Beauty and Style: Erasing Fine Lines With L’Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur

March 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

I love being forty.  Strange, but I can honestly tell you I never imagined I would say that.

I vividly remember my mom’s 30th birthday.  I was nine years old.  I made her a cake, decorated it and proudly helped her celebrate.  When you are nine, 30 seems light years away.  So 40?  Well, 40 is bordering on ancient.  40 is the muse of the middle-aged.  She is white-haired, wrinkled and WHAT?

40 is ME and I couldn’t feel further from any of that.  I can’t even imagine referring to myself as old, unless you are comparing me TO a nine year old.  In fact, I’m happy being 40.  That isn’t to say that I don’t occasionally stare in the mirror wishing for the hands of time to be kind to me – especially to my skin.  I know that my years growing up in the California sun did their damage, so I’m diligent now about taking care of my skin.  And it’s fair to say, I’m a bit of a skin product ‘junkie’.

I LOVE trying new products – especially from brands I know, use and love.  Just recently, I was given the opportunity to try L’Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur.

Loreal Revitalift Miracle Blur

As someone who loves and experiments with products, I have tried moisturizers, primers, wrinkle creams, fillers, and so much more.  Most need 4-6 weeks to see results.  But this product was different.  It’s promise? Miracle Blur is said to be more than a primer  - a product you use AFTER your moisturizer AND “the first-of-its-kind Instant Skin Smoother that instantly erases the look of lines, wrinkles and pores”.  Now…. pores are something I CAN see…. especially on either side of my nose.

The cream is thick, but goes on smooth….and it delivers as promised.  After putting on my moisturizer, I moved to Miracle Blur.  I applied it with my face just inches from the mirror, watching for the ‘instant reaction’.  The first thing I noticed is that my skin felt like velvet.  Within seconds, my pores were visibly less noticeable and the faint lines around my eyes equally less obvious.  Though the product does say that you can wear with or without foundation, I chose to continue with my normal regimen, applying concealer and powder as needed.

As an added bonus, L’Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur is also SPF 30 and runs about $19.99.  Enjoy. Let me know what you think if you try it.

Disclosure:  I was given a sample of L’Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur to try, but my experience with the product and opinions shared here are entirely my own.

 

Filed Under: Checking this out, Fashion and Style, Lifestyle, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , ,

Make it Easy: Grab and Go for Basketball’s Biggest College Tournament

March 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

BasketballMy small girl plays on two basketball teams. She does it because she loves it. She doesn’t get her athleticism from me. She gets that and her love of the game from her Daddy. She also gets her stamina from him.  Which is a good thing since her most recent tournament required she play 4 games in one day.  Add that to the one game from her second team and she played basketball at 10am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.  If her team had won that 7pm game, they would have played AGAIN.  It always amazes me to watch these girls play their hearts out.

This season is winding down and our family will soon have to settle for watching the games instead of coaching and playing.  The March college tournaments are not far off.  The brackets may not yet be set, but we know who we *want* to be in (Mizzou… cough, cough) and my husband and I always get such a kick out of filling out the brackets.  Now, because we  - in large part due to our crazy sports schedules  - and also simply because life is just that – crazy – don’t always have time to plan for huge get-togethers, but would love to have friends over to celebrate the fun that is an event like the tournament, I partnered with Walgreens to show you just how easy it is to ‘Grab-and-Go’ for what you would need….

The small people and I take you on a tour…

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Checking this out, Featured Content, Featured Videos, Lifestyle, Non-Mom Stuff Tagged With: , , , , ,

5 Reasons I’m Excited About The Wine Sisterhood Gathering In Napa

February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Wine Sisterhood Gathering Danielle AlizaIn just a few weeks, I’m heading to Napa, California – arguably one of my favorite places on the planet – for a very special kind of gathering.  One that combines a few of my favorite things: the beauty and essence of Napa itself – the wine, the food, the delicacies this part of California has to offer, as well as a community of women that will focus on social, digital and mobile media.

The Wine Sisterhood Gathering in Napa, California.

I’m delighted to be leading a workshop, as I did last year, on interactive video. My friend and co-author, Aliza Sherman will running a workshop on using mobile apps for community building and marketing.

