Tis The Season...

With fall being my favorite season I decided to make a fall inspired cupcake. What better way to be festive then to make a pumpkin spiced cupcake. This simple easy recipe from Betty Crocker will have you making pumpkin cupcakes all year round!                                 

                                                                                                                            

3 tablespoons sugar

 

1

box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix

1

cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/2

cup water

1/3

cup vegetable oil

4

eggs

1 1/2

teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1

container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting



Young hearts be free...

My main reason for this post is to prove that you are never too old for a little magic. After I turned 29 last month I worried everyday that I was old, unmarried and without children. Now, I know many of you will think I am crazy because I am only 29, but to me I felt my life should have been different when I approached that age. I always wanted to be a young mother and be married by my late 20s. Unfortunately that is not the path my life has taken me. Its not easy to meet prince charming anymore in this world, and you try to put yourself out there and things fall apart and you get disappointed. I've realized maybe in this past week that I was being too hard on myself and sad and worried all the time over things out of my control. I work with a lot of women and we compare stories of our dating experiences and they are all very similar. I am happy to know I have friends whom I can share and compare my stories with and we can laugh about them. So my point here is, I decided to do my makeup in a look that was magical, young and free spirited. No matter what your age is or where you are in life, there is always room for fun, and when life gets you down surround yourself with people you love and who will make you happy.

Pink For A Cure

October is breast cancer awareness month and some of our favorite lines are featuring products that help donate part of the proceeds to breast cancer awareness research. These products are specifically for the month of October and you wont feel guilty after you buy them because a portion of the money goes to a good cause!

 

1.Bobbie Brown Cosmetics is launching a limited edition set featuring a Pink Peony Illuminating Bronzer and Mini Face Blender Brush.

 

2. Clinique's Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Plumped Up Pink paired with a cosmetic pouch adorned with a pink ribbon zipper pull. $3 of each purchase is donated to the breast cancer research foundation.

 

3.Pink of Hearts 2012 duo set, is OPI’s Breast Cancer Awareness promotion. This set contains two nail lacquers – I Think in Pink and the new You Glitter Be Good to Me.

 

Dont forget to donate and help find a cure...$50 donated to the breast cancer foundation goes to an hours worth of life saving research.

Extreme

Once again I had to share this amazing new product from Clinique. I love dramatic eyes and this mascara is by far the best I've tried to really pump up my lashes so they look extra dramatic. The brush is what makes your lashes extreme bc its completely over the top. It adds volume and thickness so lashes look hot! Comes in black and extreme black, obviously I wear extreme black and so should you.

www.clinique.com

Miracle Product

Working for clinique for several years now I've had the chance to try new products the minute they come out. This product is probably one of the best and most effective I've tried. How amazing is it that Clinique has developed a product to target something that most people now a days suffer from.  I think everyone whether a little or a lot have dark circles, just from lack of sleep, not drinking enough water or its just hereditary. This product will hydrate and visibly lighten dark circles by 30% in 12 weeks!! There is a cooling massage tip that reduces the look of puffiness and it illuminates. Try it and you'll love it for only $39.50, you cant put a price on beauty.
www.clinique.com

Unicorn cupcakes

I have been dying to make these cupcakes for months now and finally decided to do so. I am so happy I made them because not only were they a big hit at my friend's party but they were so much fun to make and so pretty to look at. The recipe is very simple, I used store bought duncan heines vanilla cake mix and vanilla frosting.

Cupcake:
-1 box duncan heines vanilla cake mix
-Prepare cake mix according to box
-Food coloring: red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, green

Set aside 6 medium sized bowls and place vanilla batter into each bowl about half way. Put individual colors in each bowl and mix.
Start layering each different color batter into cupcake wrappers.
Bake cupcakes according to box instructions.

Frosting:
Divide frosting into 3 individual bowls. Use red, yellow and blue food coloring. Layer frosting side by side in a frosting bag and pipe out the frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!

My Beach Essentials

Moisture surge face spray thirsty skin relief from Clinique.

