Nothing like a crazy move but please stay tuned.

Wooh, I've had a crazy weekend girls.  I was packing all of last week and finally got to move into my new digs yesterday, but now I'm dealing with the nightmare of unpacking.

                                 Here's some of the unpacking that has to get done!
                               

Anyway, my new layout, and everything should be up by Thursday.  Until then I'll be trying to organize my new place. But, we're having two great giveaways to unveil the new column, new layout and surprise news so stay tuned.

Hope you love it.

How was your weekend?

Mine was crazy. Packing and moving are no fun at all.

Hugs,

DE

Winner of Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets & Have a Great Weekend!

Why hello there girls. I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted. I’m so excited about my new place, but I realize how much I can’t stand moving! It is so ridiculously time consuming and tiring. But, I’m almost done, and this weekend, I’ll be in my new place. Now the only problem is, I have a Whole Foods, TJ Maxx Sephora and Crumbs bakeshop all within a block of my house.  With all that temptation, the one thing I know is that I will be broke very soon. Anyway, I wanted to announce the winners of Cosmo’s Sexiest Guide to Beauty Secrets.

Latia B
Rosnni P
and a surprise win because Cosmo loves Beautylogic  readers so much Jennifer J

You must conatct me within 2 days or we will give these books to someone else.

Also, the winner of the facial never came forward, although she’s a subscriber, so not sure why she didn’t.  In any event, I gave her almost 7 days to contact me, but the new winner is

Natalie B.

Natalie you must contact me within 2 days, or we’ll have to give this to someone else.

I hope youre weekend is great. By the time we meet again, hopefully I’ll be in my new place, my new blog site will be up and running, and hopefully, I won’t have passed out from exhaustion.

Next weekend is big news and giveaway time.
Are you excited?
I am.
Have a great weekend. 

Hugs, 
DE

Breaking up is hard to do

One of my girlfriends is going through a really bad breakup and I  spent a lot of this weekend consoling her. It brought me back to a post I did a few years back, so If you’re going through a breakup, read this.

I hope it makes you feel better.

Women's Health Mag Beauty Tips

I usually never post these, but I thought they would be great tips for you guys if you’re clueless when it comes to makeup. (The only product that I've used that they've recommended is the Macadamia healing oil treatment which I do love.) This is from the April Issue of  Women's Health Mag.

Don’t even know where to begin with blush? What shade? Where to apply? How much? …Who knows?  The April issue of Women’s Health magazine, offers a guide to choosing the right blush shade to enhance your eyes and work with your face shape. Follow these tips from and you’ll have illuminating skin in no time!

Use your eye color as your guide…
  • Blue Eyes: Use peach or icy pink. This will draw attention to light eyes. Do not use Plum, as this will minimize your eyes.
  • Green Eyes: Use any shade of pink, for a striking look. Do not use deep plum it neutralizes the yellow flecks in green.
  • Brown Eyes: Use berry hues. Yellow tints in your brown eyes will pop against pinkish plums. Do not use neutrals, they blend into the undertones of your eyes.
  • Hazel Eyes: Use a pink with violet undertones. Do not use orangey pinks, they dull the gray in hazel.

Learn how to apply the blush for your face shape
  • Oval: Use a brush to dust blush onto the apples of your cheeks.
  • Round: Apply in a vertical line from the centers of your apples to just about your jawbone.
  • Long: Blend blush along your hairline and outer edges of your cheekbones.
  • Square: Dust into the hollows of your cheeks.
What is your secret beauty ally?

What’s your secret beauty ally? Oil! Believe it or not, this month’s issue of Women’s Health magazine explores the secret to oil with dermatologist Jeannette Graf, M.D. Oil used to be scoffed at and criticized in the skin-care industry, but now, plant-based oil is being recognized as the body, face and hair’s best friend. Plant based oils in several new products will not clog pores like mineral oils do, and will penetrate deeply.

What to use?
Body
·         Comfort Zone Sacred Nature Nourishing Body Oil is a lightweight, nutrient rich product that contains buriti oil (extracted from an Amazonian palm tree) and jojoba oil (high levels of triglycerides and omega fatty acids). Smooth two or three drops onto each area of your body every day.
Face
·         Pangea Organics Himalayan Geranium & Pomegranate Balancing Oil is a light blend of 11 nourishing oils which will help your skins elasticity and suppleness. After cleansing and while skin is damp, massage two or three drops into your face.
  • Nude Cleansing Facial Oil contains antioxidant-rich vitamin E oil which cleans without harsh rubbing. Massage a few drops all over dry skin, then wet your hands and massage your face again.
  • Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate is made of omega-3 and -6 fatty-acid-enriched oil. This will help replenish your skin overnight. After cleansing, pat (don’t rub) a few drops onto your cheeks, forehead and chin.

Hair
  • Macadamia Natural Oil healing Oil Treatment contains macadamia nut oil which has some of the highest amounts of essential omega fatty acids. It will instantly hydrate dry skin without making it greasy. Coat freshly washed medium-length to long hair with a dime size squirt; for short hair use a pea sized amount. Smooth over from midway down the hair to the ends, then comb to distribute.
  • Rahua Finishing Treatment  is a thick concentrated, silicone-free styling lotion that is packed with rahua nut oil. This will help hydrate and strengthen hair follicles by adding a protective layer. Work a small amount through damp hair, concentrate on the ends. The oil will impart a glossy sheen.

