Happiness is... a long and fun vacation

Bonjour!  Happy Hump Day everyone!  Excuse me for being so quiet lately.  I've been traveling for the past two weeks and will continue to do so for four more weeks.  I'm writing from Paris right now!  Since I will be moving around quite  bit I decided to take a break from my blog until I get back to the US and get settled in my next nest in Tampa, Florida. There's a lot going on in my life right now!  I'll share my adventures with you as soon as I get back.  Until then, stay happy my sugar plums!

Love,

Isabel xox

Happiness is. . . a TropiCoral Makeup Kit

Hello my sugar plums!  I've been very quiet this past week.  The reason being is that I've been busy planning my next vacation.  The destination?  A week long stop in beautiful Puerto Rico followed by a month long backpacking trip through France, Spain and Portugal.  I'm so excited I might burst!  Since I'm in such a good mood and oh so looking forward to spending some time in the sun (cause it's still cold and gloomy here in Rochester) I decided to share with you my first impressions of this cute lip and cheek kit from Benefit that I bought recently at Sephora.  It comes with a lip/cheek stain (ChaChaTint), a highlighter (HighBeam), a blush (Coralista) and a lipgloss (Coralista) - all in cheerful Spring-y peachy/coral hues.  It could be your perfect travel companion for an upcoming trip during the Spring/Summer months; seasons when our skin is a little tanned and we don't need much makeup to enhance our natural beauty.       

The Go TropiCoral kit comes tips to get the best out of the products

ChaChaTint, High Beam and Coralista lipgloss

The swatches:  ChaChaTint, HighBeam, Coralista lipgloss and Coralista blush

Wearing Coralista lipgloss

If you like this kit you can get it at Sephora for $28.  Benefit has two other kits available:  Feelin' Dandy (light pink hues) and Sugarlicious (nude tones).  Pick your favorite!  What do you guys think about this kit?  Any upcoming trips to a tropical destination?

Besos,  Isabel xox  

Happiness is. . . New Spring Lipsticks

Hello dolls!  I just realized that I've been blogging for a month now.  Wow, time flies!  So today I'm sharing with you some of my latest obsessions.  When it comes to makeup, I'm more of a lipstick kind a girl than an eyeshadow type of gal.  Yes, once in a while I do LOVE a dramatic smokey eye, but for my day to day I simply prefer a winged eyeliner paired up with a bold lip color.  

When I lived in Miami Beach, I used pick my lip color depending on my mood and/or wherever I was going out to.  Now that I live in upstate New York, and I actually have seasons, I prefer to adjust my makeup palette accordingly.  Since Spring is officially here (although we are still freezing in Rochester) I went out and got myself some pretty new lipsticks in the shades of the season - hot pink, tangerine and a few shades in between.  Luckily, I was able to score a few sales and ended up paying only $13 for the four lipsticks that I bought.  Not too shabby at all!  

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in #17

This is the perfect lip color for the girl that likes more of a natural look.  If you are looking for that "like your lips, but better" kind of color and favor shades like "Angel" from MAC then, hands down, this is your lipstick.  I do however prefer a more vibrant lip color and, as you can see, this lipstick barely shows on my lips so I have to say that this is my least favorite of the four.  Like I stated before in a review that you can still read here I do love the packaging and how moisturizing these Rimmel lipsticks feel on my lips though.  This is a limited edition Spring shade so if you like it I recommend you get it before they come out with their Summer colors.  I got this one on sale for $2.89 at Walgreens about two weeks ago.

Sephora True Cream Lipstick in "I'll Lead"  

   

One word can describe this color perfectly, Spring, but regretfully my pictures don't do it justice at all.  It's a coral-peach bright hue, very similar to Costa Chic from MAC but I wouldn't call it an exact dupe.  It looks beautiful on fair skin gals as well as more golden tone girls like me.  I love the color and how creamy it is, especially since my lips are still pretty dry due to the Winter months.  I can't say enough good things about it!  The bad news is that Sephora discontinued this formula but you can still buy it at the store.  Look for it in the sale area.  It's only $3.  I seriously hope that you can still find this color because it's so divine and definitely Spring-y!

