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!

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.

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 1^st 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.

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

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.

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.


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.


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.

 

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.
 

The brush is pretty big, with very thick, and long bristles.
 
I applied to my lashes, and wooh! I was loving this.

Without Mascara


This gave thin sparse lashes some serious volume and length (check out pic below).

With Mascara



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. 



“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

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. 



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

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









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