The Bender Sisters want to thank all of you who entered this contest and shared your feelings about AXE.  We loved all of your comments!!!  AXE was so happy to hear how you love their product line and that most of you already use it with positive results.

A BIG Congrats to: Tim Hughes and Paolo Marchica who will be receiving the kit directly from The AXE Team at Edleman.

"Classic Look" Kit from AXE Hair Products For Men

Here’s what Tim had to say when BSW told him that he won: “That is Awesome! You have NO IDEA how happy you just made this out of work husband and father of 4 wonderful kids! I hope everyone involved with this great contest has a safe and happy holiday season because you just made this guys holidays season A TON brighter!”

***winners were chosen at random.org

te-see & beth

Get a head start this season on creating your holiday eyes. Taylor Swift sure knows a thing or two about smoky eyes, even at such a young age. She also knows that having the right tools to create them is a smoky eye must. Taylor’s shimmering smoky eyes were created using the BFF Eyeshadow Palette from Get in Line, which also includes a set of stencils for a smoky eye and cat eye.

To accent your eyes with a shimmer, try applying to the inner corner of each eye and blending towards the middle. Use a smaller brush to keep the color in place, and press into lid as you apply. Use a shade in slate in the crease, and for added drama a touch of charcoal, but make sure to blend really well. You can also add some shimmer underneath the eye, and clean up any that has fallen with a Q-tip and a little eye cream before applying your concealer.

Get Smoky eyes that look their very best with the Get in Line  Eyeliner & Stencil Kit. The smoky eye stencil fits any eye shape and lets you create sultry smoky eyes, and cat eyes in minutes. To finish the look pair your smoky eyes with a soft lip in a nude or peach.

Happy Holidays!

It’s that time of year again, and the holiday parties are a perfect reason to have some fun with your make-up. Why not wake up your eyes with a silver shimmer shadow on the eyelids, and a darker shade to contour the crease when doing a smoky eye. Jennifer Lopez got it just right with her extremely smoldering eyes, finished with a strong black liner, and a few lash clusters applied to the ends of each eye.

To keep your eyeliner put, try using a black gel eyeliner instead of a pencil and line along the eyelids extending out at the ends. And of course no smoky eye would be complete without a well groomed brow, to get them, try Anastasia’s Brow Ex-Press Kit, $38 at sephora.com. The best eyebrow stencils for creating gorgeous eye brows. Keep your lips and cheeks on the soft side to avoid overpowering your eyes. A pretty neutral nude or pink lip color is perfect.

And there you have it! A beautiful look for the holidays, or any special event that’s sexy, sultry, and best of all easy to do.

BUY ONLINE NOW: The BFF Eye Shadow Palette in Platinum,Grey, and Charcoal

Onyx Gel Eyeliner, $18, beth bender beauty, Anastasia,Brow Express Kit, $38, Co-Stars Lip Stain & Gloss in Kissing Scene,$19

This Holiday Season why not fill your home with “holiday inspired” scents by Glade.  Add an extra touch of warmth with Glade’s seasonal star designs, refillable scented oil candles in decorative glass holders, refillable scented oil candle tins, and 4 oz jars. Create a festive ambiance in any room!

Apple Cinnamon Scented Tin Candle by Glade

Bayberry Spice Holiday Scented Candle by Glade

Here are some tips on how to create your own holiday haven with new Apple Cinnamon & Bayberry Spice candles by Glade.

• Subtly Set the Mood: When entertaining, set a scented candle in the foyer to welcome guests with a unique fragrance and create a friendly first impression. Select a comforting scent, such as the Glade Scented Oil Candle in Apple Cinnamon, which has a soothing blend of spiced cider and homemade apple pie. Personalize each room by featuring a different scent.

• Lower the Lights: Dim lighting creates an intimate atmosphere for holiday gatherings. Turn lights low and use candles to create the desired effect. Line candles along the mantelpiece or the living room end table to achieve this look effortlessly.

