Happy Saturday. I have my “IT” cosmetics makeover this afternoon. This makeover is going to be the highlight of my day and it’s going to be a challenge for the IT cosmetics makeup artist. Imagine—turning me into the ultimate beauty!
Last night’s soufflé was a success. Monsieur Bonaparte ate the entire thing-whilst I wolfed down a Weight Watchers Smart Ones followed by half a bottle of Michel Lynch –which, BTW is a GREAT and inexpensive red wine! Soufflés are fun to make—and they rise so beautifully—in the oven, but the second you take them out, they start to deflate!
See how high the top of the soufflé got in the oven?
If I had been quicker taking a picture, the soufflé wouldn’t have been so deflated. It deflates so quickly after taking it out of the oven!
Doesn’t matter how it looked. Monsieur at the whole thing. I CAN believe he ate the whole thing!
We watched two more episodes of House of Cards before falling asleep!
Anyway, I’m not going to wear any makeup at all except for brow powder and a bit of mascara today. And lip balm. I want to go into this totally fanaked! (My invented word for “face-naked”)!
In the meantime I’ll get the tweezers, my magnifying mirror and pluck some unsightly (?) hairs from my chin. I’ll tell ya Menopause keeps me busy—imagine going through this every day! THIS is beauty reality. *Note to self: Aww, Pluck it—research that “NoNo” hair removal system!
Pluck it! THIS is the reality of beauty during and past Menopause! Hell, I’m far from pretty, but I know how to work it!
You know what? I really must have been a little devil as a child. Look at my cowlicks. Two horns! I am going to send this pic to the producers of “American Horror Story”—maybe they will hire me. I do look pretty horrific—Don’t you think? *Nya ha ha* *twirls mustache*!! Hmmm.
Are these tufts of hair really devilish horns? Or–are they cowlicks. Or–better yet, could it be hair growing over my receding hairline? Oh if it is, I’m so thrilled!
First of all, my apologies for this dopey filter. I don’t know WHAT I touched on my phone’s camera, but this filter bugs me. I want all of my flaws to shine through. That being said, I’m ALMOST FANAKED except for a light touch of brow powder, mascara, a thin line of eyeliner and Chapstick lip balm. Nothing else is on my face. My apologies for the filter! Ugh!
What else is on today’s agenda? I’m making Chicken Veronique this evening. Chicken with grapes in a cream-based sauce. It’s actually quite delicious!
Ingreeds: Grapes, chicken broth, White Wine (Mouton Cadet is a great cooking and drinking wine and dirt cheap!), heavy cream and chicken. (I put lemons over the chicken to keep it fresh before I put it in the fridge–covered with cling, naturally.) I have to get the shallots later!
Here’s how I make it:
Ingreeds: 2 large chicken breasts cut in half. 2 tsp butter, 2 shallots—sliced thinly, 1/2 cup dry white wine, 1 cup of chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups (about 40-45) green, seedless grapes, salt and pepper to taste. Rice flour for dredging. If you want, you can also add some fresh thyme or Herbes de Provence.
Run the breasts under cold water and pat dry. Then put them on a cutting board and pound them to an even flatness (I also think this tenderizes the chicken as well). (This can also be done in advance). Salt and pepper the chicken.
Pounding the chicken gets them nice and evenly flattened out. It also makes ’em tender too!
Dredge the chicken in a thin coating of rice flour—If you don’t have rice flour, sift regular flour onto a plate and dredge the chicken.
I’ve purchased this at Wegman’s and Walmart. It lasts for quite a while and it is gluten free!
TIP: Monsieur Bonaparte HATES any meat dredged in regular flour. For him, the flour leaves a heavy coating and taste—I’ve learned through trial and error that rice flour is excellent for dredging. First of all, it is so light that you cannot taste it—secondly, that light coating really seals the juices of the meat so nicely. If you cannot find rice flour, Wondra flour is a great dupe!
