Grandma Lalama

My interest in all things beauty is genetic. I get it from my mom, who got it from my grandma. I don't think my grandma ever missed a night of Eb5 face cream, and it payed off, because her skin was flawless at the age of 84. This week the world lost a wonderfully beautiful woman, my grandmother, Maria Lalama.

I've always known this, but learned even more over the past week, how many lives my grandmother has touched. From her hospitality to her caring heart, she touched an unreal amount of people. Generation after generation of families have stories about how my grandmother and grandfather helped them and showed them hospitality when they arrived here from Italy.

Traveling to the US from Pacentro, Italy when she was a young girl wasn't an easy journey, but I think it's one of the many experiences that made my grandma who she was. I thank her for carrying on Italian traditions here, with our family, and it makes me so proud of my Italian heritage. Ever since I can remember, every Sunday was spent at my grandma's house, eating spaghetti and meatballs with my entire family. Sundays were fun days, always filled with laughing and catching up with everyone.

I am blessed to have a very close family, and even though we have just lost the person it revolved around, I promise to help carry on the Italian traditions...starting with staying close with my family, because they helped make me who I am today.

My grandmother was beautiful (inside and out), strong, giving and loving. She will be missed by so many, but we are all blessed to have had her in our lives for 84 years. Ciao grandma...I love you!

Grandma & Mike at our Wedding Shower

Gievaway Break - Triple Threat Summer Giveaway

How about a Triple Threat Giveaway? Tired eyes? Check out the Clearly Beautiful eye masks. Thick lashes are in this summer, check out LashFood to get healthy, long lashes! Hair frizzy and fly-aways? Use Le Baby hair gel, works for adults, too!

Clearly Beautiful: Perfect to soothe tired eyes after a long day in the sun, this eye mask utilizes a pure plant collagen delivery system to nourish both the top layer of the skin and to penetrate deep under the surface to increase collagen production, cell renewal and total skin hydration. The all natural eye mask acts as a protective layer while it encourages complete absorption of the masks rejuvenating liquids to alleviate wrinkles under the eyes. Price: $10.00 www.clearlybeautiful.net

LashFood: This summer, full and thick lashes are in! LashFood Drama Mascara features the company’s exclusive Nano-Peptide Technology to encourage eyelash growth and thickening. The mascara provides volume and length to lashes for a dramatic finish while simultaneously transforming frail and brittle lashes into healthy and strong lashes with every stroke. Price: $27.00

www.LashFood.com

Le Baby: Whether headed to the beach or the pool, Le Baby hair gel is ideal to throw in the bag for some quick hair touch-ups. From taming those wild fly-aways to smoothing frizzies, Le Baby hair gel works on all hair types and is safe for babies and adults with sensitive skin. Whatever the hair type, Le Baby will make combing and styling a cinch. Le Baby keeps hairstyles in place, contains no harsh chemicals or sulfates, and never leaves hair sticky. Price: $9.95 www.LeBabyinc.com

***Giveaway***

Enter to win this Triple Threat Summer Giveaway - Le Baby hair gel, LashFood & Clearly Beautiful eye masks!

Fill out the form below to win! For extra entries, you can sign up for my mailing list, post a link to this giveaway on your blog, follow my blog, follow me and retweet on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook; just make sure to list the entries in your comment. Enter up to once a day!

This giveaway is open to US residents only. The contest will end on Saturday, June 26th. I will randomly select the lucky winner and announce them on Lipgloss Break, so keep checking to see if you're a winner - Good Luck!

Get Salon Perfect Hair!

Want Salon Perfect Hair? Get It Here

Follow these expert tricks to getting healthy, shiny hair -- without stepping foot into a salon

This is a TotalBeauty.com hairstyles article You don't have to drop $60 on a blow out to get bouncy, commercial-worthy hair. All you need are a few hard working products and a little know-how. See tips

Giveaway Break - Avon ANEW Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum

Did you know that in 2008, laser resurfacing procedures were the #5 non-surgical procedure performed in the U.S.? Now you can achieve results without the dermatologist's visits and bills, with Avon's latest skincare breakthrough, ANEW Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum.

It's formulated to treat tell-all signs of aging like uneven skin tone, dullness and discolorations. This topical serum harnesses the power of injectable-grade L-Aspartic Acid to help deliver effective brightening results at home.

"While many women are concerned about combating wrinkles, dark spots and discolorations are also responsible for the appearance of aged skin," explains Dr. Cheryl Karcher, board certified dermatologist. "ANEW offers an incredible at-home option to skin-brightening laser treatments, giving women everywhere access to more youthful, brighter skin."

In a clinical test, ANEW Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum demonstrated the following dramatic results:
After one week, 78% of women showed improvement in clarity
After two weeks, 72% of women showed improvement in skin tone
After four weeks, women showed up to 100% improvement in the look of blotchiness and mottled pigmentation

After eight weeks, 100% of women showed more illuminated skin with a visible reduction in fine wrinkles

ANEW Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum is $54 and available exclusively through Avon Representatives (800-FOR-AVON or Avon.com).

***Giveaway***

Enter to win Avon ANEW Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum!

Fill out the form below to win! For extra entries, you can sign up for my mailing list, post a link to this giveaway on your blog, follow my blog, follow me and retweet on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook; just make sure to list the entries in your comment. Enter up to once a day!

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only. The contest will end on Thursday, June 24th. I will randomly select a lucky winner and announce them on Lipgloss Break, so keep checking to see if you're a winner - Good Luck!

