Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Clinique Chubby Stick vs. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

Hello lovelies! Can you believe its almost the end of 2012?! I can't... I remember yesterday was just January! Hope you all had an amazing year and an amazing holiday season. A lot has happened this year but I'll save that for another post.

Not too long ago, I was going crazy over lippies. Bold fall colors, bold loud colors, nude colors, pink colors. I was all over them! I was after the gift with purchase for Clinique so I went too the counter and bought the chubby stick and a lip liner. After that, I thought the Revlon balm stains were also a good idea so I bought three.

When I bought the chubby stick I was in love with the color. A nice bright purple-pink hue. When I tried it on at home I liked it but not as much as I had hoped. The color payoff on my lips wasn't great. It was very sheer and more of a tinted balm. The chubby sticks are a bit expensive for just a tinted balm. The chubby sticks don't have any menthol in it to plump the lips.

The balm stain from Revlon on the other hand had a huge color payoff. I swiped the balm on my lips once and it was already very pigmented, so you don't need much. I think I like the balm stain more than the chubby stick. And for the price, the balm stain is much more worth it. I think the balm stains have a bit of menthol in them to plump up the lips.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain
Clinique Chubby Stick
Revlon has more product???
Revlon Balm Stain has more color while Clinique Chubby Stick is more of a glossy balm.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Viva La August Day 6

Our very last day in Sin City and of course neither of us wanted to leave. We decided to put our Planet Hollywood coupon booklet to good use before we left and used up most of them.

We got ourselves some Earl of Sandwich, then went up the Paris Eiffel Tower ride and went to Serendipity to enjoy lunch. Earl of Sandwich was of course amazing, and if you haven't tried it yet, make sure you get a sandwich (or two) the next time you visit Las Vegas. The wait can get long and seats are limited so go at a time where you don't think it'll be busy. I personally really enjoyed the Earl's Club.

Babe and I used the coupon for the Paris Eiffel Tower ride. Before you hop on the elevator to the observation ledge, two pictures are taken by the employees at the Eiffel Tower bridge. The ride going up on the elevator was a little nerve racking just because I've been increasingly afraid of heights. I was most scared when we got onto the observation ledge and walked around to see the ground. The scenery itself was very nice however. Another thing you must experience in Las Vegas. You can see all of the exquisite casino/hotels and even the Bellagio fountain show!

Afterwards, we headed over to the M&M store and Coca Cola store. The M&M store didn't have much for us, while we got to try the Around The World at the Coca Cola store. If you haven't tried it, go try it. The flavor I least enjoyed from the tray was I think "Beverly", it had a weird spice taste to it.

The last day of Sin City and I must say we did a good job to tucking a bunch of sight seeing firsts under our belt. After our final look around, we left for the airport.

As they say, until next time.
Earl's Sammitch early in the morning
All aboard!
Sneaking a peek
Caesar's
Bellagio
Cosmopolitan
Frrrozen hot chocolate
Skirt steak
All around the world

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Ladies, it is October which means its also breast cancer awareness month. And I am publishing this post to inform everyone young and old.

**Very emotional post, please close window if you're heartless. Insensitive comments need not post.**

Circa summer 2008, someone dear to me was diagnosed with breast cancer just a couple months post-partum. She took all necessary precautions to rid her body of the evil cancerous cells and even detected it early. My reaction upon discovering the news was pure shock, the kind of shock where you're frozen in your body and don't know how to react anymore.

After the diagnosis, whenever I saw her, she was happy and full of joy, as it should be, forgetting her worries and enjoying her life. I remember we even watched "The Dark Knight" together. She had the support of her friends and family, and I would often get updates of her health. She decided to undergo chemotherapy and from then on her health deteriorated. The cancer cells were beginning to metastasize and began to infiltrate other parts of her body, the brain, the lymph nodes as well as the breast all had cancer cells. Though the news of this sounded like a death sentence, she was strong and full of hope to regain her clean bill of health. I have never seen someone with that much willpower to want to live, to enjoy their lives and spend whatever time she had left with the ones in the places that meant the most.

After some rounds of chemotherapy, she said she felt lifeless, fatigued, lethargic and of course the hair on her head became more and more sparse until there was no more. But I only ever saw her with her fabulous wig, never a bald head with nothing more than a couple hairs atop her head that confirmed all suspicions that she had cancer. She then ceased chemotherapy treatment. It wasn't about being vain, it was about her overall well being. Because there wasn't an alternative effective mainstream treatment, some of us didn't agree with her discontinuing the chemotherapy, ultimately it was her choice. She ended up researching a treatment that would hopefully cure her. It was a holistic approach that consisted of a strict diet.

I remember the day we all went to the hospital to visit her. It was the first time I saw her without a wig and of course I cried, everyone cried. How else can one feel when someone dear to you is lying helpless in a hospital bed. Words could no longer soothe her, only selfless support of her decisions for her own health.

For a couple of months her health fluctuated, better to stable to worse until she passed on just a few months shy of a year since the diagnosis and on the wedding anniversary of her and her husband's. Again, getting wind of the news was pure shock. I didn't cry until I uttered the words to myself that she had passed on. She left a loving husband and a new born child. There was nothing more that I wanted than her to be a survivor, to see her husband and her new born child grow up.

Since her passing, I've been a bit more attentive to things that may cause harm to my health. 

Personally, products containing parabens are deal breakers and I try to stay away from them as much as I can. However, sometimes they can't be evaded.

Take an active role in your health!

Purchase products that are paraben free. Parabens are added to products such as makeup and lotions to prolong their shelf life. I don't like parabens because when it enters the body, it can mimic the hormone estrogen. For young girls, it can also cause early puberty. The four parabens that are prevalent in products are: Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. Parabens are usually found near the end of the ingredients list. Yes, it means that there is very little concentration of it in the products, but have you thought of how many products you use daily that may contain parabens in it? Getting exposed to it daily can increase your risk.

