My Makeup Secret


With just two days left for the holidays, I know the ladies you have worked hard to get ready preparing for the holidays and the party. Now it’s time to take care of yourselves, the dress, the makeups. Today, this blog is dedicated just for you because you deserve it. I am by no means experts in beauty or make-ups. I will bring today what I have come across through process of elimination through my own personal experience. Since, I have started using my new make-up regiment since last August, I have been getting non-stop complements on my make-ups because I keep my make-up simple, and today I want to share that step by step secret with you. Again, I am not promoting any particular product. I am just reporting what has worked for me. Perhaps something else will work for you. If you have a great alternative please share in your comments and we would love to hear it. I will also share some great holiday fashion that came across in Vogue magazine. Happy reading.

The first step before any make-up regiment, I always wash my face with my usual regiments and use my Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner.  I then use my usual moisturizing regiment.

For the fist step of make-up, I use the Sephora Photo Finish More Than Primer – Blemish Control.  It can be layered under foundation without the worry of breakouts. It’s parabens, sulphate, and phthalates free. I follow the primer with a very light layer of Body Shop Tea Tree BB Cream. After my trip to the very windy and cold city of Chicago my face broke out in enormous blisters and acne with resulted in bad scars as a result I have to take extra precaution on myvery sensitive skin when comes to skincare. You probably don’t have to use this. However, I love this product it because it give my skin extra layer of protection and during weekends when I don’t feel like wearing foundation, I just wear this and I am good to go.

I next wear the NARS Radiant Cream Concealer underneath my eyes to cover my dark circles. Ladies, here I have to share a secret with you. In order to get rid of the crease with the concealer underneath your eyes, the trick is to mix the concealer with your eye cream. It works for me all the time. I put dabs of eyes creams and dabs of the concealer under by eyes and mix and walla perfect under eyes.  I then hide rest of my blemishes and scars with NARS concealer. The best thing about both of these concealers is that they come in make shades so there is a shade for every skin tones.

Once I cover all the flaws, I use Sephora MicroSmooth Baked Foundation Face Powder . I like this powder make-up because they are faster to use and less time consuming. More0ver, this is parabens free baked foundation which I prefer for my skin. However, when I am taking my time and what to use liquid make-up I use Sephora 10 HR Wear Perfection Foundation. This is a parabens free, oil free foundation which comes in my exact skin tone and provides great coverage.

Once foundation is done is now, time to contour and highlight the face. This is where we get to bring out the best features of our face. I use products here. I came up with these products after few experimentation and recommendations from family and friends. I first use the Anastasia Beverly Hills  Contour Kit to contour and highlight my face. What I like about buying directly from the Beverly Hills Anastasia site is that I was able to custom make my own contour kit based on my own skin tone. After contouring, I use the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush. The best thing about this blush is that is that it’s a baked nude blush that has buildable coverage. I use one last highlighter on my face that I absolutely love is the Benefit High Beam highlighter. I tap a little around my eyes and cheekbones and the result is fabulous giving me a luminous but never frosty or greasy look, it enhances coverage by bouncing light off the face. I use it high on cheeks after blush, I use it in in dark area by eyes, high part of nose and I use a tiny dot on bottom and top middle of lip for added fullness effect. A little goes a long way. I heard some people mixing it with their liquid foundation and got even better result.

Once done with my face I then handle my eyes. To be honest, I don’t have the best eye brows hence I have to take extra care of it. However, one thing that I do have it that I do have a good shape, according eye brow person I used to go to,  and I try to take advantage of that. I don’t draw my eyebrow with pencil because that lead to more eye brows falling. I use the Make Up Forever Aqua Brow cream to draw my eyebrow along my natural eyebrow shape to enhance my eyebrow. I will share another trick with you here. I use mascara wand to brush my brows before and after applying the cream. It makes my brows looks naturally full and when I apply the cream it looks more natural. You can by the wand at your local beauty supply store or at Amazon. Also, I never buy the black color. Always get the same color as the color of natural hair color. Since, my hair is dark brown that’s the color I get. Since I started doing that and filling my eyebrows, everyone I met told that I have the most beautiful I brows, which is a great complement for me. I add Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Waterproofing Gel on top of the brow cream even though the cream is waterproof for extra protection.

