Posts Tagged ‘About Nancy Goldblatt Wardrobe Wizard’

Paula Begoun, “Cosmetics Cop,” comes to Baltimore

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

When Paula Begoun aka ‘The Cosmetics Cop,” came to Baltimore Thursday, Dec 4th and spoke at Barnes & Noble in Pikesville, Md., she stated, “For centuries women have wanted to look pretty, and wasting money is not pretty.”

Paula came to promote  version eight of her book  “Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me.”   I have been a fan of hers since she wrote “Blue Eyeshadow Should Be Made Illegal.” in 1986.   I currently subscribe to her  on-line  “Beautypedia.”  It costs  $24.95 a  year to subscribe  and new products are reviewed every two weeks.

I find it saves me money because it prevents me from impulsively buying new products.  Paula said her goal has always been to help women save money. She has saved me a lot of money over the years.

Before  I buy a new product I go  online to “Beautypedia,” to check  “the Cosmetic Cops” review.  Cosmetic & skin care reviews include both drugsstore, department store and other retail brands. I am still unsure about the product and  it’s a drugstore cosmetic, I buy it at CVS or Rite Aid because even if it has been opened  or used it can be returned or exchanged.  Paula emphasizes in her reviews that expensive products are not necessarily better than less expensive products.

Paula now wears two hats. She is still “The Cosmetics Cop.”  She and her staff evaluate thousands of brands of makeup, and skin care products.  She gives a smiley face with a check mark for outstanding products and a frowning face for products that aren’t well formulated and do not do what they promise.   She also has her own line of makeup and skin care products called “Paula’s Choice.”

I especially like her exfoliating AHA  and her BHA  products. I have  very dry skin  but in the summer time I get oily around the T zone.  I break out with pimples under the skin and even have had a few blackheads.  Nothing helped me until I used her 2% BHA product.  It cleared up my pimples without overly drying my skin out.   “Yeah, Paula’s Choice.”

If you like Internet research and want to get reviews of new products coming out, its worthwhile subscribing to Beautypedia’s online reviews or  if you prefer buying a book, get her latest version of  “Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me,” available in paperback from Amazon for $19.77.

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Avoiding Looking At Your Body In The Mirror?

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

When was the last time you looked at yourself in a full length mirror? I am asking this because the more “over fat,”  you are or “out of shape,”you are the harder it is to look good in your clothes.

I must confess, that for some time now I have been looking at myself in the mirror only from the chin up. Yes, I use my full length mirror before I leave the house but  recently I only quickly glance at my self from head to toe.   The other day I had to get a pictures taken of my silhouette in fitted non-camouflaging clothing  for a sewing project I am doing. I am still in shock.

I have always had an apple shaped body with narrow hips, flat bottom and muscular legs. When I gain weight its usually in my stomach and waist area.  My previously flat derriere is no longer flat.   Because I know how to dress for my body shape I had even fooled myself, until I saw those pictures of me without camouflaging clothes.    I know I must take action for my health and of course I am concerned about how I look and finding clothes that fit me.  The areas I need to work on are my eating habits, exercise and sleep.

My eating habits are better than most of the other people I know, but they aren’t perfect.  I consider myself a flexitarian.  I eat mostly steamed vegetables plus small amounts of chicken and fish and dairy such as non-fat yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, almonds and walnuts.  My weakness is rice tortillas and gluten free cookies.   Also, because I am a night owl and stay up late at night, I tend to eat a snack before I go to bed.   I have read that this is not good because those calories are not burned off and eating right before bedtime disrupts sleep because the body is busy digesting food and can not completely relax.

I have been watching the Dr. Oz show lately.   Dr. Oz says  to be healthy a woman should not have a waist over 32.5 inches. If your waist is larger than this, it means your belly fat is beginning to crush your other organs, especially your kidney function.  One way to determine a good waist size is to take your height in inches and divide it in half.  According to Dr. Oz your waist size should be half your height or less than half your height.

What is your waist size in relation to your height? How do you make time for exercise?  What do you eat that isn’t good for you?  When was the last time you looked at yourself in a full length mirror with only your under ware on?

Because I needed a “jump start,” to start exercising again, I applied to be in a research study at Johns Hopkins Hospital Bayview in Baltimore, Md.  Its called “Shape Up.” There are two components to this study a nurtrition component and an exercise component.  I am hoping to be assigned to both the nutrition and exercise parts.  The exercise would be at the Hopkins facility. As I write this, I am realizing that besides getting more sleep,and not eating before bedtime what I really need is, help with “building in” exercise to my daily life for a long term change in my habits.

