I saw her business and her success and KNEW that I could never do that. So, for years, I ignored it. I use the products and have pretty great skin as a result, but when people asked me the inevitable question, “What do you use?” I would tell them Beauticontrol and REFER THEM TO MY MOTHER.

I was sabotaging my chances to consider even being a success because I crossed the possibility off the list.  I was terrified that if I actually opened my mouth and told people what I did they would throw eggs at me and push me off a street corner. I was living in a state of constant fear of success.

A wild, out-of-control fear of success held me back. What’s stopping you from living your dreams?
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Three years ago, almost exactly actually, I had a brainstorm. I have always loved to write but had only applied the skill to journalling or A+ papers. I would start a blog about my business!

When people asked me what I used on my face, I would say “Beauticontrol” and then send them to my blog and they’d be so inspired that lightning would strike and they would buy my stuff! I bought the domain TheRightStyle.com, wrote some stuff and prepared for insta-magic.

Needless to say, that didn’t happen. I abandoned the blog for a while and slunk back into my old habits and updated my blog only when I sorta had something to say. But everything changed July of last year. I went to my first ever Beauticontrol national conference. Eleven years after I started my “business”, I found my spark. (Eleven. Over a decade. Oy.)

I went right back to The Right Style. I rebranded the business. I developed a mission statement. I actually TOLD people what I did. I started to write with confidence and use that design degree I spent so much money on.

The Right Style and Beauticontrol have helped me find my voice and helped me reconnect with old friends. I’ve helped women start their own businesses and coach a team of women who have become like a second family. I have monetized my blog and discovered amazing resources. (I’m talking about you, Regina.) And recently, because of this blog, I have gotten my very first job as a writer.

My mom is still doing her business, is still beautiful, is an amazing leader and is still killing it on a regular. But I don’t compare myself, anymore. The Right Style helped to show me that there’s another pathway to success– and that’s all me.

What’s holding you back from your dreams? Do you have a fear of success too? What are you going to do to make a change?

The post How Fear of Success Almost Stopped Me Cold appeared first on The Right Style.

I got a particularly epic product haul this week. I’m talking I placed an order for a little over 150 dollars retail–8 products–and I got 7 products F.R.E.E. Yes, girl!

Oooooooh. Preeettttty.

So, this is what I ordered:

1. Skinlogics Foot Creme, On Sale!, $14.50
2. New! Smoky Eye Pallete, $25.00 (I snagged two)
3. Skinlogics Clear Purifying Scrub, $20.00 (See that slick rebranding?)
4. Skinlogics Clear Deep Cleansing Gel, $22.00
5. BC Color Nail Treatment, On Sale!, $9.90
6. BC Color Top Coat, On Sale!, $9.90
7. BC Color Nail Lacquer, $9.00

And I got alla this for FREE MONEY:

1. BC Color Eye Perfecting Pencil, Regularly $14.00, free with Smoky Eye Pallette (so I got two!)
2. Mini Resurface Spa Microderm Apeel, Bonus with $75 order
3. BC Color Translucent Powder, Regularly $35.00, Bonus with $150 through February 17th!
4. Large Powder Brush, Regularly $12.00, Bonus with $150 through February 17th!
5. Nutri-Rich Moisturizing Body Satin, Regularly $34.00, Bonus because I’m awesome. Seriously, it just appeared in my cart.
6. White Pearl Cosmetics Bag, Free with purchase of any two Skinlogics Clear products!

So for my BeautiControlling ladies, I highly suggest that you get your butts to ordering. It’s February and you freaking deserve it. If you want to know more, you know what to do. Hit me up in the comments!

What’s your best “smart shopping” experience?

The post February BeautiControl Product Haul! appeared first on The Right Style.

