Photo shoot and friends to boot

My best friend and I had the pleasure ( more like the challenge) of walking to a nearby (more like two mile away) park. After having a swing set contest , because your never too old to enjoy a playground, we decided to have a mini photo shoot of our own . It was quite the perfect day for it if i say so myself! The wind was blowing, the sun was up, and the weather was warm but breezy. The scenery was truly beautiful as well!





It was a really great opportunity to see the differences in our styles. I found that my neutral colors rather contrasted her vivid shades. It's funny because people often mistake us for each other (seriously, every one :friends, teachers, mothers....) since floral colors look good on my friend, maybe I will try them sometime?




I really admire what she did here. Floral and ruffles and lace, oh my!So many eye catchers going on here but everything seems to go so well. I think my my favorite piece in this outfit is the skirt, it's probably as feminine as you can get with it's ruffles and roses. In a past post I talked about playing it safe with neutrals and matching colors. I also mentioned how some people can pull of a look like this, my best friend is one of them xD.



Today, my outfit was very simple and consisted of totally neutral colors: brown , black, white, etc. I loved this shirt for the adorable desighn in front ( it has a collar and polka dot pattern that looks totally cartoon). The black flower necklace was a Christmas present and added just enough femininity to make this outfit fit my style to-a-tea.




We really had a great time playing model for the day and here's the finished product :) We must have taken 50 shots with instagram and such so I think I have narrowed down to four or five really nice ones !






Thanks for reading :)

Most versitile blogger award

Hello all ! It seems I have been granted the Most versatile blogger award by the lovely sunny . She has a wonderful blog over there at http://thingswhichmakemesmile.blogspot.com/ .



The rules are that once you are awarded, you share 7 facts about yourself and link to 10 fellow bloggers whom you have also awarded .(note: continued rules at the end of this post). Sounds fun :D here goes...


Favorite color: Green ( can you tell? xD )

favorite food : Anything creamy and cold (it's never too cold for a frozen treat! :p)

I plan to major in the culinary arts and become a chef one day......a very stylish chef!

I chickened out of taking physics in school, so instead, I am taking Honers molecular genetics/ micro biology ( I know, it makes no sense)

I cannot stay organized no matter how hard I try (I have tried forty five times so far...)

I am a major procrastinator which is probably why I stress about school so much ( don't judge me please xD it runs in the family)

I have a big heart . Because of it, There is care and thought put into everything I say and do. Thank you so much to all my followers and friends :)

And now without further ado, the 10 blogs that I have awarded as most versatile


http://foxyladybeauty.blogspot.com/


http://lilamoonlight.blogspot.com/


http://thelifesizebarbie.blogspot.com/


http://fashion-olic.blogspot.com/


http://beautyjamaica.blogspot.com/


http://ooarr.blogspot.com/



http://thisisenglandye.blogspot.com/


http://sherry-fashionchitchat.blogspot.com/

I recently followed a fellow blogger who also received the award, yet her post said that not ten, but five blogs should be awarded. I decided to cut it even at 8 blogs just to be on the safe side :P. The rules are that once nominated, you must link back to the person who nominated you on your blog and write 7 Facts about yourself. Then you can nominate 10, or 5, or eight ( at this point I wouldnt blame you for nominating 100!) blogs that you think deserve the award. Congratulations to my winners and good luck to everyone!


Thanks for reading :)

Teal Ring and Aqua Marine

I recently visited some family in the city and on the day I saw my cousin, I noticed that she was wearing the most adorable ring! It was a beautiful and quite large teal stone with a ring of silver around the edges. It must have been love at first sight. When I asked where she got it, she replied that she had purchased it at a swamp meet. I have to admit for a while I was heartbroken, the market is every Friday and I was only visiting for a day. To my surprise, when I saw her next (about a week ago) she pulled out the exact ring; she had looked for it last Friday and purchased it for me. Thanks cuzn!!!




I painted my nails a fresh aqua marine color to match . I will say that it is a bit large for my finger but it definitely doesn't affect my enthusiasm. What a perfect transitional color from winter to spring. It's a bit early to think about spring but it's a good thing to keep in mind. In the right light, the color looks fresh and seems to pop, but for the meantime, while the weather is still Grey, the shade pretty much matches the color of the sky.




I went a little overboard with the pictures, but I think everyone gets the idea :p The great thing about teal is that the color is so easy to pair with other things. I played it safe with a black sweater and belt when I wore the ring today. But the possibilities are endless and I think this ring has a lot of potential. I plan on developing a small collection of rings so that I can where them more often, and so the hunt begins!!!