spray

Then depending on the occasion I wear my eye make-up and lipstick. Just remember to use light eye shadow underneath the arches of the brows to define the brows. However, I always end my make-up the same way. I always set my make up by using the Make For Ever HD Pressed Powder. It’s a clear powder that softens the appearance of fine lines and pores. I then finish the look by using Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Make Up Setting Spray. It keeps makeup looking just-applied for up to 16 hours. I cover my eyes with my hand and just am completely dependent on this product.

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With Make Up done, I now want to share the holiday style features in this years Vogue magazine. Here, I found a similar H&M Sequin Jacket for $59.95. I found this wonderful dress that goes well with the jacket too that just cost $69.95 at H&M for you guys, or you can wear the dress by itself.

This beautiful dress from Ann Taylor Jeweled Shift Dress is also featured in this month’s Vogue’s issue is on sale for $149.99. You can additional 50% off with code WINTER50.

As for me I like to wear something simple but but elegant at the same time. That’s I love wearing my long green long with velvet circle’s it. It look’s absolutely amazing. It’s one of a kind because it’s handmade and I get complements from everyone. I accessorize the dress with my Amrita Singh Reversible Bib Necklace and I am good to go. Ladies, I hope you are all ready to pamper yourselves this holiday after all the hard works. I look forward to hearing you version of holiday make-up and fashion tips. Enjoy.

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Diary Free Whipped Cream


While I love buying the fat free version of whipped cream from the grocery store not everyone like is tolerant to the diary version of whipped cream. Hence, I am sharing a very easy to make diary free, vegan version of these delicious treat from Radiant life.  Happy reading.

Ingredients:

  • 1 can organic coconut milk
  • 1/2 tea spoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. Place a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours, or better yet overnight. When chilled, the fatty part of the coconut milk will harden, separate and rise to the top. This is the cream you will use for whipping.
  2. Open and scoop the hardened coconut cream into a large bowl. If you want to get all fancy about it, you can actually flip the chilled can of coconut milk upside down and open from the bottom to pour the liquid off and reveal the cream underneath. Otherwise, simply open as normal, and use a spoon to scrape the cream from the top. Either method will get the job done.
  3. Also, it can help to stick the bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes before using. This way, your cream will remain nice and chilled as you whip it.
  4. Using a hand held mixer, whip until light and fluffy. In order to prevent splattering the cream all over your kitchen, start to whisk at a lower speed at first. Slowly work to a higher speed to until you have incorporated enough air for desired fluffiness.
  5. You can add vanilla extract while whipping as you would with regular cream.
  6. Enjoy!

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Homemade Fat Free Marshmallow


coolwhip121I thing that I don’t like about marshmallow is that it’s too sweet for me. That’s why I was very excited when I came across this low calorie homemade marshmallow recipe at Say Yes website.  I adopted to make it just the right sweet for me using fat-free whipped cream. Now you can enjoy fat-free marshmallows with your fat-free, sugar-free hot chocolate guilt free. Happy reading.

Ingredients:

  • 1 container of fat free whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Spoon
  • Wax paper
  • Tray
  • Mini cookie cutter (can use any shape you want; I use something like this)

Instructions:

  1. Pour the whipped cream into a mixing bowl and add the 1/2 cup of water. Adding the water is necessary so it freezes well enough to cut out pieces that hold their shape.
  2. Mix well with a spoon until the water is incorporated evenly into the whipped cream.
  3. Line tray with wax paper. Pour the mixture into the tray (you’d like it ideally about at least 1/2 inch thick or more) and freeze at least 4 hours.
  4. Lift wax paper out of sheet and place on a table.
  5. Cut out shapes with your cookie cutter and place layers of the mini marshmallows between sheets of wax paper in a freezable container.
  6. Store in the freezer and pull out individual marshmallows as needed for fancy hot chocolate!

