Here at Terra Del Sol Spa & Salon we work together morning till evening day after day together.
My staff is the best ever! I am the luckiest boss in the world. Tadimdia is leasing space in the Egyptian Salon and has shared her clients with us. Kauia is joining Tadimdia and is leasing the second chair January 1, 2009! We are excited to have two awesome stylists with us. We’re looking good!

Oh, dear Amanda, my marketing assistant, front desk professional and little friend. You are so sweet and lovable unless someone ticks you off! Much appreciation to you for all you do! Your job is not to be taken for granted. As a matter of fact when you return from vacation you can have your front desk back because I have been working it while you have been gone and you are going to wish you stayed here!

Rebeccah aesthetician from Argintina, listening to you speak is like listening to music. Already you have been told, “that is the best facial I have ever had.” Rebeccah is also our spa manager!

Holly, also an aesthetician who drove through the snow to join our team at Terra Del Sol.
Both aestheticians are trained in laser.

Melissa specializes in stone therapy. She gives killer deep tissue massage!
Micaela and Jennifer are also amazing massage therapist that practice both therapeutic massage, swedish and deep tissue. All the women massage therapist perform pregnancy massage.

Zachary is our “gentle giant” massage therapist. He is able to do a complete body massage with one hand, (however he does use two)!

Terra Del Sol Staff all wish you all as well as your family a Happy and prosperous New Year!

In this season of ice and snow sometimes we forget to remember all of our blessings;
Warmth, sitting next to a blazing fire. Relationships, surrounding ourselves with family, friends and co-workers. Health. Our safe haven. Comfort. Finding your passion. Adventurous spirit. Career of choice. Life.

Sometimes we don’t think about those precious people in our lives who brought us into this world. I am thinking about them today…Dad thank you for being the best father-in-law in the world. (He is fighting for his life now.) My mother-in-law, thank you for holding my hand in the back seat on the way to all those dinners we went to with our husbands. We miss you. My father, I will never forget how charming you were and your sense of humor. You are only a thought away. My mother, you are in your own little world now and I am there with you too. This has been a harsh winter this year, not only in weather but in loosing parents who are dear to our hearts. Thank you for giving us Life. We love you.

Happy Holidays from Terra Del Sol!
Just after Thanks giving Terra Del Sol staff attended Portland Fashion Week for five days.
We had a blast!

December was a busy month for us! As sponsors of the Ms. Oregon Pageant Terra Del Sol staff spent three days awaiting who our new Ms. Oregon and Ms. Teen USA would be! Congratulations to Ms. Oregon, Sylvie Tarpinian from our own Multnomah County area and Ms. Teen USA, Michele Modey!

We celebrated our Terra Del Sol Birthday on December 6, 2008 with models featuring designer dresses in the afternoon, Latin Music and appetizers catered by Ms. Mona! In the evening our favorite Mediterranean Band, Negara filled the halls with music. Belly dancers, Kristinah & Emily danced around the Moroccan Pools, Roman Columns and Turkish Steam Bath. It truly resembled ancient times. See our pictures on our website, click on “About Us”, and click on “Gallery.”

This week, like all over the country, the snow is falling! The weather is so unpredictable appointments have been rescheduling day by day. The East Coast suffers from an ice storm. Malibu, California…snow! On the West Coast at the beach has more snow than Portland! And in New Mexico more snow, snow and snow! Terra Del Sol clients are able to come in from the storm, sit near the fire place, sip on some spirit and soak in the jetted pools or lie on the crystals of warm sand. Steam in the turkish bath! You do not need to hibernate at home, be cold, without water and electricity and be miserable. If you do not wish to go out in this weather Terra Del Sol is selling gift certificates via telephone! Be safe!
Christi
owner of Terra Del Sol Spa & Egyptian Salon

Step One
Apply a concealer that is one shade lighter than your foundation. Dot it on over any blemishes or under-eye circles and blend it well.
Step Two
Choose foundation that matches your skin tone exactly. Apply it with a makeup sponge until it covers your entire face. Put your foundation everywhere, including your eyelids and lips. Then dust with face powder, not forgetting your eyes. Your makeup will stay longer, and your eyeshadow will not smudge/crease.
Step Three
Use a loose or pressed powder to keep foundation and concealer on longer. Use pressed powder to touch up when you’re away from home.
Step Four
do your eyebrows next. Use powdered eyebrow shadow on brows instead of pencil that will make it look unnatural.
Step Five
Choose three colors of eye shadow: light, medium and dark. Use the dark only to line your upper eyelid, in a fairly thin line along the upper lashes. Use the medium shade for the crease and the lightest shade for the area under the eyebrow.
Step Six
Apply eyeliner. Use a cake eyeliner with a damp, thin liner brush, or an eyeliner pencil, and line the lower lid below the lashes. Line only the outer two-thirds of the lower lid, or all the way across if you’re trying to achieve a darker look. Line all the way across the upper lid (just above the lash line and as close to the lashes as possible), or start the line where your lashes begin.
Step Seven
Dust your eyelashes with powder before applying mascara. Let your coats dry in between. If not it will become thick clumpy lashes. apply mascara to upper and lower lashes, in two thin coats to avoid clumpiness. Choose brown mascara if your coloring is fair; black or brown-black works well for darker coloring.
Step Eight
Smile to find the apples of your cheeks, and apply blush to the apples or below. If your blush is a bit much put it on before face powder for a softer look.
Step Nine
Choose a lipstick color that’s suited to your skin tone and that’s perfect for your day look. You can mix colors and textures for the evening outing…
Step Ten
Line lips after applying lipstick, not before. That way you won’t end up with a dark circle of lip liner after your lipstick has worn off. Avoid combining very dark lip liner and pale lipstick.

