Mini NYC Haul

Hello Beauties!

Today I had to go to the store for some essential beauty items and ended up buying a few NYC (New York Color) Cosmetics and a few other things.

I picked up these two lipsticks in the colors Blossom which is the shimmery pink color and Ruby which is a shimmery red and reminds me of Dorthy's ruby slippers. I just couldn't resist these two beautiful colors and they were only $1.97 each. In the photo I am wearing the pink shade (Blossom). 

I also got these NYC nail polishes which are all named after streets in New York City, which I think is rather cute. I know that these polishes don't have great lasting power because I have tried them before but I just couldn't resist the colors, I just started grabbing and couldn't stop.

I also picked up some nail polish remover because I am running dangerously low. I am going to try out this new sponge remover by Sally Hansen which claims to be quick and easy but I guess you can't use it for your toes...so I still need nail polish remover! This remover says that it will moisturize dry brittle nails which is what attracted me to it since nail polish tends to be harsh on my nails.

Weekend Blog: Sunday, Barbecue in Niagara Falls

Sunday

Today I went to Niagara Falls to have a barbecue along the Niagara escarpment which has become a tradition for my family. I live about an hour and a half away from Niagara Falls and despite all of my world travels it is still one of my favorite places to visit. I've been going there since I was a baby and now I visit a few times each summer.

We didn't actually walk down to see the falls even though I love looking at how beautiful and powerful it is. We were all too tired to do much walking after sitting out in the sun all day.

This was the view from our barbecue area  

Some more photos from the day

Skylon Tower

The Fudge Factory is always somewhere we can't resist stopping. I got a candy apple but they had tons of things to chose from and everything was covered in chocolate!!

Fudge

What did you do this weekend??

Weekend Blog: Soulyve Restaurant Featured on The Food Network

Saturday 

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend thus far.This Saturday I spent time with my family, we decided to  try a new Restaurant called Soulyve, north of the city in Orangeville. My sister and I are food channel fanatics and every time we see a restaurant featured in North America with delicious food we just have to try it whenever we are in that city. This restaurant was featured on a show on the Food Network called You Gotta Eat Here.

Soulyve is a West Indian restaurant that combines delicious foods like crispy roti and jerk chicken in a delicious, spicy wrap with cheese, lettuce, spicy mayo, pineapple and tomatoes. This combination was different yet delectable!! I usually don't like pineapple in savory foods but the combination of spicy and sweet was a delicious balance of flavors.

Reggae wrap

The sweet potato chips were my favorite! They were crispy, sweet and salty and I just couldn't get enough so I bought a bag to have later.

Sweet potato chips

The restaurant also has many other appetizing foods and interesting combinations like Jamaican patties filled with Soulyve's signature jerk chicken, samosas, and curries. The portions are generous and the prices are great.

If you live in the GTA and want to try a new and unique restaurant you should definitely head up to Orangeville and try Soulyve.

I LOVE trying new food combinations!! What interesting foods or food combinations have you tried??? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Coral and Gold Eye Shadow Using Inglot Shadows

I love this coral color in my Inglot palette. It isn't quite like any other color I have in my shadow collection. It is by far my favorite color in the palette.

I combined the coral tone #336 with the gold color from my Naked 2 palette called Half Baked (second color from the left below)

This look was super easy to do but I love how the colors compliment each other.

I realized that when I posted the Inglot palette in my previous haul I did not let everyone know what the colors are, so they are posted below in case you are interested in getting any of these shades.

From left to right:

Purple #439

Teal green #372

Sky blue #371

Orange coral #366

Sparkly orange #51

Classic Red

This weekend I decided to do something classic and simple with my manicure. I was trying out the polish I got on vacation in Abu Dhabi called Top Lady. The polish dried matte and since I am not a huge fan of matte polish I used my In a Hurry air dry top coat  for a quick glossy finish.

Nexxus Humectress Deep Conditioner Review: My Favorite Drugstore Deep Conditioner

I have been using this deep conditioner for a few years now and it has remained a staple in my hair care regime. This is by far one of my favorite drug store deep treatments and I don`t think it gets the recognition it deserves in the beauty community.

