Norah Loves Makeup

Beauty Musings From A Makeup Artist

Getting My Winter Skin Care Game On With Alpha Skin Care

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“This post is sponsored by Alpha Skin Care, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.”

Happy new year friends! This 2019, I wanted to start the new year right with a new and improved skin care routine featuring Alpha Skin Care products. Each new year, I go through a new stash of moisturizers, cleansers, body lotions and more to discover more of my personal favorites ― the products that become favorite and must-haves in my vanity. Being in the makeup industry has me very committed to making sure my skin is always taken care of, first and foremost.

One of my skin care goals this year is to use more key hydration ingredients in my routine. My skin is very dry, reptile-like as in it needs constant and deep hydration. I am also over 40 and this makes me always consider looking for the best anti-aging products. As far as cleansers go, I have to use gentle soap-free products. Alpha Skin Care Refreshing Face Wash priced $7.99, is a fantastic match for me as it is soap free and didn’t make my skin feel excessively dry after. I can use it morning and night, and all the same I feel it doesn’t overdry.

Immediately after cleansing, I hydrate my face/ neck areas. Another personal goal is for all my skin care products to be free of fragrances and parabens. This makes a huge difference in ensuring I look radiant and have no reactions, as my skin tends to be sensitive with natural redness. For the morning/ daytime when I know I am going makeup-free, after cleansing I apply Alpha Skin Care Essential Renewal Lotion with 10% Glycolic AHA is $16.99. Ingredients really matter when it comes to anti-aging products, this is something that’s very important above all. Glycolic AHA releases dead skin cells very gently by allowing new, fresh, healthier skin to come to the surface.

Sun care is a must, non negotiable for me and I use it everyday, winter and summer. Alpha Skin Care has a fantastic moisturizer called Enhanced Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15 priced $16.99. This formula has vitamins, green tea and feels incredibly light on the skin. I can also use it with or without my makeup but personally, most days I go makeup free especially when I am home. Also I love making sure I stay hydrated day and night, using Alpha Skin Care Essential Moisturizer made with Hyaluronic Acid $14.99, another must have ingredient in my everyday, every night routine.

Last but not least, my bodycare is just as essential. A nicely hydrated body sets the stage for a restful night and complete feeling of TLC. I think of body care as self care because we focus a lot on our face. And just like that Alpha Skin Care also has this covered with their Renewal Lotion formulated with 12% Glycolic Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) $16.99. The formula for the body lotion hydrates AND gentle exfoliates because of the AHA. This product is also fragrance free and has no parabens.

Tell me in the comments section, what is your skincare new year resolution? I encourage you to try Alpha Skin Care, there’s a great variety of products for everyone. Also, a heads up for my readers head over to Neoteric Cosmetics AND use coupon code ALPHAQ119 at checkout to receive 20% off on all Alpha Skin Care products (code expires 3/31/19).

How Do We Balance It All?

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In all seriousness, how do we balance it all? Apologies that it has been a while since I last wrote a personal post, life happens. After a very busy summer with work, children, dog fostering and doing this life/work/ balance dance, I decided to write again. Taking time off from the blog was not intentional.

Summer was productive and busy. I spent time doing various makeup/ hair projects mostly the usual video and photography plus a web series (hopefully something that may become a short film again). There were long days and hot humid situations all along. We had a very humid and rainy summer here in New Jersey. Sometimes I felt like it was more shine control patrol than makeup I was able to do. I discovered a couple of new products that I will share on a separate post, both a new foundation for matte finish and a shine control magic potion.

During the off school months, my children were at camp part of the day. They both had a swell time, doing mostly sports and outdoor activities. We watched the World Cup, filled out Panini soccer stickers and spent time with our dogs. Now I have a Kindergartner and a middle school child. Their back to school month was pretty smooth and I am happy to report they are doing very well.

I still foster dogs and was able to provide a safe home for three lovely creatures for Louies Legacy’s rescue. Our last one took longer than we anticipated, Beau our gentle giant who also fought tooth and nail with one of my dogs (it was so HARD to keep them happy). Fostering dogs and volunteering on transports or screening potential adopters takes up a lot of time and is consuming to the core. I am not going to sugar coat it, you need a lot of patience and the whole family has to be on board.

Wikipedia defines “Life work balance” as the term used to describe the balance that an individual needs between time allocated for work and other aspects of life. Areas of life other than work-life can be, but not limited to personal interests, family and social or leisure activities. This is pretty accurate, I would say.

I am going to be 100% honest, there is no real “How To” on work/ life/ balance. It’s always a juggling act and trying to stay organized with my partner. He travels a lot. Also both our families live far away, so I have the help of a wonderful housekeeper without this it would be impossible to do it all with two kids under the age of 15 years old. My job often requires long days and hours and it can be very unpredictable as I am freelance.

Top three things I rely on to keep me afloat include but aren’t limited to are Amazon Prime, Costco and a gym membership to Blink (plus a really lovely trainer). Last year, I talked about having a change of lifestyle, being more active and eating better. Fast forward to today, I am still going strong with some up and downs, still focused nonetheless. Exercise is my savior and a release.

P.S. It’s great to be back.

My Personal Hair Tricks Plus Win A Trip To NYFW With TRESemmé

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##Post sponsored by Mirum but all opinions are my own##

Styling a mid length hair can be tricky but it needn’t be. Today I am going to show you my own personal hair tricks using TRESemmé. All you will need is a paddle brush, tail comb brush, TRESemmé Compressed Micro Mist Level 3 Hairspray and TRESemmé Compressed Micro-Mist Hair Spray Smooth Hold Level 2. Working in fashion and in makeup allows me to be free and more creative with my hair. New York Fashion Week is just around the corner and I wanted to show you a couple of hair tricks to keep you looking updated and put together.

1) Switch up your part – by doing this you get to show off certain face features and ear or clothing accessories. Spray your tail comb with TRESemmé Compressed Micro-Mist Hair Spray Smooth Hold Level 2 and voila, your are already looking different. I do this all the time, especially for photos and selfies.

2) Add some texture/ smoothness with heat – everyone wants texture and the best way to do this is using a heated styling tool with TRESemmé Compressed Micro Mist Level 3 Hairsprayto seal your locks once you are done.

I also wanted to let all my readers know that you have until Aug 11th to enter the #ShopriteTRESsweepstakes. This is your chance to WIN a trip for you plus ONE (2) invitations to attend a sponsor-selected fashion show at New York Fashion Week,
two (2) TRESemme sponsored dry styling appointments, a $300 Sponsor-selected gift card, and a $250 ShopRite giftcard. I am a regular at NYFW and can tell you this is an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal in true VIP style, thanks to TRESemmé. To enter sweepstakes be sure to share your own runway looks and using the hashtag #ShopriteTRESsweepstakes.

IMG_1192 from Norah Salazar on Vimeo.