Margaret Josephs’ Pink Satin Leaf Print Dress at Dolores’ Breast Cancer Philanthropy Award Event

Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 11 Episode 6 Fashion

On this week’s episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey we get to see the ladies rock some pretty pink lewks at Dolores’ David’s house, like Margaret Josephs in this pink satin leaf print dress. Which is unfortunately sold out, however no worries because we’ve linked some Style Stealers for you to shop down below that in our opinion are still definitely award-worthy.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Ronny Kobo Dress Sold Out at Intermix

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Photo: @TheRealMargaretJosephs

Originally posted at: Margaret Josephs’ Pink Satin Leaf Print Dress

While it’s true celebrities get the best professional services out there, they also use products at home to keep up the glam appearance in the comfort of their own bathroom. Luckily, we can cop these items too, no matter where we live. Dove Cameron’s choice? The Foreo Bear Facially Toning Device. The micro-current treatment is FDA-cleared to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

In an interview with Glamour, Cameron says: “I use it every morning as a quick three-minute system, and it’s absolutely amazing. The device uses micro currents to bring out your cheekbones and bring up your jaw. It keeps me from looking puffy, and it wakes my face up. I’m not usually the type of person to rave about a device, but it really, really, really works.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Foreo.

How does it work, you ask? Well, it’s pretty freaking cool. Foreo uses an Anti-Shock System to adjust the micro-current level while you use it so there’s no discomfort. Instead, you’re getting T-Sonic pulsations to lift and contour the face. The brand recommends using the device every day for two months to see desired results. You can then cut back to about three times a week. Yes, it’s a commitment but these devices work when you’re patient.

That’s not even the only device the actress uses. At night, she also likes to use Foreo UFO ($199 at Amazon), a device that combines dermal technologies with Korean masks for a facial treatment in 90 seconds. “At night I also like to use the Foreo UFO, which gives you a little facial, essentially,” she says. “I let the serum from the mask sink into my skin and sleep with it on all night. If you can’t tell, I really love Foreo.”

I hate to tell you this, but almost everyone has damaged hair. If you’re like me and you bleach your hair, use hot tools and sleep in a ponytail, well, you define damage. But even the most “virgin” hair still has some breakage and/or dullness, even just from environmental factors like the sun and pollution. That’s why K18’s hair mask is really for everyone. While those with the most damage will see the biggest results, everyone can benefit from it. And it’s not like the hair mask you’re probably used to. Allow me to explain.

Although K18 calls it a mask, you don’t wash out the Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask. It doesn’t feel like a typical hydrating mask and that’s because it isn’t. The patented bioactive peptide treatment strengthens and improves the elasticity of the hair, as well as works to actually reverse damage from chemicals and styling. It’s ultra-lightweight so you don’t have to worry about it weighing down your hair. The formula repairs strands over time, but you’ll still see a big difference in the look and feel of the hair in one use.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

K18.

I’ve been using K18’s in-salon treatments before I even knew about the brand. That’s because Christine Thompson, Director of Color at Spoke & Weal salons, often does my color and she swears by the two-step treatment that prepares, protects and repairs hair during the service. It’s why I’ve been able to go blonder as of late, while keeping my hair healthy and shiny.

Source: Instagram

Now, you can reap the benefits of the product at home. Here’s how you use it. After washing your hair, towel it dry. Do not add conditioner. Apply one pump of the mask and work it through your hair. Add a pump or two if needed but a little goes a long way. Allow it to process for four minutes and then style as usual. You can apply a typical leave-on conditioner after if you feel your hair needs it but most of the time, it should be soft and smooth enough. Use it every 4-6 shampoos consecutively to see and feel the full results.

And this is why the K18 mask keeps selling out. Grab it now while you can.

I cannot keep my secret quiet any longer. I have suffered in silence for years. Only my closest friends know the situation and they tend to sympathise. It’s not really my fault, BUT I really hate shopping. I always have.

The Problem

Let’s try to ‘unpack’ this little problem. Perhaps I had a bad experience in the past. Perhaps if I were to be given the right sort of aversion therapy (or is it the opposite?), I might learn to love shopping.

I doubt it. There is very little I could learn to like.

First and foremost, I am not very acquisitive. I don’t much like ‘things’. A new dress rarely cheers me up. Nor does finding just the right vase or tablecloth.

