Frost-Bitten Beauty

Create a soft, ‘just frost bitten’ look by giving a wash of pink/berry color to the cheeks and lips. This is perfect for embracing pale, wintery skin, but darker skin tones will look stunning all the same (I love wearing this look).

This snow bunny look is best achieved using a matte foundation (such as your powder compact) and applying concealer generously around the eyes to mask shadows and dark circles.

The key is to choose a perfect pink or berry to your liking for the cheeks and lips. The shades should match; the best way to achieve this is to choose a multifunctional product that can be used on both the cheeks and lips. This also saves time and money.

Steeper	Cheaper
Lorac Lips/Cheeks Sheer Wash $24	Vincent Longo Lip/Cheek Stain $22.50

Color

Apply color to the apples of cheeks. Start with a little and blend. Apply a little more, blend more. Your cheeks should look pleasantly flushed, as if you were just out skiing. Apply color to the center of your lips and press them together to distribute the color.

Finishing Touches

You can use white eyeliner (for less than $1, it’s a drugstore staple) to line your bottom lashline/water line to make your eyes really pop. Apply generous coats of mascara (brown or brown-black for fair to medium skin and black for dark skin) as well as pencil eyeliner in the same color. Smudge your liner for a more natural look.

Guilt-Free Snacking: Genisoy Soy Crisps

There’s no reason not to snack when you’re trying to lose weight or stay fit. There are many ‘guilt-free’ snack options that are not only void of trans fats and refined sugars, but are actually good for you also.

Genisoy Soy Crisps are a perfect option to replace that unhealthy stash of potato chips. They are baked instead of fried and have a light, airy texture. It’s also hard to eat just a couple. This is fine, though, because each serving contains only 3 grams of unsaturated fat and 7 grams of soy protein! Not only does protein help to build muscle and burn fat, but soy protein has been shown to help prevent heart disease.

For once it’s healthy to say: Get snacking! My favorite Genisoy Soy Crisps flavor is Rich Cheddar Cheese, but there are more options including Zesty Barbecue and Creamy Ranch. These can be found in the snack isle of your favorite health food store.

How To Be a Better Friend

How many of us ever think about how we are perceived by others? I have, a lot lately. The second I feel wronged by a friend or someone I care about, I demand an apology for hurting my feelings. But what if what was said or done to me was a direct result of how I mistreated the other person?

When we’re always in defense mode, it’s hard to take a step back and re-evaluate ourselves. What can we do to be better a person? What could we have said or done differently?

Have you ever said something nasty about a friend to another person without thinking, only to have your friend find out later? You felt horrible about it, but you really didn’t intend on hurting your friend’s feelings in the first place. You realize that you should have kept your mouth shut to begin with!

The goal is to act and react so that we can remain blameless in everything we do. To be a better friend – and a better person – we should not be accusable of any wrongdoing. I know we can’t be perfect all the time, but if you just take the time to think before you act and speak, you’re on your way to becoming a better friend.

• Be nice! As hard as it is sometimes not to gossip about something completely outrageous one friend wore, after a while your friends will start to wonder if you gossip about them too. Plus, it’s just a nasty habit to have. Next time you feel like trash-talking someone, chew on something instead. (Sugarfree gum is great).
• Don’t share secrets. It seems so obvious, but how often have you sworn to keep a secret that you eventually told? If you agree to keep a secret, then for everyone’s sake, keep it!
• Don’t swear or promise anything to anyone. Let you yes’s be yes and your no’s be no, especially to those you care about. If they trust you, just your word should be enough. Plus, promises are broken all the time, whether intentional or not. It’s better not to make them. Just try your best to honor your friend, and they will appreciate you for it.
• Wear your heart on your sleeve. Carry your friends’ burdens. I’m not saying that we should be jumping off bridges, but really be that shoulder to cry on if someone is in need. Sometimes the best medicine for your friend’s bad day can be an unexpected hug from you, or a phone call, or Godiva truffles with a ‘Get Well Soon’ card. Whether something simple or more special, just the fact that you took time to care can brighten someone’s entire day.

