A couple Sundays ago we had a Tiramisu For Breakfast Party at Kendra Scott in Richmond. I’m so thankful for everyone who came and for everyone who worked hard to make it special.
Carrie of Paper Rose Co. made this gorgeous arrangement. (You can shop her Mother’s Day Collection here)
Candy Valley Cake Co made these delicious mini tiramisu cups.
The sweet ladies at Kendra Scott printed out these photos of me and Kitty for the event. 
Alisha White of Makeup By Holly was there giving makeovers. 
And Jevata Herman of Canvas the Salon was there styling hair. She’s the best. 
Here’s my friend Tori playing with the virtual Color Bar. My favorite thing about Kendra Scott is that you’re able to customize/build/pick-out your jewelry in store and then have them make it right in front of you.
Five lucky people got to take home this little gift, which included a necklace from Kendra Scott, a bloom from Paper Rose, lip balm, coupons and copies of R Home and Style Weekly’s Black Book of Style.
The first customers! 
The lovely Melissa Chase stopped by and got this cute ring. 
The sweetest moment of the whole event. My friend Suzanne’s oldest daughter was doing her sister’s makeup. (Yes, that’s a Chanel palette) 
This is Devin, Kendra Scott Richmond’s events manager; she made the whole event happen and she’s absolutely amazing.
I would love to see what you got at the event. Post your photos and let me know what other events you’d like to see in the comments.
Thanks so much again to everyone who made this such a fun event!
Read MoreSephora’s biannual sale is almost here. Here are the details:
VIB Rouge members get 15% off from 4/18 4/24 with the code ROUGESPRING,
VIB members get 15% off from 4/19-4/24 with the code VIBSPRING
Beauty Insider members get 10% off from 4/20-4/23 with the code BISPRING
In case you’re looking for recommendations on what to get, here are some of my favorite things. Let me know if you have questions about any of them.
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The social recruitment strategy we developed for the VCU Brandcenter is in full swing and it has been awesome to see new students being welcomed into the “brandfam.”
Students graduating from the VCU Brandcenter go on to work at Google, Facebook, Coca Cola and beyond. We needed to formulate a social strategy that was a reflection of the amazing talent coming out of the school in order to attract the right new students.
Our goal was to use this to create content that feels custom-made for their target, individuals aged 22-30. We worked hand-in-hand with the recruiting and marketing team of the school to create an effective and sustainable social content strategy. Not only did the Brandcenter see a 15.7% increase in requests for an application to the school following the campaign, they were also now equipped with a detailed content strategy built on insights from their audience and a plan for analyzing and optimizing on an ongoing basis.
We began our research by evaluating secondary data, an admissions survey followed by an audit of the school’s social media communications, an industry analysis, and finally, focus groups.
We used the feedback across all channels to develop eleven content categories that covered every aspect of the Brandcenter to appeal to as many different types of students as possible. We looked at common questions as themes and used that to inform the informational content we created. We incorporated a reporting structure that utilized monthly social media reports to identify topics and questions to address in info sessions, tours.
We learned from accepted students that getting their application package in the mail was a huge, life-changing moment…everyone remembered where they were when it arrived. We capitalized on this and captured this shared moment by branding the Brandcenter application envelope with a hashtag welcoming them to the #brandfam.
We found that prospective students had the same questions over and over about the admissions process and financial aid. The Brandcenter’s recruiting coordinator became the star of her own video-series, “Ask Hawley,” focused on answering those frequently asked questions.
Students said they had no idea how awesome Richmond, VA was. We incorporated content about the Richmond area into our social content strategy and even included a custom guide to Richmond in acceptance packets.
Not only did the Brandcenter see a 15.7% increase in requests for an application to the school following the campaign, they were also now equipped with a detailed content strategy built on insights from their audience and a plan for analyzing and optimizing on an ongoing basis.
Read MoreI learn so much and get inspiration from people I follow on social media. I’m going to begin sharing a few of those favorites with all of you, starting with Lisa Eldridge.
One of my favorite people to watch and follow is Lisa Eldridge. She’s a British makeup artist to the stars with an amazing talent in not only makeup artistry but also teaching and sharing her expertise.
