Style Archives - Small Things Are Big Things

April 1, 2016 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Does truSculpt work? – My First Treatment

Does truSculpt work? That’s what I set out to discover!
The weather is heating up and it’s time to pull those bikinis out from the bottom of our drawers and assess our assets. (Or in my case, tankini!)

Do you know what truSculpt is? (I didn’t either until I became a Mombassador for CosmetiCare.)

TruSculpt is a nonsurgical energy-based procedure that delivers therapeutic heat to the deep subcutaneous tissue layer.

In real people talk: TruSculpt is a med-spa procedure that kills fat cells with heat.

KILL fat cells. Sign me up!!!

The treatment took about an hour, but that includes taking before pictures, and receiving a thorough explanation of the process. The next one will only take about 45 minutes.

The machine heats up a little rectangle box to 46 degrees celsius (that’s about 114 degrees fahrenheit).
It’s hot!
But the technician will gradually heat it up and it doesn’t really hurt till the last 25 seconds. And, really, what is 25 seconds if it actually works to get rid of my fat cells!?!?!

The Medical Esthetician systematically moved the little heated box across my belly. Three rectangles on the bottom and three rectangles on the top. The heated box stays on in each spot for 5 minutes.

After the fat cells are murdered, my lymphatic system will flush them out. But I won’t see any results for about 12 weeks! (I’ll be updating my progress after my second treatment. Stay tuned!)

Below is my belly right after the treatment. Crazy, right. It felt slightly sensitive to the touch but not like a sunburn. And the redness was gone after about 2 hours. I didn’t even think about it because there was no pain at all!

Now I have to drink lots of water and eat lots of veggies to flush this fat out of my system!

I tweeted through my treatment!
Check out my tweets for some great truSculpt FAQs:

October 22, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

#CosmetiCareMoms VIP Event – You’re invited!

It’s no secret, I got botox… and loved it! If you have been wanting to learn more about the medspa treatments I got (or just want to hang out with champagne and her d’oeuvres) join me at the #CosmetiCareMoms VIP Event.

When: November 5, 2015
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. *Adult-only event.
Where: CosmetiCare Plastic Surgery Center and Medspa
1101 Bayside Drive, Suite 100
Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
You need to RSVP: 949.273.2663 or email inquiry@cosmeticare.com
Why go? #CosmetiCareMoms VIP event is an opportunity for you to learn about the latest in preventative beauty care and non-invasive procedures. Beauty Begins With Knowledge!
Find out lots about the event here.
Many women have questions about aesthetic technology, lasers, body sculpting and other cosmetic
procedures and this event gives them a no-pressure and fun experience to get their questions answered so you can age gracefully and with confidence.

AND PRIZES!!! Attendees will receive loads of opportunity-drawing tickets to win…

Skin Medica TNS Essential Serum ($270.00 Value)
40 Units of Botox ($400.00 Value)
Melt the Fat 1 TruSculpt Treatment ($499.00)
Luscious Lips – 1 Syringe of Juvederm Ultra Plus ($595.00 Value)

I’m dying people!! Come and maybe you’ll win and we can hang out for the evening with other awesome moms and without kids!!

At the #CosmetiCareMoms VIP event you’ll get to visit CosmetiCare’s seven signature rooms, to learn more about noninvasive beauty treatments, like the ones I got…
(see above pic of my “after” face)

In the Skin Care and Glow Room, discover aesthetic technology with instant results and
zero downtime.
Marvel at TruSculpt, a 100 percent noninvasive body contouring option with no downtime, in the Fat Melting Room. (yes please!)
In the Laser Room (nothing to do with Star Wars), consider painless laser hair removal.
Freeze out frown lines with techniques presented in the Freeze & Fill Room, or head over to the Nip Tuck Room to consult with CosmetiCare’s founder Dr. Niccole and his partner physicians.
Curious about costs? Request no-interest financing in the Care Credit Room

But don’t wait till the VIP party!
Enter to win $250 of CosmetiCare Spa Services right now. Enter in the box below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Discover more about CosmetiCare on their site, Facebook, and Instagram.

(How awesome is it that their model has freckles?!?!!!)

October 11, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Prevention with CosmetiCare – Suddenly I’m Old

I looked in the mirror, and suddenly I’m old.

I’ve always been happy with the way I look.
(I think more women need to say that out loud. So why don’t you just say it right now, even if you don’t believe it.)
I remember being in my early 20s thinking, ‘I can’t wait’ for those smile lines and wrinkles around my eyes to make an appearance. Like a badge of honor for a happy life spent laughing with friends and family.