Try to purchase nail polishes that are formaldehyde, DBP and toluene free. These three chemicals are known carcinogens. Years ago I went to a natural makeup event that let people sample nail polishes that were free of the carcinogenic trio and the best part was that there was no smell whatsoever. I was also told that the nail polishes were available for purchase at the local health stores in my area. Do your research and see if you can purchase them online. The organic nail polishes can get a bit pricey. The small bottle I sampled years ago cost about $13.

Don't dye your hair or dye it less. I know some people love their hair dye but it can cause health problems. My mom frequently shows me articles about girls that dye their hair and a chemical in the dye causes a horrible allergic reaction and is potentially fatal. Why do you think pregnant women don't want to dye their hair? If you can't stay away from dying your hair, try to stay as far away as you can from the roots. Try to purchase organic hair dye.

Eat your veggies! There are many vegetables that are anticarginogenic such as mint, basil and lemongrass. Eating too much meat can cause gout and other diseases. Furthermore, I've never heard of people eating a plant based diet contract mad cow disease. Furthermore, with so many genetically modified foods it is important to eat healthy.

Drink out of a stainless steel canteen. Not a plastic water bottle. It's eco-friendly, you're diminishing your carbon foot print while diminishing the intake of BPA in your system that is found in water bottles. Stainless steel canteens can be purchased anywhere.

For those that have been recently diagnosed with cancer, never lose hope that you will see another day. Do not let cancer win and put up a good fight.

For those that received news that a family member or friend has been diagnosed with cancer, please give them your 110% support. They need you to be their backbone during this difficult time and being supportive is extremely valuable.

Cancer is not a death sentence when detected early, please spread the word to everyone you love to get their scans. Cancer is not only limited to people of 45 years of age and older but has become more and more prevalent among younger groups of people.

Stay healthy and be vigilant of your own health.

Wear your pink ribbon, donate to legitimate organizations that are trying to find a cure for breast cancer and purchase goodies that also donate to breast cancer foundations.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Viva La August Day 5

Our last full day and night together in Sin City and we didn't do much actually. In retrospect it was a waste of a beautiful day. Ended up going to the Venetian to gamble a bit after we made a trip to Earl's of Sandwich (I think). We were at the Venetian quite a while and then just waited for dinner time to arrive.

We went to the buffet at The Mirage this time, which wasn't very good at all... If I had to rate them in order it would be:
1. The Wynn Buffet
2. Wicked Spoon Buffet
3. Spice Market Buffet
4. Bellagio Buffet
5. The Mirage Buffet
6. The Aria Buffet
The Mirage Buffet by far was the least enticing in terms of presentation and there wasn't much to choose from. I can quickly recall that the chow mein from the Mirage were pretty good in comparison to everything else.

After dinner we decided to watch the Mirage volcano show which was ever so convenient. Too bad we just missed the show and had to wait another hour for the next one. The show itself was okay the weather was pretty humid already and the addition of the spewing fire torches made it feel like I was melting.

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

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Monday, October 08, 2012

Viva La August Day 4

On our fourth day of vacation we had to move from the Caesar's Palace to Planet Hollywood. The Planet Hollywood was much better and had no dirty bandages or broken faucet handles. We even got a booklet full of coupons to use.

After hauling ass to Planet Hollywood, we went to the Spice Market buffet to have brunch. This time around, the prime rib was not as succulent as the first. And everything else was the usual.

 For dinner, my boyfriend made reservations for Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Hotel and Casino. I had some things to say about this place. For one, my boyfriend made the reservation for Saturday night in advance on Wednesday afternoon. During the phone call no one asked for a phone number so we were a bit confused if your reservation was going to be processed or not. We decided to just leave it alone. On Saturday, my boyfriend called the restaurant to confirm our dinner reservation, all the hostess said was "okay." and hung up. SO ARE WE CONFIRMED OR NOT?! After my boyfriend hung up, I called back and wanted to confirm and was then put on hold for 10 minutes. R U SRS? How hard is it to fucking confirm a reservation? I was really surprised that they were so unorganized especially so because it boasts the name of world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay. I made it known to my boyfriend that if we had any difficulty in gaining access to the restaurant, that I would rip them a new one. In the end, I didn't need to, we were admitted to the restaurant. Ladies dressed in black attire opened the large door for us to enter and we went in. Our table wasn't ready yet so we got a drink at the bar. Midori sour for me and a coke and rum for my babe. We didn't wait too long before our table was ready and we were escorted to our table. I was a little dumbfounded when the hostess didn't help us bring our drinks to our table because usually they do.

Finally arriving at our table, we sat down and took a look at the menu. There was a special prix fixe menu available and if you ordered it, you can take the menu home as a souvenir. The prix fixe items didn't appeal to us so we both got the foie gras and the beef wellington, for dessert we ordered the panna cotta with melon sorbet. The foie gras was especially delicious because neither of us have had it for a while since its ban in California. The beef wellington was okay, I was expecting much more bursts of flavor and an overall goodness. The panna cotta was pretty good and the melon sorbet was very flavorful. Our server was kind but a little slow, he took up some time to show us the cuts of meat that were available to order. It was a waste because we couldn't hear him over the loud pounding music. The decor in Gordon Ramsay Steak was nice and interesting. There were photos on the walls of Gordon Ramsay himself and it is said that the ceiling fixture is Chef Ramsay's hand movements when he cooks.
Last day!
Dinner ready!
Coke and rum
Midori sour
Ceiling fixture
Complementary bread
Foie gras
Beef wellington
Corn
Panna cotta
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