Clarice's Creating Beautiful Looks

Stressed Out

Clarice — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:48:29 +0000

Stress sucks. It’s all around us and something that we unfortunately cannot avoid. We all experience stress on some level whether it’s balancing work and family, meeting a deadline at work, dealing with the kids being off school (again! It seems like they never have a full week lately), trying to find a moment to yourself! It’s a hectic world that wears on our body and shows on our skin.

When it comes to our skin Stress is the 2nd leading cause of premature aging. It is the #1 rosacea trigger. Stress suppresses the immune response and lengthens wound healing time up to 30%. Stress effects every element of your skin, from pores to dermal proteins to the DNA locked inside every cell. Stress also alters your genetic code; shortens the productive lifespan of skin cells. What is even worst is stress affects the aging of a woman 6x’s faster than with men (yet another reason men are annoying).

Stress makes every skin condition worse. But luckily you know me and I have products to help you out. There are four key products that will help with the effects of stress on your skin: Stress Recovery Complex, Cell Youth Actif, R-Relief and Instant Calming Complex. Stress Recovery Complex helps to restore comfort, softness and radiance. This complex will reduce stress breakouts, redness and aging. Cell Youth Actif activates youthful skin in 14 ways within 2 days to 3 months. R-Relief visible reduces redness and sensitivity. It also helps to calm and protect environmentally-stressed skin. Instant Calming Complex provides relief on contact (hence ‘instant’), helping to calm redness and protects from barrier damage that leads to dryness, sensitivity and aging.

If you’re not sure what you need, bring up your skin concerns with me. I’d be happy to help make some recommendations to better your skin and take one less stressor out of your life!

Fun Fact: Stressed is desserts spelled backwards. Indulge yourself a little!

Be Your Own Valentine!

Clarice — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:30:02 +0000

What have you done for yourself today? Did you hit the snooze button an extra time? Use all your products? Took a few moments just to breathe? Give yourself credit for something that you did/do well?

These all seem like little things but with the stress of everyday life, those couple of minutes you take out of your day could make all the difference! If you can’t think of something, take a step back and look at your life like a best friend. What advice would you give yourself? Take that advice! Once we take care of ourselves, we will be much more prepared to take on the rest of whatever life is throwing at us that day.

So please, please take some time and remember how great you are and realize that you deserve something! You deserve to have that facial. You deserve that bath and wine. You are being a great mother/wife/daughter. So take that time for yourself and be your own Valentine!! Buy yourself candy, flowers, jewelry or card!

February is Love Yourself Month!

Clarice — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:35:16 +0000

February is almost here! Can you believe it, the first month of 2012 is just days away from being behind us? This February, I’m going to be giving each and every one of you a month long challenge. As we all know, February is a special month (and not just because it’s Leap Year, don’t forget that 29th!) as it contains that holiday that we all know and “love”: Valentine’s Day. But this year, my challenge is to try something a little different.

My challenge? Love yourself! Take an hour, half hour or even just 15 minutes and do something for yourself. Something that makes you smile, feel special or just get away from it all. Ask yourself what would make you happy, and do it! Have a bath with candles and champagne for no reason at all, take a nap, watch an old movie you haven’t seen in a while, buy yourself a new accessory , pamper yourself for the day or read good book. One tip that I will suggest is something you should do everyday, wash your face and use your products. It only takes an extra minute but it will help keep you looking young and fresh and help to wash the stress of the day away. But all I ask is that you do at least one thing this month (although we should all be doing it everyday) that is just for you, with no need for an explanation to anyone else.

You don’t have to justify the things that make you a happier you. But you do have to remember to take that time and do something that you love or something that you just need deep inside. I think and hope that everyone will take this challenge to heart and really accept it. Even if you have to write it down on the calender or set a reminder on your phone, love yourself. In fact right now, take a minute and think of something good that you did today, you all deserve some praise.

In honor of Love Yourself Month, we will be offering some specials at the shop to maybe help get you started!

