At-home Gel Manicure

I enjoy going out to get my nails done, but it could get very costly. The last time I got a manicure at a salon was a year ago. Now a days, it is also difficult for me to travel out to get my nails done. I own a bunch of nail polish, but everything seems to chip on me. I would paint my nails at night, and it would chip the next morning! I do a lot of cooking and chores at home, so I want something that would last at least a week. Just one week is all I ask for! My friend answered my calling and gave me the Red Carpet Gel Polish Pro Kit. 

This kit comes with: 

1. Professional LED Light - Gel-Curing Light
2. Nail Prep - Max Adhesion Prep 
3. Structure - Base Coat
4. Brilliance - Seal Top Coat
5. Revitalize - Cuticle Oil
6. Erase - Gel Nail Polish Remover
7. Purify - Application Cleanser
8. Red Gel Nail Polish 
9. Instruction Booket

The Red Carpet Gel Polish Pro Kit is extremely easy to use, and if you paint your nails often; it will be a piece of cake. I am in love with this gel polish kit! The gel nail polish did not chip or peel and it stayed on until my nails grew out. The trick to applying any gel nail polish is to apply very thin coats. I've never been completely satisfy with gel manicures at salons, because they always tend to peel on me. I also hate it when it looks too thick. Maybe it's because they know I will have to come back to the salon to get it touched up or something, but can't they just make it look nice? 

Overall, this is a great kit and I highly recommend it for those of you who work with your hands a lot. As a mom of two, this takes maybe 20 minutes of my time at night (from filing my nails to gel application). My gel manicure has never looked better and I am extremely satisfied with the longevity of the polish on my nails. I have nothing bad to say about it. 

Shape and buff out the ridges of your nails. Use Purify cleanser to wipe disinfect and apply Prep onto nails. 

Apply Structure base coat and cure under LED light

Apply Gel nail polish and cure under LED light

It only takes 45 seconds to cure! Apply Brilliance top coat and cure under LED light again. 

Wipe off tackiness with Purify cleanser and your at-home gel manicure is finished! 

Polish stayed on after a week! 

Food Galore: Avocado Shake

I can't believe it's been more than one month since my last post! I had a great Spring Break with the husband and the girls, but school work has been catching up to me. Just a little bit more until I am school free! I cannot wait! Time to balance school work with blogging.

Anyway, John brought Vietnamese food for dinner when I was studying for my midterms and I thought, "how great would it be to have avocado shake with it?" So I made my own! It's so simple, yet it tastes like the ones you'd get at restaurants. Here is what I used:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup of ice
• 3/4 cup of milk (less if you want it more thick)
• 3 generous table spoons of condense milk

Steps to achieve deliciousness:

1. Peel and pit the avocado
2. Put all ingredients in the blender
3. Blend and enjoy!

Food Galore: Egg Plant Parmesan

John came home early from work today and he offered to cook dinner. I was like, "You're going to cook me dinner? What are you cooking?" He said whatever I like, so I said eggplant parmesan. He looked up the recipe online and we started to cook. I was super excited because I didn't have to "cook" for one day! I was his sou chef and we worked well as a team. I was nervous with how our dinner will turn out, but surprisingly, it came out really good! We had to alter the original recipe because we didn't have certain ingredients. I am satisfied with our spontaneous dinner and will look for more recipes to cook from!

The sauce:

1 whole garlic minced, 1 jar of pasta sauce (Ragu organic), a pinch of Kosher salt, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Blend all the ingredients together with 1 table spoon of olive oil.

The eggplant:

Slice 1 big organic eggplant vertically 

We didn't have bread crumbs, so we made our own haha! We toasted two pieces of whole wheat bread and crumbled in a zip-lock bag.

Cover the eggplant with bread crumbs on both sides before dipping it in the egg. (we used 3 organic eggs)

Pre-heat the oven to 350. While you wait, pan-fry the eggplants on both sides for 10 minutes on medium-low heat.

Layer the ingredients in the following order: Sauce, eggplants, sauce, cheese (we used shredded mixed cheese), sauce, eggplants, sauce, and cheese. 

We added our own variation by topping it off with strips of bacon! 

Cook for 30 minutes and let your dish cool down for 10 minutes. 

Our finish product! Eggplant parmesan with steamed carrots and broccoli. Here is the original recipe.

Pretty in Pink

It's Terrific Tuesday! I played with make-up during my study break and this is what I came up with. I have so much make-up, I might as well put them to good use! I don't have anywhere to go today, but it makes me feel more productive if I put on my face to "get ready" for the day. I feel lazy if I don't look put together, so this is my new approach on tackling each day. This is my mental motivation. What is yours?

