My experience in putting together the Appearance Program:

Hello. My name is Destina Moga. I am the creator of the Makeovers Life program. In 1993, I decided to move to Fayetteville, Arkansas.

• I had some money saved up and went there with the intention to open my own resale shop. My grandmother and I loved resale shopping together so I was quite savvy in creating my store.
• I named the store A-Line. I stayed in business for a year and a half. I learned to work hard and loved my new business. I was able to make and save money. I sold A-Line and it is still in business today. I outgrew the resale shop.
• I wanted to open a new store in the same location with new trendy clothes from New York and Los Angeles.

• My Clothing  Store - The Source

  After I sold A-Line, I went to New York to buy clothes and opened a new store called The Source.
• The Source was also a success. I had a great customer base and my marketing approach was to bring the New York fashion attitude South.
• It worked and the ladies in town could not wait for me to get back from New York every trip I made.
• Having been in the clothing business taught me about the importance of one's appearance.
• The way we feel influences our appearance.
• My personal style is influenced by my European background.
• I am more comfortable in a skirt or a dress with a pair of strappy low heeled sandals than I am in a pair of khakis or jeans. I definitely inherited my grandmother and mother's feminine style.
• Having a resale shop made me budget conscious.
• I would leaf through high fashion magazines for ideas on what key pieces were in style for the season then find alternatives resale shopping.
• A good pair of black pants, a well tailored jacket, a chunky cardigan sweater, etc. is always in style. Key wardrobe building pieces are timeless.
• Shopping in New York for my store also taught me the value of good Italian shoes.
• To this day, I turn over every shoe when shoe shopping to see where they were made. The label on the shoe does not matter as much as where the shoe was made .
• Most of the shoes sold in stores are made in China. It is far and few between to find a pair of Italian shoes especially in a discount store. I still only buy Italian shoes. If I can't find a pair shopping, I just don't buy any at that time. It's one of the great rules of having a solid wardrobe to get dressed out of everyday.
• Ever since I was a teenager, I've taught myself the value of having a good beauty routine -how to clean and moisturize my skin, makeup routine, cut and color hair, different styles for hair with hair accessories, hair removal with wax and tweezers, and nails.
• For example, knowing how to do a manicure and pedicure like a professional salon will save a lot of money over a lifetime.

What is Makeovers Appearance?

Appearance is the way something or someone gets introduced to the world.

First and foremost, appearance is the reflection of how you feel about yourself. When you feel content and at ease with your life, it shows in your actions and how you take care of your outward appearance.

Having a good outward appearance means different things to different people. So how do you know what is best for you?

Well, the general guideline is that you look clean and well kept.

Hair is styled and neatly trimmed.

Toenails and fingernails are tidy.

Face is clean and made up.

Clothes are clean and fit well.

Shoes are comfortable, clean, and in good condition.

Your accessories are well matched and do not overpower your appearance.

Maintenance of your appearance tools is the most important thing to having an overall positive experience to the way you present yourself to your world.

There are three parts to the appearance tools-closet, beauty tools, and investing in changing the big stuff about your appearance.

Personal style is created out of your lifestyle needs.

Are you a professional?

Are you a worker?

Are you a stay at home parent?

First, there's the closet.

Clothes do more than just keep the body covered.

Every wardrobe has key pieces that are necessary for a successful daily dressing experience. These key pieces allow you to always know that you look your best.

Makeovers Life has a system to teach anyone how to anchor an outfit in a neutral color and build an outfit that works for you personally.

We also have a great list of tricks of the trade rooted in common sense and creativity in making each outfit comfortable and designed to meet your needs.

Group clothes by color & category

In the Makeovers-Life Appearance section of the program, you will find a wardrobe basics list. Also, all the clothes you have in your closet should fit you well. Clothes that fit inspire a low maintenance and high appreciation value every time you put them on.

Shopping for clothes is a fun activity or even a hobby for some people . However, shopping for clothes should not take over your life or your wallet. Every person can shop within their means when they learn the tricks of the trade. Shopping off the sale racks is a good idea unless you are buying the item just because it's on sale and not giving regard to how it fits or how it fits in with the rest of your wardrobe. Always shop with a list. Impulse shopping should be something you used to do, but no longer feel the need to do.

