Younique is launching in Germany!

The time has finally come, we finally know what the date is for residents of Germany to be able to register as Independent Younique Presenters!  What’s that wonderful date, you ask?

August 1st, on that date German Presenters can begin their Younique journey by purchasing their Presenter Kit for 107.00€ and they’ll be added to the various support groups and training pages run by their team and “upline” (upline is a word for the Presenter you select as a sponsor, and their sponsor, etc…).  After that, each new Presenter will have a month to prepare their business materials, participate in training, learn about our products and build their teams.  Then, on September 1st, they’ll be open for business as product sales will begin in Germany!

Why does it make sense to start your Younique business, as a resident of Germany?  Here are some fun facts from research completed by Younique!

In Germany, there are:

• over 35 million active users on social media
• the 9th most Facebook users in the world
• 28 million active Facebook users
• 5.6 million Google+ users
• 5 million active Twitter users
• the 5th largest number of commerce (online) transactions in the world

Ecommerce in Germany is expected to DOUBLE by 2018!  Did you know that women in Germany spend 7.5% MORE on makeup than the average American woman?  And, this is cool considering our biggest seller is our 3D Fiber Lashes, Germany is the third largest mascara market in the world!

The bulk of our work is done online, through social media, which makes these statistics pretty incredible!  Not only will marketing materials such as catalogues be offered in German, but Corporate will also be providing images and advertisements in German for new Presenters to use when they launch their businesses.

Where are some of the first Presenters who signed up right away in our other new markets, such as Australia, New Zealand and the UK?  They’re at the top of our company, making tens of thousands of dollars every month.  Some promoted to elite statuses within a week of sales opening in their market.

I’d love to help you do the same!  If you’re interested in joining us and starting your training and team building now, please feel free to contact me at https://www.youniqueproducts.com/kimfortune/presenter/contactme or at https://www.facebook.com/kim.fortune.3.  I can’t wait to help you get started on your Younique adventure and help you change your life!

I know that sounds dramatic… that this can change your life, but on my team I have ladies who within a few months of joining were able to move into houses that have been out of reach, they’ve paid off credit card debt, they’ve been able to plan to stay home in a year, etc…  imagine what having no debt would mean to you?  That can happen for you as well, and my team will help you get there.

Two Faced

Eek! Talk about the “power of makeup”!

Whether you love this look or not, you’ve got to admit that it definitely demonstrates the coverage of my foundation!  Often times people say to me, “I just can’t use a cream foundation, it’s too hard to work with”.  I promise, it’s not!  I applied our Touch Cream Foundation in Velour all over using our Blending Buds.  I also used my Touch Cream in Organza under my eye with the pointed end of the Blending Bud, as it’s my favourite product to use as a concealer.  If your skin is oily, like mine, then just lightly dust on some of our Touch Powder Foundation in your shade with a Powder Puff Brush or, for even more coverage, push it into your skin using a damp Blending Bud and that cream will stay in place until you don’t want it on anymore.

Of course, I had to use my new favourite product on my eye: Splurge Cream Shadow in Elegant!  Blended with Innocent on the brow bone and Confident underneath my eye and on the outer V and my crease, this is my favourite look. My eyebrows are filled with Irresistible Pigment.  I tight lined with Precision Pencil in Perfect and added one coat of 3D Fiber Lashes to finish off!  I used our Pressed Blusher in Sweet, Beachfront Bronzer in Sunset and on my lips it’s our Precision Pencil in Pouty.  Voila!

I was going to do a demo at a friend’s place… because our makeup is so light on the skin, I honestly forgot that I looked like this.  That was a fun drive to her place!

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Younique!

BIG DEAL ALERT!!

Tomorrow is the day many people have been waiting for, it’s finally the day that residents of Mexico can order online directly from the Younique website.  This is so exciting!

If you want to check out the mascara that made us famous, 3D Fiber Lashes, or you want to see if our new Splurge Cream Shadows are for you, head on over to my website and take a look.  Every order is backed by our 14 day Love It Guarantee so if you don’t LOVE what you’ve ordered you can return it with no questions asked.  AMAZING!

