February Favorites!

I haven't done a monthly favorites in such a long time. I like to really wait until I love a handful of things so much, my excessive use of them makes me have to write a post like this! lol Rest assured, if a product is featured in this post, it is something that I am bursting at the seams waiting to share with you! Maybe we are loving the same things at the moment...you tell me :)

Here we go:

Hair

L'Oreal Ever Strong Sulfate-Free Reconstruct Conditioner

• Smells AMAZING! 
• Nice thick consistency that coats your strands fully for great results
• Leaves hair soft and gives you that great tingly minty feeling on your scalp upon use :)
• Sulfate-free

One n Only Argan Oil

• Great price point compared to some other argan oil treatments on the market at around $10.00
• Smells absolutely fabulous
• Doesn't leave hair greasy
• Leaves hair soft and shiny

Beauty:

Origins VitaZing

• Wonderful moisturizer with a slight tint 
• No irritating fragrance
• Priced at $35 (not too bad for a higher end moisturizer) 
• Gives skin that healthy glow   

MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium Plus

• This stuff has lasted me FOREVER! 
• I not only use this as a face powder on occasion but also a transition color when blending eyeshadows which it works wonderful for!

Buck Eyeshadow from the UD Naked Palette, Stila Kajal Eyeliner in Onyx, MAC Typographic Eyeshadow

• I tweeted about nailing the perfect every time smokey eye and these are the products that made that possible for me. 
• Stila Kajal eyeliners are all so creamy and super blendable
• MAC Typographic is the perfect charcoal gray that one would desire when doing a smokey eye
• Buck is my perfect shade for blending as a transition color in this look (for those with lighter skin tone, naked may work better!)

Revlon Lipbutter in Cotton Candy

• Glides on smoothly and moisturizes well
• Perfect wash of light pink color with a slight sheen to make the lips look "awake" :)

Do we share any of the same favorites?

xox

BEAUTY GIVEAWAY: Maybelline Color Whisper (CLOSED)

Congratulations to Anne C. who won my last giveaway of the Sonia Kashuk Palette and brushes..I hope she  is enjoying them :)

Even if it is something small, like today's giveaway, I always think it is nice to share the love for beauty/fashion/hair etc. that I express here on my blog. Some of these things aren't available all over the world and some of these things perhaps my readers were hesitating to purchase...well fear no more, if you were speculating whether you wanted to try the Maybelline Color Whisper lip products, here is your chance to do so...for FREE! :)

Here is what you will win:

4 Maybelline Color Whisper lip shades in (left to right) One Size Fits Pearl, Faint For Fuchsia, Made-It Mauve & A Plum Prospect.

I purchased a shade for myself to be able to give you guys a brief review of what these are like.

Here is a swatch of the one I purchased which is called " Orange Attitude" :

I really like this wash of orange color--it is the perfect spring color :)

Review: 

• I found that these had a similar color payoff to that of the Revlon Lip Butters (light wash)
• These seem to be very moisturizing and not too waxy---almost have a vaseline consistency on the lips. 
• I like the wide array of colors they come in, 20 shades to be exact
• These retail for $7.49 at the drugstore which makes them pretty accessible to everyone 
• I like that the outside cover matches closely to the shade of the lipstick---again similar to that of the Revlon Lip Butters

If you are looking to expand the amount of "everyday washes of color in a lipstick form that are very moisturizing" products in your makeup collection, then I definitely say give these a try. I personally feel like wearing a full on lipstick with that rich pigmented color can be a bit much for me. I, therefore, find that these are more my style for every day wear---they bring life to your lips with just a kiss of color and give you the moisture that you would seek in a chapstick or lip balm. 

I will defintely be purchasing more of these :) 

If you already have these, what are your thoughts on them? 

GIVEAWAY

Rules to enter:  

1.  You MUST be a subscriber to my blog
2. Comment below telling me what Spring Beauty Trend you are most looking forward to (this is considered an entry--please only one entry each on my blog--another chance to enter is explained below)
3. This contest is open to the US and Internationally 

*If also have a twitter, be sure to follow me there (@alyseap)--tweet me that you would like to enter the Maybelline Color Whisper Beauty Giveaway for an extra entry vote.    

