How to: Radiate Beauty

If there is a message that I would want everyone to read and remember from this blog, THIS would be the one. Nothing is more beautiful than the expression of love and kindness.


Today's blog entry is going to be a bit different. I just finished taking in my daily dose of "happy" from the Ellen DeGeneres show. I always walk away from her show feeling a bit inspired in one way or another. Here's a clip of what inspired me the most from show:

I was so touched and inspired by Helene and her story; she is truly one of the most beautiful people in existence. Wouldn't you agree? I've been planning to be an organ donor for a while now and this just gave me a million more reasons to become one.

To me, inner beauty is the "look" everyone should strive to achieve. When someone has a beautiful soul, it radiates from the the borders of one's exterior and the warmth is felt by everyone around them. Beauty, to me, is something that is alluring, captivating, and enchanting. I feel that selflessness and generosity are a few qualities that makes someone attractive to me. For example, I could come across someone that has stunning physical features, but when they have a kind heart and pleasant personality, they become someone who is GORGEOUS in my eyes. --So when someone lights up a room, I don't envision what they are wearing, what kind of make-up they put on, or what kind of hair-style they're sporting, but rather the way they are carrying themselves.


I may be in the minority when I say that I respectfully disagree that beauty is only skin deep. When someone is beautiful on the inside, that beauty never dissipates.


My tips on how to radiate beauty:
1) Love yourself! (I know that sounds funny, but it's soooo important. This includes taking good care of yourself. Try writing down things you love about yourself (Physical/immaterial). Sometimes we all need a little reminder that we all have qualities to feel good about and be proud of. When you are proud of and happy with who you are, it will project on how you treat everyone around you.)


2) Be kind to those around you. (Not only will it make others happy to be around you, it should make you feel good as well!) It could be as simple as saying "Thank you!" or smiling. I'm a sucker for smiling. ^-^


3) Do things out of the kindness of your heart without asking for anything in return. (Generosity is more than just giving lots of things away, it is the act of giving (material and non-material things alike) no matter how large or small without expecting ANYTHING in return. A lot of people withhold love for some reason. Why? It's free and it's one of life's most powerful gifts anyone can give.


4) Keep a positive attitude. ( I admit I have a hard time doing this myself, but I realize that when I do make it a point to stay positive, it helps me maintain great relationships with the people in my life, helps me perform all my tasks with diligence, and it even helps me stay productive! Someone on Oprah once said, "Be responsible for the energy you bring." Let's spread that good energy shall we? No one wants to responsible for bringing in bad energy!)

I love that at the end of every one of her shows Ellen parts with everyone by saying, "Be kind to one another everybody." What a BEAUTIFUL place the world would be if everyone did just that. "Treat people the way you wish to be treated." It's the oldest rule in the book, but many people have forgotten it.


I'll leave you with a message from Ellen, I absolutely love her and everything she stands for. She is truly one of the most beautiful, gracious, brave, and extraordinary women alive. :)

 Laugh. Dance. Love.

~Fresh

Drugstore treasure!! :) Wet 'n' Wild

I decided to try out a Wet 'n' Wild eye shadow because I've heard so many positive reviews on them. I picked up the Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon single eye shadow in the color "Creme Brulee" for under $2 and I really like it! It is very pigmented and has a smooth texture.


My favorite way to use this eye shadow is to use it as my all over lid-color under all my eye shadows to help brighten the area and neutralize any discoloration.

Definitely a great find, an affordable one at that!

Tried it: Naked 2 palette!

Alright guys, I know I wasn't all that excited about this palette when I first opened it, but it's a whole different ballpark when you actually use it! I used it for the very first time this past weekend, and I loved the look these colors gave me! The colors are just GORGEOUS on the eyes.

I, Fresh, hereby revoke my statement about being able to create very similar looks with either palette.

Here is a quick swatch of the colors on my forearm:

The Naked 2 palette, to me, is a lot easier to use for an everyday, natural look. (Maybe there is some importance to this cool toned vs warmed toned thing after-all ;) ) I was afraid that the shimmery colors were  going to be a bit too frosty and metallic that they scream, "Hey!! I've got LOADS of eye-shadow on!" but I was pleasantly surprised how well it blended in with the color and texture of my skin! They really just added some dimension to the eyes where they add enough color to keep it interesting but neutral enough that it looks natural and fresh.

ALL of the shades work well together. I've used all the colors already and I only had two make-up looks. The blendability ( I think I made that word up) is amazing. I found myself exploring the colors based on how I wanted it to compliment the previous colors. For example, I started off with "Bootycall" as an overall lid color and "Tease" as the crease color. I wanted to deepen the purple in "Tease" so I added the darker plum color, "busted" to the outer corner and outer crease area, and with one slight swipe with the blending brush it was a flawless gradient effect.

