Don't Be Afraid of a Sugar & Swank Makeover!

With a Sugar & Swank Makeover You Always Look Natural. You Always Look Like Yourself.

Take a look at these Before and After photos of some beautiful Sugar & Swank clients. More pictures are viewable throughout this blog, as well.








A Sugar & Swank makeover isn't about turning you into someone you're not. Conversely, when your Sugar & Swank makover is done you will look like yourself, just enhanced. Sugar & Swank listens to the client in order to understand their needs and helps them make changes to achieve their goals while still feeling comfortable in their new clothes or make-up.

October 3rd Party Was So Much Fun!

The Sugar & Swank party held on October 3rd was so much fun! Guests sipped on cocktails and munched on a variety of treats such as fresh shrimp, homemade pulled chicken sandwiches, spanakopita. Favored by all were the delectable creme puffs!

Jennifer Worick, NY Times Bestselling Author, Allure Magazine Beauty Contributor and RealSelf.com Beauty Editor spoke about beauty and gathered many beauty confessionals from agreeable party-goers which will soon be viewable on the RealSelf.com website. To learn more about Ms. Worick visit her website at www.jenniferworick.com. Her lastest book, The Prairie Girls Guide to Life is now on sale and can be purchased on Amazon.

Darcey Pickard, owner of Starjuice Aromtherapy, discussed the benefits of aromatherapy and how helpful it can be for the body. To learn more about Starjuice visit the website. www.starjuiceonline.com.

Sugar & Swank demonstrated the Galvanic Spa, the at-home facelift and facial machine, and did several makeovers with the new Fall colors such as Toast, Eggplant and Bronze Shimmer. Visit the Sugar & Swank website for more information on the Galvanic Spa and to tips on how to improve the look of your make-up. www.besugarandswank.com.

Look at These Homecoming Makeovers!

I had a great time doing Homecoming makeovers on some wonderful Mercer Island High Schoolers. Take a look! And be sure to call upon Sugar & Swank the next time you want to look especially pretty for a special event or if you just want to learn how to modernize your everyday make-up.

jennifer@besugarandswank/206-351-3213

Just a Trip to Costco

It was just a trip to Costco, but I couldn't find a thing to wear. Just a trip to Costco to pick up some basics, not even anything fancy like a grand piano or 25-piece set of Tupperware, yet I truly could not find a single thing in my closet to wear.

I didn't feel like pulling on my Fall of 07' go-to outfit of tunic, leggings and ballet slippers. My jeans felt snug. I tried on some sweatpants, but with what top? Grrr!

As my bed heaved with rejected options resting on top of other rejected options, my boyfriend, Jim, came in to chat. Just to chat.

"This has nothing to do with you," I barked, "But now is not a good time. I can't find anything to wear."

With a look of confusion, he started to back out of the room. "Are we going anywhere after Costco?" he dared to question.

"No." I responded.

"Then why . . . do you . . . does it matter what you wear?" he stammered.

His question annoyed me at first. Didn't he get it? But then I started to laugh at his response to my behavior. It wasn't that he didn't get it, he simply couldn't get it. Jim, like most men have it easy. Size "medium" always fits and always looks good. He just pulls on jeans, slips on a t'shirt and a slides into a pair of loafers or sneakers and off he goes.

He also couldn't get that it was exactly one week before I was to get a friendly monthly visit from Aunt Flo and that I never think anything looks good when she's on her way.

The thing is, it doesn't matter where you're going, we all want to look good and most importantly, feel good about ourselves when we get there. Not always easy. So when one of those, "I Don't Know What to Wear" days strikes, and it will, and most likely, without warning, Sugar & Swank suggests to:

- Nurture yourself
- Take the time you need to make the clothing (or hair, or make-up) choice that will make you feel best about yourself
- Try falling back on an old favorite you know always looks good
- Remember that you're probably wearing "Messed up Aunt Flo Wacked Out Hormone" goggles and that, in all reality, you look much better than you think.
- If all else fails, call Jennifer at a Sugar & Swank for a pep talk

Good Luck!

Starjuice Aromatherapy's Darcey Pickard - Before & After Pictures - Pretty Either Way

Recently I had the honor to do a makeover on Darcey Pickard, owner of Starjuice Aromatherapy, one of my favorite companies around! Darcey blends oils and essences to create formulas that smell great and truly benefit the user. Before blending full-time, Darcey was a Licensed Massage Practitioner for nearly 10 years. After such a long time in the industry, she saw a need for really high quality body care products rooted in the history and tradition of aromatherapy.