20% off facials and signature pedicures

10% off products

(Color of the Week will be an additional 10% off)

Extra motivation?? Check out our Love Yourself board on Pinterest and our posts on Facebook and Twitter!

Snow is Falling

Clarice — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:38:51 +0000

Well, it’s here! Winter held off as long as it could and the snow has started to fall! It had to come eventually; we do live in Chicago after all! But instead of cringing at the sight of the grass disappearing underneath a fluffy white blanket, let’s try and look at the hot chocolate mug as half full.

This is a perfect opportunity for you to add all those new accessories into your wardrobe. Didn’t we all either buy ourselves or receive a new scarf or mittens that we were just a little disappointed we couldn’t use right away? Deep down? I know we all get chills but using a thick scarf in 56 degree weather is just a little much. We also get the opportunity to actually experience winter. We all knew what we were getting into when we set up house in the Midwest. The snow will also help out our farmers with their crops in the spring!

We also have a chance to justify some much needed rest and relaxation. As I said in our last blog, we should all make resolutions to take time for ourselves. Let’s make this the resolution that sticks. Turn this snow into a positive chance. Instead of going out to see a movie, stay in and rent one. Instead of getting a spray tan (it’s snowing now you’re not fooling anyone), come in for a facial to help protect your skin against the cold and wind.

The most important thing is to be careful out there and try not to get too stressed at the little flakes flying at our windshield.

Resolutions for the New Year

Clarice — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:33:25 +0000

Happy New Year Everyone! The holiday season has come to a close and as I finish putting away all the Christmas decorations, I like to think of it as a fresh start to the New Year. It feels like a chance to wipe the slate clean and get organized. I think almost everyone looks at the New Year this way.

When setting your resolutions, instead of making one huge resolution to last the whole year, try and make smaller monthly or weekly goals that are easier (or perhaps more realistic) to achieve. You’ll feel better about accomplishing a little something for yourself each week or month rather than have the possibility of being disappointed at the end of the year. I mean come on, I think all of us have broken a resolution at some point in our lives (and if you haven’t…how??).

Make resolutions that you know will make you happy and better your life. Think of goals in terms of This week I’m going to: start that new book everyone is talking about or have date night with my husband or sign up for a new yoga class or take an hour for myself and get a facial at Clarice’s (just a suggestion ).

Whatever your goals for the new year, month, week or even just today, I wish you the best of luck and praise for a job well done! Let’s make this year better than the last!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Clarice — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:23:20 +0000

What are the chances of having two Saturdays in a row being two holiday eves?? I’m sure I could Google it and find out but it’s not that important. What is important is that two weekends in a row we get to celebrate a wonderful time with our family and friends.

This weekend brings us a chance. A chance to leave 2011 behind us (which could be a good or bad thing depending on who you talk to) and look forward to 2012 in front of us. New Years is often looked at as a chance for new beginnings. I guess you really could start fresh and new any day of the year (I could plug getting a facial in here but it’s too easy, but really fresh start, fresh looking skin, think about it). But there’s something significant about switching over to a brand new year at 12:01. It’s sort of a “this-is-the-year” moment. In that moment it can be heard all around us, “This is the year I’m going to lose 20 pounds” “This is the year I’m finding the job that I love” “This is the year my son is graduating from high school” “This is the year my daughter is getting married” “This is the year the Cubs…will still be the Cubs” (Sorry there’s a Sox fan writing part of this)

It’s in those moments that we all have this incredible sense of optimism. No one is thinking of the things that could go wrong. We’re all thinking of the greatness the year is going to bring. When making your resolutions, make it a prayer that you will accomplish something meaningful to yourself this year. So have fun this New Year’s Eve. Be glamorous. Be fabulous. And above all, be optimistic. Take a chance, you never know where you might end up a year from now.

Happy 2012!

Love…

Clarice — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:41:03 +0000

“I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”

-Linus, A Charlie Brown Christmas

I guess that’s all anyone needs this time of year. Isn’t that the real reason for the season? No matter what holiday you are celebrating this season, the one constant between them all is the love we share. We spend time with the ones we care about most in the world. We may not be with them all at once but we still call, text, write, email, Facebook, etc. to tell them we love them.