Check out these and other beauty tips at: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty-and-style/beauty-secrets-0

Moving

Hey loves,

I'm tired, overwhelmed, but loving life because I'm healthy, happy and have amazing friends.
How are you?



This pic is what my life has been like for the past few days. Mr. DE and I are currently in the process of moving so I've been packing like crazy. (I never knew we had so much crap.) There may be a reduction in my post this week but next week stay tuned. I will have a new layout, and I reveal my huge news, new column,  and some amazing giveaways. Make sure you enter my Cosmo book giveaway. 3 lucky readers will win!


Hugs,

DE

Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets & Giveaway for 3 Readers

If you follow my tweets, you know this weekend, I raved about my new book Cosmo’s Sexiest Beauty Secrets. I couldn’t put it down. Not only do the editors of Cosmo provides some great beauty tips and tricks, but they also interviewed some top beauty experts as well and they gave us some deets on how you can always look your best. Here’s something I never knew courtesy of hair guru Ted Gibson. He says a major volume booster is…chopsticks. Yes the chopsticks you eat with. Right after blowdrying, while your hair is still warm, twist it into a bun and slip the sticks through them. Remove the sticks when your tresses have cooled and voila-beautiful body.



Who knew?

The books is loaded with helpful and great beauty tips like how to know the right makeup colors for you, nail colors that look great on certain skin tones, nutritional advice on how to have healthy skin, remedies for common beauty issues, and a very helpful chapter on Seductive Scents. (Every woman should read that one.)  I loved it so much that I had to share it with you guys. Cosmo is giving three beautylogic readers a chance to win their very own copy. Just send an e-mail to beautylogicblog@yahoo.com with the subject being “DE I need to know Cosmo’s Sexiest Beauty Secrets too” Three Winners get announced this Friday.


Hugs,

DE









DE

Make Up Forever HD Blush

Darn you Make up Forever HD Blush, why couldn't you look horrible on me! Why did you have to apply like a dream? Now my cheeks want three more shades of you, but my wallet is saying "Heck No." What a dilemma!

Blushes are an essential part of my everyday look. If I’m going for a more natural look, I’ll just pat on some blush, and some lip gloss and walk out the door. So you can imagine that my blush collection is pretty extensive.  I work for the news, and all of the anchors and reporters and  makeup artist on set swear by Make up Forever products and I agree with them. (Their hd finish powder is one of my staples.)  So when I recently heard that Make up Forever had launched a new HD blush, I had to have it.



First of all this blush will last you forever. It comes in a pretty small container only 0.33 oz but  all you need is a super tiny amount. Don’t even push the pump all the way down or way too much product will be released  There are 14 colors in the collection, but I got my hands on  #7 called “One Too Many.” It's described as being  peachy pink, but I thought it was way more on the pink side than on the peach side with no shimmer.  I don't always want a blush with shimmer. 


                                This is how much product is released after 1 pump. Way too much.

I tend to stick to more peachy colors but this really gave a beautiful flush to my tanned cheeks.  I like  to apply cream blushes with my fingers, (although you could purchase their brush to apply).  My fingers give me a lot more control of the product. When I first used this,  I put on way more than I should have because I didn’t realize with this cream blush, all you need is a very tiny amount. I loved how this blush seemed to blend right into my skin, looking so much like my natural flush, and this product lasts the whole day. After nine hours my flush was still going strong-and my face didn’t look greasy which tends to happen to me with cream blushes. Botton line, this is something you need to be looking at in Sephora. However, Make Up Forever needs to figure out a way to make the pump release less product. I found myself wasting a lot of this blush, and one thing I hate is wasting product especially when it's 25 bucks.

                                         

Have you tried this new blush?

What are your favorite HD blushes? 

Hugs,

Agadir Argan Hair Oil

I’m loving products that contain Argan oil in them, and I had to let you girls in on Agadir Argan Oil. I was introduced to Agadir Argan oil when I attended the IBS (International Beauty Show.)   At the Agadir booth, I ran into the lead hairstylist of Monroe Brushes,  also head hairstylist of Alonzo in Miami, and he was getting boxes of the stuff. He claims that he notices such a huge difference when he used the Agadir Oil  on his clients as opposed to the other argan oils. He said that many times the other argan oils can stain the hair, but not this one.



The line offers shampoo/conditioners/argan oil/and a leave in treatment.  I was pleased to see the Agadir shampoo was sulfate free (DE hates very few things in life, but one of them is  sulfates) and the products smell delicious. Although the shampoo is sulfate-free the owner claims he has found an ingredient that makes it foam without using sulfates. I didn’t try the shampoo, but I did try the Agadir conditioner. It’s a daily conditioner so it’s not as moisturizing as I’d like it to be, but the product that made my world rock, my head spin, and had me doing somersaults (well I didn’t do all that, but you know what I mean) is the Agadir oil itself. 




I applied the oil before blow drying my hair and wow.  First off I noticed my hair dried a lot faster than normal. But also, this left my hair feeling as if Rapunzel herself had spun it, and placed it on my scalp. It was so silky, shiny, lustrous, so healthy looking and not oily or greasy at all. And did I mention that my hair was super easy to style that day.  This product does contain silicones so if you hate silicones, you may not like this. Mr. DE always buries his face in my hair when I have this on because he can’t get enough of the delicious scent. If I keep getting a reaction like that from him, I may start using this on my whole body. lol,

All in all, the oil rocks my world.

