Makeup Review: Beauty For Real

I attended The Make Up Show in NYC this past May and learned about a new cosmetic company called Beauty For Real. So far, they only sell lip glosses, lip pencils, and mascara on their product line but I am about to review their new lip glosses. The innovative product features a mirror on the side and LED light that provides easy convenience for applying the lip gloss! I can just click on the button located on the top of the cap to apply the lip gloss in dark rooms (like a lounge or movie theatre!). The formula for the lip gloss is also quite natural. It is loaded with antioxidants, anti-aging ingredients and minty flavors that tingle on my lips for minutes after application.

The cosmetic salesperson, Stephanie, was kind enough to select a shade for me. I normally wear peach or coral colors on my skintone but I am always happy to put myself in the hands of a professional and allowing them to choose my best coloring. And needless to say, I was not disappointed. Stephanie chose the shade Fireworks for me. And I love it! I think all the shades would fit a variety of skintones, so it is just a matter of selecting your favorite color. The picture above was taken at the display center at The Make Up Show. I will be reviewing other favorite products from the show in future blogs so stay tuned!

Shecky's Girls Night Out in NYC

I went to the Shecky's Girls Night Out on June 17th at 82 Mercer NYC. This is probably my third or fourth time attending this event, and I was disappointed during the last event in December. Probably because most of the vendors were selling ho-hum products. However, last week's event was quite a surprise and made me wish that I purchased a real ticket in order to get the goody bag! (Instead, I attended the event as a guest of a press so I only received a free admission ticket, sans goody bag).

This year, there was a variety of different vendors and sponsors for the event ranging from Veet, Maybelline, Febreze, and Lean Cuisinehttp://www.leancuisine.com/Index/Index.aspx. The majority of the vendors were jewelry sellers/designers and the trend appears to be big chunky jewelry pieces. Rings were a stand-out item and it seemed as if if the designers decided that the larger the ring, the better! All the colors were vibrant and sparkly. Here is a picture of a seller with rings that caught my attention. The second picture are accompany earrings with the rings.

The most surprising sponsor of the Shecky's event for me is Lean Cuisine. They offered coupons and samples of their new product, Garlic Chicken Pasta in steamable pouches. Since I was hungry (it was close to dinner time), I was more than happy to sample their food. Maybe it was the hunger, but the garlic chicken was extremely tasty! I would definitely purchase their products the next time we shop at Target or Walgreens. The product will be sold at other national stores in the future.

Stay tuned for my next post on another review of my favorite jewelry designer - Sara G. Strauss. One of my all-time favorite earrings were made by her and of course, I had to see her again to purchase another pair of earrings. And yes, I found another cute whimsical pair of earrings! Yea!! In the meantime, I encourage you to follow her on facebook to hear about her adventures of preparing for the Emmy's!

How I Made Pork Tonkatsu

So I've been inspired to make pork tonkatsu after watching a few youtubes videos and all the years of eating Japanese food at restaurants. It has taken me a long time to get over my fear of frying food (mostly due to the splattering of oil), but I figured I would experiment by purchasing some thin porkchops. Here is an approximate recipe that I followed:

Ingredients:
3 - 4 thin cut porkchops
panko crumbs
flour
1 beaten egg
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Directions:
1) Rinse the porkchops and use the blunt end of your knife to beat each porkchop. This will tenderize the chop. Salt and pepper each of the chops to taste.
2) First, dip the porkchop in the flour. Then dip the porkchop with beaten egg and finally, cover it in panko crumbs. Repeat for all porkchops.
3) Heat up the oil in a frying pan. Use enough oil so that there is a thin layer on the pan for frying.
4) Test the heat of the oil by placing a wooden chopstick in the pan. There should be small bubbles at the end of the chopstick. This means the oil is ready for frying.
5) Gently place the porkchop in the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan otherwise the temperature of the oil will cool too much and the porkchops will not cook. Cook until brown usually 4 minutes on each side.

6) Take out the porkchops and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil. While hot, feel free to sprinkle extra pepper.

7) Cut thin slices of each porkchop before serving. Optional: Serve with tonkatsu sauce on the side.