Illamasqua Rampage

Good morning!!

I finally decided to cut my nails a bit, to make the break of my right index' nail less obvious. I couldn't resist putting on a dark color, as I'm one of those who believes that darker hues look better on shorter nails.

Rampage definitely lives up to the hype. I love it!! The formula was a bit thinner and easier to apply than Muse, but the coverage was the same: only 2 coats to achieve bottle color. I really like how you can tell that it is green, despite how dark the color is. It's truly gorgeous; easily my favorite green (from my stash)!

Have a great day!

Illamasqua Muse

Illamasqua Muse = gorgeousness!!

Highly pigmented and smooth formula; glossy finish; only needed 2 coats. I love polishes like these.
And I love them even more when the color is as beautiful as Muse: a deep blue with a hint of green that makes it teal-ish. This one is gorgeous!!

Here's the thing about Illamasqua- we don't have it here in Canada, so when my cousins and I planned on going to NYC, I had to stop buy Sephora. I'm glad we were kind of in a hurry that evening, because I probably would've ended up buying more than just the 2 polishes that I got. Despite the price ($14), the lovely colors interested me very much, and had I stayed a bit longer, I would probably have bought more...
On my wishlist: Baptiste, Jan, Nudge, Wayward and Hectic.

In other news, I ordered a new camera (Canon G11)!! I can take pretty pictures of my nails now!
Have a great weekend!

Back from crazy NYC!

Hey guys,

I'm back from NYC! It was absolutely crazy! SO HOT!! We were sweating bullets!
I was able to make a quick stop in the Sephora in Times Square to buy 2 polishes that I've been wanting for a long while now: Illasmasqua's Rampage and Muse! I was stoked to get my hands on them, since we can't find them here in Canada! I would've bought more, but I limited myself to only those 2 ;)

Swatches coming soon!

Wedding!!!

Hey guys!!

The wedding was AMAZING! Everything went smoothly, the bride, groom, bridesmaids (and junior bridesmaids) and groomsmen all looked so good! I am so happy for my cousin!! :) I couldn't contain my joy... as soon as she walked down the aisle, I started to cry.

Anywho, everybody had such a great time! My cousin looked stunning!

All the bridesmaids wore  lavender dresses, so we chose very neutral colors. I totally forgot to take pictures that day, but I swatched the colors quickly last weekend. (I broke a nail at work, so please excuse my ugly-looking index nail).

I chose to wear OPI Have a Tempura Tantrum on my tips

This was 3 coats.

The maid of honor and my sister both chose OPI Miso Happy with this Color

Also 3 coats here.

And now for the bride!!!! We went to Wal-Mart together one day, and I was trying to explain to her to color I thought would be perfect when I saw this one. It was perfect! She loved it!!!

Rimmel French Rose

3 coats

Application was very good. I liked the milky consistency of the polish. The look is very clean,simple and fresh.

I'm glad the wedding is over now! No more stressing!
A few cousins and I are planning to go to NYC/Brooklyn for the weekend! It's gonna be fun!

Update!

Hi Readers!

Mini update today! The wedding is in TWO DAYS!!!! :D We've been so busy since the bridal shower: we organized a surprise bachelorette party for my cousin! It was insane! It was the first time I've seen my cousin drunk..... HA!!

Anyways, all week long it has been re-painting and cleaning the house, shoe-shopping for Saturday, working and sleeping. Oh yeah, and family reunions.. why is it necessary to meet every time a visitor arrives?! I have no clue.

I can't wait to post pictures from the wedding and show you our nails!!!

We're all so happy and excited!

Talk to you guys soon!
xxx


(April, did you make the cupcakes yet?)

Green Tea Cupcakes recipe

I've always been a tea lover, whether it as a drink, ice cream flavor, in chocolate or whatever. So when I found a recipe combining 2 of my loves (tea and cupcakes), I just had to try it!
The recipe is from Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit

Green Tea Cupcakes
(makes 36 mini cupcakes, or 12 regular cupcakes)24 cupcake papers or 1/2 sheet pan / 350 degree oven

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of milk (room temperature)
1 tablespoon matcha tea

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the matcha in with the milk.
• With an electric mixer, beat the butter on high until soft.
• Add sugar and continue to beat on medium-high until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and egg yolk one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
• Add the flour mix to batter. Mix to combine.
• Add the matcha/milk to the batter and mix until combined.
• Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners.
• Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. 
  ** For mini cupcakes, bake for about 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing! 

Matcha Buttercream

1 stick butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons half and half or light cream
1 tablespoon matcha powder
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

•  Mix matcha in with the light cream to make a paste.
• Beat butter until soft, scrape bowl. 
• Add the sifted powdered sugar and matcha paste. Beat until smooth.

Some Notes
-For the buttercream, you can substitute the cream for milk, if you don't have any at home..
-For the cupcakes, I would advise to mix in the flour and the matcha/milk by hand: the cupcakes will be fluffier this way.
-The cupcake recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of matcha, but I always put a bit more: you can taste the green tea better ;)
-If you are not frosting your cupcakes right away, store your buttercream in an air tight container and refrigerate. Before frosting, leave it out for about an hour or two or until it is at room temperature, and beat it with the mixer for a few seconds. Then you're good to go!


Hope you'll like this recipe as much as I do!

Bridal Shower!!!

The bridal shower was a success!!!! I'm so glad it's over as I'm REALLY tired... hahaha

I wore China Glaze For Audrey on my nails, to keep it cute and summery:

My sister, cousin and I prepared food for the brunch for 2 days!!!! We were SO full by the end of the evening!!

Part of the dessert, green tea cupcakes (with matcha buttercream on left and vanilla buttercream on right). We also had vanilla cupcakes, lemon cookies, sweet sticky rice and fruit salad. The buttercream was melting because of the hot weather

We gave the all the attendees some party favors, homemade chocolate! Yummy! They were carefully placed in the cutest little boxes

All in all, we all had a blast! The bride-to-be was very happy :D