About
Chic Critique is a group of girlfriends who like to talk beauty and fashion. We’ll tell you the products we like and the ones we don’t. We’ll let you in on the tips and tricks we discover to help us all look our best, and we love to discuss the latest trends.
Most of the products we discuss are ones we discovered and purchased ourselves. However, should you be a company or PR firm looking to have your product reviewed, or if you would like to advertise on our site, we would love to talk to you. Please direct all inquiries to Jo-Lynne at dcrmom (at) gmail.com.
Our Contributors:
Jo-Lynne is the owner of Chic Critique. She grew up a child of the ’80s in southern Virginia where the only thing bolder than the makeup was the voluminous hair. She came by her affection for beauty products honestly as her mom spoiled her at a young age with Lancome skincare products and Paul Mitchell hairspray.
Her mom also instilled in her the notion that a lady never leaves the house without her face on, meaning a full face of makeup. Jo-Lynne took this sage advice to heart, although after four years of college in New England, she learned to embrace a more natural makeup regimen. And she lost the big hair, perhaps the most significant decision of her young life.
As a mom of three, Jo-Lynne has discovered that there are some things more important than having her face on before she leaves the house, like having her daughter to school on time, but she still loves to glam it up for a night out every once in a while.
Jo-Lynne currently resides in the exurbs of Philadelphia with her handyman/computer geek husband and her three lively children.
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Michelle is a 30-something Midwest native now living in the South. Over the years, she has suffered through her fair share of bad perms, sky-high bangs, and disastrous makeup trends. After a brief but intense Madonna phase in junior high, she traded in her black rubber bracelets in search of a more “low-key” style.
Michelle’s fascination with beauty products began with Maybelline and Cover Girl. She quickly graduated to the likes of Clinique, Lancôme and Estée Lauder, and now just uses what works –- which is a mix of everything.
These days, as a wife and stay-at-home mom to three, she spends her days changing diapers, doing laundry, running carpool, and figuring out what to make for dinner. When she doesn’t have her kids in tow, you’ll find her wandering the aisles of the local CVS –- enjoying a little quiet time while feeding a growing addiction to lip gloss. Michelle blogs regularly at Life with Three.
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Sarah is a soon-to-be college graduate from Indiana. Growing up with a very classy mother, Sarah learned from an early age that both high-end brands and drugstore steals deserve a spot in her medicine cabinet.
Sarah’s love of makeup began in the sixth grade when her elementary school banned the students from wearing makeup. Never one to follow the rules, she meticulously applied white eye shadow each morning, reveling in her rebellious ways. To this day, nothing has really changed. Sarah is the girl who went to all of her college classes with a full face of makeup. Though her friends urged her to take a break, she never listened.
Today, Sarah’s beauty and apparel wardrobe consists of pretty much everything. On a daily basis, Sarah can be spotted running around town in a black belted trench coat, flip flops, and jeans. She also enjoys pointy-toed heels, dresses, and the color pink. Sarah has been known to spend hours and hours at the mall before moving onto TJ Maxx. Her favorite way to spend a Friday is to start at the mall bright and early and crash on the couch in the afternoon with a good, sappy chick flick. (In fact, she won’t often admit that she dropped her advertising minor in school so she could have her Fridays completely free.)
Currently, Sarah is faced with the looming threat of “real life” after college. She enjoys knowing being a know-it-all about almost anything (seriously, ask her a question). She blogs when she has a spare minute over at her personal blog, Classy & Fabulous.
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With an Air Force dad, Moriah grew up literally seeing the world. She met her husband in college (they married on graduation day) and has finally sunk down some roots in the Southern US.
She started loving makeup in junior high, and would spend hours sitting on the floor in front of her closet-door mirror experimenting with colors and applying countless coats of (cheap) mascara.
It’s proven to be a lifelong commitment. Although, now with four small children, spending multiple hours in front of a mirror every morning is not exactly possible. Consequently, she’s always on the lookout for time- and money-saving beauty tips.
When she’s not wiping noses or applying mascara, she can often be found noting the humorous moments in her life at her personal blog Please Pass the Salt.
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Kristin is a 30-something wife, full-time mommy to three, and part time realtor in North Carolina.
Her love of shopping started at a very early age. At the mall with her mom when she was three years old, she was heard proclaiming, “Mother, I MUST have this dress!”