Hahahahahahaha… (the innocents of youth)

Now, I spend a few minutes every day poking at my face and pulling it up on the sides and thinking… what the H-E-Double hockey sticks happened?!?!? And ‘if only’ this part of my cheek was lifted an eighth of an inch my whole face would look better.

It stinks. I don’t want to feel ugly.
I really don’t.
I mean, my husband tells my I’m pretty all the time… and I’m sure he means it.
But I also sleep with him, and I’ve heard men will say anything to get a girl in the sack.
Do I find my value in what other people think of me?
I’ve actually thought about this a lot.
I don’t. But when I look in the mirror, I want to like what I see.

I’m 35 now and I know about green leafy vegetables (she types as she is shoving cheese-its in her mouth), and I wear sunscreen everyday (it’s in my beauty balm, and that counts right?), I drink loads of water (I really do, I can’t get enough and I rarely drink soda… I crave a Dr. Pepper every so often… well I crave a sip of Brad’s DP. Hahahahaha!)

Any-hoo, what I’m saying is, I don’t think the cleanser-toner-moisturizer-sunscreen routine is enough anymore. I know I don’t want a face lift. That scares me.
(Side Note: If I ever go under the knife, it will be for liposuction or a tummy tuck. #justbeingreal)

Praise the Lord, I was chosen by CosmetiCare to be one of their #CosmetiCareMoms at just the right time!

I have to admit, when they invited me to be involved, I was like, “Have you read my blog?” It’s not really the fashion-forward-style-tip type thing… I blog more about inner beauty and how the Small Things we do in our lives can make a big difference in our family, community and the world. But after hearing the heart of the CosmetiCare medspa and meeting Dr. Michael Niccole, his family and his staff, (AND trying the hydrafacial, Juvederm and Botox), I’m sold.

#CosmetiCareMoms

CosmetiCare isn’t about copying someone else’s face or changing the way you look, they are about helping people love the way they already look. And giving women the tools they need to maintain their natural beauty. This really has to start before you start to get wrinkles to slow down the signs of aging or or treat issues like acne and brown spots. If you start taking care of these things now with nonsurgical treatments, then you won’t “need” something more invasive later. (Related Note: I’m using the word “need” loosely. This isn’t about conforming to another person’s ideal beauty, but making an individual feel more comfortable in their own skin.)

Prevention with CosmetiCare Tips…

– Don’t go it alone. Build a trusting relationship with anti-aging experts who can give expert, up-to-the-minute advice and create a skin regime just for you. Only trust your skin to a medspa managed and staffed by professionals (certified nurses, estheticians and surgeons).

– Botox won’t let you down. Start to use Botox as a preventative wrinkle-smoothing measure before the severe frown lines between the eyebrows, form. You could postpone those wrinkles for years, and no one would even know! (I can attest to that!!)

– The lift without the snip. Loss of volume in cheeks can make a women look sad or even angry. Voluma is an injection that adds volume and lift to your cheeks. It has the ability to enhance contour and create a more youthful profile without needing to take a drastic, invasive step like implant surgery.

– Plump it up. Young, healthy skin is resilient and plump because of the natural existence of a hydrating substance called hyaluronic acid (HA). Age and sunbathing (hey there everyone in So Cal) reduced the HA level in your skin. Less HA is the culprit for facial wrinkles and folds – those parentheses lines around your nose and mouth. Fillers like JUVÉDERM are the medspas’ version of HA. They can even out wrinkles around the mouth and nose with one treatment! It’s natural-looking results last up to a year – ideal for a woman on the go.

– Lasers! Orange County boasts an average of 278 consultatively sunny days a year. We love soaking up that sunshine – until we see the results, including sun damage, freckles and lesions. Medspas use laser resurfacing to remove layers of skin cells rather than the damaged ones only, and can reduce the appearance of scars, minimize deep wrinkles and even out skin tone. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) uses light pulses that target darker pigmentation in the skin, breaking up discoloration and leaving lighter areas of skin untouched. IPL also is used to fade freckles and lesions.

I found the ones that are right for me. Which one is right for you?
Schedule a consultation with a medspa to find out.

Discover more about CosmetiCare on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube.

September 9, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

I Tried Juvederm at CosmetiCare and it was Intense!

I tried Juvederm at CosmetiCare …and it was intense!

If you are following along on instagram, I was chosen to be a CosmetiCare Mom! I’ve tested some of their popular treatments and now I’m sharing my opinions.
First I tried the HydraFacial (amazing) then botox and finally Juvederm.

This was out of my comfort zone and I was very nervous at the appointment.

My medspa provider, Suzanne Rogers, was really great (she did my botox treatment as well). So far, all of the CosmetiCare staff has been really great! She walked me through the whole process. Even when I passed out.
Yes, you read that correctly.
We’ll get there.

