My MakeUp Confession

Okay... here I go!

Well, most of my girlfriends know this and I am not in any way ashamed. I was once a MAC lover and it was hard for me to veer away from anything but MAC. Why? Because MAC is awesome and I will admit that it is still one of my favorite brands around. But after awhile, I was tired of eating dry ramen since that was all that I could afford after spending all the money I ever earned on things to make me pretty from MAC.

I later discovered this other line that I have heard about and read endless reviews about and decided to give it a try.

Each one of the palettes you see below is easily under $20... opposed to ONE eyeshadow from MAC costing $14.50!

Neutral Palette

Camouflage Concealer Palette

88 Color Eyeshadow Palette

56 piece Eyeshadow and Blush Palette

I was a bit skeptical at first thinking, "this is too good to be true", but I gave it a wing and bought all of these palettes along with a lipstick palette and another eyeshadow palette and a few eyeliners.

THEY ARE AMAZING!!! Of course, they are no MAC, but they are very comparable. The colors are deeply pigmented so they come out strong. And as you can see, they don't lack very much in colors and variety either! ;)

Yes, I had to compromise the MAC logo that came with each eyeshadow, but I was okay with it knowing that I can get up to 88 colors for the price of one. Call me cheap, but in this case, I'm willing to sacrifice a tad bit of quality for a whole lot of quantity! In the end, it worked out for me. How I see it is that I will NOT go through a whole eyeshadow in one day (thank goodness) and since I like switching up my colors and looks anyway, this is one way for it to be affordable.

I highly suggest that you give this a shot and even if you feel like its not worth your nearly twenty bucks, consider it just one of your eyeshadows breaking.

Oh yeah, thats another thing... I have 5 different 15 piece MAC eyeshadow palettes and they are hidden in the back of my dresser drawer at the moment. I prefer to use my Coastal Scents because I am loving the colors and would like to savor my MAC shadows until I really need them. Who knows if I will ever use them again?

Anyway... those of you who have tried this line, please share your thoughts, opinions, and experience. I would love to hear from you and I am sure many others would like to as well.

If you haven't tried it yet, do so at coastalscents.com

Enjoy, BEAUTIES!!

What's cookin', good lookin'?

Ladies (and Gents) --

What dishes are you cooking up this holiday?

I know that this is totally random and not really one of my usuals, but its nice to mix it up a little every now and then.

I'm having a turkey palooza at my place this weekend, and its up to me to make the PERFECT turkey! So, I'm giving this recipe that I found at allrecipes.com a shot. Who's with me?

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Maple Roast Turkey and Gravy Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups apple cider
• 1/3 cup real maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
• 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup butter
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 14 pounds whole turkey, neck and giblets reserved
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons apple brandy (optional)

Directions

1. Boil apple cider and maple syrup in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat and mix in 1/2 of the thyme and marjoram and all of the lemon zest. Add the butter, and whisk until melted. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until cold (syrup can be made up to 2 days ahead).
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place oven rack in the lowest third of oven.
3. Wash and dry turkey, and place in a large roasting pan. Slide hand under skin of the breast to loosen. Rub 1/2 cup of the maple butter mix under the breast skin. If planning on stuffing turkey, do so now. Rub 1/4 cup of the maple butter mixture over the outside of the turkey. With kitchen string, tie legs of turkey together loosely.
4. Arrange the chopped onion, chopped celery, and chopped carrot around the turkey in the roasting pan. If desired, the neck and giblets may be added to the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining thyme and marjoram over the vegetables, and pour the chicken stock into the pan.
5. Roast turkey 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and cover turkey loosely with foil. Continue to roast, about 3 to 4 hours unstuffed or 4 to 5 hours stuffed, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C) and stuffing reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). Transfer turkey to a platter, and cover with foil. Reserve pan mixture for gravy. Allow turkey to sit about 25 minutes before removing stuffing and carving.
6. To Make Gravy: Strain pan juices into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from juices. Add enough chicken stock to make 3 cups. Transfer liquid to a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, mix reserved maple butter mixture with flour to form a paste, and whisk into the broth. Stir in thyme, bay leaf, and apple brandy. Boil until reduced and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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If you give it a whirl, please share what your thoughts and opinions are on this! THANKS... and happy cooking!

A fan of the FAN brush!!

To be perfectly honest with you, I never really used a fan brush for blush or bronzing though this was its main purpose and intention, I believe. Do you?

Instead, I was getting dolled up by another makeup artist not too long ago and she did something where I nearly hit myself in the head and said, "DUH! Why didn't I think of that?"

Don't you hate how often times you apply eyeshadow and the bits of it will fall below your eyes and land at the top of your cheeks? I HATE that! Sure, you can dust some powder over the area or just clean and apply concealer afterwards (who has time for that?), but this is by far the best trick I've found... its also the cleanest and fastest! However, I must warn you that it takes a lot of coordination and practice.

• Take the brush and place it right below your eye, softly over the top of your cheek where the end of the bristle is nearly touching your lower lash line
• While holding the fan brush in place, take your usual eyeshadow brush and apply your eyeshadow how you normally do so
• After you are complete, move the fan brush away and VOILA!!
• If there is a LITTLE bit of eyeshadow dust (which I doubt would be as much as if you're using eyeshadow without the fan brush, if any at all), just simply, lightly brush it away with the fan brush

I love this method because I hate going back to clean up the rest of my makeup after I am complete and I most definitely hate piling on more concealer or powder than I have to. Besides, I am a procrastinator and usually don't have the time to redo or reapply.

Let me know if this method works for you! I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Weight Loss Method?

What is your best weight loss method that you have tried?

Please share your best kept secret via comment, reply through Twitter, or email me at loved.adored@gmail.com

Best answer/advice will be featured and you will get a Starbucks gift card right away! (Value will depend on how good the answer is, so if I were you, I'd make it good)

Can't wait to hear from you!