Blogger Appreciation: bellaMUMMA

There are several blogs that I go to almost everyday. Lately, one that has been making the most impact one me, because of it simplicity and great advice that is found there is bellaMUMMA. Written by Nikki Yazxhi, who I can only imagine to be a lovely woman and mother.

Her post vary from fashion, beauty, fitness and your general well being. My good friend sent me a link a few months ago of one of her post and I have been hooked every since. Hopefully, you will enjoy this blog as much as I do.

Food For Your Face: Yogurt Mask

Post number two in dedication of my lovely recent grad Misty.

A few days ago Courtney came home and told me about a girl at her internship highly recommending doing yogurt masks. I wasn't to shocked by the idea of covering my face in yogurt, mainly because I have been doing honey masks for the past few months.

Since my skin is very sensitive and most product do more harm than good, I am always on the look out for natural home remedies. Before ever trying out the yogurt mask I, of course, did some research. I found that the best type of yogurt to use is plain and that you can mix in honey, lemon and other active ingredients to target certain problems.

To start off I wanted to keep it simple and just use the plain yogurt. A few different websites suggested using a cup of yogurt and covering your face with it. This just didn't make any sense to me because there is no way a cup of yogurt would stay on my face. Instead I just applied a thick coat of yogurt of my face and next. I left it on for about 20 minutes and than gently washed it off with luke warm water.

To give you a quick summary about my skin, I have combination skin, prone to acne and due to the sensitivity of it I get acne scars, even though I don't pick/pop them. After doing the yogurt mask I have noticed a difference small difference. It makes my skin feel tighter, leaves it glowing and has helped get rid of some of my acne.

There is a list of benefits from using the yogurt mask, i.e. fights acne, prevents premature aging, brightens skin etc. etc. You can read about more about that the benefits here.  When ever trying out new facial mask and products always use precaution and make sure if you feel any discomfort to immediately stop use and consult with your doctor.

P.S. The mask kind of smells like spoiled milk.

Don't I look lovely?

Fashion Forward Aprons

 Today my bestest friend in the whole wide world graduate from college!

CONGRATULATIONS MISTY! 

In honor of her wonderful accomplishment I will dedicate  a few post on the thing she loves most and spend years studying and will continue to study for years to come. That thing is FOOD!

For those of you that know me you know that I am a huge food lover. You would also know that I am an accident waiting to happen. Being a food lover I love to bake, cook and watch other do the same. Needless to say I spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. With the combination of my love of food and clumsiness I have cut, burned and badly hurt myself. On top of causing physical harm to myself, I also tend to make a big mess. Flour and sugar and milk end up all over the counter tops, floor and all over me. Other than a good pair of oven mitts (and a first aid kit), what I could use is a well made apron.

Over the years aprons have become more fashionable and less drab and boring. I would argue that more women would wear aprons if they were nicer to look at and made them feel pretty. Same goes for men, they would wear aprons that made them feel more masculine, okay maybe not, but still. Right about now Misty is rolling her eyes, shaking her head and saying, "Silly Tanya." Yes, I know any old apron can protect your clothes when you are cooking, but I want something more than the regular apron.

Here are my favorite fashionable aprons that I came across.

Aqua Spring Rose Brunch Gigi Apron

Cost: $ 32.95

Available Here 

Kitchen Cherry Courtney Apron

Cost: $33.95

Available Here

Charmed, I'm Sure Apron

Cost: $32.00

Available Here

Tea-and-Crumpets Apron

Cost: $32.00

Available Here

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Vogue in Stitches

Inge Jacobsen has created art by stitching covers of fashion magazines and fashion spreads. These are just some of my favorites, but the rest of her art work is just as incredible.

(Via Today and Tomorrow)

Tuesday Shoesday

Cost: $215

Available Here

I have been meaning to post about these shoes for weeks now, but I am a lazy bum and haven't. They are a 100% hand painted using Acrylic paint on black faux suede. The shoe has also been finished with a layer of flexible matt varnish to durability. Even though the price is a little up there, okay a lot up there, they are one of a kind and you get to pick out the colors you want. And what is there not to like about space shoes! I am in love with them, if it wasn't for the price I would already be walking around with. Also, if you you have any artistic ability you might want to try making some yourself.

