MAC BLACKTRACK FLUIDLINE : BEAUTY REVIEW

I have been a MAC Blacktrack loyalist for years now. I cant even imagine the  years before I knew what gel eyeliner was . It has become a part of my signature look and a Beauty item which is always in stock in my make up storage, if ever I run out of it . I had earlier done a detailed Post on 'How to apply Gel Eye Liner(Read about it Here),' I realized that I had not done a detailed Beauty Review of the product in question. Since I always get requested as to how my eye liner is always smudge proof and such long lasting, I thought, why not do the long delayed post. Recently a famous celebrity make up artist, who also has her own Youtube channel, misspelt this iconic product in her video. For those of you confused, its called BLACKTRACK and not Blacktrax !

To begin with, Blacktrack is the Black gel eye liner from the Fluidline range of MAC. I have owned and used Fluidline, in a few shades, but for me, Blacktrack is the biggest winner. If you have never used gel liners, then its a waxy eye liner,which needs to be used with a fine liner brush, or an angled brush. It comes in a glass pot with a plastic lid. Make sure that the lid is tightly closed when you are not using it, as it prevents the product from drying out. Blacktrack retails at $17 without taxes. Its worth every penny that you will spend on it.

MAC describes it as,"Solid Flat Black." Its a Matte black eye liner . Every stroke of a fine liner brush with this product, always yields an intense black line every time. Black liquid eyeliners can sometimes dry to a shiny finish, which looks pretty tacky. While every make up brand has its version of gel eyeliners, MAC Blacktrack is one of the smoothest and silkiest in the market. Its won numerous Beauty Awards over the years, and has been on the list of favorites of far too many people Its not patchy and does not flake off. There's a reason why its called Best of the Best Eye Liner .

Its Smudgeproof. I have used this eye liner and worked out in a gym. Been to a sea beach and spent the day frolicking in the waves. But this eye liner does not smudge. Its Long Wearing.When you are putting this eye liner on, its not runny like a liquid eye liner and dries fast. I remember hating putting on liquid eye liner only having it transfer to my eye lids, as it used to take so long to dry.

When you want to remove Blacktrack from your eyelids, I suggest you use a gentle eye make up remover on a cotton pad. Use gentle circular motions to remove the product. Then wash your face with your face wash of choice.

The Cons about this product, is that it has a tendency to dry out. Be very careful when you are using it , to prevent it from drying out.

If you feel you have some leftover Blacktack which is on the drier side, let me share a Beauty Hack. Remove the lid, and microwave it for 10 secs. Use a toothpick to mix in the product and close the lid again. Adjust the timings according to the capacity of your microwave.

If you want to learn How to Use MAC Blacktrack Fluidline , then read about it Here. The post includes details on which Brushes to use, how to apply and master the application process.

SHOP IT :

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TRANSITIONING TO SPRING WITH CAPES : FASHION

We have had a few warm days in February, which got me in the mood to transition to Spring. Outfits which help you transition between seasons, always interest me. Capes or ponchos are a great transitional piece. I have  a few capes in my collection, which I reach out for at this time to the year or when we are transitioning to fall. They can be layered under a turtle neck, if you want more warmth. Or belted up to look more chic. This particular cape is from Target which I had picked up last year. As it is in Black and White, it makes it more versatile when it comes to pairings. I paired it over a powder blue chiffon sleeveless top from Express and some light Jeggings from American Eagle. Grey suede booties . Its an oft repeated Cape at this time of the year and I love it.

Outfit Details :
Black and White Cape from Target (sold out. Similar Here 
American Eagle Light Wash Jegging in Antique Waves
Grey Suede Ankle Booties from Off Broadway 
MAC Mehr Lipstick 
Rayban Classic Wayfarers 

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WHITE RUSSIAN FOR VALENTINE'S DAY - COCKTAIL SPECIAL

Who doesn't remember the drink made famous by the character called The Dude from the film 'The Big Lebowski.' White Russian is unmistakable in its charm and crowd pleasing abilities. From a Girls' Night In, to a big family party, it will always create its magic. Its a sweet cocktail and one of the perfect after dinner drinks, if your want to skip dessert. Its luscious and creamy and yet packs a punch

This cocktail had been on my mind for some time. While I had ordered it at a few evenings out, I finally decided to make it for Valentine's Day. We usually treat ourselves to some fancy cocktail when we are eating out. This year we celebrated Valentine's Day with a Romantic Dinner at Tavern at Mission Farms, added an accent piece to our living room decor with my Valentine's Day DIY and finally a round of cocktails at home.

