Halloween mani: Candy corn Nails!!

There's no other Halloween candy I heart more than candy corn!
I love the color of it, the taste, how it melts in my mouth.
So, the silly side of me had to pay tribute to this fabulous morsel of tri-colored sugary goodness with what else but a candy corn mani!!

Here's a closer look:


Directions were simple. I first used Sally Hansen's "Mellow Yellow" as a base.
Then, painted three fourths of my nails with Ruby Kisses' "Tangerine."
Finally, I topped things off with Revlon's "White on White" and had my candy corn nails!

But wait there's more!
I loved this mani so much that I had to do it again! Here's a pic:


This time, I used Maybelline's "Sunshine" as the yellow base followed by the sexy orange that is Revlon's "Siren." (This aptly-named polish is one of my fave lacquer oranges ever!)
Again, I topped things off with Revlon's "White on White."
I like this second look better. "Siren" just pops more here.
I wore this for a few days and the little girls in my apartment complex loved it so much that they asked me to do candy corn nails for them.
OK, none of them sat still (all under 7!!!) but their nails came out so cute!!
They were excited and so was I.

Well, what do you think? And what Halloween manis have you done as of late? And
O, and Happy Halloween!!!

FTC Disclosure: I previously paid for all nail polishes mentioned in this post with my own funds.

Song of the Day: "Rainy Night House"

Today's Song of the Day comes from legendary singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell and is named "Rainy Night House."
When I first heard this version of the song, I listened to it for like three straight months. Then I gave my ears a break, then I obsessed over it again.
I love the soft instrumentation, the lyrics and Joni's sweet voice.
I swear, they sure don't make artists like Joni anymore.
Dam, I sound like my mother, but it's true.
Hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.
Have a nice week!!

Healthy (and not so healthy) foods I eat (pic heavy)

I'm pretty healthy when it comes to my food...well, for the most part!
Here's a sampling of what I eat on a regular basis in pictures:

Spinach, salmon, garlic and onions:

OMG!!! I HEART garlic!! It's super healthy for you and is supposed to be a carcinogen.

Quinoa, black beans and corn:

I think I eat more quinoa, a whole grain, than anything!! It's so versatile, plus it's backed with lots of protein.

Quinoa and white beans:


Quinoa, bananas and berries in almond milk:

See what I mean about quinoa!!?? I got this recipe from my Whole Body magazine and wanted to switch things up for breakfast. It was so yummy!

Lentils, spinach, onions and garlic:

Lentils are my second fave bean, after chic peas, of course! I love lentils paired with spinach.

Avocado, carrots and olives:

OMG I love avocado! And carrots are a really good snack for me to munch on and I love olives alone or in a salad.

Corn and edamame:


Indian Chana masala (chic peas and potatoes) and brown rice:

I tried my best to replicate this recipe from my favorite local Indian restaurant, and I didn't do too bad with it!

That's what I eat most of the time, but I also indulge because I believe in the power of desert. And cupcakes:

I think I've had like every cupcake in Virginia! They're so good and make me so happy!

Snow cone:



I ate a lot of snow cones when I lived in Maryland and missed them. Why did I pull over in front of the ice cream truck the other day and order one like I was 10 years old!? The ice cream truck man just looked at me and laughed.

What about you? What do you eat a lot of? What do you indulge in?

Recent nail designs I've worn

Here's a sampling on what's been on my tips and toes:

SinfulColors' Vacation Time with black dots:


Revlon's Poppy with more black dots:


wet n wild's inferno with tiger stripes:


Revlon's Metallic half moon with Borghese's Stellare Noire:


Revlon's Jelly:


Checkered nails featuring Borghese's Pink Paradiso and, um...forgot the blue:


Borghese Stellare Noire and ten minute's Rollback Prices:


What about you? What's on your tips and toes?

FTC Disclosure: I paid for the products with my own funds.

My DIY mini lip brush

I desperately needed a mini brush for the DIY lip gloss palette I recently made.
Searched Target. Didn’t have one.
Neither did Sephora.
So I stopped in my local beauty supply store to see if they had any.
Of course they didn’t.
But the cashier suggested making a mini lip brush out of the many nail brushes they had in stock.
Sounded like a good idea to me so I shelled out a buck fifty for the brush, took it home, and measured it to fit in the palette:



Then I got to cutting:



It took about a minute or two for me to cut the brush, but afterward, I had my lip brush:



Works fine on the lips too!

What beauty DIYs have you done recently?

FTC Disclosure: I paid for the products with my own funds.

Fall facial cleansing/Boscia black mask

I wanted to change up my skincare routine since fall is here so I’ve switched back to the Oil Cleansing Method.
Afterward, I’ve been steaming my face with hot water:



OMG this has helped my face SO MUCH!!
My pores have shrunken, my skin’s firmer and softer. And I’ve been able to get more dirt out of my pores.
I then use Boscia’s Black Mask:



This baby is preservative and alcohol-free. I use it once a week. It cost me about $34 but it's been worth seeing my face look like this:



After this, I moisturize with my Queen Helene Cocoa Butter stick.
For $2, it sure beats the price of my precious Josie Maran solid Argan oil stick. I'll buy the latter when I run out of the cocoa butter.
So there ya go…my fall facial cleansing routine.
What’s yours?

