- 7:30 AM
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Hey everyone! Today I'm going to be reviewing my
favorite makeup brushes, Ecotool's Starter Brush Set. As a vegan in the making
and a passionate animal rights activist; I always look for vegan/cruelty free
alternatives to everyday things. Here in Venezuela, that's something that is
really hard to achieve. So, imagine my surprise when a few years ago I found
these babies in a beauty store in a local mall. I actually hadn't heard
about this brand before, so I googled it when I got home. When I found out
these brushes are vegan and made out of sustainable materials (like bamboo) I
pretty much RAN back to the mall to buy them. First time I tried these brushes,
three things stood out to me:
- They are extremely soft. I am not kidding. I can imagine clouds being as soft as these brushes. These are the best synthetic bristles I've ever seen!
- Perfect set for starters. It's pretty basic, it has a concealer brush, eye shading brush, blush brush, angled eyeliner brush and a lash and brow groomer. This allows for anyone to create a complete makeup look without having to use any other brushes. I personally find the angled eyeliner brush a bit wide, so I use it to fill in my eyebrows and I clean it off to apply highlighter in the inner corners of my eyes.
- Perfect quality/price ratio. For certain reasons, these brushes can't be found in Venezuela anymore (And if you find them, they're very, very, very expensive). Some people sell them online but the price is still going to be exorbitant. The moment I bought them, the price was really really good, and by what I can appreciate in online stores that sell these bad boys, the prices are perfect for the quality of the product you're getting. If you're looking for good quality/low price brushes, these are the perfect choice for you. I use these brushes daily and I've never had bristles come off or anything of the sort, not even when I wash them.
Usually when I buy something that hasn't been
recommended by someone I act a bit skeptical, but these brushes were an amazing
surprise. I totally recommend them 100%. I bought the set pictured below, but
you can get the same set in a new design at www.EcoTools.com
I hope you liked this post. If you have any review, comment or question make sure to leave it in the comment section below. Thank a ton for reading. Stay awesome!
- 4:03 PM
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Hi guys! How are you all doing? Today I'd like to talk about nail art for a bit. As you know, many of the tutorials I post over here are found by me on Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook. Even though I know how to do most of the stuff I post, I don't make my own step-by-step picture tutorials. Why you ask? Well, I hadn't been able to find a good space to do those kinds of things (Good lighting for photos, videos, etc.). Now that I have found one, I can go crazy with the tutorials! And even better, I'll finally be able to make video tutorials, which is something I've wanted to do ever since I discovered makeup tutorials on youtube when I was 13 years old. So, first off, I'd like to make simple nail art tutorials. It's a bit difficult given that I haven't been able to find nail polish remover anywhere in the past year and a half, but I'll try my best. These are some of the designs I've made over time (There are many more but I haven't been able to find the pictures). Which one do you like the most?
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| Pink, blue + multicolor dots nail art |
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Simple yellow and black nail art. |
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| Red, orange and white dot frenchie style nail art. |
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| Red + Multicolor dots nail art. |
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| Orange, black and white tribal nail art. |
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| Blue, green, yellow, orange, red and white dotted nail art. |
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| Crazy orange, green and white nail art. |
As always, thanks a ton for reading my blog. Any comments or questions can be left in the comment box below. Stay awesome!
- 7:30 PM
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It was probably about time I posted this. I'm not gonna explain too much. This is my favorite poem and it was published in 1948. It's very beautiful and I usually read it when I'm stressed or anxious, given that it's perfect for putting things in perspective. So, if any of you haven't read it yet, I hope you like it!
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
- 1:27 PM
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Let's be honest, who doesn't want to visit Greece at some point in their life? This is probably the #1 place I've always wanted to go to ever since I was a little girl. I am a huge lover of Greek mythology, and for some reason Greece has always given me a mysterious, magical and beautifully haunting vibe. Whenever I read anything about Greek gods, my mind immediately slips to the places those legends developed and all of the beautiful landmarks connected to those stories. I look at all of those beautiful places in Greece and think to myself “People built these places a long time ago, it’s amazing to see how they’ve survived all of these years.” There’s just so much beauty and history there. For instance, the Acropolis of Athens. That place is just W-O-W. And the Parthenon is a must see in person! I can’t wait to go someday! These are the places I NEED to visit:
- The Acropolis of Athens.
- The Parthenon.
