GOD created Adele: Set fire to the rain

Here is her latest video : "Set fire to the rain"


Her talent and her beauty speak for themselves,...in my mind she is absolute PERFECTION

and she has IMMACULATE SKIN and SUBLIME RETRO MAKE-up


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri7-vnrJD3k

An Avocado A day keeps the doctor Away

I don't cook, I try to cook, I learn and I do cook sometimes  when I feel a bit adventurous.  However with a new baby every task that seemed second nature to any individual now it is a small production.  With lots of patience and a lot of ingenuity to keep my baby entertained I had to figure out fast ways to FEED myself and my BEBE.  Avocados seem to satisfy my hunger and my baby's curiosity with anything and everything soft and green.  My daily routine consists of eating an early pre-lunch meal at around 10-11 am of avocado, turkey breast, some cheese and a second espresso.  As I prepare my quick meal my baby watches her MAMA do the GREEN DANCE.  Then she gets to taste the NUT.  So far she loves it and I haven't even started her on GUACAMOLE.  I cannot wait to see her face when she TASTES the SALT.
All I can say is that the AVOCADO SAVES MY DAY and MY HEALTH.  It is full of antioxidants and it tastes like heaven,...right up there after chocolate and cheese.

2 is the MAGIC NUMBER

Trying to maintain a healthy HAPPY DIET is not always easy.  Life and circumstances get in the way.  So looking at what I eat, I decided to make my life easier and think of everything as 2 or multiples of two.
So here is the basic breakdown:
1) 2 glasses of water before every meal
2) 2-4 servings of fruits and vegetable/day
3) 2 oz of dark chocolate (See my post: Chocolate your World)
4) 2-4 cups of coffee,...depending on how much or how little sleep I get with my baby
5) 2 servings of protein : 1 for lunch, and 1 for dinner
6) 2 servings of fiber: wheat bread for breakfast/and or lunch
7) 2 glasses of red wine/week (whichever day of the week the need arises)
8) 2 servings of INDULGENCE/WEEK (be it a slice of pizza, a can of soda, a chocolate chip cookie, or french fries)

Drugstore Gems

Nothing can pick my mood up than wondering through the make-up drugstore aisle.  It is the best way to asses quality, price and the beauty trends, and it does not cost you a penny.  You don't always have to buy.  However once in a while it is worth spending a few bucks and finding the satisfaction that you found a GEM.  Here are my recent finds:
1) Maybeline Dream Bouncy Blush: 
It looks like a powder blush but it blends like a cream once on your skin. I love this because it blends so well and even and it really looks natural.  I am starting to prefer cream blushes because they look more natural.
2) L'Oreal: Colour Riche Balm:
This product is so rich and tasty that you will instantly fall in love with. It is a BALM with a tiny tint of color. It lasts and it makes your lips look delicious.  It reminds me of the Elizabeth Arden 8 hr lip balm, but this one is only $7.50 or around that.
3) The Botanics: The Power of Plants Eye Colour (Only at Target)
Very smooth and translucent eye colours with beautiful earthy tones.  And if you are a bit bold they have also some shades of light purple which I think look divine on any eye color or skin tone.

Chocolate YOUR WORLD

 

I fell in love with chocolate when I was a kid.  My love was only limited to milk chocolate.  Toblerone and big Swiss bars of chocolate made me feel like heaven.  My face was covered with chocolate as early as 7 yrs old.   I remember my mom sending me packages full of chocolate.   I grew up in a Communist country and chocolate was sparse if non existent.  It was a LUXURY.  When my mom defected and settled abroad she would send me packages full of goodies every few months.  It was then that I discovered what millions of kids knew already, you can never have too much chocolate.

As I grew older my milk chocolate taste got tamer, but it amplified for the dark chocolate.  At some point in my young adulthood, I made the switch from milk to dark cocoa.  It was an evolution of taste and I don’t remember the transition, but it became a permanent staple of my palette.  

