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Motivational quotes to inspire you.

"There is an art to living well, a meaning for our lives. The careers we choose are our pathways to mastery. They are to amplify our capabilities and values, our character and courage. Answering three questions continually, no matter our age or station, will keep us on a course of productivity, integrity and fulfillment: Who am I? Where am I going? Why am I going there?"

"...God wants [you] to have [your] reward. Prepare to claim it. Have a vision for yourself and others far beyond the present reality. Declare it and work toward it."

- Susan L. Taylor

For more posts like this, check out my blog, Mocha Writes.

The Bare Mineral

Many women with dark ethnic skin tones have been concerned about their skin turning ashy when they use mineral cosmetics. This has been expressed to me on more than one occasion so I decided it was probably time to explain exactly why this happens with some mineral makeup, but not with all minerals. Many also insist it is linked totally to the use of Titanium Dioxide in the products. This is only true to a degree.

Titanium Dioxide, when used in high concentrations, can cause an ashy appearance to dark skin since it is considered a pigment for lightening shades. It also has excellent light refracting properties only surpassed by diamonds, giving a brighter appearance to the face. However, not all minerals use this ingredient in high concentrations even if you see it as the first ingredient on the list. It may only be at a 5-25% concentration in the overall formula. If an ingredient list is primarily Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides and Mica, odds are this would be a formula that can cause considerable problems for turning dark skin gray or ashy.

A high quality blend of minerals and / or botanicals should readily melt with any skin tone if the ratios are put into proper proportion and Titanium is utilized more as a sunscreen component rather than a pigment for changing depth of shades. Different mineral makeup blends can achieve the lightening effects on pigments without it causing a white-out effect. Our blends of dark mineral foundation shades melt with your skin tone and the effect is the same for Delicate Rose Petal™, Dewy Rose Petal™ and Velvet Rose Petal™.

Another reason you may also appear ashy or gray is you are choosing the incorrect shade for your skin tone. If you should have a lot of golden, yellow or red in your skin using a shade that is geared toward neutrals, dark olive or cool chocolate (blue/red skin tones) will definitely create an ashy / gray appearance to the skin. So what you may have once been blaming on Titanium Dioxide, may actually be caused by too cool of a shade for your color. Also some companies may use black oxide in excess to darken shades and this will actually gray the shade instead of darkening it.

One other likely reason, and one that many dark skinned women don’t wish to accept at times, is heredity can give you a greenish / yellow cast to your face. This is your natural skin tone and is usually indicative of Olive skin. If you stray too far from this natural skin tone by trying to infuse too much red to counteract the yellow / greenish cast, you will appear as though you are wearing the wrong shade and can look pasty and ashy. Try to enhance your natural skin tone since this will look best on you. Other shading options are available through blush and bronzer if you wish to perk up a certain skin tone. A mineral makeup foundation done properly that truly matches and mirrors your natural skin will enhance it and you will suddenly appreciate what you were blessed with since your face will glow with the correct shade using a premium mineral makeup.

Another variation; dark skinned women wanting to counteract the deep reds they have in their skin for more of a golden yellow. Yet again, covering the deep reds that you possess naturally due to the depth of color you have, this will make you look like you are wearing the wrong shade. Too much yellow on a deep reddish brown skin will give you an unnatural appearance.

The best way to avoid a problem is to always try samples and make sure you purchase those in the warm deep golden / red tones if you have a reddish brown to caramel skin, or maybe try a more neutral tone to mix to adjust shade color or to enhance a true Olive skin. Sometimes unless the blue / red skin tone is quite obvious such in very dark skin tones, you may just not realize what you are doing to your skin with the incorrect shading. Sending a photo of yourself in natural daylight which includes face, shoulder, and neck and chest area to Sterling Minerals™ is always helpful so that I or one of my staff may further assist you in getting you close to a skin tone match with minimal sampling. You can send your photo to us at info@sterlingminerals.com.

Follow these simple practices and you will learn to “Celebrate Your Natural Beauty™”.