Have you tried Agadir products?

What were your thoughts?

Also, have you heard about the Eat Pray Love Trailer. OMG, I'm so excited about this movie. I read the book two year ago on a trip to Jamaica, and I have been so anxious for the movie to come out! And Julia Roberts is in it! I love Julia! .Are you an Eat Pray Love fan?





Hugs,

DE

Revolution Organics Freedom Lip Gloss

In my search for the perfect organic natural lip gloss, I’ve run into Revolution Organics Freedom Glosses. I really think the ingredients in my lip glosses are super important because I’m constantly licking my lips and ingesting them.  First off the ingredients of Revolution Organics Freedom Lip Glosses are 100% natural and 85% organic.  There are five shades in this collection.



The colors are  a little tricky. What they resemble in the tube, are not really what shows on the lips.   I tend to stick to more nude shades, and their shade “integrity”  is my fave. In the tube it’s a shimmer muave color, however, once applied to the lips,  it leaves a gorgeous peach nude finish. 

Then there's innocent. Innocent is a very light pink color, with a huge amount of shine. Not a lot of color on that one. Truth is a gorgeous reddish pink in the bottle, but when applied, it's a tone down muave on the lips.  Freedom a hot red in the tube, and an even hotter fiery red on the lips, and Vibe  is a beautiful toned down orange shade. Orange is huge for the spring. Also, the glosses are  loaded with vitamins and minerals and they uses jojoba oil, shea butter and aloe vera to hydrate. Do you realize this is like a gloss and  a lip balm in one? Can we say Halleluiah!!! This is also  free  of chemicals, mineral oil, petroleum, artificial ingredients and parabens and it last all day.

Have you tried Revolution Freedom Lip Glosses?

What were your thoughts?

Hugs,

DE

Biore Makeup Removing Wipes Towelettes With Green Tea - Almost Perfect

A few weeks back, Biore held this seminar where they introduced to beauty editors/bloggers their new Biore Makeup Removing Wipes Towelettes with green tea. Now I love a good makeup removing wipe. When you work late hours like I do, the last thing you want to do is come home and wash your whole face. Usually you just want to rip your clothes off, sleep naked and wake up the next day. Also, since my hair always seems to be done, I hate washing my face because I always end up ruining the front of my hair somehow. Anyway, I was really impressed with Biore’s demonstration. They compared their makeup wipe with a leading one. They placed them both in water, and the other one left a greasy foggy film in the water while the Biore wipe’s water was just as clear as before they put it in. That basically means the other wipe was loaded with grease and will leave that on your face, while the Biore wipe will truly clean your face without leaving any film behind.

 


I used the makeup wipe for one week, and was super pleased. I hadn’t been this happy about a makeup wipe in years. With one swipe of this, my waterproof mascara was gone, my foundation, gone, my lipgloss, gone. I was in heaven. With two wipes, my face was completely clean. I truly loved this stuff, and planned to buy it in bulk. The fact that they also contained green tea, which is a very effective antioxidant, made this product a serious dream- until I found out this product contained parabens. For many people parabens are not a big deal, but for me now, they are a pretty big deal, especially in anything that I apply all over my face, so I’m trying to avoid them. So I passed these on to my cousin. And she can’t get enough of them. She actually just purchased three more packages.

If you’re looking for a great makeup remover wipe and don’t care about parabens, Biore’s are not only wondrous, but super inexpensive.

As for me, I’ll keep washing my face until I find the best paraben-free wipe.

Hugs,

DE

Lavanila Deodorant is Rocking DE's World

 Why couldn't Lavanila Deodorant be around when I was a teen?



When I was sixteen, Mommy got really into the natural lifestyle. No longer did my diet consist of plantains, fattening meats, and greasy food but raw green smoothies, salads, fish, and brown rice. That was great, but mommy also removed anything with too many chemicals in the house as well, including deodorant and replaced them with natural alternatives. One of the things that she replaced was my drug store deodorant for a 100% natural one. I remember the day she made me try the new natural deodorant. I think it was some sort of crystal one that claimed to work the entire day. I applied it and left for school. By the end of the day, I was scared of walking too near anyone for fear they’d get a whiff of me, and after school ended, I ran to Duane Reade to get some deodorant that worked. Since then I’ve been kind of skeptical about natural deodorant. But as you guys know, ingredients are extremely important to me now, especially when it comes to my deodorant. Recently I got the chance to try Lavanila Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Lavendar. It is 100% natural  The scent of this is wonderful, a true powdery, calming and feminine combination. I tried it on in the morning, but I was skeptical and brought the deodorant to work just in case I had to reapply. During the day, I was paranoid and would constantly take a whiff of myself to see if I needed to re-apply but  no, I didn’t. This 100% natural deodorant lasted the entire day, smelled wonderful, and it contains No Petrochemicals, No Phthalates, No Propylene glycol, No Mineral Oils, No Silcone, No synthetic Dyes, No Sulfates of Parabens.


If  you haven’t, it’s a must try especially if you are being careful about your ingredients like I am.