Sephora True Cream Lipstick in "Sunset Rhythm"

This is a super FUN color, definitively not for the faint of heart.  It's truly orange and I like it a lot.  I've been wanting to buy an orange lipstick forever but, because I never wore it before, I was hesitant to spend my hard earned money on something that wasn't really me.  Luckily, I found this bright orange shade in the $3 sale bin at Sephora and I knew I had to have it.  This is the same formula of "I'll Lead" so I'm very happy with the texture as well.  If you want to venture into the orange side you should totally try this one.

Revlon Lip Butter in #075 "Lollipop"

This lip color is AMAZING!  These Revlon lipsticks have been quite popular in the beauty blogs lately so I've been wanting to try one.  Since hot pink is one of the IT colors of the season, I went with this shade and I'm so happy I did.  It looks beautiful on my lips and I got an immense amount of compliments when I wore it to work.  Even my boyfriend said he liked it and he, like most boys, hates bold lip colors with a passion.  It also stayed on for many hours and kept my lips very hydrated.  It's very pigmented and has an almost glossy finish to it.  I just love it and I know that I'll be buying more of these for sure.  Especially since Rite Aid has "Buy One, Get One Half Off" deals all the time.  That's how I got mine for less than $4.  Happy dance!

The swatches: Sephora Sunset Rhythm, Sephora I'll Lead, Revlon 075 Lollipop & Rimmel 17 

  

Now, if you really want to stop traffic with your lip color this Spring here's a little bonus for you.  According to Cosmopolitan magazine (the April issue) the best way to show off your sexy pout this season is wearing fuchsia and tangerine at the same time for the perfect Pop Art lips.  If you liked the ombre trend you definitely need to try this.

Pop Art lips with Revlon 075 Lollipop and Sephora Sunset Rhythm

The inspiration: Pop Art Lips at Cosmopolitan magazine (April Issue)

And that is all for now... until the next post.  What lip shades are you looking into wearing this Spring?  Do you prefer Winter or Spring shades?

Besos, Isabel xox

Happiness is. . . a Green Juice for Non-Veggie Eaters

Hello lovelies!  I wanted to quickly share a little recipe for those of you who are thinking about jumping, or have recently jumped, in the "Juicing" bandwagon like I did last year.  This is a very simple, fast and easy veggie juice that I like to drink everyday, especially in the mornings.  Honestly, the hardest part is cleaning the juicer at the end since it has so many parts.  Ugh!

Growing up in Puerto Rico my diet consisted in rice and beans with some sort of protein (usually chicken or pork) and a side of a plantain dish.  For those of you not familiar with the Latin cuisine, a plantain is a type of banana that us Latinos, especially from the Caribbean, love to eat with almost every meal.  I never, ever used to eat salads or vegetables.

Now that I'm all grown up I'm trying to eat healthier.  I recently switched to an organic, Pescetarian diet and I'm about 90% gluten free at the moment.  I'm also trying to eat a decent amount of fruits and vegetables everyday, but the problem is that I really don't like the taste of veggies.  That's exactly why I started juicing last year in a way to incorporate vegetables to my diet.  But even in a juice form I still didn't enjoy the taste of vegetables.

I wanted to not only tolerate but actually ENJOY drinking my veggie juice, so I started to experiment adding other ingredients to my concoctions.  The magic ingredient that made all the difference?  PINEAPPLE!  I don't know if it's because I love tropical fruits (after all I come from the land that came up with the Piña Colada recipe) but it makes any green juice so much better.  If you are a fussy eater like me and want to give juicing a try I highly recommend you add pineapple to your drinks.  You can thank me later!  Here's the ingredients:

Spinach

Kale

Celery

Cucumber

Granny Smith Apple

Ginger (use only a tiny piece, peeled)

Pineapple

My juicer is a Breville

Simply put all the ingredients in your juicer and voila!  You got yourself a healthy and delicious green juice.  I also like to add lime to this recipe but I didn't have any today.  Do like juicing?  Do you have any favorite recipes?