This article was taken from Sterling Minerals Skin Care Guide

Visit http://myhspot.blogspot.com to read more about healthy skin and press the tab titled The 411...About Beauty to see natural and mineral makeup

Wouldn’t it be great to turn your fun trips into tax cuts? If you plan to take any trips this summer, here are some ideas that will help you get the most out of your travel budget.

1. Make all your business appointments before you leave for your trip.

Most people believe that they can go on vacation and simply hand out their business cards in order to make the trip deductible. Wrong.

You must have at least one business appointment before you leave in order to establish the "prior set business purpose" required by the IRS.

The first thing that you need to do is set up appointments in the various cities that you will visit before you leave. One way to establish this is to post an ad for distributors in the town’s newspaper. You could then interview those who respond when you get to the business destination.

2. Make It All "Business Travel."

In order to deduct all on-the-road business expenses, you must be traveling on business. By definition, you are on business travel whenever you are sleeping overnight in a strange bed - conducting business, that is!

3. Make sure that you deduct all of your on-the-road -expenses for each day you're away.

For every day you are on business travel, you can deduct 100% of lodging, tips, shoe-shines, laundry and dry cleaning, car rentals, and 50% of your food. According to the IRS, no receipts are required for any travel expense under $75 per expense. The only exception would be for lodging.

4. Sandwich weekends between business days.

Interestingly, the IRS notes that if you have a business day on Friday and another one on Monday, you can deduct all on-the-road expenses during the weekend.

5.Make the majority of your trip days business days.

The IRS says that you can deduct transportation expenses if business was the primary purpose of the trip. The majority of the days in the trip must be for business activities. Otherwise, you cannot make any transportation deductions. This is an all-or-nothing proposition.

With proper planning, you can deduct most of your vacations if you combine them with business. That can make your life a lot less taxing!

To learn more about tax strategies for small business owners, sign up for my newsletter at www.tbsusa.com.

For Additional Camp Information Please Visit: www.steviebaggs57.com

For Day 6 in our social media success challenge for dance studios, I’d like to emphasize the importance of using all different types of media to promote your dance studio. With millions of dance studios,
dance companies, and dance-related businesses out there, you may wonder,

“How can I stand out amongst my competitors?”

The answer to that question is: Video

Videos allow you to show the world who you are, what you (and your business) are all about, and gives people an opportunity to get to know you on a more personal level. Even in today’s time of social media, e-mail, texting, etc., people still appreciate being able to see the face of the person who’s articles they’re reading, who they’re
conversing with through Facebook, Twitter, etc., and connect with them in a tangible way. This also helps to personalize your dance studio or brand in a way that will attract people to you and your business.

Check out a video that I did where I talk about my career as a professional dancer/dance instructor in New York City. It has some clips of my choreography at a recent performance, as well as testimonials
from some of my students about my dance classes.

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think about the video, and also how it
feels to put a face with the author of this article.

WebInterpreter.info is here!

In the midst of the Apples’ iPad and iPhone OS 4, you now can take the web wherever you go.

Now, whats this mean for me?, you say, a lot because you are now scratching your head wondering, how in the heck do I use this new cool gadget. But before you start fooling around with that, this weblog is your one-stop-shop for understanding the web and how to start your web endeavor and put them to successful use.

Welcome to Web Interpreter

“Translating web technology, transforming non-experts to experts.”

This weblog was created to translate web technology to non-experts and transform them into experts, or at least feel like an expert. Here at WebInterpreter.info you will find useful information such as: how to start/update your web site correctly, how to use HTML/CSS code for your site, picking the right social networks sites to market in, email marketing, creating email campaigns, and discovery of what technology is used on the web. As your Web Interpreter, I can help you create an effective plan and also point you in the right direction of web products and services you will need to make your web endeavors a success and in the process save you a lot of money!

Read more useful info about web technology at: http://webinterpreter.info

——————
So ask questions, or leave a comment. Let me be your Web Interpreter for your web solutions, whatever the case KNOWING the difference makes a world of a difference.