How have you built exercise into your busy daily life?

I

Popularity: 25% [?]

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Tim Gunn and Me At The Baltimore Book Festival

Monday, September 28th, 2009

About Nancy Goldblatt:

I am a professionally trained “Personal Image Consultant,” based in Baltimore, Maryland.  I call myself “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore.”  I specialize in working with women whose size or shape has changed or who have too many clothes and nothing to wear.    I help my clients by first teaching them how to shop in their own closets.  They get a wallet of their best colors and line drawings of their best styles.  Most of my clients are women but I also work with men.  After I work with a client they will knew what clothing to keep, and what to eliminate.  They will also know what items they should get altered and how to fill in the gaps in their wardrobe.  Best of all , they will get rid of the panic of ” those nothing to wear moments.”

The  weekend 0f Sept 25-27th, 2009 is the 14th annual Baltimore Book Festival. This reminded me of what happened several years ago, (I believe it was 2 or 3 years ago.)  when Tim Gunn,  of Project Runway, was one of the featured speakers. I am a fan of Tim’s and I was looking forward to hearing him speak.  At that time Tim had just gotten his own show and had written a book.  He was speaking at the  Baltimore Book Festival to publicize his new book.

Unfortunately, I had trouble finding parking and by the time I parked,and walked 5 or 6 blocks to the book festival, I had missed Tim’s talk. When I finally got to the area where he had spoken, I discovered there was a long line of people waiting for him to autograph the book they had just purchased.

The book was sold out, so I borrowed some one’s book and quickly looked through it. I felt disappointed because  I did not see any new information that I had not seen elsewhere.  I have a hunch the book may have been written quickly to capitalize on the popularity of Project Runway and Tim’s new show which had just begun.

I was disgusted with myself for not arriving earlier and my lower back was in spasm and I was looking for a place to sit down. I passed a small table with two chairs.  There was a sign that said something like “Sit down, and participate in a psychic experiment.”  The experiment  was sponsored by students from Maryland Institute of Art.     I asked for more information, but mostly I wanted a place to sit and rest.

The experiment was simple, there was a sender and a receiver. I would be the sender.  There was a volunteer receiver already seated.  All I had to do was sit down at the table and concentrate on an image in my mind and try to send the image to the receiver.  He had a pencil and paper and would draw what he received.  I decided to picture “the happy face symbol from the 1960’s.”  I choose this because I was feeling the opposite of happy and I wanted a distraction from my “pity party.”

I concentrated as hard as I could to mentally picture the “happy face symbol . ” The receiver began drawing after a minute or two.   I watched as he drew a line and then made it curve around.  At the end of the line he drew two sheep.  The MICA student asked me if that was the image I sent.  I said, “No, I was picturing a happy face symbol.”  

 I looked at the pencil drawing again and started laughing.  I was laughing because I  realized the line the receiver drew that curved around was the same shape as the long line of people waiting for Tim Gunn’s autograph.  I would not have called those fans of Tim, sheep, at least I would not have said it outloud.  But when I saw the picture “the reciever,” had drawn, I realized that’s what I had been thinking.  Those “Tim Gunn fans,” clutching their newly purchased books, standing in an extremely long line under the hot sun reminded me (at least on an unconscious level) of sheep.

As I laughed and shared why I was laughing with the MICA student and the receiver my spirits lifted as I realized what was really on my mind.  I was shocked that my unconscious mind would view them in this way because I am usually very non-judgemental.    I like to believe it was a combination of the hot sun, my aching back and the fact the book the people standing in line were clutching did not seem to have any new style information.  I am still a fan of Tim’ s.  I don’t know what he is like in person but on television at times he appears a bit formal and proper but his genuineness comes through.  I am ready now to get a copy of his book and do more than just skim it. 

Popularity: 36% [?]

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Does The Color Black Really Flatter You?

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

When you look in your closet how much black clothing do you see? Before I got trained as a ” Color 1 Personal Image Consultant,” I did not  know my best colors.   My mother wore a lot of black and she told me it was slenderizing, so for many years I  wore mostly black clothes.

In my sophomore year of college my roommate , who was a good friend, announced that if I bought one more piece of black clothing, she was going to strangle me. She was sick of looking at me in black.    Because l did not know what colors looked good on me and black was so easy to find, I bought  a few items with color, but I continued to wear lots of black.

