Buy well, wear longer, & love your planet on Earth Day

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

What’s your contribution to earth day?  Do you feel like you are doing your best to

recycle?  Many of us have gotten the hang of recycling our food containers and

newspapers.  But what about clothing?  Here are 3 very different ways you can

focus on earth friendly attire for Earth Day.

 

Option 1. Wear clothing made entirely of recycled materials.  (Not gonna

happen.)  Although dresses made from laundry bags, food wrappers and cardboard

have made the news, I doubt you will see your neighbors wearing them in the

grocery store any time soon.  Aside from being itchy and smelling like Cheetos, this

type of clothing is just plain uncomfortable.

 

Option 2. Wear clothing made of fabric containing some recycled material. 

(Now this is possible.) Some clothing manufacturers, such as Levi Strauss, have

found a way to incorporate plastic bottles into their denim.  On October 31, 2012,

Levi Strauss & Co.  “announced a new collection of denim apparel, including jeans,

that will be comprised of a minimum 20 percent of plastics recycled from drinks

bottles and food trays.” (gizmag.com)

 

 

Option 3. Wear good quality classic clothing that will outwear and out

trend fast fashion.  (This one is doable!)

Fast fashion clutters your closet, your mind and your land fill.

What is fast fashion?  These are stores that introduce new styles every month, every

week, and two or three times per week for some.  That’s why it’s called fast fashion.

The low prices are largely due to low quality-cheap chic. Forever 21, Charlotte Russe,

Buckle, H&M, Zara, and American Eagle Outfitters are applying fast fashion’s

here-today-gone-tomorrow mindset with prices consumers can’t resist.   For real-life

wardrobe needs, fast fashion is not something to indulge in or depend on. Disposable

is part of the fast fashion process.  With low prices and low quality, fast fashions

have to be tossed after a few wearings or washings because they are either worn out

or out of style.  To avoid getting sucked in, make classic pieces the bulk of your

wardrobe, with a few trendy items to update and add some fun.

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Plan the trip of a lifetime… and find your Style for Life

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

1. Experience an energizing self-discovery. 2. Gain information you’ll want to teach your family. 3. Never be a fashion victim again! 4. Save time, money, space, and simplify your life! 5. Have fun with fashion and make it work for you! Learn more about our Style for Life Retreat here:  http://conselle.com/image-enhancement-retreat.php or call 801.224.1207 Take an empowering journey that makes you stop and think seriously about your values, attitudes, interests, roles, and goals as they relate to the way you present yourself – the way you think, feel, act or behave, and the way others react or respond to you. The result? Old attitudes an inhibitors will give way to new attitudes and strategies for personal image management and family wardrobe management. The sooner you learn the valuable concepts, strategies, and skills, the more effective and efficient you will become.  When Monday, May 6, 2013 to Saturday, May 11, 2013 Where Little America Hotel 500 S Main Street Salt Lake City, UT 84101 RSVP by Friday, April 26, 2013 (Early Bird Discount before April 12, 2013) Book your Style For Life adventure by calling 801.224.1207 and learn enough about how to dress, care for, and carry yourself to last a lifetime & simplify your life in the process.

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Cold Air Skin Care – 5 Easy Ways to Keep Your Skin Healthy

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

Looks like we are not going to have the shortest winter in history.  As winter continues with freezing temps, rain, snow, and biting winds, your skin may reflect the unsettled weather.  The result can mean dry, flaky, rough skin prone to chapping, cracking and sometimes infection.

To help you look your best, here are some  mid-winter skin savers – solutions to those cold weather skin problems.

1. Take fewer, faster baths or showers in warm – not hot – water.  Long soaks in hot water strip our skin of the natural oils it needs.  Add bath oil in the tub or put on before a final rinse in the shower.  
2. Allow at least half an hour before going out if you bathe or cleanse your skin.  Your skin needs time to replace its natural protective oils. Just before bed is best.
3. Increase your use of moisturizer or switch to a heavier one that has more oil than water in the formulation.  While moisturizers do not add water to your skin, they do form a protective film of oil to seal in water and slow its evaporation from your skin.  Apply moisturizers while your face or body is still damp – not dry.
4. Turn down the thermostat to 68 degrees or below for healthier skin.  When you feel chilly, put on more clothes, not heat.
5. Surround yourself with plants to help humidify the air.  Or buy a humidifier for your home or office to add moisture.

Taking care of the environment is important! Start with the environment you live in….your skin.

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What’s in a Smile? 5 Most Common Smiles and what they communicate

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

Never a lip is curved with pain
That can’t be kissed into smile again.
~Brete Harte

Valentine’s is a great day to share the love and give someone you care about a smile.  We’ve put together a list of famous lips and common tips on what your smile says about you. But first, guess which celeb belongs to these lips! (answers at the bottom)

   A

   B

   C

   D

   E

   F

   G

As we have learned in Sherlock Holmes, it is impossible to not communicate.  Everything about our image from the clothing, hair, body language, tan line, jewelry, shoes and yes, even a smile tells a story about each of us.  So what is your smile communicating?  In The Definitive Book of Body Language, Allan and Barbara Pease describe the Five Common Types of Smiles:

1. The Tight-Lipped Smile

It sends the message that the smiler has a secret or a withheld opinion or attitude that they will not be sharing with you.  It’s a favorite of women who don’t want to reveal that they don’t like someone and is usually clearly read by other women as a rejection signal. Most men are oblivious to it.