Hugs,

DE

Don't Let Anyone Determine Your Self Worth Or Your Happiness

Recently I watched Wendy Williams interview Stacey Dash. If you've seen  Clueless you know exactly who Stacey Dash is. If you don’t know who she is, she’s a stunningly beautiful 43 year old actress who has not aged ever. (She can pass for a woman in her twenties for sure.) The woman is a vision. I’ve actually seen her in person, and she is 10 times more beautiful live than she is on tv. Anyway, she was on Wendy Williams show recently, where she dished on all her insecurities. She  talked about not feeling beautiful unless a man told her she was beautiful. She has not been single since she was seventeen, and used to sleep with men on first dates because she needed a man to define her. As I was watching this, my mouth was agape. For the last few years, Stacy Dash has been known more for her beauty, than for her acting, and she didn’t feel beautiful? I couldn’t believe it. She had insecurities?

 
sdash wws int
Uploaded by yardie4lifever2. - More video blogs and vloggers.

When Wendy asked Stacy about whose fault it was for the ending of her marriages Stacy said, “I say it’s my fault. I didn’t know who I was, so how could I know who you were. I was looking for the wrong things. I wanted them to define me. No one else can define you, you have to define yourself” Stacy aso admitted to sleeping with all her husbands on their first dates but she says now “The kitty is being held hostage.”

This was really sad to me.  I’ve noticed that many women I know give too much of themselves too fast to men. They are so wanting a relationship, that they believe by giving their whole self to a man too soon, it will make the man care about her even more.  (Sadly, that usually has the opposite effect.) The fact is confidence is key to winning in everything in life. Women, you must never ever let anyone determine your self-worth. It is so important that you feel good about yourself, because not feeling good about you, can lead to a path of serious self-destruction and heartache. We all have insecurities. Shoot, up until a few years ago, I was probably the most insecure woman on earth. But I found ways to make myself feel good. I woke up every morning, and told myself I was beautiful. Maybe this sounds corny, but I wrote love notes to myself, praising myself for things that I did. I asked good friends to tell me things about myself that made me special, (if they are your good friends, they will do this for you). I used to have serious insecurities about my legs and instead of lamenting over them, I worked them out so they could finally have a resemblace of a calf muscle instead of the chicken legs that I'd had for years. You must never look to someone to make you feel good about you. That is internal. No matter what anyone has told you about you, You’re beautiful. You’re amazing, You’re wonderful.Tell yourself that every single morning, and believe me, you’ll begin to believe it.

Don't ever let anyone determine your self-worth or your happiness.

What do you do to love yourself?

How do you make yourself feel wonderful?

Hugs,

DE

CoverFX Bronzer, Weird Habits & Winner of Facial.


How was your weekend girls? Mine was crazy. I worked in this horrible wind and rain, and sadly, an umbrella that I had just purchased last week was blown away by gusting and bustling winds. I tried to run after it for two blocks, (not an easy feat considering I had a huge bag of heavy books with me) but the wind prevailed, and after a while, I bid adieu  to that brand new umbrella and walked to work a soaked, annoyed mess.  (I had just done my hair with a great new argan oil product and the beauty of it was completely destroyed by the rain.) But, I’m alive, so I feel good!




Photobucket






After weather like this weekend, I can’t believe spring/summer is close by, but it’s coming. And it’s during this time that I really concentrate on my bronzer collection. Recently I got the chance to try Cover FX bronzer, in Garnet, and although Garnet is described as a bronzer, I do think it’s more suited as a blush, because it’s such a  shimmery, rich, baked, pink/brown shade. I must  discuss it because the shade is just so gorgeous.




I’d heard great things about CoverFX but had never tried them. The company makes products for sensitive skin, and their products are wax-free, paraben-free, oil-freee and fragrance-free (music to De's ears). When I first opened the pan of Garnet, the amount of sparkle kind of turned me off. I like to glow, but I don’t want to look like a solid gold dancer. However, when I applied to my cheek, the sparkle greatly diminished. The shade in my opinion is too close to a pink to be used as a bronzer, but as a blush, it’s just radiant. It gives my cheeks a beautiful, healthy, pink golden flush, and I’ve gotten more than my share of compliments when I've had it on.




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Have you tried Cover FX bronzer?




Have you tried any Cover Fx products at all?




Ooh also, this week I went to a girlfriends house, and she served me some ice cream. It’s so interesting the weird habits we develop and don’t even notice. As I was eating the ice cream (dairy free because DE and Dairy have a hate relationship) she noticed that everytime I would put the spoon to my mouth,  I would blow on the ice cream as if it was hot. I never even noticed that, and what a discovery that was. Then I noticed, I did the same thing when my mom gave me some apple sauce the next day. Lol, Not sure why I do that, but do you have any weird habits?




Winner of Facial is Raaya Lewis. Raaya, please get back to me before 2 days or we'll have to give it to someone else. 




For those who didn't win book an appt with Cecelia anyway and say you're from beautylogic. You'll get 20% off and one of the best facials you've ever had.