New Assistant Job and The Devil Wears Prada

For some exciting news in my life I recently got a new job! I'm extermely excited, I have been searching for a 'real job' with normal hours and very little crazy demands (i.e. buy a toothbrush at midnight in the middle of Downtown L.A.) By nature, I am a very paranoid person, I worry about the smallest things and stress out about almost everything. There are times that I can see every bad outcome by just one small insignificant action that I might end up doing. So, obviously I am freaking out over what little screw ups I am going to end up doing.

The job position isn't glamours, but none of them really are, I will be an assistant at a management agency. However, I recently just re-watched 'The Devil Wears Prada' and the whole time I couldn't help but thinking if my life for the next year would be just like Andy Sachs'. Now, I know none of the managers are like the Dragon Lady, but of course being me I couldn't help to worry.

In honor of my new job and my paranoia here is the lovely fashion from 'The Devil Wears Parda', no matter how old this film gets I still would kill to have 99.9% of the outfits shown throughout the film. Let's also not forget that Patricia Field was the costume designer for the film. She has worked on films and shows, like 'Sex and the City', 'Ugly Betty' and 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'.

Unfortunately, I won't be working at a fashion magazine so I won't be able to raid their closet and get to take home all their clothes like Andy did. If only I was able to have a green coat like her's!

I loved Emily Blunt's hair color in this film, the red looked rather lovely against her fair skin. I also noticed that they put her in a lot of blue outfits and gave her an 'edgy' look compared to Anne Hathaway.

My favorite part of all of Meryl Streep's outfits was her hair! The silver white color looks amazing on her and the hair cut is just fierce. Of course they dressed her in move classic dresses paired with funky coats and blazers.

Anne is a very beautiful girl and it seems rather difficult to make her look 'ugly' in any of her films. She also tends to go for roles that require some type of make over, which seem fun. I honestly wish that one morning I will wake up and a pile of designer clothes in my room waiting for me to try on.

Cases of the Mondays

My picks for this week are very different from one another, from the price to the material. All of the bags that I picked out for today's post I found on Purse Page, a blog that my roommate got me hooked on!

M Missoni Horoscope Bag

Cost: $29

Available Here

The first pick of the week is this lovely M Missoni Horoscope bag. Yes, it may be just a canvas bag, but it has your horoscope sign on it! We must not forget that like most canvas bags it fits a lot of daily essentials or you can use it as a storage tote. The only thing that I dislike about the bag is that you don't get to pick the color that you want. Not to mention that they are out of Gemini bags and there is no point in me getting a bag that doesn't have my sign.

Alex Boaky "Pink is Sweet" Cotton Kente Tote

Cost: $109.99

Available Here

Usually, I am not a huge fan of pink. My dislike for pink started when my room was pink as a child. Turns out whatever color my room is I tend to hate that color once I paint over. This is true not only with pink, but yellow and orange as well. But I degrees, despite the fact that this lovely tote has pink in it, the color scheme works for me. It reminds me or an easter egg and for some reason I like it. What also draws my attention is the pattern. Another appealing aspect of the bag is the kente textile. 

Taylor Swift Met Ball 2011

This year's 2011 Costume Institute Gala at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art honour the work of the late Alexander McQueen.

Seeing all of the pictures from the Met Ball is one thing I always look forward to each year. Everyone take such risk in their choice of gown and suits. This year the stars wore a lot of nude, gold and white color gowns.

I have to say there were very few that disappointed me and it is so little that I won't even bother saying who they were. The reason being that the point of the Met Ball is to wear gowns that you wouldn't normally wear and show off the work of amazing designers.

I will say though who was my favorite of the night! It was hard to pick, if I would allow myself I would write about almost everyone that went; but winner in my book was Taylor Swift won my heart this year. She  always looks amazing and well done. She wore a J. Mendel couture Asymmetric Petal grown. I hardly recognized her with her makeup and hair everything was perfect about this outfit. It is such a change from what we normally see her wearing on the red carpet that I can't stop going back to those images of her's.

Wicked Wednesday: Almay Cosmetics

Today I will not be ranting on about how a commercial or advert objectifies women or how awful they are. Instead, I am going to state the one problem that I have with it.

The victim, Almay's new One Coat, Get Up & Grow mascara commercial featuring the lovely Kate Hudson. My problem with it is not that the mascara doesn't work or that they put fake eyelash on Kate (I don't know if any of this is true), but the fact that they over color corrected her eyes to make them radioactive green. On your computer the green isn't as strong as it is on your television, but it is still very noticeable. Yes, Kate does have green eyes and that wearing certain color of clothes and eyeshadow make them pop more.