2. The Twisted Smile

The Twisted Smile is peculiar to the Western world and can only be done deliberately, which means it can send only one message – sarcasm.

3. The Drop-Jaw Smile

This is a practiced smile where the lower jaw is simply dropped down to give the impression that the person is laughing or playful, but they are faking enjoyment.

4. Sideways-Looking-Up Smile

With the head turned down and away while looking up with a Tight-Lipped Smile, the smiler looks juvenile, playful, and secretive.  This coy smile has been shown to be men’s favorite everywhere, because when a woman does it, it engenders parental male feelings, making men want to protect and care for females.  This is one of the smiles Princess Diana used to captivate the hearts of people everywhere.

5. The George W. Bush Grin

President George W. Bush always has a permanent smirk on his face.  Ray Birdwhistell found that smiling among middle-class people is most common in Atlanta, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, and most of Texas.  Bush is a Texan and they smile more than most other Americans.  As a result, in Texas, an unsmiling individual might be asked if he was “angry about something,” while in New York, the smiler might be asked,  “What’s so funny?” President Jimmy Carter was also a Southerner who smiled all the time.  This worried the Northerners who feared that he knew something they didn’t.

Did you guess right?  

A. Madonna, B. Lucy Liu, C. Angelina Jolie, D. Julia Roberts, E. Taylor Swift, F. Marilyn Monroe, G. Naomi Campbell

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Let the SuperBowl Party Begin!

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

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New Year’s Tip No. 1 – not all “fashion experts” know what they’re talking about

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

The holidays may be over, but this holiday fashion clip from the Today Show on December 12, 2012 keeps coming back to mind.  The segment is titled, Holiday Fashion for full-figured women.  I truly believe that women everywhere can look and feel terrific, regardless of size.   But I would not be taking advise from this segment’s “expert”, who is not a good example herself.  Our well-meaning “expert”, seen on the far left, is wearing a small scale spotty black and white print dress, that emphasizes her size by extreme contrast.  She is also wearing black stockings stuffed into nude colored pumps.   Just because nude shoes are in style right now, doesn’t mean that they work with weighty black stockings.  In fact, nude colored shoes don’t really work well with any dark colored skirts or dresses.  Instead of elongating the look, we appear to have no shoes on at all. I continue to be amazed by what passes for an expert these days! And her sitting position?  NOT PROFESSIONAL.  Somebody, please teach her how to sit.  Our experts really need to be more refined.

Add to that…the models are stuffed into their clothes.  A little ease, please.  Horizontal stress lines, crossing this model’s thighs, are just screaming for a better fit.  The rolled up pants add visual weight and provide another horizontal line making her look both shorter and wider.  The short little boot shoes add more weight yet.

In this new year, consider what you read and see before buying into it.  Instead of buying every trend the next “expert” says is a great look, think about it.  Consider whether the look fits you….your figure type, your personal coloring, your values, your personality and your roles.  Learn to recognize when that hot new style just doesn’t work.

To view the entire segment for yourself about Holiday Fashion for full-figured women, click on this link:   http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50198973#50198973

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Who’s your style icon? How to find your Style for Life.

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

I love Diane Keaton!  I have looked up to her as someone who has a style all her own and wears it with confidence.  Over the years,  I have been inspired by those stylish ladies that seem to carry themselves so well over the years.   Women like Diane Keaton, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly have become my style icons.

Who’s your style icon?  Every wondered how they were able to find their unique look?  Or how they remained classy and beautiful without falling victim to the fashion trends?  Have you found your authentic style?  You may be able to figure that out for yourself eventually, but for most of us, there is a simple solution.  Judith Rasband has found the formula and created an effective system that will help you become a timeless beauty.  Join Judith in her next Style for Life Retreat where you will not only learn to find your style, but will also have an increase in self-acceptance, self-appreciation, self-confidence, and self-actualization in the process.

              Audrey Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

     Grace Kelly

Next Style For Life Retreat 

October 23-27, 2012

Take the first step in finding your style for life. 

CLICK HERE http://conselle.com/image-enhancement-retreat.php or CALL 801-224-1207 and talk to Kathy.