Hugs,




DE

Self Tanners That Work

Yesterday on the subway, I spotted this girl who clearly had gone through an incident I went through two years ago. Obviously she had used a tanning cream that had left her with a Jersey Shore orange color. I empathized with her big time. I'm already a tan-skin woman. But during the summer, I like to become a Bronzed Goddess. Around two years ago, my brother had a huge birthday party. I was super excited. My brother is one of my favorite people on earth. Anyway, since I’m a beauty blogger, I’m always trying out  new product to tell you guys about it,  and a tanning company had  sent me their newest self tanner. They claimed that it would leave me with a  “Bronze Golden, Caramel Glow.” Well Holy Crap!  The pics on their  brochure were amazing as well. After I put it on, I was mortified.Words can't describe my face and how loud my screams were when I looked in the mirror and saw my image. I yelled, cried, threw myself on the floor, even begged my roomate to run to the Korean store to pick up some lemons so we could try to remove this horrible color, but after two hours of trying, nothing could get this orange shade off of me.  Here I am  that night. This pic doesn't show the true orangeness of the skin but you get the idea.





The product had sworn amazing results and I was left with a “tangerine glow.”I wasn’t going to go the party for fear of embarrassment,  but then I remembered that this was my brother's big day and nothing would stop me from missing it. So I held my head, and my orange skin up high, and walked into that party.  Of course my orange glow was the talk of the party, but hey, DE will never ever miss a family member’s special event for anything. Anyway, my brother  (biggest joker on earth) has never let me live down my orange skin of that night, and for a while his nickname for me was “O” for orange. Since then  I have stuck with 3 *(updated to 4) self tanners that I know work, but won’t give me the Jersey Shore Glow. I'll share them with you now. Always remember to exfoliate well before you use self-tanner. It’s a must or you will have streaky skin, no matter how well the tanner works.  




 Bath & Body True Blue Shade To Order




I reviewed this around two years ago, and still say it’s amazing. Doesn’t leave me streaky, nor orange, just with  gorgeous tan skin. The smell of this is not as bad as other self-tanners either.









  

L’oreal Sublime Bronze 

One of the better self tanners I tried. This truly leaves me brown, with amazing glow. However, this product doesn’t smell so great, so wait after you can take a shower to go out.





Clarins Self Tanner Gel                                                                            




If you're willing to shell out a little more moolah , this leaves the skin with a great tan, with minimal streaking. Better for overnight application though cause this smell aint pretty.












   St Tropez Tanner


(This is why I love my readers) OMG, I totally had forgotten about how much I adored St. Tropez Tanning. But one of my readers "Anonymous," reminded me of how amazing the results were.   I used it last year when I did my headshots and got some amazing and natural color. Thanks lovely reader. I def recommend this too.











Do you recommend any great self tanners?

Have you ever gotten an orange Jersey Shore glow? 

Have a great weekend.


Hugs, 


DE

Lili Nail Polish


At IBS, I was introduced to a company called Lilli Nails  The first thing I noticed about the collection were the stunning beautiful and bright colors. So many gorgeous shades.  The next thing I noticed about the collection was that they  were  Toluene, Formaldehyde, and DibutlPthalate Free.
Lately I’ve really been into Phthalate free nailpolish so I was really interested in learning about them.  Here is one of their best sellers-Coral . Such a beautiful bright peachy pink. Perfect for the spring! 




The color is very thick, so it takes a little time to apply but once you master it, you’re good to go. The drying time was very short, I’d say about 5 minutes after I got my nails done, I was pretty much completely dry.They also offer a 2 in one, base and top coat.



Check out http://www.lilibeauty.com/ for more info on their 78 other shades. Each polish is priced at $5.95

Have you heard of Lili nailpolish?
What were your thoughts?

Hugs, 

DE

Braai Restaurant-Night out in New Yok

One of my  favorite restaurants in NY is Braai. Located in the heart of Hells Kitchen, which is an area full of great places to eat. However,  in a city that is full of restaurants, Brai is only one of two South African restaurants in the five boroughs. It's actually the only one in Manhattan. The other one is Madiba which is located in Brooklyn. Isn't that insane?

Braai is one of those restaurants that you have to go to if you visit the city.  This a great place for couples, as the place is super romantic, or if you're tying to make a great impression on a date.  The place is always dimly lit with soft South African music playing throughout. They had this beautiful South African mix of Sade's song Lover's Rock. Man I loved it! The decorum is beautiful with bamboo, on the ceilings, and authentic South African art throughout the restaurant.  

We've gone many times, and the service is always beyond expectation. The waiters are attentive, and always make sure we're taken care of.  Their authentic Lychee juice is my favorite drink, and when I used to drink Lychee Martinis, Mr. DE was always stealing sips. The food is beyond delicious. For appetizers we usually get the Venison, which taste absoutely delicious on a skewer with onions, and peppers.  Marinated in their specialty cape may sauce, this is one of the tastiest meats, I've had. Always cooked to perfection, tender, and tasty. They also serve you a tray with all their sauces, which include mango or apricot chutney, mint jelly, banana coconut, cucmber yogurt, dill mango (my fave) and mango coriander salsa.

I always get the same thing for dinner. Their Prawns Peri Peri. I love shrimp, and this shrimp is amongst the best I've ever tasted. The prawns are grilled in a delish peri peri sauce. Now although peri peri sauce is known for it's hotness, this sauce isn't that spicy. It's a perfect blend of spicy and sweetness, and I'm in heaven. The rice is basmati -saffron, which is probably my least favorite thing on the menu. As you guys know, I love to cook, and that rice just doesn't do it for me, but the Prawns Peri Peri rock my world.