- The National Arqueological Museum in Athens
- The Ancient Agora of Athens
- Mount Lycabettus
- The Erechtheion
- The Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Myrthos Beach (Because I LOVE beaches and that one is as beautiful as the ones over here)
- The Arch of Galerius and Rotunda
- The Theater of Dyonisus.
- The Museum of Byzantine Culture
- Best for last, Mykonos.
- 7:00 AM
- 0 Comments
This is a definite must for me! I've always felt very interested in learning sign language, specially because I love learning new things that could make me useful in any situation! When I was about 11 years old I got a Helen Keller book that had the sign language alphabet on the back. My little sister and I tried to learn it but didn't practice much so we forgot. It kind of bugs me that in many countries the school systems don't have a class specially for sign language. There are so many people who would benefit from learning this kind of language at school. Even though I never got around to learning it myself, I would love to study it and master it. I think not knowing sign language keeps me from meeting lots of interesting new people. So, I've decided that I'll learn it. Maybe I'll enter a course or learn it via youtube tutorials. But I want to learn it as soon as I can so I can meet tons of awesome people.
So, does anyone around here want to teach me sign language? Did you like this post? Leave comments in the comment section below. Thanks a ton for reading!
- 8:00 AM
- 0 Comments
When you are lactose intolerant, trying to go vegan or just think cow's milk is too unhealthy for you to consume, you usually try to find a healthier alternative, and the first thing that pops up most of the time is vegetable milk. Vegetable milks are milks that are made out of vegetable, like grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. I'm gonna be posting the two with the easiest ingredients to find here in Venezuela, which are rice and oats.
As I have heard from many vegans I have had the pleasure of speaking with over time, sometimes the thing about some commercial vegetable milk brands is that they are enriched with sinthetic vitamins and minerals or are made out of GMO veggies, and it is no secret that no good comes from GMO's or sinthetic stuff.
So, we go for the safe, homemade stuff. You're gonna need a few things for this (Besides a trip to the supermarket):
- Blender
- Measuring cup
- Mason Jar or Thermus (For storage)
- Medium sized bowl
For the Oat milk you'll need:
- One cup oats
- Three cups water
Instructions:
- First off, you're going to have to soak your oats. You need to soak them for at least 20 minutes. After that, rinse them and wash them to get off any oat slime that might have apeared during the soaking.
- Place the oats along with the three cups of water in the blender and blend for about 30 seconds.
- Strain the oat/water mixture through a cheesecloth, store in a mason jar and enjoy!
For the Rice milk you'll need:
- One cup of brown or white rice (Brown would be the healthier choice but the milk will probably be thinner)
- Four cups of water
- Sugar, stevia, agave syrup or any other sweetener of your choice.
Instructions:
- First, you put the rice and the water on the stove and cook the rice until it's really soft.
- Put the rice and the water in a blender.
- When the rice is completely blended, strain it through a cheese cloth,
- Put it in a mason jar or thermus (It has to be an airtight conteiner since rice milk picks up odors from other foods), add whatever sweetener you prefer and store in the fridge.
As always, I hope you liked this post. It is wonderful to share these things with my readers. Stay tuned for more posts and stay awesome!
- 7:00 AM
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The day I discovered Aquafaba I realized I had a higher chance of going back to Miami than finding any kind of chickpea in Venezuela. This miraculous liquid that made most of my wildest dreams come true (Vegan lemon meringue pie, vegan lemon meringue cupcakes, puffy and light vegan yellow cakes, perfect brownies, amazing VEGAN MACARONS) was pretty much nowhere to be found and I after much thought I found myself asking my mom for permission to use the ONLY CAN of chickpeas we had left in the house for a little aquafaba experiment. I was planning to make something simple: Vegan meringues. I thought to myself "Well, If there are people that manage to make them with hand mixers, I can totally pull it off with the kitchen aid!". So I opened my can of chickpeas, put the aquafaba in the kitchen aid, ate half of the chickpeas and began to mix that motherflecker in medium speed for about 5 minutes, then high speed for about 10 minutes. I added powdered sugar, set them on a baking sheet and baked them according to instructions. This was my result:
My meringues totally sank. I ended up with these little sugar cookies that no one ate because they were soooooo sweet! Sadly, I had to throw them away.
