Amanda's Beauty and Recipe Finds

Cake or Cookies? You Get The Best Of Both With These Cake Batter Cookies

myfindsonline — Tue, 22 May 2012 23:34:55 +0000

Hmm, cake or cookies, cake or cookies? Well, why not both! These Cake Batter Cookies are like amped up sugar cookies only with the delicious taste of buttery yellow cake. They are so good! If you love sugar cookies and yellow cake, this cookie is for you.

This cookie recipe calls for a full box of dry instant vanilla pudding. The pudding helps give the cookies a super moist, fluffy texture. I’m usually not a cookie person but I can’t keep my hands off these! I’m sitting here daydreaming of two cake batter cookies with a scoop of cake batter ice cream in the middle. Now that would be heaven!

Cake Batter Cookies

from Chef in Training

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 & 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
3/4 cup yellow cake mix, dry
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

sprinkles, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a separate mixing bowl; combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla until mixed.

3. Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until combined. Mix in the sprinkles if desired.

4. Using a medium cookie scoop, roll out 1″ balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 2″ apart. Bake for around 10 minutes or until edges start to brown. Let set on baking sheets a few more minutes before you transfer to a cooling rack.

What’s On My Nails – Maybelline Shocking Seas

myfindsonline — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:05:23 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “what’s on my nails” post so I thought I’d get back into the swing of those. This week I’m wearing one of the new colors recently released in the Maybelline Color Show collection called Shocking Seas.

Shocking Seas is a teal blue cream color with no shimmer or sparkles. It’s more on the darker teal side than bright but it still makes a bold statement. So far this Maybelline Color Show nail polish holds up very well.

I’ve been wearing it for 5 days now and have no chips or peeling going on. And that’s even after a day of mulching and planting flowers! Even tip wear in non-existent. I’m thinking I’ll get well over 10 days wear with this one.

I’m a definite fan of this new Maybelline Color Show nail polish. I paid only around $3.00 for this at Wal-Mart so I’ll be going back soon for a few more colors.

MAC Modern Mandarin Blush – Pictures and Swatches

myfindsonline — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:48:59 +0000

I know, I know…I’m a little late to the Tres Cheek blush party. So many other great products jumped in line in front of the two MAC Tres Cheek collection blushes I bought but I still wanted to show them. So, better late than never right?

Modern Mandarin is so darn pretty, how could I not show it here? It’s a bold orange tangerine blush unlike anything I have. You might think “Whoa!” but it’s really not that bright on the skin. It actually blends out to be more of a peachy color than orange. And I love the slight satin sheen it give my cheeks too.

Wear it light or wear it dark but gosh darn it, just wear it! It’s so pretty, I love it! Unfortunately I’m a bit of a tease because it is sold out online and in stores now. But if you really must have it, you can still get your hands on it on Ebay. But don’t wait!

Were you able to add MAC Modern Mandarin to your collection before it sold out?

Revlon ColorStay Dual Ended Smoky Shadow Sticks Torch and Flare – Review, Pics and Swatches

myfindsonline — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:35:41 +0000

Another new product I stumbled upon at Rite Aid last week was Revlon ColorStay Smoky Shadow Sticks ($8.99). Smoky shadow sticks come in 5 color combinations. The idea behind them is two eyeshadow colors in each stick, one light and one dark, to give you the perfect no fuss smoky eye. I picked up the colors Torch and Flare.

I’ll start by saying that I’m 50/50 on these after my testing. On one hand, I like the convenience and they wear really well. On the other hand, they are not very pigmented and the tips easily break off.

Revlon claims that these eyeshadow sticks provide “all day, crease-proof, fade-proof color”. I have very oily eyelids and products that make these claims rarely last me a few hours. I was shocked to find that these pretty much do what they say.

I started my testing by applying these with Nars eyeshadow base. 10 hours later, I had very little creasing or fading. The next day I applied the shadow stick with no primer base. Shockingly I still had very minor creasing and fading 10 hours later. That’s a real feat with my eyelids. Usually no primer results in no eyeshadow 4 hours later.

Now on to the bad part. I was disappointed in the pigmentation of these, especially when it came to the darker of the two shades. They apply very light and require several applications to build up adequate color. Luckily they are creamy enough to blend together and color can be built up, it just takes a bit of extra effort.

These eyeshadows have a nice shimmery finish to them. As I said, they do apply creamy but dry down to a nice powder finish. Torch contains a very light nude pink and a dark chocolate brown. Flare is a light lavender purple with a slightly darker medium purple color.

Since you need to run these shadow sticks over the eyes several times, it can require a bit of gentle tugging. And off pops the eyeshadow! I was able to kinda smush it back together but that doesn’t make me happy after only one use.

I like these Revlon ColorStay Smoky Shadow Sticks enough to not return them. But I don’t think I would purchase them again. If you’re looking for a darker smoky eye, these probably aren’t for you. Unless you really want to work on building the color up over and over.

