The Beauty Guru Moved to Maryland

I am not a mascara fan. It always end up under my eyes, gets too goopy and is hard to take off. I love L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes . It is NOT waterproof, but that is okay with me. It has an internal edge that removes excess mascara and the wand is very flexible and allows the bristles to get into your lashes. Your lashes appear thicker, longer and conditioned. The only strange thing is the scent, it reminds me of nasal spray. It runs about $7.99.

The holidays are behind us and Valentine's Day is in the near future. A classic Valentine's Day gift is fragrance. Kate Spade New York recently released Twirl, an edgy floral fragrance. With top notes of watermelon, blackberry and red currant, it at first seems soft. The middle notes are orange blossom, star jasmine, tiare flower and magnolia, followed by musk and macaron, strong  end notes that make you think, where did that come from? The fragrance is not too strong and reminds me a bit of a sweet and sour combination. This scent great for a women of any age or lifestyle. It is available in an Eau de Parfum, body cream, body lotion, shower gel and in a rollerball, $18 - $80.00. Rollerballs are great for your handbag, or to keep in a large fragrance wardrobe. You can find Twirl at Nordstrom and Nordstrom.com.

ImPress Press-On Manicure (by Broadway Nails and the Kiss Company) is a lighter, thinner press-on artificial nail. To attach, clean the nail with the enclosed wipe, peel the backing form the inside of the nail and press on. They are easy to put on, but most of you will want to file or cut them down to a shorter length. To make them last as long as possible, cut your natural nails down first. If you don't, you are more likely to notice "lifting". I did not cut mine down, so after about 4 days that lifting sensation was bothering me. The package says they can last up to a week. They come in solid colors ($5.99) and dynamic prints ($7.99). You can print a $1 off coupon here . These are great when you just don't have time to do your nails or get a manicure. I also thought about putting a glitter nail polish over them and save myself the agony of taking it off my natural nails. I would definitely buy these again. imPress Press-On Manicure Before I cut/s...

The 2012 Miss America Pageant is just one week away. The contestants have been a part of a whirlwind through Las Vegas. On Saturday night all 53 women walked the runway in a pre-pageant fashion show. Stylists personally fit each contestant with evening dresses and accessories from Express , the official clothing sponsor of the Miss America pageant. This fashion show was one of the fun events before the preliminary contests begin on Monday, January 9th. The competitions will include interview, talent, swimsuit, evening wear and onstage question. The winner of Miss America will have Express as her official clothing sponsor throughout her reign. Miss America winners also receive a package of goodies including a $50,000 scholarship. You can vote for your favorite at MissAmerica.org or on Facebook . Miss America will air live, Saturday, January 14th, hosted by Chris Harrison and Brooke Burke-Charvet, 9:00 EST on ABC. Backstage (underground) at the Miss America Fashion Show. The...

I got a little New Year's gift in my Mailbox! The new Blood, Sweat and Tears lip stain and gloss collection from Rain Cosmetics! This collections includes a red lip stain (Blood), a sparkly lip gloss (sweat) and a high shine lip gloss (tears). You can wear them all together, separately or pick and choose. I love lip stains, they make it much easier to layer color. To use, apply Blood lip stain first, allowing it to dry between coats. This lip stain seems to have some moisture in it, but you could use the Rain Lip Therapy first. After the lip stain is dry, use fingers or a brush to apply Sweat sparkly lip gloss or Tears, high shine lip gloss - or both. I always use fingers or a brush to apply lip glosses over color so you don't pollute the container. Blood is a very complimentary red shade that would look good on everyone. It doesn't dry your lips and (as with all Rain lip glosses) the glosses are not sticky. I hope to see other lip stain colors in the future! I love...

I was curious about the waxing services by Benefit at ULTA so I went in to check out the Brow Bar. The bar is actually separate from the ULTA Salon, performed by the standards of Benefit Cosmetics. A brow wax is $20 and a brow tweeze is $22. They also take care of other facial waxing as well as faux eyelash applications. If you buy their lashes ($15), application is $5, otherwise you'll pay $10.  

Nails Inc 3D Nail Polish, $9.50 at Sephora.com Lashlight Mascara by Too Faced has an LED light attached to the wand so you can see even the tiniest lashes, $8.97 at Nordstrom Rack. Nails Skins by butter London are nail stickers that come in 3 designs, $10. Leg Shine To Go by Michael Kors . This moisturizing solid has a touch of shimmer to make your legs look Red Carpet ready, $10. From the Lipstick Queen, Poppy King comes a special lipstick in the Boots No. 7 line. Available in seven different colors and about half the price, $9.99. BootsUsa This eco-friendly honey coconut  handcreme can be found in Whole Foods stores and Skins 6|2 in the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, $9. Love & Toast The Body Shop's Earth Lover's Watermelon and Eucalyptus Shower Gel smells great, is eco-friendly and puts any bubble bath to shame, $10. The Body Shop Pow Wow Lip Scrub by Lush is made with Pop Rocks and caffeine to liven up the lips, $8.95 LushUSA.com This ...