Thus, she created Starjuice Aromatherapy, holistic care for the 21st century, which offers uniquely packaged, fresh, personally created aromatherapy products like stellar spritzers, cosmic sugar scrubs and more.

Darcey's Starjuice Philosophy: "I've always believed in holistic health - treating the whole person and unlocking people's innate power to heal themselves. Starjuice enables me to share this philosophy with the world."

Learn more about Darcey and Starjuice Aromatherapy at www.starjuiceonline.com or meet Darcey in person at the upcoming Sugar & Swank event on October 3rd at 7 pm at the Sugar & Swank Studio. 3418 77th Place SE, Mercer Island.

RSVP to Jennifer Muscatel at jennifer@besugarandswank.com or 206-351-3213

I've Been Sugar & Swanking for Years

When I think about it, I realize I've been Sugar & Swanking from the get-go. I've always loved clothes and make-up. My parents only believed I was really sick when I would turn down a trip to the mall. Speaking of shopping, when I was about 12, Guess? debuted their zipper jeans and I just had to have a pair. My parents didn't believe in spending $50 on a pair of jeans (who would have thought jeans would one day cost $250 or more?) so the answer was continually "no". Finally, on a trip to New York City my dad told me that if I could go 10 seconds without laughing while he tickled my arm he'd buy me anything I wanted. He knew it'd be the Guess? jeans - but looking back I should have gone for something much bigger and better. In any case, it took a few days until I managed not to laugh for a whole 10 seconds but when I finally did, we went over to Bergdorf Goodman to choose the jeans. My parents decided that I couldn't get denim, only a dressier pink pair, and I was only allowed to wear them to nicer events, never to school. I remember almost not wanting them, they seemed so dorky compared to denim, but I wound up wearing them whenever I could. (I finally got a hand-me-down denim pair from my friend, Jennie Burns.)

If I couldn't dress myself exactly the way I wanted, I could certainly dress up my Barbies. I'd spend hours playing with the tall, slender, beautifully coiffed dolls while chewing sugar-free bubblegum and listening to Michael Jackson, Billy Joel or Weird Al Yankovic. More than once did these sweet ladies find their plastic hair hardened and burned when I tried to further style their hair with a curling iron. But their outfits were always to die for!

Just yesterday an old friend, Sy Fischer, sent an email reminding me that I've always understood how to dress people, not just dolls. I met Sy and his wife, Joyce, in 1996 when I was working at Neiman Marcus in Atlanta during the Olympic Games. Sy and Joyce were living in Tennessee at the time but had come to town, not for the Olympics, but so Joyce could have surgery. Sy was so consumed with worry that he left his entire garment bag at home in his closet. They stopped off at the mall, found parking in front of Neiman Marcus and planned to walk through it on their way to a less expensive store where they could find a few new pieces for Sy to wear while Joyce was treated. That is, until they met me. I quickly took the Fischers under my wing and found Sy several reasonably priced and fashionable selections that fit him perfectly. We completely hit it off and began a lifelong friendship that includes regular e-mail correspondence and visits across the country.

Dear Jen,

What a WONDERFUL idea! How I wished I lived closer so I too could have you, once again as my ”personal shopper”. Do you remember how we first met? In Atlanta, 1996 (can you believe it?) when Joyce was scheduled for surgery and I was so nervous, I left my clothes hanging in our closet in Knoxville.

I’ll never forget it. We walked into Neiman Marcus on our way in to the Mall. As we walked through the Men’s Department, we were greeted by this lovely young woman who asked if she could be of any help. (That, of course, was you.)

I told her about my problem and said that I didn’t think Neiman’s was best place for me to shop for casual clothes that I would use only for sitting in the hospital waiting room. You told me that the store was having a great sale and asked if you could show me a few things. Off you went and the next thing I knew, here you were with everything I needed – and at very reasonable, sale prices. You told me that you could further accommodate us by having the needed alterations done in about an hour. WOW! Talk about outstanding service! Of course, everything you picked out was perfect and we bought it all. As promised, an hour later, we returned to the store and my clothes were ready for me to pick up.

I guess that helping people is just "your thing". I know I'll never forget it! Of course, from that day on, we have been best friends. Thanks for being a part of my life!

Love,

Sy

It was a treat to read Sy's email and know that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. We each have to find what we are passionate about and pursue it. To some I'm sure it sounds vain, silly or mundane, but I've always been passionate about using fashion and beauty to help others improve how they feel about themselves. Sugar & Swank is the perfect vehicle to help me continue to explore this passion.