The swatches above look really pigmented but that’s with them applied heavily so they show up on camera. Once you start blending the colors out they get very sheer so you have to keep applying and blending to get them darker.

Have you seen these Revlon eyeshadow sticks in the stores yet? What do you think of them?

Frankly Scarlet I Do Give a Damn About This MAC Blush – Pictures and Swatches

myfindsonline — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:10 +0000

I’ve been dying to try the NYX powder blush in the color Red for a while now but can’t seem to get my hands on it. It’s currently out of stock at NYX.com and Cherry Culture so when I saw MAC Frankly Scarlet ($20) I knew I had to have it!

Frankly Scarlet is a vivid red matte blush. It is quite shocking when you look at it but don’t worry, it won’t look like that on your cheeks. Well, unless you want it to of course! When worn lightly this blush gives your cheeks a natural looking flush but can be worn more heavily for a brighter red cheek.

I’m actually quite fond of MAC Frankly Scarlet blush. It looks really natural on the cheeks like you’ve just been pinched. What do you think of this bold red blush? Available at maccosmetics.com but I bought mine on Ebay for a few bucks less.

MyGlam Bag – May 2012

myfindsonline — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:47:20 +0000

Today I’m sharing my final MyGlam bag with you. After April’s disappointing bag, I gave myself one more month to decide if I should continue my subscription. Well, sadly this month’s MyGlam bag did not impress me enough to see a point in sticking with it any longer.

Philosophy Love Sweet Love Fragrance – a soft fruity scent with maybe a hint of floral, can’t quite tell but it’s nice.

Studio Gear Lipstick in Redwood – A dark red with a bit of shimmer.

Miss Beauty Nail Bling – nail stickers with pink hearts on them. Kinda juvenile for me at 36 but I may save them to use next Valentine’s Day. But they smell horrible, a strong plastic scent.

Concealer and Eyeliner Brushes

Although I was happy to see a bigger brand name like Philosophy in this month’s bag, fragrance samples can be picked up anywhere for free. And again with the makeup brushes! They aren’t the greatest quality and if I wanted cheap brushes I would just go to Target and buy ELF brushes for $1 each.

With these sample bags, I’m looking to try new and exciting beauty products before I buy them. Even if I liked the makeup brushes, I couldn’t even repurchase them. They’re just a cheap filler for the bags. And the Nail Bling, I couldn’t even find those online either. So even if I loved them, I couldn’t get them again. So what’s the point? I don’t get it, so I’m out!

Tarte Romancing The Glow Amazonian Clay Eye and Cheek Palette – Pictures and Swatches

myfindsonline — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:16:21 +0000

I am obsessed with my new Tarte Romancing the Glow Palette ($39.98). This Amazonian clay eye and cheek palette is being sold for a very limited time at QVC.com. Maureen, the creator of Tarte cosmetics, swears that this is a one time only deal. These palettes will never be sold anywhere else and once this quantity is gone, that’s it.

The packaging itself is so cute. It measures 4 1/2″ across and has bamboo wood on the top. The gem on the top looks like turquoise but I think it’s just resin or plastic of some sort. Once opened you’ll find a 3 1/2″ mirror on the lid.

The Romancing the Glow palette consists of 9 amazonian clay products. You get a golden champagne shimmering highlight powder, Park Avenue Princess bronzer, Romantic pink blush, and 6 eyeshadows. The eyeshadows are highly pigmented and apply soft and smooth. The highlight, bronzer and blush can be worn either with a soft light touch or built up for more color.

The eyeshadow colors are as follows:

Pearl – shimmery champagne pearl
Sandstone -shimmery sand
Cafe Brazil -shimmery mocha
Sunset -shimmery bronze
Tropical Bronze -shimmery copper
Turquoise – shimmery teal

I love that this Tarte palette is all neutral except for the teal eyeshadow. Every color in this palette will go great with a nice summer tan. Plus it makes traveling so easy. Just pack a tinted moisturizer, a lip gloss and this palette and you’re set to go.

I think the Tarte Romancing The Glow palette is a good deal when you consider all that you’re getting. It may not look like it but the blush is the same size (0.2oz) as their individual 12 hour amazonian clay blushes that retail for $25.00. And each eyeshadow is almost the same size as an Urban Decay eyeshadow single. Urban Decay shadows are 0.05oz and each of these Tarte eyeshadows are 0.04oz.

Champagne highlight, Park Ave Princess bronzer and Romantic blush

Pearl, Sandstone, Cafe Brazil, Sunset, Tropical Bronze, Turquoise

The one negative that I could see with this palette is that everything is very shimmery. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest but if you don’t like shimmery eyeshadows and blush with specks of sparkle, then you may not enjoy this as much as I do.

What are your thoughts on the Tarte Romancing The Glow palette? If you love it, don’t wait too long. It will be gone before we know it!