That love is the magic of the season. The one thing we all believe in. Love is all around us. Make sure you take some time from the presents, movies, food (oh the food) and all the other hectic aspects around us and be sure to tell at least one person how much they mean to you. Pull them in close and whisper in their ear. It’ll be just for the two of you. Even if they’ve been naughty this year. I mean even Santa gives a second chance every now and then (he checks the list twice doesn’t he!).

And so, from all of us here at the shop, we wish you nothing but love, happiness and a Merry Christmas to all…and to all a good night.

Believe…

Clarice — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:57:07 +0000

For the past couple weeks I’ve been trying to tap into the sense of magic that we all have inside of us. My hope has been that at least one person has been reminded. Reminded of believing. Forgetting their sense of reality and known facts even for just a moment. A moment where you look at that snowman across the street and think that it just might tip it’s hat to you if you give him a wave. A moment when you see your kids sledding and remember what it’s like to fly. A moment where you look at a snowflake and think of the stories from Whoville. A moment to remember leaving out milk and cookies (or at the Jamieson house, a shot and a beer), fighting tired eyes just to hear sleigh bells on the roof and waking up to see that magic really does exist in the world. This time, instead of me blabbing on trying to get you to believe, I’m going to refer to some holiday classics to help me out…

“I believe… I believe… It’s silly, but I believe.”

-Miracle on 34^th Street

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”

-The Polar Express

“Inside a snowflake like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe.”

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas

“Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world…

…No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever…”

-Yes, Virginia

Also, let’s remember the real reason for the season and keep that magic and love in our hearts

Snow, Decorations and Memories

Clarice — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:10:55 +0000

We’ll, it’s here! Snow has hit the ground and the plows have hit the streets (at 5am after neighbors shoveling at 4am!!). Gloves, scarves and hats are making their way into our wardrobe. Come on there’s no reason we can’t accessorize and look cute while shoveling is there?

With it getting colder out, staying warm and cozy in our homes is becoming more and more appealing (even if the crazy aunt is staying with you for a couple of days)! Turning on Christmas music, cookies in the oven, a fire crackling, a mug of hot chocolate covered in marshmallows and hanging ornaments on the tree.

I know, decorating your house for the holidays can be exhausting. But that’s when the magic of the holidays really starts to come alive. Your house is transformed into your own Christmas oasis or Santa’s Workshop. You’re putting up memories. That snow-globe your mom gave you, that ornament your son or daughter made for you when they were 7 or that knick-knack that your Grandmother gave you that you’re not exactly sure if it’s a tree or a snowman. You start to remember that Christmas that the cat knocked over the tree, the year (or maybe years) your husband kicked the snow-blower and was walking weird for a couple of days, or the time the kids came in from sledding with red faces and a cold two days later.

As you unpack those decorations, take a little extra time to remember. Remember smiles, tears, laughing, friends, family, kids, grown-ups, singing, baking, wishing, or believing. Remember the magic the Christmas brings both in and outside of our homes. From the warm feelings of love that surround us inside to the cold dancing snowflakes surrounding the trees and ground outside.

Switching to December

Clarice — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:01:33 +0000

As the final leftover turkey sandwiches are being made, we have to realize something has snuck up on us: December. That means crazy christmas sales, over-the-top (and sometimes tackey) decorations.and, the thing we all get sick of, snow. It might sound boring or crazy but aren’t those the things we remember the most? Our moms telling us to close our eyes as they comeback from Black Friday sales. Our dads trying to figure out how to place plastic Santa and snowmen then realizing they both need new light bulbs. And snow. I’ll let you come up with your own memories on that one. As Christmas gets closer and closer, take some time to remember those boring times. The times you spend drinking hot chocolate, next to the glow of the Christmas tree and watching the Grinch’s heart grow three times its size. The times you find that perfect gift for the one you can never buy for. And the times you watch the neighbor fixing the fallen over reindeer yet again.

And don’t forget! Santa’s watching!!