My daughter is eleven years old and was recently intrigued by the idea of entrepreneurship after watching Kimora Lee Simmons' on Life in the Fab Lane. We have been talking about starting an online business over the past few days and why my daughter wanted to start her own company. To my surprise I found that her reason is not just to make money.

The main reason she gave me was to use her love for art to do the work that she enjoys. As I sat stunned at the wisdom that came from such a young spirit, I realized that she had been attentively observing the many women entrepreneurs in her life. These women business owners have left a positive impression that she will carry with her for a lifetime. Like my daughter, I agree that owning a business is rewarding. For me, there are several highlights of being a work-at-home mom. One of the best parts is allowing my daughter to take a role in my business. No matter how large or small her assignment may seem, it is giving her a glimpse into my world. The lessons she learns, as I have now seen, are invaluable.

Another aspect that makes entrepreneurship a perfect fit for me is when I become an extension of companies that are run by women with young children at home. Nothing compares to seeing a woman who can cuddle an infant and feed a toddler while being coached on how to put a financial plan in place to grow her business. As a mother of four, I am proud to have learned how to build a successful home-based busienss and and continually get inspired when I see other business women in action.

Having knowledge is good but contributing what you know in a way that others can benefit and grow is important. When it all boils down to it, the greatest reward that I get from having my own business is sharing financial resources and shortcuts that help women bring additional income into their homes. And encouraging women in business to keep up the good work is the icing on the cake.

I would love to hear why you started or are thinking of starting your own business. What excites you about being a woman in business?

Feel free to post on your twitter, facebook, myspace & share with all your friends and family!!! Thank you so much for your support

"Click here to vote for my video for the Your OWN Show contest on the Oprah Winfrey Network!" http://bit.ly/baYHC1

Please click share to forward the BuzzZ--->>> thank you so much for your support --->>> VOTE As Many Times As You Can-->>>

Motivational quotes to inspire you.

Join me as I discuss moving past hurt & shame caused by infidelity with author, Rodney Winters.

Rodney is the author of "Go Into the House".

Click here to listen to full discussion.

From A Writer's POV is looking to fill two spots on our magazine; Business Owner of the month & Poet of the Month. Are you interested in being featured? Check out more details here and contact us! http://fromawriterspovmagazine.com/issue/may-2010/section/interviews-ads

There are many different strategies that you need to be aware of when creating wholistic plan for wealth. The options that you choose should help you minimize your income taxes. Everyone has different income scenarios and no two tax strategies are exactly alike. Customizing the right tax strategy begins with answering questions like: "What current tax laws exist?", Which ones affect me?", and "How can I customize a plan to reduce the taxes that I may owe at year end?"

As a business owner you can benefit from a tax reduction strategy. From a business perspective, the more after-tax income savings, the greater the profits a company will have to reinvest into operations. There will also be more profits available to distribute to owners and shareholders.

A tax plan is needed the moment there is income subject to tax. For many years tax advisors have customized strategies to help wealthy taxpayers reduce their tax liability. However, there is a greater need today among all income levels to know how to take advantage of strategies that create tax savings.

As with any plan there is a goal that you will want to achieve. In business tax planning, the major objectives are to reduce taxes and keep more of the money that you earn as an employee, self-employed person, or investor. By having a road map to guide you in the decisions that impact your income tax, you can learn how to stop loaning money to tax authorities interest free. Consider the money you pay out in the form of taxes that is returned to you as a refund. Now, take into account how much more effective it would be to have that same money available to you throughout the year. By using strategies to reduce taxes on income you can free up cash flow and have more money available for savings, investing, paying down debt, and to spend on things that you enjoy throughout the year.

To get assistance with developing a tax plan seek the advice of a qualified professional. Some great places to start are with a tax advisor, accountant, or financial advisor that specializes in income tax. These experts will have the background necessary to look at your current income and customize a plan that fits your financial goals using various income and tax scenarios.

If you don't have a tax plan in place already, I would like to invite you to TBS USA's Financial Center to learn more about tax strategies you can use in business.