Then somewhere in my-late 20’s a dear friend introduced me to a spectacular NYC event,…THE CHOCOLATE SHOW.  It is a traveling show and it features the best local and international chocolatiers.  It takes place every year the 1^st week of Nov and in the last 7 yrs I haven’t missed a show.  It is the equivalent of DEATH BY CHOCOLATE, a favorite expression of another college friend.   If you are ever in the NYC area around that time it is worth going to.

 I had another transforming  CHOCOLATE experience in Madrid.  The Spaniards love their CHOCOLATE but more specifically they DRINK it.  My husband wanted to surprise me on our 2^nd night in Madrid and he took me to this Medieval Chocolate Café. As we approached the place our anticipations transformed from mere excitement to exhilaration when we realized it was THE CHOCOLATE PLACE to BE in MADRID.  It was packed.  That got us a little discouraged at first but when we soon realized how fast the service was, we decided to give it a try.  When we saw the ritual of how CHOCOLATE poured over CHURROS, we realized we would not have left even if someone yelled FIRE.  The chocolate was served in small expresso cups with a plate of CHURROS, which are long fried dough “fingers”.  As we looked around to see how to proceed with our serving we could not believe what we were about to do next.  Yes DIP the CHURROS in the HOT CHOCOLATE.  The Spanish HOT CHOCOLATE is as THICK AS HONEY, not even close to what we drink in the States.

So if you love chocolate as much as I do, read on.  You not only experience an elevated sense of happiness but you are also doing your body a HUGE HEALTH FAVOR.

Top 10 reasons to eat your DARK CHOCOLATE (recommended daily dose 1-2 oz., the equivalent of 1-2 inch squares)

1)      It is good for your HEART:

“"Studies have shown heart benefits from increased blood flow, less platelet stickiness and clotting, and improved bad cholesterol," says Mary B. Engler, Ph.D., a chocolate researcher and director of the Cardiovascular and Genomics Graduate Program at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. These benefits are the result of cocoa's antioxidant chemicals known as flavonoids, which seem to prevent both cell damage and inflammation.” (From Health.com, article by Marjorie Ingall)

2)      It reduces BLOOD PRESSURE:

“If yours is high, chocolate may help. Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University, recently found that hypertensive people who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop significantly, according to an article in the journal Hypertension. Their bad cholesterol dropped, too.
People who ate the same amount of white chocolate? Nothing. (It doesn't have any cocoa -- or flavonoids.) Word to the wise: 3.5 ounces is roughly equal to a big bar of baking chocolate, so the participants had to cut about 400 calories out of their daily diets to make room. But you probably don't have to go to those lengths. Just a bite may do you good, Blumberg says.” (From Health.com, article by Marjorie Ingall)

3)      The FLOVONOIDS= ANTIOXIDANTS  from COCOA (Antioxidants can also be found in green tea, red wine and in all fruits and vegetables)

a)      Prevent Heart disease

b)      Prevent Cancer by stopping abnormal changes in the DNA, which can stop cancer cells from forming

       c) One study that compared the total antioxidant activity in single servings of cocoa, green tea, black tea and red wine scored cocoa markedly higher than the rest.

4)      It improves you memory

5)      It is reduces stress

6)      CONTRARY TO COMMON BELIEF: IT IMPROVES your SKIN because of the antioxidants The researchers think the flavonoids, (antioxidants ) which absorb UV light, help protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance.

7)      It makes you HAPPY by stimulating the feel good hormones, serotonin, oxytocin, in your brain.

8)      Gives you the right energy for your body

9)      It tastes FANTASTIC

10)   It is a good snack: It raises your blood sugar just enough to carry you over to your next healthy meal

Tanya Burr :Great Make-up Artist Tutorial on YouTube

I just discovered this new GEM,...she is a young make-up artist, cosmetics sales-girl by day and as a hobby she just decided to post her celebrity inspired looks on YouTube.
Her name is Tanya Burr and her YouTube name is pixi2woo

Check out her Leighton Meister inspired make-up: Great for an everyday look and easy to do.

