NEW!!! Maybeliine Pure BB Cream

I first encountered this product in Asia sometime last year through a friend of mine who is a consultant for Maybelline and the only other countries that had this were the UK and Australia, so you could imagine my surprise when I found this in the States at Wal-Mart out of all places. 

The original Dream Fresh BB Cream came out a couple of years ago and became one of my staples during the spring and summer seasons. However, this one is even better! The Pure BB Cream has all the original benefits from the Dream Fresh BB Cream but with an addition of 2% Salicylic Acid. I been breaking out like crazy these last few months and was glad this product came out when it did. 

It is super light weight and very easy to apply and blend. The coverage on this one is 100000x better than the Dream Fresh. I personally would be reaching for this one more.

Wear time depends on skin type. I have dry skin and this stayed on pretty much all day with a primer underneath. 

The only place I have seen this available in the States is at Wal-Mart for $8. I have yet to see this at drugstores yet but will update you guys when I do.

Almay Smart Shade Loose Finishing Powder

Packaging: 

-Plastic container

-Shifter inside along with a powder puff

Formulation:

-Colored loose powder

-Very well pigmented

-Sets matte

-Comes in 3 shades

Coverage:

-Build able medium coverage

-Can be used as either a setting powder or foundation on its own

Where to purchase/pricing:

-Drugstores nationwide

-$13

Weekly Playlist 5/19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnwCnUh5Sz0&feature=share&list=PLEusLI9-6r2GP1VOHh3whx-JPDqSh-lSm

1.) Wiggle- Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Lion

2.) Problem- Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea

3.) Scene One- James Dean & Audrey Hepburn- Sleeping With Sirens

4.) With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear- Sleeping With Sirens (Acoustic)

5.) Let's Take A Ride- Justin Timberlake

6.) Not a Bad Thing- Jason Chen Cover

7.) Bubblegum- Jason Derulo ft. Tyga

ChefSisi: Summer of Food

SUMMER OF FOOD

RECIPE #1- THE EASIEST PASTA EVER!!!

(So easy a two-year old can make it) 

This is one of my go to dishes during the summer. It is super easy to make (hence the title) and satisfying.

What You Need:

-1 Package of Trader Joe's Egg Pappardelle Pasta (Or any egg pasta of your choice) 

Serves 2-4 people per package

-1 cup of diced tomatoes 

-2 to 3 cloves of garlic (or as much as you like!)

-Spinach

-Aged White Cheddar Cheese

-Butter

-Olive Oil

-Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Optional: Red pepper flakes

How To Make:

1.) Boil the pasta according to the directions (10-12 mins)

2.) While pasta is boiling mince your garlic and dice up your tomatoes 

3.) I put chicken in mine, so if you want meat in yours now is the time to cut your meat into bite size pieces

4.) In a pan, put 1/2 of stick of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil 

5.) Put your garlic in at this point along with your meat (season your meat however you like, I just put some poultry seasoning on mine)

6.) Cook for about 2-3 minutes and add the tomatoes and spinach

7.) Put in your desired amount of cheese

8.) Drain pasta and mix into the sauce

Serve and enjoy! 

I served mine with some garlic toast

(Small) Brandy Melville Clothing Haul

I am an online shopping addict.... and I have no words to defend myself sigh... however this time I really do mean what I say this haul is very small only 3 things. Brandy Melville is a LA based clothing store where everything is one size fits all. The clothing here are very comfortable and laid back very much Cali style. Brandy makes wearing pajamas acceptable. Brandy can get quite pricey but their clothing is very well made and washes well so it is definitely ok to splurge once in awhile. Normally I go crazy on their site or in PAC SUN (For those who don't live in the LA area this is the only store that carries a few of Brandy Melville products), but this time I restrained myself. No pictures this time. The website doesn't allow and I couldn't take pictures myself due to the dark and dreary weather :(

ELIN TOP $16 

http://www.brandymelvilleusa.com/elin-top-009.html 

A super comfy and basic gray t-shirt. It looks simple enough but for some reason the fit and cut of this shirt is unlike any other shirts I own and is super flattering on. You can dress is down or up.

NADINE TOP $20

http://www.brandymelvilleusa.com/nadine-top-606b109.html

Stripes are always in for the summer and so if this number. I love the light blue and white stripes on this shirt. You can pair it with pretty much anything.

