Went by Houston TX last weekend and even though the heat was extreme, I found an Outlet Mall.
I stopped by a few stores, but the ones I enjoyed the most were CCO (Cosmetics Company Outlet) and Coach :)

Coach had this amazing sale -50% off on alot of bags and an additional 20% off . Sadly I did not find any bags that i really liked :(

So this is what i came away with from the outlet:

Last week, while we were snowboarding in Colorado, I got a chance to visit The Cosmetics Company Store or CCO as it is referred to on the web.CCO or The Cosmetics Company Store is an outlet shop that carries makeup, brushes, and perfume. They stock Estee Lauder, Origins Prescriptives, Bobbi Brown, CLinique, and MAC. The products from these brands include discontinued colors, overstock, and limited edition products from department store shelves. The prices are generally 20-30% off items retail price. Each CCO contains a different inventory of products.

I found the CCO in Silverthorne, Colorado to have some great items, but it really depends on the store. Some get cleaned out of good items fast!


I was mostly interested in the MAC products, since MAC rarely goes on sale. So this is what i got.

2 Paint Pots & 1 Eyeshadow


Quite Natural Paint Pot, Soft Ochre Paint Pot

Quite Natural is dark brown, reminds me of dark chocolate, it is a great base for a brown smokey eye, which is why i got it. Soft Ochre is just a great base for any color :)

Silverthorn Eyeshadow.
I mostly got this for the name since I bought it in Silverthorne Colorado :)Left: Silverthorn Right Electra
Silverthorn is a bit darker than Electra and while Electra is a Frost, Silverthorn is a Veluxe Pearl so it is not as shiny.

TIPS:

• CCO = Cosmetic Company Outlet
• Test the item before you buy. It might look pretty in the packaging but not on you.
  
• Check the items you bought!
  When i got to the hotel after CCO, I discovered that one of the paint pots I got was not closed properly and the product dried out completely. So i had to go exchange.
• Return/Exchange Policy: You can exchange the product or get store credit, but they do not refund the money.
  
• The lovely ladies working there let me know that the CCOS get their shipment beginning of each month
• For a list of CCO in USA click HERE!
  

I have decided to be dairy free for exactly one month from the first post to see if it helps with my breakouts. (Check out the previous post for more information)
Until June 17th I will not or will try not to consume any dairy.

Since I have only been dairy free for two days, there is no major changes to my skin.
Food wise- I had a bit of a problem thinking up food that i could eat that does not contain dairy that was available in the house.
However I was craving pancakes all day before and there was one banana that was started to get brown spots, so I decided to make pancakes. I took my favorite recipe and made it dairy free ...then took it a step further and made it Vegan (basically just eliminated the 1 egg).

(Banana Raisin) Pancakes
1 1/4 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 cup of water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon of oil (vegetable or olive)
1 or 2 bananas (mashed up) OPTIONAL
1/2 to 1 cup of raisins OPTIONAL

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In another bowl mix together water, oil, vanilla, and bananas.
Pour the banana mixture into the dry mixture and stir. It will be a bit lumpy but that's the way it needs to be.
Stir in the raisins.

On the stove top heat a frying pan and pour some veg/olive oil into it.
Use a large spoon to scoop some of the pancake mixture into the pan to make a couple of small pancakes.
Cook them on each use until light brown.

Tips:

• Make sure you cook the pancakes on Medium or low heat. High heat will cause them to burn on the outside and the inside to remain raw.
• To help you mash up the banana. Put it in a zip-lock bag and mash it up with your hands. Then cut a bottom triangle out and squeeze the mashed up banana out.
• I sometimes like to sprinkle my pancakes with a sugar-cinnamon mix (equal amounts of sugar & cinnamon)

I usually like my pancakes with milk... but i discovered yesterday they go absolutely great with a cup of black tea :)

Just like everyone else I get a few pimples every now and again. However, lately I have been getting more of them than usual so I decided to do some research. What I found was that dairy can cause acne in some individuals. Might this be the cause for mine? When I thought about what I ate, I realized that my dairy intake has skyrocketed over the past few months. My morning breakfasts usually consists of cereal and milk and in the evening cheese is incorporated into my dinner... and to make things worse my favorite snack lately has been yogurt or ice cream.

According to many articles that i read, dermatologists believe dairy products are the major triggering factor for acne. But why?
In one study a some teenage girls were asked to keep a food diary and a breakout diary. What the study found that the girls that had a rich dairy diet had more severe breakouts than the rest of the girls. Furthermore, it was found that milk was the worst offender than any other dairy product and out of all types of milk, skim milk induced more breakouts. So if skim milk causes more breakouts than whole milk, the fat in the milk is not to blame.
It is believed that the hormones in the milk cause the breakouts. Besides the natural hormones the cow's milk has, the farmers also give their cows additional hormones to stimulate milk production and make the cows produce a lot more milk than they could normally. The resulting milk, is very high in IGF-1, which is a growth factor that peaks during adolescence in humans... when acne is at it's worst. The processing of skim milks somehow makes it contain higher levels of IGF-1 than whole milk. I also found that the hormones in milk cause over stimulation of the human oil production glands which might cause acne in some individuals.
Another study i read also linked hormones in milk to acne, however it also linked iodine in milk to breakouts. The cows get fed feed which contains iodine to help fight infections. However, iodine has been found to cause acne in some people, especially in those who have sensitive skin. So even the little amount of iodine that is found in milk can cause acne or a breakout in folks that are sensitive. This same study also explains hormones. The thing to consider is that 75-90% of milk comes from pregnant cows. And what do we know about pregnancy? HORMONES! and a lot of them. These hormones get into milk , which we drink, and then the hormones get into our bodies. And just like most women know hormones = acne. So those hormones in milk have the same affect on us and the hormones we (women) get that cause us get those breakouts or that one pimple when its that time of the month.

What is considered to be dairy?

• Milk (including kefir, buttermilk, milk powder, condensed & evaporated milk)
• Butter
• Cheese (including cream cheese & cottage cheese)
• Casein
• Yogurt
• Gelato & Ice Cream (including frozen yogurt)

Just to make a few things clear... the milk i am taking about is the one usually sold in stores, NOT Organic milk. Organic milk, which does not have those extra hormones farmers give cows, still have natural hormones the cow produces during pregnancy.

In order to find out if dairy is really causing your breakouts you need to take some time away from the dairy. HOWEVER, you need to do this for some time, just one day will not tell you anything.. Your breakout will not magically disappear over night if you don't have any dairy the previous day. In order to really find out if dairy is causing your zits it might take sometime ..like a few weeks. This is because the body needs to get rid of all the things that are still in it. Therefore try about 2-3 weeks or even a month with no dairy.

As for myself, I have decided to take a month off of dairy and see if this is really what is causing my breakouts.
I shall post updates on how this "experiment" is going :)

Salut!

This is my first blog and I have no clue of what I am doing.
Please be patient with me.

I believe this blog will be a bit random, since i have so many interests and pick them up quite easily.

Some of my interests and things you might see in this blog

• make-up
• nail-polish
• skincare and beauty tips
• art (including photography)
• cooking
• and more...