Be Fearlessly Fresh with Secret Mean Stinks.

Last year I told you about this amazing stand against bullying from Secret called Mean Stinks. This year, they are taking it a bit further with a larger campaign, a new product and some really fun ways to get involved to take a stand against bullying.

The latest U.S. Department of Justice report shows 30% of female students grades 6 – 12 were bullied at school or cyberbullied during the 2009 – 2010 school year, and Mean Stinks is committed to being part of the solution.

Secret wants to help bring an end to girl-to-girl bullying by inspiring girls to “gang up” around acts of good.  As I talked about last year, kids are mean, girls in particular.  I don't think a week goes by that I don't witness this horrific behavior happening, either right in front of me or on the internet. With so many things like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, there is so much "mean" in front of me all the time.

Simply put, we need to change our thoughts and behavior. Secret is helping lead the way. Not only do they want to get the message across, they have taken one of their great products, Clinical Strength Deodorant, and made a new version for Mean Stinks. Secret Mean Stinks gives us a Clinical Strength product to help protect against the ‘stink’ caused by wetness and odor, while providing a way to ‘stick-up’ against what really stinks – BEING MEAN.  Secret will be donating $1 (up to $150,000) from the purchases of this new Mean Stinks Clinical Strength sold to Girls on the Run®, to fund their girl empowerment programming and help prevent mean behavior before it starts.

A super easy and fun way to get involved and bring awareness to the problem and the campaign is to take the Mean Stinks Pinky Swear. To take the Pinky Swear, just paint your pinky nail blue in a show of peace & solidarity to keep mean out of your group of friends before heading back to school. I have been wearing mine and everyone asks me about it. Already, a few of my friends are now sporting blue pinky nails too.

To find out even more and get involved in the Secret Mean Stinks campaign, join them over on the Mean Stinks Facebook page.

You can get Fearlessly Fresh right now on the P&G e-store or at your favorite drugstore starting next month.

Back to School Beauty: Dare to Go Bare and More Looks from Benefit.

Misleading a bit, because I don't think I would ever go bare faced to school. Even if I only had a few minutes, I would slap on a little something to make my skin look more even and give it a bit of a natural glow. This would be a bare look, and I found a great tutorial on how to do just that over on the Benefit Cosmetics website.

In their Get The Look section, that I am totally addicted to by the way, the pros that know teach you in three easy steps, how to get a pretty, natural look.

screenshot from benefitcosmetics.com

The core products are for perfecting the skin and looking it look even and natural, with a bit of a glow, then topping it off with mascara and a neutral lipstick.

You'll have to check out the look details to see exactly all the Benefit products they used, but the look is easy to create using a few items that you may have already in addition to the ones suggested in the tutorial.

I do know that I want to pick up the POREfessional to minimize and hide my pores while making for a great surface to work on. I have a few makeup primers, but this look calls for a brightening primer - I like that suggestion. I have the boi-ing concealer already and this baby is great for my dark eye circles (thanks Dad!) and for covering those pesky pimples that pop up now and then. I have stolen my Mom's dandelion powder and I really like it. It brightens up my cheeks with just a hint of pink. It doesn't show up all that well with my tan, but the subtle glow is enough. The look finishes with mascara and a lipstick, but you could use what you already have.

Click Dare to Go Bare to see the look. Be sure to check out the other easy looks they have created:

Blushing Beauty - This look features a neutral eye with a pop of color on the cheeks (obviously) and a pretty pink lip.

Glowing My Way - This look is all about gorgeous, glowy skin.

Eye Gotcha! - This look features beautiful, subtle shades on the skin with an emphasis on the eyes

License to Bronze - This one totally suits me for summer and is perfect for extending summer into fall.

Starlet Fever - If you want an all out glam look, this one is it. Long lashes, lots of liner and red lips complete this red carpet look.

Up In Smoke - Smoky eyes are easy with these tips and products. Not for an every day look at school, this one definitely comes in handy for after school functions (aka PARTIES!).

Back to School Beauty: Odor-able Scentportables.

We all know lockers and dorm rooms are small. And many times small places stink of - well, I don't even want to think of what makes small spaces smell. When a plug is not available and candles are not an option, you need something portable. I plan on using one of these odor-able Scentportables to freshen up my locker and gym bag. 

Readily available at Bath & Body Works stores, these handy dandy clip and go portable fragrance discs are amazing. No plug, batteries or dangerous flames, these scented discs surround small spaces in refreshing, beautiful scents.

They come in a ton of great scents too. My fave is Frosted Cupcake. And for just $5.00, every small space can be scented - and stay that way for about 6 weeks.

The only problem is, I cannot decide which cute base (which sells for $4.00) I want.