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[#1]

You hear a lot about my mom from me, but you don't hear as much about my step-mom. I really don't care for the word step, whether I am talking about my step mom or step dad.  It carries a negative connotation don't you think? It can almost make them sound like less than my mom or dad when in reality they are not. I am a product of two moms and two dads.  At different times in my life each one has been pivotal. My step dad raised me but in my adult life my dad has become my dad again and the best grandfather a kid could have. My mom was always my best friend and the woman who made me who I am today, but my step mom has become my rock in the past decade, especially since I started loosing my mom. Don't even get me started on the aunt and uncle who have always been there and who I consider more like a mom and dad as well. Divorce is sad and awful and painful but maybe God knew I needed more than just one mom and dad in my life.  I don't think I would have made it through childhood without the influence of my step father and I know I wouldn't be surviving right now without the love and support of my step mom and my aunt and uncle. Like I've said before; it takes a village.

That was the long way to get to the point.  I don't like the labels but I know you would get confused if I called 3 different women mom and 3 different men dad. 

 So my step mom and my dad were in town a few weeks ago and I was able to take my step mom to a very special event spa day at QVC presented by Tarte.

In my time at the Q, Tarte has become one of my favorite beauty lines. It started with an addiction to their self-tanner in my attempt to not loose my California glow and it grew to a love of their mascara.  Then I met Maureen.  She is the gorgeous creator of the brand, mom of two adorable boys and wife to a hottie husband. They live at the shore and work in NYC. They are the picture of perfection.  It would be easy to hate her. But, I couldn't if my life depended on it.  In all my shows with her and our late night chats I have grown to adore this woman because she is just like us. She has had tragedy in her life, she built her company with grit and determination. She has days that she hates how she looks and can't stand her hair. She is open about being a mom and worrying about doing everything right. She makes mistakes and laughs at herself, she is vulnerable and smart and, she is real.  And her products reflect that. She keeps it real, simple and as pure as possible. 

That’s the two of us with the lovely Dr. Denesse.

I jumped at the chance to try out her new highly gifts or sets and get treated to a manicure, and massage and more food than I should.  I'll be honest, at qvc we do get to try a lot of products, it's a perk of the job, I'm starting to get used to it but I still feel overwhelmingly blessed that I do this for a living. My step mom however; isn't used to getting free makeovers on a rare Saturday.  She was in heaven.  We took my little girls with us and had the best girls day.  I had the chance to chat with Maureen for hours and develop even more of a girl crush. 

I divulged my uncertainty over having more kids and my difficulty with having the two I am blessed with. She shared her secrets as well and fawned over my two darling girls.  She has boys, so it was fun to play dress up on little people. I will say the girls were so well behaved.  Everyone said how lucky I was and I sat in awe over the fact that they weren't running around like lunatics as they do at home,

They even sat still for manicures! That’s the grace of God.

Georgia let them do her hair in braids.

And of course they ate non-stop

Don't tell my husband but we let the makeup artist put on a touch of lip-gloss and blush.

My highlight was the toddler massage. Grace wasn't in to sitting still for a strange man to poke her back but after Georgia saw mommy ( and her new best friend Rachel Boesing) do  it, she was in..

There are so many different make up lines out there that for me it comes down to the quality, price and integrity of the company. I whole heatedly believe in the quality of Tarte’s products, I wear them daily and recommend them to even my broke friends ( that's when you know it's good when you can tell someone who doesn't have a ton to spend that this is a good investment), the price can't be beat, and if you met Maureen on the street you would love her and everything she stands for.  She has integrity and she puts her heart into her line.

All of that was evident in the generosity she showed us all that day at QVC.  Despite that fact that she was a victim of Sandy and wearing the same clothes she had on for the last few days, she was still full of joy and giving.  She even took Georgia to the potty,  that is a good mom and friend.  She showed my step mom a wonderful time and the three of us in my family made a memory we will never forget. 

It was a lovely day with three of the most important women in my life; my little girls and my step mom.  Something about getting pretty and feeling feminine brings you together. Make up isn't just about covering up what you don't like, it's about highlighting what makes you special.  It's about being creative and experimenting and being girly.  I'm so thankful to Maureen and Tarte for creating a great product line that brought me and my step mom and my girls closer.

I hope when you give the gift of beauty this season you will take the time to play and chat and get pretty with the people you give to. It's part of what makes being a girl so much fun.

Happy gifting

Have a blessed Christmas.

Kerstin

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