 This spray is a must have in your beach bag this summer. So refreshing on dry tanned skin, its bursting with moisture and active aloe which helps soothe skin.

Long last gloss wear from Clinique.

Comes in 18 sparkly shades and contains an spf 15 perfect to wear while laying in the sun.

After-Sun rescue balm with aloe from Clinique.

This product is amazing. Not only does it moisturize but it soothes skin that has been exposed to the sun. Put it in the refrigerator so its nice and cold before putting on your skin.

** Dont forget your sunscreen if your in the sun for long periods of time**

Its Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

What Better way to bring you back to childhood then a peanut butter and jelly cupcake? I've always loved a pb&j sandwich and I still do till this day, so I figured why not try it in a cupcake and let me tell you it works wonders. Its like your literally biting into a pb&j sandwich without the crust. Pair it with some milk and your good to go. Simple recipe with big flavor, you'll want to make these all the time!

Cupcake:

-1 package yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare the mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions and bake.

Frosting:

-3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

-1 stick softened butter

-2 cups powdered sugar

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

-1/4 cup milk

**2 cups strawberry jelly for filling**

Beat peanut butter and butter in medium bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla and beat on low speed for 1 minute or until crumbly. Slowly add milk, beating at low speed until creamy.

Fill a pastry bag with a small decorating tip with strawberry jelly. Insert tip into top of cupcake. Squeeze bag gently to fill center of cupcake with jelly. (Stop squeezing when you feel resistance or jelly comes out of top of cupcake.)



Birthday Cupcakes

In honor of my two favorite little kids Arianna and Salvatore, I made  boy and a girl cupcakes for their birthday party. Salvatore's cupcake consisted of funfetti cake mix and vanilla icing (you can use any kind of your choice, I used pillsbury) dyed blue with an all star flag because he plays baseball. For Arianna's cupcake I made my pink lemonade cupcakes  (http://colourncupcakes.blogspot.com/2012/06/pink-lemonade.html ), because she is a girly girl and added a sugar flower. These cupcakes are super simple to make but have a lot of flavor and are so much fun for kids. I hope you all get a chance to make these, enjoy!!!

Duality

 

So for a few months now I have been going into Sephora and passing this product by. Finally I decided to buy it, which I am super happy I did because it has made its way into my daily makeup routine. This Anastasia Brow duality double sided pencil is definitely something to have on hand. On one side you have the color pencil shell which can be used under the brow bone during the day time. Its also great to wear alone or when wearing natural shadows. The other side is the lace pencil which is a shimmery gold, and this is great to use under the brown bone for a night time look when wearing more makeup. Another great thing is that it wont leave you broke, just $23 at www.sephora.com

Top 5 cosmetic products

1. I never leave home without this eyeliner. Glides on using a thin liner brush and looks like a liquid once its dry. It stays on all day long, and comes in so many different colors you can use it everyday with any eye look you choose.

www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com

2. I know I constantly mention this eye shadow primer and that's because it is just so amazing. Lime Crime's eyeshadow primer makes any eye shadow waterproof. This allows the shadows to stay on all day long, even for the oiliest eye lids and the hottest of weather conditions without creasing...what better then that?!?

www.limecrimemakeup.com

 

3. I am not only saying this because I work for Clinique, but I do believe we have the best mascaras around. This high impact mascara is a staple in my makeup routine everyday. This mascara thickens and elongates your lashes making them look more full and dramatic.

www.clinique.com   

  

4. Super Orgasm blush from Nars is a peachy pink blush with gold glitter in it that looks so beautiful on an olive skin tone. For someone who is a fair skin tone the original Orgasm blush works perfectly. One of the best selling blushes around, its def worth have in your makeup bag!

5. Clinique's new Stay-matte oil free foundation absorbs shine, controls oil, and resists sweat. With a sheer to moderate coverage this foundation is light weight especially for hotter months. I've been wearing it and I'm in love with this foundation. Although I am not oily, I love how great it stays on my face all day.

www.clinique.com

Pink Lemonade

When life hands you lemons you add some pink and make Pink Lemonade Cupcakes!!!