But the constant partying and gift buying and endless loops of the same ten songs can get you down after awhile. But nothing, and I mean nothing, gets people down more than holiday travel. It can seem as if the whole world is going exactly where you are at exactly that same moment. Long lines at the airport and the stop-and-frisk tactics of the TSA have you irritated before you even get inside the dry, recycled air palace that is an airplane. Dehydrated and puffy, you stumble off of the plane, greet your relatives and immediately seek to wrap your taste buds in the creamy comfort of a spiked eggnog. Shoot. You deserve it, girl!

But what if there’s a better way? Master Beauty YouTuber Michelle Phan is a world traveler and fortunately for us, is not about that dry skin life. Michelle made one of her phan-tastic (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!) videos detailing her long haul beauty and skin health regimen. And then it hit me– I had all of the answers right at my fingertips! I needed beauty that was TSA approved. That’s when the BeautiControl TSA Skin Survival Kit was born.

The TSA Survival Kit contains essential products to help you keep yourself as fresh as a daisy no matter how long of a flight. The kit includes Skinlogics™ Lip Balm, Platinum Regeneration™ Rejuvenating Eye Treatment, Nutri-Rich Oil, and my favorite, BC Spa Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Therapy.

Use Nutri-Rich Oil in your hair and pat it gently onto your face and smooth through your hair. Moisture barrier= check

Apply Rejuvenating Eye Treatment patches. These tighten the skin and help to retain moisture in the sensitive eye area. Make sure to bring two packs– prep yourself for roundtrip travel! Gentleman, please don’t be scared to do this, too. If eye patches are good enough for Diddy (remember this?), then they’re good enough for you!

Smear on some of that Lip Balm. Don’t be stringy, you know how much cracked lips hurt.

Don’t forget about your hands– seal them with Extreme Repair Hand Therapy.

There you go! Now you have a plan– your beauty, TSA Approved! I can’t guarantee you’ll have a turbulence free flight but I can promise you’ll look good when you get there.

The post Travel Tips: Get Your Beauty TSA Approved! appeared first on The Right Style.

I became aware of the crookedness of my teeth since age nine and soon after, stopped smiling with my mouth open until I got the ultimate suburban accessory– braces. Years later, my teeth came back to haunt me in the form of a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fall 1996 brochure. I remember my classmates coming screaming into the cafeteria, waving orange and purple letter-sized pamphlets. “Kerri!! Kerrrrrriiiiiiii! Is this youuuuuuuuu?!!!” And it was. On the cover, I’m talking the entire cover, was 8 year old me, teeth-besnaggled and on full display. At the sensitive age of 11, this was the ultimate humiliation.

I grew into my face and my teeth, assisted by nearly 5 years of braces, straightened themselves out. I battled acne all through my teenage years and ran a constant battle with the blemishes and hyper-pigmentation that that acne left behind. I, fortunately, had great skincare and boy, did I have makeup. Makeup helped me to FINALLY feel pretty. I was never one to glop it on but it did have a certain placebo effect for me. I had a good face underneath it all but with my magical makeup, I could banish the dark circles that had always plagued me, I could give myself some eyebrows (any shape I wanted!) and I could make people believe that I was beautiful.

But recently, I spent some time with a friend who has known and seen me in nearly every state imaginable, from pukey ill to black-tie ready. I hadn’t put my makeup on yet and he said unprompted, “You know, you’re not really one of those girls who needs makeup. I don’t mind it, but you look pretty good already.”

That struck me. So last week, I went to work without makeup. Intentionally. I was fully dressed and about to do my face and then, I stopped. I looked at myself in the mirror. Really looked. My skin was soft and smooth. I’d started using BeautiControl’s new Instant Radiance Beauty Balm (full review forthcoming) so my skin was actually kind of glowing. I was there and that was me and I was happy and healthy. I looked at myself in the mirror and I finally felt alright.

The post Facing Freedom appeared first on The Right Style.

