The Bold & the Beautiful

In Love with this Color

Clean Palette

"Fresh Face"

Ravishing Red

Embrace

Although it's still officially Winter, who says you can't wear a bright bold lip?  Everyone knows that I love color, and believe it or not it's not that hard to wear.  Just pick your shade and go!  I wanted to try some pretty colors that I found at the drug store and a new product, Cover Girl Blast Flipstick. So to get things going you need to start with a "Fresh Face" not this fresh face, we don't wanna scare the people.  :-) My definition of a "Fresh Face" is to have everything neutral and subtle, usually giving the illusion that you have very little or no makeup on at all. Achieving the "Fresh Face"  is simple, to start I have on Revlon Color Stay  liquid foundation in Carmel. I have on Maybeline Eye Studio in  Caffeine Rush and a mean cat eye which I simply adore. I achieved this winged out look by using Cover Girl Line Exact liquid eye liner. A little L'Oreal True Match Blush in Subtle Sable, some brown eye shadow to fill in my brows, mascara and voilà, we have a "Fresh Face".  The most important thing when making your lips the focal point is to EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE!!!  I bought everything from CVS but you can go to Target, Wal-Mart, or any other drugstore to find these items.  Now let's get to this color! Red is usually the go-to color for most women when wanting a bold lip, I chose L'OREAL Infallible Lipstick in Ravishing Red. I like this formula because it's really creamy unlike a lot of other red lipsticks.  Next on my list was Embrace lipstick by Cover Girl,  it is absolutely fabulous!

My Look of Disgust, I Hate It!(the two colors combined)

This berry color is gorgeous and is slightly iridescent which just makes me Go Gaga!  Lastly I wanted to try this new product that I keep seeing in commercials and in magazines. The absolutely stunning Sophia Vergara is all over T.V and print ads wearing Cover Girl's new product  Blast Flipstick.  It's a lipstick duo that gives you the option of wearing the colors alone or wearing them together for endless color combinations, if only that were true....Oh Cover Girl you have failed me again. Again you have given me the illusion that the images I see on T.V and magazines will look the same in person (i.e Cover Girl Shadow Blast with Cover Girl Drew Barrymore).  Now I must say I purchased the Flipstick in Stunner and  the colors on their own are great, smooth and long lasting, but if you're hoping to get that two-toned effect then you will be extremely disappointed. The idea is great but needs to be perfected if you're gonna market it this way. Color is not scary it's fun and I hope I've inspired some of you to try something new!  :-)


Pros: You get two colors for the price of one
Cons:  Looks nothing like the ads

Santa Monica Fun

p.o.p candy

Tifanie White's  brush rolls, various prices

Sweet Perversion

Couch Mix $8

    OMG, I had the best time ever at Unique LA's summer show!  The country's largest independent design show made Angeleno's come out in droves.  There were many eclectic pieces that you could only find at this show.  My first stop got me chocolate wasted, literally! Julie Peres and her Immaculate Confections  had me on cloud nine, with cake flavors like, Vanilla Grand Marnier, Dark Chocolate Kahlua, and Butter Rum cake, how could a girl choose?  Next stop was one of my absolute favorite things...MAKE-UP!  Adrian Culverson and her super cute sisters are the beauty and brains behind Superstar Lipline.