My biggest surprise was how much I actually enjoyed the color "Chopper." It is this beautiful neutral copper, that really warms up the overall eye make-up look. I used this color on my crease as an after thought and it made a world of difference to the look, to me anyway.

The eye-shadows in this palette also seemed to make my eyeliner pop as well! It might just be me, but I felt that the colors created a nice contrast against the black eyeliner I used. It made my winged-eyeliner look quite successful and effortless.

I'm so excited to use this palette again!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

Hi everyone!

Last weekend, I went to Ulta and found a bunch of the new Urban Decay Naked 2 Palettes! I've been debating for the longest time whether or not I wanted to purchase it since I own the first naked palette already. It retails for $50.00 on the Urban Decay website as well as at Ulta and Sephora, I believe. I decided, why not, it's kept my attention for this long! Unfortunately, my 20% off coupon couldn't be applied to the new palette, so I paid full price for it. Bummer! :( So here is my first impression; this may change once I get the chance to play around with it a bit more. -Fresh

Here is what the packaging looks like:

It comes with a sample-sized lip gloss in the color naked. I personally would have preferred the primer potion sample that the first palette included. B on the other hand loves lip glosses so we'll see what she thinks of it!

Here is the exciting part, the SHADOWS:

From left to right:

Foxy (matte cream), Half-Baked (metallic gold), Bootycall (metallic peach), Chopper (metallic rose-gold), Tease (matte mauvey taupe), Snakebite (metallic brown), Suspect (taupey gold), Pistol (metallic grey), Verve (warm silver), YDK (glittery copper-bonze), Busted (metallic deep plum), Blackout (matte black)

I liked the fact that this one came with a double-ended eye-shadow brush. If I'm correct, one end is for blending and the other for packing on color.

Here's a picture to compare packaging of the first Naked palette to Naked 2:

The Naked 2 has sturdier packaging that feels like tin and clicks shut while the older Naked palette is a velvety cardboard packaging that has a magnetic closure (which I actually prefer).

Finally a comparison of the shades in both palettes:

You really have to do a double-take to realize these are two different palettes. (Top: Naked 2 | Bottom: 1st Naked) However after a close inspection, we noticed that the Naked2 is geared more towards the lighter and silvery side and the older Naked palette leans towards the warmer and deeper tones.

Here are my thoughts (without having used the new one yet, I'll work on swatches and different looks with the Naked 2 if ya guys want to see that. Please let us know!)

I do see myself reaching for the Naked 2 palette a lot more in the future and here's why:
What makes this palette stand out is the fact that there is a matte highlight color (Foxy) and a matte black (Blackout).There are matte colors in the new palette that will help create softer and more natural looks (I especially love the color tease). I like the fact that there aren't as many glittery eye shadows- I was never a big fan of glitter in my makeup. Finally, the cooler shades might compliment my skin-tone more (I'm an NC-20/25).

What I wished was different:
I wanted to see a lot more matte colors in the Naked 2, but the metallic shades are still gorgeous. I didn't care much for the idea to have "Half-Baked" in both palettes; I would've much rather had the color "Naked" in both if they HAD to keep one the same. A lot of the colors in both palettes are fairly close in color and finish. I will swatch the colors soon to show to what the similarities/differences are if that's what our readers would like to see.

Do you need both?
We think that though both palettes have beautiful shades and colors, you do NOT NEED to have both. It's really a matter of preference. If you tend to like browns more, we recommend the first Naked palette. If you like use more purples and taupes, we recommend the Naked 2. We can see using either one of the palettes for very similar eye-makeup looks.

What did you guys think of the new Naked 2 palette?

Hope this was helpful!

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Toodles everybody!

Fresh and B :)

Let's toast to a fresh start!

Isn't this cute!? I found this image off this website: http://liveearth.org/img/fpo/water-footprint.jpg. 

It is a inspirational website educating the public on conservation as well as other environmental issues.

 In my search for an image to replace the one I had here previously, I stumbled across this one and thought to myself, "How fitting for our first blog!" 

   Our search for the fountain of youth starts here! Water is the first "step" in the right direction towards a fresher and better lifestyle.  Drinking lots of water will not only make you feel great, but it will  help you look great!  It's about enjoying and reaping the benefits of the simple things that life has to offer and we're all for protecting it in return! :) 


  We thought it would be a great way to jump-start this new project of ours to keep it interactive. We'll start off simple, sharing with you a few things we love that we think others would, too! We would love to know what our blog readers would like us to share and explore! If there are any suggestions, questions, or requests leave us a comment!