• Trim the Table: Make fragrance your centerpiece. Create a stunning centerpiece with materials you already have on hand. Find a theme that matches your desired scent – candy, fruit, greenery orpinecones – and fill small vases with related items. To add holiday cheer, incorporate taller vases with bright ornaments, gingerbread cookies or peppermint sticks.

• Ready the Guest Room: Show guests you care about their comfort by preparing the guest bathroom ahead of time. Make it welcoming and peaceful with a candle from the Glade® Candles Holiday Collection. Help guests refresh from traveling with a set of towels and scented bath salts.

Candles run around $3.49 each.  They make fabulous house warming gifts or a thoughtful gesture to say “thank you” to friends & family:)

Glade Holiday Scented Candles are available in Grocery Stores in the air care aisle, Target, Walmart, Drug Stores & many more.

Happy Holidays…

te-see:)

image credit: glade

*BSW was not paid to review these candles.  Edleman and SC Johnson provided us with the candles to be reviewed.

Unfortunately, sometimes plastic surgery does not have a positive end result.  I’ve seen many women in their 50′s, 60′s who look so tight that I’m afraid their face might crack if they smile.  Your goal should be to look more youthful in a less obvious way. 

The Facelift Letdown by Sam T. Hamra, M.D., a board certified plastic surgeon & Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, provides solutions for cosmetic surgery and vaser liposuction in Chicago for all ages and lifestyles.

“achieving the optimal facelift, including photographs to compare causes & treatments of plastic surgery gone wrong, and how to avoid costly & regrettable surgery.

A "must read" before any plastic surgery

Here are a few examples of “facelifts gone wrong.” One technique used is called a “lateral sweep” which is considered a swept back or stretched appearance between the corners of the mouth and earlobes due to the surgeon only lifting the lower cheeks & jawline laterally toward the ear and not lifting the upper cheeks & lower eyelids vertically towards the eyes.

Bruce Jenner (1 example of a bad facelift)

Marie Osmond

In the 36 years Dr. Hamra has been a plastic surgeon he has seen and revised his fair share of suboptimal facelifts so he decided to write “The Facelift Letdown” to educate patients about the right questions to ask and how they can avoid costly surgical mistakes.  In 1990 Dr. Hamra was the first surgeon to introduce the inclusion of cheek fat to the facelift and the first to include the orbicularis muscle of the lower eyelid in “The Deep Plane Facelift,” which has since been renamed the “Composite Facelift.”

This is definitely a book you should read if you are contemplating a facelift.  Before you purchase a car I’m sure you do some research…this is your face…so, please read this book so when you meet with your doctor you are both clear on what he will do and what you want!

Before a facelift

After a good facelift

For more info visit Dr. Hamra, M.D.  This book is available at amazon.

te-see

Want longer lashes without a prescription or side effects?  Then code.ai might be your ticket!  It’s clinically tested, dermatologist tested, paraben free, can be used on upper & lower lashes, and is safe for chemo patients.

code.ai lash extend serum

I’ve been using code.ai on my lower lashes since they are so sparse and I’ve already noticed a difference.  They are starting to fill in…YAY!!!!!!!!!!!  This remarkable gel formula doesn’t get into your eyes and has the highest concentration of lipo-peptides on the market.  It retails for $115.  Much cheaper than most lash extenders.

Check out the photos below to see how great code.ai really is!

Chemo Patient before using code.ai and 4 weeks after use

Code.ai is formulated with ingredients typically found in high quality hair & skincare products like hydrolyzed wheat protein, hyaluronic acid and panthenol.

Also available:  Brow Boosting Shaper & Lash Extend Primer. For more info or to purchase visit code.ai.

btw…Code.ai is donating 5% of all sales to STAND UP TO CANCER.