Tips
For a stronger look choose brighter or darker tones.
Clean makeup brushes by gently washing them in warm water and mild gel shampoo. air-dry them overnight.
If you decide to curl your eyelashes, do this just before applying mascara never after. Insert your eyelashes into the curler, squeeze just once, and hold for a few seconds.
Bacteria can grow in older cosmetics, which can lead to infections. Be on the safe side: Toss anything that seems old, especially mascara, and avoid sharing products with others.

The best eye makeup results come from using a cream shadow, then toping with a powder shadow. Powder alone is usually too light and wears off quickly. Cream alone can crease and is also very light. Combine them for staying power and a more dramatic look!

Big lips- If you have thin lips or want to enhance your lips, first put on your favorite lip gloss or lip stick, then take your lip liner and lightly fill in the top, middle part of your lips and the bottom, middle part of your lips with that color. It makes your lips pop out.

Come in and check out our TRUE makeup! We love it at Terra Del Sol Spa! Free counsultations and make-overs included with every facial!

My friend, an aesthetician and make-up artist from Lebanon once shared with me this, “A Turkish proverb said, “You can tell a beautiful woman by her head, a rich man by what he serves at his table, and a good horse by its teeth.” To be what you are is the real Beauty. Feel the beauty of the women and not the beauty of the make-up. I believe that every woman has her beauty and her personality and that make-up exists to put all that in advance and to give her more self-confidence. “Be yourself, not anyone else.” Every woman is beautiful in her own way. Makeup is an art where you use your cosmetics as paints and your face as the canvas to conjure up the desired look. follow the same bsic routine whenever you apply your makeup. that way, the steps to looking your best will be more organized and efficient. Jihane Farrah

This is what pleases me about my stellar employees!

If I am out in the world doing errands for Terra Del Sol and they are working front desk; I call in, they still answer the telephone in a professional way. Example, “Thank you for calling Terra Del Sol, this is______,” and they answer the phone and their voice sounds like they are happy to hear from me.

I went to a Mally’s meeting before the spa opened last year and the speaker said, “Never argue with the owner.” That is so true. As one of my girls said to another employee who was trying to get her to side with her co-worker instead of me, said, “Heh she signs my paycheck.” Like the old saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

Be willing to admit your mistakes and just say I am sorry. As a boss, I can be so humble so why can’t you?

Don’t ever blame your boss. If you need to tell your boss something they might not want to hear, a better way to tell that would be, “I feel______________________when you____________________. Name the feeling first and name the behavior second.

Avoid being defensive. If the employee denies they did it or did not do it, before they have listened to all of what the boss is trying to tell them, they haven’t heard the whole story yet. Be a good listener first and then tell your side of the story.

If you have already been trained yet still are not clear how to do something, tell your boss you would love to have more training. Telling the trainer you already know how to work front desk, yet when a client walks through the door and you do not know how to sell a gift certificate in front of your boss, is begging your boss to fire you.

Be respectful of your boss. Your boss did not get to where they are today without spending tons of time researching the business, buying the business, setting up the business and running the business without doing their homework. They may look like an idiot to you but they are smarter than you think. Never under estimate them. It may only look easy to run your own business.

Look professional. In this business we represent Health & Beauty. Be it. Look it. If you tend to be a world traveler from spa to spa, a creative hippy well, you too touch elbows with aestheticians, hair stylists and make up artist. If you need advice on what to do your co-workers would be flattered to help assist you.

Stay busy. If you need something to do ask your co-workers, manager, assistant or owner. There is nothing worse than a boss finding out your employees are wasting your time and money when you are trying to survive a tough economy, give hours to hard working employees who actually have paying clients and keep spa/salon doors open. You are cheating the company and taking away from your own raises, if you are on cell phones, text messaging or viewing MY Space on the clock.

Be genuine. No one likes to be told anything that isn’t true. If you are telling your boss what you think they want to hear and are just trying to get on the good side of your boss, your co-workers will hate you and so will your boss.

Avoid gossip. Everybody finds out any way. Nobody likes drama. It puts tension in the air. We all want to work in a happy place!

Our motto at Terra Del Sol Spa/Salon is “we work hard together and we play together” Really that means we have fun working together doing events in our community marketing ourselves and introducing Portland to Terra Del Sol!

As a business owner, as well as being in the spa/salon/health & beauty industry I have learned employees come and go. I prefer to think of myself as a “coach” instead of a “boss” in how I like to work with my employees. There are moments however that force me into that “boss” role. They are not my favorite moments as I love my beautiful spa and my staff.

Physical Symptoms: Hiccups begin when your boss enters into the room. You break into a cold sweat. All of a sudden you realize you are holding your breath and gasp for air.Cognitively: Obesesive thinking, “I am going to tell my boss off.” Brain freeze, (can’t remember what you were going to say). Tell your boss only what you think they want to hear. Bash your boss at happy hour with your friends. Sing in the lobby that you love your job in front of your boss and in the break room slam the door and say you hate your boss. Dread reading your outlook on your email account every day at work in case it is from your boss.

If you have one or many of these symptoms, it is time to rethink your passion or at least think about doing your passion somewhere else. Trust me, you can not change your boss but you can change who is your boss!

It is an honor to become a member of the Pearl District Business Association! It was a pleasure meeting Joshua Ryan, Executive Director of PDBA. He is an amazing person and a wealth of information for business owners who wish to grow their business! If you are a business owner and need support in this economy I highly recommend connecting with PDBA! There is a lot of support out there just at your fingertips! Ideas how to market, network with other business owners, attend support groups and know your neighbors! Together we are strong!