Debut Lip Balm $12.90

"How you doin'?" Ring $20

IncrediBall $6.50

Debut is there one and only shade of lip balm, but don't fret this shade is flattering on absolutely every skin tone!  If it ain't broke don't fix it, lookin' forward to more colors in the future. All that shopping had ya girl starvin', so I grabbed a bite at Great Balls on Tires.  Ground Kobe beef, applewood smoked bacon, gruyere, wild arugula, garlic aioli, all on a a toasted brioche bun.  I can truly say these were the best balls I've ever had in my mouth! ;-) Great food truck, would love to try some of their other dishes.  My belly was full so it was time to work off my lunch and do some more shopping, during this process I ran into a few of my old friends.  Rachel and her butter crunch goodness at p.o.p candy was such a delight to see.  I was especially excited because she had two new flavors, bacon and rosemary, and crispy black rice with ginger.  The rosemary and bacon was used with Cast Iron Gourmet's bacon (which I absolutely love) and crispy rice and ginger was an interesting twist on their delicious treats!  I then ran into my Bacon Bestie, Rashida Purifoy at Cast Iron Gourmet.  By the time I got there they had already sold out of Bacon Crack and I had scooped up the last Couch Mix.  This bacon is no joke and if you love bacon and haven't tried this stuff you are truly missing out!  One of  coolest things that I saw was Tifanie White's make-up brush rolls, perfect way to keep you brushes neat and clean. The second coolest thing that I found was this awesome ring that I found at London Manori.  I love finding fun, interesting, and unique pieces. What else is missing from this perfect day of shopping???  Booze of course!  Black Star Beer to fill my drunken needs.  Double hopped golden goodness, you can find this awesome brew at a BevMo! or an Albertson's near you.  Unique LA's summer sure did make me a happy camper and I can't wait til the next show!

Unique LA's 1st Summer Show

I've been on a brief hiatus but now I'm back in full effect, just in time for Unique LA!  This Is Unique LA's 1st summer show and the event includes two of my favorite past times, food and shopping! This is said to be the  largest independent design show in the country! With over 250 hand-selected designers and artists I think they're right. The two-day shopping event makes it easy for you to shop buy local and support LA’s economy,over 95% of the products at the show are made in the USA Now how awesome is that? I'm looking forward to seeing my two buddies from Cast Iron Gourmet and p.o.p candy.  Did I mention that p.o.p candy has two new flavors?  Gotta drop by to find out with they are....  Don't miss this event that is fun, fun, fun for the entire family!  Hope to see you there!

Unique LA

Where:  The Barker Hangar
             3021 Airport Avenue
             Santa Monica, California 90405

When:  July 30th & July 31st 2011


Tickets:  $10 at the door (Good for both days!)

Artisanal LA Santa Monica 2011

Rachel, owner of p.o.p candy

Diggin' in tha crates

Guess we were a little late...

Pulled Pork Cupcake

Salted Carmel Candy Yum!

Clearly I have no shame, sure was good!

All Jarred Up Pies!

Rashida, owner of Cast Iron Gourmet

OMG, please tell me you were in Santa Monica over the weekend!  Artisanal LA out did itself in it's new location!  The operative word for this event was sugar!!!  There were tons of sweet and savory confections to fit everyone's sweet tooth.  The biggest change (besides the location) was the increase in libations!  Imagine cocktails made from hibiscus and jasmine, shots of Acai vodka, and all the beer you can carry (we were double fisting it in there!) Green Bar Collective, VeeV, and Eagle Rock Brewery made that happen for me and my crew, what more could you ask for???  Of course I saw some familiar faces, Rashida,  owner of Cast Iron Gourmet,  and her bacon posse were slingin' that swine like nobody's business.  She never ceases to amaze me and per usual she had a new creation for this event, Pork Nuts, that's right homemade corn nuts soaked in Eagle Rock Brewery beer and cooked in bacon fat, Yum Yum! Dropped in on my good friend Rachel  at p.o.p candy.  The gang that I rolled with fell in love with these herb crusted treats.  In fact we fought over the last bag of rosemary almond butter crunch, since she was a newbie I let her have it.  I went out of my comfort zone and bought the thyme, walnut , and cherry candy and boy was I glad I did, the tangy cherries made an awesome addition to the candy.  Simone B. was new to Artisanal LA, her pulled pork cupcake and margarita cupcake were a smash hit.  Speaking of smash hit, Bangers and Smashed brought their gourmet mashed potatoes with flavors like Black Truffle Smashed and Bourbon Pecan Smashed (sweet potatoes) with Jack Daniels and spice, totally to live for!  My friends and I left stuffed, fat, full, and delicious and did I mention that all this great food was only ten bucks?  Best $10 I ever spent...well since the last event!  Make sure you don't miss the next foodie event!

We all had a blast!

*Unique LA is back!!! Their 3rd Annual
  Spring Show will be May 7th and 8th
  (Mother's Day weekend). Tickets are
  $10 at the door, Perfect time to grab
  that last minute gift for mom!  See Ya
  there!!!!
 

