Spring Beauty! My Budget Makeup Bag

As the weather slowly warms up there is something about wanting glowing tan skin that gets me every time.  Winter has lasted way too long, and I feel ready to host a Russian style UV Lamp circle party.
In a desperate attempt to hide my paste, and summon the sun Gods - I updated my Makeup Bag with some fab Budget Beauty finds that I have to share!



I have talked about it before but Walmart and Target carry the ELF line that I am obsessed with. The prices are nuts, and the quality has been so great!!! I keep thinking they are going to figure out how awesome their products are and next time I stock up I am going to find them in the double digits. BUT currently, I shit you not- their products range from $1.00 to $6.00. Someone somewhere is drunk pricing this line, but I am completely OK with that.

I mention it in this post-
But I am still using Garnier BB cream and loving it. It has SPF, not too heavy of a finish, does all those wonderful things BB's claim to do and totally helps with shine all day. They have different versions- one for shine, one for anti-wrinkle, one for Acne. I stick with anti-shine and really love it.
http://richandskinnykc.blogspot.com/2013/10/pissed-off-more-budget-beauty-favs.html

This is my current budget Bronzer obsession. Just enough shimmer to give you a healthy glow but not make you look like a shiny disco ball. Rimmell Bronzer $5.99

Really loving the Sonia Kashuk line at Target. I just bought this shimmer stick in Parisian Sunset $10.99 at Target. It is a awesome highlighter for your check bones, collar bones, cupids bow and nose!

NYC Sparkle Eye Dust Golden Champagne $2.70 Target. This eyeshadow is a beautiful soft golden nude color that has beautiful shimmer without being too glittery. Comes as a wand applicator and seems to last forever!

I am crazy about this Rimmell 24-hour wear Waterproof gel eyeliner!! ($5.99 Target). It has lasted forever and I use it every single day. The brush is really well made-angeled just right and firm and it makes creating the perfect cat eye a breeze.

"Never ask a woman with a perfect cat eye why she is late".

Elf Under eye concealer and highlighter in Medium $3.00 Target.This concealer has cooling green tea extract in it to help with under eye puffiness and provides great coverage. The highlighter is a really subtle white highlighter that makes you look bright eyed and ready to conquer the day!

The new Spring Beauty product that takes the cake is this guy. Elf Mineral Face Primer in Radiant Glow $6.00 Target. Fills in lines, helps make up stay all day, and creates a flawless, porcelain like face! Perfect amount of highlight and shimmer and it feels amazing on your skin! I am obsessed and since the day I started wearing it I get compliments on my skin "glowing" and looking younger! YES!

After applying the Mineral Primer. I put on my Anti-wrinkle cream with SPF 30 and then apply my primer. I follow that with my BB Cream foundation. 

Subtle dewy glow created by Elf Mineral Primer. 

There you have it! My Spring Budget Beauty Bag. What new products are you loving this Spring??

xo,

R&S

Healthy Breakfast Nachos

Nachos are one of my favorite indulgences. This is a Skinny take on Chilaquiles- or Breakfast nachos. Instead of using Tortilla Chips I baked a Whole Wheat Tortilla cut into triangles with a pizza cutter. Then I added two over easy eggs, Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Hot Sauce and Plain Greek Yogurt instead of Sour Cream. They were absolutely delicious but without the guilt!

INGREDIENTS:

Whole Wheat Tortilla (1 per person)

2 Eggs Cooked Over Easy

Plain Greek Yogurt

Salsa 

Sriracha or Hot Sauce

Cheddar Cheese (Optional)

Chili Powder

Start with your tortilla and cut it into wedges. Place under the Broiler on Low heat and cook until golden.

Keep an eye on them because they will darken quickly!

After only about 5 minutes my Tortilla chips were ready to pull out of the oven . I already had 2 eggs cooking on the stove- I sprinkled them with some Chili Powder for a little extra flavor.

If you have never made over easy eggs - it is simple. Gently crack your eggs into your skillet over medium heat. Allow to cook 5-8 minutes until the whites have set firmly and there is not any raw egg white remaining. You don't want your pan so hot that your eggs are frying creating a hard bottom of your eggs, or that your yolks begin to harden. Just keep your eye on them and when they are done gently remove them from your pan with a spatula , careful to not break the yolks!

I am crazy for Greek Yogurt right now. The ways you can use it are endless and it is so much healthier for you and a great source of protein. Here I am using it like Sour Cream and it worked great! I also used Sriracha for some heat and a delicious Corn and Black Bean Salsa from Trader Joes.

My eggs are cooked over easy, with the yolks still nice and runny and I am ready to load up my Nachos with my toppings. I did not put any cheese on my Tortillas but adding Cheddar on top of the Chips before adding your eggs would be fabulous!