Even though my first aquafaba experiment was an utter fail, I really hope that someday I'm able to learn and succeed in vegan macaron baking. Have any of you seen macarons? Those things just yell "Eat me! I'm as delicious as I look!". I've never had any, but gosh if I ever got the chance to use aquafaba ever again I would totally try and make macarons. So, if any of you lovely readers are anxious to see a vegan macaron in the making, check out this video Step-by-step Vegan Macarons and this webpage Vegan Macaron Troubleshooting so you can bravely face any problems you might encounter in your vegan macaron baking adventure! Happy baking!!
*So, this is my second Bucket List post. I'll be doing a ton of them but not precisely in order so I might make a random post between each part of the Bucket List. AND those amazing macaron pictures aren't mine. Just sayin'*
As always, thanks a ton for reading! Stay awesome!
- 7:30 AM
- 0 Comments
As some of you know, I live in Venezuela. Yeah, that really beautiful, warm country in South America with a bad management problem. Certain circumstances have made it extremely difficult for me to travel, but do I let that stop me? NO! One thing I've come to understand in my very short life is that things change, situations change, people chance, etc. I force myself daily to think in a positive manner, even though it gets a lot harder whenever I'm outside in the real world. When you go outside and see mostly misery, hunger, poverty, etc; all those good thoughts you managed to work up slip away like water between your fingers. The real challenge is keeping them and thinking about yourself and your dreams. That's the reason for a new post series I thought up: My Bucket List!
I have always been a dreamer, I want to do amazing things with my life, I want to help animals and people alike, I want to travel, I want to cause a change in the world, I want to give myself completely to what I believe in. Most of all I want to be a really old lady and feel super awesome because I did everything I wanted to do. One of those things is to visit New York City. These are the things I need to do when I go:
- Walk hand in hand with my boyfriend through Central Park.
- Ride the subway.
- Visit the Empire State Building.
- Visit the 9/11 Tribute Center (I was living in the States on september 11, 2001 and I've always felt deep respect for everyone who was involved in that tragedy.)
- Steal a cab from someone who needs it more than me (How I Met Your Mother Reference)
- Visit the Statue of Liberty.
- Drive across the Brooklyn Bridge.
- Visit the American Museum of Natural History.
- Eat as many vegan cheesecakes as I can!
Obviously when I get there I'm gonna do more things, but just with these I would feel accomplished! I hope I get to do all of these things someday!
Also, I'm a huge Suits fan, so everytime I listen to the theme song I immediately think about NYC. You can listen to it here:
So, where would you guys and gals love to go? Share your comments on the comment section below! As always, thank you for reading! Stay awesome!
- 8:00 AM
- 0 Comments
Hello there! Remember me? Legend says I used to post on this blog. Well, wait no more! I am back! With a really interesting life update. This year has been extremely amazing. I finished my career last month, now I'm an attorney (Frick yes!). I am extremely satisfied, since I got to finish my career at 21, with a post-graduate course and with a job. Oh yeah! This young lady finally (and after months searching) HAS A JOB. A real job! And it's not only A JOB, no no no. It's an amazing job at an amazing international Law Firm. When I started my career I thought that speaking english would do me no good but turns out I was wrong! It got me a fantastic job at a fantastic firm that is currently giving me training for international legal practice. Just when I didn't think things could get any better, I got a chance to be an english teacher at an up-and-coming national project. So that's pretty awesome too. Oh! And my big sister is getting married, so THAT'S FRICKING AMAZING AND I'M SO SO SO SO HAPPY!
I've actually felt a bit overwhelmed at all of the good things and opportunities that life has been throwing at my face lately. Literally, so many things are going on that I feel unable to focus. So, to clear my head and help myself out I've started a clean eating challenge, I spoke to a nutritionist about my eating habits, I started working out and meditating every day. I figure that things might not always stay this way, so I am doing the best I can in most aspects of my life to be able to find myself and give myself support in case I need it.
Since so much has been going on, I decided to come back to my little personal space in the internet and keep track of things. Consequently, I revamped this whole blog to fit a changed-and-grown-up version of me. I loved the background from the moment I saw it and changed everything to match it. I feel it's much more classy than my last background; which was also awesome but a bit too colorful now that I think about it. Besides, who doesn't love vintage roses? They're so pretty! So, since this is kind of like a new beginning for my blog, I'm gonna be making a list of posts to keep it active and to keep myself motivated.
As always, thank you so much for reading! And remember, stay awesome!
- 8:00 AM
- 0 Comments