Bottom line if you're looking for a romantic, unique and delish place to eat, try Braai It's so worth It.

http://www.braainyc.com/
327 West 51street
New york, NY 10018
212-315-3315

Dominican Salon Review: Magic Touch Salon

So this is my first Dominican salon review after about almost two years. I'm sorry I haven't done one in some time, but when I asked you guys what you missed on the site, I got so many e-mails asking me for the reviews back. That makes me so happy that you guys liked them. I almost forget how popular they were. Hell, even Vogue featured the one that supermodel Liya Kebede goes to and about four reporters I know troop miles to get their hair done by Dominicans.  So I've re-started them. I started doing the reviews differently this time. I don't ever let the salon know that I"m reviewing them. So this salon I went to had no idea they were getting reviewed, and all the pics that were taken, were with a hidden camera. lol Let's begin:

A few of you readers had asked me to review Magic Touch Salon. Located on 115 and 1st ave, in the heart of Spanish Harlem. Many of you had heard about it though word of mouth and wanted me to get the deets. What my readers want! They get! 



Decorum: As I walked into Magic Touch, I’ll be honest, I was not impressed with the decorum at all. There is nothing “beautiful” at this salon. You can tell this place is strictly business and that's it. They really don’t care about the salon’s appearance. That’s fine for some, and unacceptable for others. For me, on that day, it was ok. (On another day, I might have just walked out.) I needed to get my hair done and fast .If you’re looking for pretty place…keep looking.
I was pretty shocked at how many dryers and chairs they were able to fit for such a small amount of space. I literally saw 13 dryers there. The salon is tiny. And they also had about seven hair do stations. Only 3 hair wash stations though. 



Customer Service: When I walked in, it was Thursday around 11:00 am and there were eight women already getting their hair done. I had to be somewhere at 1:00 so I was a little nervous  that it would take forever, but immediately as I walked in the salon, the woman in the front told me to walk to the back and wash my hair. The girl did a fantastic job on my wash. She massaged my scalp and washed my hair three times with the shampoo, and then conditioned it and used the comb to detangle. It was done very gently.



Products: Now, as I was getting my hair washed, I observed their products. I did see an empty bottle of Ojon but honestly they pretty much used L’oreal, Silicon (Dominican products ) and other products called Luna.   (I would probably just bring my own products here.) 

Hair: The girl used the huge gray rollers to do my hair, and stuck me under the dryer (no ear covers though, I think i'm going to buy some and start bringing them). As I was under the dryer, I observed around six different women from all ethnicities, coming in, getting attended to immediately. The women here are all business. They want you in and out in no time. After I finished drying (their dryers are so good, I was done in 30 minutes) Idalina, one of the hairdressers spotted me and led me to her table. She asked me what I wanted. I told her I liked my hair with a lot of volume but not too much heat.  She then asked me if she should just blow dry it up, (which is exactly right) I told her yes, and she began working her magic. Many times I've gone to other salons, and they've used the curling iron after blow drying my hair. No good! I don't llike that much heat on my hair.  She began working her magic, blowdrying the hair in an upwards motion, then pincurling it, Walaa! in 15 minutes, my whole head of hair was done. I was so impressed at what an amazing job she did and how fast I was done. I was out of the salon at 12:30. I had gotten there at 11:00am. That's almost unheard of.



Cost: But then, she revealed the cost, and I almost had a heart attack. When I asked her how much, and she said doce, which means $12.00, I almost threw my shoes off and did a backflip. I asked her to repeat herself, and she said twelve dollars in broken english. Well holy crap, I gave her the $12.00 and a $10.00 tip.My hair came out so beautiful, and lasted so long. 

Listen this may not be the prettiest salon, but if you want your hair done beautifully for next to nothing, go here. Special thanks to Akmed from down the street for taking another pic when I asked him to. I think he liked me. 

Out of a 1-5, this salon gets a solid 3.5. Although the products and decorum, need a lot of work, the service is fast, hair looks amazing, and in this recession, it's very important for a salon to be inexpensive. At $12.00 this is downright cheap! 

Hope you enjoyed this!

Hugs, 

DE



Amazing Facial Soie Aroma Skin Care Spa & Facial Giveaway

When I used to work in finance, I would get a facial at least once a month. Well those days are long over, and I hadn’t gotten a facial in a  few months when I decided to book an appointment at Soie Aroma. I had already heard great things about this place, and was really looking forward to going. When I arrived, I was met by Cecelia, the aesthetician, who warmly greeted me. She led me to her room, and we began what would be one of the best facials I’ve ever gotten.

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 One of the first things I noticed about the products in Cecelia's room were that they all were Organic.




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I like to think of myself as a natural product expert, but I hadn’t heard of any of these exotic items.  Some of the products came from a company called  Ilike, they are 100 %organic, made from real pulp not extracts. The line uses a lot of fruits plants and herbs. She also used Naturopathica, which is a holistic skin line made from herbs and plants, and Grapeseed Company.
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Grapeseed is one of the best antioxidants you can use on your skin. I was so pleased that the products were organic and natural. After giving my skin an analysis, she began a Vitamin C facial, which is great for, dull, blemished skin, unclogging pores and anti-aging.