However, they just seem fake and not very natural. Now, I have a few friends that have a very rich bright green eyes. So maybe it could be the lighting that is making Kate's eyes so green, but to me they to look off.

High Brow

One of the hardest things for me to maintain are my eyebrows, not my hair or my finger nail or anything else that would make sense. Every week I have to spend at least an hour tweezing and trimming them down in order for me not to look like Martin Scorsese, even though he is an adorable man.

You might be thinking, "Tanya, why don't you just get them waxed?" Well, if you must know my skin is very sensitive and waxing always leaves it red for hours afterwards. Plus, I don't even recommend getting them waxed because it rips the skin and it takes longer for the hair to grow back if it ever does. Also, it cost money and I just can't afford to get them done and hate the result.

However, I have been meaning to get them threaded, I just haven't found a place near me to get them done. That might just be my next beauty adventure.

Eyebrows are very important to me, mainly because I have rather think dark eyebrows naturally. For this reason I am going to list a few of my favorite celebrities, in my opinion, have the best eyebrows.

5. Jennifer Aniston

Photo Credit: Christopher Smith

4. Rihanna

3. Kim Kardashian

Photo Source: beautyeditor.ca

2. Megan Fox

1. Camilla Belle

Fashion Rewind: Grace Kelly

With all of the royal wedding talk going around I keep thinking of Grace Kelly. Kate Middleton's dress reminds me so much of a modern version of Grace's own wedding dress. Since it is a Friday and I haven't been posting due to being sick and going out of town, I am going to go a little crazy and tried to do a few more post before the day ends.

When you hear of Grace Kelly you think of pure class and elegance. She always held with herself with such poise that you would assume that she was born a  royal. When Grace did finally become a Princess it was only fitting.

For years on the silver screen people saw sophisticated fashion sense that fit Grace's personality perfectly. She always wore outfits created of fabrics that were delicate and rich. Whether she was being dressed by Edith Head for a role or by picking her own outfits they were simple and elegant.

Grace Kelly is an icon in the fashion world and to many woman because her style is timeless. However, it was not the clothes that made her so loved, but her sweet and caring personality.

The Royal Wedding Dress

Unlike many of my friends and most of the world I did not stay up to watch the Royal Wedding; even though I really wanted to! The reason being I had to wake up early to dog sit and if I would have stayed up late I would have never woken up in time. But have no fear I am currently watching one of the many reruns.

Of course the one thing I was waiting to see was Kate Middleton's wedding dress. For months everyone has been speculating what designer she would pick and the style. She went with a lovely classic dress designed by Sarah Burton of Alexendard McQueen.  The dress is strikingly similar to the one that Grace Kelly wore to her very own royal wedding. She wore a long veil, made of ivory silk tulle. Kate's arms and shoulders were covered in lace and that covered the rest of her dress as well.

The tiara Kate wore is the tiara that Queen Elizabeth wore on her 18th birthday and lent it to Kate for the wedding, as her something borrowed.

AP Television News

A fun fact Kate did her own make-up! She took a few lessons before the big day in order to perfect the fresh face.

Bat Those Lashes: Buxom Lash

I love playing with make-up, but for the day to day use I go for the natural look and the philosophy that less is more. Once in awhile I get a little crazy and wear color eyeliner or red or even dark plum lipstick.

For some time now I have been working up the courage to wear color mascara. One of my good friends always wear very little make-up yet, she uses colored eyeliner, usually in a plum, and colored mascara, in a dark green. Both go so well with her eyes and just adds this nice pop.

So after search for a color that wouldn't be to loud and be a nice touch, I found Buxom Lash Mascara Special Effect in Blue Noir for $18.  I have never used the Buxom Lash Mascara before and I am in love with it! It does not clump, does not make my eyelashes look like spider legs and it leaves my lashes feeling soft. 

Oh and that color! The blue noir is a beautiful navy color; the blue isn't noticeable at first but in the right lighting and in the sun it amazing. My eyes are a dark brown and everyone that has brown eyes knows how difficult it is to make them look anything but dull. This mascara gives my eyes a little life without having to cover my eyelids in blue eyeshadow. 

