Patricia Handschiegel - Survival Tips for Busy Girls

Patricia Handschiegel is the founder of Stylediary.net, which she sold to Stylehive.com in November 2007. She has a background in internet infrastructure and technology business, was an advisor to Kaboodle.com (sold to Hearst in 2007), currently writes a blog for TV Week about her experiences in moving from internet to television business, and has contributed as an entertainment/media business writer for Venturebeat.com. She's also been an early visionary of professional internet tv content since 2005 and is currently an advisor to several entertainment/internet projects.

Always an entrepreneur, she had a highly profitable babysitting monopoly at 11, lent her writing skill to students at 17 and landed her first published national article at 23. She's worked as a ghost writer for a national tv correspondent. At 22, she was recognized nationally for developing women's hockey and advised companies on creating hockey products for women. She's been quoted and profiled in dozens of media outlets since and is currently developing two book concepts.

An aspiring serial entrepreneur, she plans to continue to build internet, entertainment and media companies, with the goal to benefit social change and charities. She is currently involved in the use of technology to help find missing and abused children, and has contributed financially to TheJoyfulChild.org and other organizations. She is the founder of Look|Shop|List.com (in development). She can be reached via email at ph@dslextreme.com.

Survival Tips for Busy Girls

I’m not kidding when I say my life is chaos. Most days, I have a lot of back to back stuff, either things to do for Stylehive, who bought my start up last year (and who I now work for), an event or some kind of dinner, or, just working late on something else. It’s madness. I also happen to live in a city where you can’t exactly get away with going out all busted up. It means that girl time is mandatory but also has to be worked around my crazy schedule, which can sometimes really be impossible. But, if your skin, hair and nails look good, I swear it’s half the battle. Over the years, I’ve figured out ways to cheat the system for when I’m too busy to get a manicure or to the spa:

1. Invest in a magnifying mirror. Preferably one with a light. First of all, it’s awesome for touching up your eyebrows if you can’t get them done, and second, it honestly makes putting on eye makeup SO much easier. You have no idea. My makeup always looks good, even if I’m in a rush.

2. Take hair vitamins. I swear by them! I take Vita-Hair by Tricology and it keeps my hair really soft and in amazing shape, which helps if I have to go too long without getting it cut.

3. Get good facial and body scrubs. I’ve tried them all and swear Clinique’s facial scrub is the best. I like Bliss body scrubs in the shower. Bright skin helps!

4. Buy a good clear top coat for your nails. Really good polish and coats will stretch the life of your manicure/pedicure so much longer. A lot of salons skimp on quality (especially with top coats). Plus, having a clear coat at home will help refresh an old mani/pedi when you can’t get services done.

5. Find the easy, never fail thing for your hair. Everybody has one or two ways of making their hair look decent on short notice, like when you’re late for something. Find yours and learn to ace making it look as polished as possible. It’ll save you when you’re running late but want to look good.

6. Have a default makeup look you can do quickly or on the go. I can’t even say how many times I’ve had to put makeup on in the car on my way to things. Go to Mac or whatever, tell them you need a look you can put on in 5 minutes and they’ll put it together for you.

7. Create pre-canned, ready to go outfits. I don’t have a lot of time to figure out what to wear, so having a few default, good outfits in mind in advance helps a ton. Just ask anybody about my black cashmere sweater dress. It has gotten me through a ton of events.

8. Moisturize head to toe. It’s one of the quickest ways to feel put together and polished. Include your cuticles on your hands and feet.

9. Buy hair glaze when needed. If you color your hair or it just gets dull, a wash-out glaze (sold at Walgreens) can help. I’ve done it more times than I can count before big meetings. It works.

10. Carry the essentials with you, always. I rarely leave for anything without Bliss moisturizer, a lip gloss, and mascara in my bag. Touch-ups are key.