Thanks for reading :)

Makes me Happy

There are many things that make me happy. Today it's these:


Rosca cake

In Latin American culture there is a special holiday in January called Epiphany, this holiday remembers the three kings that brought gifts to baby Jesus ( it has it's origins in Catholicism). so on January 6th, families come together to celebrate and distribute this cake.

I like to think of it as the Latin version of a Christmas fruit cake (or more like a bread really), except for one exception! a Rosca cake has tiny baby figures hidden inside so that when the cake pieces are distributed, whoever has a figure in their slice gets money. Yes , I am well aware that having tiny plastic figures in your food is dangerous .....



Kumquats

There's an adorable little kumquat tree in my backyard that has been there all my life. Truth be told I don't really care for the fruit but it breaks my heart to see the Kumquats grow so big then wilt after a few weeks, so I always pick them anyways xD


Fernie


It's so funny how my cat Fernie likes to sit with his paws elevated. I have caught him sitting like this a few times and finally got the pictures to prove it! you can totally see his little paws clearly resting on the upper bar.



What isn't very obvious in this picture is how high he his. My cat is peering over a 10 foot balcony into the backyard!



thanks for reading! :)

Christmas surprises! (4) my christmas e.l.f

Well this is the last Christmas surprises post ! I am pretty sure I have completely bored everyone with my e.l.f hauls and reviews by now... but this was a gift, I swear! A totally unexpected (and very much appreciated) gift that brought with it this post . What can I say? my friends know me all to well! Get ready, because it's a long one!

Left to right : cool coral, rosy raisin, barely bitten, party pink
First up are four E.L.F mineral lipsticks . When I first heard the word "Mineral" I expected more of an all natural/ organic type of product. What it actually meant was that the lipstick had a sort of shimmery affect that was a result of tiny minerals infused throughout the product (oops aha).


This is the E.L.F mineral lipstick in rosy raisin. I was a little disappointed that the swatch was so different than the one online. The actual color is almost an exact match of my natural lip color which kinda of eliminates the whole purpose of a lipstick. However, I suppose this could come in handy some time .... :/ The consistency is creamy, soft, and definitely doesn't drag on my lips. I also appreciate the tiny shimmer in this lipstick because it creates a fuller lip.




Next is E.L.F mineral lipstick in the shade cool coral. I really love this shade because it's so unique yet it looks so natural! you can kind of see the gold-ish veins running through the coral color and there are also some splashes of red running through. I am really looking forward to wearing this shade often :)))



I'm glad I received two very opposite shades. It's a great way to experiment with what colors look best! but I have to say that deciding between them is actually really hard xD. this is the lipstick in the shade party pink, which look very light online but in reality, the shade is rather neutral. It is however, fairly pigmented, as all of these lipsticks are. It definitely looks pink on lips, but it doesn't stand out as bright or lighter than usual. The color also goes well with my medium toned skin despite being a lighter shade. It also looks natural despite obvious pigmentation ( its a pretty confusing shade). Nonetheless, I love it and plan to use it often, though I recommend it with more of a daytime look.


the last lipstick is in the shade barely bitten. this is a deep red color and doesn't take a lot of effort to achieve full pigmentation ( so I have to be a little more careful with this one ! ) This shade is pretty safe for those of us who can't pull of a red lipstick (and I mean RED lipstick) which is exactly what what I have been searching for. This is a good shade for the night but will also go well during the day ( just remember not to wear a super pigmented blush or eyeshadow with this on! )



I also received two lovely blushes from a dear friend in the shades candid coral and tickled pink. I had heard so much talk about the famed candid coral that was supposedly a dupe for the Nars blush in orgasm but I wouldn't know because I don't own Nars blush in that shade anyways :p



The top image is the E.L.F studio blush in candid coral and the bottom picture is the shade tickled pink. I was a bit let down to find that candid coal is rather orange and dark, not exactly my ideal blush . Also ,it has to be applied multiple times for the color to show against my skin. It has a lovely glow to it but i would not recommend it for those with dark or medium toned skin ( like myself) only because it has to be applied several times before pigmentation appears :/ . Tickled pink on the other hand is a very versitile shade and does show on my skin with just one layer. It is not sparkly but tiny flecks of gold in the blush create a very unique and subtle shimmer which I really appreciate.



