Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Arabian Inspired Makeup Featuring Ofra Cosmetics

Hey loves!

I posted up a new video showing you guys how to recreate this (see below) Arabian Inspired look. I wanted to make this blog as well to share with you some of the photos of the look as well as a full list of products used. Hope you enjoy it!

Love Always,

Rocio Laura








All products can be found at ofracosmetics.com

Products Used:

Semi Permanent Waterproof Eyebrow Gel in Khaki
Eye Gel Primer
Eye Shadows in: Glamour, Bliss, Vanilla, Exquisite, Victory
Fixline Eyeliner Gel in Black
Fixline Eyeliner Gel in White Rabbit
Silicone Primer Gel
Americano Bronzer
Face & Body Mineral Shimmer in Pink Sand
Absolute cover Silk Peptide Foundation in #04 + #05
Cheeky Cheek Bone Enhancer


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

How To Lose 10 pounds in 3 Days Safely

Hey Babes,

I posted up a new video sharing a diet that I recently tried out. You are guaranteed to lose 10 lbs in 3 days if you follow it exactly. I'm attaching the video to this post so you guys can watch my experience and I'm also posting the exact diet and the information I followed.

I hope this helps!!



Must be followed exactly
Lose ten pounds in three days

Note - Drink water throughout the day!

First Day:

Breakfast
Black coffee or tea, 1/2 grapefruit, 1 slice of toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

Lunch
1/2 cup of tuna, 1 slice toast, coffee or tea

Dinner
2 slices of any type of meat (3 ounces) 1 cup of string beans, 1 cup of beets, 1 small apple, 1 cup of vanilla ice cream


Second Day:

Breakfast
1 egg, 1 slice toast, 1/2 banana, coffee or tea

Lunch
1 cup cottage cheese, 5 saltine crackers

Dinner
2 hotdogs, 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream


Third Day:

Breakfast
5 saltine crackers, 1 slice cheddar cheese, 1 small apple, black coffee or tea

Lunch
1 hard boiled egg, 1 slice toast

Dinner
1 cup tuna, 1 cup beets, 1 cup cauliflower, 1/2 cantaloupe, 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

"Diet works on chemical breakdown and is proven. Do not vary or substitute any of the above foods. Salt and pepper may be used, no other seasonings. This diet is to be used 3 days at a time.

In 3 days you will lose 10 pounds, after 3 days of dieting you can eat your normal foods, but do not overeat. After your normal days of eating, start back on your three days. You can lose up to 40 pounds a month if you stick to this diet.

It is a safe diet!!!! Remember do not snack between meals."

Thursday, September 18, 2014

My Favorite Fall Time Nudes

Hey Beauties!!!

I know, I know, fall is all about dark colors - trust me I loveee my vampy fall time lips. However, I also love a good fall nude. Sometimes the daytime is a tad bit too early for the blood red lip colors so I wanted to share with you some great nude options that work for day or night. I like these particular ones for the fall time because they have tints of brown of pink in them and they're not flat out nude.

Here is an overview of my picks:



I wanted to throw a nail polish into the mix. This one from the Spellbound line by Liberty Republic is gorgeous. The color is called Elixir and it's the perfect mauve-brown nude. I hate nude nail polishes that are so transparent you can see you nail bed underneath. This is the perfect pigmentation to give you a perfect fall deep nude color. I find it to be so elegant for the season.



For Lip Liner I picked Vanilla Sky by NYX. It's a great neutral nude to use with any color on top to avoid feathering.



For lipsticks I picked two. The first is Bare it All by Wet N Wild. I love this one for the fall because it one of those deeper nudes I talked about and has a slight mauve tint. The second is MAC Peachstock. This is a true nude but one of my year round favorites.





The next three choices are all amazing in their own way. I bunched these together because of their formula. They're not exactly lipsticks but not lipglosses either. They all have this creamy consistency and are highly highly pigmented. First is Comfort Zone by Haviic Cosmetics. Of the three this one is a bit more liquid-like but the pigmentation is awesome. It reminds me a lot of the OCC lip tars but it doesn't run as much which is a huge plus. It also has a pretty pink tone. Next is a long lasting liquid lipstick in Angeles by Ofra Cosmetics. This has been a favorite nude of mine for a long time. The color lasts forever, and I talk a lot, lol. It's a very pretty light brown nude and has almost a sheen to it, yet it's completely matte. I also love the creamy mouse consistency. Finally is a soft matte lip cream in Stockholm by NYX Cosmetics. Again the creamy consistency is my favorite and the color is a true peachy nude.






