With Black Friday just a few days away, online (and offline) shoppers are getting ready to snag some of the great deals that will be going on at all the major retailers.

For those that don’t know, Black Friday is the name given to the day after Thanksgiving Day in the United States, also known as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

Many people like to get their Christmas shopping done early, and sites like Amazon.com make it easy, inexpensive and convenient to do so. On Amazon you can buy anything from books to technology to beauty products. If you can think of it, chances are you can and will find it on Amazon.com. Amazon even goes as far as giving suggestions to what they think your gift recipient might like.

Also, here is an interesting Black Friday statistics infographic that was sent to me:

Source: WomensPersonalFinance.net

In our society, there is a lot of emphasis on women having to wear makeup every day. I even heard of some spending hours doing makeup before leaving the house to run some errands (they must have a lot of time on their hands)!!

On regular days, I don’t wear make-up at all, not even concealer. Being a student and having limited time to spend in front of the mirror is one reason for not wearing make-up. The other reason is that I don’t want to have clogged up pores.

Today, the worldwide spending on cosmetics is estimated at $19 billion a year. Makeup is a subset of the general category of “cosmetics” which refers to products that are primarily used to alter a user’s appearance. Daily use of make-up could get expensive.

My goal with this post is to let women know that they do not need to wear face-altering makeup every day to be considered “beautiful”.

In my opinion, I think that the use of prominent makeup should be limited to special occasions (or if you’re a model, photoshoots). I definitely limit make-up only to photoshoots.

First, using too much makeup is not very good for the skin because it does not allow the skin to breathe (of course, this depends on the make-up). Some make-up even clogs the pores too, which can cause breakouts.

Second, many guys don’t like it when women wear too much make-up (I actually surveyed some guys about this one), because the less make-up a woman wears, the less she appears to be “hiding” and thus is more confident in herself. Many women use make-up as a security blanket, or feel like they are not pretty enough if they don’t wear make-up. The truth is, YOU are beautiful.

Third, sometimes it is best to be yourself and be natural. I think that it is very important for a woman to have confidence in herself without having to cover her face in 2 lbs of concealer and face-altering eye shadows. Then again, that is only my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I like make up, just not all the time.

What do you think about make-up? Is it something that you wear to special occasions, or can you not leave the house without it?

Hey ladies and gentlemen,

It’s about time that I posted a behind-the scenes kind of post which will talk about some things that have gone on outside of this blog. I haven’t been updating it as often, but that does not mean that I have forgotten about you. You are the best, and you definitely keep me writing & taking photos! I appreciate all the great emails that you send me from time to time.

My goal is to provide you all with information that you can benefit from if you are somehow involved in the fitness, fashion, beauty, and modeling industry, as well as share photos and other little fill-in tidbits.

With that being said, I LOVE this. However, for me to be able to continue to go on with AH Life & Style, I must take part in information gathering, training, and create experiences for myself that can make this a better place for my readers. Sure, I can take the easy way out and just rehash the same content that other bloggers are publishing, but I don’t like to do that.

I want to bring something new and fresh to my ever-evolving online publication. 🙂

So, here is what is going on:

**I was super-busy with my second to last semester in business school (the joy of being a 4th year student). Only 4 more months of actual school and 1 year worth of work experience, and I will have my Bachelor of Commerce degree.

**Recently, I signed up for personal training certification courses. Well, why not, right? I mean I am already a fitness enthusiast and former high school athlete, so why not become a credible one. That way, you guys and gals will have more up-to-date, more accurate, and more in-depth information about fitness, nutrition, and weight loss.

**I am trying to get rid of clutter. I have some stuff that I have not needed/worn/used for the past 3 years or longer, and I feel that it is time to let go if I were to move forward. If you have not used something for 3 years, are you really ever going to use it again? So, I think that I will sell some stuff, donate the stuff that doesn’t sell to charity, and throw out the stuff that can’t be disposed of in the previously mentioned ways.

**I am working on lining up interviews with some amazing people in the fashion/modeling industry, but dealing with 3rd parties when you are trying to contact them can be tough. However, I will not give up, because like I said, I want to provide YOU with information and YOU are the reason for my motivation, even when it gets tough.

**I am in the process of selecting some New York fashion & fitness bloggers that I would like to hire to write some of the content for AH Life & Style. I was looking for amazing people to work with, got an overwhelming amount of replies from interested and qualified writers. I am still going through the process, and although I initially wanted to hire 2, I might have to hire more.

**Other things are coming up, but I am not allowed to disclose them just yet. 🙂 Soon enough though.

**I have been taking pictures, but I have not had a chance to post them, but I will.

**An interview with an amazing Victoria personal trainer is currently in “Drafts”. So stay tuned for that one.

**I am seeking partnerships with reputable publications/websites who would be interested in publishing/reprinting some of my upcoming articles.

**I have secured a partnership with a highly reputable online community, whose name I am not yet disclosing, because I want that to be a surprise!

**AND…Last but not least!! Don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY sponsored by amazing clothing designer Laura Ashton!!!!!!

So, what have you been up to in July and what is in store for you in August?

Yesterday morning, I was very saddened to find out that English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse joined the 27 club.

Winehouse’s 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys, including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. (Wikipedia)

I used to listen to many of her songs, and I still do. I have always believed that she had a great voice and that her music is meaningful. Amy Winehouse was very talented, and her voice was powerful.

In the last few years of her life, Amy suffered a lot of health problems, both physical and mental. Whenever I read about her troubles, I was always hoping that she would recover.

So, in her memory, I want to share with you three of my favorite songs by her.

Above: Music video by Amy Winehouse performing “Tears Dry On Their Own”

Above: Music video by Amy Winehouse performing “You Know I’m No Good”.
This song makes me nostalgic because I used to listen to it very often when I was 15.

Above: Music video by Amy Winehouse performing “Rehab”

Amy, you will be greatly missed by your fans.