Just in time for summer these cupcakes are the perfect treat to cool you off. I dont know about you but what is better then pink lemonade on a hot summer's day?!? Not only are they super girly and fun but they are full of flavor and so easy to make.

Cupcake:

-1 package of white cake mix without the pudding in the mix.

-1 cup water

-3 egg whites

-1/3 cup thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate

-2 tablespoon vegetable oil

-About 4 to 6 drops of red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat cake mix, egg whites, 1/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate, oil and red food coloring. Beat for about 2 minutes on a medium speed using an electric mixer.

Bake 18 to 22 mins or depending on your oven.

Frosting:

-4 cups powdered sugar

-1/3 cup room temperature butter

-1/4 cup pink lemonade concentrate

-About 3 drops of red food dye or until you reach desired pink color.

Beat powdered sugar, butter, and pink lemonade concentrate using an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until well blended.

***Dont forget to decorate these cuties by adding straws and little gummy candies. For mine I used sour watermelons! Enjoy xoxox



Big Bad Lashes

VOILA!

Now I have given you a reason to start batting your lashes even more!!

Ardell's new double up lashes (as seen in above pictures) give you twice the lash and thickness for those really dramatic lashes that all us ladies wish to have.  I am not done though, since we are in a heat wave you might be thinking, "well how are these lashes going to remain on my face when I am sweating half to death?" Just use Duo's eyelash adhesive in waterproof and your lashes will withstand any natural disaster. Not only is this adhesive waterproof but it is also in a dark tone so when it dries it becomes black which blends perfectly with the lash strip and is invisible underneath eyeliner. If this doesn't give you a reason to smile, I don't know what will!!!

No More Smudge

As the saying goes "good things come in small packages" and this product is no exception. Clinique's bottom lash mascara is just one of those things that everyone should always have. The brush is very tiny to get the bottom lashes without it going all over your face like a regular mascara brush would. It is also smudge proof so no more raccoon eyes mid day. Another great tip is to apply your regular mascara on your top lashes and then coat them with the bottom lash mascara. This trick helps to keep your mascara from smudging as well. For $10 why not try it, you'll be hooked!

Come visit me at Clinique or go to www.clinique.com

A Little Piece of Heaven

Happy Monday Everyone!

This past Saturday I did my first craft fair and sold my cupcakes finally!!

I got some good feedback on my creations, and a lot of people seemed to love them. I made homemade snickers, oreos, Reese's and funfetti cupcakes. The funfetti ones seemed to be a big hit with the children so I am going to post that recipe since its super easy to make and really tasty.

Homemade Funfetti:

1 1/4 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg plus 1 egg white, room temperature
1 tspvanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup rainbow sprinkles

Oven at 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until combined. Add the egg and egg white, one at at time, mixing thoroughly in between. Mix in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.

Bake for 15-18 minutes depending on your oven of course.

Frosting:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cup powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 Tablespoons milk

With an electric mixer, beat the butter for 2-3 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar on low speed. Add in 1 tablespoon of milk and increase speed to high. Beat for 2-3 more minutes, until frosting is light and fluffy. Add more milk or powdered sugar, if needed. Add fun colored food dye to each batch to create a fun vibrant looking cupcake. I did hot pink and teal. I also put sprinkles on top of some and fruit loops on others.

Pucker Up

Time for all you ladies to pucker up!! This limited edition instant smooth crystal lip balm from Clarins will make you super kissable this summer.
Not only does this lip balm give you the color of a lipstick but it also gives you the glossiness of a gloss and the
comfort of a lip balm which delivers smoother and fuller lips! How could you not love this product? I do!!! Trust me
when I tell you will thank me for this one. Comes in 4 beautiful shades the crystal pink of course is my favorite and
crystal violet my runner up. Don't forget to snatch yours up soon because they are limited.
www.clarins.com

