Best Nude Lipstick for south asian / indian skin tones! Nars Blonde Venus

If you are in the market for the perfect nude lipstick with a little bit of pop - Nars Blonde Venus is the HG / MLBB shade for you. My lips have a good amount of pigmentation, and this satin lipstick by Nars adds just the right amount of coverage. It's shiny finish makes your lips look fuller, hydrated, and natural. I would describe Blonde Venus as the perfect mix of brown, pink, and peach. It is great for the day time for work as well as night time with a smokey eye. I never need to add a gloss on top, or wear a concealer / lip erase underneath. I tried Honolulu Honey - but it just does not give me enough coverage. 

Pros: 
- Wear time is long - 4-5 hrs
 - It does not settle into the lines of your lips
- Does not bleed
- It is not drying

Cons:

- $24 / tube.. .but definitely worth it!

Ciment Thermique Heat-Activated Reconstructor Milk

Winter, like all extremes, can be a tough time on your hair. Luckly Kerastase Ciment Thermique is one great product that that protect your hair from the drying effects of winter weather and heat styling. If it is in your budget - this product works better than the Suave heat protectant. I've noticed that Suave tends to cause some build up and loose its efficacy if used too frequently. All you need is a dime size of this product- and work it through your damp hair. Hair is left soft, silky, smelling great, and with no signs of heat damage. I recommend this product 100%!


Merry Christmas to all my readers! Here is a picture from this years Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Gala!

Even the Grinch was smiling :-)

Must have Hair Dye: Garnier Nutrisse

I have dark hair - so dark it looks black. Growing up, I was always into experimenting with my hair color. I had caramel highlights, reddish brown highlights, super black, and brown hair. I went to expensive salons, cheap salons, and  tried at home coloring boxes. Finally, for the past 4 years I have found something that works for me - gives me a little bit of a fun lighter color, is very cheap, and doesn't damage my hair! Having had highlights, this is something I will never do again. The bleach did nothing but ruin my hair. On top of that, the maintenance involved in going that light is just too extreme and expensive. Now all I use is Garnier Nutrisse in Truffle. This can be bought for around $8, but there is always a coupon or sale around! Nutrisse is fail proof. Since the color I choose is only a couple shades lighter than my own hair, the end result is very close to the box. Believe it or not, I only dye my hair 2-3 times a year! This, along with deep conditioning, not using flat irons, and using a heat protectant has allowed me to have healthy, shiny, long hair.

One tip for those of you that dye at home is to not wash your hair for 2-3 days before dying- this will allow the color to penetrate better. I would also wait a day or two after dying your hair to wash it again with shampoo. Protect your hair from the sun and deep condition frequently!

Here is a picture of my freshly done color:

Get cash back for shopping online!

Credit cards like Bank of America offer cards that give you cash back for everyday purchases. 3% on gas, 2% on groceries, and 1% on everything else. Gas and groceries are both costs that cannot be avoided, so why not get some cash back for this? Although Ebates.com has been around for quite some time, I recently found out about this company. Bascially, you get cash back - significantly more than what credit card companies give you - to shop! I am a huge fan of online shopping because I hate dealing with the crowds at the mall and can also compare prices better. If you are looking into buying gifts for Christmas or booking flights for travel - I suggest you look into signing up for an account!

Here is a link:

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=igNARzZL7tr95m7S%2BDMZlg%3D%3D

My Makeup Must Haves Part 1

I thought today I would do a post on makeup products that I can't live without. These are all purchases that I did a good amount of research before investing in. I wanted things that delivered - and I don't have the time or money to "try out" products. While some of these products may be considered higher end- they are investments to me. I don't buy impulsively! So here we go....

1. Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Early Tan

- works just as great as an expensive foundation

- great coverage

- lasts all day

- great as a concealer as well 

2. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

- tried and true mascara

- pumps up lashes and elongates

- great price

- works just as well as a $25 mascara from a department store!

3. Mac Eyeliner Pencil - Kohl in Smoulder

- reasonable price

- great color payoff

- works well for a more casual look, to line upper lid

- stays put!

- easy to control when putting on

- lasts a long time

4. Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack

- excellent color payoff

- reasonable price

- lasts a long time

- good for more formal, dressy occasions as the line is darker and sharper

- must have the appropriate brush when applying 

Part 2 to come soon!

Happy Halloween and Thank you readers!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Above is my costume - which was not much! I wanted to thank all my readers - who come from all over the world (the US, Europe, Russia, India, Mid- east etc.)! I never thought I would be able to reach out to so many. Please let me know if there is a certain topic you would like to know or learn more about. I am applying for residency right now, but hope to continue blogging as much as possible!