My finished Healthy Breakfast Nachos! So delicious and filling. I cut up my eggs so the yolks ran everywhere and then ate them with my hands like Nachos! Delish!

I hope you enjoy!

xo,

R&S

Affordable Microdermabrasion!

 There are certain beauty luxuries and treatments I thought were reserved for the Rich and Famous, or at least the more rich then me. Some of these being that any sort of spa wrap, Botox, Chemical Peels,  any La Mer $200 miracle cream and last but not least Microdermabrasion. Well, I stand corrected!

While stocking up on my favorite over the counter, under $20 anti wrinkle Retinol cream that is Raved about by the Beauty experts (See more here Holiday Beauty Bash Favorite Products ) my eyes gazed down a few feet to see another Anti Wrinkle product by our friends at Neutrogena.  The at home kit contains the little buzzy devise you need to buzz your face to youth, batteries and 12 of the special Puffs already loaded with the gel needed for the Microdermabrasion. I read the box cover to cover. Every square inch. Anti Wrinkle?Check. Firming?Check. Pore Reducing? Check.  My interest was definitely peeked but I could only imagine the price tag on such a fabulous beauty tool.... NOT! The entire kit was under $18! Sold! (Note - I was at Walmart where all their prices are ridiculously cheap do to their alleged shady employee practices... DOH! I want to not shop there but it is so cheap!! )

So I picked up my fav anti wrinkle Retinol lotion and this handy new devise that is going to buff my face to gorgeousness! Score!




 After rear ending someone on my way home with my bag of beauty tricks I decided it was the perfect night for a little TLC and pampering to get out of my shitty mood. We won't even talk about how I was looking at my split ends when I rear ended this dude, like seriously - what the F is wrong with me. FML.
 I was only going like 7 miles per hour but still I deserve to be made fun of for the whole event. I just want to scream the F word over and over just thinking about it.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!


Moving on.

 Right out of the gate I was slightly confused on how to operate this thing. The directions are very vague and only on the box which I threw away before I started to use it (Blonde Moment of the day #2)
So I resorted to Google and another beauty blogger helped me get on track.

 No one ever got to the bottom of whether or not to use on a clean face or a face with makeup still on it... So I took my makeup off first.

The trickiest part was figuring out how to attach the cleaning puff.  Review after review I read had lots of complaints that other women couldn't figure this part out either. I felt good I wasn't alone. But then I looked down the velcro attachment part that holds the pad in place was literally in front of my face. (Blonde Moment #3) I felt like an idiot- but I have had a rough day. I don't know what those other women's excuse is.



Say Hello to my Little Friend. Here is the Microdermabrasion wand and the container of 12 pads that comes with it. It also comes with batteries- awesome! The refills of the pads are only around $14.00 for 24 additional pads.

This is where it got confusing for a Blonde second.. It comes with that round plastic face on the devise, the pad will NOT stick to this-no matter how hard you press! Take a breathe and when you put down the wand you will probably notice the Velcro head attachment sitting right in front of you like it did. Ah Ha!

Snap on the Velcro head- it is super simple...

Here you can see the Velcro on the attachment...

Firmly press on the scrub pad with the Blue side facing out onto the Velcro and it will stick securely. The directions say to wet (don't drench) and the treatment gel that is already in the pad will create a nice cleaning solution as you go around your face. I spent about a minute on each part of my face. Another blogger said she takes her pad off when done and gets in the sides of her nose - and I did that as well. It was super easy to use, and I really liked how it felt.  You need to wash your face after you use it, and toss the used pad. Afterwards my face felt great. Really clean, and tight and glowing.  My pores were definitely smaller as well.  I am looking forward to using this more and seeing if the firming part is true. 

I followed this routine with my Neutrogena Retinol cream and hopefully tomorrow I will wake up looking 12. Kidding, 21. 21 would be nice.

Do you do any chemical fancy face treatments already? Any other fab budget ones?

xo,

R&S

Spring Fashion for Less

Spring has sprung, very slowly and it's still too cold for dresses so I'm wearing pants and long sleeves way longer then I'd like but making the most of it.
The Chambray shirt can be worn with so many things and it's light weight enough for when the weather finally gets warm! I found this perfect Chambray basic shirt at Old Navy for $25.00.
Another trend I've been loving is camo. Lots of designers have super adorable camo skinnies out there for over $150 and for a fleeting trend like this that just isn't a investment I can get on board with.
Enter these adorable Old Navy Camp skinnies, featuring the on trend above the ankle length, ankle zippers and zipper front pockets-for only $34 they are the perfect Camo pant for my Spring Wardrobe!
Spring Booties are also a staple and these Chinese Laundry booties were way too expensive to be as insanely uncomfortable as they are so I'm not recommending them. I feel pressure to wear them because their big pricetag, but subsequently want to amputate my feet everytime after a mere 20 minutes wearing them.
What Spring trends are you excited to try?
XO,
R&S

Crispy Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower!