October 3rd Sugar & Swank Event Guest Featured in Seattle Weekly

Jennifer Worick, the special guest at the upcoming October 3rd Sugar & Swank event was recently featured in the Seattle Weekly. I'm not sure if the writer of the article really got Jennifer. To me she is the real-life Carrie Bradshaw. A woman with a voice that speaks to other women - probably because of her love, support and caring for women and all things girly. She's worked hard to publish 21 books and takes her profession very seriously. Most of all she's a total hoot and is fun and easy to be around. Read below and let me know if you think if Brian Miller from the Seattle Weekly got that. Better yet, come by on October 3rd to meet Jennifer in person and draw your own conclusions.

7 pm at the Sugar & Swank Studios on Mercer Island. 3418 77th Place SE. RSVP to Jennifer Muscatel at jennifer@besugarandswank.com or 206-351-3213.

Seattle’s Busiest Author Has No Time for the “I Have a Burning Need to Express” School of Literature
By Brian Miller

Attention, J.D. Salinger and all you authors out there who have trouble completing more than one book a decade (or three). Jennifer Worick has little patience for you because she's too busy getting published—about 20 books, by her count, over the past half-dozen years. She's the first to admit that tally comes mostly as co-author of various short guides and humor books, often based on ideas not her own. But lately, she's been the one out there flogging The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating and Sex at remote college campuses. "I'm huge in Kentucky this year," she says, laughing, while sitting at Zeitgeist Coffee, on a break from touring.

For Worick, the question is not whether the world wants to read another sensitive, coming-of-age account about an aspiring writer living in the heartland and her issues with her mother. Instead: Ask whether there's an identifiable book-buying demo of readers who, when confronted with a display at Barnes & Noble for Nancy Drew's Guide to Life, might think, "Hey, I used to love those books as a girl, and this looks funny." (Sample wisdom: "When bound and gagged, you can still tap out HELP in Morse code." Whether this applies to S&M is not addressed.)

Worick has identified those readers, learned to match marketing niche with subject and author, based largely on her background in publishing. "That was my favorite part of the job—brainstorming," she recalls. Based here in the '90s with Kirkland's Becker & Mayer! (a division of Chronicle Books), she then went back East to edit at an imprint of Perseus Books. There, she recalls, she got roped into contributing to the first Worst-Case Scenario guides because the two male co-creators "thought they needed a single woman for publicity purposes. That just led to me quitting my job." She finally went pure freelance and returned to Seattle two years ago. Today her bailiwick is "nonfiction humor books for women," encompassing other tongue-in-cheeky titles like The Action Heroine's Handbook, The Stuntwoman's Workout, and Girls' Night In: Spa Treatments at Home. (Hey, a freelancer's gotta eat!)

This fall, the Wallingford-based Worick has two titles out, one of them from Skipstone. (No, that's not a software company, arms manufacturer, or subprime lender; it's Mountaineers Books' new "lifestyle" imprint.) Backcountry Betty: Roughing It in Style ($14.95) gently prepares women in what might be called the Match.com demo to date and endure what might be called the Uptight Seattleite demo. In the woods. So, for example, the helpful glossary clarifies that "heat exhaustion" does not mean "Clive Owen was in my dreams"; and the backcountry cooking section features an excellent number of mixology suggestions for adding booze to the Crystal Light in your Nalgene bottle. (Editor's note: To enjoy a patented Wilford Brimley by campfire, add one part Country Time lemonade mix to however much vodka you can see in the dark. No cheating with your headlamp.) Wry illustrations by Seattle's Kate Quinby help set the tone.

For crafty types, Worick also has The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl (Taunton Press, $14.95), which is exactly that—Nancy Drew on steroids.

Though she's mostly hidden behind characters like Prairie Girl and Backcountry Betty, Worick eventually wants to create her own brand, some kind of new Erma Bombeck. Still, she's cautious about being trapped with the wrong one. Recalling a past meeting to discuss collaborating on a fitness book with Richard Simmons, she notes, "He has to live that persona 24 hours a day."

Eschewing fiction, Worick has no desire to add to the chick-lit canon. "I can't see one more hot-pink book" cover, she exclaims. Though she concedes the dating/relationship category "is evergreen" (like diet-health books).

For now, it's enough to maintain her various blogs and update her Amazon.com author page. She knows that marketing, after the writing, is the second half of her job description. Though she doesn't write until the publishing contract is signed, she adds, "I probably have 10–20 ideas on a to-do proposal list."

Will those ideas result in books as long and substantial as War and Peace? No, but neither is your bus ride.