FTC Disclosure: I previously paid for the beauty products mentioned in this post.

Song of the Day: "Ain't No Love"

Today's Song of the Day comes from Bobby "Blue" Bland and is called "Ain't No Love."
Man, I have nothing but love for this song.
It has this hard edge and vulnerability to it that I like.
Jay-Z sampled it, I think. (Sorry, too lazy to Google right now.)
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and have a nice week!

My Urban Decay liner's found her prince!

Once upon a time, I used my Urban Decay Stesh eye liner so much that it became a nub.
Stesh, the princess of my eyeliner collection, desperately longed for a “prince”- or better yet- a sharpener that would bring the rest of her liner to light.
So one day Stesh’s beauty godmother introduced her to this cute little sharpener fellow from Sephora.
O, he was a sweetie! Slim and at $2, he was a cheapie too.
He brought the rest of Stesh’s color to light by easily sharpening her so her beauty godmother could rim her eyes with the rest of the liner.
In true fairytale fashion, the sharpener and Stesh ended up living happily ever after in faraway beauty land.
Or more accurately, in her beauty godmother’s make-up collection!

FTC Disclosure: I paid for the product with my own funds.

Time for Five: Five Things I'm Feeling

Here are five things I’m really into right now:

1. Teavana Tea’s White Chai and Ayurvedic Tea: OMG this is like my fave tea of all time!! My big brother bought me this ($16!!!) for my birthday in July and I’m almost done with the tea already because I drink it just about everyday. That’s how good this stuff is! Go get you a cup.



2. Using up my pantry/fridge food items: I’ve never been a wasteful person but have found lots of pleasure in using up things before buying more of the same stuff. It’s worked on the beauty product side. And now it’s working in my kitchen. I mean, how many bags of frozen broccoli do I need? Plus, it’s been fun being creative and coming up with meals using what I have on deck.



3. Funky rings: I’ve recently been in to collecting/buying funky rings. I recently bought these two cuties from an accessory store at my local mall. My relationship with rings has been up and down like an elevator. There was a period in my teen years when I wore a ring on every single finger. It went like that for a few years or so, then I got tired of rings. Then, I fell back in love with wearing them again in college. Now, I only wear two, or one at a time on each finger, like I’ll do with these metallic rings.



4. Adventure sports: Man oh man! Whoever invented the rock climbing wall was a genius!! I’ve found a new stress burner by going to my local rock climbing gym. I’ve also enjoyed kayaking and paddle boarding. Watch out now, you might see me climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro one day. I’ve always had a little adventurous side to me.



5. My Happy Book: This book is so awesome and has definitely helped me with self-assessment. There’s something different on every page. One page will tell you to write down what excited you as a kid. The other page will tell you to go outside for a walk, come back and draw what you see. My favorite promps are the ones that ask you to write down what makes you happy. I can be a little ungrateful at times so reading what makes me happy has put a lot of things in perspective for me.



FTC Disclosure: I paid for the products with my own funds.

Make-up brushes: Cleaning your bristles

I always keep a clean house. My kitchen is forever spotless. The closet stays tidy.
And when it comes to my make-up brushes, they get cleaned after Every. Single Use.
According to experts, you're supposed to clean your make-up brushes as often as possible.
If not, you risk skin infections and acne breakouts. Eww.
I use Sephora’s brush cleanser to clean my brushes.
I’ve had the bottle for about two years and some change now.
I usually just use a pea-sized squirt for each brush.
Cleans like a charm.
I’ve read online where make-up gurus (I’m pointing at you Sam Fine) use dish detergent to clean their brushes.
Sounds interesting. I might have to try that out when I use up all my cleanser.

How often do you clean your brushes? And what do you use to clean them?

Fall 2011 nail polish trends

Fall is here and there are several seasonal nail polish trends making waves in the beauty world. Here’s a look at some of them:

-Metallic: Revlon's Metallic


-Purple: N.Y.C.'s Prince Street


-Navy: Revlon's Midnight


-Military Greens: OPI's Don't Mess With OPI


-Nudes: SinfulColors' Vacation Time


My favorite trends are definitely the metallic and purple looks.
But isn’t purple always a fall/winter polish trend? Just asking.

Which are your fave fall 2011 polish trends? And what launches are you looking forward to?

FTC Disclosure: I previously paid for the products with my own funds.

Videos of the Day: 70s funk band Maxayn

Ever hear of Maxayn?
Yeah, me neither.
I love discovering new things, especially new music and came across this group while listening to funk music on Youtube.
Maxayn (pronounced Max Ann) was the name of a funk soul outfit that put out several albums during the 70s.
To confuse people even more (a la Sade) the lead singer of the group's name was also Maxayn, whom the group plastered on all its album covers.
The group didn't have a lot of commercial success but has a cult following among rare groove record collectors.
Count me one of them.
I've been enjoying their music for the past few weeks.
Here are several Maxayn jams I've been really loving:

Tellin You:


Gimme Shelter:


The Answer:


Doin Nothing Nothing Doin:


Bail Out:


Love is Near:


Now, all these videos are making me really practice my bass guitar because they are funky, funky!!