What’s your favorite blush?

(image from: http://www.sephora.com)

Ever since my husband got me the NARS blush in Orgasm for Valentine’s Day, I find myself using it almost every time I do my make-up. I love the little gold shimmers mixed in with the peachy pinkish shade. I love how well it goes with colorful eyeshadows.

What is your favorite blush as of lately?

Three Things…

The other day I read this tag from the blog of one of the lovely ladies I follow http://nicolacc2008.blogspot.com, so I decided to give it a try.

1. Three names I go by:
• Emma
• Emy
• mama
2. Three jobs I’ve had:
• English teacher
• Language instructor
• random jobs I had while I was in college: worked at a smoothie shop, a smoke shop, pizza hut, clothing store, accesories shop
3. Three places I’ve lived:
• New Jersey
• Puerto Rico
4. Three favorite drinks:
• water
• diet pepsi
• Ginger Ale
•   
5. Three TV shows I watch:
• Project Runway
• Kitchen Nightmares/The F Word
• 
• House
6. Three places I’ve been:
• New York
• Vermont
• Canada
7. Three places I’d like to go to:
• Korea
• Dominican Republic
• Spain
8. Three people who text me regularly:
• my husband
9. Three favorite old TV shows:
• Sex and the City
• Friends
• Full House
10. Three favorite dishes:
• Korean dishes in general
• white lasagna w/ garlic bread
• mofongo w/ shrimp
11. Three make-up products I could not live without:
• mascara
• lip balm
• MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation
12. Three things I’m looking foward to:
• moving to the United States
• losing 30lbs by the end of the year
• totally recuperating from my leg operation so I can walk correctly again so I can run after my son :-)
13. Three people I tag
• Any one who reads this :-)

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Review: Covergirl Clean Foundation

I have been using the Covergirl Clean foundation in Medium Light for approximately 11 days on and off.  Initially, I had bought it to use at home when I play around with my makeup and perhaps even to go out during the day. After having used it on several occasions I will only be using it to play around with make-up.

Here are my thoughts on the product:

• It’s a little bit difficult to get the product out of the bottle. You have to tap the opening of the bottle hard against your hand or mixing surface.
• Sometimes the product seems to clog up in the bottle.
• Make sure to put on a very thin layer of the product because it can be a bit difficult to blend.  I use a MAC 187 SE and it always does a good job of blending my foundation but it took me longer than usual with this foundation in particular.
• The product does not work well underneath the eye area.  No matter how thin or thick of a layer I put on, the product would just cake into my under eye area making the lines down there more pronounced than they really are.

Don’t get me wrong, I will keep using the product but only on occasions when I feel like trying out new looks in the privacy of my home or whenever I film my Youtube videos.  I would never use this foundation to go out.

Remember, this product may not have done wonders for me but, it could very well work for you!

NOTD: Hues of Gray

In one of my initial posts, I had raved how much I love painting my nails.  But the strange thing is, I had never done a NOTD post.

Last night, my husband, son and I went to check out the new CVS that opened in our municipality.  Of course I made a bee line to the cosmetics section.  It wasn’t until I got to the nail care section that I fell in love.  There was this wonderful variety of nail polishes, which they don’t have over at Walgreens.

These were the two bottles I picked up…

• Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear Color in Gunmetal
• Milani Nail Art in Art of Silver

As of recent I had been looking for a nice gray tone nail polish but had been unlucky in my search.  I had also been thinking about getting a nail art polish just to play around with it and see what would come up. I ended up getting this glitter gray nail art polish because it will go well with a variety of nail polish colors.

Would you wear this color?

Are you into nail designs?

Do you know of any other brands that have gunmetal shades?

xoxo

Let’s Whittle our Middle

 

(image from: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net)

Do you think that excess stomach fat only affects the way you look on the outside.  Think again…Excess belly fat has been deemed as unhealthy for certain reasons. Visceral fat wraps around our internal organs.   This fat tends to produce inflammatory substances which can be linked to certain diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases and certain forms of cancer.

Don’t go thinking that only overweight people are prone to excess belly fat.  Even people with a healthy weight can carry excess fat around their middles.

How to know if you have excess belly fat?  Simple, just measure your waist.

• Men==> 40 inches or more size waists
• Women==> 35 inches or more size waists

What to do in order to start getting rid of this dangerous excess belly fat?

