I avoid the sun like the plague. Part of my routine in the morning includes SPF 30 on my arms, declote, and other exposed areas since we all know that sun in small doses adds up over time to create harmful damage. Although fair skin is beautiful, there are times when a little color sets off the perfect party dress to highlight silky legs. It’s times like this… Read More…
Is there a ‘natural’ alternative to Botox? Can something so simple be used to chase away wrinkles? What the hell is a Frownie? All of these questions are answered in the short video below.
You can check out Frownies HERE
Stumble It!
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This unassuming cleanser from Naturopathica hits all the right notes; it’s safe (it scores a 3 from CosmeticsDatabase.com), effective, and thanks to ylang ylang, rose, and lavender oils – it smells like a day at the spa. It’s their best selling cleanser geared toward normal to oily skin, but because it’s weightless, colorless,… Read More…
Exactly 3 years ago today on November 8, 2007 I posted my first review here on HookedOnBeauty.com by giving my 2 cents on Pangea’s Blood Orange and Calendula Cleanser (review HERE) on a mostly blank screen to an audience of zero. I wanted to start a blog so I could give my opinions a home to be be visited by friends and family whenever they were looking to buy… Read More…
Recently I’ve found some really fantastic foundations that I’ll be reviewing over the next week or so. Today’s pick is a discount store find which just happens to be under $7 (woo hoo!). Click HERE to see what makes it so unique.
On yourself it’s called putting on makeup, on kids it’s called face painting although I’ve seen makeup on grown women whose over-usage would qualify them for the latter title. Easter-eve this year was spent drawing on their requested bunny and batman faces for my niece and nephew.
It’s the best use of my makeup and it’s so easy. Just Google around for ideas and go for it. Don’t worry, these customers are (almost) always happy.
A few weeks back I was asked to be the Makeup Artist for a shoot at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver. The pics would be a part of their marketing materials as well as to provide future brides inspiration on the venue. Our beautiful model wore breathtaking gowns from Priscilla of Boston, and super-stylist Erin Ferris (Tanto Salon Denver) and I got her glammed out with 3 different looks. Here are a few of my favs from her first look and what I used to achieve it. I’ll post parts 2 and 3 of the shoot later on.
First of all, big wow to Studio JK Photography, a Denver-based husband and wife team who rock my world with their brilliant captures. You can see why they travel the world photographing weddings, they’ll be in Greece next month in fact.
Secondly, I used so many different products during the 10 hour shoot that it would take forever to highlight them all. Instead, I’ll give with my ‘hero’ products for this look, and when I post the other 2 looks from the day, I’ll do the same.
In a shoot like this when you change the model into different looks, you do so with the color aspects like eyes and lips, but typically leave the skin as is so I needed a primer that would hang on to whatever I was putting on top for the whole day. Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light grabbed the makeup and kept it looking fresh. This was the first time I used their light version, it’s as good as the original and absorbed right in.
I wanted a little more coverage and staying power after I applied her foundation so I went to one of my new favorite finds, Estée Lauder Double Wear Powder. It locked in the makeup and kept shine away for the entire day. No small feat when hot lights and tons of movement is involved.
I wanted her to have statement eyeliner (click on the 2nd pic to enlarge) so I laid down the groundwork for the liner’s shape using a dark brown powder shadow and an angled brush. When I got it even, I went over it using Iman Luxury Liquid Eyeliner in onyx, a deep black with specks of shimmer that lightly glistens in the sun.
Klorane’s Soothing Make-Up Removal Wipes helped me out big time. I needed a wipe that would remove all of her eye makeup quickly but also gently. If these wipes didn’t remove makeup so easily, her eyes would have been red from rubbing and it would have taken me much longer to get her looking perfect. Even the waterproof mascara melted right away.
Look for our peacock-inspired part two very soon..
We love food. I’d say that we’re ‘Foodies’ but I hate the pretentious ring to that term so much I’d rather be called a pig. So, fine, we’re pigs. Vegetarian pigs (well, Mike is technically a pescitarian pig but I digress.) Shopping has taken a firm backseat to finding creative veggie eats when we travel as our #1 thing we love to do. Since we packed up our furry children and left chilly Denver for some time in the warmer west last month, we’ve been able to hit up some of our best-loved places and discovered some new ones as well. Don’t worry, they aren’t all just for veggies, they’re for those who just love a delicious (and fairly inexpensive) meal.
Santa Fe Baking Co Santa Fe, New Mexico, Breakfast, Lunch, Dessert, Veggie Friendly, Vegan Friendly.