My lipgloss picks are the following two. The first is my all time favorite nude lipgloss ever by Whitening Lightning (before they merged with Gerard Cosmetics). If you follow me for a while you've seen this all over my YouTube and instagram for a while. The next is from their new set of glosses by Gerard Cosmetics in the color Butter Cream. It has a gorgeous pink tone and it looks very glossy and creamy on. I love these glosses because they come with a build in light and mirror. They are my go to lip glosses when I go to the club or out at night. You can use the code missbarbie on either website for a discount.






I hope you guys have enjoyed this post. Let me know if you would like more like this. I'll also have lots more fashion posts coming soon - just working out when/where/who can help me take the photos lol.

Love always,
Rocio Laura

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Raising Awareness on Domestic Abuse

Disclosure: This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Allstate foundation® and Latina Bloggers Connect.



Hey Beauties,

Today I'm touching on a topic that may be a bit controversial and is definitely new territory for this blog but immensely important. Domestic abuse affects one in every four women during her lifetime!! That statistic is higher than breast cancer, ovarian cancer and lung cancer COMBINED!!!! More importantly, domestic abuse is way more than just physical. This is a huge misconception. Domestic abuse takes many different forms, trust me, I should know.

A topic like this is very rarely a conversation starter, yet when approached with this project I was very passionate about sharing my own story... or as much of it as I feel comfortable with at the moment. For a long time I was in an abusive relationship and in complete denial. At first there were no physical altercations. However, there were other signs of abusive behavior. At the time I thought they were subtle signs, now I know the difference.

Domestic abuse can take the form of physical abuse, mental, emotional, financial, etc etc etc. Any moment in which someone is purposefully causing you to feel less than in some way is a huge red flag. For me it was mostly mental and emotional. I was in a situation were the majority of my actions and decisions were controlled. I was "not allowed" to do certain things. Of course the abuser always has "good reason" for the rules they set in place so you feel as if he/she is justified in controlling you. THIS IS WRONG. No one can tell you what to do or what not to do. It took me a lonnnggg time to really learn and ingrain this fact into my head. Over time I started to make more and more of my own decisions and boy did -he- not like that!! This caused arguments and fights and comments along the lines of, and I'm paraphrasing, I need to be told what to do because I don't know how to make my own decisions. I was painted to be a sort of child that needed to be looked after. All of this greatly affected my self esteem, along with an obsessive amount of infidelities on his part. I was always feeling like I would never be good enough. It has been a long process and a slow climb to build my self esteem back up again, and honestly it still is not where it should be but I'm very proud of myself.

Through this entire experience I've learned to LOVE MYSELF unconditionally and to trust in myself. It was unfortunate that I had to live through that, yea I guess, but it shaped me into who I am so I am grateful for that. Each and every human being is an amazing creature with the power and right to make their own decisions and live the life they choose to live. Never let anyone take your power from you!

I understand there should be mutual respect in a relationship, but trust is also a huge factor. If you are the one afraid to be cheated on, you can not control someone and obligate them to stay home and have no social life. If someone is going to cheat on you, believe meeee, they will cheat in any random way they can. And that's okay. That's their decision. You just have to accept the fact and move on accordingly based on your feelings (to forgive, or to leave the relationship). If you are the one being controlled you should realize this stems from a lack of trust on the other persons side and this is WRONG. No one should ever control your decisions.

I feel very strongly concerning this topic because I lived it for so long. When I see this happening to those around me I just wish I could pop them into my brain for a moment and share my knowledge and experiences with them. I guess this is my way of doing that now. It's OKAY to leave a situation that is no longer positive for your life and growth. It's OKAY to start over, or to just be alone for a while and work on growing yourself. There is no justifiable reason to stay in a domestic abuse situation.

I believe that domestic abuse is about power. The abuser tries to take power away from you to empower themselves. Essentially they try to tip the scales in their favor. However, I also believe that this will never work. They will never feel like they have 'enough' power and will always be seeking more. True feelings of power come from within and can never be gained by taking from another person. It will never be truly satisfying. Don't allow anyone to take your power. Build yourself up and believe in yourself. You are powerful, you are smart, you are beautiful, you are the most perfect you that you can be in this very moment and only getting better and better each day!

I say all that to say this: domestic abuse is more common than we like to believe. I've shared part of my story with you today to open up the conversation. Sometimes just talking to someone helps or hearing someone else's story. The Allstate Foundation Purple Purse program is making it fashionable to talk about domestic abuse - namely financial abuse. While two-thirds of Americans believe that domestic abuse is a big problem only 1 in every 3 ever speak about it. One of the best first steps you can take is to get a conversation started - with anyone. It can be a parent, a friend, a counselor, or yourself in the mirror, it all helps.

Domestic abuse and financial abuse very frequently go hand in hand. One of the biggest reasons people find to stay in an abusive relationship is financial difficulties. They feel that they can not financially survive without the abusive party. This is one of the most powerful tools to keeping an abuse victim 'trapped'.