I might make an exception for a new book I look forward to reading, but there aren’t many such exceptions.

Secondly, I am really uncomfortable in crowds. I try to find times to shop when the crowds will be small, but it is difficult. Many shops are quiet first thing in the morning, but if it requires public transport to get there, you are stuck in any case.

As you can imagine, I would never shop in a sale – people struggling to get into the front in order to acquire that one thing specially on sale is my idea of sheer hell.

Thirdly, I can’t bear the whole process of trudging from shop to shop to find the right thing. I find it incredibly dispiriting. Leaving aside food shopping, I have never found one store – yes, even a large department store – which sold exactly what I wanted in every department.

Too Much Choice

And finally, I hate being given too much choice. I can stand for what feels like hours in front of a shelf full of breakfast cereals, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.

Yes, I will often fall down this line of thought… Maybe I should try that one with the little bits of fruit, but no, would I be better off with something with bran? Does it have too much hidden sugar? Or salt? Is this one over-priced because it has a child’s gift inside?

Point a gun and tell me what to choose and I would be much happier.

I am certainly no better with house furnishings. However much I try to prepare for such decisions, I am constantly worrying that something is the wrong size or the wrong colour for everything else in that room. I have no ability to visualise it.

It makes me feel incompetent. Not recommended.

And it is much worse with clothes. I am an awkward size (too short, hips too big), but then everyone I know says they think they are an awkward size. No problem if you enjoy the process anyway, but in my case it is a nightmare.

I dislike the whole rigamarole of trying things on – not because of the slim young things in the dressing room – but simply because I have never been very good at getting dressed and undressed.

And then you are back to the problem of choice. Well, it doesn’t fit perfectly, but then nothing ever does, so do I choose the slightly tight waist or the awkward fit over the shoulders?

Do I really need this garment anyway?

Mail Order

So, you might argue – if you hate shopping, why not go the mail order route? It is so easy in this day and age.

Yes, I do a lot of shopping via mail order. I have learned, over time, which companies sell trousers that actually fit and which catalogues’ pictures are reasonably accurate. Some companies have very helpful staff who will discuss details like the ‘feel’ of a garment. Much welcomed by me.

It is a bit of a nuisance when you need to send things back, but they are making the packaging much more suitable for this purpose. And at least the line in the post office is not much longer than the line in the store you would have experienced if you had bought the item in a store in the first place.

The Test I Can’t Pass

Shopping feels like a kind of test that I am always failing. Either I come back with nothing – and everyone says “What? You couldn’t find anything you liked?” Or I come home with something and they say “What? You chose that?”

I hate shopping. I’m afraid the feeling will stay with me until the end.

Do you share a dislike of shopping? What shopping do you dislike most? Have you had any particularly bad experiences? Or, is there a different activity that you feel similarly frustrated with? Please share with the community and let’s have a chat!

When I was in my early 30s, I lived in a two-story house nestled in the forest high up in the Green mountains of Vermont. We were far from the madding crowd for months at a time. It was from that perspective on one cold, sunny morning that I was looking out at my future.

I can clearly remember saying to my husband that I knew I was going to be a late bloomer. I had been singing since I was a very young child. I started to sing the solos in our small church when I was 11.

As a professional singer, I had performed many solo concerts. And I had taught singing at a major Montreal University for several years. Still, I felt that my bloom would not come to fruition until much later in life. 

In Looking Back, I Believe I Was Wrong 

I thought that my blooming would only come with wild success as a singer. But in truth, my life, like yours perhaps, has been a series of many different bloomings over the years. We may not have been celebrated for it. But the successes were there, nonetheless.

We entered this life as a tiny human who bloomed into being. Getting through school was also a kind of blooming. We bloomed into a marriage. And then another? Some of us bloomed as parents. Then we bloomed into a new life, after the children left. 

And yet, many of us feel that the flowering aspect of life is finished in our later years. We look for ways to fill time. To quash our boredom. We do things that don’t take our breaths away – just to be doing.

Our strong inner voices give us practical counsel such as: Why bother following my dream now? Who wants to hear what I have to say? What will my friends think? I’ll be an embarrassment. I might fail. I’ll probably fail. It’s going to cost too much. I have no talent. I’ll feel ashamed. Who am I to_____?