We always stop at Santa Fe Baking Co on our way to Arizona. It’s a total hot spot for locals with a mish mash of boomers, college kids, and of course the hipster crowd. It’s a menu heavy with breakfast and lunch items with a New Mexican flare. These past few times I’ve gotten the Vegan Bowl, a veggie scramble with tofu mixed in smothered ‘Christmas style’ with both red and greed chile served with 2 freshly made and nicely charred tortillas.
Pita Jungle Various Locations in Arizona, Lunch, Dinner, Mediterranean, Veggie Friendly, Vegan Friendly, Gluten-Free and Allergen Friendly.
Our first stop once we hit Arizona is always Pita Jungle. It’s a hard to nail combo of nicely priced fresh Mediterranean that’s pleasing to green eaters and meat-lovers alike. Our table was overflowing (as usual) with Cilantro-Jalapeno and Red Pepper Hummus, Falafel, Taboule, tons of fresh pitas, and of course a Greek Salad.
Green Vegetarian Tempe, Arizona, Lunch, Dinner, Vegetarian, Vegan.
We found this hidden gem on HappyCow.net, a good thing since we drove past it every day and wouldn’t have saw it because it’s somewhat hidden in a strip mall between a Goodwill and a bike store. We ended up eating there twice, our first meal were these bowls; my spicy Asian-inspired Diabolo Red on the left, Orecciette Pasta on the right- pre-marathon fuel for Mike featuring the best faux meatballs we’ve ever tasted. Also pictured in the back are the ‘chicken’ wings we devoured, so tangy and spicy with a perfectly chicken-ish texture.
The Secret Spot Huntington Beach, California, Breakfast, Lunch, Veggie Friendly.
This takes us to California, where we are now. We found The Secret Spot right close by in Huntington. Apparently it’s so secret that they don’t have a website, but people are Yelping the hell out of it. It’s super casual (read: wipe down your own damn table) and sits in a strip mall behind a gas station so you can hear the not so quiet hum of a car wash behind you as you sit at one of the 3 picnic tables outside. I got the day’s special, a ‘turkey’ bowl which was served with veggies and brown rice and drizzled in some type of yummy BBQ/ hot sauce combo, while Mike ate their fresh ‘turkey’ tacos. Their ‘turkey’ is out of this world yummy, a solid faux meat that’s satisfying and free of any weird consistency.
The VeggieGrill Various Locations in California, Lunch, Dinner, Vegan, Gluten-Free Friendly.
The VeggieGrill’s sharp, minimalistic aesthetic suits its concise menu and clean looking food. They do full on ‘chicken’ sandwiches, not the norm for faux meat because most of it isn’t tasty enough to make a full sandwich when it isn’t drenched with sauce to disguise it’s true flavor. VeggieGrill isn’t shy about showing off their house-made ‘meats’ so they present them in all of their naked glory, as sandwiches and on salads. They nail the consistency and flavor of an actual chicken sandwich and their kale and (divine) sweet potato fries make the perfect little sides.
True Food Kitchen Newport Beach, California, Lunch, Dinner, Veggie Friendly, Gluten-Free Friendly, Modern Global.
Our first True Food outing was last weekend, but it won’t be our last. This was the most exciting menu of our food adventure so far. Sweet Potato Hash and Tuscan Kale accompanied my ‘TLT’ Tempeh, lettuce, and tomato which was smokey and sliced thin to mimic the essence of bacon. I won’t pretend that it tasted just like bacon, or came all that close for that matter, but it was a fulfilling attempt that hit the spot on a flavor and texture I haven’t tasted for 5 +years.
If eating veggie was filled with sprouts and beans (yuk), I wouldn’t do it. Google a veggie place in your area and try something totally new, you might be pleasantly surprised.
I was just checking out some behind-the-scene pics from Jennifer Anison’s Allure cover shoot and I saw my favorite Makeup Artist, Gucci Westman touching up Jen’s neutral pout.
2 things I noticed about Westman; she had an incredibly calm presence while in the midst total chaos, and she had the most perfect, glowing skin I’d ever seen. It was such a thrill to meet her.
You can see more pics from Allure’s shoot with Aniston HERE
We finally got a camera that takes great pictures like the one my friend Jan uses for her fantastic Mommy/ Cooking Blog, now we just have to learn how to use it. It’s a slow process, (I often fail at lens cap removal) but it’s fun to learn something new.
Here are a few snaps from our trip we’re still enjoying.
This is my perfect hubby, Mike. I took this photo right after he completed his 12th marathon. He ran a quick 3:20 and still managed to smile a little through the pain.
After Arizona, we headed over to Orange County for our second annual beach stay-cation. This is a photo Mike took last night of our first sunset here, we try to take a sunset picture every night. I rotate the sunsets on my desktop so I can think about them when it’s freezing in Denver.
We’re here with our dogs Meatball (left) and Frisco, our furry little children who love their beach time. Who wouldn’t?
