Tea Time: Dessert Ideas for Celebrating the New Year

Pleasant morning Cool Pinks,

The new year is almost here! That means making resolutions that we can realistically keep this time, along with a few more parties before 2011 comes to a close. If you're hosting a soiree and want to impress your guests with your overwhelming sophistication and keen dessert selection sensibilities, here are a few simple desserts you can offer at your New Year's tea party or afternoon Sweet Treat celebration (which, by the way, is much easier than planning an evening party). Here are some cool ideas to try: more recipes will follow tomorrow:)

-Purchase a white or yellow cake mix and add champagne to the batter to give the treats a kick that is indicative of toasting to the New Year. One of my best girlfriends, Melanie LeDay-Alborado, can talk you through the recipe here: http://www.ktbs.com/video/30080007/index.html. Her batter is homemade, but you can grab cake mix if you're in a pinch:)

-Make a basic cookie dough--and add something other than chocolate chips to it. I usually use the basic Toll House recipe for cookie dough, found here: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTL%C3%89-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx. Instead of simply adding chocolate chips, I use white chocolate chips and pistachios, butterscotch chips and candies pecans or almonds, or dried fruits like cherries or bananas. Dust these treats with some powdered sugar when they come out of the oven to make it look like you've been slaving away in the kitchen all day;)

-Roast some winter fruit, then add a spice and some type of cream. For instance, roasted apples with heavy whipping cream and allspice is fragrant and impressive. Or, roast some pumpkin slices sprinkled with brown sugar, and add organic whipped cream and ginger to them once they come out of the oven. Serve the fruit with shortbread. Trust me, everyone will love this. Additional prep instructions can be found here: http://www.sophistimom.com/roasted-pumpkin-slices/

Now, go be fabulous! The world is waiting to taste your exquisite culinary works--and to admire your party outfit and makeup:) Stay cool--and pink;)

Simply Red: Holly-Colored Lips for Mistletoe Readiness

Pleasant morning Cool Pinks. For today's look, I've decided that my lips are sealed--with the perfect crimson hue for the season. Now, I have to be honest. Wearing the shade of red that works best for your skin tone is not always an easy task. You'll need to be very aware of your undertones, and play with a few color combinations (sometimes) to get the color you want. And, just as a disclaimer, MAC and elf brands of red lipstick and lipgloss are probably the best bet for women of color. And, also as a disclaimer, follow my tips, chics. Our lips are already full enough. And while that is a beauty asset, we don't need the wrong color drawing negative attention to a part of our face that is enviously beautiful.


That being said, here are some quick tips to make sure you're choosing the correct shade of red--and keeping it on all day.

Red undertones: Go for a date or raisin-colored lipstick. It gives the right amount of red color without making you look like you're playing in your Grandma's vanity contents. A reddish-brown liner will help define your lip shape and keep the lip pigment in place. Choose a tinted lip gloss in the same shade to intensify the color and give your lips a slight pout.

Both warm and cool undertones: Choose a red lipstick with a burgundy undertone. Burgundy is both red and purple, which matches cool (yellowish, blue or green) undertones and warm (red, orange, gold or yellow) undertones. Use a clear gloss underneath the lipstick to keep your lips from looking swollen--since burgundy is pretty bold:)

Cool undertones: A classic red with yellow flecks is the way to go. Choose a red liner and use a matte moisturizer like Chapstick or pure shea butter on your lips before applying the color, and it will last all day.

Here's a pic for reference. I chose a fig-colored shade from elf, lined with Cover Girl Raisin lipliner, and finished it with a hot pink gloss in the same color wheel as the lipstick. Stay cool and pink (well, reddish pink)! Kisses!

The Work-Ready Smoky Eye (and Why Women of Color Look Great in Blue Eyeshadow)

If you're at all brown (or even if you're working an expert tan that gives you a nice glow for winter that's not too over-the-top)blue eyeshadow can be your friend. Why, you ask? Because most women of color have warm undertones. That is, nude lipstick usually looks great on you, you have a LRD (Little Red Dress) instead of an LBD (Little Black Dress), and you've never met a shade of peach blush that you didn't like.

Also, if you've colored your hair to coordinate with all your skin tones (as I've demonstrated in the picture below) a shiny lip and a well-arched brow will make your look just edgy enough to show off your personality while maintaining a professional look. I also opted to go with all black today since my hair and eyes are pretty colorful.

So, here's the rules on finding the perfect blue eyeshadow for your skin tone:

Light brown skin (e.g. medium-complexion Latin women , fair-skinned Indian women, etc.,)Your best bet is a blue eyeshadow with purple or lavender undertones. Chances are you probably have a few flecks of cool undertones in your skin, and the blue and purple will blend well with this and make your eyes noticeable without being too showy.

Medium brown skin (e.g. mocha-colored Black women, dark-skinned Latina women, etc.) Choose a blue eyeshadow that looks slightly yellowish in the light. It will make your eyes pop, and keep you from looking like you got punched in the face. Come on, you know you guys were wondering about that lol. A grayish blue eyeshadow works well on these skin tones as well; it's best to use a yellow/white eyeshadow for underneath the brows to take away the harshness of the gray, though:)

Medium dark and dark brown skin (e.g. cinnamon or chocolate-colored Black women; carob-colored Indian or Latina women, etc.,) If your skin is a pronounced shade of brown (which, I think, is sooooo beautiful. whenever i tan, i just look creepy with dark skin, but I wish i had the facial features for it. It's so majestic-looking. But I digress. Sigh...) wear a blue eyeshadow that is essentially a really dark silver with flecks of blue. A medium or navy eyeshadow will blend in with your eyelids and just make you look like you put foundation on your eyelids. No bueno. The metallic nature of the eyeshadow gives freshness to your look; you can add an electric blue eyeliner if you want to update your look for the evening.


Here's an example of what the finished product looks like on me. I gotta say, blue eyeshadow may be my thing for a while. Until next time, stay cool--and, for the time being, blue:)

Lack of Discipline, Assertiveness, the Flight Nature and Other Attributes of Fashion

It's been entirely too long since I've written on my own blog. Shameful. Yet--not embarrassing. I'm a busy woman. Anyone that is around me for more than 10 minutes will pick up on that sometimes daunting fact. And I've come to realize that my sense of style is much like my blog-writing maintenance. Easy-going with a touch of fanciness. Impulsive and envelope-pushing, regardless of the environment.

That being said, there are more pictures coming. After all, what is a fashion blog with pics to show you how it's done (well, how I do it, anyway). Also, I resolve to write more regularly. Since it's such a big part of me--and who am I to deny that?

And, in the spirit of fashion (and flight, artistic writers) my resolution has nothing to do with the fact that a new year is fast approaching. This is just something I feel is appropriate to do on Tuesdays. Stay cool and pink, my friends:)