5 Reasons I am Especially Excited about this event….

The Idea Exchange

The exchange of ideas between the women from the digital space and those from the wineries is extraordinary. It is amazing what happens when you put women in the same place who are truly excited about learning from one another.  I adore all-things-wine and cannot wait to learn more.  At last year’s gathering, we did tastings, toured wineries and learned history of individual families.  I was fascinated.  At the same time, the women who live and work digitally were able to share and explain how we use our tools on a daily basis. It was a beautiful thing and I have no doubt this year will be the same.

 Wine Sisterhood GatheringThe Connection

Working virtually means that I connect with so many friends online, but don’t always have the opportunity to see them face to face.  This event makes the in-person connection possible and that is good for my soul.  It is a beautiful thing to sit across from someone you haven’t seen in months, to share a glass of wine (one you have newly learned to taste), to laugh, to talk and above all, to connect.  This is one of the few times during the year that Aliza and I truly have the opportunity to spend some time together.  This too, is good for my soul.

The Opportunity to Learn

As much as I adore the chance to teach my workshop on video and I’m truly excited about the interactive component this year, I love that I will be surrounded by so many women who have so much knowledge, so much to offer.  I will spend days immersed in learning about food and wine pairings, but also, there is beauty in learning from the many other women from around the country who dedicate their energy to the digital space.  I am a perpetual student and this is a wonderful place to learn.

Wine Sisterhood GatheringVisiting Napa!

Napa is one of the most beautiful locations in the country.  True, my California roots may leave me a touch biased, but that can’t be helped.  This wine country setting provides the perfect backdrop for this type of event. This gathering educates the women who attend.  It empowers them and connects them by encouraging a community feel…. all while seeing the sites and experiencing the beauty that is Napa.

Wine Sisterhood Inspires Me

I’m a big proponent of ‘doing good’ and the Wine Sisterhood lives that motto with everything they do.  In addition to being an online community that encourages women to connect over wine, travel, style, food and entertaining, they are fiercely supportive of women and women’t causes.  So many of their wines are paired with charitable causes… for example, their Middle Sister Wines supports Help a Sister Out – which pledges $10,000 annually to organizations dedicated to promoting and supporting sisterhood.  I simply love that.

I’ll be heading to Napa from March 3-6th… and will definitely be reporting back.  I’m delighted to say the event is sold out!

 

 

Filed Under: Checking this out, Featured Content, Inspire, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , ,

I’m All About Business: Catch the Show on Sunday 2/17 at 9am

February 15, 2013 by 1 Comment

DanielleSmith_OfficeAbout five years ago I made a nerve-wracking, crazy, wacky, life-changing, amazing, decision: to start my own business.

It hasn’t been easy.  There is a distinct decrease in the amount of sleep I have had in the last 60 months. There was a financial slope to climb: meaning – for a time, I wasn’t making any money.  This whole process required sacrifice, not just from me, but from my family.  Sometimes the plans were firmly in place and sometimes life and business felt like I had boarded a white-water-raft and forgotten both a paddle and a helmet.  But the adrenaline has kept me going. The joy has pushed me forward.  The small successes coupled with the passion for what I do have served to lift me up and motivate me to drive on. And so has the support from both my friends (old and new) and the three people who live in this home with me – two small and one big.

You know what I have found?  There is a distinct increase in my ‘happy’.

I do what I do because I love it.  The failures make me stronger, though it doesn’t always feel that way as I’m living those moments.

DanielleSmith_Interview_all_about_businessI started with a blog, right here at ExtraordinaryMommy, but now it is so much more.

I was asked to join three other wonderful businessmen from right here in the St. Louis: David Strom, a professional IT writer and speaker, John E Smith from the Strategic Learner and Bert Purdy from the Intentional Employee to share our stories on local business show, All About Business.

We did interviews, a press conference and a roundtable discussion about the state of blogging and social media.  You can see the show this Sunday, February 17th  at 9am on ABC30 locally.  I will be able to share the broadcast after it airs. Additionally, the show will feature Tom Mee, the Director of the St. Louis Cardinals and Angela Ortmann, of STLWineGirl fame.