A while back--a few months to be exact, I picked up something for another giveaway that I never got around to hosting--therefore because I love my readers SO much and truly appreciate the time you all take out of your day to read my blog, I will be including that in this giveaway as well. If you win, look forward to something a little extra in your package ;) 

CONTEST OPEN SUNDAY 2/24-SUNDAY 3/10 

Good luck my favorite readers, 

xox  

     

50 Random Facts About Me TAG

 This TAG was going around on twitter and I thought it would be an excellent way to get to know me a bit more. You guys only get to read my posts but most if not all of you have no idea who the girl behind the words is---this is an interesting way of gaining insight into who Alysea is outside of the reviews, hauls, recipes and DIY's :) Enjoy!

1. I can eat pasta for breakfast
2. I like cold pizza (almost better than warm!)
3. I am always cold---ALWAYS
4. I talk to my dog as if she were human---isn't she though? :)
5. On the note of dogs, I actually speak in a secret language to her that only we understand--my  boyfriend makes fun of me for it! haha

6. I hate scary movies, I am home alone way too often for that--can we say scarrrdyyy pants? haha
7. I like pickles with salt and vinegar chips---don't judge me until you try it!
8. I dream of moving to London one day--or at least having a nice extended stay there soon.

9. My bedroom color scheme is black, white and purple.
10. I have a deep interest in everything Kennedy-Jackie O' is my idol--I have a mini shrine to her in my bedroom with things I gathered after visiting the JFK Museum in Boston :)

11. I have a section in the notes of my phone dedicated to baby names so I don't forget the ones I like.
12. I really like hello kitty because I just think she's so cute!
13. I only have 3 songs on my ipod---I never listen to any music off my ipod--unbelievable right? 
14. I have had 4 majors in my college career and am finally settled into Psychology.
15. I am going to be a school counselor once I am finished my Masters one day!
16. I adore kids--I wouldn't be a nanny if I didn't <3
17. I have been a nanny for almost 7 years!
18. I love my canon DSLR and yearn to have time to go to PA and take some awesome rustic old barn photos.
19. I have a home in Puerto Rico :)
20. For the next 40 days and hopefully longer, I am only drinking water with lemon for beverage.
21. I love planning events--little details make me happy.
22. I LOVE Special K cereal more than any other, sugary cereals are totally not my thing.
23. I drink 4 green juices a week--I did a post on my recipe not too long ago, look for it ;)
24. I hope to marry my college sweetheart/bestfriend for the past 7 years. Gerard, I love you <3

25. I really like paint by numbers
26. I must make my bed EVERY morning before leaving. An unmade bed really disgusts me.
27. I love outdoor activities--Hiking, camping, kayaking--my favorites!
28. Favorite fragrance is Marc Jacobs Daisy or Lolita Lempika.
29. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister.
30. I have never broken a bone--thank the Lord above!
31. I almost never match when going to bed--I am definitely not one of those perfect matching PJ's gals lol
32. After work my hair goes straight into a "samurai bun" as my boyfriend calls it 99% of the time.
33. I have two beauty marks on my face that are my signature since birth ;)
34. I went to an all girls high school and I absolutely wouldn't change that for a thing.
35. I am working on a trip to Uganda as part of a missionary trip with my boyfriend--I hope to make that happen asap. There then Peru to continue the voyage to help our brothers and sisters of this land.
36. I am Arabic at heart--and through association (My grandpa is Arabic)-I LOVE middle eastern food!!
37. My feet range from size 5.5-6.5 depending on the shoe.
38. I abhor chipped nail polish but I always end up sporting a chipped manicure--my luck lol
39. I created a 120 page cookbook only to have the laptop it was created on crash. I still have it in hopes that it can be recovered one day :(
40. I own a hello kitty refrigerator that I keep in my room at home.
41. White sheets are my new thing--it encourages me to NEVER climb into bed without makeup off and clean fresh body, no matter the hour! No one likes dirty sheets--gross.
42. I haven't been up past 2am in FOREVER! I fall asleep by 12 every night (what a grandma!)
43. I do not drink alcohol (although sometimes I'll grab a drink for a photo prop) for 3 years going strong. No particular reason not to drink--but for me I think...why drink?
44. I have never had any points on my license :)
45. I still have the autograph book I got when I went to Disney World as a child.
46. Drive is one of my favorite movies followed by Apocalypto--as girly as I am right?! haha

47. I refuse to buy an iMAC---I am a total PC gal--I like easy interfaces what can I say I am not willing to learn anything new.....at the moment ;)
48. For a girl who isn't into sports, I LOVE hockey. I went to my first game last year and have been to over 10 since. #NJDEVILS!!

49. I am a leo
50. I love blogging and interacting with all of you. It is such a wonderful outlet to share everything I have going on in this fast paced brain of mine lol ..comments, emails, seeing that you have read my posts--makes my heart smile. <3



I tag all of you to do this, if you do, be sure to post your links below so that we can all read each-others posts!


