Ipsy – April 2015 – Beautifully Bohemian

The April Ipsy bag came with this adorable makeup bag. You can bet that this IS NOT one that I will be giving away to anyone. It is just too darn cute!

If I do like the products, Ipsy supplies a link that offers a discount for Ipsy subscribers. It’s one of the perks that really works for me. I have purchased several of the products that I have tested. If you are interested in joining Ipsy, here is a link for you. https://www.ipsy.com/r/2tpz

This month I received 5 items in that beautiful makeup bag. The subscription promises 4 or 5 products, but I usually receive 5. It is usually really worth the subscription price of $10 per month. I almost always receive much more than what I pay for. Not to mention all of the great products that love and purchase again and again. Without Ipsy, I would never have found these products.

The first item is Julie G Nail Color by Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics. I received a full size .35 oz of the color Damsel, which is a vibrant pink color. Score! I adore this color! The nail polish went on nicely and quickly leveled out. I was shocked at how quickly the polish dried. I polished my nails only a few minutes prior to leaving for work and they were dry by the time I left. I only did one coat, which did seem to cover quite well. After a day or two, the polish on the tips of my nails wore off, but I’m sure that will not happen so quickly with multiple coats. You can get this nail polish for $3.99 here . Verdict: I don’t usually purchase polish, but I like this color enough that I would try some others. It’s affordable at $3.99, so why not!

Next up is Nude Dude eye shadow by the Balm Cosmetics. I received a .035 oz sample of the color Flirty. It’s hard to compare the sample size to the actual product size, since the shadow is not sold in singles, but rather a palette of 10 for $36.00. You can purchase this shadow here. I found this shadow to be too nude for my taste. There was virtually no color saturation and I had to apply several coats to see even a hint of color. If you like that nude, barely there color look, then this could be for you. Verdict: I’ll pass on this one. I have enough neutral shadows to choose from without shelling out $36.00 for more of them.

I was hoping to try this Eye Primer by MicaBeauty. Everyone needs a quality primer in their makeup bag to help eye color stay put. The sample I received was 4 g. I expected this product to be stellar since the full-size, 8.3 g product sells for $44.95 here. Uggh! What a disappointment! I did not like this primer AT ALL. While the color was good for my skin, the dry formula was not. The primer was so dry and hard to apply, which was not good for my older skin. I won’t even pass this one along. Right in the garbage can with you! Verdict: Obviously not a fan of this. Will not purchase.

A neutral lip gloss is always a must for summer, and that is exactly what I received in my .3 oz sample of Starlooks Satin Finish Lip Gloss in Cuddle. The color looks like gold in the pic, but it is really just a clear gloss with a bit of shimmer.  I cannot tell from the website how big the actual full size product is, but it looks like it may be double the sample size. So I’m guessing .6 oz. for $13.00 here. This gloss went on smoothly and did not feel sticky on my lips. While it was definitely too subtle for me for my everyday look, for a top coat over lip stain or as a gloss when I am doing the casual thing over the weekend it would work just fine. Verdict: I like the gloss well enough to use up the product, but I will most likely not purchase in the future.

Last is Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk. I received a 1 oz. sample. The product sells for $19.50 for a 3.2 oz can. You can find the product here. At first, I noticed that this dry shampoo was natural tint for brown hair. Now, since I have blonde hair, I asked Chris if she would try it. Before she even got a chance, I noticed the ingredients. Butane and Propane are the first two ingredients. What??? Are you kidding me!! Well, needless to say, I threw that shit in the garbage. I don’t want Chris putting lighter fluid in her hair! Verdict: Hell no!

All in all, not a great bag this month. But, they can’t all be winners. As always, I will wait patiently for next month’s bag.

So…what did you get in you April Ipsy bag?

Cooking Through “The Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook” – Oberlin Corn and Shallot Chowder

Oberlin Corn and Shallot Chowder from page 89

I decided to try this recipe just because I had all the ingredients on hand and I figured, hey, it’s simple enough. If it’s good, I have a quick soup up my sleeve for those times that there is not much in the fridge and I need to pull a quick lunch or dinner together.