Simple Tips and Tricks

After attending Clinique seminar yesterday I got some good tips and tricks on makeup that are so simple yet efficient for your everyday looks. I would like to share 2 of them that stood out to me with all of you.
1. If you want to achieve a lighter look on your cheeks, say for when you are doing a natural eye or if you have a more mature eye
Just mix a loose powder of your choice with your blush.  It lightens the look of your blush instantly.
2. When your finished applying all of your makeup a nice way to bring all the colors together on your face is to apply blush to your cheeks and then sweep it over the brow bone, forehead and chin.  This allows all the colors to marry.
I hope all of you will use these simple tips in your everyday makeup. Although very simple, they make a great difference! If you try these ideas please email me and let me know how you liked them, I love to hear your feedback.
Enjoy your weekend everyone!!

Aqua Eyes

Over this past weekend I went to the tanger outlets in riverhead and basically the only store I was super excited about was the cosmetics company store. I haven't been there in a while and found some really cool discounted items.  I picked up this eyeshadow from Mac called Aqua (limited edition shadow, got it for $10) it literally reminds me of mint candy apple nail polish from Essie, beautiful. Its def worth visitng for discounted cosmetics.

On my lid:

Mac Aqua

In the crease:

Mac showstopper

Liner:

Bobbie brown gel liner in chocolate shimmer ink







Chubby never looked so good!

As a Clinique employee and avid user for over 5 years I only thought it was necessary to talk about these amazing moisturizing chubby sticks. Sixteen shades in all and 8 new shades great for summer, (pudgy peony being my favorite) these are the ultimate lip tint/gloss for summer. These chubby sticks have mango and Shea butter for dry lips and you can mix and match them to create your very own color. Not sticky at all so your hair wont blow in the wind and stick to your lips!!

Come visit me at the Clinique counter to buy your chubby sticks or visit www.clinique.com

Have a great memorial day weekend everyone!!!

Middle Magic

Is there anything better than chocolate and cookies?!? I don't think so!! So for this creation I meshed the two together. When you serve these up your friends/family will thank you because they will be so surprised when they bite into a chocolaty cupcake and realize there is a ooey gooey cookie in the center. YUM!

For the cupcake:

use your favorite chocolate cake mix and add 1/2 cup miniature semi sweet chocolate chips to the batter. Fold chocolate chips in at the end of mixing the batter.

For the icing:

Use your favorite chocolate fudge icing.

For the cookie center:

Toll house mini chocolate chip cookie dough (I also baked a few so I can decorate the top of the cupcakes with them).  Make sure to use the mini cookie dough balls, they work better.

Once the batter is finished mixing I filled the cupcake liners 1/3 of the way. Drop the little ball of cookie dough right in the middle and cover it up with the rest of the batter. 

Bake in the oven according to what the box mix says.  Once they are done, cool and ice to your liking. Enjoy!!



All Day Wear

Happy Monday everyone!! Hope your all taking cover somewhere dry as this weather really took a turn after this beautiful weekend we just had.

I made a great discovery this past weekend, actually my friend Toniann made the great discovery. This is the MILANI LIQUID EYE LIQUID-LIKE EYE LINER. I was skeptical about trying it because eye liners whether they are waterproof or not never stay on my eyes, but I figured for $7 why not?!? I bought the aqua color which is so beautiful for summer and paired it with some bronze shadows. I was pleasantly surprised when this liner literally stayed on my eyes all day, no smudging or running down my face. It endured my tearing eyes which is a plus especially because of my allergies. It comes in 5 shades: black, silver, aqua, gold and brown. Try it and I think you'll love it just like I did!!!

Birthday Wishes

Whimsical Birthday Cupcakes For Patti!!!

In honor of my friend Patti's birthday yesterday, I decided to make some very girly,whimsical cupcakes. I came up with a candy land theme and just ran with it. I used lollipops, rainbow colored sprinkles, mini white chocolate mint chips and of course my sour belt rainbows!

For the cupcake:

Duncan Hines signature supreme strawberry cake mix.

I mixed in some of my own mini semi sweet chocolate chips.

For the frosting:

Pillsbury funfetti vanilla (my fav!)