White Russian needs a coffee liqueur . While the classic White Russian uses Bailey's Irish Cream, you can also substitute it with Kahlua . If you want it fancier, you can even add in a teaspoon of caramel sauce to every glass. You can even substitute the cream, with half and  half or with whole milk(if your pantry isn't helping you out). I prefer it just the classic way but had run out of heavy cream so substituted it with half and half.  I know this post doesn't have the fanciest of pictures, but trust me, its a great cocktail. So make yourself some White Russian and grab your favorite person to enjoy it.

WHITE RUSSIAN : 

Ingredients: 
Vodka : 1 oz
Bailey's Original Coffee Liqueur : 2 oz
Half and Half : 4 oz
Shaker
Ice Cubes and ice chips
Old Fashioned Glass
Meauring cup / Peg measure


Procedure:

Mix the ingredients with ice cubes in a shaker and shake well.

Strain in an old fashioned glass over some ice chips.

Enjoy !

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TAVERN AT MISSION FARMS - VALENTINE'S DAY DINNER

Hello everyone. Hope all of you had a great Valentine's weekend. I did catch up on my lost sleep. That was one of the plans for this year. You can only catch up on so much lost sleep, when you have a toddler at home. We don't exchange gifts as such. This year, I repurposed an existing table and gave it a Valentine's Day befitting make over. You can read about it Here. Its a great Valentine's Day DIY .

Brunch and lunch did not quite happen, so we made reservations for Dinner. As we always try and explore a new  or unexplored joint (by us) , whenever its a special occasion, this time we headed to Mission Farms. Our dinner address: TAVERN at Mission Farms. We generally love Mission Farms and the restaurants there and keep going back there ever so often.

What we wore? We all had our touch of Red. It was a cold evening and we needed some warm food in our bellies fast. It was a conscious decision not to drink outside at night as we wanted to head home and make ourselves some special cocktail. Post coming up on Sunday on the special cocktail.

Tavern at Mission Farms serves up American cuisine. They have a bar area and a large dinning space and some private dinning areas. I loved the ambiance . The dim yellow lights, the big wall of wine bottles  and the crackling fire at the fire place added to the romance of the evening. The servers were well informed and very friendly.

We started off with an order of Chili Seared Jumbo Shrimp with green chili cheddar grits cake and barbecue butter sauce. It was topped with a roasted corn pico de gallo,which added the right crunch to it. This was definitely a pick for Main course , if you take my word. I would go back next time, and order this for lunch. It was a modern spin on the traditional Shrimp and Grits. The Shrimps were seared and I loved the char on them. The grits cake was luscious and the barbecue butter sauce with green chili, brought it all together. Although it was served it a wedge of lime, I preferred it better without adding anything.

Our daughter wanted to have her favorite- Macaroni and Cheese with a side of French fries. She was not interested in her fries, which Mommy and daddy offered to polish off as she worked on her dinner.

For our main course, my husband decided to order from the Special Menu of the Day. He settled for the Lollypop Lamb Rack served with heirloom potatoes and crispy cauliflower. It was a big portion for sure. For a man who loves his meat, his only complaint was that it had too many vegetables. Point noted.

I had my belly half full from the lovely appetizer and the fries discarded by my daughter, which I had been munching away to glory. Looking for what would be a smaller portion size, I noticed their section called, 'Hand Helds.' I ordered a portion of  their STEAK TACOS . Two tacos of flour tortillas, pepper jack cheese, roasted corn pico de gallo, chipotle aioli, which were served with black beans and chili lime slaw. Just the right flavor profile and serving size for me.