Whew! and lastly I recieved the E.L.F everyday eyeshadow palate which sports 12 eyeshadow shades (generally warm colors like purple , brown, and black) . I don't use eyeshadow too often but I am happy to have this nearby before a night out. It's always nice to do something extra during special events or even spontaneously!



Another thing I don't use to often but still nice to have around: an eyeliner pencil. I usually prefer gel eyeliner (and I also do not own a sharpener xD ) but when doing a dramatic look it's better to have a pencil for precision.


Well that's all! my Christmas surprises posts have officially come to and end for the year :) thanks for being patient with me ! And thanks for reading :)

Christmas surprises! (3)

The two Christmas surprises mentioned in this post were the two presents that I had personally asked Santa for. I was so excited to unwrap them on Christmas that I used both immediately upon opening them! So here they are!

A curling wand from Remington





I knew that this was what I wanted as soon as I saw it in the store. I didn't even know it had actual pearls infused in the barrel until I read the packaging. I don't really HAVE to own a curling wand made with real pearls, but it sure makes me feel pretty special when using it! The wand came with this nifty glove to protect myself from the heat , and may I say it was definitely a good thing to "have at hand" (lol it's a pun!)


The wand shows you how hot it is and the highest I have set it to is 356 degrees, though I'm sure it goes higher ! the little bars underneath the digits indicate how far your setting is from maximum heat.


So far I have only used it to give myself waves and medium curls but I 'm never patient enough to create the shiny, bouncy curls I pictured having when I first saw the wand. Since I didn't actually read the packaging or pay attention to the directions on the back of the box when I saw it in the store, it's probably fair to say that what made me want it so badly was the color ( I know, I'm hopeless!)





A rice mask from skin food

The second item I asked for was a rice mask wash off from a new store that just opened in the mall. It's called skin food and it basically sells beauty products made with natural ingredients that are beneficial for your body. I have seen their ingredients vary from egg whites to black sugar. Some of the products are unbelievable, like caviar and gold serum or even salmon cosmetics! Of course there's also a bunch of facial masks that use herbs from distant lands with funny names xD !



The purpose of the rice mask is to gently exfoliate (using tiny grains of rice of course!) as well as soften your skin. When I received some samples I completely fell in love with the outcome as well as the fresh scent that is a natural characteristic of the mask. I also loved how only the tiniest bit of product is necessary for the mask to work! This jar is going to last me quite a long time ( the cheap part of me is very happy about this xDD )

The fact is, this stuff is a great skin softener though you shouldn't rely on it to exfoliate and polish like a sugar maks would ( By the way I can do a tutorial on a great sugar mask later...). This is more of a soothing mask that should be applied to a cleansed face before bed so as to allow its nutrients to be absorbed over night. The best results come from allowing the masks to soak in and settle before applying makeup or a cleanser. I wouldn't use this as a moisturizing method before I wear cosmetics or as a cleanser for removing makeup.

If you don't happen to have a rice mask lying around ( or a caviar and gold infused serum!) my best advise would be to apply lotion or some form of a moisturizer to your skin before you go to bed. Our skin uses sleep to replenish and will allow moisture to soak in during this time.

Thanks for reading! :)

Christmas surprises! (2) and a happy new year

I hope you all had a most wonderful New Years! It's certainly one the best times for getting together with friends and family. In my neighborhood, the kids bang pots and pans in the street and pop small firecrackers at 12 o'clock. I always feel sorry for those who try to get some rest on New Years Eve because I'm sure it's quite impossible xD.

It's always been fascinating to see how other countries celebrate this holiday, I know many places experience New Years hours before the U.S does ! It's so wonderful that everyone in the world can celebrate the new year together .


For Christmas, a friend of mine hand picked a collection of nail polish and chose a color for every holiday of the year so that I would always have a festive color for each season. Of course, the first color she picked was Gold for New Years eve.


I can't think of a holiday with more sparkles, glitter and shine that New Years Eve. From the sparkling shampagne to the shiny confetti, from the fireworks that light the sky above to the evening parties that shine through the streets below, the whole world seems to have a golden glow. And my fingenails are no exception!


Gold is actually very versatile and very forgiving as a nail polish. I would suggest it for all skin tones and all outfits because it seem s to go well with every color!


Gold with navy blue or bronze





Gold with teal


Gold with burgundy

Of course I suggest adding a little sparkle with accessories in order to enhance the color of your nails ( hence the gold chain in some of these pics)

Here's to a happy new year to come!

Thanks for reading :)