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Fat Free Hot Chocolate Mix


The holiday is not complete without enjoying warm hot chocolate with our loved ones in the cold holiday seasons. However, the hot chocolates can be full of calories and sugar. That’s today I am bringing a fat-free, sugar-free (diary free optional). Hope you enjoy the holidays and keep yourself warm with this healthy version of hot chocolate. Happy reading.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Splenda
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 (1 oz) package fat-free sugar-free instant Vanilla pudding mix
  • 3 cups nonfat dry milk powder

Instructions:

  1. Mix all ingredients together.
  2. Store in airtight container.
  3. To make a cup of hot chocolate use 1/4 cup of mix and 1 cup cold water and heat up after mixing due to the instant pudding.
  4. Enjoy with homemade low calorie marshmallow.

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Cream Cheese Mints


With just six days left in Christmas, I want share this mouth watering easy to make treat that will be easy to make and is healthy. I came across this recipe on Christy Jordan’s  Southern Plate.

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces softened fat free cream cheese
  • 3 tablespoons I Cannot Believe It’s Not Butter softened
  • 7-8 cups cane sugar (start with 7, reserve 1 cup for dipping later; I use organic cane sugar but you can also use confectioner’s sugar)
  • 4-6 drops peppermint oil

Instructions:

  1. Place softened cream cheese, butter, and peppermint oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.
  2. Add 7 cups of sugar and beat again until dough like in consistency. It will seem stiff and dry at first but after a minute or two it will come together. If it is too dry to form balls after you are done mixing (this is rare), add in a tablespoon of fat free milk and mix again.
  3. Form into small one inch balls and place on waxed paper.
  4. Roll each ball into sugar and flatten slightly with your fingertip, a fork, the back of a spoon, or a tiny seasonal stamp (something like this).
  5. Allow mints to dry for a few hours before storing. If they will be eaten in a day or two, I leave them out at room temp in an airtight container. For longer storage, place in the refrigerator.

This is a great treat to make with your family. After all, togetherness is a great holiday treat. Happy reading.

 

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Edible Fruit Tree


You says you cannot enjoy your own unique edible fruit creation for the holidays with your family at the fraction of the cost as the professional made kind and look just as great. I just as excited so find this unique creation while searching for unique easy to make creative holiday recipes for you guys at the Ginger and Garlic Blog. Hope you enjoy creating with unique treat with your loved ones. Happy reading.
Ingredients
  • 1 styrofoam cone (small or medium size) from your local craft store. It can be something like this.
  • Toothpicks
  • Cookie cutters with various shapes (similar to these)
  • Assorted fruits  such as green and black grapes, strawberries, kiwis, raspberries, mountain-dew and a honeydew melon.
  • Cilantro for garnish.

Instructions:

  1. If you only have a white one then you can drape some green paper on a white cone or attach fruits very densely so it resembles more like a tree trunk.
  2. Using the cookie cutters create various shapes out of the melon slices.
  3. Attach toothpicks to the styrofoam cone. Attach one piece each of a fruit to a toothpick. (Think free-form; as the tree starts building you will know more about which fruit combinations are looking better and how densely packed you want your tree to be).
  4. Continue building the tree as dense as you want!
  5. Use cilantro leaves as grass garnish.
  6. Enjoy your new edible fruit tree!!

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Holiday Gift Ideas


With just seven days of Christmas left, are you all set with your holiday gift for your loved ones? If not today I have come up with list of some ideas of gifts. This year I have done most of my shopping online avoiding the lines in the store and taking time away from my busy day going from store to store. Instead shopping online gave me the chance to do some research and avoid the traffic and the store lines. Hope you enjoy the blog. If you have any clever ideas for gift please share with us.