Happy juicing everyone!

Besos, Isabel xox

Happiness is. . . an International Day of Happiness

Happy International Happiness Day everyone!  No, I'm not crazy or making this up to promote my blog.  Today is an official holiday.  The United Nations has declared March 20 the first ever International Day of Happiness in a commitment to "better capture the importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in development with a view to guiding their public policies."

You can only imagine how HAPPY I am that even an organization as prestigious as the UN is recognizing the importance of the pursuit of happiness.  In celebration of that, or maybe just to  emphasize how important this is, I wanted to share with you a documentary I love called "Happy".

  

My good friend and fellow yogini Vanessa gave this documentary to me as a farewell gift when I was leaving Miami last year and I will ever be so grateful to her for giving me such a special present.  I'm not going to ruin it for you - cause I do want you all to see it - so no worries, no spoilers here.  The premise of "Happy" is very simple: you will never find happiness in money or power, what truly makes us happy is giving to others.  Here's the trailer:

    

I love watching documentaries of all kinds on Netflix  and I'm telling you this is one of the best uplifting documentaries out there.  Other great feel-good documentaries that I have seen recently are:

• Man on Wire: the story of a young Frenchman, Philippe Petit, who commits "the artistic crime of the century" by walking on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers in 1974
• Bill Cunningham New York: the life and work of the legendary street-fashion photographer of The New York Times  
• My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story: a documentary that explores the relationship between celebrities and their furry companions 
• Young@Heart: a group of music loving octogenarians jamming in a rock'n'roll tour
• First Position: six talented young dancers preparing to compete in the Youth of America Grand Prix for a chance to win a scholarship or a contract to start a professional career in ballet

***Clicking on the title of the documentary will take you to the YouTube trailer :)

What is your favorite inspiring documentary? Have you seen "Happy" yet?

Besos, Isabel xox

PS: Today more than ever "don't worry, be happy!"

Happiness is. . . a "Clueless" Inspired Look

Movie poster from Paramount Pictures

Hello dolls!  Hope you all had an amazing Sunday.  I'm so excited to share with you an affordable look I came up with inspired in the fashion of the iconic 1995 film "Clueless".  If you were a teenager in the 90's you have to had seen this movie and, most likely, LOVED it just as much as I did.  I watched this flick over and over again and I never got tired of it.  I loved the fashion, the lingo ("As if!") and, most of all, the cast starting with the heroine Cher (Alicia Silverstone); the spoiled brat with the heart of gold, her best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash), and the new girl/makeover project Tai (the late Brittany Murphy).  Amy Heckerling's movie came as a breath of fresh air in a very dark moment in fashion; when it was all about the grunge music, the flannel shirts, the baggy pants and the combat boots.  "Clueless" brought out the girly girl in all of us and suddenly the chic preppy look was "IN": mini skirts, cute sweaters, over the knee socks, Mary Janes and fun hats, all worn in matchy-matchy pastel colors.  Oh so lovely!  I was captivated by this movie from its opening scene, smartly featuring the song "We're the Kids in America".  It looked like the perfect teenage dream or, like Cher said, "a Noxzema commercial" and I knew then that we were witnessing a very much needed fashion renaissance.

I was really excited when California based label WildFox came up with their Spring 2013 collection earlier this year, inspired in no other than my beloved "Clueless".  They did such an AMAZING job!  If you haven't seen the look book or the collection yet here are some of my favorite images:

Bravo to the models!  They captured the essence of Dionne, Cher and Tai perfectly

Fantastic setting for the photo shoot featuring Cher's mansion, her white Jeep and Rodeo Drive

A modern ode to an unforgettable fashion flick

If you want to see the rest of the pictures (as you should!) and learn more about the inspiration for the fashion and the photo shoot visit WildFox's blog and if you want to shop the collection you can do so by going here.

Ever since I saw these pictures I've been wanting to come up with a look of my own that Cher Horowitz would've worn today (if she were on a budget like me) and this is what I came up with.  I hope you like my outfit!