If you get a chance to watch, I would love to know what you think.  I’m grateful to All About Business, specifically host and producer, Amanda Aschinger, for taking the time with me… it was a delight to spend time with David, John and Bert and to share my story.

Filed Under: Checking this out, Featured Content, In the News, Interviews, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , ,

Get UnREAL – Candy UnJunked – Enter to Win $10,000 to Shop at Target

January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

When I was a little girl, my mom used to occasionally sneak carob into our cookies and treats in place of chocolate.  Apparently this was a ‘healthier’ option than the chocolate we all loved. If you’ve ever had carob… if it has ever been snuck in to your treats,masquerading as chocolate, you know the horror of which I speak.

It just isn’t right.

My small people have felt the same pain at Halloween.

I love chocolate.

They love chocolate.

My mom loves chocolate.

Many an allowance of mine was wasted in the candy aisles.

I give my mom credit for trying.  She certainly knew that many of our ‘candy’ options weren’t the picture of healthy living.  The same is true today.  My small people LOVE candy.  They LOVE chocolate. But I don’t love all of the ‘junk’ that goes into everything that lines the candy aisles.

This means, they are always relegated to the smallest portions of candy and it is not a frequent treat. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t ban candy… I’m not an ogre of a mom, but I do limit the amount they put in their little bodies. I’ve seen how ‘too much’ effects them – the hyperactivity, the inability to focus, the sick tummies (this is especially fun in the middle of the night). This means Halloween is both a blessing and a curse in our house…. they CAN’T WAIT TO GET THE CANDY.  But then I go through it and toss so much of it.

But then, a little ray of hope in the candy world….

Last year,  at Social Luxe, an event hosted by friends of mine, I was offered a ‘new’ kind of candy… candy with the goal of ‘unjunking’… getting rid of the preservatives, the corn syrup, the artificial flavors and colors, cutting the sugar and STILL keeping the taste. You know what the 8 year old in me feared?  CAROB.  But I was completely wrong.

What I held in my hand (only briefly, as I all-but-inhaled it) was a TRUE peanut butter cup. UnReal candy set out to duplicate 5 of the most popular candies on the market, ‘unjunking’ the bad stuff while improving the taste.

The company was started because a 13 year old, after having much of his Halloween candy confiscated by his dad, believed that candy could taste better without the junk.

With the help of his older brother, his dad, years of research and hundreds of taste-tests, UnReal was born.  And now, you can find it too… right on the shelves of Target.

Here’s a video with some of the information you might like to know (plus a few celebrity fans).

As if UNJUNKED Candy wasn’t enough….how about a chance to win $10,000 to shop at Target?  It is as easy as taking Candy from a Baby…. (I had to do it!)

How To Enter the Sweetstakes.

1. Stop by a Target store and choose UNREAL™ Candy.

2. Snap a photo enjoying UNREAL™ candy and email or text it to unreal@pongr.com for a chance to win $10,000 to shop at Target as a thank you for lending your voice to the cause.*

3. Forward this on to your friends.

Send a message to moms everywhere that this is the kind of product we can get behind.

*Ten additional winners will get a year’s supply of UNREAL™ Candy.

Official Sweepstakes Rules can be found here.

Good luck.  Enjoy UNREAL™ Candy…  I would love to know your favorite.  Mine?  The Peanut Butter Cups.

Disclosure: I am working with UNREAL™ Candy and One2One Network to spread the word about this candy and this sweepstakes, though, as always, all thoughts and experiences are my own.

 

Filed Under: Checking this out, Featured Content, Giveaways, Parenting, Recent Posts, Video and Vlog-It! Tagged With: , , , ,

Sneak Peek: Kellogg’s New Cereals for 2013 – Win Them Before You Can Buy Them!

December 29, 2012 by 30 Comments

In our home, having meals together is a huge priority. Naturally, when the small people are in school, lunch time happens mid-day while they are surrounded by their friends, not sitting next to us.  But breakfast and dinner?  Those meals are family time.  Especially breakfast.

It used to be that dinner was the big ‘family meal’ and yes, we do still have most nights together, but with the number of sports my crazy athletic kids play (and the number of teams their crazy, athletic Dad coaches), we occasionally have to eat in a bit of a hurry instead of in the relaxed environment we were used to experiencing.