She  began the facial by gently cleansing my face with an Aloe Pomegranate Cleanser.


She then began exfoliation of my skin, using a gentle scrub with rosemary and poppyseeds. This exfoliant was so gentle, and I don’t know what she was doing with her hands, but it felt as if she was massaging my skin as she was applying the scrub. So heavenly! Then the peel process began using a fig and pear enzyme peel. She used this peel to open my pores and bring out the dirt for easy extractions.

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De on the table (yes I"m wearing hubby's socks, don't judge, lol)


If you’re a facial lover like me, you know the worst thing about a facial is an extraction. Depending on your aesthetician, you can come out looking like someone kicked you in the nose, or you can look as if your nose wasn’t even touched. I’m so pleased to say that after she was done with the extraction, my nose was only slightly red, and that’s it. You really couldn’t even tell I had extraction done. This was one of the most gentle and effective extractions I've ever had. And she took her time making sure that there was not one blackhead left.


After that, Cecelia gave me a fantastic Asian pressure point and lympthatic massage all over my face. Cecelia tells me that a facial massage is extremely important for stimulation and circulation. (I give myself a facial and scalp massage every night to make my hair grow, and to stop the aging process.) Then Cecelia applied a Pomegranate and Vitamin C mask. While the mask was on, Cecelia began massaging my shoulders. This massage was so heavenly. I don’t know if Ceceilia is certified in massage, but I’ll tell you one thing, she was hitting all of my stress points, and my stress (and I’ve got a lot of stress) was melting away.

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De in pure bliss


After that she applied a gentle rose serum for extra  hydration, and we finished off with a Vitamin C moisturizer.


Right after the facial I looked in the mirror, and was shocked. My skin was glowing. Yes glowing, and my face looked so clean it was remarkable. I just could not believe this facial. 

Soie Aroma Skin Care
215 Park Ave S
Ste 1304

(between 17th St & E Union Sq)
Manhattan, NY 10003
(917) 596-5206





I actually purchased this facial, and it was well worth it.

DE loves her readers and believes you deserve the best, I got one for you too. Just send an e-mail to beautylogicblog with the subject being DE, I need a facial too” Winner gets announced next Monday. I advise you to make an appointment with Ceceilia well in advance. The woman is so good, that she’s booked all the time.




Also, all beautylogic readers get Soie Aroma services for 20% off. Just mention the site.







Hugs,







DE

New Belvada Mascara is rocking my world.

I love innovative beauty products-that work. Recenlty at IBS, I was introduced to a new mascara that rocked my world and  I had to let you girlies know about, because I think it's a great concept, and a really good product. I'm talking about Belvada Mascara.

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You use this mascara with one hand. It has  slider that you push up, when you want to release the mascara wand and when you're done with the mascara, you push it down so that it can retract back into the tube. This is supposed to prevent the mascara from clumps and drying out.
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The brush is pretty big, with very thick, and long bristles.
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I applied to my lashes, and wooh! I was loving this.

Without Mascara
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This gave thin sparse lashes some serious volume and length (check out pic below).

With Mascara

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My ony gripe with the mascara is it's a pretty long product and it may be hard to fit in your makeup bag, but the length and volume that I got from it, was no joke with absolutely no clumps, or flaking.






For more info, check out www.belvada.com

Congrats Monique You deserve it! But let's talk Open Marriage.



Was I the only one overjoyed when Monique won her Oscar? I've loved her since Soulplane! (Don't judge me for thinking that movie is hilarious) And in every interview she's been in, she truly seems like a beautiful human being. Her performance in Precious was beyond amazing, and she definitely deserved that win! But something kind of saddens me about Monique and I wanted to write about it. The fact is everyone is saying "why are we judging her." I judge no one. I'm not God nor even close. But she released  information to the public, and just like anything, that information will now be open to scrutiny and opinion.  The information I'm talking about is her allowing her husband to stray outside the marriage as long as he's "honest" about it. She says "Cheating is when you lie and are deceitful not when you have sex outside of the marriage." Monique says that her husband having sex outside of her marriage is not a deal breaker.  Wow, There are so many things I have to say about this situation. But I'll keep quiet. I'll direct you to a post I did about a year ago when a girlfriend of mine tried to rationalize this situation to me as well. And I'll say to  all you women (especially my readers,  you know DE adores and cares deeply for you). Before you love anyone, you must love yourself first. If you don't love yourself, then anything will seem acceptable. People will only treat you, the way you allow them to.


This post basically summarizes what I thought of the whole situation. You can Read it here. 


What are your thoughts on this situation?


Do you believe in Open marriage?


Hugs,


De

AWARD WINNING BEAUTY

Hey dolls, 

How was your weekend. The NYC weather was amazing. Gorgeous, beautiful, and just plain perfect. I had to be at work so I wasn't that happy, but watching the Oscars always lifts up my mood. Anyway, here were my top 3 in overall looks. 

Zoe Saldana

You girlies know about my love for Zoe, but honestly I really thought she looked flawless yesterday. Makeup artist Vera Steinberg did an amazing job on her makeup (as she always does). We're going to get the full deets on her makup look by Vera herself, but until then, Nars posted what Vera used. 