BERI LEGGINGS $25

http://www.brandymelvilleusa.com/beri-leggings.html

Your basic leggings with a twist. These have a ribbed knee as well as sides. They fit super well and snug yet are very comfy like you are not wearing any pants. These leggings pari very well with the tops mentioned above.

Chef Sisi: Raw Vegan Pad Thai

As part of my journey to eat healthier, I been experimenting with the raw food diet that has become so popular in the last year. I try to incorporate a raw vegan dish into my diet twice a week. I have not fully converted to a raw diet and probably never will due to certain personal health issues. Here is one of my favorite tried and true raw vegan dishes. PAD THAI!!!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: There are no exact measurements, put in as much as you like!

2-3 Zucchini Squash (Cut into noodle form you can use the Sprializer)

Purple cabbage (Shredded)

Bean Sprouts

Mint Leaves (Sliced thinly)

Carrots (Sliced thinly length wise)

A thumb of ginger

Cashews (soaked in water for about 4-6 hours)

Coconut water

Curry Powder

Garlic

HOW TO MAKE:

1.) Put your zucchini noodles, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, mint leaves, and carrots into a large mixing bowl.

2.) In a blender blend together your cashews, garlic, curry powder, ginger and the juice of half a lime and orange. Add a bit of coconut water to thin it out if desired.

3.) Pour your dressing onto the salad and garnish with crushed raw peanuts and a sprig of mint.

Current Music Obsession (Weekly Playlist 5/1 SPECIAL)

I have never been a fan of country music but lately I have been OBSESSED with...

 Dan + Shay is a duo composed of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney. Unlike other country artists, Dan + Shay take on a more modern approach to the country genre. It is very happy and refreshing music.This album has 12 songs ALL are which amazing, the songs I highlighted are some of my favorites.

1.) Show You Off

2.) Stop Drop + Roll

3.) 19 You + Me

4.) What You Do To Me

5.) Can't Say No

6.) First Time Feeling

7.) Nothin' Like You

8.) Somewhere Only We Know

9.) Parking Brake

10.) I Heard GoodBye

11.) Party Girl

12.) Close Your Eyes

You can listen to the full album now on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube

NEW! CoverGirl + Olay Face Lift Effect Firming Makeup

Firming Makeup

$17.99 @ Walgreens ($14.99 w/ Walgreens rewards card)

The foundation is very similar to the original CoverGirl & Olay Advanced Radiance Creme Makeup except with a $18 price point instead of $6. CoverGirl has some of the more decent skincare makeup lines out there today in the drugstore only reasons why more people don't buy it is 1.) Price and 2.) the color range. This particular foundation had only 4 shades on display in Walgreens. The packaging is a plastic container which I am not a fan of at all. Containers like these can turn into a cesspool for bacteria if you are not careful. So use a clean makeup spatula or clean cotton q-tip to get the product out. DON'T use your fingers!!! 

The foundation texture is a mixture between a creme and a mousse. It is not light but not extremely heavy either. It applied very easily but took a little while to blend and smooth out. The coverage is a nice medium coverage. I don't recommend layering this foundation or otherwise it can get greasy. Definitely set with a powder for a longer wear time (This product started to come off a bit after 3-4 hours). 

The product itself claims to give a face lift effect. It gave a nice coverage and finish but comparing it to a face lift I think this one looks a lot better than the surgery.

De-Puffer Eye Concealer

$7.99 @ Walgreens ($5.99 w/ Walgreens rewards card)

The line also has a de-puffer concealer to combat the puffiness of under eye circles. The actually de-puffer essentially comes from the metal tip and not the product itself. The metal tip has a cool feeling to it that allows it to gently de-puff the eye. The concealer is not anything special but gives a light and awake look to the skin and is easy to wear and blend.

NEW! CoverGirl Ready Set Gorgeous Collection

I popped into Walgreens this morning to run some errands and saw CoverGirl's new collection featuring Katy Perry. Of course I couldn't help myself and had to pick up some of the products from this collection. The collections features their new Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation, concealer, and powder. It also has 8 new cream eyeshadow sticks, 9 new nail polish colors, 4 new Smoochies and a couple other new CoverGirl Outlast Lip colors. I decided to try out their new foundation, concealer and powder. 

