava & Bamboo Age-Defying Moisturizer

and don't forget your lips...citrus lip balm.

Check out this video about how Eminence is made

Some Re-arranging

Finally!  I cleared out the corner of my shop, put in a custom-built (courtesy of my stepdad, Joe) corner shelf, and re-arranged and re-organized my shop.  Yay!  It was so much fun to make it look better.  I'm a visual person.  I work in the beauty industry.  I want my shop to look beautiful. So, what does it look like you ask?

Here's a view of the shelves of the new corner cabinet.

Another angle, plus a glimpse of new retail storage.  It was about time!

And, just because I'm a product junkie who loves eye candy, here you go...

Makeover Mondays

I'm so excited about this feature on my blog.  Hopefully, I'll be here every week with a new makeover.  First up is a lovely woman and a dear friend.  I love her hair.  She is very bold and is always agreeable to my schemes.  I wanted to accentuate her eyes, and I wanted to do something dark and metallic.  But first, here is her very sad Before picture...

And, Ta-Da...here is her after...

A close-up of her eyes...

I want to thank Sandra Mick for being so fun to work with. 

And, in case you're interested, I used eyeshadows that are in the Limited Edition Holiday Luxe Kit.  I have 4 left if you're interested.  The kits are a great deal-the retail value is $258,but the price is only $85.

Vitamins & Supplements

If any of you had ever been to my house and looked on top of my microwave, you would know that I am a vitamin & supplement junkie.  You have a symptom, I have a solution.  I am going to share with you some of my favorites.  My mantra in 2011 was, "Don't get sick, especially around the holidays."  I have noticed a pattern that, when I am extremely stressed out, I always get really sick.  Anyways, on to the good news.  I credit the Wellness Formula supplement as being the catalyst for my good health.  I'll give you fair warning, it tastes HORRIBLE!  But, you'll reap the health rewards if you take it and follow the directions.


Other favorites include:
L-Lysine- this is a great supplement to take if you ever suffer from fever blisters or the herpes simplex virus.  
Eminence Clear Skin-this contains acidophilus and other ingredients that really keep my skin clear.  I definitely notice an improvement in smoothness, less inflammation & irritation, and my acne scars are actually healing.
Magnesium glycinate- I got turned onto this mineral supplement when listening to my favorite podcast Dishing Up Nutrition, which you can find in iTunes.  You can take this at night, or after a rigorous workout.  It really helps "chill you out."  I love it when that feeling sets in and my whole body relaxes.  It's also supposed to help restless leg syndrome.
Reacted Zinc- another mineral supplement, many people are deficient in zinc.  If you have chocolate cravings, chances are, you have a zinc deficiency.


Again, I am not licensed to dole out advice, but I am just sharing some changes I've made in my supplement intake that have made a big difference in my energy level, endurance, and immunity.

hello...

Starting a blog has been brewing in my mind for a while now.  In fact, I reserved the name back in March.  I needed some time to think about it and decide what I wanted it to be about.  Turns out, it's going to have a pretty broad topic scope.  I thought this would be a great place for me to do some product spotlights, tips & techniques, skin & skincare education, and quite possibly my favorite, Makeover Mondays.  Don't be disappointed if there's not one every Monday-it may take me a while to get them going.  Hopefully, there will be one this coming Monday, so you'll have to stay tuned...