Naked Basics Palette vs. Sephora’s Moonshadow Baked Palette

I finally cracked and bought the Naked Basics Palette. I went for the smaller Naked Basics palette because I wanted to try it out before I spent $54 on the bigger Naked palette. I’m already obsessed. The blog scene is correct, the Naked palette are awesome!

Before using the Naked Basics Palette, I used Sephora’s Moonshadow Baked Palette.

Oftentimes, its difficult for me to distinguish between palettes and I have a hard time choosing. Once I’ve chosen, I’m stuck with a palette for a long time, even if I’m not super stoked on it.

To help you decide, I’ve listed the pros and cons of the palettes below.

Naked Basics Palette

Pros

• Great variety of colors for a “natural look”
• Matte colors that look great on the eye and “stick” to the eyelid
• There are tons of online tutorials for this Naked palette and others that teach you exactly how to do your eye makeup using this palette
• Includes a great matte black color that can be really hard to find

Cons

• Expensive! The little palette is $29 and the full one is $54
• If you want a more “dramatic” look, it may be hard to create with the limited colors on the natural palette
• Some of the shadow often comes off the brush when applying (some people find this annoying, but it doesn’t bother me)

Sephora’s Moonshadow Baked Palette

Pros

• Range of colors that can be used to achieve “natural” or “dramatic” looks
• Great color longevity on the eye, the color really sticks
• Less expensive! The full palette is only $30 and you get way more variety than with the Naked palette

Cons

• All of the colors are very shimmery, there are no matte colors
• It may be hard to create an everyday daytime look with this palette because of how shimmery the colors are
• A fair amount of powder will fall off the brush when you are applying (again, this doesn’t really bother me)

Which one?

I really love matte colors and I’m not a huge fan of shimmer which makes me choose Naked Basics over the Sephora Palette. I would choose Naked every time.

Perfume Reviews and How to Make your Scent Last Longer

Daisy, Daisy Dream, and Daisy eau so fresh from Marc Jacobs

I love the holidays. Mostly because my mother buys me expensive things I desperately want but do not deserve.

“Daisy” by Marc Jacobs is very popular on the blog scene and I’ve always been interested to try it. I got three rollerballs from the Daisy line. And I LOVE them!!

“Daisy” is the most popular and the greatest! It smells so good and it is perfect for a twenty-something or a young working women. Its flirty, but its also a little sophisticated.

“Daisy Dream” is also phenomenal. Its a little more sophisticated that “Daisy,” but I really, really love it. I think I might even like it better than Daisy–don’t tell anyone.

“Daisy-eau so fresh”is the flirtiest of all three scents. Its super light, super fresh, and would be a great day scent.

If Daisy is the base scent, Daisy Dream is its sophisticated sister and Daisy eau so fresh is Daisy’s flirty cousin. I totally recommend trying these out.

How to Make Your Scent Last Longer

For the longest time I could not get the scent of my perfume to stay on my skin. It seemed to disappear after a half an hour no matter what the scent or how much I sprayed (mistakes were made).

But I found the solution! VASELINE! Perfume “sticks” to moisturized skin so if you put a little vaseline on your wrists and neck (or wherever else you spray perfume) it will last much longer. Now I smell wonderful all day!

Also important, you shouldn’t actually rub your wrists together when spraying perfume. Each scent has a top, middle, and base aspect to its scent. When you rub the perfume together on your wrists you change the way the perfume is designed to sit  on your skin. I know it sounds weird, but make it a goal not to rub your wrists together after spraying perfume!

“Nightcrawler” Review

You might have already seen, read, or heard about one of Jake Gyllenhaal newer movies, “Nightcrawler.” But, I just watched it and I’m very, very impressed.

Gyllenhaal plays a “nightcrawler,” freelancing guys with cameras who film car accidents, shootings, and break-ins and then sell the shots to local tv news stations. BBC story recently ran a story detailing real life “nightcrawlers”–these people actually exist.

This film is dark. Really dark. Its a critique of the power of money, Hollywood, and ambition. The blood and guts in the movie aren’t the most disturbing parts of the film, its what the characters do for money or power. The film is shot almost entirely at night, lending a physical as well as metaphorical darkness to the film. I loved it. Absolutely loved it.

