Products I Love: Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color

Hello My Lovelies,

I apologize for the gap in posts. I was taking summer classes, and they completely swamped my life. I just took my last final a couple of hours ago, so I figured it was time to hop on here and update you all on one of my favorite new products.

Recently, one of my friends swiped some of M.A.C.'s "Rebel" lipstick on me, which is a dark fuchsia color, and I loved it. However, I wasn't willing to spend $$ on a tube of lipstick. I started doing some research and found Wet n Wild's MegaLast lip color on walgreens.com, at $1.99 each and ordered eight different colors. I've noticed that drugstores don't ever keep all these colors stocked, so if you want a range of colors, your  best bet is to buy it online.

Colors from left to right: Think Pink, Just Peachy, Dollhouse Pink, Pinkerbell, Muave Outta Here, Sugar Plum Fairy, Cherry Bomb, Spiked with Rum

Let me say that I love the colors. I found that Sugarplum Fairy is a good dupe for M.A.C.'s "Rebel." Pinkerbell and Dollhouse pink are a bit too bright for me, I call them "Nicki Minaj Colors" because they remind me of her trademark lips. Cherry bomb is a great color for the fall, so I will wait until then to wear this dark color. Right now my favorites are Muave outta here, Spiked with Rum and Just Peachy.

As amazing as the colors and  price are, I've heard two main complaints about this product: the packaging, and the dryness of the product.

Packaging: Let's face it, you payed $1.99 for this lipstick, you can't expect it to come in a fancy tube. The plastic is cheap, however I would much rather pay less and get less glamorous packaging than pay more for a nice tube.

Dryness: Since this is a matte color, it has the same effects that all matte colors do, which is dryness because it has zero shine. The great thing about matte colors is the staying power on lips, and if the dryness really bothers you, you can always apply lip balm before or after applying the product.

One tip I wanted to share with you is that I found it difficult to apply the product onto my lips straight from the tube. The easiest method I found, was to apply the lipstick to my finger first, and then use my finger to apply it onto my lips. This made the product easier to glide on, and also helped to adjust the amount of product (intensity of the color.)

If your looking for fun, bold lip colors to play with, I recommend you purchase this product. It's so cheap, that you won't regret buying it later, even if you happen to toss it in the trash. All eight of these colors were about the same price as one tube of M.A.C. lipstick. :0

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Hello Ladies,

You know that Frank's sauce commercial that says, "I put that s*** on everything?"  Well that's the story of my life. I love to put buffalo sauce on everything from pizza to tacos to rice. It's a pretty bad addiction. My favorite combination is the classic Buffalo wings, and if I could have it everyday I probably would. However, I do NOT want to suffer from clogged arteries so I try to limit my intake.

My friend told me about this awesome recipe she found for breaded cauliflower bites, and I thought I would step up the game and add buffalo sauce. Let me say, that I LOVE this recipe because you can't even tell your eating vegetables. And to make this recipe sound even more tempting, it's so easy to make with limited dirty dishes!

Here it is:

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

1) Begin by pre-heating oven to 360 degrees and de-frosting the frozen cauliflower.
2) Cut along the top of the bag and add Buffalo sauce (enough to completely coat the cauliflower) along with salt, pepper, garlic powder and grated Parmesan directly into the bag. Note: You can be adventurous and try different sauces. My boyfriend loves Honey BBQ sauce, and he still loves the combination of the sauce with the cauliflower.
3) Hold the top of the bag shut with you hand and begin shaking the bag like crazy. Keep shaking until you see the ingredients are evenly distributed.
4) Grab a pan and add foil. Then add the contents of the bag onto pan
5) Bake until golden brown. You may need to flip the cauliflower over, depending on how you want them cooked.
6) If you are sauce-crazy like me, you can toss the cauliflower in Buffalo Sauce again.
7) Serve with celery, carrots and a side of Ranch Dressing.

Rihanna-Inspired Heels for Less

Hi ladies,

So I have a slight obsession with Rihanna. She's gorgeous, her tunes are catchy and lets face it, she's the queen of dressing sexy-but-I'm-not-even-trying. One staple that she pairs with everything from gowns to jeans, is ankle-strap sandals. For some reason, these heels are SEXY! There's not really much to it but a single strap over the toes, and one around the ankle, but this also might be the reason why it's so appealing: the simplicity. 

When I looked for these shoes online, I saw two options: Manolo Blahniks and Guiseppe Zanottis, both retailing for about $700. Of course, neither of these shoes are even close to being in my price range. 

I set out to find some look-a likes that I could actually afford and after a few hours of surfing the web I found a few options and narrowed it down to three options.

1) Steve Madden "Realove" $80

2) Michael Antonio "Jaxine" $30-$50

3)  Anne Michelle "Enzo 01" $25-$35

Being the bargain shopper I am, I decided to go with the Anne Michelle pair. However, the first two websites I went to were sold out of all these heels. I finally found them on an Amazon store and purchased them for a total of $30 with shipping. Although I am a 71/2, I chose a size 8, as I have a wider foot. 

They arrived in just 3 days and I was so excited that I just ripped the package open. They fit beautifully on my feet! I can  pair them with anything from my ankle-length pants, to shorts to dresses. They are definitely going to be worn everywhere and I will most likely order the same shoe in a nude color. I probably wouldn't wear these dancing, as they are single- soled sandals, but a nice dinner would do. 

So if you find them, snatch 'em up before they are all gone. 

Healthy Pasta Salad

Hi ladies,

My boyfriend and I recently went to a restaurant that had many vegetarian options for traditional meat items. I asked him whether or not he would be able to go meat-less for a while and he thought he could, so we decided to challenge ourselves and have a vegetarian June.     There's obviously many health benefits for going vegetarian and we thought that we could use this opportunity to kick-start a healthier lifestyle. 