I hope I haven't awked you guys out with my quirky bits ;)

xox

Hair Curling Madness: Photos with 7 different curling tools!

Curling my hair is one of my favorite ways to wear it. As a girl who grew up with straight hair, I always wanted the opposite, but of course, haha Curling irons weren't a friend of mine as a child---looking back I always looked like curly Sue or a poodle, but hey at the moment I thought I looked cute :) As a young woman, there are more things within my reach to achieve all sorts of curls and looks and I am so thankful that my hair is fairly easy to curl after all, I RARELY even use hairspray! Here are some of the treasures that I hold in my hair cabinet--some look funky, some are considered "vintage" since they aren't even available for purchase anymore and one is actually something I "made" myself ;) Take a look for yourself and enjoy!

Tools: 

Revlon Deep Waver

 

Vidal Sassoon VS 027 -Photo of curling iron taken from MakeupAlley.com

Conair 3/4 inch Spiral Curling Iron

25mm NUME Curling Wand

Conair Infiniti Curling Wand

Hot Tools 1 & 3/4 in curling iron. To achieve this curl I used the iron pictured but I took off the clamp on mine making it into a wand :)

Conair Ceramic 1 inch Curling Iron

Curling Products: 

Tresemme Tre-Two Hairspray and Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play Hairspray

It's A 10 Miracle Leave in Product and Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray

If you have ever seen a photo of me with my hair curled it was most definitely either the Conair Infiniti, NUME Curling wand or my handmade Hot Tools :) I also do my hair pretty often with my Conair Hot Rollers--For photos of me using those be sure to follow me on twitter where I always link all of my impromptu photos ;) @alyseap

Let me know if you all want to see a more detailed post on how I get my "go to" waves. 

Which curling irons/wands/contraptions are your favorites?

I love curls, oh yes I do!

xox

A Warm & Cozy Meal: My Stuffed Peppers Recipe

I posted photos of this on Instagram and Twitter (@alyseap) this weekend and I got great feedback :) Here is what I made this weekend, photos and full recipe included. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 Bell Peppers (try and make sure they are shaped nicely to sit upright and firm as well)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (you can use any rice you prefer)
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) of diced tomatoes (I used spicy tomatoes and it added a nice kick!)
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1.5 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 Tbsp. EV Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp. Basil
• 1 Tsp. Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• Between 1-1.5 Lb.s Lean ground beef (I ended up using 1.15 Lbs. and it was perfect!)
• Optional Grated Cheddar Cheese to top off at the end

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Directions:

1. Wash your peppers and core out the insides removing all seeds and things of the sort. You can do so by slicing off just a bit of the top and scooping out everything else. 
2. Because we try not to waste anything, use some of the pieces of  pepper that you cut off from the top that may be salvageable (or some new pepper if you wish) to cut about a half cup of pepper for the sauce. 
3. In a large pot of salted water, add the peppers that you have cored out.  Bring them to a boil and let them simmer for about another 3-4 mins. Then remove and drain. 
4. Heat your olive oil in a pan and add in your chopped pepper pieces, onion and garlic until they are tender.  
5. Add in all of your tomato products (sauce, diced tomatoes, etc) along with your spices (oregano and basil, salt, pepper etc.) Cook this thoroughly in a simmer for about 8 minutes or until all of the flavors smell delicious and look well combined :)
6. Next we beat our egg with the Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to that our ground meat and cooked rice and mix everything very well. Add in about 1.5 cups of the tomato mixture to help everything stick and come together and to seal all of the delicious flavors in. 
7. On your nonstick baking sheet or casserole dish, place all 4 peppers down and begin to fill them with the meat and rice mixture.  I make sure to press down gently while filling to make sure that there are no air pockets in the peppers that are missing some of this delicious mixture! 
8. Fill them to the brim and top off with the remainder of the tomato sauce mixture that you have left over--then place in the oven to bake for around 1 hour. 
9. When the timer goes off, I shut off the oven and sprinkled a nice portion of the grated cheddar cheese over the top and closed the oven again (with the heat off at this point)--there is still enough heat in the oven to melt the cheese ;)
10. Serve and enjoy!

*You can serve this with any side--add more plain rice to mix together or even serve with a baked potato or alone (how I had it)!

Any questions or clarifications, comment below or check out the "Contact Me" tab above for my email link!

