My January Ipsy Glam Bag

Hey everyone,

I know this is very late BUT.... it's just something I just had to share. Last month I received my very first Ipsy glam bag and I was so excited that I just couldn't wait to see what came. For those of you who haven't been introduced to the company, Ipsy is a beauty subscription company and for a small fee of $10 US plus free shipping/ month, you get 5 beauty based items that is recommended just for you based on your beauty profile. I find that this is a great way for the eager and earnest beauty enthusiast on a budget to keep up with new trends and new products without breaking the bank.

The theme for the January Ipsy bag was 'All Eyes On You' so many of the products I received were focused on enhancing the eyes. Can't wait to see what I got? Well let's get to it then!!!

The cute bag that the products came in

The name glam bag is certainly no accident because every month the beauty products you receive come in a cute themed makeup bag that is just ah-may-zing. It's functional but still very stylish and cute which is always a bonus.

A peek inside my January glam bag

So let's get this show on the road and let me introduce you to some great products that were sent to me by Ipsy. Just a note: All the product descriptions are from the ipsy site to give you a small peek into what the products are all about.

1. Beau Gâchis Paris Smudge Brush

Beau Gachis Paris Smudge Brush

This Beau Gâchis Paris Smudge Brush is ideal for creating that soft, smoldering smoky look. The shorter bristles allow this brush to pick up the right amount of shadow, allowing you to control how much you want to apply.

2. TheBalm Cosmetics Mr. Write (Now)

theBalm Cosmetics Mr. Write (Now) eyeliner

These pencils deliver the long-lasting color you've been looking for, and have built-in sharpeners so they are always ready when you are. With high payoff, eight wearable shades, and a satin smooth texture, you get a long-lasting colour with a very rich payoff.

3. Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow

MARSK Mineral Eyeshadows are 100% natural, mineral based loose powder that are strictly cruelty free (not tested on animals) and available in a range of striking shades that offer endless colour possibilities for a professional makeup effect. Featuring a creamy texture, these highly pigmented powders are easily blendable and offer you the ability to create depth and intensity around the eye.

4. Lasting Smiles Lip Balm in Peppermint Creme

Lasting Smiles organic lip balm in Peppermint Creme

Lasting Smiles lip balms are organic and fairtrade certified with pure and moisturizing ingredients sourced from small scale global farming cooperatives. Add a bit of freshness to your lips with natural peppermint oil and a dollop of vanilla creme for a smooth finish. With coconut oil, shea, and cocoa butter for soft hydrated and healthy lips. Smile for a Cause because every 1,000 lip balms sold funds one cleft lip surgery - transforming a child's life forever!

5. OFRA Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil

Ofra Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil

OFRA’S Universal Eyebrow Pencil is the perfect solution for your eyebrows as this product is suitable for all skin tones. The more you apply the brow pencil the darker the color will get! It will also hold stray eyebrow hairs in place. This product can also double as an eyeliner or lip liner pencil!

A closer look at the Ofra eyebrow pencil

That's all for now folks. Awww... gone so soon? So let's keep in touch. Leave your comments and questions below or follow my facebook page: Nella Verde. See you soon!!!

My Most Kissable Red Lipsticks for Valentine's Day

Greetings everyone,

Classic red lips have been a signature staple of many women for many years. It has become one of the ultimate beauty essentials in every woman's beauty arsenal.  A bold lip is a great way to dress up any outfit and look elegant and serene with minimal effort. And best of all, it never goes out of style.

Valentine's day is right around the corner and that means for many of us there's bound to be some smooching involved. And if you're like me and you've been lusting after an amazing red lipstick to complement a killer outfit, then you've definitely come to the right place. So I figured this was the perfect time to share some of my favourite red lipsticks with you.

There are definitely a lot of choices, but some reds are definitely superior to others. Not to mention if you're not able to break the bank or if you're able to only splurge a little then these 4 are great for the budget-sensitive gal.

Mac Ruby Woo

When it comes to red lipstick, there are definitely a few shades that stand out from the rest for the intensity of their color and being more flattering. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mac Ruby Woo is DEFINITELY one of those lipsticks. A lipstick shade that is as classic as the red lipstick trend itself, Ruby Woo is a matte red with a blue base, which means it is flattering to those with cooler colouring. It is one of those lipsticks that just seems to blend well and magnify the beauty of every shade and skin tone. It is literally perfect for any occasion and every woman.