If you know my daughter, you know her sweet tooth. She kept asking for Chocolate Cake , the moment we had stepped in to the restaurant that evening. So we  asked our server to get us some of their Tripe Chocolate Cake . What came to our table , was the tallest  slice of cake I have seen. Just check it in comparison to our two year old's face. Their menu described it as Tall, Dark , and Delicious and it was every bit that. It was very rustic, very old school and very delicious. Three layers of decadent chocolate cake which was super soft with some very tasty chocolate buttercream frosting.

My favorite picks of the night were surely our Appetizer and Dessert, which shined over the main course of our choice. A nice place for a family meal together.

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REPAINTING OLD FURNITURE WITH RED CHALK PAINT : VALENTINE'S DAY DIY

You can go the florist and order a dozen red roses for your Valentine. They cost a bomb at this time of the year. While the charm of red roses are timeless and fool proof, but they do wither away,after some time. I was planning on a gift which would stay a bit longer. How about a Red Accent Table for the living room.

Our living room decor is mostly in monochromes. Blacks, whites and dark browns. We had been on the look out for a center table in red. We needed a pop of color . And it would also pair with the plaid throws I had recently purchased for the couch. We went to every possible furniture store in Kansas City and there was no such accent table as we wanted. As we were on the quest for the red table,  I attended a Blogger Workshop . Our lovely speaker Mandy of Sugar Bee Crafts  had a presentation for us. While the workshop was awesome, I could not forget how she had DIYed a single Dresser thrice. That's where a childhood memory also came to mind. My Grandmom was a DIY queen. She had a business empire almost fuelled by her creativity. She and my Dad had always mentioned the importance of re purposing old items lying around. The idea had fallen into place. How about refinishing our existing old and battered center table, which we were ready to trash.

It was an old brown wooden center table, with some metal inlays along the sides. The polish had come off at most places. Our daughter's favorite scribbling ground. I started doing some research. I needed a paint which had minimal prep work. All fingers pointed towards Chalk Paint. But to follow general trends is something but to do it yourself is something else.  I sought advice from my Blogger friend and Speaker from my Blogger Workshop: Mandy Williams Beyeler again. She mentioned that  Chalk Paint and Clear Wax would be my best bet . The Research matched the Expert's opinion.

There are numerous brands which make Chalk Paint. Annie Sloan seemed to be the crowd favorite. But its only available at select representatives. So I settled for Waverly Chalk Paint and Waverly Clear Wax . Just picked up a generic brush set of three brushes. As it was my first DIY project in many years, I didn't want to invest much. I had paid around 30 dollars for the table in the first place. The table was a good size and I liked the shape of the wood along the sides. 

I laid out four large trash bags on my small patio. Outdoor space is a crunch with us apartment dwellers. Checked the weather update for chances of snow. There was no snow for the next couple of days, if the weather apps were to be believed. 

The beauty of Chalk Paint is that you can paint over anything. The paint glides on like silk. And it is super forgiving . Even over polished surfaces or glossy table tops. You name it and chalk paint will work. You don't need to strip old paint, or sand down the furniture to start painting . Its almost like a Painter's dream come true. I don't mind stripping and sanding furniture, but I didn't have much time on my hands for this project, if i wanted it to be ready before Valentine's Day.

I cleaned out the table with window cleaner as the paint bottle instructed. I had picked out two bottles of chalk paint and a single bottle of clear wax. Three different sizes of brushes. 

I stirred the paint with the back of a wooden spoon and poured out some paint in an old glass dinner plate. Then I started painting the table with the large brush. I made sure I did the corners first. The first coat of paint looked like a dark pinkish red. I had to let the paint dry for two hours in between coats. After the first coat, I was a bit disappointed, as I felt it was not the right color I was looking for. I let it dry and came indoors. I placed the used paint brushes in a zip lock and stuck them in the refrigerator so that they did not dry out. I had read about this tip when I was researching how to repaint old wooden furniture.

After two hours, I completed my second coat. By this time, it was already getting dark. I decided to work on the project again the next day. The next morning when I went to wax the table, it was just the perfect shade of crimson I had been hoping . I Cant tell you how happy I was. I used clear wax as I wanted to preserve the color of the chalk paint. The wax needs to dry for 24 hours,after which you are ready to use your table.