Sheer Stella by Stella McCartney

Sheer Stella, a limited edition fragrance by Stella McCartney, is an exlusive scent infused with the sheer beauty of organic rose. Each year, Stella McCartney reinvents her namesake fragrance with lush new notes, creating a limited-edition take on her iconic rose scent. In keeping with her tradition, the designer introduces Sheer Stella, an organic rose version of the classic Stella fragrance developed exclusively for 2010.

The fresh fragrance is infused with organic rose grown in the mountains, giving Sheer Stella a light, natural appeal. Exclusive to Stella McCartney, an entire organic rose harvest was purchased to create the one-of-a-kind fragrance. Fresh, natural top notes of Green Apple, Frosted Lemon and Bulgarian Rose open a romantic heart of Celestial Rose, Rose Absolute, and Iranian Organic Rose, grounded by a base of warm, sensual Amber.

The limited-edition Sheer Stella bottle was designed by British artist Phillip Jones, an internationally renowned London-based painter who was most recently exhibited work in Madrid.

Dove "My Mini Moment" Contest

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dove Ice Cream. All opinions are 100% mine.

Enter to win Dove Ice Cream Miniatures "My Mini Moment" contest!

Dove Ice Cream is asking women to share their favorite mini moment of escape and one lucky winner could win one of 3 sensational mini-grand prizes:
- A mini-getaway to Napa Valley
- Spa services for a year
- Mini-home makeover…. all of these sound great to me!

Women who want to enter need to submit a photo and a short essay to DoveIceCream.com/myminimoment by June 7, 2010.

At only 70 calories each, Dove Ice Cream Miniatures feature full indulgent ice cream wrapped in real Dove chocolate making them the perfect treat (um…yes!). Try the new decadent Café Collection which features Java Chip and Cappuccino Flavors.

“Me-time” is important to the Dove consumers, so Dove Ice Cream Miniatures conducted a survey of over 400 mothers and an astonishing 70 percent of these ultimate multi-taskers are taking time for themselves each day. The “My Mini Moment” contest celebrates these cherished moments. Everyone is unique, and has their own definition of ‘me time’ which is why Dove Ice Cream Miniatures is holding this great contest, to help treat someone to their favorite ‘me time!’

My mini moment? Getting pedicures! I can zone out, read a good magazine, sit in a massage chair, and relax while someone pampers me….perfect escape from reality!

Picture Perfect with PicTreat!

Ever re-take a picture so your smile is bigger or to make sure you can't see the zit that popped up over night? I understand, and I've done it...Facebook profile pictures are very important!

PicTreat.com is a free photo retouching website that allows people to upload their photos and improve their image. Check it out and upload those pictures to Facebook!

China Glaze Vintage Vixen for Fall 2010

Here's a preview of China Glaze Vintage Vixen for Fall - jewel tones, rich reds, titillating taupes and smoldering sands. This line delivers 40's-esque glamour with a sophisticated edge!

• Riveter Rouge – Deep red shimmer
• Foxy – Burgundy frost with shimmer
• Goin’ My Way – Brown frost with copper shimmer
• Classic Camel – Khaki crème with gold micro glitter
• Swing Baby – Taupe frost with silver micro glitter
• Ingrid – “Greige” crème with copper micro glitter
• Hey Doll – Rose frost with shimmer
• Bogie – Plum frost with shimmer
• First Class Tocket – Deep purple frost with shimmer
• Midnight Mission – Navy blue frost with silver micro glitter
• Emerald Fitzgerald – Turquoise green frost with shimmer
• Jitterbug – Grey chrome with silver micro glitter

Beauty Hall of Shame

The Beauty Hall of Shame

See which celebs we've deemed beauty train wrecks

This is a TotalBeauty.com celebrity hairstyles article Though we love Amy Winehouse's voice and applaud Cher for constantly pushing the fashion and beauty envelope, we can't help but declare them (and others) total beauty disasters. This doesn't mean that these ladies can't land on a "best" list in the future, they just haven't ever come close yet. See photos

Giveaway Break - Queen of...

'Who wears short shorts?' You should! It's summer time and if you're anything like me, you're probably thinking it's about time to shave a little bit more often!

Queen of...here for you! Queen of...is the newest line of shaving products for her from leading British shaving brand, King of Shaves.

The paraben-free, low foam formulas are gentle on the skin and allows you to exactly where they are shaving, instead of where they’ve already shaven, perfect for those tricky spots like behind the knee and around the ankle bones!

Two different products, same royal treatment:

Ooh La La! Shaving Gel – rich in aloe vera, Queen of…Ooh La La! Shaving Gel leaves skin silky and smooth to the touch

Ta Da! Shaving Gel – the low foam formula, rich in tea-tree oil, refreshes and revitalizes skin on the spot, while retaining skin’s delicate moisture balance.

Queen of…are available at select Target stores nationwide. To learn more about Queen of…visit www.shave.com.

***Giveaway***

Enter to win Queen of...Ooh La La! and Ta Da! Shaving Gel!

Fill out the form below to win! For extra entries, you can sign up for my mailing list, post a link to this giveaway on your blog, follow my blog, follow me and retweet on Twitter , or become a fan on Facebook; just make sure to list the entries in your comment. Enter up to once a day!

This giveaway is open to US residents only. The contest will end on Monday, June 21st. I will randomly select the lucky winner and announce them on Lipgloss Break, so keep checking to see if you're a winner - Good Luck!