Juvederm is a very daring treatment (to me) but I really trust the people at CosmetiCare. Juvederm is a smooth gel filler that plumps out wrinkles. The gel is hyaluronic acid and is so safe you can drink it. Suzanne said by adding some filler around my cheekbones the bags under my eyes would be much less noticeable. This was really stepping out of my comfort zone.

The Juvederm injections were a little more painful than the botox (but nothing crazy) and the gel made a funny clicking noise as it is being injected. This is when I started getting a little woozy… and my hand started to feel a little tingly. I thought I was maybe dying of a heart attack (paranoid much?), I told Suzanne, and she got me some ice and had me lay flat for a few minutes. Then I was good to finish.

So, did I actually pass out cold? No.
Did I start to blackout? Yes.
I was seriously so so nervous.

Below is my before picture.
Even when my face is relaxed, you can see lines across the top of my forehead.
I don’t mind them that much, but it’s one of those things I know will only get worse with time… unless I start some sort of prevention plan NOW… before the wrinkles set permanently.
I think I would mind that quite a bit!

I got Juvederm at CosmetiCare 3 weeks ago so I’ve been able to get used to the way my face looks a feels and I’m super happy with the results! I really don’t get why there is such a stigma on medspa treatments. I mean women spend thousands on make-up/skincare and hair color with no stigma. And think about the chemicals going on your body every single day in skincare. (Well, not on mine because I use this.) That gives me a little more grace for the botox. (At least that’s what I tell myself!)

I’ll lay out my pros and cons for my CosmetiCare Juvederm treatment.

Juvederm ($800):
Cons –
-You get poked and it hurts.
-It almost made me pass out.
-It makes a creepy clicking noise… and although Suzanne warned me… it was weird.
-My cheekbones were sore for over a week. Everything looked great from the outside but I was little sensitive to the touch.

Pros –
-Injections don’t take long.
-The results last a year. YES, A YEAR!!!
-Looks so natural. People will say you look good or well rested, but they won’t guess you had injections.
-No injection marks or downtime.
-It will get rid of the bags under your eyes and keep your face looking fresh, not droopy.
–It works.

Final thoughts on Juvederm –
I’m so happy with the results for the bags under my eyes. I might start doing this yearly or every 18 months in a few years.

I can’t stress enough with both the Juvederm (and botox), that it really works!

Buuuut you are trusting someone with your face. Don’t take it lightly… this is your face people!!! Go with someone you trust. Dr. Michael Niccole has run this family owned business for 33 years. I’ve met his wife and his kids and they are good people. Really. CosmetiCare is located in Newport Beach and the staff is great. They know what they are doing and you really feel like you are part of the family when you are there for your appointments.

Here is a picture of me without make-up in the morning.
It’s from a snapchat with my hubby.
Sometimes I like to rub it in that I get to work at home in my PJs and drink percolated coffee while he is slaving away in an office.
#MarriedCoupleConversations

Read about my botox treatment at CosmetiCare too!

September 8, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

I got botox at CosmetiCare… and liked it!

I tried botox at CosmetiCare …and I liked it!

I always said I would NEVER do any kind of plastic surgery or beauty-type procedure. Even non-invasive ones. Mind you, I said that when I was in my mid-twenty with no wrinkles, and when I thought I was fat… but was 40 pounds lighter than I am today.

Do you ever want to go back in time and punch yourself in the face?
Me too.

Moving on…
You may have seen on instagram, I was chosen to be a CosmetiCare Mom! I get to test some of their most popular treatments, then give my opinion.
I tried the HydraFacial first and it was amazing!! I noticed my deepest wrinkles looked more shallow for about 2 months. But I wanted to try something a little more daring.

Botox? Well, that’s daring. Let’s do it!

I arrived for my appointment terrified.
Like heart-pounding-out-of-my-chest terrified!!!
They have coffee in their waiting room and that helped.
Even though it is a “medical” spa, the waiting room is cozy, it could use some magazines though. I’ve never had to wait very long so they probably don’t really need them that bad.

I was so nervous when I was called into the procedure room, but my medspa provider, Suzanne Rogers, was so comforting and encouraging. Each staff member at CosmetiCare is so friendly! She has been doing this for 15 years (yes folks, that was my first question) and talked me through everything.

Suzanne warned me the botox shots would hurt a bit. But they were fast and didn’t hurt me at all. It felt a little like acupuncture, and only took a few minutes.

