Mythbusters: Makeup Edition!

Hello dolls!

Today, I thought I'd leave you with some great info! You may not know as much as you think you do about makeup! I'm here to bust those myths! 

(P.s. I created the pics and paraphrased from "15 Biggest Beauty Myths About Your Makeup" by Stylelist.com, in other words: all the actual info is from them, wording and mark suggestions mine! :) )

If you would like to order any of these products from me, you must do so by August 8th! Click here to order now. 

Why Did I Change My Blog Name?

I'm going to be honest here,

this isn't going to be a super fun post. 

But, I feel that my "followers" and customers need to know

what happened and why I made the decision to

no longer be a mark rep. 

It saddens me to write that. It really does. As most of you could probably tell, I loved being a mark rep. I loved helping people. I loved my mentor and my team. I loved the makeup.

None of that has changed. 

As some of you may know, on Thursday July 11th, 2013, we had our National Rep Webcast; a normal occurrence for a mag turn over. I was sad that I could not make the call, but now, I'm really glad I was not on the call when this all went down. 

From the other reps, I got the basic run down of the call afterwords. 

It was a ten minute pre-recorded video about how mark was merging with Avon, some basics, and a promise of an FAQ the next day. 

None of that sounds too awful considering that we always knew mark was a subsidiary of Avon and as a business decision it makes sense, and it might very well make reps more money in the long run. 

My problems then? 

1. They didn't tell the Mentors beforehand- This is my biggest problem with this switch. While I don't really like the switch at all, I would consider making it... if they would have handled it more gracefully. I know some of us reps didn't act very gracefully after the news, but that's because it was dropped on us (and the mentors) like a hand grenade. Why does it upset me so much that the mentors weren't told? Because this is their JOB. They made an actual base pay being a mentor... and they were pretty much fired with no real warning at all. Not only did they not tell the mentors, if they do make the switch, they will have to start from the bottom and work their way back up. 

2. They acted as if we could have never done this before- I'm all for trying to make a negative situation a positive one. But in this case they were just blowing smoke. They were saying that it was a never before business opportunity, which was/is a lie. We always knew that we could switch to Avon if we wanted to sell both. Pretty easily too from my understanding. 

3. Tearing Up the Teams-  One of my favorite parts about being a mark rep was my team. That was one of the main reasons that I didn't want to switch to Avon when my best friend would ask, I couldn't leave my team. And now...well, now officially we are no longer a "team" but, we are sticking together anyway. Which is good, because that is a group of amazing women.

4. Lack of Communication- They did end up getting the FAQ up the day the announcement was made but, they were going to post it the next day. Also, there were some things shadily not mentioned... like the fact that we wouldn't get 40% off of everything in the campaigns, just things without fixed commission.

The Bottom Line: I don't want to work for a company that I believe practices "bad business" and to me, the way this was handled was "bad business". Also, I don't want to be a part of a company that fires people without any notice... publicly.

I still respect those who have decided to make the switch, but for me, its just not worth it.

So, what does this mean for you? 

For Blog Followers: This means, a new blog title and less focus on solely mark products. It will still be a beauty and fashion blog, so not much has changed here. 

For Customers: I am currently looking in to other direct sales companies, but I want to make sure I'm making the right decision for me and for my customers. My current thoughts are: Mary Kay and/or Premier Designs... I'm leaning more towards Premier Designs but, we will see. If there is something you would like for me to sell or look into, let me know. I will continue to be a mark rep until August 8th. After that, my e-botique will no longer be available and I will no longer be a mark or Avon rep. 

In honor of that I'm having a going out of business sale: 

Order through me here

After that, I will direct you to my friend who sells Avon/mark. Don't worry, she will treat you well. 

I know this was long so, if  you stuck with me, thank you. 

And thank you to everyone who has supported me in my business venture with mark.

Here's to the next chapter. 

Stay beautiful,

Kailey

Why I'm Running...

As some of you may know, I have been doing Steph Hendel's Summer Challenge. In case you don't already know what that is, it is a 6 week challenge where personal trainer and health expert Steph Hendel of RawSistahs and FitBodyHealthyGlow provides motivation, workouts, schedules and recipes to help us (especially women, but some men too) get healthy and fit and love our body. 

Its a great program and I encourage every one to click the link above and sign up for the challenge. We are only on week 2 so there is plenty of time to jump in. One of the things she has asked us to do is set a Challenge Goal. I have two:

1. Run a 5K (Preferably Color Run)

2. Do a [pretty] handstand and stay up for at least 10 seconds. 

The second one seemed like a no brainer to me. I used to be in gymnastics and I wanted to gain a little bit of my old skills back. 

The first one took a little more self convincing. To be honest, I hated running. However, I have been really interested in running a Color Run and I know that it is a manageable goal, and something that will require me to push myself out of my comfort zone. 

To me, this challenge... exercising... eating healthy, its not about getting skinny, its about getting strong and fit. Because when I get strong and fit, I will be more confident, no matter what my size. 

Photo Credit: Corey Martin Photography

Yesterday in church, I looked across the aisle and saw this little girl doodling/writing in her notebook. It said: If GYMNASTICs was easy, it would be called football. 

While this is an amusing sentiment, it got me thinking about my time in gymnastics. I got to thinking about why I quit. I couldn't remember specifically when I quit but, I quit because it got too hard. 

My whole life, every sport I've tried, I've quit because it got too hard, it was too much work. 

But you know what? 

Life is hard. 

That's not stopping me anymore. I'm not going to quit things because they get too hard. I'm going to suck it up, put on my big girl pants and keep going. 

And I am going to be better and stronger for it. 

Physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

That is why this Summer Challenge is more than just a diet and exercise routine or fad for me. That is why it is so important to me. 

That is why I am running. 

Why are you running (or not running)? 

Stay Beautiful,

Kailey 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Online TV Watching

In this modern age of technology, most of us know that we do not have to fret if we missed one of our favorite shows on television because, we can simply watch it online the next day. But at what cost? Is there a cost at all? That is what I want to find out as I reflect on my personal internet TV watching experiences. 

The Good: Currently, my husband and I are deciding whether or not to keep cable. I have no problem with this since I can still keep up to date with Pretty Little Liars and Vampire Diaries the day after they air on the internet. Even if the networks do not post a show that I want to watch immediately, I know sooner or later it will be on Netflix and I can just watch it then. So, in this way, internet television watching is great because it is a LOT cheaper than paying for a cable or satellite service and it is (usually) convenient. Also, there are generally less commercials, which is always a plus in my book.

The Bad: Networks can pull shows whenever they want, and it seems, they do not always put them up on time either. That is neither fun, nor convenient. At least with regular television watching (without a DVR) you have hopes of reruns. On the internet, if your shows network decides to take it off the site, your left to wander the sketchy back alleys of the internet to get your fix. 

The Ugly: Speaking of getting your fix, watching shows on the internet can be addicting. With normal television watching you get one or two of "your" shows on in the same night (unless its a marathon, then you're just as screwed) and then it's done. However, with internet/Netflix watching, there is the potential to turn into a computer zombie watching episode after episode after episode... you get the point. Trust me, I've been through it to. I watched 3 seasons of Make It or Break It in 2 weeks... while going to school! Its not healthy and is even worse than being a couch potato, yet its an addiction. So, until you are done with that show, you just keep going back for more. 

Bottom Line: Has internet watching affected me positively or negatively? Well, I think that while internet and on demand watching services are wholly a positive thing, it has the potential to affect me negatively if I let it. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. So, if I set limits and stick to them and deal with minor annoyances from networks, I'd say internet television watching has and will continue to affect me positively.