Problem Skin: Mild to Severe Acne

Problem Skin, Mild to Severe Acne.

Key Ingredients to look for when treating Problem Skin

1) Salicylic Acid: Sensitive Problem Skin – Mild Acne

2) Benzoyl Peroxide: For Moderate Acne and Less Sensitive Skin

WARNING:

1) Both can cause the skin to irritate, dry and peal.  

2) Always consult a dermatologist to determine the best regimen for your skin.

3) Sometimes the skin gets 'used' to salicylic acid, and becomes 'resistant' to it after a while, whereas that might not happen with benzoyl peroxide. Most 'over the counter' acne products have salicylic acid. Proactiv has no salicylic acid, but both the repairing lotion and (unusually) the face wash have benzoyl peroxide.

Salicylic Acid: Sensitive Problem Skin – Mild Acne

Benefits: exfoliation and cleansing

It works as a bacteriocide (bacteria killer) agent by causing the cells of the outer skin layer to shed more readily, opening clogged pores and neutralizing bacteria within, preventing pores from clogging up again by constricting pore diameter, and allowing room for new cell growth.

Salicylic acid (Beta hydroxy acid) works by exfoliating the pore from within and getting out all the debris and reducing blackheads and whiteheads, which are the beginning of a zit if it gets infected with bacteria.

Salicylic acid is used to shed the top layer of skin cells faster, preventing them from clogging pores

Products (Oxy pad, Aveeno Bar, Neutrogena anti-acne wash, Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Moisturizer)

Benzoyl Peroxide: For Moderate Acne and Less Sensitive Skin

Benefits: bacteria killing and cleansing

Is the stronger of the two, usually very good at reducing inflammation and a good short term (sometimes long-term) solution to acne. However, everything that is stronger is always more irritating to sensitive skin. This is usually used in Proactiv.

Benzoyl Peroxide is a topical antibiotic that kills the bacteria that is causing the infected pore to be red and inflamed. Benzoyl peroxide is used to kill the bacteria that causes acne.

Products (Proactiv, Clearacil Acne Bar)

Recommended read

“The Acne Cure”, By Dr. Dubrow

Explains in detail what to do and how to use these products, it teaches the different stages of acne and how to treat them separately.

WARNING: As with any new products, it is best to consult a dermatologist and his/her recommendations for your skin type

1) One “prescription”/suggestion from the book

Cleanse with Neutrogena anti-acne wash (with 2% salicyclic acid) in the evenings and then after run an ice-cube over your face.   Apply the BP to pimples if you have any and if not, still put a little bit on the areas that you used to get pimples. It took about 6 weeks to get major improvement using the acne cure system and also a big part of it for one user was using glycolic acid products. Some believe that the glycolic acid products have given the most improvement, in terms of maintenance.

2) Another suggestion from the book

Using BP and SA both, they separately treat a different stage of acne. Never use more than 2% SA or 2.5% BP, higher % will just irritate your skin.  At night wash with a gentle SA product, then use glycolic acid (can get online or at Rite Aid $16 AHA Alphy Hydroxy Acid 13%) leave on a minute then rinse off, this will unclog your pores to let the BP in. Next apply 2.5% BP, cool the skin with ice first which will make your pores open to the medication, leave skin cool & wet and apply a thin layer of BP, then put an ice pack on your face where your broke out for 10 minutes before you go to sleep - leave the BP on. The ice calms the inflammation, and the glycolic acid also has anti-inflammatory benefits. Make sure you use an oil free moisturizer try Purpose by Johnson & Johnson w/15SPF to keep you skin calm and protected. Good luck.

3) BP is STROGER than SA, but they best WORK together.... use BP at bedtime, and SA (ie Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Moisturizer) in the morning.