I’ve learned so much about makeup and skincare from watching Lisa on YouTube – from choosing the perfect nude lipstick shade to how to give yourself a facial massage to the latest developments in Korean beauty. She’s a delight to listen to and it’s neat to see the guests she brings on. In her tutorials, she goes step by step and you can literally set the computer on your vanity and follow along as you copy her technique.My favorite videos are probably the ones where she talks through her favorite products. I have tried out several of her recommendations –Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter and Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant, to name a few – and never been disappointed.
In 2015, Lisa became Lancome’s Creative Director of Makeup. (She created the La Rose à poudrer that I mentioned here.) and she recently launched a book called Facepaint about the history of makeup.
Her Instagram is full beauty products, her work, vintage beauty icons, her celebrity friends and her cats – Bertie and Teddy.
Are you a fan of Lisa too? I’d love to hear who you like to follow.
Read MoreWHY SOCIAL?
Social media can get a bad rap. It’s said to be isolating/fake/time consuming. It’s also often seen as a time-suck. So why should realtors invest precious time and money? Because with a good strategy and proper planning, you can overcome all of those to make social media a tool for marketing success and business growth.
Eric Morehouse of The Morehouse Group in Richmond, Va. admits that one of the biggest challenges realtors face is a lack of trust. Buying a home is the biggest purchase of your life, and your realtor is your partner in that big purchase.
Trust isn’t instant. There’s no single post, ad or photo that will win over potential buyers. By “putting yourself out there” on social media, you’re working to gradually build a relationship with potential buyers.
The way you build trust is through consistency. In this article, you’ll find tips for starting and maintaining a social media presence that builds trust through consistency and community.
Thanks to Tracey Gould for the opportunity to share this with the NC Realtor Community. You can read the full article on page 20 at this link.
Read MoreBeauty week starts today 2/16 at Saks in Richmond! Tara, their lovely events and marketing manager, invited me to come in and preview some of the products and freebies. There are so. many. freebies. Basically, almost every brand in the cosmetics department has a free gift with purchase.
I’ve been wanting to try the Clé de Peau concealer (especially since my favorite concealer from Bobbi Brown is being discontinued). It has a cult following and I’ve heard nothing but good things. Tara made me an appointment with Millie, the make up artist representing Clé de Peau at Saks. He walked me through the line. We talked about the history, technologies and formulas.
Millie confirmed that the concealer is Clé de Peau’s bestseller. There were stickers on the display for the awards it’s won. I learned that the company was started in 1982 with a vision of fusing French skincare with Japanese Technology (they’re one of the many brands under the Shiseido umbrella). He removed my makeup with the softest cotton pads (made with natural silk) and applied the nighttime moisturizer (Fun fact, day moisturizers typically contain SPF, which he didn’t want to use because it causes a white cast when photographed). He showed me the brand new Radian Stick Foundation, but we ended up using the fluid version. He used a cream blush in shade one (pink/berry) and a light bronzer. On my cheekbones, he used the Brilliant Enhancer reminiscent of the YSL Touche Éclat. for lips, he used the Radiant Lip Liquid (I loved the way this felt – almost like a lip gloss).
The concealer is supposed to be super full coverage and long lasting. I think it will be perfect for carrying for touch-ups. I’ll make sure to give you an update once I’ve used it for a while.
He also let me try the new Blush La Rose from Saks. How cool is this? The product is in the petals, and you swirl your brush on the rose and then apply.
Here’s me and Millie after the makeover. Thank you, Millie! (To schedule your own appointment with Millie, you can email him at menelik_glover@s5a.com or call 804-320-6969.)
If you’ve been thinking about trying something out or if you’re running low on any of your favorites, now is the time to re-stock. For the full details on each brand’s gift with purchase, click here. (I think the Bobbi Brown one is super cute too).
You can probably tell my favorite shade to wear and decorate with is white. A while back I asked on Facebook what people would like to see on the blog and my friend Molly wanted tips for wearing winter white for messy people. I say, say go for whites that are washable. Silky tops and dry-clean only pants are tricky because I end up needing to dry clean them after almost every wear. My favorite pants are a pair from the Scandal collection that The Limited did a few years ago. Those ones are no longer sold (I with they were do you could get them – they’re sooo comfortable), but try to find lined pants that are machine washable. My other tip for wearing white is to take them to the dry cleaners and have the back pockets cut and sewn. It always bugged me when the pocked lining showed through until I learned this trick.
