Mom and me, circa 1979

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by CoverGirl.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I’m so excited. Not just because Mr. Spoiled Pretty and my son, Westley, are treating me to a decadent brunch. But because it’s an opportunity to celebrate my hero, Andrea Stamps.

I must admit that until two years ago, Mother’s Day was just another Hallmark holiday. I would buy the obligatory card and flowers, and remind my mother that I appreciated her. But it wasn’t until I became a mom that I realized the depth of my appreciation.

You see, my mom was born to be a mom. Throughout my life, she silently sacrificed to provide the best life possible for my sister and me. She enjoys her job as a mom so much that it’s easy to overlook or forget how hard that job can be. It’s the most thankless yet rewarding job imaginable and now that I fully understand what it means to be a mom, I think one day a year simply is not enough. My mother is so much more than a mom to me. She is a mentor, my best friend and an inspiration.

In the spirit of Mother’s Day, CoverGirl created a Facebook page for you to share all of the beautiful things you’ve learned from your mom. You can also create and send your mom a custom e-card with the beautiful lesson she taught you – and it will also be added to the CoverGirl Mother’s Day public scrapbook on the Facebook page.

What beautiful thing has your mom taught you? Mine has shared so many words of wisdom over the years, there isn’t enough room in this blog post to share. But the most profound thing I’ve learned from my mom is that unconditional love is real – and she practices it every day. I only hope that I can be half the mom to Westley that she has been for me.

Lil’ man and me at the Phillies game this past weekend

Okay, okay…enough of the mushy stuff already, right? Since this is a beauty blog, I’ll also take this opportunity to share some words of wisdom for busy moms – like myself – who often have little time for beauty routines. Celebrity makeup artist Sage Maitri, who works with celeb moms like Molly Sims, Rebecca Romijn, Jessica Capshaw, Minnie Driver, Elizabeth Banks and Emily Deschanel, shares some of her favorite mom-friendly makeup tips:

Morning Mayhem – For a busy mom, mornings can be the hardest part of the day! Concealer is mother’s little helper! Try COVERGIRL + Olay Simply Ageless Concealer, which brightens up your eyes for a wide-awake look while the Olay Regenerist Serum covers fine lines and wrinkles.

1 + 2 = 3 Time Saving Products – A product that contains more than one beauty benefit can be a real time saver. Try these three multi-benefit products from COVERGIRL:

• COVERGIRL Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation is a primer, concealer and foundation in one.
• For a quick pop of color on your nails try COVERGIRL Outlast Nail Gloss which contains a built in top coat.
• To cover up those dark circles, try COVERGIRL + Olay Concealer Balm which is a concealer that is also infused with emollient-rich serum.

Bath Time is a Must – For a busy mom it’s hard to carve out time to wash your face before bed. Try to sync your schedule with your children’s so you can make time to keep you skin fresh and clean.

Date Night – A little lip color can go a long way and transform your daytime mommy look, to date night glam! Try COVERGIRL Jumbo Gloss Balm for a sheer pop of color, or LipPerfection Lip Color for a deeper more vibrant lip color. Both also have moisturizing ingredients which will keep your lips refreshed.

Mom-Only Brunch – When you’re a mom, your life revolves around your kids. Whenever I have an afternoon with the girls, I like to spice up my day to day look by adding a little life to my eyes. I love Clump Crusher by LashBlast Mascara to really bring volume to my lashes. The water resistant formula is also great for any unforeseen moments.

Treat Yourself – Sometimes you don’t always have time for yourself, but it’s important to treat yourself, even if it’s something small. I always have my clients invest in a face masque that is meant to be slept in. Wake up with glowing skin, a treat for all, but especially a multi-tasking mom!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my mommy readers. May your loved ones spoil you pretty this Sunday!

At Christmastime, I agonized over what to get my son’s daycare teachers. There are 12 of them – and even though he has his two main teachers, they all have interaction with him and take excellent care of him. So I needed to buy 12 gifts to show my appreciation, without breaking the bank. $10 each seemed doable, except that most gifts under $10 are utter crap and you’d rather give nothing at all than give someone a $10 junk present.