Its just the perfect pop of color for our largely monochromatic living room. The old table which we would have probably donated gives this room such a character, after just a touch of paint. I am surely a huge fan of Chalk Paint and would recommend it to everyone who wants to bring in some cosmetic changes or pops of color to their living space. I had picked up two bottles of Chalk Paint in Crimson, but only used 3/4th of the first bottle. Go ahead and paint it Red ! 

Happy Valentine's Day to you all !

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BROOKIES (BROWNIES + COOKIES) - FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. And this time its on a Sunday. Have you already made your plans? A lovely Brunch or a fancy dinner. Or maybe a night in with some chocolates and good wine. I haven't made any plans myself. But what I already did is that I Baked up a batch of the most awesomest of confections. BROOKIES. They are choclatey goodness to say the least. Brookies are a cross between Brownies and Cookies, as the name suggests. While the center is decadent and soft, it has these crisp edges. I must tell you, that once you have baked a batch, they fly off the shelf in record time. You and your Valentine can enjoy them with some god coffee to start off the day.

I first heard of Brookies from British Blogger and Youtube Lily Pebbles. She had a video and a blog dedicated to this wonder called Brookies. Then it became almost a viral post , being re-created by so many all across the globe. Its been more than a year that I had been contemplating making Brookies, but procrastination took the better of me, as always. Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect time. Me and my husband have a sweet tooth. We have a toddler at home, who loves her share of sugar. Whether or not we exchange gifts this year, we will surely be munching on these lovelies.

The simplicity of this recipe is what appealed to me the most. The ingredients are pretty basic. We mostly have these items laying around in our pantry any way, any day. Secondly, its Dairy Free. So if you have a kid who is allergic to dairy or if you are avoiding dairy yourself, this is a great alternative. While its great for Valentine's Day, it is also a good choice for party favors for a kid's birthday party. Or just to munch on with some extra dark coffee. Its my guilty pleasure. I can never have one of these. Its too good to resist. I challenge You to have one and to not reach out for another. Its a dare.

This recipe is pretty fool proof. Very hard to mess it up. When I tried it for the first time, I was a bit wary. What if it was a disaster. I say this because, like every other person, I have had my share of baking and kitchen disasters. This recipe called for a large batch of Brookies. I just followed the instructions to the T and I was surprised myself at how good they turned out. They almost looked straight out of magazine editorial. That's how good they were.

Lily's recipe asked for the batter to be scooped by a teaspoon. And her batter yielded 70 Brookies. Yes, you read that right. I used a slightly larger scoop, of a tablespoon, to be precise. I had about 50 Brookies. As I was following Lily's original recipe, it had measurements in a different unit. So I took the liberty of converting them to my convenient unit of measurement. See, I have made your work a lot easier. Go ahead and give these Brookies a try. You can thank me later, as compliments will flow in from all quarters.

BROOKIES: 

Recipe Courtesy : Lily Pebbles' Brookies

Ingredients: 
All purpose flour : 2 cups
Granulated Sugar (Caster Sugar) : 2 cups
Vegetable Oil : I used Canola Oil : 125 ml
Baking Powder : 2 tsp
Vanilla Extract : 2 tsp
Salt : 1 tsp
Eggs: 4
Icing Sugar(Confectioner's Sugar) 1/4 cup or 60 g (start with less)
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder : 3/4 cup
Parchment Paper

Procedure: 

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, mix sugar, oil and cocoa powder.

Add in one egg at a time.

Add in the vanilla extract, Mix well.

In a another bowl, sieve together the flour, salt and baking powder.

Add in the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture.

Chill the dough in a refrigerator for 4 hours after you have covered the bowl with some cling film.

Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

Scoop out dough with a measure of your choice, either a teaspoon or a tablespoon. Roll the dough to a round.

Pour out confectioner's sugar in a dinner plate.

Roll the cookie dough ball in the sugar and cover it completely.

 Transfer the dough balls on to a prepared baking tray. Leave gaps in between as the Brookies will spread.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the Brookies rest for a minute in the tray and then transfer them onto wire racks to dry.

You will doing three to four batches of baking with the batter.

Dig into chocolatey goodness.

Bon Appetit !

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