In 1990, when I had my “color chart done,” by a ” Color 1 Associate” and got a wallet of my best shades, I was able to add lots more color to my wardrobe. I have said in previous blogs that by repeating body colors we  can create visual harmony because our  eyes automatically search for colors that are repeated.   My hair is very dark brown but gives the illusion of looking almost black.    Because the color black repeats my hair color it creates visual balance.    Now I combine black with my best shades of other colors.

Is black one of your body colors ? If not, then black is not a dark neutral for you.   You may still be able to wear black in small amounts  but in large amounts it may drain the color from your face,  and it can emphasize your lines and shadows.    For my clients  that  don’t look their best in black,  but aren’t ready to part with their black clothing , I tell them to shows some  skin  when they wear black.   This means v neck lines or scoop neck lines.   Or wear a scarf near your face that is a flattering color.

Wondering what your best dark or light neutrals are? I recommend getting JoAnna Nicholson’s books, “Dressing Smart for Women,” and “Dressing Smart for Men.”   These paperback books explain  the Color 1 approach to color which I believe is the most accurate system of color analysis around.

There are Color 1 Associates located all over the USA. Unfortunately, the Color1 website, listing the Associates and their contact information  has been down since May and I do not know when it will be back up.  If you are interested in having your colors done and you are located in Baltimore or surrounding areas including Washington, D.C.,  I am available to work with you. I offer a free 30 minute telephone consultation to help you determine if my services are right for you. If you are located elsewhere feel free to e-mail me and I will give you the name and number of the closest Color 1 Associate in your area.

Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore,” is a professionally trained personal image consultant.  She can be reached at nrgoldblatt at gmail dot com.   Her website is WWW.WardrobeWiz.com/

Popularity: 50% [?]

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Where Can You Buy A Full Length Mirror That Hooks On To A Door Frame for $5?

Monday, July 13th, 2009

I just found a place where you can buy a full length mirror that is easy to install because you can hang it over a door frame.  The cost, only $5.  You will find the name of the place at the end of this short blog. 

  I have previously suggested getting a full length mirror and placing it some where you have good light.   It’s best if you can back up 5 feet from it to look at yourself, so you can do the “blink test,” to determine where your focus point is.  Also, a full length mirror will show if something in your outfit is not right.

In the 1970’s one of my aunt’s discovered my grandmother who was in her mid 80’s at the time, standing on a chair.   My grandmother had on a pair of my grandfathers trousers.  She had never worn pants and pant suits had become popular.  She did not own a full length  mirror  and she was standing on the chair to look in the  in the  mirror that hung over her dresser.   My grandmother who was 5 feet tall, plump and curvy was about 8 inches  shorter than my grandfather.  My aunt said my grandmother  looked like she had clown pants on.   My grandmother liked what she saw well enough to agree to get several pant suits and wear them. 

You don’t have to risk your life and stand on a chair to see your whole body.  Just go out and buy a full length mirror from Wal Mart for $5.  The mirror has a frame that comes in several different attractive colors.  I believe the colors you can choose from are black, turqoise, orange and green.  The mirror is probably a special for the college crowd , so if you don’t have a full length mirror get one quick before they are gone.  I have previously seen full length mirrors that hook over door frames for $19 to $39.

Popularity: 32% [?]

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Two Products That Will Give You Back Your Radiance

Monday, July 6th, 2009

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Popularity: 39% [?]

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You Don’t Have to Lose Weight to Start Looking Your Best

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Welcome to Dressing for Comfort, Confidence & Style, a brand new blog from Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore.”

Nancy is a professionally trained personal image consult.  She was trained by Color 1 Associates in 1991.  Her passion to help other women learn to love themselves and be less self critical came out of our own struggles to feel good in her short, plump body.   One day in 1990 she discover a book by Mary Duffy called, “How to Make The Body You Have Look Like The Body You Want.”

After reading the book she realized that this is not possible but you can still look good no matter what shape or size you are.   The way to do this is to understand your shape and choose clothing that flatters your shape.  Looking good is not about wearing the latest trends or being skinny and tall.  Its about understanding your face and body shape, knowing your most flattering shades of color (most people can wear 40 -90 shades) and understanding how to combine colors so you can look your best and feel confident wearever you go.

Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore,” can be reached at nrgoldblatt@gmail.com/ or 410-235-5325/ Her website is www.WardrobeWiz.com/ She is available to work with individuals and groups in Baltimore and surrounding areas.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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