Products used:

Face: Rachel K. CC Cream, Glo Minerals Foundation Powder, Mac's Weekend Getaway Creme Blush (Limited Edition)

Eyes: Bare Minerals 'Truth' Quad, Kiss Me Liquid Eye Liner (upper liner only), Benefit Eyebrow Powder (because I have no eyebrows)

Lips: Laura Mercier Lipgloss in Camellia <3

Food Galore: Ribeye Steak Dinner

I enjoy going out to eat, but it adds up quickly. Eating out can also be unhealthy. Once in a while, we treat ourselves to a nice home-cooked steak dinner. We get our steak from Costo because they have affordable quality steak. Our favorite is New York Ribeye ($30 for four pieces). It's thick, juicy, and tender! I pan seared it on medium-high heat until it is 60% cooked before turning off the heat and let the steak sit in the pan. I made steamed broccoli and home-fries for sides. The total cook time only took about 35 minutes! I always try to cook at home because it saves us money and the ingredients I use are healthy. It's a great way to stay in shape for the summer.

Caramelized onion over New York Ribeye in medium rare with a side of steamed broccoli and home-fries. 

The other day, I made a quick spaghetti lunch. I like to add my own mix into the sauce to make it more hearty. I used Organic Ragu Pasta Sauce and threw in ground turkey with chopped garlic. Obviously, I can't go without eating vegetables, so I sauteed kale with olive oil. Lastly, I warmed up some Butternut Squash soup from Trader's Joe to finish off the meal. This also took about 35 minutes. 

Minced half a garlic and sauteed until fragrant. Cook ground turkey with garlic until 70% done. Then, add in pasta sauce of choice and bring it to a boil. 

Sauteed minced garlic until fragrant and throw in kale leaves. Stir occasionally until soft. Add a quarter cup of water and cover it until you see steam. Turn off heat and let it sit.  

Pasta lunch for two. Johnsonville Sausage spaghetti with ground turkey garlic tomato sauce. Accompanied by a side of olive oil sauteed kale and butternut squash soup.

Happy cooking!

Treasure Finds: Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, & Lancome

Who doesn't love a good deal, right? I get especially excited on discounted high-end cosmetics! I always enjoyed shopping at The Jersey Shore Premium Outlet, but recently, I found two stores that I am crazy about. It is The Cosmetic Company Store and Lancome-Designer Fragrances & Cosmetics Co. Most of us know 'The Cosmetic Company Store' as the "CCO". For those of you who don't know what the "CCO" is, it's time to get excited! The CCO is a cosmetic store that carries discontinued or limited edition products from different companies at a discounted price. Each CCO has different stock depending on what is shipped to them. These companies include Mac, Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, Lancome, Clinique, Smashbox, and more. I will go back in a few months to see what other goodies are there!

Lancome palette, Bobbi Brown Corrector, Estee Lauder Concealer 

  I picked up the limited edition palette in Golden Frenzy at the Lancome store. Apparently, this palette is what Kim Kardashian wore on her wedding day. I could care less about Kim Kardashian, but this palette is gorgeous! All the colors are wearable and blends effortlessly. 

(Retails for $49, I got it for $15!)

The crease color is the middle swatch and is cooler in real life. I like how it creates a natural shadow in my non-existent crease. 

(Natural Sunlight)

The black shadow is surprisingly pigmented. It is the darkest black I own and makes a beautiful eye liner. 

(With Flash)

Left: Estee Lauder Smoothing Concealer in Medium

(Retails for $22, got it for $15.50)

Right: Bobbi Brown Corrector in Bisque

(Retails for $23, got it for $16.25)

Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow in Taupe

(Retails for $21, got it for $14.95)

Very smooth and velvety. Satin finish. 

(Natural Sunlight)

Great color for all over the lid or crease color for a smokey eye. 

(With Flash)

Go to the Jersey Shore Outlet! Happy Shopping!

Home Edition: Indoor Playground

I've been wanting to rearrange our living room in a way where the girls get to play freely without touching the TV area. They used to tug on the wires, turn the TV on/off, open the cabinet, and grab decorations off the side tables. I cannot express how happy I am that we finally did this! I am  extremely satisfied with the way their "play area" incorporates with our living room! Our apartment looks like a play room...

The Indoor Playground! 

Miss Ladybug greets you at the entry way

The Lounge Area

The Movie Area

I was on a roll today and fixed up their bedroom too! Now, they have two rooms they can play in! Covering the floor with puzzle pieces took time, but it is well worth it! 

The Bunny Den

I like how the girls' room is so colorful. The entire floor is covered with puzzle pieces. It screams "energy"!