LA Girls Matte Pigmented Lipgloss: Frisky

The matte lip craze has been an ongoing trend for a few years now. I mean who doesn't love bold colours and a longlasting lipstick? This LA Girls matte lipgloss is the perfect budget-friendly lip product for the everyday girl wanting to make a bold statement. It is a bright red with a subtle hint of pink that can stop anyone in their tracks. This bold matte shade provides a rich, showstopping and intense color in a flat finish for all day wear. It is a definite must have for your vday date and special bonus: It lasts ages!!!!

LA Girls Matte Pigmented Lipgloss: Secret

Much like its sister Frisky; Secret likes to strut its stuff whenever it goes out on a night on the town. It's a dark red with purple undertones, almost nearing maroon/burgundy. This beautiful colour is perfect to keep those puckers pursed and that smile seductive. The long wearing formula goes on as a high pigmented liquid and dries to a flat matte finish. Leaving lips coloured in gorgeous velvety perfection that last and lasts!

LA Colors Vitamin E & Aloe Vera Enriched Lipstick: Jazzy Red

LA Colors Jazzy Red is a bright red lipstick that is great for a girl about town. It has got loads of pigment and goes on smoothly and evenly. You only need to apply it a couple of times throughout the night, which is always a bonus when you have a little too much fun and loads of smooching going on. This lipstick gives me confidence and makes my lips and brown eyes pop with its bright red tone. And best of all it's pretty cheap so it won't make a huge dent into your pocket.

Just a final thought before I leave you. Remember, the perfect red lipstick has a lot to do with your skin tone so I suggest testing before you buy anything new.

So what about you? Do you have a favourite red lipstick? Let me know below! Leave a comment or question below or hit me up on my facebook page: Nella Verde.

Black Fashion Icons: Then & Now

Greetings everyone,

We're into the second month of 2016 and for many of us who are of African descent, it becomes an important time of reflection, honouring and rebuilding as we focus on those who came before us. We try in some way to learn more about our ancestors and their contributions not only to our community but to the world at large.

This month I've decided to look at black women who have made significant impact in the Beauty & Fashion industry. Many black women have managed to breakdown stereotypes and pushed the boundaries to make significant contributions to the evolution of style and beauty. These icons have paved the way and revolutionized the way in which we look at black beauty. This is but a humble list as I can no way cover all the wonderful and beautiful black women who have made great contributions to the beauty and fashion industry. This will be a post series beginning with the honouring of the women of the past and ending with a focus on the women of today who continue to make strides in black beauty and fashion.

So let's begin with a woman like no other who changed the fashion and beauty world completely !!!

Josephine Baker

  This American-born French dancer, singer, and actress is praised as one of the most influential style icons of her time and is revered today. She is noted as the first black fashion trendsetter. Decked out in diamonds and pearls and sporting a skirt of bananas, a topless Josephine Baker made her Folies Bergere debut to the shock and admiration of Paris. So phenomenal was her performance at the Folies Bergere in 1925, she ignited the trend of sun tanning among whites. She was even called “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.” by Ernest Hemingway. The "Black Pearl" or "Bronze Venus" as she was so affectionately called, forged the path for the glamorous ‘flapper girl’ style of the Jazz Age.

She was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906 to washerwoman Carrie McDonald and vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson. Josephine grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families who reminded her "be sure not to kiss the baby." She got a job waitressing at The Old Chauffeur's Club when she was 13 years old.  She was married and divorced four times, a brief marriage to Willie Wells, a marriage to American Willie Baker in 1921 (whose last name she chose to keep), Frenchman Jean Lion in 1937 (from whom she attained French citizenship) and French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon in 1947 (who helped to raise her 12 adopted children).

Josephine toured the United States with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers in 1919, performing various comical skits. When the troupes split, she tried to advance as a chorus girl for The Dixie Steppers in Sissle and Blake's production Shuffle Along. She was rejected because she was "too skinny and too dark." Undeterred, she learned the chorus line's routines while working as a dresser. Thus, Josephine was the obvious replacement when a dancer left. Onstage she rolled her eyes and purposely acted clumsy. The audience loved her comedic touch, and Josephine was a box office draw for the rest of the show's run.

However, her true success as a performer and style icon came when she moved to Paris, where her stardom and influence flourished and afforded her great success.