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with me at www.youniqueproducts.com/kimfortune!

Pinterest and other distractions

Recently, someone on my team started a Pinterest training for us.  I was so excited because honestly, Pinterest always kind of baffled me.  Sort of like Twitter, I never really understood the point of either site.  But, if you’re in direct sales, you probably know that Pinterest posts lead to more sales than any other form of social media so if you aren’t using it, you’re really missing out.

So, because I have a goal that I desperately want to achieve by the end of the month, I decided to jump on board with this training and see what Pinterest had to offer me.

OH MY GOSH!  Why wasn’t I doing this before?  I have now pinned every shade of pastel hair I’ve ever considered having, a few DIY household projects that I’d love hubby to DIhimself while I watch and drink a glass of wine, and some amazing makeup looks.  I haven’t quite figured out how this will help my business yet, as it seems like I’ve just been sucked into a black hole of pretty things and projects, but I suppose the statistics don’t lie so I should believe that it will make a difference.

I went to a ladies night-type of event last night and in the lead up to it, I was trying to decide what to wear as some people go in costume and some just dress up a bit.  I decided to do a bit of both, and turned to Pinterest for a Queen of Hearts crown to wear as the theme was Alice in Wonderland.  I found a cute little crown made out of some glitter, a beer can, and Swarovski crystals.  This, I decided, was totally my style! How did it end?  I learned that I should stick to Pinterest for business as my project quickly turned into a Pinterest fail.  I could still see the bar code on the can through the millions of layers of glitter paint!

Do you use Pinterest for business, pleasure or a bit of both?  If you want to see some of my favourite looks, products, etc… follow me at https://www.pinterest.com/ybykimfortune/

Which door would you choose?

I was scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook yesterday when something caught my eye.  It was one of the Dove ads, and man… I am a sucker for Dove ad campaigns!  I think I’ve cried through every single one and each one leaves me thinking about the role that feeling beautiful plays in my life.

This one evoked a different response right away, because of how “in your face” it was.  If you haven’t seen it yet, signs were mounted above the doors to department stores in different parts of the world, and the signs said “beautiful” and “average”.  Women walking in had to decide which door to walk through.  Guess how many picked beautiful?  Not enough.  Here’s a link to the Cosmopolitan article where I watched the video: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/news/a38731/new-dove-choose-beautiful-campaign-video/?fb_ref=Default

So, while I watched this ad I asked myself, “Which door would I choose?”  Initially, I thought “Beautiful, 100%” but then I started to read some comments and realized that some felt that it was maybe, just a bit socially inappropriate to choose that door.  What?!  The idea that we’re supposed to be humble and choose “Average” made me so sad.  I thought about why I would feel okay with walking through the door that said “Beautiful” and I realized that it was because for so long, I had to tell myself every time I looked in the mirror that I was more than ugly, or fat.  I don’t say that for sympathy, or to hear that I’m neither of those things, because at the time it wouldn’t have mattered what anyone said.  It was all I could see, for whatever reason.  I can remember a time where I may not have even thought I was worthy of the “Average” door!

What changed it all for me?  It wasn’t makeup, it wasn’t clothes, it wasn’t a great haircut.  It wasn’t about looks at all, in fact.  I realized that my true beauty is about who I am, and not what I look like.  I imagine that some women feel powerful, and beautiful when they give birth or when they get married.  I have never given birth, but I did feel like a total betty on my wedding day!  I think that as I got a bit older, I realized that beauty is so much more than looks, because your looks will change.

My mother is beautiful, because she is so brutally honest and kind, all at the same time.  She doesn’t mince words, but she loves 100% and those who are on the receiving end can feel it.  She loves my dad, my sister and I, and my boys, so much that you can see it as if she shines when we’re around. My sister is beautiful because she is adventurous, she looks at the world through rose-coloured glasses and even when presented with something bad, she can see the good in it.  She has a confidence that makes you believe everything she says will happen, is going to.  My friend Kelita is beautiful because she has seen some of the worst things human beings can do  to one another, she’s a soldier, and yet she still sees the good in the world before anything else.  She is an amazing mom and she wants her daughter to grow up being herself, first.  She gives so much of herself and never, ever has an expectation for anything in return.  All of these women are physically beautiful as well, but that’s the icing on the cake!

