How I Happily Became a Passionista for Prescriptives Cosmetics (Px)

In a galaxy not very far away, there existed a time when I wasn’t obsessed with make-up. (What was I thinking?!) Read on to learn how a woman who once held that attitude came to be a HUGE make-up fan. And then happily became a Passionista for Prescriptives cosmetics to share what she had learned.

Editor’s Post by Deborah Hetrick Catanese

Somewhere between my breezy days of fashionable single living and the uber busy days of endless caring for babies that morphed into endless years of helping my kids with everything under the sun, I forgot a bit about myself.  Then one day, as I assessed my much quieter house what with my son settled at college and my daughter working in another city, I remembered myself.  I took a long hard stare in the mirror and beheld someone who desperately needed some attention, but what to do???

A Spa Day sounded luxurious, but I needed a more dramatic pick-me-up that would last longer than one soothing day.  And then I remembered how I always took my daughter to the Prescriptives counter at Macy’s to have her make-up done so gorgeously before dances, homecomings, senior photos, and proms, a stream of seemingly never-ending school events. But those rites of passage were indeed over in my family. So, maybe it was MY turn?!  Was it time for my Make-over?

Becoming a Passionista for Prescriptives

The Prescriptives counter had the nicest employees and equally appealing products, and I felt immediately at ease as their cosmetician asked me some non-judgmental questions about my skin care regimen and what make-up I used on a daily basis.  I answered easily, since I had only used one type of moisturizer since my early 20’s, and I applied only blush, lipstick , and a touch of mascara before facing the world. I thought that, at my now older age (how did that happen so quickly?!), eye make-up only accented the wrinkles that had begun their residency around the corners of my eyes, and I also was of the mind that foundation looked extremely fake-y on my fair skin. NOT a believer.  (NOT YET!)

But once Christina, the sweet and talented adviser for Prescriptives, got busy with me, explaining and demonstrating as she worked, a whole new world opened up. I learned that, with just a little bit more effort using proper skin care, quality make-up, and good application techniques, I could not only look polished, fresh, and energetic but glowing! And yes, more youthful. Or maybe I should say that I actually looked pretty, REGARDLESS of my age.  Either way, the change that the expert application of Prescriptives products affected on my face within minutes both dazzled and astonished me.  It convinced me that with the proper choice of foundation type and shade, I could not only look natural, but improved. Suddenly, with Flawless Skin Foundation in 05 Ivory Warm, my skin radiated, appearing less blotchy, more even, and smoother! And it became a lovely canvas on which to apply other beautiful cosmetic details.

I left the Px counter that day with my now essential Flawless Skin Foundation and other exciting new products, items I still use with fervor in my quintessential bag of beauty tricks, which now includes:

• All You Need+ Fast Acting Moisturizer with SPF 15 Ahhhh, so soothing and so effective!
• Magic “Liquid” Powder for sparkle and overall brightening.
• Camouflage Cream to eliminate the tired look under my eyes, yay!
• Sunsheen Bronzing Trio that I use to contour and create illusions.
• 4 shades of U-Pick Eye Color to shadow my lids like a pro.
• Soft Lining Pencil, to add eyeliner when I’m feeling like a Foxy Lady.
• 2 indispensable brushes  – Foundation Brush and the soft fluffy Powder Brush for a dusting of contouring and Magic to finish.
• MOST ESPECIALLY –  Super Line Preventor Xtreme, the incredible serum that my skin laps up like delicious water made especially for nourishing me! I believe SLP saved my skin from environmental damage soon enough that I am blessed today with much younger skin than my age would indicate.                                                                          

Because I felt so beautifully transformed as I careened toward one of the more “major” birthdays, I scheduled a photo session as a gift to myself, a 3 hour shoot with a top photographer in Pittsburgh who worked with models and actors. With great lighting and even greater make-up, I kinda looked like a model myself, oh thank you, Prescriptives!

But the best part of my new affair with make-up was that I didn’t look like I was trying too hard. Nor did applying these lovely products consume much of my time. Once I got the hang of it, my whole ritual of preparing my face to meet the world added no more than 10 minutes in real time. And the benefits came back to me whenever I ran into someone I knew, as I heard comments of how well I looked, that I appeared to be getting younger instead of older.  When my girl friends asked me what I was doing, they were unanimously stunned…”You don’t LOOK like you are wearing foundation, or much make-up at all!”  Yes, the Flawless Skin and everything else I was doing blended quite nicely with my skin and my overall new look. But the results spoke for themselves!

At one point shortly thereafter I had quite a scare when I learned in horror that Prescriptives was being discontinued.  But thanks to the huge outcry of pain and woe from many of us loyal fans at losing our beloved products, we received the sympathetic ear of this fantastic company. Prescriptives made its return by coming back online to provide the same fantastic products along with beauty advisers available to chat. With great relief, my daughter and I immediately signed up as subscribers and welcomed regular emails about Px products, product application tips, and great buys.

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The “New Me”, a spunkier Mama with more time to indulge in her own interests, found new things to do, and soon editing and writing became my impassioned pastime.  I began brainstorming with a young Mama who wanted to start a blog, and Project Motherhood was born.  After much positive response to our writing and our style recommendations, we began posting  5 to 6 pieces a week, all about fashion, beauty, motherhood, Mama Style, dressing to enhance your own body shape, and shopping tips, all the while encouraging Mamas to strive for quality and grace no matter what unexpected events life sent our way.  Our motto expressed it loud and clear:  Walking the Runway of Motherhood.

And one day as I worked online, an email came in from Prescriptives, and it mentioned their search for customers who were passionate about their products, customers who loved to write and do social media, customers who had a professional quality head shot that showed how their face looked with beautiful make-up.  Customers who wanted to be a Px Passionista. Check, check, check and CHECK!

I just KNEW Prescriptives was talking to me!  Because I knew that make-over seven years earlier at the Prescriptives counter provided me with a whole new positive attitude about myself as an “older” woman going forward, and it represented a total game changer in my life!

Do I love these products? YES!  Do I want to represent them? Indeed I do!

So, THANK YOU, Px, for this wonderful opportunity to happily become a Passionista for Prescriptives with the goal of  helping other women discover or re-find their inner beauty and thus receive the great gift of confidence that goes hand in hand with looking good.

And THANK YOU to Project Motherhood and Allison Cooper for giving me a place to express it.

So tell me, Foxy Ladies, what is YOUR relationship with make-up? And, what products do you love?

Fashionably and Passionista-ly Yours,

Deborah