Want to learn more about this phenomenal woman? Check out: http://josephinebaker.com/ and http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/about/biography.html

The Best Lessons I Learned About Failing

As it gets closer to the end of the year, it becomes a time for reflection and examination. Looking back on the year that has passed and think about our goals, our plans, our successes, our failures and all the life changes that have occurred in 2015. For many of us, 2015 opened new doors and we are proud to say we accomplished most if not, all of our goals. But for the vast majority of resolution-makers, it became another year of failures, lost dreams, ruined plans and grave disappointments. Personally, 2015 was one of the most challenging and arduous years of my life. I failed many times over, was successful at a few and had many trials and tests of my persistence. However, in the end, there is one great gift that 2015 has given me and that was a great lesson in failure. And of all the lessons I've learned on failure, these are but the 3 I found to be the greatest help in my ability to push through and finish the year on a successful note. 

1) Failure isn't permanent.

As a child growing up, one of my absolute greatest fears was that of failure. If I got anything less than 90% on a test I thought my world was coming to an end. It became so crippling that if there was even the hint or possibility of failure, I would quit before I even began. Now this is a problem that is not exclusive to me. As children, we are often taught to fear failure and avoid mistakes. Our society preaches perfection from our looks to our careers and as a result, many of us are so afraid of failing in life, failing at our jobs, failing our families that we refuse to even try and accomplish that major goal that's been weighted on our shoulders for years. We would rather play it safe, not take chances, not explore, not even stick our necks out to try. But what society never tells us is that you don't often get it on the first try and that it often takes repeated efforts to get to success. Failure isn't permanent. It's a setback and NOT a full stop. It is a chance for growth and a lesson in what doesn't work, so we can finally find the one thing that does. Failure is a means to an end, not the end itself.

2) Failure is a Lesson, Learn it.

There is a big misconception that all those wildly successful amongst us must have been born with an innate ability to succeed, or just exposed to the right people and the right opportunities that have made them successful. The idea that they have never failed in their lives and if you fail you are just not worthy of success. But this just isn't true. There is nothing wrong with failing. All the great innovations and all the great accomplishments involve failure. Most persons identify failure as the opposite of success, but it truly isn't. Failing is rather the path to success and merely a process in the journey. The true opposite of success is not trying.  How can you expect to get ahead by sitting on your behind? How can you expect to succeed if you don't even try? As arguably the greatest basketball player of all time Michael Jordan says, "I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." Remember, every failure is a lesson and an opportunity to return better, stronger, smarter and more prepared than ever before.

3) Failure is growth. 

You can read a thousand motivational articles, listen to a hundred key note addresses and read as many books on success that you can find but nothing will improve you, or bring you closer to success than failure. Embrace your failures and grow from them. Use them as the propeller to keep moving forward towards all your goals. All successes are built on failure so focus on improving what has succeeded in the past and build on it. And if you aren't failing then you aren't trying hard enough, you aren't taking risks and you aren't growing. With each failure you grow, you become bigger, you learn new and important things and you get one step closer to reaching your goals. Failing sucks. But it happens to all of us. And how you react to the events in your life will be the biggest determinant of who you are.  

I leave you with this quote from Winston Churchill, "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

Dreams, memories and hopes

Do you remember when you were young?
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
Great wall of China length of dreams and hopes

Have you forgotten those times you smiled?
Those times excitement lit up you eyes
As you thought about the great adventures you would have once you’re older

‘I can’t wait to grow up’you said
‘When I’m older, I’ll do this and that and that’ you squealed
‘I will be married by this age’ you proudly proclaimed

What about when you were filled with hope?
That the best is yet to come
And with age comes endless possibilities

I remember it all
And I hope you do too
This is the inner drive to keep you going
The motion needed to keep pressing forward

Find your momentum
Keep your hopes alive
Take it one day at a time
And never forget that your younger self had big plans for you
Don’t let them down
It is not too late

Prince Charming or Charming Frog?

This is just my little spin on fairy tales, fables, romantic comedies and reality. Who do we want a prince charming or a charming frog? 

The prince charming saving the damselle in distress phenomenon has been going on for ages. We get in our heads that us females need to be saved and rescued in order to be happy and find the love of our life. And it’s hard to change an ideal that has been engraved in us since childhood.

