There’s a reason I always ask my DH to rate things on a scale of 1 to 10… Because I can’t make up my mind! It’s a good thing I’m a woman, so I use that as my excuse with him LOL!
I recently got a sample of pureDKNY, the latest scent from DKNY. It’s sweet enough for summer, but all I can think about is apple picking and pumpkin pie when I wear it! For some reason, instead of getting a perfume I’ve grown to like over the last few days, I got Dior J’adore. It seemed to sit okay with me last night, so I thought I would be okay with it… Sadly, this was not the case.
I was fine last night when I tested it out, and again this morning when I used it. It wasn’t until this afternoon when I went out to lunch. By the time I came back, my head was pounding! I’m not sure if the mix of the summer heat and my skin warming up is what did it, but something about the scent induced a sinus headache like no other! I called Macy’s to be sure they’d take it back since I opened it, and luckily they said yes.
Of course I almost made a silly choice in purchasing Burberry Brit Sheer since I know I like it from when it was first released over a year ago, but I decided to go with my gut and get pureDKNY. I tell you what – I’m glad I did! The sales associate was even nice enough to let me have the free bag and mini body butter you’re supposed to get for purchasing a 3.4 fl. oz. even though I only got a 1.7 fl. oz. bottle.
Goodness knows why I didn’t just bother getting this to begin with last night… I could’ve saved myself from a headache, the torture of making a bad decision, and I could’ve saved some gas! But, I did end up spending $20 less for the same size as the J’adore and still got a free gift! I’m now a happy and lovely smelling woman! I’ll have to write a more formal review on this later, but you’ll have to be gentle on me since I’m definitely not a perfumista!
Oh, look! A new recipe for you! Lately my family and I have been going to parties at a good friend’s house, and it’s almost mandatory that I bring my pasta salad to go with her divine burgers. I normally make this in the summer since it’s easy to make, and it’ll serve as dinner with enough for leftovers. If you’re only serving it as a side, you’ll probably have enough for at least 10 people (depending on the amount served).
Ingredients
1 lb. rotini noodles
1 pkg. beef smoked sausage
8 oz. colby-jack cheese
1 small can black olives
1 16 oz. bottle Wishbone Italian dressing
Garlic powder, to taste
Grated parmesan, to taste
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook rotini noodles according to package directions.
3. While noodles are cooking, cut smoked sausage and cheese into 1/2″ cubes. Put cheese in sandwich bag, and place in refrigerator to keep cold.
4. Place meat into baking dish and sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake for 30 minutes. Drain meat on paper towels to get rid of excess grease.
5. When noodles are done, rinse them in cold water while draining. Lightly coat with Italian dressing and parmesan. Place in large serving bowl, cover and put refrigerator to cool (approximately 2 hours).
6. When noodles have cooled, add meat, cheese and black olives. Coat with more Italian dressing and parmesan to taste.
I might not be explaining this in the best way, and maybe one day I’ll either try to make a video of me doing it, or take step by step pictures. Feel free to write with any questions, and definitely let me know if you try the recipe and like it! I hope you enjoy it!
***SIDE NOTES***
I use Hillshire Farm beef smoked sausage, but I’ve tried this with pepperoni and hard salami as well. My family prefers the beef smoked sausage, with hard salami as a close second.
You can use any cheese you like, but we like the colby-jack. As far as the Italian dressing, I’ve tried Kraft and Wishbone, and the various varieties they have, but it’s definitely best with plain old regular Italian by Wishbone.
Green and/or red peppers might be nice when added, but no one else in the house besides myself is big on peppers so I never add them.
LONG time no post! I know, and I apologize! Life was hectic for a while there, but things are starting to calm down. I must’ve suffered from a bout of depression too because I wasn’t doing my nails at all! I wasn’t blogging, tweeting, posting on forums… I’m still not, but it’s something I do hope to change soon.
I’m currently deciding on what direction I want my blog to take. There’s a bazillion nail blogs out there now, and while it’s not a competition, I’m not sure that I want to continue with mainly nails. I guess I’m dry on thoughts, which might be another reason I’ve kept in hiding. I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon, and get back to posting.
I just wanted to peek in and say “Hi!” to whoever is still out there checking back on my blog, and let you know I’m not dead LOL! Thanks to those who still check in from time to time! I’ll be back soon… I promise!
I know I said I wouldn’t be gone, and I didn’t mean to be. I just haven’t been on top of things like I should have been. Life has been a roller coaster for me lately, to say the least, and I kinda of neglected my site without meaning to. I haven’t been posting on the Nail Board or Twitter either.
Anywho! Crazy Daisy is a gorgeous bright orange with super fine gold shimmer… Strangely enough, I actually like it on me, and I normally don’t get along well with oranges (or yellows). It was smooth as silk to apply, and though I still have a tad of VNL with two coats, I don’t think I would’ve used three. From what I could tell, it dried pretty fast too. I’ll give it two thumbs up 
And as a bonus, here’s my NOTD from last Monday that I never got to upload: Lippmann Collection Bitches Brew! Love that name, and love the color! Oh, I definitely need more Lippmann too since it applied like a dream!