When you curb your shopping habit, you will bring back into balance the rest of your life. Time taken away from shopping can be given to other aspects of your life like hobbies, sports, socializing- hanging out with family and friends, searching out new friends, traveling, taking a class, painting, photography, meditating, yoga, etc.

Find your style beyond jeans and khakis. We get stuck in a rut with our personal style. Jeans and khakis are easy outs. Putting on a pair of jeans relieves the pressure of being creative in the morning when you're getting dressed. The time to pick out your clothes is not in the morning when you're getting dressed to rush out the door.

Closet organization plan: Makeovers Life created a simple and time efficient plan on how to organize your closet for maximum benefits. Just like a restaurant does not open the kitchen when you walk in and order your food, you cannot expect your closet to produce good outfits at the time you need to put them on.

Outdated pieces of clothing are best to be passed on to the trendy teenagers at your local resale shop or donation box. Outdated pieces clutter your closet and leave you wondering for years whether they will come back in style. Wearing these outdated pieces makes you look dated and even frumpy.

Choose Italian boots for best quality

Accessories are important because they polish your outfit and are good conversation starters. Choosing accessories begins with basics. Belts, scarves, jewelry, shoes, handbags, etc. Shoes are still best when they are made of leather, the right size, and comfortable. Really high heeled shoes are best left for special occasions. Knowing which shoes go with which outfit is key. Having many styles of shoes gives you more choices when getting dressed.

A well organized jewelry box  is a lady's best friend

The jewelry box also has basics on which to build your collection. A strand of pearls, a silver necklace with interchangeable pendants, small hoop earrings, pearl studs, a good watch, a tennis bracelet(real or faux), etc.

Belts and scarves also come with a list of basics. The classic colors of brown and black, thin and thick, casual and elegant, silver or gold belt buckle etc. After you've acquired these basics, you can experiment with more trendy and colorful belts as well.

Handbags like shoes are best when made of leather. If they are not leather, choose a designer's logo handbag to give your outfit that finishing touch.

Second part of appearance is having a beauty routine.

Isabella doing her beauty routine at home

The Makeovers-Life Appearance section has a monthly schedule of when to groom your hair (cut and color), nails, hair removal, skin care, exfoliation, etc.

When you put this information on a calendar, the task of keeping up with your appearance is not just left to when you remember it or an afterthought. “ Oh yeah, my hair roots grew in about a month ago. Maybe its time to color my hair.” Having a constant beauty routine is not about spending a lot of money.

Putting makeup on is an art. When you learn the basics of the 'everyday' face, the ‘smoky eye', the rules about accenting either the lips or the eyes and not both, the simple rules of anchor colors, along with many others, you learn to master the art of applying makeup.

Makeovers Life- Appearance is about learning how to do most of these beauty routines at home. For example, a woman can certainly learn how to do your nails like a professional when she practices and is given good instructions.

The third part of appearance is changing the way you look because you are not content with a certain part of your body.

Stop shopping and save money towards a beautiful smile

For example, having missing or really crooked teeth is not something you can hide by wearing a pretty blouse or a new pair of earrings.

Most of us ignore our bad teeth and continue to spend money accentuating other parts of our bodies. Unfortunately, the gap in our self esteem is never really filled until we fix what is wrong. In this case, our teeth. Stop spending your disposable income at the clothing store and put away the money that you use on buying new clothes. Make an appointment with a dentist and see how much it costs to get your teeth fixed.

Getting the big stuff of your appearance taken care of will lift your spirits to new heights that you did not even think were possible.

Another example is of the person who is overweight and trying to feel better about themselves by buying new clothes. When you are ready to lose weight, stop shopping for clothes in the size you are in now. The Makeovers-Life program has a good diet plan that will melt the pounds off. Once you've lost the weight, you can shop for new clothes that fit your figure and feel self-empowered on actually fixing what is broken versus trying to cover it up. In conclusion, when you have something that you know can be fixed about your appearance, FIX IT.

Medicating low self esteem at the mall with shopping is not going to fix what's really the problem. Take the time, courage, energy, and savings to get your problem taken care of. Do whatever it takes. It's worth it to be able to walk around your world to look and feel your best.

A final word…