Bottom line: Treat others as you would want to be treated. Beauty isn’t just skin deep, it radiates from the inside, where your true heart and motives lie ♥

Next in this series: How To Be More Popular

How To Save Money

With the holiday season fast approaching, it is more than ever necessary to save and use our money wisely.

Tips To Save Money

• Open a savings account with a high interest rate. Forget about opening a savings account at banks like Chase or Huntington Bank unless they offer excellent perks (usually not). Online savings accounts are where it’s at. HSBC currently offers a 4.5% APY on online savings accounts. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see my $1,000 savings yield $50 in interest rather than $2.
• This is probably one of the hardest things to do, but quit spending on fast food and cappuccinos everyday. At least tell yourself you’re not going to, and try to stick to it. Even limiting yourself to three Starbucks treats a week can save up to $10. That’s money to be saved for a rainy day, or put toward something more worthy! (…Like a bill).
• Shop around for deals. Amazon and even EBay for example are amazing when it comes to scoring awesome deals.
• Buy off-season. Don’t shop for fashions right when they hit stores, when prices are highest. New spring/summer styles may appear in March, but don’t buy until May when a lot of it goes on sale.
• Buy in bulk. If you drink a lot of diet soda, buy six packs or cases rather than buying individual bottles.

See! You can be frugal and remain fabulous.

My Evening Skincare Routine

A few have inquired about my skincare regimen and the products I use on my skin. Here goes!

To describe the calamity that is my skin, it is combo-oily with a tendency to shine and break out on random occassions. Breakouts leave discolorations, so at its worst my skin lacks that glowing, radiant look. This is the routine that I use in the evenings to beautify my skin before getting that much-needed beauty sleep! On top of a healthy diet, of course.

Cleansing

First, I drink a tall glass of water and take an omega-3 pill. Drinking water throughout the day will purify your skin and body of dulling toxins. Omega-3 moisturizes skin from the inside. In front of my mirror, I cleanse away my makeup using a gel cleanser. My favorite is Lancôme’s Gel Clarte Cleanser. It leaves my skin clear and smelling fresh. Every once in a while I will use St. Ives Apricot Scrub for a more deep scrubbing clean. After I’ve washed my face, I apply a toner such as Lancôme’s Bright Expert Toner using a cotton ball. This lifts away anything that cleansing missed and helps to brighten my skin.

In the shower I like to do a brightening mask; Clinique’s 15 Minute Facial, as the rest of the Clinique’s Turnaround line, has done wonders for my complexion.

Tip: If you haven’t been wearing makeup, a great, gentle way to wash your face is to gently buff your skin with a very warm washcloth. This opens up your pores and allows them to breathe while cleaning your skin. Afterward, pat your face with a cold washcloth to tighten your pores for a perky complexion.

Pampering

To prevent undereye bags and dark circles, I like to treat my eyes to a rich eye cream. Currently I dab Clinique’s All About Eyes cream around my eyes. By tomorrow morning, the bags are gone. Next, I slather on a brightening serum to baby my complexion. Clarins Bright Plus Serum is amazing: it makes my skin look and feel flawless. To finish off my PM beauty routine, I apply Smith’s Rosebud Salve to my eyelashes and lips to condition my lashes and soften my lips.

Spritz some lavender oil on my pillow and say my prayers and I’m set for the night!

Voila! New layout; what do you think? I’m still adding some things.

Frappelattes Reader Requests

Currently I am working on a new theme for Frappelattes as well as a completely new site. Details on that later! This blog will be taking a slightly different direction. It will become a little more personal – surprised? – without taking focus from beauty, fashion, and fitness. Afterall, it’s my lifestyle! Reason being for this change is because I’ll be focusing on loading the new site with content and I’ll be able to use this for more personal space.

It’s time for Frappelattes reader requests again! Absolutely anything you would like to read/see on this site, let me know in the comments. Posts, content, personal questions, anything. I’ll try to incorporate as much as I can!

By the way, thanks to everyone who contributed to dishing your favorite beauty products! It was really fun and it inspired me to have more video posts and discussion in the future.

Video Post: My Beauty Bag Staples

I decided to do a little ‘video’ where I describe my favorite beauty products!

What are some of yours?