Inglot's 'Exotic Lagoon' Collection

Today Inglot launched its 'Exotic Lagoon' Collection. These six new electric summer colors are an extension of Inglot's O2M Breathable Nail Enamels line, which is formulated to allow water and oxygen to the nail's surface. Find out more about the O2M Breathable Nail Enamels and check out all their colors here.

Ivette's Tips

As a model, philanthropist, fashion connoisseur, and champion equestrian, it is hard to believe that Ivette Concepcion Saucedo, the 2013 Queen of the Universe, has time for a beauty regimen (or even needs one). Yet somehow, she still finds time to be flawless. Here is how she stays gorgeous, using everything from lemons to cocoa butter:

•I believe it [beauty] starts internally. There's nothing more radiant than glowing skin to me, so drinking plenty of water is the thing that helps me the most. But my main secret is a drinking
Royal Jelly on an empty stomach. I swear by it!

•I love giving my self facials once a week. One great exfoliant I use is made by mixing sugar and lemons. The lemons act as a organic acid and it tastes yummy too!

• As a voluptuous Latina, curves have to be maintained with exercise. But even with that, cellulite is difficult to avoid, so I keep a jar of coffee grinds in my shower and I scrub it on my legs and let it sit for a few minutes. It really helps!

•Ever since I was a little girl, I have used Palmer's Cocoa Butter on my body when I get out of the shower. It's hydrating but it isn't greasy.

You can find more info on Ivette here. 

Giving Me Life 3: Mary's Gone Crackers

Before you even say anything yes, I am well aware that this is my second "Giving Me Life" on cookies. Yes, I LOVE cookies! I feel the same way about cookies that most people feel about fine wine. They are the best snack ever but, of course, not the healthiest. That's why I was both excited and skeptical when I was forwarded information on Mary's Gone Crackers. Mary's makes all types of snacks- cracker, cookies, pretzels, and they are all organic and gluten-free. I didn't know what to expect. I can see a cookie being organic, but gluten-free?! How would that work? But let me just say, these cookies are amazing! They are chewy, they are sweet. And I dare say that they taste better than the full of crap cookies that I keep in my purse. My favorite are the ginger snaps, but they are all tasty. I'd offer you one of mine but they are all gone.

Visit Mary's Gone Crackers here. 

Creatively Unemployed: Creating Your Own Sunlight

Today I spoke with Ebony, of my fellow creatives. She, like me, was freed from the shackles of her corporate job. However, her finances are telling her that she has to start applying for work ASAP. She said, as she surfs for jobs, her neck hurts. She gets sick about it!
I know what she means. She spoke with disdain about her old cubical- a space with no access to sunlight. The only offices with sunlight were for the big wigs, as if to say that if you didn't have an office, you weren't important enough to have access to the sun! It made me think of all the ills of my old job and the job I had recently applied for.
Not too long ago, I applied for an administrative assistant job. The pay would have been okay and it would have been part-time. I had been sick about it for weeks after my two interviews, wondering if I'd gotten it. Today, I got the generic email telling me that I hadn't. As I read it, I realized that I hadn't been sick hoping I'd get the job- I was sick because I subconsciously hoped I wouldn't!
Something about the restraints of middle management supervised jobs makes a creative person want to crawl under the table and cry! Those hours you are working towards something that is not yours could be spent doodling and saving the world!
Cheers to those of us that are taking charge of their sunlight allotment:)                                                                                                                                            

ModCloth's Plus-Size Swim Favorites

I don't know what summer means to you, but it means that it's time to hit the water for me. I love swimming, and I have always been annoyed by two things: the idea that plus-size women do not or should not swim in public and that our swimwear should not be trendy. I mean, how whack and mean is that?! With that being said, I am, again, excited about what Modcloth has to offer on the plus-size end. Not only are their suits extra cute, but the cut is amazing, tucking away any problem areas in the midsection. Above are some of Modcloth's favorites for summer. Below is the pricing info, from left to right.

Bathing Beauty One-Piece Swimsuit in Navy, $66.99

Composed by the Pool One-Piece Swimsuit in Navy, $66.99

                       Bathing Beauty One-Piece Swimsuit in Peacock, $66.99
     Flip Turn It Up One-Piece Swimsuit in Floral, $89.99

 Beach Read Cover-Up Dress in Coral, $59.99

 These and more styles can be found at ModCloth.com. 

JAY Z & Beyoncé "RUN"

Is anyone else beyond excited? This is the closest I am going to get to their

tour. I hope that they do an HBO special or something. P.S.: Did ya'll see

Huck from Scandal? Why do I have a crush on him??

Review: Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque

So I was sent the Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque to try out and I was over the moon about it. I am very familiar with Cantu. I use their products to twist my hair. I had never done a hair masque before, so I treated it like a deep conditioner and as instructed. I lathered my hair in it. I couldn't help myself! It smells really good, and my hair had been kind of dry of late. Plus, my ends were doing that thing where they stick together:(

Now, the instructions say that you only have to leave it in for 30 minutes before washing it out. But it also states that you can treat it as a leave-in product. So, since I was familiar with the brand and felt safe with it, I left it in for like four hours.

The results: I am going to be real here: I only comb through my hair a couple of times a month. This is because, when I was combing through it daily, I felt like I was losing hair. So, more often than not, I detangle my hair by hand. And yes, this takes A LONG TIME usually. Using this, I don't think it took more than 30 minutes. The masque made my hair really manageable and soft. I will totally be using this product again. Stay tuned for the results of using this instead of the Cantu Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream to do my two-strand twists.