Here’s the story of a gal named Sheila…

One of my earliest memories is sitting on my mom’s lap in a hotel room in New York City and watching her paint a cherry red nail polish on her nails. My family was in town for a conference, and Mom must have seen someone wearing that shade. She headed over to a drug store, brought the bottle back to the hotel room in a brown paper bag, placed her hands over the empty bag, and proceeded to paint away. It’s hard to explain what that particular moment did to me, but I’ve been hooked on all things beauty-related ever since.

Through years of trial and error and getting deeply involved with the beauty industry, I’ve arrived at this point in my life … thinking about how quickly everything has come together and how instinctual it’s all been, I can very much say that everything that I’ve experienced in my life and my work – the good and the bad – made Painted Ladies possible.  

Two weeks ago, while chatting with Taryn and some online beauty-loving friends that I’ve known for the better part of a decade, I had an idea. What if, I thought, we put together a website where we blog about our experiences, our favorite products, our trials and tribulations? There really isn’t anything like that out there in cyberspace, and it would be so great to be able to connect with people over lipstick and liquid eyeliner. Now that it’s here, we’re so excited about what this blog can offer to us and to so many others. We’re here to share, to learn, and to grow from each other. 

Some more details about me: I’m 30 years old, of Middle Eastern ancestry, and have dark, naturally curly hair and olive skin that tends toward the oily side. My beauty goals are to keep on top of this aging thing (where’d those sunspots come from?), and my general well-being. I hope to finally lose those lingering pregnancy pounds that have stayed after a difficult divorce and the stress of being a single mom who works full-time.

In my spare time, I chase after my extremely adorable two-year old son, run a single mom blog, practice photography, try out new recipes, and work on crafting projects.

 Recently, I entered a makeover contest by Stila Cosmetics and was chosen as one of their winners. The video clip from the event is on the way, but I’ll post my recount of the night before then. It was a wonderful night with some really special people, and it’s something I’m looking forward to sharing with you!