Benefit Cosmetics LLC

Recipe of the Day: Easy Homemade Applesauce


I never realized how easy it was to make applesauce until I had way more apples than I needed. Then I checked out Recipezaar and found the following recipe. Delish and takes no time at all!

Ingredients
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

Directions
1. Put the apples and water in a saucepan.
2. Cover and bring to the boil.
3. Boil over low heat, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
4. Stir in sugar and cook until it dissolves.
5. Add cinnamon or nutmeg.
6. Serve warm or cold.

***Side notes***
I have made this without the sugar, with only half the amount required, as well as as the recipe calls for. I think you can sweeten it to taste almost. And if you’re using a sweet enough apple (I’ve used Jonathan & Gala apples), then you probably won’t need sugar at all. And it tastes just as yummy hot as it does cold… Oh heck, it tastes just as awesome no matter how I made it!

Recipe & Picture Source: Recipezaar #70097 Applesauce

You Tube & Makeup Gurus

A few years ago when we moved to NY, I got into makeup big time for the first time in my life. It was because of joining makeup forums and watching YouTube that I learned new methods for applying makeup, as well as learned about new products and new releases.

Over the years more and more makeup “gurus” have shown up on YouTube, and while they’re all good, I have my favorites. MakeupByRisa being a HUGE fave only because I learned about Risa WAY before she joined YouTube and she keeps it real. Not to mention, I’ve never seen anyone rock bright pink or purple lipstick the way Risa can! Another guru I really like is emilynoel83. I like Emily because she uses a lot of drugstore brands, which is great for people on a budget or who don’t believe MAC is the holy grail of cosmetics. I also like the fact Emily has her husband Tyler in her videos from time to time, which is nice to get a male perspective on things. Oh, and I LOVE Pixiwoo too!!! Sam & Nic are just too awesome!!

So, what YouTube gurus do you like? You know what we need though? More nail polish gurus. I mean, I like JulieG, but it’s not the same as if some of our well-known nail bloggers did vids on Konads or whatnot! I’d totally be addicted!

Childhood Nostalgia

There’s been a mini battle going on in my house because my oldest daughter and I want a Nintendo Wii. My husband, being a complete PS3 fan, is totally against it. He doesn’t see the point in us having one, even though we have no interest in the PS3 and it’s not like we can use Wii Fit on it.

Well, the other day my brilliant self came up with the perfect solution! I’ve been wanting to play Super Mario World badly, but we don’t have a Super Nintendo… We don’t have a Nintendo either, and my husband’s wanted to play Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out… SO! I looked on Evil Bay and found a FC Twin System that plays both Nintendo AND Super Nintendo games! I checked for reviews on the system on Amazon, and it seemed like it was worth getting for $43 shipped!

Now, the system will be here today, and we found the old games that made us happy such as Street Fighter II, Top Gear 2, Punch-Out, Super Mario World, and Super Mario All-Stars (it’s the original Mario, SNES versions 1-3 and Lost Levels)… The whole she-bang with games included only cost $101! Seriously, you can’t beat that! (I still need to get Tetris though!)

Even better, the kids don’t know we ordered it and they’ll be able to see what kind of games we played when we were their ages! Not to mention, I think it’ll be one more way for us to have fun together as a family.

So, what takes you back to your childhood? What games do you wish were still around, or do you with your kids had to enjoy? And if it’s not a game, maybe a cartoon or movie… Even a toy! Goodness, I have lots and luckily, it seems a lot of them are coming back – Like Strawberry Shortcake!

Recipe of the Day: Aquilah’s WW Shepherd’s Pie


As I enter my second month of WW, I find looking for recipes and knowing my foods a tad better. DH wanted beef for dinner, and all I had on hand was ground beef. I checked the WW site and came up with this recipe. It called for ground turkey though, so that ended up changing it from a 5 point meal to a 6 point meal… Okay, adding cheese to it didn’t help either LOL! Enjoy!

Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 45 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 TBSP reduced-calorie margarine
2 tsp olive oil
1 cups onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium stalks celery, diced
1 pound uncooked 93/7 ground beef
3 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 TSP dried rosemary
1 TSP dried thyme
1/2 TSP table salt
1/4 TSP black pepper
2 cups canned beef broth
1/4 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

Transfer beef mixture to an 8×8 casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese and potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

As I said, this is my version of the WW Classic Shepherd’s Pie. Click here for their recipe.

Picture Source: The Brass Sisters

Best Blog Award!!!

I was nominated/tagged by a lovely blogger, Gina (aka Prim and Polished) for The Best Blog Award! Thanks so much Gina!! I totally appreciate it! And for all of my readers, please check out her blog if you haven’t already because she’s the best too!

The rules to accept this award are:

1. To accept the award, you must post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted you the award, and a link to their blog.

2. Pass the award on to approximately 10-15 other blogs that you recently discovered, and think are great!

3. Contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

And so, without further ado, here are my fave bloggers (though they’re not all new to me)!