Here are a few of my favorite winter white looks:
This sweater by Nili Lotan is so, so pretty. I saw it on Gal Meets Glam and it looks SO soft.
And here’s how I do winter white:
When I worked at a Bare Minerals boutique in college, I had to clean about 40 brushes in a bathroom sink at the end of every shift. You’d have thought that would have made me really good at it. We had a special brush cleaner and when I worked there and got 50% off everything, I had one too. Now, I don’t buy special brush cleaners. Up until recently I was using a bottle of face cleanser that I didn’t like using on my face and sometimes Dr. Bronners.
I got the tip from Sparkle of Canvas The Salon at a beauty event I went to before the holidays to use coconut oil and Dawn and it works so much better than what I’d been doing. (side note: the beauty events at Canvas are underrated and amazing. The owner Jevata always has beauty lessons from experts, giveaways (I won a bracelet from Bebe and got a free OPI nail polish) and good snacks, If you’re in Richmond, go!)
What you need:
Coconut Oil (mine is from Trader Joe’s, but you can also get it here)
Dawn dish soap (I assume you can use any variety.)
Brush Cleansing Mat. I have this one from Amazon.
See that white brush on the left? Those are hard to get perfectly white because I usually use it with dark eyeshadows but this does the trick. This mat is the latest addition. It’s so great. Before, I was rubbing brushes into my hands to get them clean and breaking up the makeup and oil with my fingernails. This works so so so much better. There are tons of these out there, and I’m sure they all work pretty much about the same. This one has suction cups on the bottom that stick to the inside of sink so I don’t have to hold it, which is nice.
Scoop some coconut oil onto your brush cleansing mat and rub your dry maul brush into it. Rinse.
Squirt a dime-sized amount of Dawn onto the mat, and rub the wet brush into the mat.Rinse and repeat until the brush is completely clean.
I’ve heard that you shouldn’t set your brushes upright when they’re still dry because the water will seep down to the wooden handle and dissolve the glue that holds the brush together. I lay them out on a towel to dry.
PLANKrva hosted a class for Virginia Bloggers and we all got to try out their Lagree Fitness Method. Nine of us tried the class for the first time and then got to know the owners, Tanya and and Alison over veggie sushi and sparkling wine.
This is what we saw when we walked in. The studio is awesome.
There are 10 spaces in the class, so you’ll need to plan ahead and reserve a spot. Each person gets their own “Megaformer,” which is where you’ll spend the entire class. Tanya talked to us for a few minutes about what to expect from the class. She told us there would be modifications for every pose and that she’d walk us through everything. She also said the class would be really hard and that sometimes we’d feel like we wouldn’t stand to do a move any longer, but then at the end we’d be surprised it was over (This was so true).
She told us to grab the spring at the front of the machine and hook it onto the nob. There are two different resistance levels, and she tells you when to switch (I think we only switched once during this particular class).
We slid into a plank for the first part of the routine, and she walked us step by step through 5o minutes of planking, moving back and forth from the front to the back of the machine, doing pistol squats, using resistance bands, and ultimately finishing with ten minutes of stretching.
I really did love the workout and plan to go back. My typical workouts are yoga, hot yoga, barre and gymnastics (let me know if you want me to do a post about any of those). I found Lagree to be most similar to barre. Having some background in those moves definitely helped me in this class. There was no sweating, and I wasn’t reaching for my water bottle. It didn’t feel like an aerobic workout, but it was challenging. The music was awesome. I’m pretty sure I heard Nelly’s Ride Wit Me.
Here’s there pricing info:
Your first class is $20 and after that, classes are $29. They also do a package of 4 for 80 ($20 each). They also have a mini 30 minute class focused on just abs and arms for $15. Full price sheet here.
They’re offering 30% off of the 8 Class Pass to Tiramisu For Breakfast readers. The regular price is $144 and with discount its $100.80. This offer is only for the month of January (2017). Anyone interested should email the studio at plank@plankrva.com to get started.
Let me know if you have questions and thanks so much to these lovely ladies for hosting. Go see them soon! 
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Deborah Lippman’s Naked is the perfect nude and Lady is a Tramp is such a pretty dark red.
Naked looks great on toes too – that’s what I’m currently wearing. I also like the look of either of these paired with white. This brand also has the best shimmer/glitter shades. Happy Birthday is good for the holidays and Mermaid’s Dream is a cool seafoam green with blue glitter.
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