Savory and Warm Meals,

xox

L'Oreal Youth Code BB Cream Product Review

I never really took part of the BB Cream hype. I never needed anything like these claim to be so I never felt it necessary to purchase one. I did, however, decide to go out on a limb and pick this one up at my local Target. Although the words "Youth Code" may suggest it was for more mature skin, I actually like anti-aging skin products anyway so I thought what the heck.  Keep in mind I never ever use foundation and I rarely use anything more than moisturizer on my skin beside an occasional tinted moisturizer on a special occasion. In my case I am practicing the "if it's not broken don't fix it" motto ;)

Here is what it markets itself to accomplish:

• "Experience 5 complexion-perfecting benefits in a single step. Youth Code™ BB Cream Illuminator instantly evens, illuminates, perfects, moisturizes, and protects skin. In one week, tone and texture are improved and skin is healthier looking. Contains Broad Spectrum SPF 15. Available in 2 shades."

Here are the photos of my before and after with absolutely no makeup on--this is what I like to call the "brave girls photo" because you have to be pretty brave to "brave" it out on the internet with no filters and no makeup nowadays! hahah

I tried to illustrate with those fancy little arrows various discolorations or marks I had on my face---I am blessed with pretty decent skin so there isn't much contrast that you will notice right away but I pointed them out if you want to take a closer look.  

My Final Review: 

• For someone who doesn't rely on needing a lot of coverage and someone who will only be using this on special occasions to even out my sometimes uneven skin tone, I think this is great. I have used it 5-6 times and have experienced no breakouts or excessive oiliness.  The shine you see on my face above is the result of my Olay Pro-X facial cleansing brush--that thing literally buffs my skin shiny! haahaha 
• I have worn this for a full day (7 hours +) and it did not leave me oily like I was expecting as I did not set it with anything the first time to really get a feel of how I felt about its staying power.  
• The fragrance is something that I don't mind, but it is pretty strong for a product of its kind--I think it smells nice but don't expect it to go away within a few minutes. 
• I like that it evened out my skin-tone without making me look like I spread flesh toned spackle on my face-this is a plus!
• I cannot attest to its anti-aging properties but I can attest to the fact that I am someone who right after the shower, my face feels like it is going to crack from how dry it is! My skin doesn't flake with dryness, it just gets super tight! This did a wonderful job at making my skin supple and moisturized. 
• It states illuminator on the packaging and it certainly leaves a glow to your skin, nothing shiny or disco ball like just something similar to what my Origins VitaZing does--if you have it then you know what I mean, not a bad thing at all! 
• There are only 2 shades available and at first I thought the medium shade was just too off from my natural shade but it settled in on my skin beautifully after a few minutes. This is a bummer for those who don't fall into these two shades though--c'mon L'Oreal, step it up!

I am so happy that my first experience with a BB cream was a pretty successful one. In my opinion this is just a tinted moisturizer....don't see much of a difference in what is actually offers. I will probably have to try a Western BB Cream if I am looking to explore correcting and evening out skin tone in the long run should I ever need it.  

If you have tried this one, what are your thoughts on it?

To us all not aging..well our skin anyway,

xox

Valentine's Day Outfit Ideas!

There are only two weeks left until Valentine's Day.  For those of my readers who aren't in the US or maybe don't celebrate when we do here, it is on the 14th of February.  Valentine's day has a whole lot of different meanings to different people. For some, like myself, it means spending some extra quality time with your significant other and doing something special for him or her.  I, for one, have cooked my boyfriend a special dinner every Valentine's Day that we have been together.  For others, it can be hanging with loved ones (friends, family etc) and just having a good time celebrating love itself.  Either way, this day can be really fun...if you are open to branching out and thinking outside the box :)

Some cool things to do for V-day that are inexpensive and fun are:

1. Stay in and make a homemade dinner (this is my fav!)
2. Have a picnic in the park with all kinds of special treats (wish I lived in warmer weather!)
3. Re-create the night of your first date...how friggin cute. 
4. Grab a romantic movie, light a candle and enjoy!
5. Have some girlfriends over for drinks. 

Those are just some of the things I could think of off of the top of my head...there are SO many different ways to partake in the Valentine's Day celebrations though---it doesn't have to be something grand, just something memorable :)

Here are some outfits that I threw together that I thought would assist any of my readers that were struggling with ideas as to what to wear on this day to be festive but remain put together looking. Here is what I came up with:

I always like to wear something either red or pink on this day--even if it is just a red lip or a red heart clutch----I died when I saw this! How awesome! hahaha

Anything you decide to wear I am sure you will look fabulous. Remember looking your best starts with how you feel on the inside--THAT is what exudes confidence ;)

I LOVE you all,

xox