I was sitting in front of the mirror one day, complaining about the crepey little lines that have started to appear around my eyes.  I feel like I started to get wrinkles there a bit early, but I suppose we all probably feel that way!  I was telling my husband that when I won the lottery, that would be added to the list of things that I had changed.  He didn’t even skip a beat, he just said to me, “Why would you change that?  Do you know how many times you’ve smiled or laughed in order to get those lines?”  THAT was when I realized that what made me beautiful was something else.  It’s my genuine smile, the way that my laughter can be infectious sometimes and makes my stepsons laugh right along with me.  It’s the way that I am able to find a positive in a negative situation, or that my friends know that I’m always there for them.

I asked my husband to watch the video, and to tell me what he thought about it.  His response?  “It’s sick to me that there is so much emphasis on physical beauty.  There are some absolutely gorgeous women that, as soon as they open their mouths, they instantly become ugly because of the words that they use.”  So I asked him what makes me beautiful, in his eyes.  He said, in typical guy fashion,  “Well, you’ve got great boobs.  But, your personality is what does it.  You’re quirky and kind of nerdy but it’s in a good way. And you’re nice to everyone, even if they don’t deserve it.”  So, there you go!  I’m a hot, nice geek!  And I’m okay with that.

I would walk confidently through that “Beautiful” door.  Really, at the end of the day if someone says that I shouldn’t, doesn’t that say much more about their beauty than mine?

Which door would you choose?  Is it hard to list things about yourself that are positive, or do you feel guilty, like you’re bragging?  I’d love to hear from you!

So that 3D Fiber Lash Mascara stuff… how does it work?

Probably one of the most controversial beauty products on the market right now, 3D Fiber Lash Mascara elicits a few different responses.  People either love it, or they have something negative to say about it, it seems!  I tend to fall into the first group, but I’m a bit biased.  I truly believe that most of the people who are in the second bunch would probably love it if they changed the way they used it.

I hear so many people say that it’s difficult and time consuming to apply, that it always make their lashes look “spidery”, or clumpy.  I hear that the fibers fall off onto their cheeks, or get into their eyes.  These all sound awful!  I have to honestly say that I have had fibers fall onto my cheeks when I first started using this product, but it was 100% user error… my fault!  I didn’t read the instructions, so I didn’t realize that the second coat of transplanting gel would help to seal the fibers in place for the day.  Whoops!

There is a way to apply this product so that it looks more natural, and still gives you some va-va-voom to your lashes, which, let’s be honest, we all want!  I prefer a natural look, with long lashes and a full “base”, I like to have a full looking lash without the clumps.  It’s important to me that it looks like I have lots of long lashes, not necessarily thick individual lashes if that makes sense.

In this photo, you can see that on my right eye I have my 3D Fiber Lash Mascara and I am wearing 2 coats of Tarte “Lights, Camera, Splashes” which is my favourite non-Younique mascara. The difference is huge!

Check out my video where I show you how I apply my 3D Fiber Lash Mascara.  By no means is my way the only way, or the “right” way, but it’s what works for me and it’s the technique that my clients love when I am doing makeup on them.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXsKvW_75fM&feature=youtu.be

Some tips to keep in mind:

My tips are:
1. Complete the application on one eye at a time.
2. Apply Transplanting Gel generously from the root to tip of your lashes.
3. While the gel is still wet, apply the Fibers from about mid-lash to tip, ensuring you never get too close to your lash line.
4. Seal in the fibers with another generous coat of gel. This is the step that ensures you don’t have those fibers you just applied falling on your cheeks throughout the day.
4. Apply as many coats of fibers as you’d like, as long as you always seal them with more gel.
5. If you naturally have very voluminous lashes and you find the finished result too clumpy for your liking, simply comb out your lashes with a lash comb. Here’s ours: https://www.youniqueproducts.com/kimfortune/products/view/US-51031-01