I skipped posting yesterday since I didn’t have time, so you’re getting a slight two-for-one today!
WnW Rain Check
Very sheer blurple, and this is with three coats. I wish it was only a two-coater, but what are you gonna do! It would be a good worksafe color IMHO. I was mani twins with my friend D (Short and Sweet Nails). She only used two coats, and I think it’s much better than my three! Excuse the shadowing, but this was the best true-to-life color pic I could get.
OPI Confucius Says “Coral”
I hadn’t heard of this color until I received it in a swap. At the time there was only one on Evil bay, and it was almost $30! It’s a gorgeous creme coral, though it tends to pull some sense of hot pink in pics… My husband thought it was pink instead of orange as I assumed he would. Sadly, I still have VNL with three-coats. Again, excuse any shadowing!
Did ya miss me? I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been a busy girl. My apologies, and I promise not to be gone for too long anymore! Purple Rage is a gorgeous color, and it might’ve just become my fave purple… Well, one of them since we know I’m all about purple and holo (and if you didn’t know, now you do)! It’s a frosty purple with what almost looks like severe silver microshimmer. Yeah, I know I stink at descriptions… Sowwy!
I saw the following article this morning on Yahoo, so any hubbub before it I totally missed… All I can say is “Ew!” Makes me not feel as bad for returning an item to MAC that’s going to be ruined (at least the packaging will be recycled)!
Have you ever purchased cosmetics from QVC? If so, was there anything suspicious about your products when they arrived? One QVC customer created a big stir on the site’s online forum when she complained about receiving used makeup in the mail.
After writing about how she returned a used Dr. Perricone kit, many other customers chimed in, saying that similar incidents had occurred when they ordered from QVC. “I just had this happen to me,” one buyer wrote. “Mine was a LG blush I received that was not in the original packaging and upon checking the compact it looked as though someone had brushed across the top.” Another shopper said, “There have been many, many reports of people receiving used items here on the boards for years so I definitely believe it.” One convinced buyer said, “I check my cosmetics over very carefully to make sure it doesn’t look like someone else’s return.”
Some users on the community message boards are very upset by this news, and some claim that they won’t purchase makeup or personal items from QVC. One user said they witnessed similar incidents in the past. “About a year and a half ago, this was happening very frequently on here,” the user wrote. “Some people were getting face creams with finger marks in them and hairs in the cream and there were tons of posts on the boards about it. So a lot of us on the boards decided to start emptying the containers and marking a big black ‘X’ on the jars when they were sent back so that people processing the returns wouldn’t re-send them to others. Yuck.”
On the other hand, many devoted customers feel the brand is known for their “quality, value and convenience,” and refuse to believe that QVC would intentionally re-sell used products. These consumers believe that if any such incident occurred, it must have been human error. One doubtful shopper thought the story must be completely made up. “My guess is that a ‘complainer’ uses the product and wants to return it and get their shipping and handling refunded — claiming they received a ‘used’ product,” the QVC fan wrote.
The idea of a company deliberately selling used goods is horrifying and disgusting. (Remember when Macy’s, Gap, Victoria’s Secret, Bloomingdales, and Nordstrom were caught re-selling used underwear?) Though we may never know for sure if QVC has been selling used makeup, there is one thing we have learned recently: Used makeup can give you herpes, pink eye, E. coli, and other gross problems you probably don’t want. So if you do receive a used makeup item from any company, return it immediately.
So, yesterday morning I went on Twitter and happened to catch a tweet from Michelle of The Lacquer Files. She was posting about a new forum for nail polish lovers, Polished Up! Definitely join and get in on the action! Lots of your fave bloggers are over there, and you might even learn about some new bloggers! Yours truly is on as AquilahR, which is also my Twitter username FYI
My friend D and I are mani twins today! Yay! I would definitely have to say Maybelline Hip Huggers is a blurple at it’s very best! It has insanely barely there shimmer, so it looks like a creme, until you REALLY look at it! It’s a gorgeous color, and I’m proclaiming it as a fave color! My friend had gotten me Chi Between The Sheets, which is supposed to be a dupe, because I never thought I’d get to own this beauty. Alas, I do and couldn’t be happier! Before I change my mani tonight I’ll have to take comp pics of this and the Chi.
A week without holo isn’t complete! So, maybe that’s why last week was kinda “eh.” I didn’t use a holo! Magenta Magic is just that, a magical magenta holo. It’s more “purple” than SH Golden Tourmaline, which leans more “red.” Does that make sense? I’m not too great with words today for some reason… Has anyone found a red holo yet? Maybe I should just buy a holographic top coat to use over red? One day I shall have a red holo!