Artisanal LA Spring Show 2011

What are you doin' this weekend???  Hopefully the answer is going to Artisanal LA's  new location at Santa Monica Place.  I'm super excited to check out this new location and stop by and see some old friends like Cast Iron Gourmet , Cold Brew and Cola, and p.o.p candy co.  If you're a self proclaimed foodie like myself then this event is one that you absolutely cannot  miss, trust me!  Here's how it goes down:  Purchase your tickets online for $10 ($15 at the door), and that gets you all the tastes (and beverages) that you want, if you like what you've tried then you can purchase the food, or move on to the next booth. Part of the proceeds go to St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels program, see everyone's Winning!!! It's that simple, this is a weekend long event so be there or be square!  Here are a few pics of the fall show.

Couch Mix

Butter Crunch

Butter Pie

The Guys of Cold Brew and Cola

Artisanal LA Spring Show 2011

Santa Monica Place
Level 3 Dining Deck – Event Space
395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, CA 90401

April 16th 11am-8pm

April 17th 11am-7pm

NoHo Rockin' Food Truck Fest

Last weekend was a good day to be in NoHo (North Hollywood that is), folks came out for a good cause and some good eats.  MuttMatchLA set up the First Annual NoHo Rockin' Food Truck Fest and Flea Market, where a pet adoption and flea market were set up for all your fashion needs and of course there 

"Greasy Weiner" $4

Truffle Tornado $5

were fabulous food trucks on the premises. I'm sure ya'll know why I came through (he he he).  You guys know I don't mess around so I got to business.  I have not had a hot dog in quite awhile, so I decided to have a big greasy one! The Greasy Wiener was there to fufill my foodie desires.  I had the "Greasy Wiener" which consists of grilled onions, mustard (minus the mustard), a pickle and a premium topping, of course I chose bacon.  My hot dog was great, grilled to perfection.  This truck also has a chicken apple sausage (which they were out of), nachos, and of course chilli cheese fries.  The choice was hard but I think I chose a winner.  Then I walked over to  My Tornado Potato, now these guys have an interesting twist on fries.  These spiral taters are the business and they even found a way to stick a piece of sausage on that bad boy and fry that sucker.  The Screw Driver Tornado is a sausage with chili and nacho cheese,can you say heart attack on a stick??? Who cares, I would've tried that if I hadn't had my greasy dog. My next stop was Calbi Fusion Tacos|Burritos.  I was wondering if this slow moving line was worth the wait, sadly it wasn't.  I decided to try the beef and chicken Koren inspired tacos.  The chicken was mediocre at best and the beef was chewy with

Calbi Tacos $2.50 each

a funny after taste. I wasn't completely turned off, maybe they were just having a bad day,  I might try it again one day...So we save the best for last, dessert. Sweet E's Bake Shop had the longest line of the whole event, which was a good indication that there was something good in store.

Cookies N' Cream Cake Pop $3

Boy was I right, when I finally go to the front of the line almost everything was gone!  I settled with a white chocolate covered pretzel, and two cake pops. The Cookies N' Cream Cake Pop was a total party in my mouth, love me some sweets! I sat down to enjoy my goodies and the live entertainment and made two new friends in the process.  We were sharing are foodie finds and they let me taste Streets of Thailand's krab wonton (yes that is crab with a "K").  Let me just say that these people should be ashamed of themselves!  Who would deep fry imitation meat? Yuck!  It was a gummy hot mess and I'm glad I didn't waste my $5 on it!  All in all this was a great event (minus the ugly weather), there was truly something for everyone and I look forward to the next NoHo Food Truck Fest!





*Truckit Fest is going down this Sunday and every 1st Sunday of the month, there will be over 40 food trucks, 200 local designers, and live bands. Union Station, downtown is the place to be! (11am-5pm, $5 general admission)

*Artisanl LA 2011 Spring Show will be the talk of the town, I always have the best time!  April 16th and 17th (11am-7pm) Santa Monica Place will have a packed house.  Pre-sale tickets $10 and $15 at the door.  Be there or be square!