Code.ai is also honored to be used by chemo therapy patients to renew their hair. Kay, a former chemo patient age 49, says, “My eyelashes and eyebrows fell out shortly after I finished chemotherapy. It was one of the most disheartening side effects of my entire cancer treatment. I looked so sickly at a time when I desperately wanted to feel strong and healthy. When I started using code.ai, I was thrilled that my lashes and brows came back quickly and beautifully. My lashes look better than ever, and I am grateful to need to get my brows waxed now! code.ai is easy to use and I like the fact that you don’t need a doctor’s prescription – I’ve certainly had enough of those”

te-see:)

image credit:  code.ai

Oh My gosh! Who is this girl?..

None other than our favorite curly-haired country singer Taylor Swift, seen here with her new bangs! She debuted her sleek new hairdo last night in N.Y.C.. Taylor is always gorgeous in our BSW book, but we want to know what you think of her new straight locks, and shaggy bangs?

Searching for the perfect gift for your “diva in training” who loves going through your makeup?  Then check out FAB Beauty your one stop shopping destination for girls…FAB Beauty is all about being fabulous & beautiful from the inside out.

FAB Beauty is all about transformation with a variety of products suitable for little girls who like make believe beauty as well as tweens who are transitioning into young womanhood.  It allows girls to find their own unique style and needs.  FAB Beauty has lip, eye, body, filled cosmetic organizers, and cosmetic accessories.

Here are a few of FAB Beauty’s, beauty sets…So much fun for any girl…even us “big girls” at BSW got excited over this makeup set:).

"Girls Only Makeup Essentials" Gift Set

What young girl doesn’t like shimmer???  It’s like glitter…they just can’t help but sprinkle it everywhere!

"Sha Sha Shimmer Set"

And what great stocking stuffers or little gifts these make…they do say, “diamonds are a girls best friend…” But I say “with lip gloss…even better.”

"Diamond Lip Gloss"

"Diva Dessert Gloss"

Packaging is absolutely fabulous and fun, fun, fun! The lip glosses, eye shadows, and body glitter have great colors and are safe & easy to use.  All products meet the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

For great party & makeover ideas check out their site…your daughter will love it!

Plan Your FAB Beauty Party Today

FAB Beauty has taken the time to design a cosmetic line that is not only safe to use but extremely scrumptious for any young girl…

FAB Beauty is sold exclusively at Walmart Stores.

Check it out…

te-see

image credit:  fab beauty

Leighton Meester gave us ‘smoky eye gals’ an early holiday present, by once again gracing the red carpet with her version of a smoky-cat eye at KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball in Los Angeles.

According to makeup artist beth bender who has worked with Leighton, the look, was all about blending. To re-create, start by brushing an espresso shadow up to the crease, and then using a small brush, blend color up towards the end of the eyebrow. Apply a tight black eyeliner along the top lashline, and blend outwards. To finish, add a dark brown pencil on the bottom lashline, and smudge it upwards.

Another insider secret? “False eyelashes can really add a lot to this look,” says Bender. Depending on how confidant you are, apply either a strip, or individual lash clusters into your natural lashes, and follow with a generous coat of black mascara.

Don’t miss the 72 Beauty Blow-out sale going on right now at beth bender beauty online. Buy any Get in Line Eyeliner Kit and get the second for 50% off! You’ll be creating perfect winged eyeliner in no time.

xx

Here’s your chance to win some of the makeup The Bender Sisters used for their  “Celebrity Mother/Daughter” make over (featuring Styli~Style). Three lucky winners will be chosen by random.org! Remember, we’re always here for all of your beauty, fashion, & styling needs…

Alexandria and Marcie Basso wearing Styli~Style Cosmetics

Enter here to win:  blackest black colorlash mascara, smokey eye pencil, liquid glitter, luna bronzer/blush, plastique lipgloss, and line & seal eye liner in black velvet by Styli~Style. You must be a subscriber and tell us in your own words why you need “The Bender Sister Holiday Look” for this season!

Contest ends Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at midnight.

Product valued at $100.

Good Luck…

te-see & beth:)