Well, I'm back after a long visit with the folks.
Good news, it was great to relax and visit.
Bad news, I never got any christmas punch!
Darn. (It never got made!)
Christmas was good to me this year. Especially when the folks just give me money and say, "here, buy what you want!" I rarely shop for myself during the year. Time, travel, and if I do shop, it's for you quessed it, makeup. But for work, not for me. (Well, let's just say the rejects find a happy home with me.)
Coolest gift that I got?
Avon's Meet Mark "Brushmark Blendable Color pencil" in Spark.
This is literally like painting snowflakes on my eyes. Soooo pretty. It's a pencil on one side, and a brush to blend (though not really needed) on the other. It's so pretty I can't stand it. I swipe on my eyebrow bone and underneath the tear duct. Sparkle sparkle! (Their website says it's currently unavailable, hopefully out of stock and not gone!)
Another cool find was great wrap-around sunglasses so badly needed. I've lost and broke my two favorite pairs and Nordstrom's had them, on sale. Then Lancome's waterproof mascara (finally! review coming soon!) with gift with purchase.
(Check out Lancome's Home page, their image is stunning!)
My Christmas goodies this year was more things I needed (lost, broken) rather than things I really wanted. I couldn't really think of anything!
Customer Service Rant:
Upon a return to The Grove's Nordstrom's makeup counter (a Nar's reddish blush that was very beautiful, but found a better one at Mac for cheaper, and I just couldn't stomach $25 for 1 blush. Are kidding me?) Upon returning it, I get the total up and down glance from the salesgirl. And then a cryptic "Why are you returning this?" Excuse me? I was ready to smack her. My reply? "I found something MUCH better!" Then her, "Did you use it?" to my response, "Of course not." Then she opens the item to closely inspect it. Huh? Whatever happened to Nordstrom's return anything policy? Needless to say, after the attitude, never again. Sephora will have my business from now on.
Customer Service Praise!
I ordered two items from Amazon for my Dad for Christmas and Birthday. One was out of stock to be shipped later. I requested to ship both when they were both in. I get an email a few days later that the one in stock WILL be shipped at no charge, as to not delay for the holidays. Huh? I didn't think anything would be delayed, but I thought that was very thoughtful of them. The out of stock item was shipped a few days later, no problems. Wow.
New Year's Resolutions:
Well, the New Year always has me writing my wishes for the new year on a piece of paper to burn at midnight on New Year's Eve. Why? A friend told me that the energy at that time of year is the most positive of any night of the year. Why? Everyone's celebrating! And upon burning your wishes, your angels (or guides, or whatever you want to call them) can take your wishes (that are now turned to smoke) and help you with them. If it is just a piece of paper, well, that helps me, not them. Nice thought huh? So upon midnight I wrote my wishes for the new year. Then I made a copy of it, and hid them in my apartment. I usually find them months later and read up on it to see what happened, and usually about 80% of them come true. And by making a copy for me, I can remember what the heck my wishes were. This year?
It's major baby.
A new place to live in NY.
(don't even ask....I'm back at my old place.)
A new agent.
A new portfolio.
A new direction in my career.
(If you saw my Christmas card online, you'll see what I mean.)
Meet new friends.
Well, you can basically say pretty much a new life.
Why? Well, things have been humming along, nicely I might add for years now. I'm ready to shake things up. To get to the next level. Bigger and better. I'm ready for my career to, as they say, kick it up a knotch. Bigger jobs, more travel, more money. Why? Because my goal is to be one of the top 10 makeup artists in my business. Funny, people know my work, but they don't know my name or connect the two together. Now it's time. I feel like it's time.
Stay tuned for a whole bunch of reviews coming. I came back to my mailbox overflowing with new products and goodies to check out for you. Keep them coming!
Have a great week!