Gyllenhaal is mesmerizing, disturbing, and still a little sexy. I think this may be one of his best performances. His character could be sociopathic or just lacking some critical social skills. Gyllenhaal keeps you guessing and never really lets you know the true nature of his character. Its entirely unclear. and Gyllenhaal is absolutely chilling in this role, just chilling.

I never thought I could have heard the phrase “He’s dead…” delivered so coldly and with so little emotion and from Gyllenhaal no less!

Gyllenhaal’s only downfall in this role is his greatest asset in most of his other roles: his looks. He’s simply too good looking to play such an asshole (or mentally ill person). His looks distract from his character’s nefarious actions and characters. Its easy to to like Gyllenhaal even when he’s playing such a bad person, he just looks so good! But, maybe that’s what the movie wants from you. They want you to be confused about the nature of Gyllenhaal’s character, why we do such horrible things for money, and the nature of greater and lesser evils.

I recommend this movie. If anything, it will make you want to lock your door.

Rating: 4/5

Skin Sins and How to Seek Redemption

We all make mistakes. I’ve made a lot of mistakes (for full details on all of my personal mistakes ask my mother). Some of the most annoying mistakes involve our skin. The following is a list of possible mistakes and possible solutions to skin sins.

Sin: I went out all night, had a great time, but didn’t wash my makeup off

Its not the end of the world, but this isn’t good. Sleeping with your makeup on combined with some of the sweat and grime of a great night on the town can wreck havoc on your skin. Breakouts, blackheads, redness = not good.

Redemption: Face mask, exfoliator, makeup remover, and lots of water

The moment you wake up you should go wash all your makeup off using a gentle cleanser like Neutrogena’s natural facial cleanser. Afterwards, you should quickly put on a mask OR exfoliate. I prefer to exfoliate the morning after and put on a mask later that day to undo some of the damage. For the mask, I recommend Lush’s Cosmetic Catastrophe Mask or  Lush’s Cupcake Fresh Face Mask. For exfoliation, I love Olay’s Brightening Cream Cleanser–love it!

After you cleanse and exfoliate OR cleanse and mask up, don’t forget to moisturize. If you can, avoid makeup for the rest of the day. Also, drink as much water as you can. Flush anything you can out of your body and out of your skin. Give your skin a break.

Sin: I picked at my skin and now its all red and angry, but I have a party to go to!

This is not the end of the world in the least. Picking at your skin is not great for your sanity or your skin, but there are ways to undo some of the damage.

Redemption: Aspirin and honey face mask to reduce swelling and inflammation

Use 5-7 uncoated aspirin pills, a little water, and some honey. Make the uncoated aspirin into a paste by mashing them up and adding water until the aspirin and water turn into a paste. Once you get a paste consistency you like, add one teaspoon of honey to the mask to avoid drying out your skin. Apply this mask to the affected areas to reduce redness and inflammation.

If you don’t have the time or the energy to make a mask for your skin, drink some water and take an anti-inflammatory like aspirin, Advil, or ibuprofen to reduce swelling and redness.

Sin: Running out of facial lotion, and using body lotion or hand cream on your face.

This really is not the worst thing in the world. But, depending on your skin type, it could cause clogged pores, oily skin, or dull skin.

Redemption: If you are out of facial lotion, use a LITTLE olive oil or a LITTLE honey

If you are totally out of facial lotion, I would either use a tiny bit of honey (add a little) water to moisturize your face. Or, you could use a little olive oil and lightly pat it on your face. Highly moisturizing and doesn’t contain all the gross scents, parabens, or sulfates in body lotion.

Sin: I wanted a tan, but didn’t put on sunscreen and now my face is super burned!

This is bad. Put on sunscreen!! ALWAYS!

Redemption: Promise never to do this again, drink water, take a bath, and have an aspirin 🙂

If you get burned definitely drink some water. Drink away my friend. To dull the pain of a burn, you can sit in a cool bath with two tablespoons of baking soda added. I don’t know why, but it helps soothe the burn.

Moisturize! After being burned, your skin is likely dehydrated. Moisturize with an extremely gentle, non-scented lotion.