A Simple Quinceañera

Next week I am flying back home to celebrate my sister's 15th birthday. Besides the fact that I am mortified that my little sister is about to turn 15 and her teen angst has just begun; there is going to be a huge party, not a quinceañera but a simple party. Of a lot of my family will be going from out of town and amazing! Also, it is a perfect excuse to buy a new outfit.

Originally, I wanted to wear high waisted shorts with a blazer and my oxfords, but that idea soon crushed. As much as I love shopping I hate trying one clothes in the dressing rooms, the lighting is horrible and the small space makes me anxious. Well, needless to say I had to try on several shorts and none of them where close to being flattering, I suppose they are only meant to look good on women that have the body of a model.

Rest assure I found an outfit that is not too dressy or to bland; very appropriate for a family gathering. Below I posted skirt and blouse that I purchased for the event. The rest of the accessories are either similar to what I'm going to wear or I wish I had to complete the look.

Out to Remember by simplytanya featuring peacock feather jewelry

Cases of the Mondays

Voyage Leatherette Shoulder Bag

Cost: $28.80

Available Here

This sling leatherette shoulder bag is rather basic, which is always appreciated since it can often go with many outfits without being too overpowering. Another winning factor in my mind is the gray color; the bag is also comes in this light pink, but it is just too much for me.

Melie Bianco: Zoe Bag

Cost: $99

Available Here

In the picture the bag looks rather small, but it is the opposite, you can fit your wallet, phone, make-up bag, first aid kit and a book (yes, I carry all of this in my bag, minus the make-up bag). Yes, I know, it is indeed another satchel! I have tried to not post about satchels, but I can't help they are one of many weaknesses. What make this one different from the others, is the stitch work and bamboo detailing and lets not forget the color. The turquoise standouts and is perfect for spring.

When Harry Met Ziggy

For the opening night of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One, I decided to dress up as Harry Stardust. Who is Harry Stardust, you may ask. Well, a few months before the film released an amazing shirt created by Evan Ferstenfeld and Enkel Diakpopped up on the internet. The shirt my friends had the image of Harry Potter donning the incredible iconic make-up of Ziggy Stardust. Instead having the simple and rather small lighting blot on his forehead, Harry had a huge red and blue lighting bolt going across his face.

What promoted to make this post so many months after the day that I made this look, is that Russell Walks has created Harry Potter meets Ziggy Stardust; it's part of a planned series of iconic album covers mashed up with iconic pop-culture characters that he is considering turning into calendars or prints.  We shall she how else he decides to mash-up. You can see his work below.

Now for the fun part, when I decided I was going to dress-up for the opening night of the film (you know because, I'm not 16 anymore it could have looked rather strange, but I have no shame) I went out and bought some make-up and practiced of course. http://likecool.com/Harry_Potter_Illustration_by_Russell_Walks--Pic--Gear.html

I used red eyeshadow from Sephora, using the wet eyeshadow technique and one of their silvery blue eye pencil.

Katy Perry's E.T. 'Red Alien'

Today make-up play time was spent trying to get the Katy Perry's E.T. 'Red Alien' look down. It did not come out as well as I hoped it would, but it still looks pretty decent and playing with the effect on Photo Booth with the make is extremely fun. I also feel that without the gems I look more like an indigenous person than an alien.

The make-up I used to do the red band was red eyeshadow using the wet eyeshadow method. It would have been easier to use red face paint, but I didn't want to go off looking for it and spending money on it either. Used black eyeliner and went over it with black liquid eyeliner to give it a darker look. For the geometric design on my checks, I first made an outline using white eyeliner than with an eyeliner brush went over it with a silver blue eyeshadow. Once again for that I used the wet eyeliner method. Make note that I made one less row than Katy's.

The gems I got at Michael's Arts and Crafts store, I tried a few other crafts stores but they didn't have any  scrap booking gems. The gems are not the same color as the one that were used on Katy, but I felt they were close enough and they were on sale! You might notice that the gems I used on my forehead are bigger than the ones making the 'L' design. The reason for this is the fact that my face is not as wide or large as Katy's, so I didn't have as much room for the bottom gems.

Overall, I do like the final look, but I absolutely love the 'Fawn Look' it is by far my favorite. I posted below some of the pictures I took using Photo Booth, I love how the make-up looks in these effects.