• Exercise between 30-45 minutes 5 times a week.
• Make sure you can feel your heart rate go up a bit but can still keep up a conversation.
• Before stating any exercise regime, make sure to check with your physician.

(Source: Top Health: The Health Promotion and Wellness Newsletter-Jan. 2010/Belly Fat Basics)

My Little Korean Prince

Yay! Saturday was my little boy's 1st birthday party. Being that I am half Korean and half Puerto Rican I have grown up with customs and traditions from both sides. It is only natural that my son would also be raised with my customs and traditions, as well as with his dad's.

In Korea, it is a tradition that 1 year old children get dressed up in traditional Korean attire for their birthdays and have a special table with food prepared for them among some other things.

I have to say that my mother was really excited as she had not been able to this for my brother, sisters and I when little.

Here are some pics and a video of my boy on his special day.

Walgreens Shopping Spree

It’s been almost a week since I’ve posted anything and I just have to say it feels so weird.  I love blogging but, I never thought it would come to the point where I would feel the need to constantly check my blog and others whenever I get a spare moment.

The reason why I haven’t been posting anything is because my little boy is sick.  After having suffered a light fever on Monday night and Tuesday night.  I took him to his pediatrician on Wednesday and it turns out he has a double ear and throat infection.  If it weren’t for the fever you wouldn’t even be able to tell that he is sick.  He is one strong lil’ boy!

On Wednesday, my husband and I went to Walgreens to get my son’s prescription and while waiting to be called to pick up his meds I took a stroll through the cosmetics aisle and picked up a couple of goodies.  As always, Walgreens had this great sale going on; Rimmel products were 50% off, Maybelline and Revlon were 40% off.

Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow quartet in Black Magic

Just last week I had picked up another one of these quartets and was a little disappointed because if you layer them, the colors tend to crease a little bit.  When I saw these colors they immediately commanded my attention – sheer sparkling gray, bubble gum pink, grayish black and white. From now on, I’ll just use a thin layer as a base color.

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow in Sea Glass

I snatched this duo because the colors just screamed spring. The colors also reminded me of the ocean.  Besides I don’t think I have these colors in my collection.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Burgundy Flirt

Rimmel Stay Matte Clarifying Matte Foundation in Classic Beige

I think I’m becoming obsessed with finding the perfect drugstore foundation!  I used it today and the shade seemed to match me pretty nicely.  It didn’t look to light or too dark for my skin tone.

 

Let me know if you have used any of these products and what you think of them.

Have a wonderful day! :-)

Low Cost Shopping Spree

I went out today to get a haircut. Come to think of it, it was more of a maintenance trim. But, still my hair looks much better. My bangs are where they are supposed to be and the hair is lighter. I'll post pictures soon. Afterward I went to Wal-mart to innocently browse the cosmetic aisles. Innocently enough I ended getting several items. The good thing was that all my items came to a total of $22.83 after taxes.



St. Ives Timeless Skin-Apricot Scrub Renew and Firm ( $2.97 )



image from http://www.stives.com



I am a huge fan of St. Ives Products. I've been using them for a couple of years due to the good quality and affordable price. It doesn't hurt that the packaging has been re-vamped and now it looks super cute.

I am a big fan of the Apricot Scrub because I feel like it really goes deep into my pores and leaves my face feeling fresh and clean. This time around I decided to try the same product only in the renew and firm formula. Let's face it, as the years go by things start to get saggy. So, why not try to prevent it.

Bettina Eyelashes ( $2.97 )



I have no idea if these lashes are good or not. I got them because they include the glue and are cheap. I've never played around with falsies so I thought these would be good to practice with. Later on I'm sure I'll get better quality ones as well as DUO adhesive.

Covergirl Clean Foundation in Medium Light ( $4.00 )



I've been wanting to get a new foundation for a while now but, not because I'm tired of my current one. Sometimes I find myself trying out new looks and I use my MAC foundation. If I keep going at this rate I'll have to buy a new one really soon and I don't have $30.00 right now to spend on one bottle of foundation. I thought it would be good to try out an economically priced foundation ($4.00 on sale) to play around with at home. I just hope the shade matches me. :-)

After I have used it for a while I'll probably write a review :-)

N.Y.C. Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny ( $2.72 )



I got this because I thought it would be good for practicing contouring.

N.Y.C. Metro Quartet Eyeshadows in Union Square ( $3.86 )



The colors can't be appreciated through the picture but, they are really pretty. They're ideal for an everyday neutral look.