And again, take and anti-inflammatory to reduce swelling and inflammation (Advil, ibuprofen, aspirin).

Gordon Ramsay’s Christmas Turkey with Herb Butter

Again, I LOVE Gordon Ramsay. I made this turkey for Thanksgiving, but in my family we make turkey for our holiday dinner too. (I know, its weird).

You can make this recipe with any type of turkey. I made a HUGE turkey today, but I also made this herb butter rub for two turkey breasts for Thanksgiving. (I saved the extra butter and put it in the mashed potatoes).

You will need:

• salt and pepper (not the band, get it together)
• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 2 small lemons
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil and some extra to drizzle on the turkey
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
• small bunch of parsley (I prefer to use rosemary–but if you use rosemary, make sure its a SMALL bunch)

Directions

• Preheat your oven according to the directions on your turkey. I usually cook my turkeys at 325 degrees.
• Prepare your herb butter–add butter, salt, and pepper in small bowl.
• Add olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice from your lovely lemons (I got my lemons from my lemon true because I’m pretentious)
  

  Herb butter rub with rosemary, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

• Remove all giblets from turkey cavity–make sure to check you’ve got EVERYTHING. i once cooked a turkey with some plastic left in the turkey.
• Stuff turkey with onions and 6 bay leaves (you will add some herb butter later)

• 

  I’m rubbing down my turkey with Ramsay’s butter rub. This is going to taste so good!

• Rub turkey with herb butter rub. Try to cover the turkey evenly.
• Put SOME of the remaining turkey butter inside the turkey

My turkey stuffed with bay leaves, some butter rub, halved onions (I quartered mine because I’m a cheater)

• Drizzle the outside of the turkey with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Cook turkey for 10-15 minutes, then take turkey out and cover with juices in the bottom of the pan and drizzle a little more butter (if you’re into it)

This is my turkey after about two hours in the oven. I basted it with juices about every 45-60 minutes. I think it really helps keep the meat moist.

• Cook your turkey according to the directions on the package or at 325 degrees like me
• Check to see if turkey is done by using a meet thermometer or by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the leg. If the juices are clear, your turkey is done.

My perfectly cooked turkey!

OPTIONAL: I like to take the turkey out every 45 – 60 minutes to baste it with juices from the bottom of the pan. It helps to keep the turkey moist, but its not totally necessary.

This is super easy! Do NOT let my meticulous directions frighten you away from trying this great recipe. Ramsay is the shit!

Makeup for a December Day at the Beach

I’m lucky that I get to go home to Southern California for the holidays. Screw “white Christmases,” I’d rather spend the day at the beach.

My makeup routine for the beach during the winter involves the following.

Makeup routine for the beach: L’Oreal’s “Magic Nude Liquid Powder, Ulta’s “Precious Pink” Lipstick, Cynthia Rowley’s black eyeliner, Chella’s Highlighter Pencil, and Benefit’s “Pore Professional Minimizer”

• First, I start with Benefit’s Pore Professional to minimize my pores. This is a great primer and BB cream all in one. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll skip foundation and just wear this minimizer.
• Second, I put on L’Oreal’s “Magic Nude Liquid Power” Foundation. I recently switched to this foundation and I absolutely love it! It’s light, it doesn’t feel heavy or gross on my skin, and it helps my skin to look great! This is also great for the beach because it has SPF in it!
• I love a little bit of highlight under my eyes and just above my check bones. I prefer to use Chella’s highlighter pencil. I think it looks great and it blends super easily.
• I put a little bit of Cynthia Rowley’s black eyeliner. Just a little dusting on the top and bottom lashes.
• Finally, I finish with Ulta’s “Precious Pink” lipstick. It works super well with my pale (and I mean really pale, more like translucent) complexion.

And voila! You are ready for a great day at the beach made even better by a puppy. Look, a puppy!!!!

An Updated DIY and I Love Gordon Ramsay

I can’t help it, I love it.

I’ve been seeing some really cool DIY projects that involve putting your favorite quote or quotes on a canvas with a painted background. These things are SO cool, so I gave it a shot.