As young girls we were always told stories about princesses being rescued by a wonderful prince charming who sweeps them off their feet and in the end they live happily ever after. They find the love of their lives and that’s where the story ends. My personal favourite has always been Cinderella; mainly because of our name similarities and also I’m a sucker for a rags to riches story. The thought of being in love and living happily ever after overrode my thoughts so much I even made up my own little song “someday soon my prince will come but until then I’m going to have some fun. I gotta kiss some frogs before I find the one.” Ha! Maybe even from then I realized that some were just frogs and not princes. But I digress.
Continuing on the original path. You would think that all this fairy tale propaganda and propagation would end in out childhood, but oh no that’s crazy talk, it definitely can’t stop there. We need romantic comedies and romance novels and movies for the older dolls. These invade our reality and we become so disillusioned about our romantic realities that we spend our waking moments planning and dreaming about our perfect match. Awww how sweet. We write lists and state all the desired qualities we think suitable for a mate. All in hopes of finding the illustrious prince charming who enters and enhances our lives.

But how do we tell the difference between prince charming and a charming frog in this misguided world? How do we find our person? And what happens to all the broken souls when who we thought was a prince, turns out to really be a frog? Instead of saving, he hurts. Instead of charming, he’s just an actor; the devil in disguise and a snake with blue eyes to quote Carrie Underwood’s Cowboy Cassanova lyrics. Well that just sucks, doesn’t it?

Are we wrong for filling our young people with these fables? For trying to give hope to the hopeless? Or should we still enjoy the glorious tales that magnified the innocence of our childhood but take it with a grain of salt? I think my little rhyme said it best. Have some fun, kiss some frogs and one day he may just show up. But not to save my dears, don’t think it’s to save or complete. His presence will be merely to complement to the already amazing person that you truly are. We may be a princess but never a damsel. Think about it. 

*Images are subject to copyright

LHC- Road to a healthy, happy Nella

I once heard that when you're happy in a relationship that you tend to gain weight because you are so comfortable that you let yourself go. I don't know how true that is but when I look back at my heaviest moments, it usually involved times of sadness or unhappiness. These were the times I lacked the most confidence and had the most personal demons devouring my self-esteem.

For years I have struggled with my weight and trying to look fit and healthy. At first it was about looking hot and sexy like all the other girls but then it became a desire to be able to nurture my body and push it beyond what I always thought to be physically possible. And the older I get, the more the desire burns within me to accomplish this feat which just seems to evade me. 

I've been on countless diets and exercise programs, yoyoing back and forth from happy, healthy and fit as a fiddle, not quite where I want to be but comfortable to unhealthy slob wasting away my beautiful temple. i've made changes but always seem to revert to my state of origins. So this time I thought i would make my journey more of a public one and not hide my flaws and my self-defined problem areas. I am not promising that this time I suddenly have the magic formula to support my desire to be how I want to be physically to reflect the amazing person I continue to grow to be internally but I will proclaim I have a burning desire to do so and it's with a desire that a spark is born to propel me on this journey. 

My desire shall fuel my continuous journey to fitdom and having you here will help me to not forget that I have support from a community of persons whether I've never met you, had brief interactions or you're one of my closest friends. Just knowing that I have a community who supports me through and through is one of the things that keeps pushing me forward and that my friends is a beautiful thing. So today I embark on another journey but rather than prompting myself to make heavy changes for drastic results in a short period of time, I've decided to do small challenges and try to persevere one day at a time. Fingers crossed and prayer for my success

Much Love,

Nella

Existential Crisis

Hello loves,

It's been quite a while since I've blogged about anything and really the honest truth is that I think I'm having an existential crisis. I'm currently brainstorming ways to bring my blog forth and possible transform it into the masterpiece I know it can be. So bear with me and prepare for my impending return.

Much Love, 

Nella

Cosmotopia: The Beauty Extraordinaire

Hey guys,

About a month or so ago on April 27 (late I know!!!!), I ventured off into the beauty world and checked out the extraordinary setting that is Cosmotopia. Held at the Girls Guide Headquarters in Kingston, it promised to be a spectacular display of beauty and glorious discounts and they did not disappoint. Here I've just added a few pictures to show you what my adventure entailed.

Much Love,

Nella

Tamrind Indian Cuisine Photos

Hey everyone,

If you remember, the other day I did a review on Tamrind Indian Cuisine. Well here are just a few more photos of my night out to complete the review. 

Happy Days!!!!

Much Love, 

Nella