Does Any of This Ring a Bell for You? 

I’ve come to realize that in our 60s and beyond is perhaps the time when our blooms will be supported by the greatest hard-won wisdom and the brightest long-earned joy. When friends ask me about their dream, “Do you think I should… (fill in the blank)?” My answer is almost always a hearty, “Yes! What have you got to lose?” 

Here are 7 things to consider when you feel the urge to follow a dream, later in your life:

#1 First, an Important Question to Ask Yourself 

Do I really want to do this particular thing? For example, you may think you want to write a book, when what you really want to do is express yourself through words. So maybe writing an article will do the job.

Or perhaps leaning into a short story or a poem is the answer. Or maybe your ideas can best be expressed through a song. In other words, you may need to feel your way to the truth of your own desire. Is it the book that grabs your heart? Or is it an idea that needs the right vehicle?

#2 Late Blooming Can Mean Whatever You Want It to Mean

Maybe your dream is very clear: “I want to learn how to dance.” Perhaps you want to write your own song and sing it, too! Or you are moved to start a garden; take up photography; learn how to cook.

Or your greatest desire is to embark on serious travel. Remember, this is about a kind of blooming that stirs your soul – that further opens your heart. It’s both deeply personal and potentially very powerful.

#3 What Gets in the Way of Blooming Later in Life?

I asked a close friend, who has worked in this area for many years, why we poor humans tend to give up on ourselves too soon. She answered with one word: FEAR. 

Fear of doing the wrong thing. Of making the wrong choice. Of losing respect, in case of failure. Fear of disappointing ourselves and others. Of not having enough energy to see it through. Not having enough talent.

In the end, my friend and I agreed upon the old adage: “Feel the fear, but do it anyway.” And remember this from the Dune book by Frank Herbert: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.”

#4 Simply Begin

The hardest, yet the most joyous part of the process is just getting started. One trick I use is this: I say to myself, “I’m going to do this new thing for just 10 minutes. That’s all. No big deal. Ten minutes won’t hurt me or anyone else. Here I go.” And more often than not, I feel an exhilaration about simply setting out on the journey.

Those 10 minutes can also be scary, but short-lived and easily doable. The next 10 minutes might happen right then or not. But they are not the same as the first time, when you are lifted up on uncertain wings to enter a new sphere. It can take your breath away. You got started! 

“We can talk about it, dream about it and dissect the fine print. In the end, only action satisfies our longing.”― Gina Greenlee

#5 Simply Continue

Once started, going further is easier. But you still may need to muster up the courage and the desire to stay motivated. I have another trick for you. At the early point of a new project, I start each day with a short meditative pause for 15 minutes or so.

I allow my mind to settle into a quiet place, knowing that I seek inspiration for this particular project. I sit and wait… listening for the inner voice. Usually, a useful idea will surface, and I write it down. Then I act on it, as soon as possible. 

#6 You May Not Want to Follow a Dream

One of my dearest friends said to me with anger one day, as tears sprang to her eyes: “Barbara, leave me alone! I just want to retire.”She was in her early 60s. I had been encouraging her to get started on her own long-held dream. But her fast and emotion-filled response woke me up!

There are times when all we want to do is to rest. I appreciate that now. My wise friend took several years of fallow time before she slowly found a new path. And that brings me to one of my favourite quotes…

#7 “During Thin Soup, Harvest Principle. During Thick Soup, Harvest Action.”

This is a saying (attributed to Buckminster Fuller) that I kept taped on my computer for years. Currently, my computer adage says: Take a Break! But back then, I came to understand that a lot of work must go on inside one’s self before the fruits of that inner labor can show up in the world.

The trick is to know where you are in that fallow process and relax into it. You can harvest principle as you rest or read or observe or just live your life. (In my early years, I was forced to harvest principle when I had little money for action!) Then the time may come when you can harvest action and take your idea out into the world, if it so pleases you.

If you are interested in singing as part of your dream, I invite you to join my newsletter to receive free singing tips and to learn about my one-month-long singing course for beginners called, Wake Up Your Life – With Singing!

What life-long dream is waiting for you to act on it? Was there time in your life when you didn’t want to act but just be? Is beginning the hardest part of you? Would you say fear is holding you back?