Later on, her bedroom closely resembled the local drugstore, and her dressing table was filled with Sea Breeze, Aquanet, Love’s Baby Soft and 197 scents of lip gloss.
As a high-schooler, she spent a lot of time cheering and dancing at football and basketball games. After observing all of the moms that were continually in the bleachers, it was then she vowed to herself that when she became a mom, she would never, EVER be caught dead in a sweatshirt, turtleneck, and sneakers.
Usually recognized for all her blonde curly hair, she has experimented with almost every hair gel on the planet. She loves a good bargain, and upon receiving a compliment on her clothing, is known to immediately tell where she got it and how much it cost. She truly believes that no matter what a woman’s age or size, there is no reason to be frumpy! She is out to change the world, one sweatshirt at a time.”
When Kristin isn’t out snagging the latest bargain, pouring tea, or avoiding laundry, she can be found blogging at Fill My Cup.
Kellie is a blogger, writer, and mom of six who spends her days plunking away at the keyboard while trying to keep her toddler girl out of the “bad” things… cat food, litter, toilet, etc. With a passion for helping others, she administrates her life-changing blog, Women’s Life Link, and regularly contributes to several other online blogs/magazines. She is a firm believer that the precious moments of life, whether good or bad, should lead to paths of growth and self-discovery. It is through this process that she mentors others. In addition to the insightful advice and encouragement that she presents to her readers, Kellie plans to offer women’s Journey Coaching services (health, wellness, beauty/image consulting, confidence, life-transition) starting in January of 2010.This creative soul has spent her adulthood studying and working at various arts and self-improvement practices, including, interior design, feng shui, creative writing, beauty consulting and make-up artistry, natural health, weight loss counseling, vocal music, song writing, and jewelry making. She is currently seeking representation for her first novel, Unaware, and plans to continue writing in the fiction/thriller genre.* * *
Leigh Ann is a Midwestern girl who loves living in the South. She’s married to her best friend, and they’re raising two beautiful four-legged princesses. She loves decorating and being crafty. She’s still trying to decide what she wants to do when she grows up. Her home base is The Bird’s Nest.
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Trina is 30-something wife and mommy of two. Her goal is to remain herself while walking the road of motherhood. To her that means no sweat pants or baggy T-shirts and never leaving the house without lip gloss and mascara. She likes to look fabulous but stay within budget. She’s finally understanding the hype of anti-aging products and is on a quest to find what works and what doesn’t. She blogs at XOXO, Trina.
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Cita is a Peruvian-born, Floridian-bred, aspiring Michigander who loves being outdoors but can’t stand bugs and creepy crawlies (ewww). She’s a rockstar in her shower and a ballerina in her living room. And in February 2010 she married the most handsome man on earth. No, seriously.
Extremely wary of putting her real name on the world wide web, “Cita” never leaves the house without mascara and earrings. She became obsessed with make-up at the tender age of nine, which really just means that she was known for wearing too much eye shadow in middle school. Not a good thing. By high school she became friends with the ladies at the Clinique counter who taught her a thing or two about eye shadow application. She has not missed a single Clinique Bonus Time since then.
Cita is an online advertising manager by day, and a bargain shopper by night (and during lunch break). Frugal by nature, she devotes her spare time to finding the best deals at her favorite retailers — Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Old Navy, Endless.com and Marshall’s. She blogs at Cita Online.
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Hailing from Cincinnati, Becky is a wife and mother to one real baby, one furbaby. A lover of all things beauty, fashion and shopping-related, she remembers receiving the Best. Present. Ever. from her grandmother in the late ’80s: one of those Estee Lauder makeup trays that comes out around the holidays. Unwearable blue eyeshadow, anyone? Yes, please!
Since then, she’s realized that not every beauty and fashion trend is for everyone, but has usually not made that realization until *after* the cash register cha-chings. As a result, Becky is good friends with the workers at her local consignment shop, and frequently institutes “FREE MAKEUP FRIDAY!” at work to get rid of the colors, potions and lotions that just don’t work – for her. (But, in the interest of full disclosure: She does secretly giggle when the Just Wrong Red lipstick disappears, usually almost instantly.)
Becky occasionally blogs at Larry’s World, when she’s not too busy trying to figure out how the smoky eye without looking like an emo clown.
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