The products that I used on my face for this photo and video were:

Divine Daily Moisturizer
Glorious Face and Eye Primer
Touch Cream Foundation in Scarlet as concealer
BB Flawless in Bisque all over, applied with Blending Bud
Beachfront Bronzer in Malibu – matte side
Moodstruck Minerals Pressed Blusher in Seductive
Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Powder in Beautiful for brows
Splurge Cream Shadow in Elegant
Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Powder in Confident
Precision Pencil in Perfect
Stiff Upper Lip in Sappy
3D Fiber Lash Mascara
Refreshed Rosewater to set my makeup

Are you nervous about buying makeup online that you haven’t tried? We can help with that by standing behind our products with our 14 day Love It Guarantee! If you don’t like the products that you ordered, you can return them to us up to 14 days after delivery, no questions asked.

Have you used 3D Fiber Lash Mascara before?  I’d love to see your personal results in the comments section!

Go ahead and Splurge!

When my new products from the spring launch arrived, I wanted so badly to just jump right in and start posting pictures for you but I ended up getting swamped with other things so my fun time went to the wayside… until now!

I have a few more Stiff Upper Lip Stains coming soon, and when they arrive I’ll be sure to swatch each one to show you.  They’re beautiful!

Let’s start with a picture of the new Splurge Cream Shadow on my wrist, 3 different ways.

 

At first, I was honestly worried about Splurge.  I love the idea of a cream shadow, but every time I get one that I think I’ll love, it ends up creasing and smearing and by the end of the day I just look like a hot mess.  I was especially nervous because when I opened my (absolutely gorgeous little frosted class) container of Splurge and touched it with the Cream Shadow Brush, it reminded me instantly of Flubber.  Yup… Flubber.  I was expecting a true cream, but Splurge has this amazing mousse texture to it.  It’s firm yet creamy, and it spreads like a dream!  No creasing at all, it’s amazing that as you spread it out on your lid (or lips) it dries to a powder finish.

Look at that gorgeous little jar! I already have a plan to repurpose these jars with little battery-operated LED lights when I run out of eyeshadow.

What I love about Splurge is how versatile it is.  Wearing it on its own, it’s simply a gorgeous, shimmery neutral shade.  I will warn you that it has a fine glitter, but it’s fine enough that it reflects the light beautifully and doesn’t look like chunks of glitter.  Think more “diamonds glittering in the sun” as opposed to “disco ball”!  I love it on its own with a dark matte lip, or with a dramatic winged liner.  I also love doing a 60 second smoky eye look with it by applying a dark liner on my lid and then applying Splurge over top with a fluffy brush and blending it until it’s the way I want it.  You can also apply it under your gloss or lip stain for a shimmery lip look! Check out 2 different eye looks in the picture below to get an idea of some different ways you can wear this product.  

You also see how well our Shine Eye Makeup Remover Wipes work in the picture above.  I clearly use them all over my face, as they’re safe for all skin types and include ingredients such as Sunflower, Olive, Jojoba, Vitamin E and Rosemary.  I would say that they aren’t heavily scented, but they do have a scent to them that’s not perfumey in any way.

On my lips in that picture, I’m wearing our Stiff Upper Lip Stain in Sleek!  It’s currently my favourite shade, and I try to find a reason to put it on every. single. day.  It’s such a beautiful matte red that really suits a range of skin tones.

If you’re thinking about trying any of our new products, or any at all really, remember that Younique offers a 14 day Love It Guarantee.  If you don’t love a product that you’ve ordered, you can return it with no questions asked!  That makes buying makeup that you’ve never tried before, from the internet, a little less intimidating.

Hopefully, the rest of the lip stains arrive soon so I can show you those bad boys.  I’m in love!

Fabulously Younique on YouTube!

My team has been back and forth about whether or not to start and maintain a channel on YouTube.  I think “maintain” is the word that was scaring us all off.  The “what if we get too busy” fears… Then I was reminded of something, that if we do the things that are a priority first, then we’ll always have done what we need to have done.  I am a procrastinator, so I need to keep telling myself that so I don’t get too caught up in things that don’t matter and focus on my priorities.