Here is some info about this product:

*Replenishes vital moisture

*leaves hair 10 times stronger in one use

* Contains: silk protein, coconut oil,  keratin, avocado, honey and soybean

I can`t really attest to the jars claim of making hair ten times stronger in one use (I don't think anything can do that), but it sure does make my hair feel amazingly soft, silky, bouncy and healthier. I used this with my dryer attachment for 40mins after I came home from my trip to the desert and my hair felt revived and all the moisture restored!

I think this deep treatment would be great for people who have dry hair and those who have damage from dying, bleaching, chemicals and heat. It would also work for people who just want to maintain the health of their hair like I do. I think every hair type can benefit from this conditioner, but of course you have to try it out for yourself to know if it works for you.

I think the smell of this product resembles the inside of a salon which doesn't bother me but it isn't sweet or delicious smelling. The jar cost about $13-$15 dollars and you can get it at Walmart (which usually sells it the cheapest), Target and other drug stores. The jar is only 156 g and I do wish it came in a larger size.

After using the $38 dollar Macadamia hair mask and using this one I have to say they have almost the exact same effects on my hair, I might even like this one a tad more!

I would definitely recommend trying this product if you are looking for a good deep conditioner.

Macadamia Deep Repair Masque Review

ingredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetrimonium Chloride, Quaternium 80, Amodimethicone, Ricinus Commmunis Seed Oil (Castor), Parfum/Fragrance, Algae Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Anthemis Nobilis (Roman Chamomile) Flower Oil, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Limonene, Butylphenyl Methypropional, Hexylcinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol, C11 15 Pareth 7, C12 16 Pareth 9, Trideceth 12, Trimethylsilosyamodimethicone

This deep conditioner/hair masque is targeted at dry, brittle or damaged hair to reconstruct and improve elasticity.

With claims to nourish, rebuild and rejuvenate I just had to try this conditioner. I did a lot of research before I bought a jar because here in Canada they don't sell it at many beauty supply stores and at Trade Secrets Salon where I purchased it, the cost was $38 including tax.

Like most products, I read a ton of contradicting reviews with some people absolutely loving  this conditioner and others claiming that it did nothing miraculous for their hair.

So the question is, after 2 years of use do I think this conditioner is worth the price tag? My answer would have to be no but not because I don't like it, but because I think the claims are a bit exaggerated relative to the price tag. No product can actually reconstruct and rebuild hair once the cuticle is damaged, only growing new healthy hair and cutting off the damaged parts can actually get rid of the damage without just covering it up and trying to make it feel silky. I don't think this conditioner will do anything miraculous for people who are expecting to rid themselves of years worth of bleaching, dying, styling tools and chemicals but it will  probably make your hair feel better to the touch.

I do however think this conditioner is great for people who have moderate damage or very dry hair and want to improve the appearance of that damage, or those who just need a good deep conditioner to add moisture, bounce and maintain the health of the hair. I don't have badly damaged hair so this product did work well for me. I did notice that my hair was softer, silkier and more moisturized which I love but I don't think that it is a miracle worker. In fact one of my drug store deep conditioners is almost on par with this one and I will have a review on that coming up as well.

I do like this conditioner and I still use it in rotation with my other deep treatments to help keep my hair in good shape, the smell is also okay. I would recommend it for those willing to pay $38 dollars to try it out and get softer hair. If you don't like that option you could always buy a sample pack or two before committing to an entire jar, they should have the sample packs at Ulta in the U.S. and Trade Secrets in Canada.

In the directions it says to leave it on for 7 minutes but to me that just isn't enough time to really get the full effect. I advise you to do whatever is best for your hair type but personally I leave it in for about 30-40 mins without any issues and for better results. This may be too long if your hair tends to get over moisturized, you may just have to experiment.

I also purchased this conditioner once at Target, they were having a sale where I got 2 jars for $27 so keep an eye open for that in the future.

Is this a good deep conditioner...YES but for some it may not be $38 dollars a jar good it just depends on your hair's needs.