You can find the recipe here.

The recipe says that it serves 4. I guess it could be 4 if you were serving a little cup of soup as part of a meal, but we wanted a real bowl of soup. I got about 2 decent servings.

Prep time was about literally 2 minutes since all I had to do was chop the shallot and the celery and toss everything else in a pot. Total cooking time was about 10 minutes. 5 minutes to process to a smooth consistency.

I have to say, I had high hopes for this soup that it did not live up to. I really did want to love this soup.  I did use organic frozen sweet corn, but I use that all the time in dished and we really like it. Maybe it would have turned out better with fresh corn, but I won’t be the one to try it. Definitely not a keeper in my book.

I was so underwhelmed with this one, I didn’t even take a picture.  Sorry about that.

NOTES:

• I used an immersion blender. I should have used the Vitamix to make the soup smoother.
• I had to add quite a bit of salt to make this taste decent.
• I did not use the wine. I used veggie broth.

Cooking Through “The Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook” – Georgie’s Soup

Georgie’s Soup from page 87

I have to say, this soup has quickly become a favorite in our house. I have made it three times already and I’m about to make it again.

Anytime a recipe calls for red lentils, I get excited. Although, this soup does not have a lot of red lentils, it’s still really tasty. Unlike brown or green lentils, the red ones fall apart when cooked well. In this soup, they are pretty much undetectable. The just seem to thicken the soup while adding a nice protein hit.

Sorry guys…I couldn’t find the recipe online anywhere.

This soup calls for ingredients that you may not always have on hand, but I promise, it is worth a trip to the market. It’s not often I make a dish calling for sweet potato, leek, fennel and mushrooms all at once, but my, oh my, this is just too good not to try.  Look at this deliciousness.  Can’t you just taste it?

Don’t let the fennel make you nervous. While raw fennel does have that beautiful anise taste that I love, it mellows out considerably in the soup and adds a depth of flavor to the soup that is just remarkable. While I often do sub out ingredients in a recipe based on what I have on hand, I don’t think it would be wise to skip the fennel in this dish.

The recipe calls for a pound of mushrooms, but does not specify which type. I take this to mean that you can use what you like. I am sure you could even leave them out if you didn’t like them. One time I used all cremini, another time I used a mixture of cremini and shitake, and the last time was all shitake.  I like to use shitake mushrooms when I can since they are a medicinal mushroom and are used in Chinese medicine to support the immune system.

The recipe also calls sweet potatoes, but you could use what you have. Sweet potatoes obviously make the soup sweet, but I’ve also used a mixture of sweet and red potatoes because, well, you guessed it, that’s what I had on hand.

As in many of the PRHD recipes, it calls for cilantro. I have just used a bunch of spinach and it was lovely. I just added the spinach to the pot after the soup was done cooking and voila.

There is a little bit of prep work here. Cube the potatoes, chop the veggies. It’s all so therapeutic to me, all that chopping. I don’t mind. The one veggie I don’t like chopping is mushrooms, so I splurge here and buy the already sliced mushrooms.

The recipe says that it serves 6 to 8. We got about 6 large servings.

Prep time was about 20 minutes. Total cooking time was about 30 minutes – 10 minutes sautéing and 30 minutes simmering.

NOTES:

• Instead of cilantro you can use parsley, spinach, collards, chard, etc.
• Fresh or dry thyme works here. I’ll use fresh when I can grow it.
• Add more red lentils for a heartier soup.
• You can peel the potatoes…I do not.
• The recipe calls for 1 TBSP of balsamic. I do not use my Grand Reserve for this. I just use the regular balsamic from the grocery store.
• The recipe calls for shredded carrots. I used them the first time and forgot the second time. We didn’t miss them. They didn’t seem to add anything special to the soup.
• The soup was even better the next day.
• This can easily be served with rice or quinoa to stretch it out if need be.
• This was so flavorful that I did not add any salt at all.
• I made this on top of the stove, but this can easily be made it the Instant Pot.