I love how we moved the massage chair into the girls' room. It makes the living room less cramped and lets me relax while they roam free in their room! We made the hand-print canvas on the left when the girls were around 6 months. I bought them from zulily.com, but you can purchase them from Pearhead themselves. One of my favorite thing in this room is tree decal. It gives the room a relaxing feel and calms me down right away. You can purchase the tree decal here.  

Again, I like these wall decals because it helps calm me down. The cute trees and animals are prefect for this room. The light switch cover is a rose design and the name plaques were given to me from a sorority sister. The wall decorations add a nice touch to our temporary home. 

Until next time!

First Impression of Rachel K. CC Cream

The Difference between BB Creams and CC Creams:

CC Creams is an improved version of BB Creams. It is the next "big thing" in the beauty industry, but it is only available in Asia at the moment. CC Creams offers the same benefits as BB Creams including moisturizing, whitening, skin repairing, and sun protection. Except CC Creams includes ingredients that rejuvenate your skin quicker. Read more about it here.

About Rachel K. CC Cream:

In 2009, Rachel K. won Miss Singapore Universe and began her journey to create a new beauty innovation. After two years of research in cosmetic laboratories in Japan, Korean, and USA, along with the help of lead dermatologists, cosmetologists, and make-up artists, the Rachel K. CC Cream was born. Rachel K. CC Cream is a 10-in-1 non-comedogenic waterproof product with SPF 35 that controls shine, instantly brightens, evens skin tone, conceal flaws, and hydrates your skin for 24 hours.

My First Impression:

I have used BB Creams before and I was not super impressed. I bought Mischa BB Cream about two years ago because my Korean friend recommended it to me. First of all, this was before BB Creams were available in the U.S. market, so most of the color selection is fairly light. I had darker skin tone before and most BB Creams were not available in my tan complexion. I finally found a BB Cream that is significantly darker than most BB Creams and bought it. When I first put it on, it felt greasy. I gave it a few minutes to let it settle into my skin and it felt better. The problem was, it didn't seem completely dry, I had to powder it down with a setting powder to give it a satin finish. Secondly, I have combination skin, but my skin would get shiny within a couple of hours. Since the Mischa BB Cream did not have a satin finish, it made me look even more oily than usual. Lastly, I was the least impressed with the longevity of the Mischa BB Cream. This BB Cream transferred like no other product I've tried! I would touch my skin slightly and it would appear on my fingers. I was disappointed that the Mischa BB Cream did not work for me because it gets such great reviews.

Yesterday, I received my CC Cream in the mail and I couldn't wait to try it! I put it on today and it felt so different than the Mischa BB Cream. First off, the CC Cream felt feather light when I applied it onto my skin. It did not feel like I was wearing make-up, it felt like I just put a serum on. Secondly, this CC Cream surprisingly gave a decent amount of coverage. Most BB Creams and Tinted Moisturizers provide little to no coverage, but this CC Cream stepped up it's game. I would say the coverage is about a light to medium coverage which you can build on. However, I wouldn't depend on the CC Cream to act as your main source for coverage if you want to achieve a medium to full coverage. I would lightly dust your foundation powder over the CC Cream to get the coverage you need to avoid cakey-ness. Last but not least, the color 'Neutral' matched my skin tone completely. The way Rachel K. created this CC Cream is amazing. The CC Cream blends into your skin after a few minutes of the application. I don't know how to explain it...you just have to see it for yourself. The CC Cream literally disappeared and there is no trace of make-up whatsoever. You could stand 5cm away from my face and you wouldn't be able to tell I have anything on. It looks like moisturizer, but the CC Cream "blurs" your blemishes away. It neutralized the redness on my face and diminished any dark spots. It is pretty amazing! I am extremely impressed with the Rachel K. CC Cream and I'm glad I got my hands on it. It is $39 without shipping and handling. I ordered mine from LisaLisaD1's website, but you can also order it straight from the Rachel K website. Shipping is less expensive if you order it from LisaLisaD1 though.

 Noticed the redness is gone and it controlled the shine. I did not put on any concealer and it helped with my dark circles a bit. 

Ingredients:

Water, Titanium Dioxide/Mica, Zinc oxide, Dimethicone/Human Oligopeptide-1, Glycerin, PEG 10 Dimethicone, Acrylates/Ethyhexyl Acrylate/ Dimethicone, Disteardimonium, Hectorite Mica, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone, White Tea Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Adenosine, Hyaluronic acid, Silica, Sorbitan, Olivate Lecithin, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Aloe, Sodium Citrate, Barbadensis leaf extract, Methyl Paraben, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Iron Oxide