Suze Orman Financial Tips....

For those in their 20's:

Suze's Tip # 3: Only Losers Eat Out Every Meal!
I fly private and I bring my lunch! No one works harder than me, and I never eat out! Working hard is not an excuse! Make your food and bring it to work with you. If you want to be a loser forever and continue to waste money, then fine by me. Stop giving yourself excuses. You'll never enjoy life if you continue to waste money. When I first became a stock broker, all the other stock brokers would go out to fancy lunches everyday. On the other hand, I went to taco bell, had two tacos and a diet coke and it cost me $2 a day. That's how I got to go out and still be OK.

Suze's Tip # 4 : You don't need to spend a fortune on designer clothes.
Honest to God, the amount of money they [young people] waste on designer clothes is the worst habit I've seen! Having to have the Jimmy Choos or $700 purse is ridiculous. Do you think anyone even cares?

Suze's Tip # 5: Clubbing is a huge waste of money.
The amount of money spent on clubbing is absolutely amazing! Go to each other's houses and have a great time in your home. You can buy a bottle of vodka for what it costs for one drink at a club. I mean $90 in one night? That's the amount of money needed to fund your Roth IRA every month.

Suze's Tip # 6: It's not about being so specific with how you divide up your salary.
It's hard to divide your salary into set percentages these days - salaries are just so low right now. If all you're making is $1000 per month, it's almost impossible to divide up, but all of you know when you're spending too much! It's not about being so specific, but if your rent is taking up 80% of your spending, then you're in big trouble.
The first thing you should do with your money is spend every extra dollar you have to get out of credit card debt, saving an 8-month emergency fund.

Suze's Tip # 7 : It's not about cutting everything out; it's about cutting a little bit off of everything.
Don't try to give up all your favorite things at once. If you go cold turkey, you will explode. Just cut down! You can indulge, but indulging doesn't mean every day. I mean come on! Do you really have to have Starbucks every day? Can you go clubbing twice a month instead of every weekend? Pick the things you really love to do and just do them twice a month.

Suze's Tip # 8: Start saving now!
The best thing you could do is to have a Roth IRA. You can withdraw any money you put into it at any time, without any taxes or penalties. That's where you should get money from, not your 401K or pension plans. You should be investing in individual stocks that pay a high dividend yield.

Suze's Tip # 9: Credit Card Debt isn't necessarily bad.
The thing is that credit card debt isn't bad,but if your interest rate is at 30% that's bad - actually horrific! A 1% to 2% interest rate is ok. If the debt is because you're trying to make your mark and make your way in the world, then I don't have a problem with that. If you have debt because of clubbing, excessive shopping and weekend trips to Tahoe, then you're an idiot - that's the debt that will do you in.

Everyone else:

Idea No. 1: You can't wait for the market to save you.
"The real estate market isn't going to come back until at least 2023," Orman predicted. "If you can't afford your home, you need to figure out what to do. You have to make a plan and that plan can't be that the market will save you." Similarly, if you see a house on the market that looks like a good deal, don't buy it. "Don't you dare," said Orman. Unless, of course, you can easily put 20% of the money down and pay the property taxes, mortgage and insurance comfortably with your current salary—and your job is secure. Then, as long as the house will be your primary residence, go right ahead.

Idea No. 2: Pay in cash
If you pay for something in cash, you won't have debt. It's as simple as that. If you have credit card debt, pay that off as fast as you can. (See Suze Orman in the 2010 TIME 100.)

Idea No. 3: Men need to stop pretending they know more about financial planning than they do. "Men are financial fakers," said Orman. When she worked as a financial planner, she said, married couples would come in for advice and "when the wife got up to go to the bathroom, I'd lay out this very complicated, totally made up plan for the husband. I'd say, 'You do this, and this, and this—are you following me?' and the husband would nod and say, 'Yes, Suze. To the letter.'" Then when the wife came back, she'd ask the husband to explain it to her and he couldn't. "Of course he couldn't! It wasn't a real plan!" Orman says that even today, men feel pressure to pretend like they know what they're doing. "That's how Bernie Madoff happened," she said. "One guy told another guy, who told another guy, who told another guy, and not one of them knew what they were doing." Women, on the other hand, have no problem asking someone to explain an idea to them again.

Idea No. 4: Save money.
Having eight months of savings in the bank so that if you find yourself without a job, you can still pay your bills.

And finally: LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS!!!!