Melt half the butter in a pan and cook the breasts,–if you need more butter, add it– then take the breasts out of the pan and set aside on a plate. Better yet, place the breasts in a warm oven so they don’t get cold. (200 oven)
Add remaining butter and shallots to the pan, stir the shallots so they don’t burn—you just want them nicely softened. Add the wine and boil to reduce by half. Add broth, reducing by half again; add the cream and any juice from the chicken. Bring to a boil. Add the grapes and cook under a low flame for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Slice the breasts and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve with a salad or veg.
TIP: Use lemon to clean cutting boards. The acid from the lemon really does a great job in cleaning. See this board? Oona made it in middle school—thank you Hopewell Valley Regional School District for offering so many fun classes to the student!
Lemon does a fantastic job of cleaning cutting boards. This board is my sentimental favorite. Oona made it when she was in 6th grade. Timberlane Middle School, Pennington, NJ. HVRSD–I miss those days so much!
Soon I’ll be out and about, running errands before my big makeover! I’m wearing a pair of Black over-the-knee boots by Nine West. I purchased them in 2013 and they’ve held up nicely. Jeans are Gap Skinny (thank god for the stretch because I’ve gained some weight this winter). The sweater is from ModCloth. It’s the infamous Airport Greeting Sweater. This sweater is an absolute favorite. I love it so much—it can be zipped all the way up or just a bit. It is so versatile! Under the sweater is a sleeveless T from Uniqlo-I wear it backwards because of the illusion of a higher neckline. Actually, I wear most plain T shirts backwards for this reason! Nothing to do with modesty, I just think a higher neckline looks better on me!
Easy outfit for an “Outandabout” Saturday. Here’s a closeup (Ugh..that darn filter..) of the sweater with the backwards T shirt. I cannot tell you enough about how much I love this sweater!
Off for some Saturdayness! XOXOXOXO! I’ll be reviewing my makeover later on!
Here’s some Chicago. Even though it’s too cold, think about “Saturday in the Park”–it’s happy!
Ulta”M”ITe Makeover (Part Deux)
First of all, I’m apologizing in advance for the pics. I tried to fix that “$#*($ing” filter on my phone’s camera and messed the camera up more than it was before—some of the pics aren’t that great.
Ulta was crazy-crowded. And there were a lot of women getting made up.
The setting for the big makeover!
I took my seat and was greeted by Veronica. I lucked out not only because she was fun and adorable, but she did such a great job explaining every step of every application she did on me.
Is she the cutest–or what?? I’m so happy Veronica did my makeup!
IT cosmetics is all about the anti-aging, that’s a good thing—especially for older, mature skin such as mine. The line seems pretty decent and the pricing is fine as well. Not way overpriced.
Veronica started out applying “Bye Bye” Under Eye Corrector/Concealer in “Light”. She applied with a brush. I have to say I was so impressed by this corrector/concealer. It went on smoothly and really evened out my skin. It isn’t drying either. Definitely a purchase.
This was a great purchase for me. The “light” color was excellent for my skin tone–the texture nice and creamy–did NOT enhance my “lines” (user friendly term for wrinkles)!
Next, she applied the CC cream. The good thing about it—almost three hours later I’m writing this and there was no oxidation. Also—it’s an SPF 50 product which makes it great for being outdoors all day
. A seemingly good product but it just did not work for me. Too bad–but you take these things in stride!
However, it isn’t hydrating on me. My face, especially around my mouth feels very taut. It’s weird because as great as the concealer/corrector is, this isn’t working for me. I’m glad I didn’t purchase. I really, really need a liquid foundation that hydrates. It may have worked better had a primer been applied first. I did purchase the brush that was used to apply the CC cream. Chippy just about made a meal out of my good foundation brush so I figured a new one is very welcomed. Besides, I love the quality of the brush too!
Eyes were next. I did mention that I use black brow powder to fill my brows in. Veronica told me IT makes a very dark brown that would do an excellent job. The brown, in my opinion just didn’t work. Veronica did an absolutely amazing job of giving me thick brows and the shape is wonderful, but I really need black.
Diggin’ the thick brows–Bonaparte didn’t like them that much but–DARN–this friggin’ filter! I’m soooo sorry ladies. I MUST figure out how to rid this filter! Lovin the thickness of the brows–just not lovin’ the color!