The reminder I needed, courtesy of Female Entrepreneur Association International

So, I decided to make our first video for our channel (leading by example!) and, while it took me a few times because I don’t know how to edit and just started over every time I made a mistake, I think it turned out relatively well!

Check it out at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmGRhX2ihi0&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for watching!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What did you want to be when you grew up?  I wanted to be a doctor, a paediatrician actually.  I worked hard at school, but my stumbling block turned out to be math.  Math makes me cry.  Math makes me become this sweaty, anxious person who can’t make sense of the world.  Throw chemistry into the mix and I’m doomed!  So, like many others with the same aspirations and challenges as me, I decided to pursue social work because I could still help others without the trauma of math or chemistry.  I ended up studying Social Service Work and have done fairly well for myself in that field.  My favourite job was working with young women in a residential program.  These young ladies are some of the strongest, bravest women I have had the pleasure of meeting.  I have worked with veterans and their families, which is also inspiring and rewarding because I come from a family where my grandfathers, father and husband are/were all soldiers.  There were many other jobs along the way, but these two stand out as favourites.

But as time goes on, I realize something.  When I was young, I thought about WHAT I wanted to be in terms of a career, I taught myself to identify with a job, a position in a work environment.  I never really thought about what I wanted to be in terms of the kind of human being I wanted to be, the kind of things I wanted to share with those around me.  I have always found value in being good to others, in being kind and honest, and true to myself.  I have always tried to be my authentic self, I believe that if people don’t like me that’s okay because I like myself enough to balance that out.  But, in the back of my mind, I have always associated my worth as a person with how much and how well I do at work, because I was raised to have a strong work ethic and I truly do believe that hard work pays off.

There does, however, come a point where even those with the best of intentions crash and burn.  That happened to me… I got so overwhelmed with my job that I just couldn’t go in anymore, which led to a lot of soul-searching, a phrase my husband is fond of.

I went on leave from work and started to take some time to rethink things, I needed to decide whether or not what I wanted to be when I was a teenager trying to choose a career path was still what I wanted to be now.  What helped me figure that out, was seeing the world through the lens I want my stepsons to see it through.  We are always telling the boys to live life their way, to choose to do something they love and find a way to pay the bills with it.  To travel and see the world, and to meet their own expectations as the only one we have for them is that they are happy, healthy and not living on our couch until they’re 30.  Most of all, just be true to themselves and kind to others.  We don’t always agree with our kids and the way they think, but I do appreciate that they respect us enough to share with us even when they know we’ll disagree, if that makes any sense!

What I realized was that I was devoting all of my time to going through the motions of being a textbook adult.  I was safe, comfortable and bored.  I realized that, while I am so incredibly grateful to be in a position to have a position where I am well-paid and I have a pension and benefits, I am miserable doing the work.  Is 30 years of misery to earn that pension worth it?  Probably not.

In the midst of all of my soul-searching, I was asked if I was interested in hosting a party for a friend of mine who had started selling Younique.  So, I said yes as I’d tried the products and loved them.  It was a great party!  Lots of sales and I was able to get one of everything and then some. I can remember feeling totally revitalized after that party!  I got rid of makeup that I’d had for years (gross) and made myself a beautiful space for when my new products arrived.  My husband even made me a special shelf that slid over the sink so I could spread my things out, which I thought was so cute and thoughtful of him!  I ended up having a long, hot bubble bath on December 26th of 2013 and I laid there thinking about all the reasons that Younique might work for me and I asked my friend if there was any reason why I shouldn’t join her.  Of course, the rest is history and here I am with a team of my own and we’re rocking the Y world together!

So, now what do I want to be when I grow up?  Happy.  I want to be happy!  I am happy, so I just want that to continue.  I want health and financial freedom and for my values to continue to be in line with the people that I have the pleasure of working with every day.  I want to be able to share my energy with my family and friends and to be present for them.  I no longer associate what I want to be with a job title.  It’s a huge shift in thinking and I’m glad I forced myself to do it.

What did you want to be when you grew up?  Did you ever find what you were looking for or are you still searching?