A little while ago I painted the background of the canvas (http://beautybooksandbiddies.com/2014/12/16/art-is-my-middle-name-and-so-is-danger-home-art-diy/).

First Stage of My Newest DIY

I bought some stencils and some gold paint for my lettering. I was considering black but decided to go for the gold (like the true Olympian I am). If I could do it over again, I think that I would go for stamps rather than stencils. Or maybe I just need a little more practice with the stencils. Things got a little messy.

My stencils!

If you choose to do this project be sure to wait until each letter is fully dry before putting the stencil on the painting again.

Make sure to wait until each letter is dry before putting the stencil on the painting again. If you look, you’ll see I didn’t follow my own rule at first

For my quote I chose, “Lazy is a four letter word” from Gordon Ramsay. I’m totally obsessed with him and wanted to hang this over my desk in my dorm room.

My final project!!

I can’t help it, I love it.

Christmas Cookie (That Look Like They’re From the 80s)

The most delicious Christmas cookies in the land

In my family, the holidays are all about cooking. Cooking, cooking and a little more cooking when you’re too tired to cook anymore.

I used my family’s sugar cookie and frosting recipe. And I totally recommend it! It makes about two dozen cookies.

Try as I might, I couldn’t make my frosting colors “Christmasy” enough. They kinda turned out neon. Whatever, I’m bringing the 80s back.

You will need:

• 6 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Add salt and flour together
2. Cream butter until soft and gradually add sugar, creaming after each addition until its light and fluffy (like my butt)
3. Add vanilla and eggs to butter/sugar mixture and mix well
4. Add flour/salt mixture a little at a time and mix well
5. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 5 hours (NOT AN OPTIONAL STEP)
6. Roll out dough to 1/8 thickness and make sure to flour rolling pin and surface to avoid sticking.
7. Cut out your shapes
8. Stick in the oven at 375 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet for 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown

For the frosting:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of Tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions for the frosting:

1. Beat eggs whites with cream of Tartar and vanilla until foamy
2. Gradually beat in the sifted powdered sugar until frosting stands in firm peaks.

Now cook away my friends and be merry!!

I Love Smoothies and I Hate Bananas

This morning I decided to pack as many good things into my body as possible. Obviously, I made a smoothie.

Here’s what I used and why:

• 1 cup blueberries:
  • delicious and full of antioxidants!
• 1/4 cup almonds:
  • get a little protein into your morning smoothie
• 3/4 cup orange juice:
  • duh, its awesome
• 1 tablespoon Nutella:
  • for some more protein and a little fat, I don’t want to lose any of the junk in my trunk
• 1 cup soy milk:
  • full of calcium and delicious
• Optional: some honey, some frozen yogurt, real milk, chocolate chips

You’ll never be the same.

P.S. <a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13341735/?claim=bc6kj5mfx67″>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Detoxify Your Water…Apparently Detoxify is a Word

When I’m homing relaxing during the holidays I try to drink as much water as possible. Water is great for you and, personally, it helps me relax. But, I have been thinking about how best to utilize my addictive water drinking.  Begin the DETOX!

I’ve been adding the following to my water and I really like it. Give it a try!

1. Mint leaves: so delicious! Mint is really easy on the stomach and aids in digestion and it makes water taste sooo good!
2. Cucumber: makes your water look super cute and cucumber helps with rehydration and is an anti-inflammatory.
3. Ginger: Ginger is usually a little strong for me, but I recommend it anyway because it is so good for upset stomachs.
4. Lemon: Also delicious! Lemon juice is a diuretic so it helps you to urinate and get any bad stuff out when you’re trying to detox. However, diuretics make you urinate more often which is good, but can dehydrate you if you drink too much. Limit your self to a glass or two of lemon detox water.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar: this detox addition is NOT for the faint of heart. Add about half a tablespoon to a large glass of water. There are many benefits to apple cider vinegar: digestion, weight loss, energy, helps with sore throats. BUT, the taste is very strong. I usually force myself to drink water with half a tablespoon about once a week. I can’t take anymore. But it really helps to curb my appetite and I feel energized after I drink it.

I don’t like to “detox” all the way at the end of the holidays, I try to do a little bit throughout. Give it a try.