Body & Soul
keerthamina pretty ballerina
The Diva’s Polish
Polish Pixie
Dr. Frankenpolish
Casual Lavish
Nihrida’s blog
happyberrynaiad
tobywoo
DizzyNails

Cosmetic Woes

About a month ago I was diagnosed with Seborrheic Dermatitis which causes my head and nasal areas to flake pretty bad. My head almost looks like I’m snowing on myself, but instead of it being a regular dandruff look, it’s big yellow flakes. If you’ve ever seen a newborn’s flaky head (aka “cradle cap”), then you know what I’m talking about.

Anywho! I’ve been using Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15 (the loose one), which has always seemed to make my face a tad oily. However, it seems since I started using an ointment on my nose for my Dermatitis that I’m oilier. So, I either need to go back to my trusty Urban Decay Surreal Skin Mineral Makeup or switch to a liquid. I prefer to stick with a powder, but the whole “swirl, tap & buff” can be a hassle when I just wanna go already LOL!

On a recommendation from Makeup Alley’s Makeup Board I’m trying out Wet ‘n’ Wild Tinted Moisturizer. Not too moisturizing as I can see, but the color isn’t 100% horrible on me either. We’ll see how it looks by the end of the day though.

Aside from that, things are good cosmetically LOL! I need to get back into the swing of things and quit wearing just the one eyeshadow. I need to add some slight drama with a nice crease color, start wearing more blush, and bronzer in the summer! I mean, I might’ve only lost 5 lbs. so far on WW, but I think I’ve lost some inches! Although I still haven’t gotten my butt into exercising, so 5 lbs. on just eating different is good! I should give myself a slightly new makeup look to go with my weight loss, no?

Oh yeah, and if you have any perfume recs, that would be great! I’m into “clean” scents like Philosophy Pure Grace and Clean Sweet Layer. Aren’t one of the Harajuku scents a clean one?

My Perfect Nail Treatment Combo

I recently discovered my perfect nail treatment combo, and I’m so glad I did! It’s a few layers, but totally worth it! In order of application:

Barielle Hydrating Ridge Filler with Silk Fiber
Barielle Growth Activator for Natural Nails
Nail polish of choice
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Barielle Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender

Anyone who uses SV knows it tends to get gloopy real quick. It might work extremely well, but the shrinkage is irritating. At first I tried to battle shrinkage with wrapping my tips with polish and SV. No luck. Then I tried using another top coat before SV. Again, no luck.

A few gals on the MUA Nail Board love their Barielle Manicure Extender, which I’ve owned but never really used. However, something made me use it the other night almost immediately after using SV. I noticed I had extremely minimal tipwear the next day… And I even wore the polish for two days! Still minimal shrinkage. In case this was a fluke given the polish I had on, I tried it again… Same results! So, I think it’s safe to say I have found my “holy grail” combo!

And while I’m thinking about it, I should mention that Barielle products are the best! My nails are growing like weeds thanks to the Growth Activator. I never thought to use it over the Ridge Filler until a fellow Nail Boarder mentioned it. Since I started using the Ridge Filler I haven’t had a lot of breakage or peeling nails either! Oh, nor have I had an issue with my nails yellowing!

I think this is a winning combo that I’ll keep using. Heaven forbid it quits working for me though! Thankfully, as long as my Marshall’s continues to receive shipments, I can keep getting my Barielle for 75% off! If I have to pay full price of $16 per treatment, I’ll die! (There you go, if you didn’t know that, run to your nearest Marshall’s and/or TJ Maxx to see if they have any Barielle products!)

Oh, and I reckon I should mention that my other winning nail products are: Barielle Natural Nail Camouflage, Sephora Glass File, Barielle Intensive Nail Renewal Oil, CND Solar Oil, B&BW True Blue Spa Cuticle Treatment and Barielle Ultra Soft Hand Crème SPF 15.

Recipe of the Day: HG Gooey Crunch Fruit Tartlets


I found this recipe in my Hungry Girl 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories cookbook, and though I’ve yet to try it, I wanted to share this with you. (Actually, I made the fruit sauce two days ago, but we’ve yet to finish making it, so we might be buying new stuff to remake the fruit sauce…)

Chunky Peach Strawberry Sauce
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups frozen whole strawberries
1 1/2 cups frozen peach slices
2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
dash salt

Directions:
Combine Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt with 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir until all ingredients are completely dissolved. Set aside.

Place fruit in a nonstick pot over medium-low heat. Once fruit begins to thaw, add liquid mixture. Stir.

As fruit defrosts and heats, use a spatula to break fruit apart into smaller pieces. Continuously stir until mixture becomes uniform, thick and syrupy.

Can be eaten hot, warm or chilled in the fridge until cold (but it’s best eaten the day it’s prepared).

Gooey Crunch Fruit Tartlets
Makes 12 servings (1 tartlet each)

Ingredients:
1 batch (entire recipe) Chunky Peach Strawberry Sauce (see above); chilled
12 small square wonton wrappers like the ones by Dynasty or Nasoya
48 sprays 0-calories-per-serving butter spray (like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Spray)
Optional topping: Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) OR Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set aside.