After almost settling on an uninspired gift (it was so blah, I can’t even remember what it was), Bath & Body Works had a sale on its 3-Wick Candles: 2 for $22. The 3 Wick Candles are a good size (14.5 oz) and usually $20 each, so this was a steal. I snatched up 12 candles in holiday scents for $132—and saved $108! It’s true that I went over my $10 per gift limit (only by $1), but it was okay because I also scored free shipping—and the candles conveniently showed up on my doorstep in mint condition. So it all evened out. But most important, the teachers LOVED their candles and raved for months about how wonderful they smell and how long they last.

So why am I running my mouth and telling you this old story? Well, Bath & Body Works is having the same sale now and I wanted to share the great news.

Mother’s Day is coming up. It’s also prime time for baby and bridal showers right about now. Better yet, why not treat yourself? You deserve it. There are a lot of new spring/summer scents that sound amazing—like Gelato, Lemon Mint Leaf, Garden Bouquet, Peach Bellini, Lakeside, Caribbean Escape and Sicilian Orange—to name a few.

Get free shipping with any purchase of $50 or more. Enter promo code BURN50—but, hurry, because that deal is only good today. The 2 for $22, 3-Wick Candles deal ends on April 21, 2013. No coupon needed for that.

As a beauty expert, I’m embarrassed by how late I am to the BB Cream party. In the past year, so many friends and colleagues have asked me about BB Creams—what’s the buzz, which brands are the best, etc. —and they would look at me funny when I admitted to not having tried BB Creams yet. I mean, they were so incredulous that you would’ve thought I told them I was still using a flip phone or had a Hotmail account. But it’s really not my fault that I was stuck in a time warp and unfamiliar with the biggest beauty trend of 2012.

I started hearing about BB Creams in late 2011 and was very excited to hitch a ride on the proverbial bandwagon. But until recently, it’s been difficult—if not damn near impossible—to find a BB Cream in my shade. I was shocked. The beauty business has come so far in the past 15-20 years, in terms of shade options and embracing a multi-hued consumer base. But in my BB Cream search, I felt like I was 16 years old all over again and limited to a few brands that recognized my pigment.

Anyway, I’m here to tell any brown-skinned beauties out there that just because we don’t have infinite options doesn’t mean that we should settle and walk around with BB Cream-ed up faces that don’t match our necks. IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Crème SPF 15 is so amazing that I almost stopped throwing shade on some of those other beauty brands that offer 1 or 2 shades. I’m all about the love now because I absolutely LOVE this BB Crème.

IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Crème SPF 15 has a unique blend of “skin tone evener complex,” SPF, botanical extracts, antioxidants and vitamins. So with regular use, it evens out discoloration (hyperpigmentation and uneven tone is a huge issue for people of color), offers sun protection (anyone with hyperpigmentation knows that SPF is essential to breaking the cycle) and moisturizes in one step. Six semi-sheer shades undetectably enhance your complexion—so you look like you, but better.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this BB Cream. I used to either wear my NARS Sheer Glow or Sheer Matte Foundation or nothing at all. I could never find a tinted moisturizer or light coverage foundation to wear every day. Plus, with sensitive and reactive skin, I worried that wearing a face of makeup on the regular would turn my face in to a giant pimple. But the IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Crème SPF 15 is absolutely perfect and just what I’ve been looking for. I use it when I want to look fresh and polished, but not like I’m wearing makeup. To get a seamless, imperceptible application, I apply with the beautyblender sponge (do me a favor: buy this sponge and email me when it changes your life) and I set it with NARS Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder (more on that soon). Oh, and my shade is Clay Medium – just in case you need a point of reference. Their “find your shade” tool is pretty helpful too.

IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Crème SPF 15 retails for $20 and is available at drugstore.com, Walmart, walgreens.com, Ulta, Target, DuaneReade and sears.com.

Not so this week. I’m currently rocking CoverGirl Outlast Brilliant Shine Nail Gloss in Vio-last, and I’m as smitten with it as when I bought the bottle this weekend. For the last few weeks, I’d wanted to wear a cool purple cream nail polish. I assumed that I had one in my nail polish arsenal – but if you can believe it, I couldn’t find anything close among my 300+ bottles. All of my purples were too dark, pastel or shimmery. It seemed silly (not to mention excessive) to buy a new bottle of polish on a whim when I already own so many, so I abandoned my pursuit. But as fate would have it, just as I purged purple polish from my brain, my dream shade found me at Walmart.