Ready Set Gorgeous Foundation

$8.99 @ Walgreens ($6.99 w/Walgreens rewards card)

The foundation comes in a wide plastic squeeze tube which personally I am not a fan of. I like my foundations to have a pump to prevent bacteria from going in however this particular packaging is easy for travel. There are 12 shades in this foundation line which is a pretty amazing color variety for a drugstore brand but it is quite difficult to determine your shade due to the thick plastic packaging. 

The formula is oil free and is semi thick. I do really like the consistency, it is easy to apply and blend into the skin. The coverage is build able from light to medium. The finish is very natural (semi-matte) giving you just enough coverage that allows your natural skin to peek through. If you want a heavier coverage foundation this probably isn't the one for you. 

This product is great for dry and oily skin with a decent wear time for both. I have dry skin and it lasted about 5-6 hours on me and I had a friend with oily skin that lasted around the same time on her with a powder. 

Ready Set Gorgeous Concealer

$7.99 @ Walgreens ($5.99 w/Walgreens rewards card)

There are 6 shades of concealer in this line and is matched with the foundation by the shade number, however you do not have to pick the same concealer for foundation. (TIP: For hiding dark under eye circles apply your normal color concealer or a shade darker and then apply a lighter shade to cover the darkness.) 

The formula is nice and creamy and easy to blend. I don't find the coverage of this concealer to be too amazing but it does the job when you want a light coverage. It didn't crease throughout the day and set very naturally.

Ready Set Gorgeous Powder

$8.99 @ Walgreens ($6.99 w/ Walgreens rewards card)

Along with the foundation and concealer, this line also has 6 matching powders. The powder did a decent job setting the foundation while providing a little bit of coverage. I wouldn't recommend this as a powder foundation by itself. The only issue I had with this powder is that it doesn't match the foundation very well and looks very dark in the packaging. I recommend going one shade lighter just in case. 

You can purchase this collection at Walgreens nationwide

NEW! CoverGirl Outlast Illumina All Day Lipcolor

720 Beaming Berry

Lip Color

Conditioning Balm

A new take on the original CoverGirl Outlast Lip Colors. These have been around probably longer that I have. I remember watching my aunt use these when I was young. She had a bunch of colors and I was always fascinated with how pretty and fun these were. When I was able to wear makeup this was one of the first things I got. I absolutely love these and have been wearing them still. I haven't really found anything like these out on the market today. The number one reason being is that these lip colors stay on FOREVER. They don't smudge or feather out throughout the day and are easy to wear. They come in a bunch of colors.

The new line has 6 or 8 colors in all and the only big difference is that the colors have an "illuminating" or shiny finish to them while the original ones were a bit on the matte side.These new colors are part of the new Katy Perry collaboration with CoverGirl. They are perfect for the upcoming summer!

Like the original these come with a lip color and a conditioning balm. You apply the lip color first and let it set then apply the conditioning balm. These lip colors do last ALL DAY and not easily removed (I recommended using olive oil for removal). They are highly pigmented and look great on the lips.

Where to purchase: So far I have only seen this at CVS and Walgreens for about $11.49 

NEW! L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara

When I first saw this mascara at CVS I gotta be honest I definitely freaked out a little bit. The packaging just by itself is so darn ADORABLE!!! I mean come on look at it. I am a sucker when it comes to great packaging.

So of course being the makeup addict/junkie I am I had to get it. I love the original Voluminous formula so I was interested to see whether or not this one is an improvement of the original or the exact same thing in a different type of packaging.

The packaging on this is very similar to the L'Oreal False Fiber Mascara with the exception of the neon pink and black. The brush is also very similar to the False Fiber Mascara. It starts out wide at the bottom and tapers to a thin point at the end. The thinner point allows easier access to those annoying little bits of lashes in the inner corners. Like most brushes on L'Oreal mascaras, this one is also a hair and not rubber brush. However unlike other L'Oreal mascaras, the brush wand is extremely flexible that rotates 360 Degrees. This gives you more control over the wand and allows more build able volume. 

I didn't notice an extreme difference in the formulation compared to the original. It claims to give a manga false lash effect and as you build up the mascara you can definitely see a manga like effect. The only slight difference with the formula is that this one is a bit on the wet side compared to the original.

As for wear time (non-waterproof formula), I did not have any issues with smudging or flaking. It wore about 6-8 hours. 

You can purchase this at drugstores nationwide for about $8-9 depending which drugstore.