1. HP Stream $295.82 at Amazon hpstreamIt’s a light weight 14” windows 8 notebook with AMD Quad Core A4 6400t 1.0 GHz processor and 2 GB 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM. It also has 32 GB Solid-State Drive and 100GB OneDrive Cloud Storage for 2 year with 6.5 hours batter life. This would be a wonderful gift for anyone, young and old. You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

2. Acer Chromebook $339.99 at Amazon

It’s a lightning fast 11.6” notebook with Intel Core i3-4005U 1.7 GHz processor and 4 GB DDR3L SDRAM. It also has 32 GB Solid-State Drive and Intel HD Graphics 4400 with 8.5 hours batter life. This is also great gift for anyone including students. However, as one use puts it, “Ask yourself these questions: 1. Do you have a constant internet connection for using the computer? 2. Does the student need anything outside of google docs (So, docs [word processing], spreadsheets [think excel], presentations [think powerpoint])? 3. Are you and the student fine with this not being able to play standard computer games? (This includes games such as minecraft) 4. Do you have a cloud ready printer, or are able to get it to work with google cloud print? If you answered no to any of these questions, then this computer might not be suited to your or the student’s needs. That said, if you did answer yes to all the questions, than the computer may very well be suitable for you and or a child.” The computer is of a good quality, and is great for daily use. You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

3. Kindle Fire HD 7 Tablet $114 at Amazon amazon-kindle-fire-hd-7_2013You would not love a tablet for gift. Your loved ones can not only enjoy the crisp, vivid HD display (216 ppi / 1280×800) with over a million pixels—perfect for apps, movies, TV, games, photos, and more but can also enjoy over 33 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, Android apps and games—including Facebook, Netflix, Minecraft, and more. You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

4. Kinetic Sand (Age 3+) $15 and up at Uncommongoods This is a great product to give to your kids and teenagers. For $15 you get 1 kg of this wonderful product and $45 will give you 5 kg. A secret binding agent keeps the granules together, so you won’t find sand dunes or drifts settling around your home after playtime. As a result, you kids will be happy and you will be happy too.

5. Make Your Own Body Butter $29 at Uncommongoods Do you have a teen girl in your life, then you know how hard you might be to please her with gift here is a unique gift idea that she would definitely like. Why not give her this unique gift where she can use simple way to make your skin feel luxuriously smooth and nourished using all-natural, organic and Fair Trade ingredients. This is great gifts for adults as well.

6. Pick Punch $25 at Uncommongoods or $24.95 at Amazon  and get free 2 day shipping with prime account.Have a love one who plays the guitar then this is the great gift for him/her. With this gift he/she can make guitar picks out of anything: credit cards, old records, DVD cases, thin pressed wood. You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

7. Pocket DJ Mixer $119 at Amazon

The musician in your life will also love this as a gift. This handy mixer does its job. The equalizer works just great. Versatile and easy to use, the mini mixer needs no power source—just plug it into the headphone jack of your mp3 player, laptop, or phone and instantly amp up your own beats. It is compatible with any device with a headset outlet. You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

8. Infuser Water Bottle 28 oz $24.95 at Amazon 

infuser

This is the perfect gift the active ones in your life or the ones whom who want to see make more healthy choices. Whether they are at the gym or in the office, it will be easy to add a little flavor to their day with the Infuser Water Bottle. To create their own infusions, they simply have to cut up their favorite fruits and veggies, place them in the center capsule, add water and shake! You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

9. Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker $79.99 at Amazon

Impress the health nut on your list with this intelligent activity and sleep tracker. Fitbit tracks steps, distance, calories burned and stairs climbed. It also wakes you (and not your partner) with a silent alarm and syncs automatically to your computer or select smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth 4.0. Most of all, it will goals, view progress and help earn badges. You can get 2 day free shipping with your prime account at Amazon.

