Tomorrow!

Just under 24 hours now until the start of our Virtual Spa Weekend. You don't want to miss me in all my "glory" as I kick off the weekend sans makeup, messy hair and in my bathrobe now do you? (Yes, I've already set the YouTube to auto-post tomorrow evening, so there's no going back now!) Get a jumpstart on the Weekend with yesterday's early bird entry special as you help me spread the word.

See you back here again tomorrow night for a whirlwind Weekend of around 20 beauty posts, devotionals, guest blogs and give-aways spread over 50 hours! Don't miss out on a single post, join my mailing list and or become a follower of InnerBeautyGirlz.com right away. :)

Mineral Makeup Discount

Affordable Mineral Makeup™ is offering a discount at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com for 10% off your entire order from now through May 10, 2009. Use discount code "mothersday09" at checkout.

(For my readers dealing with heartache over this coming Mother's Day, please know that you are in my prayers. I do not create the discount codes or I would have named it something else, but I didn't want you to miss out on the discount just because it mentioned Mother's Day either.)

Early Bird Spa Entries

OK, by now I hope everyone knows that we have an exciting Virtual Spa Weekend starting this Friday afternoon. I would love your help spreading the word! In thanks, I'm offering one person an $18 pink beaded necklace from Gurrlie Girl. This necklace consists of 6 beautiful strings of beads, each over 4 feet long, knotted together to be worn as a set. They can also be untied and used as a faux scarf either as a grouping or in individual strands. Very feminine!

So how will the Virtual Spa Weekend give aways work you ask? Well, let me tell you. :)

Through out the weekend there will be a seires of posts. Most will be beauty tips from me, and a few will be guest blogger spotlights from Hannah's Prayer memebers, small business representatives, and women interested in beauty, both the inward and outward kinds. The pink Gurrlie Girl necklace will go to someone who has commented on any one of these beauty or guest blogs all weekend long. You may receive one entry for each general comment you make, starting with this post and going through Sunday evening. You will also earn additional entries for doing specific things like sharing a link to the Weekend on your blog, Facebook or Twitter, then coming back and posting your link in an additional comment for each promotional activity you have done. In fact, you can start spreading the word about Virtual Spa Weekend right now to start earning entries!

There will also be give-aways for everything from chocolate and home decor, to jewerly and Tupperware. When a post is made offering a specific give-away, you must reply to that individual thread to be entered in that contest. At the end of the weekend I will randomly draw names from each set of contest entries and announce each winner early next week. Be sure to include your email address or other way for me to contact you when you leave your comments or I may have to select alternative winners if I cannot let you know that I've drawn your name. I'll put prize winners and contest sponsors in touch with one another next week for mailing information to get prizes to their new homes. :)

of Eyebrows and Editing

I happened upon this cute story on Mary DeMuth's So You Want to Be Published blog. It caught my fancy at the first description of "eyebrows wandering haphazardly across my forehead like a village of lost caterpillars." Being both a writer and a beauty advisor, this little tale of waxing and tweezing seems especially clever to me. As you read it, I challenge you to think beyond editing and writing, to the perspective of God as our very professional "Editor" who has full mastery of our native language and helps us to wisely choose the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heats. Enjoy!

So You Want to Be Published: AFP: B.J. Hamrick on tweezing and writing

P.S. Be sure to read Thusrday's post here on the InnerBeautyGirlz blog to hear all about the Virtual Spa Weekend Coming May 1-3!

Virtual Spa Weekend!

The first weekend in May, Hannah's Prayer Ministires (Christian infertility and pregnancy loss support ministry I helped launch nearly 15 years ago) will be holding a retreat in OH. There will be about 40 ladies gathered to encourage and support one another. The theme of the weekend will be "Beautiful In His Sight" and the guest speaker is Ginger Garrett, author of Beauty Secrets of the Bible (as well as a devotional book on infertility and several award-winning Christian fiction titles). I know it will be a wonderful, blessed weekend for all who attend!

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of women who are regular participants on the Hannah's Prayer Community Forums who are unable to attend for a variety of reasons (mostly, the prohibitive cost of travel) but would really love to be there. As the excitement builds on our Forums for the ladies who will be attending, the disappointment for those who cannot is growing as well. And so I'm going to be hosting a Virtual Spa Weekend here on my InnerBeautyGirlz blog from May 1-3.

This event will be open to everyone, but especially geared toward the ladies of Hannah's Prayer. I am looking for home-spa ideas, beauty treats and suggestions, guest blogger articles on beauty (with fun tips for our bodies, but also a focus on inner beauty), and product donations for drawings and give-aways throughout the weekend. Since my target readers that weekend will all be dealing with infertility or the death of a baby, I need to specifically avoid child-related posts and products (like using examples from motherhood in your stories).