*I also used some violet food coloring in the frosting to make a few rainbow cupcakes (seen in above photos)

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!!!

Over The Rainbow

This was the first cupcake I ever made and definitely one of my favorites as well as a favorite among my friends.  Its such a simple idea, but is the cutest little cupcake ever! Before I started making homemade cupcakes I would use the boxed mixes, which sometimes I still do and just add different ingredients to them to make them more my own. With this particular one I used the funfetti cake mix and pink vanilla icing both from pillsbury®.

I used rainbow sour belts and cut them into smaller pieces to use as rainbows. For the clouds on each side of the rainbow I used a decorating white frosting.

You can really decorate these rainbow cupcakes however you like, they are so much fun to make!! Enjoy!

Eyes To Kill

Happy Thursday everyone!!

Yesterday I bought the new Armani eyes to kill intense shadow. Everyone was raving about them so I had to try at least one color out to make sure they were right.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Its like nothing I have ever tried before, because its a cross between a powder shadow and a cream shadow. They literally stay on your eyes for 24 hrs. I bought #21 obsidian grey, but they come in 4 colors, all of which look amazing. For $32 its a great deal, try it and I think you'll love it!

*Color shown in picture is #21 Obsidian grey

To buy go to: http://www.giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com/

Pink Pistachio

I was super excited to try these cupcakes out because I am a big fan of pistachio ice cream, and wanted to see if I could get the same flavor into a cupcake that I get when I eat ice cream. To make the cupcakes even more fun I added hot pink food coloring to the icing. I think my mission was accomplished with these cupcakes, so yummy!

Cupcake:
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4-teaspoon salt
1/2 -cup milk
1/2-teaspoon vanilla
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4-cup sugar
2 large eggs

-Preheat oven to 350.

-You want to pulse using a food processor the 1 cup of pistachios. Try n leave them with a little bite to them, don't pulse too much or you'll end up with a paste.  In a bowl, whisk together the ground pistachios, flour, baking powder and salt. Leave that to the side

-Combine the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup

-Using your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until just combined. On low speed, alternately add the pistachio mixture and the milk in batches, starting and finishing with the flour.

-Bake for 12-14 minutes depending on your oven.

 Frosting:
1/3-cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon pink food coloring

-Using your electric mixer, beat together all frosting ingredients.

-Ground up about about a large handful of pistachios to garnish the top of the cupcakes.

Day To Night

So what do you do when you wear a natural look for work but want to go out for happy hour cocktails after work with friends? Here's a few tips that are easy and quick when you want to look a little more done up for night. Well, for starters whatever eye shadow you are wearing (or not wearing) you always want to add a darker color in the crease to give the look more of a dramatic feel.  Secondly you want to thicken the eye liner and do a few more coats of mascara. That's really all it takes to make your eyes pop a little more for nighttime.

Day look:

1. On lid Orb from Mac

2. I added a highlight color No 70 Makeup Forever.

3. Medium taupe color in the crease, satin taupe from Mac and added a thin line of Bobbie Brown's gel liner in Chocolate shimmer ink.

Night look:

I added a darker brown to my crease called smokey from Mac and thickened the brown gel liner I already had on.

Whimsy

whim·sy/ˈ(h)wimzē/

Noun:

Playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor. Good Morning everyone!!! Today I give you something a little more whimsical and playful. Its really fun to do...but then again anything is more fun with sparkles! I decided to list the photos rather then put them all together so everyone can see the eye colors a little better. For my eyes I used: 1. In the upper crease: Desert cloud loose pigment from Mac 2.Highlight color (right under brow): young Venus 3.Lid color:Fresh green mix from Mac 4. I used two colors in the lower crease. First color is a lighter turquoise called moss garden (which I  brought this color down under my bottom lashes almost as a liner too.) I used a darker color for depth in my crease as well called Plumage, both colors from Mac.  5. Bobbie brown gel liner on top lid, Clinique's lash primer and high impact mascara. 6. Add a few sparkles for some fun.