When the president of your company comes to town, it is mandatory that you pull out all of the stops. The “BeautiBar” is something that is known to all the ladies in our Beauti world: It’s a event, usually an intimate affair where you invite guests over and spoil them with samples of the latest and greatest of your sale items. (Remind me to show you our fabulous monthly sales brochures!) But for President Nikola, we took the BeautiBar and blew it up. We invited every one we knew and ADDED a fashion show. When you’re having a fashion show it is essential that you go for hig-impact pieces so one of my teammates arranged for us to work with a signature brand. When we contacted Ellen, the manager of Caché at Short Pump Towne Center, it was like kindred spirits had aligned. The “models”, three of my Spa Crew sisters and I, worked with Ellen to dream up looks that would take our BeautiControl models from our personal “work” style all the way to “WOW.”

I absolutely loved my dress— a sexy, bodycon number featuring a Lurex chainmail chest detail and cutaway neckline with leather piping. I love it so much in fact that I think a trip back to Cache is in my immediate future. Shop the look here.

The night was chockful of makeovers and glamorous details and some  seriously awesome giveaways: one of our guests walked away with an overnight getaway for two at The Westin and one more with a 200 dollar gift certificate to Shoes of Prey! Now who doesn’t want some custom-made shoes?!

It was a fabulous night with some equally fabulous guests but since I said it was my fashion WEEK, I’m not quite done yet. Stay tuned for part 2!

The post #be Fashionable: MY Fashion Week appeared first on The Right Style.

First things first, take a look at the NEW Beauticontrol…

The brand has changed. Our mission is clearer than ever and in our quest to help you to be the most beautiful and confident you EVER, we have a whole new color line!

Essentially, I spent the past week screaming and cheering and whooping it up with 3000 of the most amazing women across the US, Canada and Puerto Rico and I can’t wait to show you what’s on the horizon.

What do you want to know about Beauticontrol?

The post BE Revealed appeared first on The Right Style.

I designed these cards with my mother and her personality in mind. She’s now an Executive Director with BeautiControl now (more on that in another post!) and it would not be an understatement to say that she is one of the busiest women alive. The card needs to be flexible yet specific– highlighting her business as well as leaving it all open to interpretation.

What do you need in a business card?

The post The Business of Beauti appeared first on The Right Style.

Skin care is perhaps the most important thing you can do to enhance your image. You probably know that the skin is the human body’s largest organ and as an organ, it often is an easy visual indicator of our body’s health or distress. Clear, vibrant skin is a symbol of internal health — and all in a five second glance.

Take care to take care of your face by cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing with products that will keep your skin smooth and hydrated and remember that what works for your friend or that gorgeous celebrity might not necessarily work for you. That is what I love about BeautiControl’s Spa Facial line. Using the skin sensor technology and the online skin analysis quiz, you end up with a customized skin prescription. For instance, I have crazy oily skin with little evidence of sensitivity and loss of youth (lines, age spots and what not) and I was recommended the cleansing gel and toner with Alpha Hydroxy Acids ( AHAs) while one of my new clients was on the opposite of the oil spectrum and received the cleansing lotion and toner with Poly-Hydroxy Acids (PHAs). The quiz in and of itself is informative, causing you to really take stock of the things your skin is going through.

Take the quiz at beautipage.com/kerriestella and click on the skin s.p.a. Icon. Watch the video and if you want more info, feel free to leave me a comment!

Tell me, what is your skin care secret?

The post Skin Care: Don’t Get Dressed Without It appeared first on The Right Style.

While your teeth still may be chattering and if you’re in Virginia, like me, looking forward to impending snow related doom, the very notion of spring may be a comical one. But in fashion, as in life, we’ve got to think ahead. And honestly, with all of the unpredictability this past season, spring weather could be upon us in no time.

This video, featuring the one and only Gary Jones– the Vice President of Marketing and Research at BeautiControl, gives us a 10 minute “I spy” view of New York Fashion Week’s biggest make-up trends: Pink, Pops of Color, Dark Drama and Lots and lots of lashes!

The post Makeup Style Trend: Spring 2013 appeared first on The Right Style.