On a clean dry surface, set out 4 wonton wrappers. Spray each one with 2 sprays of butter, and use your fingers to spread butter evenly over each wonton; gently flip wontons and repeat. Carefully transfer wontons to muffin tin, placing each wonton in a muffin cup and pressing it in to form the cup shape. Repeat entire process 2 more times, and place tray in the oven.

Bake wonton cups in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are firm and brown. Once cups are cool enough to handle, transfer them to a plate. Allow cups to cool completely.

Evenly spoon chilled sauce into the wonton cups (for best results, fill the wonton cups close to the time you’ll be serving or enjoying your tartlets). Place in the fridge until ready to serve.

If desired, before serving, top each tartlet with a squirt of Reddi-wip or a sprinkling of Splenda.

PER SERVING (2 fruit tartlets): 86 calories, 1g fat, 120mg sodium, 18g carbs, 2g fiber, 6g sugars, 2g protein = 1 Weight Watchers Point

Picture courtesy of Hungry Girl

Swatches: Nubar

I realized waiting on a sunny day almost isn’t worth it since the way the house sits, I’m in shade all day! I don’t think the cars on the road would appreciate me standing in the street in order to get sunlight either LOL! So, I had to make do with what I could inside the house… Sadly, it wasn’t until I uploaded my pics that I realized the best position/place to take pics since it’s the last few I took! Anywho on to the swatches!

I received my Nubars from a dear friend for a X-Mas/birthday, and I’m in love! I think Nubar could easily become my #1 nail polish brand! It applies like a dream, and all swatches are only of two coats of polish without a top coat. I most definitely MUST buy more!!!

Indigo Illusion

This is the color that made me want my first Nubar… Sadly, I didn’t get a good pic of it.  It’s a divine duochrome of purple meets blue meets gold meets green!  Gorgeous!

Peacock Feathers

Another fantastic duochrome!!!  Almost like a darker version of Indigo Illusion, but more purple than blue?  Absolutely amazing!

Purple Beach

The second color I fell in love with by Nubar.  Yet another duochrome (from what I hear, Nubar has the best).  Again, a purple meets green meets gold, but this time it meets grey!

Iced Licorice

Once again I failed on pic taking LOL!  Iced Licorice is a gorgeous purple, and this pic obviously won’t do it justice!  It’s like a smoked violet believe it or not.

Reclaim

I recently fell in love with holos, and couldn’t help it!  I needed a true green holo!  Gotta love it!  Divine!

Cherry Cordial

I didn’t think this would look too great on me, but it doesn’t look bad at all!  Cherry Cordial is a duochrome you might almost miss it’s so subtle.  I couldn’t capture yet again.  This time Nubar gave us red meets brown meets pink meets green.  (I bet DH loves this given his fave candy is Chocolate Covered Cherries… Yeah….)

Avant Garde

Red is probably my second fave nailpolish color, so I needed this matte wine color.  Totally different from my Zoya  Posh (which is more red).  And of course, I had to see what it looked like with a top coat on!

Hopefully my next set of swatches are better than these.  I need to make myself a lightbox… I sense a project coming on!!!

20 Best Drugstore Beauty Products


Erin Flaherty of The Frisky posted the “Top 10 Best Drugstore Beauty Products”:

  • Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser – $7.99 (Walgreens)
  • St. Ives Apricot Scrub – $4.29 (drugstore.com)
  • Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen SPF 100 – $11.29 (americarx.com)
  • Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation – $8.99 (amazon.com)
  • Cover Girl Clean Pressed Powder – $5.93 (drugstore.com)
  • Maybelline Great Lash Mascara – $4.29 (Walgreens)
  • Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick – $7.99 (drugstore.com)
  • Neutrogena Rainbath – $7.49 (Walgreens)
  • Pantene Pro-V 2-in-1 Shampoo/Conditioner – $6.99 (Walgreens)
  • John Frieda Frizz-Ease, Original Formula – $9.09 (drugstore.com)


And even better? Erin also posted “10 More Best Drugstore Beauty Products”!

  • Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Daily Facial Toner – $4.29 (drugstore.com)
  • Smith’s Rosebud Salve – $4.40 (amazon.com)
  • Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion – $7.49 (Walgreens)
  • Wet n’ Wild Eyeliner and Brow Pencil – $1.60 (americarx.com)
  • Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum – $18.99 (Target)
  • Clean and Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets – $5.29 (drugstore.com)
  • Maybelline Dream Mousse, $5.98 (Walmart)
  • Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar – $3.29 (drugstore.com)
  • Physicians Formula Concealer Twins Correct & Cover Cream Concealer, Green/Light – $6.95 (drugstore.com)
  • Organic Essentials Biodegradable Cotton Swabs – $5.59 (drugstore.com)

Gotta love it! Especially since everything on BOTH lists is under $20, and most of them under $10! Though I gotta say, I’m still not sure why Maybelline Great Lash keeps showing up on these “Top 10″ lists, but it does. I’ve tried it, and I’m sorry, but no thanks! What about you? Do you see anything on either list you love or hate?

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