10. Aquafarm $60.00 at Uncommongoods

aquafarm

This is great gift for your teenagers for older kids. Not everyone has the time to grow their own fresh herbs in a garden or keep up with an attention-hungry pet. The AquaFarm is part micro-garden, part fish tank and its sustainable ecosystem, which means that there’s very little work involved. The fish waste sustains edible plants you can grow from home and the plants keep the fish tank clean. In the top tray, basil, mint, spinach, baby greens, and other edible or decorative plants thrive as nutrient-rich water is circulated past their roots. That process purifies the water, which is then sent back to the 3-gallon tank below, creating a happy, healthy habitat for a betta fish. This will also an intriguing visual centerpiece for anyone’s own environment, whether that’s on a side table or countertop, in an office, classroom or kitchen.
Hoped you liked our suggestions of holiday gift ideas. If you have any creative of unique gift suggestion don’t forget to comments. Happy reading.

 

 

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Healthy Egg Nog


I got this wonderful recipe at the Chocolate-covered Katie website, who turned this traditional holiday treat into a healthy protein-rich recipe and today I want to share that recipe with you. Hope you enjoy that recipe. I used fat free lactose free milk.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fat free lactose free milk  (1 can do 1/2 milk and 1/2 Silk creamer for a deliciously-rich shake; you can substitute full-fat coconut milk for non-diary vegan version)
  • 1/2 cup Mori-Nu silken-firm tofu
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice (omit if desired)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp splenda or sugar
  • 1 nunaturals stevia packet, or 1 tbsp sugar (or evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, etc.)
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp each nutmeg and ginger
  • tiny dashcloves

Instruction

  1. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
  2. Drink cold, or heat if desired. Recipe is single-serving and can be sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan, cholesterol-free, low-fat, and gluten-free. And no raw eggs!

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Christmas Tree Cheese Board


I know you guys are all getting ready for the thanks giving festivities. I for one loves easy to make and creative appetizers for the holidays. Hence, I was very excited when I saw this recipe in pinterest on my friend’s board, and I thought why not share it with my readers. I just adopted it for my preference. Hope you like it. If you like it, and have better adopted versions don’t forget to share with us with your comments.
cheesechristmastree
Ingredients:

  • 2 (8-ounce) bar Sharp Cheddar plain and flavored
  • 1 (8-ounce) bar Jack
  • 1 (8-ounce) bar Mozzarella
  • 1 (8-ounce) bar Swiss
  • Fresh thyme sprigs
  • Green and red grapes
  • 1 broccoli floret without stem
  • 1 small celery stick
Directions:

  1. Cut each bar of cheddar into 1-inch cubes.
  2. On large platter or cutting board, arrange cubes in rows to form tree shape, using different flavor for each row and separating flavors with thyme sprigs and rows of red and green grapes.
  3. For star on top, add the broccoli floret.
  4. For the bottom stem, add the celery stick.

 

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No Bake Christmas Wreath Cookies


christmaswreathcookieThe holiday season is upon us I for one love this season, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I love decorating with my family and specially love trying new foods. As I have mentioned in my previous blogs when it comes to cooking or baking, I always love recipes which are easy to prepare and make because I am not the best cook in the world and I always love finding innovative recipes. Hence, I was quite excited when I came across this no bake cookie recipe at the Betty Crocker website, and I though why not share it with you guys. hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

  •  1/2 cup I Don’t Believe It’s Not Butter
  • 1 package (10 oz) miniature marshmallows
  • 20 drops green liquid food color
  • 3/4 cup cornflakes
  • 5 cups Whole Grain Total™ cereal
  • 56 red small round candies
 Directions
  1. In large microwavable bowl, microwave I Don’t Believe It’s Not Butter uncovered on High 30 seconds to 1 minute or until melted.
  2. Add marshmallows then toss to coat. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended.
  3. Stir in green food color to desired shade of green. Add cornflakes to marshmallow mixture, and stir until melted, microwaving an additional 30 seconds if necessary.
  4. Stir in cereal until evenly coated.
  5. Drop 1/3 cup of cereal mixture on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Use greased hands to form into wreath shape. Place 4 red round candies on wreath to decorate. Repeat with remaining cereal mixture and candies. Refrigerate 15 minutes before serving.
 You can ask you kids to help you make this cookies with you and hope you will enjoy making and eating these delicious and easy to make No Bake Christmas Wreath Cookies. Happy baking.

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