Hi friends! I created a easy, super spicy, low carb and vegetarian version of Buffalo Wings the other day that I am so excited to share!

You won't believe how easy this recipe is and how much you still get the satisfying spice and crunch you would get from the Chicken version. Dip these bad boys in a side of Ranch and you are good to go!

Ingredients:

1 head of Cauliflower- Stalks Removed into florets

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Cumin

Bread Crumbs

Hot Sriracha Chili Sauce 

Ranch for Dipping

White wine to cool the fire in your mouth *optional

Take your Cauliflower and break or cut florets off the main stalk. 

In a large skillet over medium high heat - heat up enough Olive Oil to coat your pan as well as your Cauliflower.

Once the Olive Oil is hot, add your Cauliflower Florets.

Sprinkle Cumin and Salt over your Florets and cook making sure your Olive Oil is gently coating the Cauliflower.

After about 5 minutes of cooking, liberally pour your Chili Sauce over the Cauliflower and keep tossing. 

Sprinkle in Bread Crumbs and keep stirring. You want to keep cooking until your bread crumbs have gotten nice and golden. Your crumbs should stick easily to the Cauliflower. If they don't add a little more olive oil.  

Once your Buffalo Cauliflower is nice and Golden remove from heat.

Serve with Ranch and eat with your fingers for a Buffalo Wing experience similar to the real thing but so much healthier for you!

Enjoy!

R&S

Cheapest Detox Ever: Warm Lemon Water

We've hung up our HAPPY NEW YEAR Crowns and the hungover has worn off, although their may or may not still be a trail of confetti leading to my front door...

 January is the perfect time to start detoxing and eating/drinking clean again and getting rid of all the crap left over in  your body from the Holidays.

Lemon water is the cheapest, easiest drink to detox your system and flush out toxins.  If any of you have ever done the Mega Cleanse they recommend a lot of hot lemon/cayenne pepper and honey waters to kick start your metabolism, get you drinking water and give you all the benefits of that shiny yellow Lemon. 

Lemons are vitamin C rich citrus fruits that enhance your beauty, by rejuvenating skin from within bringing a glow to your face. One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy. Lemon water flushes out body toxins and is extremely beneficial for the body. Warm lemon water serves as the perfect ‘good morning drink’, as it aids the digestive system and makes the process of eliminating the waste products from the body easier. It prevents the problem of constipation and diarrhea, by ensuring smooth bowel functions.

Lemon, a fruit popular for its therapeutic properties, helps maintain your immune system and thus, protects you from the clutches of most types of infections. It also plays the role of a blood purifier. Lemon is a fabulous antiseptic and limewater juice also works wonders for people having heart problems, owing to its high potassium content. 

Check out more great info on the benefits of Lemon on this great website:

http://www.undergroundhealth.com/health-benefits-of-drinking-warm-lemon-water/

All you need is:

Large mug or glass of hot water

1 Whole Lemon

Juicer

This citrus juicer is a TJ Maxx purchase that has turned into another "How did I live without this?!" item. It was like $5.99 go get one!! 

Your Juicer will catch all the seeds for you..

If you find that the Lemon water is too Tart you can add Honey to sweeten it. You will need to stir well to dissolve the honey.

Enjoy! Do you have any easy health tricks?

xo,

R&S

Feel Fab Fast- Fauxmosa

 Champagne makes most things better, but sometimes it is 2pm on a Tuesday and you would be creeping into Support Group status if you sat around throwing back the bubbly all day. In my opinion it is completely acceptable to have a Champagne glass in your hand at all times, just as long as their isn't actual booze in it before the PC drinking hour has chimed.

 Champagne makes most things better but so do Champagne Glasses. There is something about about walking around with this tall skinny gorgeous glass in my hand that makes me feel like there is most likely a hoard of paparazzi waiting outside my door the minute I set out to get cat litter.

 Vitamin C is good but OJ actually isn't super great for you. Lots of calories and carbs. That is why I do half OJ and Half Club Soda. So I have a bubbly Vitamin C packed bev in a glamorous glass and I am feeling F-ing fabulous even if my date asked my friend out while I was in the bathroom.  


Enjoy Dolls!

F-ING FABULOUS FAUXMOSA

Shiny Sparkling Champagne Glass
OJ
Club Soda

Mix, Sign Autographs,  Feel Fab.


xo,
R&S