The Allstate Foundation is taking strides to eradicate this problem. Since 2005 they have invested over $40 million in helping domestic abuse survivors regain control of their finances and break free from their abusers. They are now investing over half a million dollars int he Purple Purse Challenge. You can help in their efforts by going to bit.ly/PurplePurse_14 and taking part in the challenge between September 2 and October 3. You can find and help a nonprofit near you by donating. I checked the website again this morning and almost $500,000 has been raised already! It truly gives me goosebumps to witness the love and charity that we show to each other, even those we don't even know.

I hope if this blog post can enlighten even one person, it is a success. I want to leave you with some very important numbers that I hope you never have to use: If you or someone you know needs immediate help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.


Love you!

Rocio Laura

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Be Red Carpet Ready All The Time

Disclaimer: This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with LunchBox and Latina Bloggers Connect.


Hey Beauties!

For today's blog post I'm working together with Divina Latinas to talk about 'being red-carpet ready'. If you're mind immediately flashed to celebrities and award shows you're right - but you're also limiting the definition. For as long as I can remember I viewed my life as one giant runway. The aisle of the supermarket, the streets leading to the bodega, it was all a chance for me to strut my stuff. So, you see, we can go about our daily lives and still look, and FEEL, red carpet ready. Even without the tons of makeup and glamorous sequin dresses you can exude a confidence and natural beauty that is the very essence of walking the red carpet.

I recently became a Sam's Club member and had a chance to do some shoppinnggg. If you're not familiar with Sam's Club, it's a huge wholesale supermarket - but it also has so much more. I was surprised, and happy, to see a wide array of products when I walked in. The had everything from fruit to furniture. They even have a bunch of beauty products, including the ones I'm going to share with you guys today to help you look and feel prepared for the red carpet or any event! If you're interested in checking out your local Sam's Club you can use the nationwide store locator found at this link: http://bit.ly/1tXfx2Y


Remember, beauty is more than fake eyelashes and foundation. If you properly care for your body your natural beauty will shine through. You don't need to spend any extra time either, just pamper yourself as part of your everyday natural human being behaviors - lol! The above products are some ways that you can unless your inner diva and let your confidence shine through.


The Caress Body Wash fine fragrance elixirs in sheer twilight smells absolutely amazing and the best part is that it leaves the skin with a delicate scent even after you come out of the shower. I love products with scents that actually last because they are great for layering scents by adding perfume after, or for when you're in a rush and forget your perfume altogether. This body wash also leaves you with a very fresh, clean feel and soft skin.



The Degree MotionSense Deodorant and Anti-Perspirant is a great option for your busiest of days. As a single mom in NYC I'm thankful for this! The more you move the more this product kicks into gear and protects you by releasing bursts of freshness as needed and keeping covered for up to 48 hours of protection.


The Tresemme Keratin Shampoo and Conditioner is a duo to be reckoned with. It helps to make your hair sleek and smooth by cutting down on frizz. This allows hair to be more manageable and easier to style. The shampoo is also lower in sulfates and the conditioner has thermal technology to protect your hair from any heat you use afterward. The formula is also designed to help keep your hair smooth for up to 7 days or 3 washes!!! That was just the icing on the cake for me- talk about a time saver! This, especially, shows that you can look your best without spending a lot of extra time on yourself. (Note: I am a HUGE advocate for pampering yourself and having "me-time" but I do recognize that it's not always possible for everyone. We all have different levels of busy but you should try to always make some time that is JUST FOR YOU, you deserve it!!)


Finally, the Pond's Crema S is an amazing Nourishing Moisturizing Cream. This product is great for dry or very dry skin, which I have, and it's Pond's. In my household Pond's is synonymous with great quality. My mom has been using their products since she was My Age! This particular cream provides 24 hour moisture plus its hypoallergenic and dermatologist tested.

I hope this blog post shows you that you can be absolutely, positively fabulous no matter what! Every where your foot steps IS your very own personal red carpet. Treat it as such. Love yourself, care for yourself, and enjoy every moment of it. I love you beautiful!!

xoxo,

Rocio Laura

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Back to School Fashion Look Book 2014

Hey Dolls,

Today I'm sharing the photos and video from my Back to School Fashion LookBook. I filmed this lookbook with the help of the amazing Chris Santos (@chrissantosfilms on instagram). I hope you enjoy xoxo.








Tank Top: H&M
Long Cardigan: H&M
Shorts: JC Penny
Knee High Socks: Target
Boots: H&M






Sweater: H&M
Jacket: Forever 21
Faux Leather and Mesh Leggings: Express
Boots: Timberland




Tank Top: Old Navy
Cardigan: Gap
Jacket: Macy's
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Steve Madden





Tank Top: Forever 21
Denim Shirt: H&M
Leggings: Express
Boots: Steve Madden

 
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