On Sunday, while shopping for boring household items, I walked through the cosmetics section on my way to the register and spied CoverGirl Outlast Brilliant Shine in Vio-last in my peripheral vision. It’s exactly what I had been looking for: the right shade at the right price. Plus it has a built-in base coat, boasts great coverage (one coat completely covers, though I painted on two as directed) and dries to a really nice shine that negates the need for a topcoat. I painted my nails on Sunday and they’re still shining (bright like a diamond, in the immortal words of Rihanna) today. Another benefit is that—if you don’t abuse your hands—you can make it 5 to 7 days without a chip.

Excuse the sloppy application. My son was having a hissy-fit while I was painting my nails
because he wanted to “play action figures” with me – hence the rush job.

Vio-last is my second CoverGirl Outlast Brilliant Shine Nail Gloss (I also have Peaches and Cream, below, which I wore last month), but it won’t be my last. There are 45 gorgeous shades and I’m already eying up Ever Reddy, Mint Mojito and Out of the Blue.

Rebecca Minkoff’s handbags are my dreams made reality. I don’t know how she does it, but she must have a window into my soul – because every time I’m in the market for a new purse, I find that she’s designed exactly what I’m looking for. She also seems extremely cool and down to earth, plus she’s a new-ish mom, like me…so we’re totally BFIMH (Best Friends in My Head) – along with Kerry Washington, Kathy Griffin and Wendy Williams.

Anyway, so I’ve been rocking my Lodis Dahlia Joelle Hobo since December. But now that it’s spring, I’ve been itching for a brighter bag. Something that’s work appropriate but that I can also work on the weekends. And it’s gotta be crossbody because my hands are always full. My search lead me to the Rebecca Minkoff Swing Bag (in Sunny), which I just purchased (if my husband is reading this, don’t worry – I used a gift card).

Polished hardware accents the soft pebbled leather of this Rebecca Minkoff handbag. A zip pocket details the exterior, and the gusseted sides unzip to expand the silhouette. Metal studs rest at the base, while the snap top opens to a divided 4-pocket interior. The leather-laced chain strap can be doubled, singled, or tucked inside for 3 stylish options: cross-body, shoulder bag, or clutch.

Gorgeous, no? I CAN’T WAIT for the Shopbop stork to drop this baby on my doorstep. And here’s what else is coming with it (I had a little extra $ on my gift card):

Michael Kors Large Orbital Whisper Hoops in Rose Gold

Both are available for purchase now at Shopbop.com.

Earlier this month, Kate Spade (aka creator of cuteness and the reason why I can’t seem to keep money in my wallet), launched a brand new line called Kate Spade Saturday.

Kate Spade Saturday is a new global lifestyle brand created to channel the spirit of Saturday seven days a week. This younger, more accessible sister to kate spade new york shares the same DNA: it’s colorful, optimistic and bold, but it expresses these values in a more casual way. Saturday offers simple shapes and go-anywhere silhouettes. Functionality and utility are key. The collection is crafted with honest materials like crisp cotton, canvas and natural vachetta, brightened with bold colors and strong prints. The line includes apparel, handbags, accessories and items for the home.

After browsing around Saturday.com, I have to say that it’s everything I hoped it would be. The line is polished but fun – retaining Kate Spade’s cheekiness – but at a more affordable price point. Here are just a few of the fashionista-friendly items I’m eyeing up:

Don’t Forget to Be Awesome Wallet, $120

Split Neck Tee, $30 (available in Black, Heather Gray, White and Yellow)

Let Loose Dress in Stripe, $180

Scoopback Dress, $140 (available in Ocean Blue and Cherry Tomato)

The Custom Small Weekender Bag, $290

iPhone Case in Fine Fellow, $25

And on that note – take it away, Young MC

• This brush has a perfect body shape for detangling and straightening out long hair types
• The cushioned soft ball tip quills gently massage the scalp whilst brushing and the soft fluted handle molds to the hand
• Anti-static rubber cushioned pad prevents fly-away hair
• Unique, detachable flexible section pin allows easy sections with one hand

Rue La La membership is free…click here for an invite, courtesy of Spoiled Pretty.