Please share your suggestions for this event! Have a beauty topic you would like to write a guest blog about? Have a product you would like to donate as a give-away (and get your business featured in the process)? Have any creative ideas and suggestions for creating an at-home-spa experience? I would love to hear from you!

For instructions about how to participate in Virtual Spa Weekend and earn contest entries, check out the Early Bird entries post. :)

Wednesday only sale

Tomorrow only (4/22, EST) save 10% off your entire Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order using coupon code earthday09 at http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com

For orders of $100 or more, receive a free 10g sifter jar of mineral makeup in the shade of your choice. You must put the name of your shade choice in the comments section when you place your order to receive your free item.

Pretty Nails and Skin

I've been doing some research on foot care for an upcoming devotional post (more on that in a couple weeks) and happened across a an entire site of Skin Care Recipes and Remedies. I'm no associated with this site in any way and still exploring it myself but have sure enjoyed the reading and thought you might too.

While you are learning to take great care of your largest organ (skin) why not pamper yourself a bit more with Piggy Paint, an orderless, non-toxic nail polish, marketed as "kid friendly" but looks great on my nails too. Their slogan is "natural as mud" and the ingredients list is amazingly simple.

Laurie Marcolla, owner of Piggy Paint, has offered InnerBeautyGirlz readers an exclusive discount of 20% off your entire purchase from her website, including sale items, by using code THANKYOU20L from now until 6/1/2009. Spend $25 and shipping is FREE!

Essentail Oils and Infertility Support

I just signed up as an affiliate with Mountain Rose Herbs. I actually haven't even tried their products yet, but I'm drawn to the site for several reasons including that I look out my window at "Mt. Rose" everyday (OK, probably not the one the company was named for, but a mountain that I think is very beautiful). "My" Mt. Rose plays an important part in one of the fiction books I hope to some day write. So even just at the name, this company already had my attention!

They have come highly recommended to me by Leon of the Glowing Diva message boards, a woman I trust for helpful, natural beauty advice. She loves the products, so I'm giving them a try. If anyone else wants to make a purchase, I earn a small commission on any orders placed by entering their website through my referral link at http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/cgi-bin/Main.pl?AID=101123&BID=30 or any of the button/banner links to the site found along my sidebar or in my posts on this blog.

I think my first order will be Lemon Flavoring Extract ($2.97 for 2 ounces) from April's Specials along with both some Tea Tree Essential Oil and some Peppermint Oil to mix in shampoo. I'm so excited to try these!

While we are on the topic of beautiful scents, don't forget to register for the Hannah's Prayer Ministries infertility and miscarriage retreat, Beautiful In His Sight, to be held May 1-3, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The guest speaker will be Ginger Garrett, author of several books including Beauty Secrets of the Bible and Moments for Couples Who Long for Children. Along with many wonderful beauty secrets, Ginger is an expert on essential oils and fragrances that can enrich your beauty regimen, so her book is a great resource if you are interested in essential oils but wondering how to use them! The retreat registration deadline has been extended to this Wednesday, April 15, so if you or someone you love could use some support and encouragement in the areas of infertility or pregnancy loss, please visit http://www.Hannah.org for details right away!

Chocolate Give-Away

OK, so it's not technically a "beauty" post, but I haven't posted any give-aways in a while and this one sure sounds delicious to me. Stop and Smell the Chocolates is celebrating their 1 Year Blogaversary Give-Away through Monday, April 13. To enter, just visit the chocolate give-away website at stopnsmellthechocolates.blogspot.com and leave a comment. How easy is that? If you could state in your comment that you found her site through the Inner Beauty Girlz blog, I would appreciate it. ;)

Beauty in Death?

Today is "good Friday". It is a beautiful day, not because of the horrid, traggic things that happened to our Savoir on this day over 2,000 years ago, but because He offered Himself on my behalf and because Friday isn't the end of the story! I just finished reading 1 Corinthians 15 and would encourage you to do the same as we prepare our hearts for this celebration of Christ's resurrection from, and victory over death. Yes, this is a beautiful thing!



Visit www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and get 10% off your entire order of Affordable Mineral Makeup™ when you enter the word resurrection in the coupon section.
Offer valid now until midnight Sunday 4/12/09.

New Makeup Choices

Teen Mineral Makeup™, a sister company of Affordable Mineral Makeup™, has merged into Affordable Mineral Makeup™ offering customers many new selections in makeup choices. Come explore all the new options at http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com