I deep condition my hair once per week, for more info on different methods to deep condition your hair you can find that here: http://diaryofatrendaholic.blogspot.ca/2013/03/how-to-deep-condition-your-hair.html

You can find more details about the Macadamia products here on their website: http://www.macadamiahair.com/

Delicious Baked Chicken and Cheese Fusilli

I LOVE pasta, it is one of my favorite foods and my food of choice when I go out to dinner. I am going to share with you my personal recipe for a baked pasta dish that is so scrumptious I could probably eat it every day...but I don't.

What you need:

*1 package of lean or extra lean ground chicken. You can use ground beef if you like. I opt for lean meat as a healthier alternative but you can use whatever you prefer.

*Garlic

*Seasoning salt

*1 large onion

*Green onion

*3/4 cup of diced tomatoes

*2 jars of original Ragu pasta sauce I use the half the fat Ragu as a healthier alternative

*Cheese You can use whatever kind you like, I use cheddar

*Cilantro (optional)

*Garlic powder

*Onion powder

*Italian herb seasoning

*Mrs Dash original blend

*Black pepper

*Extra Virgin Olive oil

*Thyme

*Pepper sauce to taste (I use the Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce)

*Fusilli pasta (You can also use rotini if you like)

Directions:

1) In a large pan sauté : chopped onion, chopped garlic cloves, chopped cilantro, thyme and chopped green onion in some extra virgin olive oil.

2) After a few minutes add the chicken to the pan. Sprinkle on: seasoning salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, Italian seasoning and Mrs Dash seasoning.

Mix and break up the chicken.

3) Cook chicken completely

4) After you have cooked the chicken turn the heat to low and add both jars of tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes.

You can add some pepper sauce at this point which is optional. Make it as spicy as you like.

5) Let the sauce simmer on low-very low heat for 25-30 mins.

As the sauce is cooking I start to cook the pasta and make a green salad.

6) Preheat oven to 350-400

7) In a big baking dish mix the cooked pasta with the sauce.

8) Grate cheese over the top of the pasta

9)  Cover dish and bake for 15-20 mins or until cheese has melted and sauce begins to bubble.

You can serve this with garlic bread or salad.

Voila! You are done, the finished result is very tasty comfort food the whole family will enjoy

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Mask Review

I picked up this recovery mask prior to my trip to Dubai because I read that the water there was very hard and could be damaging to hair. Because the desert air can make hair dry as well I wanted something affordable that I could use a lot of often and would keep my hair soft and protected from environmental factors.

Here is some info about this product:

*Concentrated weekly treatment for soft lustrous hair

*Treats dry, over processed and color treated hair (which I have none of but I figured that would make it work even better)

*So powerful just a small amount is enough to restore dried out strands for shining hair

*Leave in for 3-5 mins 

*Contains meadowfoam seed and sweet almond

While on vacation I did use this product more than once a week but that had no adverse effects. This mask smells pretty good, it is creamy in texture and a little does go a long way. As soon as I put it in my hair I notice a difference; my hair feels slippery and smoother and is easy to detangle and comb. After I use this mask my hair feels softer and it has a very different texture to it which is hard to explain; I would describe it as an artificial silkiness which isn't a bad thing...just different. As a bonus my hair maintained the silky feeling days after I conditioned and for about $6 at Walmart in the U.S. it did get the job done. 

I would recommend trying this mask even if you only use it once per week, it is more effective than many of the other drug store brands I have tried.

Purple and Blue eye shadow

Hi everyone,
 I decided to experiment with purple and blue eye shadows from my Coastal Scents palette. I have to admit, blue eye shadow is not a color I often wear because I associate it with bright pink lipstick and old tie dye jeans back from when I was a baby and people's style was a bit...shall we say different.

I decided to be brave and use some of the blue shades in the palette and I have to say I like how the colors look.

To get this look I used:

*My Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer palette

*I used the same outer V color on the outer 2/3 below my waterline

*I used the same inner eyelid color to highlight my inner tear duct