I just cannot understand why cosmetics companies refuse to make a black brow product. It really is a WTF for me. Anyway, I loved the brow brush that was used and I made the brush purchase!
Pearl Luxe eye shadow trio was used to shadow the eyes. Once again, Veronica’s application of the product was stellar. But—the brown shadow oxidized on my lid and turned slightly orange. Another product I’m glad I didn’t purchase. The shadows are pretty but just didn’t work for me. I’ll stick to my Naked and Stila palettes.
Pearl Luxe–a great shadow trio if it doesn’t oxidize. Unfortunately for me, it turned orange. HOWEVER, Monsieur Bonaparte LOVED the way Veronica applied the shadow! She has a great hand for application!
A coating of mascara was next—and I received a good tip from Veronica. I applied mascara earlier in the day. She mentioned that applying mascara over a layer that was applied hours ago creates clumps. It’s much better to just apply layer upon layer of mascara when you apply it in the morning. I thought that was a good tip.
Veronica also lined my eyes with a black pencil liner. It’s amazing how a makeup artist can use a pencil liner and make it look great. I’m used to a felt-tip or liquid liner so I passed. Also, I have so many liners in my stash that the purchase would have been frivolous.
Lips next. I have the IT Lip Flush in Je Ne Sais Quoi and I love it because it just gives a moist flush and it is hydrating.
I’ll stick with my IT “Je Ne Sais Quoi” Merci Beaucoup!
Veronica applied a neutral gloss on my lips, but for me, it was too dark.
Cheeks were last, and I ended up making the purchase of the cheek/lip stain she used. Rose Flush. It’s very light and goes on nice and creamy.
Cheek and Lip stain (although I’ll only use this as a blush), in Rose Flush. Very nice and subtle!
All in all, I’m happy with the four products I purchased. Each item was needed. I can always use a corrector/concealer that is mature skin friendly. The brushes are great quality and the blush/lip stain is a great purchase.
Bye Bye Under Eye in Light
Vitality Flush Cheek and Lip Stain in Rose Flush
Brow brush and Foundation Brush…all great purchases!
And…Samples! I’ll keep the lip serum but give the CC cream to Oona!
I’m very disappointed in the CC cream. Perhaps BB’s and CC’s just aren’t the right product for me, personally. Maybe it’s time to start researching oil-based foundations instead of water-based ones.
I’ve had many a makeover—I love getting them. I also have to say, that even though I wasn’t crazy about all the products used, it was the tied with “Stila”as the best make over I’ve ever had. Both thanks to the makeup artists! Veronica did a fantastic job. She explained each product so knowledgeably. She also didn’t pressure me to make any purchases.
Listen to me—I’ve had some dog, woof, woofs of makeovers. As much as I love Lancôme cosmetics, their makeovers stink. I’ve cried after getting made over. Trish McEvoy only cares about sales. I’ve never, ever taken part in a more pressured makeover than McEvoy. It’s a sin the way McEvoy pressures people into buying. Seriously, Veronica Horn (lol—not to be confused with Veronica Vaughn), was the example of a truly great representative of IT cosmetics. I hope she does well and wish her every success!
Monsieur Bonaparte did not care for my thick brows, but, he LOVED my makeover—and that’s a good thing.
Oh. Here ‘s our dinner. I fixed my camera..for the regular pics—still havent’ figured out that gosh darned filter. Ugh.
Chicken Veronique–Chicken and Grapes–a winning combo!
My Bonaparte LOVED the dinner as well. In fact, I’m going to serve it for a small dinner party in a few weeks! Yum!
OK. Nighty Night! We lose an hour this evening. DON’T FORGET TO SET YOUR CLOCKS AN HOUR AHEAD!
I’m driving into NYC tomorrow. Early. Brunch with Oona and my BFF Jeannie Byrnes! Then it’s off to an Irish Dance Fundraiser for the McGough Academy of Irish Dance–only THE best Irish Dance School in the Five Boroughs!
Until Tomorrow! XOXOXOXOXO!
