Green With Envy!

This post was originally supposed to be for St. Patrick's Day, since this is what I wore to work on March 17th. I'm a total lame-o and forgot to post, naturally. Such is my life LOL.

Since it's been two weeks, I totally forgot what products I used - I just remember that I used NYX Eyeshadow Base in White and my 88 palette. The lighting was totally not working with me that day, nor was my camera. A lot of the pictures were blown out, so I had to heavily alter the saturation, levels, contrast, etc., in Gimp. I'm sorry if this throws off the look of the photos, but I promise you I did nothing to alter the makeup itself.

I also may or may have not edited out some wrinkles. *blush* The joys of being 30. ;)

I hate my face in this picture, but it's one of the few I took with my eyes open that looked somewhat decent. Sun in the eyes does not make for good photographs!

You know I had to post a look with the glasses on!

So how was everyone's St. Patrick's Day? (For those that celebrated...) I had to work that day, which happened to be a Saturday. It was a little slow in the salon, but the people that DID come in were hilarious. Some were already drunk (at 11 in the morning) and most were getting ready to go GET drunk.

I come across all different walks of life in my industry and I love it!

Do you have a St. Patrick's Day inspired look that you posted on your blog? Share the link in the comments and I'll edit my post to include yours!

Rainbow Margarita

I know, I'm lame. I've taken entirely too long to post a new look. I'm sorry :D

Things just keep getting more and more hectic at the salon. I wear makeup (nearly) every day, and whenever I do something other than my five-minute-face, I will take photos. Those photos turn into little dust bunnies on the memory cards and then I realize "oh, right, I have a blog!" LOL

As always, I asked my wonderful partner what kind of look I should do a few days ago. She said "something bright for spring". I dug out the 88 palette and set to work!

I had a few problems with the lightning for these pictures. Normally I take my photos at night, so I use the "slow" setting on my camera with flash to help combat shadows. If I take any pictures during the day, it's after the sun has already moved from beaming directly onto my porch. With daylight savings time and an eastward facing porch, it was hard to get the lighting JUST right for these. I apologize if some of them are blown out or over processed. Absolutely ZERO editing was done to the makeup itself. I just fiddled with the contrast and in the one closeup shot, I airbrushed out my wrinkles (allergies have been wreaking havoc on my skin) and I also lightened up a shadow or two.

Also, new haircolor! What do you think?

silly face ;D

Products Used:

Face:
*Revlon ColorStay foundation in 180 Sand Beige
*Sephora Compact powder foundation in Light 20
*No name bronzer
*Benefit blush in Coralista

Eyes:
*TFSI
*NYX eyeshadow base in White
*88 palette - hot pink, lime green, deep purple, pinky-purple
*MUFE kohl eyeliner in 1K
*Maybelline Eyestudio gel liner in Blackest Black
*CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion mascara in Very Black
*Sephora lashes "Tempting"

Lips:
I wish I knew the name! It's an ULTA gloss that's baby pink, almost white. I love it!

Every time I have some kind of creative makeup going on, I take a picture with my phone and post it directly to my Facebook page. One of my best friends said that it looked like a Rainbow Margarita! What do you guys think?

Cookie Dough Dip!

So as we all may or may not know, I've been on a weight loss journey for a little over a year now. I'm always on the hunt for new recipe ideas and healthy alternatives.

I have a MAJOR sweet tooth, so the hardest part for me is finding "healthy" dessert recipes. I mean, is there even such a thing or am I totally fooling myself?

I recently stumbled across a blog called Chocolate Covered Katie. This girl's blog is my go-to for tasty treats that I won't feel guilty eating! I found her site through my faaaaaaaavorite foodie site, Taste Spotting. My favorite recipe so far is the Cookie Dough Dip recipe, which I have made and devoured twice. This recipe does not last very long in this household, even with one very picky Ashley running loose.

In fact, I had to have her eat it before I told her what was in it, otherwise she wouldn't have tried it. She kept taking spoonfuls of it and asking, "How does this even work? I don't understand..." LOL

So now that I have found love for this recipe, I will bring it to you with my modifications. When you are done, you will have something that is the EXACT texture and flavor of raw cookie dough, without all the guilt!

You will need:
*1 can (429-525g) chickpeas (yes, chickpeas)
*1/8 tsp salt
*1/8 tsp baking soda
*2 tsp vanilla extract
*3 tbsp Peanut Butter & Co White Chocolate Wonderful
*1/2 cup skim milk
*2 packets truvia
*1/3 cup chocolate chips
*2 tbsp raw oats

Dump everything except the chocolate chips into a food processor (I use a Ninja blender & pulse slowly - you don't want a smoothie!). Pulse until it all comes together and everything has broken down. I then separate half of the chocolate chips and pulse those in, just to infuse that chocolate flavor. Remove from the processor and stir in the remaining chocolate chips. Use cookies, crackers, spoons, hands, whatever you can find, to scoop up and enjoy!!!

Ingredients for success!!!

It's so hard not to eat it straight from the Ninja!

I gussied this up with graham crackers, but secretly those are just for show. I totally eat this with a spoon.

This is so delicious, so decadent, so amazingly good... Keep in mind, all of the ingredients I used can be found at your local Wal*Mart. There isn't anything fancy in there that you'll need to order online or anything like that.

If you make this, please let me know what you think! And thanks again to the original creator of this recipe, Chocolate Covered Katie!