Valuable Concepts, Skills, and Strategies You’ll Take Home:

• Identify the elements of image
• Assess your current image objectively
• See yourself as others see you
• Create positive first and lasting impressions
• Detect the universal influences of image
• Practice positive self-talk
• Recognize your range of personal style
• Manipulate the elements of design
• Look like a leader – in your home, community, or the workplace
• Increase your influence and influence others to follow your lead
• Balance your body build and personal coloring
• Determine what wardrobe items to discard or add, and why
• Assemble a workable wardrobe & organize your closet
• Sharpen your eye for visual design and harmony in your appearance
• Use clothing as a resource – a tool to meet your needs
• Present yourself with poise and positive high impact 
• Apply image management skills within your family 
• Master image as an aid in getting the job you want 
• Adjust your dress to overcome role conflicts
• Use body language to enhance your image
• Apply stress management to maintain your ideal image personality traits

Get your style that will last a lifetime!  CLICK http://conselle.com/image-enhancement-retreat.php or CALL 801-224-1207.

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Is your makeup melting away in the summer heat? We’ve got the cure for that.

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

“I had a great time taking the kids to the zoo recently, but at the end of the day, there was little left of my morning makeup.  Do you have any tips on how to make makeup last in the summer heat?”

~ Nicole Brumble, South Jordan, Utah

Use a moisturizer, apply it at least 10 minutes before the cosmetics.  Moisturizer is the best way to keep your skin looking healthy anyway, by allowing it to be absorbed by the skin before applying cosmetics, you will prevent makeup meltdown,  (from the Association of Image Consultants International).

Do not use an oil-base foundation.  It will naturally melt and slide in the heat.  Instead, opt for a powder foundation, readily available in most cosmetic brands including Meryl Norman and Cover Girl at affordable prices.

While it’s fresh on your mind…..check out Judith’s Makeup, Makedown, Makeover Quick Reference Guide with selected articles here:

http://www.conselle.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=29&zenid=k9noiba4rjiriia947jbtsoib2

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Camping with Style – 5 ways to be a natural beauty in the mountains

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM and Dani Slaugh, Conselle Affiliate

It’s starting to really heat up this summer.  For those of us who live near the Rocky Mountains, taking to the hills provides a scenic relief from the summer heat.  But is it really worth it?  Waking up in a tent with a matted mess of hair, dirt under the fingernails…and pretty much everywhere else, and smudgy night before make-up under the eyes?  How do you enjoy so much beauty when you feel like anything but?

Here are 5 items that every natural beauty should take camping:

1. Wet wipes - water can be scarce when camping, and inconvenient to get to.  Stick some wipes in your pack or in a plastic bag under your pillow.  Before you go to bed at night and first thing in the morning, give yourself a good wipe down.

2. Sweet smelling lotion - even men who don’t eat quiche appreciate lotion to soothe rough, dry, scratched hands after a day of fishing.  Why not add one with lavender scent to really put you in sync with the natural aroma of the mountains.

3. Sun block for face and lips - sun burn is a constant threat and can ruin a vacation.  At high altitudes, campers may enjoy cooler temperatures, but the sun’s rays are more intense and skin burns faster.  A sunscreen with PABA and zinc oxide is advised to protect your face, neck, arms and hands.  SPF  15 lip balm offers extra protection for your lips.

4. Wide tooth comb and curling gel - washing your hair isn’t always an option, but if it is, comb wet hair through with a wide tooth comb and add a bit of curling gel.  Next, twist your hair in sections away from your face and bind it up with a clip.  When your hair dries, the locks will be curled as if by a curling iron.

5. Scarf or bandana - lightweight, inexpensive and colorful, it can become a highly useful tool when camping.  It functions for fashion and does much more than merely cover your head.  It can come to your rescue to swat pesky flies or mosquitos or bandage a cut. Used as a potholder, it’ll save your hands from a burn, stop a bleeding nose, be a sweatband, and cool you off when dipped in a stream.

 

Other basics not to be overlooked:  sunglasses, shampoo and conditioner, sun hat, mirror, toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, and a flashlight.

 

With so much natural beauty in the mountains, there’s no reason why we can’t be naturally beautiful too.  Happy camping!

Below are some fun ways to wear your bandana, collected from Pinterest. For more ideas go to: http://pinterest.com/sonoralsol/bandanas/

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Just Because It’s On TV Doesn’t Mean It Works

By Judith Rasband, AICI CIM

Today’s fashion segment on the Today Show featured advice on how to update or upgrade our look.  The answer to the first question sounded simple, “Accessories.”  But the new look was a new “statement” jacket way beyond simple.  “Statement” earrings followed, hanging 7 inches long.  The “statement” was not smart but stupid—a fashion victim in the making.

The second question asked how to wear a sequined print blouse at the office.  The answer included a double strand of beads hanging below the waist, a dark shiny satin skirt, shiny gold ankle-strap high heel shoes, with a huge letter-carrier leather bag, the shoulder strap hanging below the knees.  What?  Who?  When?  Where?  Overkill and total confusion in the total look.

Just because it’s on TV doesn’t mean it works or you should try it.  7-inch long earrings signal trying too hard to be trendy.  Shiny sequins, satin, and gold heels shout “Party” while the huge sportive looking leather bag calls for denim, corduroy, or tweed.  The clash of opposing textures sends mixed messages, confusing to the viewer and not in harmony with what needs to happen in the office.  The idea that “anything goes” today goes way too far.  Less IS more.

Photo: Free People

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