"Clueless" Outfit Breakdown:

Belted Lace Romper from Forever 21 

Tuxedo Jacket from Forever 21

Knee High Socks from Macy's

Round-Toe Sueded Wedge from Charlotte Russe

Lancaster Zipper Satchel from Francesca's

Oversize sunglasses from Francesca's

Necklace from Disney Couture by Kidada

Major photo bomb - "As if!" 

I think Cher would have wanted a cute companion like my Shih Tzu Penelope :)

I went with light pink wedges instead of Mary Janes paired up with knee high socks... a la Cher!

This is a perfect Cher Horowitz necklace.  It's not Tiffany's but I think she would've loved it!

Instead of a little backpack, Cher would wear an oversize bag like this one today

You can't forget the ginormous shades, of course ;)

What do you think about the Wildfox "Clueless" collection?  Did you get a sense of nostalgic joy when you saw it?  Were you as obsessed with this movie as I was growing up?

Besos,  Isabel  xox  

    



 

Happiness is. . . Easter Robin Egg Blue Nails!

Illamasqua Speckled Nail Varnish in Fragile

Speckled Easter Eggs

Hello darlings!  Another week, another Illamasqua nail polish...  If you've been reading my blog then you already know that I'm obsessed with these nail varnishes and this time around I went with one of the cutest colors I've seen in a while.  I would love to tell you that I'm a gifted nail artist and that I achieved this look thanks to my own talented hands.  But, sadly, the reality is that I can barely paint my own nails and anything beyond applying two coats of nail polish is just something that I can't really deal with.  So I'm really grateful when brands like Illamasqua come out with products like this limited edition line of "Speckled" nail polishes because it makes it look like a put a lot more time, effort and creativity in my nails than I really did.  I got a lot of compliments on my nails this week and a girl even wanted to know what nail salon I go to.  Great success!  This nail varnish comes in five colors: tan, pink, green, lilac and blue, my personal favorite.  I think they will make a great statement come Easter time.  You can buy them at your local Sephora but you better hurry because most colors are already sold out online.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Have you tried the Illamasqua Speckled nail varnishes yet?  Have you got any ideas of creative nail art for Easter?

Besos, Isabel xox


Photo credit: Blue Speckled Eggs from papiervalise.com via Google Images

Happiness is. . . a Moisturizing Beauty Oil

Happy hump day everyone!  Isn't this week just flying by?  I can't believe it's Wednesday already.  So if you've been reading my blog then you are probably tired of hearing me complain about my dry everything... dry skin, dry lips, dry scalp; I got it all.  In my quest of products that will bring the moisture back to my life I recently discovered the magical world of moisturizing beauty oils and I'm officially addicted to them.

In one of my last trips to Sephora I tried a few beauty oils and after a bit of research I ended up picking the Tarte Maracuja Oil for my face, neck and chest, and the Caudalie Divine Oil for my body.

I use the Tarte Maracuja Oil everyday, morning and night, underneath my moisturizer and I love it.  It leaves my skin smooth and "glow-y" without feeling greasy because my skin absorbs it really fast.  It doesn't sit on top of my skin like a lot of other beauty oils do.  This 100% organic oil comes from the maracuja fruit (passion fruit) and it's rich in vitamin C and essential fatty acids which repair and rebuild your skin making it more radiant.  I'm hooked!

I like to use the Caudalie Divine Oil all over my body right after I get out of the shower.  I smooth it on my skin while it's still damp and it perfectly locks in the moisture leaving a very soothing scent behind.  I can't think of a better name than Divine Oil for it.  It's just exactly what it is.  It's made of a blend of four natural oils - grape oil, argan oil, hibiscus oil and sesame oil - and it's infused with rose, grapefruit, pink pepper, cedar, white musk and vanilla for a subtle yet sexy fragrance.

I can't say enough good things about these beauty oils.  If you are not in the beauty oil bandwagon yet I assure you that you are missing out, especially if you have dry skin like me.

Have you tried any beauty oils yet?  Which ones do you like?

Besos, Isabel xox