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“We wanted to achieve a sexy and sophisticated look while keeping it balanced with her dress. With luminous skin and neutral-glossed lips, I was able to really focus on her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.” 

Zoe Saldana wore the following products to achieve a fresh and luminous effect:

*Orgasm Illuminator
*Enchanted Cream Blush (NEW for Summer 2010; try Gueule de Nuit Cream Blush for a similar effect)
*Lamu Multiple (NEW for Summer 2010; try South Beach Multiple for a similar effect)
*Brousse Duo Eyeshadow
*Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo
*Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara
*Love Devotion Lipstick (NEW for Summer 2010; try Casablanca Lipstick for a similar effect)
*Ophelia Lip Gloss



JLO
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Funny story about when I saw JLO. I was watching the oscars on my computer screen, and couldn't see the full beauty of her dress so I immediately thought it was very unflattering. But when I watched the oscars on TV,  I couldn't believe that was the same dress. It was probably my favorite dress of the night.  Surprisingly Jlo's makeup was not done by Scott Barnes this time but by Mathew Vanleeuween.


Based on her dress, I wanted to create an ethereal movie-star look. I kept the cheekbones high and highlighted with the NARS Enchanted Cream Blush for a soft and supportive look.” –Matthew Vanleeuween for NARS Cosmetics

Jennifer Lopez wore the following products to achieve a soft, yet radiant look:

*Orgasm Illuminator
*Enchanted Cream Blush (NEW for Summer 2010; try Gueule de Nuit Cream Blush for a similar effect)
*Desire Blush
*Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (NEW for Summer 2010, Available May 1st)
*D. Gorgeous Single Eyeshadow
*Brousse Duo Eyeshadow
*Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara
*Cruising Lipstick
*Sweet Dreams Lip Gloss 


Demi Moore
I love Demi since the movie "Ghost." Yesterday she was simply a vision. I guess her young husband does her body good, because I don't ever remember her looking more beautiful. 
Lancome worked their magic on her. 

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Products used were:
Celebrity makeup artist Jo Strettell did the beauty honors for  Demi.
For Demi’s complexion, Jo mixed two Giorgio Armani foundations—Luminous Silk Foundation andLasting Silk UV SPF 34 Compact Foundation—and swept YSL Touche Éclat under the eyes and around the nose. 
Lancôme’s Blush Subtil in Rose Fresque, just on the apples of the cheeks, brightened her complexion.Jo created the soft, smoky eye with Lancôme Color Design Eye in Ciel du Soir on the lid and Color Design Eye in Honeymoon as a highlight from right above the lid to the brow bone and on the inner corner of the eyes.
Lancôme’s Le Crayon Khôl in Gris Noir lined the eyes and Jo softened the look by smudging the line.The lashes were curled with a Shu Uemura lash curler, followed by several coats of Lancôme Hypnôse Drama in Excessive Black on the top lashes and Ôscillation Mascara in Black to the lower lashes. 
For Demi’s lips, the combination of Lancôme’s L'Absolu Rouge in Rich Cashmere and Juicy Tubes in Spring Fling created a pretty, nude lip that had just enough pop.

KATE WINSLETT





















Kate’s long-time makeup artist, Jillian Dempsey, topped off the look with soft, ethereal makeup. Both the eyes and the lips got equal attention on this Oscar winner. Shimmering, champagne-pewter shades highlighted the eyes, while very saturated mascara delivered that extra definition. A pop of pink blush on her cheeks gave Kate just a hint of a natural flush. Jillian topped off the look with nude-pink lips.

Here, the products used:

EYES


Jillian Dempsey for Avon Professional Kohl Eyeliner in Black
Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara in Excessive Black
Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quad in Blushing Raisins (using the Raisin shade for definition)
Lancôme Brow Expert in Naturel

FACE & CHEEKS



Avon MagiX Face Perfector SPF 20



Lancôme Photôgenic Lumessence Foundation



Lancôme Dual Finish Powder Foundation



Shu Uemura Blush in Pink 30







LIPS



Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge in Rich Cashmere



Lancôme Color Fever Gloss in Hotness


Zoe Saldana Beauty Recap-Essence Hollywood Luncheon

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I’ve mentioned to you guys before how much I love fellow Latina/Dominicana actress Zoe Saldana. The girl is absolutely amazing. This year alone she starred with friend to the blog Michelle Rodriguez in one of the biggest movies of all time Avatar. She is truly an inspiration. Yesterday, she was honored at the Essence 3rd Annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon as "One to Watch.” Did you see how stunning she looked? I sure did. Her amazing makeup artist Vera Steimberg gives us the exclusive deets on what she used on Zoe yesterday to attend the event.

On Zoe’s face, Vera mixed La Mer Liquid Foundation in Tan with Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in 06



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Vera said she wanted to concentrate more on the lips so she used Shu Uemura Drawing Lip pencil in Red  and Shu Uemura's Red Lipstick 





On the eyes she used a black eyeliner from Mac and the MAC eye shadows Tete A Tin  and MAC Saddle

To contour, she used more of the brown tones so it could give a softer look on her eyes.





She also used a little bit of Nars Orgasm.

And a finish powder from Jouer Peach Bouquet to give a fresh and natural look.





Vera, you did more than give her a fresh and natural look. You gave her a gorgeous look.





Thanks Vera,





Hugs,





DE

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