This leaves breakfast as the one meal that allows us to connect, laugh and chat before the day gets going.  And you don’t need me to tell you how important breakfast is to a great start each morning.  As someone who gave up this meal years ago with a crazy work schedule, I have had to retrain my mind and body.

But it has been worth it on so many levels.  Naturally, it is good for me physically and so crucial for my small people as they head out the door to school, but the time with my family has been priceless for my soul.

In our house, we have long been partial to Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes and oh-so-many of the Special K varieties.  But we have a few new favorites to add to the bunch. We were given a sneak peek of Kellogg’s four newest cereals….well, three are new and one is a limited edition.

* Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Crunch * Brown Sugar Cinnamon Jacks *
*Kellogg’s Scooby-Doo*and Limited Edition *Special K Chocolately Strawberry*

The thoughts: The Brown Sugar Jacks barely lasted two days and well, I take full responsibility for the disappearing act performed by the Special K Chocolately Strawberry.

Now, here is your chance to try them in your home too!

Giveaway:

Winner will receive each of the four new products: * Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Crunch * Brown Sugar Cinnamon Jacks * Kellogg’s Scooby-Doo*and Limited Edition Special K Chocolately Strawberry*

To enter: comment and share your *current* favorite Kellogg’s cereal or your childhood favorite.

Giveaway runs through Tuesday, January 8th at 11:59 CST

No purchase necessary to enter. ExtraordinaryMommy.com is not responsible for prizes that are shipped from outside vendors or sponsors. All entries will be pooled together and one (1) winner will be drawn. The winner will have two calendar days to reply via email. Unclaimed prizes will be placed for availability to newly chosen winners after that time. Giveaway is open to all U.S. residents only, must be at least 18 years old to enter. One entry per person, entries accepted through Tuesday, January 8th, 2012 ending at exactly 11:59 CST. Kellogg’s employees are not eligible to participate. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.

Filed Under: Checking this out, Featured Content, Giveaways, Parenting, Recent Posts, Recipes

Making Learning and Play Fun with Fruit Loops

December 27, 2012 by 2 Comments

Fruit Loop Patterns & Learning NecklaceBeing a mom is easily one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done.  My goals are constantly shifting, constantly changing.  I am always aware that I am shaping little minds and leading by example.  I want my small people to learn, I want to teach them to play.  I want to model good behavior… I want them to be kind.

I want them to look back on their childhood and know that they had fun.

And that they were loved.

I don’t doubt that I am accomplishing this. (on most days, that is) But I have always loved to challenge myself to combine a few goals at a time – what if I could play with them AND teach them something at the same time?  Now that they are a little older: what if I could treat them to something they love and have them work creatively together as brother and sister at the same time?

When they were little bitty, I loved to come up with games that helped them to learn – counting, colors, sorting – while having a ‘reward’ at the end.

Kellogg’s recently asked us to work on a project together: Use one of their cereals, Fruit Loops, to ignite kid’s colorful imaginations.  I asked my small people to not only help me create the project, but to showcase it in action. Delaney even named our game:

Spectacular Fruit Loop Patterned Necklaces

For ages 3-5
You will need: Ribbon any color
Ziploc bags
Fruit Loops – of course.

Measure the ribbon 12-18 inches depending on your child (adult tie a knot at one end)


Have your child or children sort the Fruit Loops by color and choose TWO.

You can put two colors and one ribbon in a Ziploc bag for later play or to keep them separate.

Show your child how to create a pattern blue-green-blue-green or red-yellow-red-yellow, by placing each Fruit Loop, one at a time on the ribbon. (For more advanced play, choose three or four different colors).

Once the necklace is complete, adult can tie a second knot, place it around your child’s neck as a necklace AND…. voila!  A Fruit Loop Necklace.

Learning…. AND a treat.

Skills practiced and learned: colors, sorting, patterns, fine motor skills and finger licking :)

And yes… my small people couldn’t help but do a little snacking as they went.

Disclosure: I am thrilled to have a long term relationship with Kellogg’s which allows me to share projects like this with you.  As always, all thoughts and opinions shared on this site are mine. 

 

Filed Under: Checking this out, Featured Content, Motherhood, Parenting, Recent Posts, Small people Tagged With: , , , , ,
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