Now that I’m almost a month out from my CosmetiCare medspa experience I have no idea why I was so worried or why there is such a stigma on this kind of thing. Seriously. I have friends who started saving for their boob jobs as soon as they found out they were pregnant with their first child. A huge majority of women don’t bat an eye about going under anesthesia, getting cut apart, then adding implants. It might be an Orange County thing (and if it is, then it’s coming to your town in a few years), but sometimes it’s hard to spot a woman in her 40s without implants. And I mean, how many people are seeing your boobs? Padding would do the same thing. But, botox? Something you can do in minutes. Never! And a gazillion people see your face every day!
That doesn’t make any sense.

I also should be clear that I liked the way I looked before the botox. I don’t even care if that sounds vain. I know I’m not a super model (and I don’t want to look like one… I like food too much… but I would like to travel like a super model). I don’t think I needed botox or any kind of treatments, but it sure was fun!!

I’ll lay out my pros and cons for my botox CosmetiCare treatments of below:

Botox ($400):
Cons –
-I got poked and injected with a drug.
-My forehead felt numb for the evening.
-I can’t make my forehead wrinkle anymore. (Is that really a con?)

Pros –
-The pokes didn’t hurt at all.
-It took minutes. (Less than a hour if you count waiting and drive time.)
-I can’t make my forehead wrinkle anymore! And because I can’t make my forehead wrinkle the lines on my forehead aren’t getting deeper and deeper every year.
-No injection marks or downtime.
-Lasts 4 months. (But I’ve heard it can last 6ish on some people.)
-It really works! Although it costs $$, since it works, it’s well worth it. More than the expensive wrinkle creams which don’t yield quick or effective results.

Final thoughts on botox –
I loved it. I’m considering making it part of my “don’t-let-yourself-go” routine. It lasts 4ish months, but I feel like if I do it every year it won’t break the bank and will keep my wrinkles from etching deeper into my forehead as I get older. A preventative measure.

I can’t stress enough with both the botox and Juvederm, that it actually works! You know how you go to the gym to get skinny. You shell out a monthly membership and childcare, work your behind off hours a week, and eat organic kale, all in the hope that you’ll look better in your jeans… in 6 months. With these CosmetiCare treatments you shell out some money and in one hour you have your results. It’s the best. Ever.

With that being said (typed), if you go to some random place you might get a botched job, or have a bad experience. I highly recommend CosmetiCare in Newport Beach. Dr. Michael Niccole has run this family owned business for 33 years. They know what they are doing and you really feel like you are part of the family when you are there for your appointments.

Below are some before and after pictures of my botox-ed forehead. They were both casual and I’m making the same facial expression so you can easily see the difference. I’m so expressive with my forehead that make-up was starting to build up in the creases by the end of the day.

discovery-cube

And I can still look surprised… just a younger surprised.

Here is us on the Tower of Terror at Disneyland.
Though I think the people behind us, not my botox, really steal the show!

Tower-of-Terror

Read about my Juvederm treatment at CosmetiCare too!

March 29, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Natural Everyday Make-up {featuring Younique 3D Fiber Lashes }

People compliment me all the time on my natural face. Little do they know, it takes minutes to do in the morning and costs pennies!
I use a hodge podge of items and I discovered most over the years through trial and error. I’m also a creature of habit – if I have a product I love, I stick with it.
Buuuut… I did discover a new mascara that takes my takes my natural look up a notch. It’s from a new make-up brand called Younique and I’m pretty impressed with the results.

Here is a breakdown of my Natural Everyday Make-up for Pennies {per face}.

1. Mary Kay: TimeWise Cleanser 2. Urban Decay: Beauty Balm
3. Bare Minerals: Warmth 5. Rimmel: Scandaleyes Flex 6. Younique: 3D Fiber Lashes {my secret weapon for taking things up a notch}

I did a little Vlog Demo for the Younique 3D Fiber Lashes because this stuff is crazy and a little intimidating because you are adding actual little fibers to your lashes to lengthen them.

Something “younique” about Younique (see what I did there?…hehehe) is they are all natural products and they actually list all the ingredients for each kind of make-up on their site.

You can get your own in the Small Things Virtual Younique Lash Bash. It starts now and ends March 31st at midnight. Just click HERE and order away! Melanie, (one of my friends from High School) is my Younique Rep and she is offering a FREE GIFT with EVERY purchase made!! AND for every $20.00 spent you will be entered in a drawing for a FREE lip gloss (aka if you spend $100, you get 5 entries for the drawing). The winner will be announced on April 1st.

Enjoy, my friends!

Disclosure: Melanie gave me a free Younique 3D Fiber Lashes set, but all the opinions are my own. Also I was eating Famous Amos cookies the whole time I was writing this post. I’ve gobbled up like 30 and I’m going to be sick. Whew, so glad to get that of my chest!