Christmas is...sparkle.

Welcome back to Day 2 of Christmas is { _____________} series.

Now, go grab a cup of coffee and hear from Genn from Life in the Hass House.

I adore Genn's style. She is so spunky and I have copy-catted so many of her looks.

I wish she would come to my 'hood and take me shopping. For reals.

Hi!

My name is Genn and I am SO excited to be a part of Nancy's fun Christmas is _______ series!

December can be a pretty cuh-razzzzzy month huh?



 Even though December can be pretty crazy,

we all could use a little sparkle in our life right?

So today I am going to share a few tips that help me to feel sparkly amongst the busy hustle bustle of the holiday season.

#1.  Treating yourself to a new shirt can really jazz up your mood.

I am loving the popular look of the bow tie blouse right now.

The one I am wearing below has very thin strings so I opted to wear it untied for this look.

 Below are a couple other bow tie blouses that I have worn recently that you might have seen in a wiww post.

The navy blouse in the first pic, and the green bow tie tank are both from Old Navy... and guess how much I paid for them my friends...

$15 each! 

That's it!

What a deal.

And who said fashion had to be expensive?

The brown blouse is from F21, also very inexpensive, but fun.

#2.  Another popular look that is fun for the fall/winter months is leggings and boots with a fun sock peaking out of the tops of your boots.

These grey socks were less than $2 from Forever21.

A great way to jazz up an otherwise boring pair of leggings.

Cream socks with brown tall boots are fun.

Or even leg warmers over your leggings with a cute ankle bootie or flat.

#3.  Create a place to store your fashion ideas and inspiration.

Recently while I was browsing the looks of the BP department of Nordstrom online, I marked a few of the outfits that I just loved.  And then as I looked at them longer, I realized that I could re-create these outfits using similar items that I already owned.  So I created a new folder in my pictures on my computer titled "fashion inspiration" and I copied and pasted the looks to my new folder.

I realize this is probably not necessary to do for those of you on pinterest, but I'm not there yet, so I chose this route.

 I might even share the looks I created with the inspiration photos on my next wiww.  ;)

#4.  Know what's inside your closet.

I was reminded of this when I decided it was finally time to re-organize my closet last weekend.

 I have a rule that I like to not bring anything new into my closet unless something old is going out. 

It makes me really stop and ask myself do I need this, and if so, what am I willing to part with to make room for it?

 I keep two 3 tiered storage drawers in my closet that I use to rotate my winter and summer clothes into.  That way I can keep mostly only what I am wearing lately hanging up and it is much easier to see what I have and decide what to wear each day.

 It always feels good to clean out the ole closet.

I dream of having a huge walk in someday (or maybe a gigantic and beautifully lit closet like the one Mr. Big builds Carrie in Sex and the City).

But for now, I will make do with what I have, and I will keep it organized so I know what's in there!

When was the last time you cleaned out your closet???

#5.  The last thing I want to tell you about is a product that I have recently been introduced to and LOVE love love love LOVE.

I'm not gonna lie, these products have changed my life.

 I am talking about colorescience makeup.

Have you heard of it????

 Donna is the name of the fabulous esthetician that works in my salon and she sells colorescience makeup.

She's been at our salon about one year now and I just hadn't been ready to learn about this makeup, and I honestly didn't think I had the money to be completely switching up what I already had going on and trying something new.  And I thought my make up looked just fine and I used good stuff, so what was the problem.

Well.

One year later, a few of the girls at work have started wearing some of this colorescience makeup and let me just say...

it speaks for itself!

My friends at work looked great.  I had never seen their makeup look better, so I started asking what they were doing that was new.

And that was that.  I had to try it.

So one day I sat down with Donna to talk about colorescience makeup and I said I wanted my skin to look as pretty as my coworkers do!

 Turns out my color match is called "california girl".

As if I didn't already love it.

The driving force behind colorescience is to

color, protect, and correct.

"Why we do it?...

Everyone at colorscience believes that what you put on your face matters.  The makeup we create absolutely has to be good for your health, good for the world, and it must make you look and feel beautiful.  Isn't that what we all deserve?  We think so."

I grew up having bad acneic skin.

I had to take two rounds of accutane as a teenager and it has since gotten much better, but my scars have always bothered me and I was afraid that I would not get enough coverage with this new makeup.

But I was wrong.

Instead it looks more natural, gives me plenty of coverage, feels so good and light on my skin, and leaves me feeling like I finally have that smooth and bright skin I always wished I had.

 The primer is amazing.

It has an spf of 20, one pump does your whole face,

and it smooths and brightens your skin like you would. not. believe.

Next step is the powder.

I apply with a brush in circular motions (because minerals like to be moved around a lot... at least that is what Donna told me!).

Then a couple spritzes of the hydrating skin mist to set your powder and moisturize for the day.

Plus it feels really refreshing when you spray it. 

 I bought this set of travel makeup brushes from Donna too.

They are Italian badger brushes and they are ahhhhhh-mazing.

 Plus they come in this nifty little travel case.

It even has a side zipper which I filled with q-tips.

Now you might be wondering why I am telling you about all this stuff right?

Well, not only because I seriously love how easy and fast it is to apply and use,

but you can buy through Donna over the phone,

or if you are local, you can come in to the salon to meet with her and have your make up done!

Her contact info is:

Donna Loop

with Sensational Solutions

Direct Line # (951) 479-5542

Salon Line# 735-8551

 This is a pocket version of my compact color.

It is a retractable brush, with the mineral powder in the bottom.

 I keep this brush in my purse for touch ups throughout the day.

Although to be honest with this makeup you hardly need to touch up.

Donna told me that and I didn't really believe her, but it is true!

When the powder runs out, you just buy the refill and not the entire brush again.

Since I am just so excited to have discovered this great new makeup, I asked Donna if she would be willing to donate any of the colorescience products for a FUN December giveaway to you ...

 and she said she had just the thing!!!!!

One lucky winner will be the recipient of this amazing gift, valued at over $100!!!!!

 This is  the colorescience restore serum, which holds 2,000 times it's weight in moisture.  It brightens and moisturizes your skin like you would not believe!!! (She gave me a few samples to try and I think this is the next product that I can not live without)  One pump does your whole face.  Apply in the morning and/or night on cleansed skin.

 This gift also includes one retractable sun block powder brush.

colorescience has the first powder sunblock on the market.

This has an spf of 30, the powder mattifies and evens out skin tone.

(My Mom has this and she loves it)

If you want a chance to win this fantastic colorscience gift,

just leave me a comment and tell me so!!!!

I will randomly select a winner so check back soon.

Colorescience has been featured in Marie Claire, In Style, Vogue, Us Weekly, Women's Health, Allure, Redbook, and many more.

To learn more about colorscience makeup you can visit www.colorescience.com

All orders through Donna will be 20% off the entire month of December!!!!!

Before I go,

I will leave you with just one fashion Don't...

the full size footsie pajama?

Really?

Is that even necessary???

***Hope your December is filled with sparkle***

Much love,

Genn

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Don't you just love Genn's sparkle and sassiness?
And, that giveaway.
Hello???
Go get on that. Right here. Each of the following is a separate way to enter.
1. comment about what your go-to party outfit is
2. blog about your party outfit or this rad giveaway and grab the Christmas is { _________} button.
3. become a follower of Genn or moi.
do a happy dance about it... MC Hammer style or whatever.

More fun is heading your way this afternoon.
Did you miss yesterday?
Get in on Janna's giveaway here.
Get in on Mel's giveaway here.