Although it's not June yet, I decided to test my skills and make a pasta salad. The goal was to make it as filling as possible, with healthy ingredients. 

Please note that I didn't list amounts for each ingredient, as I believe that you should alter the amount according to your personal preference. 

Enjoy!

Healthy Pasta Salad

- 1 lb box colored, curly pasta

- 1 bottle of Italian dressing

- 2 cans Garbanzo beans

- 2 cans of Kidney beans 

- 1 green bell pepper

- 1 red bell pepper

-  2 cucumbers 

- crumbled Feta cheese

- craisins

- sunflower seed kernels 

- avocado

1) cool the pasta according to directions. Once done, rinse under cold water.

2) chop all the vegetables and add to pasta

3) add beans to pasta

3) add craisins, sunflower kernels and Feta cheese according to taste

4) add Italian dressing and mix well.

5) cover the dish and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. 

Workout Jams

Hi Ladies,

It's a hot, humid day in Houston; just another indicator that Summer is fast approaching. Besides the icky weather factor, another factor I dislike is bikini season. Yes, the dreaded show-off-what-you've-been-packing-all-winter season.

I decided to be pro-active this year and start my work-out routine earlier by incorporating at least 30 mins of walking/jogging each day. Since I'm not an avid runner, I have to listen to upbeat music while I'm jogging to get my mind off the thought that I'm actually working out.

I thought I would add a list of some of the songs I jam to while working out that you can use too! Please note that a lot of these are club/booty-poppin songs and songs from around the world,so if your not into that than this is probably not the list for you. If you have any awesome songs, feel free to comment!

Workout Jams

• "Twerk It" : VIC
• "Wobble" : VIC
• "We Run the Night" : Pitbull 
• "Freak" : Travis Porter
• "Let's go": Ne-Yo
• "I'm Gonna Catch You" : Pitbull
• "Oye Loca": Pitbull
• "This is How We Do It": Montell J
• "Dance (Ass)": Big Sean
• "Runaway Baby": Bruno Mars
• "Dance the Night Away": David Banner
• "Clique": Kanye West
• "Na de Na": Khriz y Angel
• "Party Rock Anthem": LMFAO
• "Abusadora": Wisin Y Yandel
• "Another Night" Real McCoy
• "Ayy Ladies": Travis Porter
• "Breathe": Dev
• "Can't Hold Us": Macklemore
• "Carry Out": Timbaland
• "Closer": Ne-Yo
• "Dalinda": Alex Mica
• "Danza Kuduro": Don Omar
• "Diosa de los Corazones": La Formula
• "Don't Stop the Party" : Pitbull
• "Forever Now": Ne-Yo
• "Get Big": Dorrough
• "Higher": Taio Cruz
• "Henna": Cameron Cartio 
• "How Low Can You Go?": Chris Brown
• "I'm Going In": Lil Wayne
• "I'm the S***": Kanye West
• "It's Going Down (Reggaeton Version)": Young Joc 
• "Let me Love You": Ne-Yo
• "Let the Bass Kick in Miami": LMFAO
• "Let's Go": Ne-Yo
• "Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay": Big Sean
• "Mi Alma se Muere": Pitbull
• "More": Usher
• "The Motto": Drake
• "Ni Na Nay": Cameron Cartio
• "N****** In Paris": Jay Z
• "OMG": Usher
• "Only Girl": Rihanna
• "Talk that Talk": Rihanna
• "Pause": Pitbull
• "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See": Busta Rhymes
• "Rack City": Tyga
• "Sell me Candy": Rihanna 
• "Shake That Jelly": Tyga
• "She Like Me": Megha Man
• "The Show Goes On": Lupe Fiasco
• "Slight Work": Wale
• "Turn Up the Music": Chris Brown
• "We Run the World": Beyonce
• "Whine Up": Kat De Luna
• "Why Stop Now": Busta Rhymes

Fixing a Droopy Bag

Hello Ladies,

I visited New York City a few months ago, and got suckered into buying three purses from Chinatown. I like changing my purses often depending on what  I'm wearing, and even my mood, so I prefer to not spend a lot of money on one purse. Well, I guess I got what I paid for in Chinatown. Two of my purses are doing great, while the other was just got droopy.

Doesn't it look sad?

I like the bag so much so I decided to fix it instead of throwing it away. It was pretty easy to do and required minimal materials.Please keep in mind this isn't a fix for naturally slouchy bags.

All you need is foam board, scissors and a glue gun (or needle and thread if you have more time) I was lucky to have some extra foam board left over from another craft project.

• First, figure out what areas of your purse need the support. Mine was droopy all around, so I needed support on the bottom and both side panels. 

• Next measure the foam board to the size of panels on your purse and cut it out. 

• This next part is a bit tricky. We want to make slits in the purse liner that are big enough to fit the foam through. I did a pretty messy job, but just use a sharp blade or scissors to cut slits through the side panels and the bottom. 

• Then you get the foam boards and slide them through each slit. You'll notice how sturdy the purse is now.

• Finally, close the slits. You can use a needle and thread for better precision, but since I was in a press for time and I figured no one would look inside my purse, I just used a glue gun. I applied glue on one side of the slit and overlapped the other side, closing it shut.

The finished product:

(This is the back of the purse if you were wondering)

There you go, all done! Told ya, it was easy!

Casual-Chic

Here's an idea for a night out, or fancy dinner. What I love about this outfit, is what I call "checks and balances." The casual crop-top tones down the heavily sequined skirt, but the accessories amps up the casual crop-tone. It leaves you with a casual-chic combo for a night out.

Chic by th3gemchronicles featuring blue jewelry