Revlon Illuminance Creme shadow in Copper Canyon ( $4.82 )



I don't have any creme shadows so I thought why not. They were cheap, if you compare it to the Walgreen's price. I can also use them as base colors :-)

Sorry about the bad lighting in the pictures :-)

Let me know if you have purchased any of these items and what are your thoughts on them. :-)

Friday is here!

(image from http://www.freephotosbank.com)

I just wanted to wish everyone a good weekend filled with lots of fun and laughter!

My joy in life :-)

This isn't a beauty related post. I just wanted you guys to meet the little man in my life. He makes everyday worthwhile :-)



Here he is trying to take off his sunglasses






My husband is helping him out. he can't wait for him to walk.

Sunshine Award

A special thanks to Marie and fintia who each gave me this award.  I want to pass it on to the wonderful ladies whose blogs I’ve been following. Please check them out! :-)

Rules:

1.Post the award on your blog.

2. Pass the award to 12 bloggers. Link the nominees within your post.

3. Let the nominees know by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love and link to the person who gave it to you.

 

I am passing this award to:

1.  BBM

2. Lisa

3. naturalgoodies

4. Nicolacc

5. Laura

6. obsessive.makeup.addict

7. Nicole

8. Fintia

9. Marie

10. Jenni

11. Pea (Joanna)

12.

Jordana Easyliner Retractable Pencils

 

       (image taken from  http://www.jordanacosmetics.com/)

I love retractable pencils! I have tried a couple of pencils out there but, by far I would have to say that the Jordana Easyliner Retractable Eye and Lip Pencils are # 1.  They go for $1.99 at your local Walgreens’s and they come in a variety of shades.  The colors are very pigmented and they glide on ever so smoothly.

     (image taken from  http://www.jordanacosmetics.com/)

I have raved about my CG retractable pencil but, the Jordana ones go for a little bit less and do the same job.  I would even dare compare the Jordana Easyliner Retractable Lip Pencil with MAC’s Creme Stick Liner.  I got the MAC one in Red Enriched in January for $14.50.  I have to admit, I was not going to buy it but, got convinced by the sales girl-something which will never happen again.  Two weeks ago I got a Jordana one in Rock N, Rose, to use with my MAC Faux Satin lipstick.  The color went on so well and it lasted all day.  Will I ever get a MAC liner again?  I don’t think so. Will I ever get the Jordana Retractable Easyliner’s again?  Most definitely!

http://www.jordanacosmetics.com/

Most recent favorite products

Here’s a brief look and description of some of the products I can’t stop using

E.L.F. Mechanical Eyelash Curler

This innovative eyelash curler has a special curved design which angles to suit all eye shapes. Its silicone rubber pad applies the appropriate amount of pressure to curl lashes naturally and allows for damage-free heating. Get long-lasting curled lashes both easily and safely.

(Image and information from eyeslipsface.com)

E.L.F. Eye Primer and Line Sealer

The Prime side sets your eyeshadow in so your color won’t fade, bleed or crease. The Liner side transforms your favorite eye shadow into a waterproof, smudge-proof liquid liner with this unique clear liquid and built-in felt tip precision eyeliner brush. Now you can have your eye makeup lasting longer for no fuss no budge color.

(image and information from eyeslipsface.com)

Sinful Colors Nail Polishes

I’ve raved about these nail polishes before but, I just can’t get enough of them. The colors cover a wide range that include mattes, metallics, brights, and shimmery ones. The only colors they don’t have are boring, dull ones.

Sinful Colors Nail Polishes go for $1.99 over at your local Walgreens. I tend to get them when they are on sale 2 for the price of 1.

The colors are rich and go on very smoothly. I would totally recommend them.

Covergirl Lash Blast Length Mascara

(image from http://www.covergirl.com/)

I own several mascaras but, I have to say this is my favorite. I have been it using every time I do my make-up since I purchased it. It doesn’t clump or leave flakes after I take-off my make-up. It gives you just the right amount of length. Of course, don’t expect your lashes to look like the ones in magazine ads because we all know the models wear falsies.

Covergirl perfect pointplus eye pencil in black onyx

(image from http://www.covergirl.com/)

I love the way this pencil glides on so smoothly and easily. There’s no need to sharpen it because it is retractable. It also has a smudge tip at the end in case you want to soften up the line.