Cabaret girl, Night Out, Bold Colors

The Makeup:

Fruit Pigmented Lip and Cheek Tint – Cranberry Glow
Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze – Fruit Punch
Fruit Pigmented Satin Eye Shadow – Tahiti
Fruit Pigmented Eye Shadow – Pewter, St. Tropez
Creamy Liquid Eyeliner – Blackberry
Fruit Pigmented Mascara – Black Tea

The How To:

Start with a freshly primed face of foundation and concealer where needed. With the included liquid eyeliner brush, thickly line the upper eyelids just above the eyelashes, going back over any thin areas. The brush is very fine, so if you make a mistake, take a q-tip and gently roll it over the mistake, or simply keep making the line thicker and thicker until both lids are the same thickness! Still using the liquid eyeliner, draw a thick line just at and above your eyelid crease, following the natural curvature of your lids. Again, if the line looks funny or uneven, keep adding to the line until both eyes match. With this look, it’s go big or…stay home. Next, connect the eyeliner at your crease with the eyeliner at your lashes by extending both lines out until they meet, forming a little V-shape at the outer corner of each eye. Now that you have crazy purple eyeliner on, use it as your template for the rest of the eye-shadow application.

Using the Pewter eyeshadow, apply it with an angled brush to the inside of the V-shape you just made at your outer eye. The outer 1/3 of each lid should now be shaded in. Smudge some Pewter at your lower lashline, going right up to the lashes and blending with the brush as you go. Keep adding until you are happy with the level of smokiness. Use any leftover Pewter on your brush to darken your eyebrows. With a different eyeshadow brush, apply St. Tropez to the inner 2/3 of your eyes below the crease, completely filling in the space you made with the purple eyeliner.

To add shimmer and highlight to your smokey eye, use your ring finger (why that finger? It has the lightest touch and won’t pull at your skin! Years of pulling at the skin can lead to wrinkles. Oh no!) to apply the creamy satin eye shadow in Tahiti, blending from under your brow, down to meet the crease. Dab a little at the inner corners of your eyes to make your eyes look open and spaced further apart! Apply two coats of Black Tea mascara, wiggling the brush at the roots as you apply (to add fullness), allowing to dry between each coat.

This look requires bold cheeks, so I chose the Lip and Cheek Tint in Cranberry Glow. When used sparingly, it imparts a lovely rosey, just bitten look. When applied heavily, you get doll cheeks! Apply the tint straight to the apples of your cheeks, moving in small circles. Using your ring finger, blend the edges outward so the line is not so drastic, dabbing at the middle too, to even out the color. Last but not least, put on some Lip Glaze in Fruit Punch! Keep applying it throughout the night. It tends to act as a sheer stain, so the more you put on, the darker it is.

The What For:

If you are going to an event such as this, where you are heavily made up and ready to dance your booty off, you will no doubt end up kissing a cutie there. For your information, the lip glaze has passed the official kiss test. The official kiss test had one male participant who answered the following questions after a passionate smooch:

“Does it taste funny?” “No.”
“Does it feel sticky?” “No.”
“Do my lips feel soft?” “Yes.”
“Did it get on your face?” “No.”

Ok, it sort of got on his face, but it was well placed and easily wiped off.

I love this liquid eyeliner because it stays put all night and really won’t budge, but it doesn’t hurt to take it off, unlike most conventional eyeliners. It also smells very strongly of berries, because it is made with blackberries! How cool.

Happy dancing and kissing, everyone!

After getting a new shipment of 100% Pure makeup from Alex+Von last week, I decided to start doing a few different “looks” with the makeup so everyone can see how beautiful it looks on! Since I am the easiest model to book so far, I decided to use myself as the canvas first.

The Makeup

Fruit Pigmented Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 – Peach Bisque
Fruit Pigmented Nourishing Concealer – Peach Bisque
Healthy Flawless Skin Foundation Powder SPF 20 – Peach Bisque
Fruit Pigmented Eyeshadow – Toffee
Fruit Pigmented Ultra Lengthening 100% Natural Mascara – Black Tea
Pretty Naked Neutral Face Palette

The Look

Going to work at the salon, fresh-faced, not overdone.

The How-To

Start with a washed, lightly moisturized face. Even though Im using a tinted moisturizer here, my face was feeling extra dry, so I moisturized beforehand. Put a small dot of tinted moisturizer on cheeks, nose, forehead and chin, and blend. Dot on concealer where needed and blend. I used some under my eyes and some on an old acne scar. With a large foundation brush, apply powder where you tend to get oily. For me, it was my forehead, chin, and cheeks.

It’s time to use the “Pretty Naked Palette!” Apply blush (color – Blushing) to the contours of your cheeks, and a little on the apples of your cheeks, using a blush brush. With an eyeshadow brush, apply the darker color (Naked) up to your eyelid crease, and apply the lighter color (Bare) from crease to brow-bone, as well as above the cheekbones, for added highlight and shimmer. For sparse brows (mine!), using an angled eyeliner brush, making short strokes, apply “Toffee” eyeshadow to sparse areas of the eyebrow. Apply two coats of mascara, and dot on the palette’s lighter tinted gloss (Nude). Ready to go!

The Side Notes

I was a little apprehensive of how the “Pretty Naked” palette would look on me. Is it too light? It is going to look boring? After trying all of the shades included, I find that it is a subtle makeup look that adds a little glow, a little shimmer, but just enough. I felt pretty but not too “done.” I am fair-skinned, but tan well in the summer, even though I wear sunscreen religiously. Maybe I don’t reapply enough? Either way, I get a little color on my face sometime around June. I think that the tinted moisturizer runs a little bit dark in comparison to the powder and concealer, so order down one shade if you are worried about finding the right shade. Come this June, I plan on using the tinted moisturizer, but will stick to just powder and concealer until then.

PS!

I am always looking for more beautiful girls to do makeovers on! Contact me here if you would like to test out natural products, or if you are curious about any of the items I used in this look. I am an Alex+Von consultant, specializing in 100% Pure Products, and I love it!

Faux Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients

1 C. Brown Rice Flour
1/2 C. Tapioca Flour
1/2 C. Soaked, Ground Almonds (brazil nuts work well too)
3 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk/Brazil Nut Milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)
3 Tsp. Ener-G egg Substitute
1 Tbsp. Ground Flax Seeds
4 Tbsp Warm Water
3 Tsp Agave
2 Tbsp Melted Earth Balance
1 Tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

In a large bowl, whisk brown rice, tapioca, and almond flours, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.
In a medium sized, microwaveable bowl, combine flax meal, water, and Ener-G egg replacer. Whisk, microwave for 20 seconds, then stir again to combine. I find that egg replacer and water don’t thicken up unless they are microwaved, which gives it a gooey, egg like consistency, and a thicker pancake batter. To the liquid mixture, add melted earth balance, almond milk, agave, and vanilla extract. Whisk or stir until well combined, then add to flour mixture and whisk until well batter looks thick with only a few small lumps. Do not over-stir!
Heat a medium sized, non-stick skillet to medium heat and add a tiny bit of earth balance to coat the bottom. Pour 1/3 Cup of batter onto skillet and wait until you see a few bubbles pop, then flip. Pancake should be golden brown. Add a few chocolate chips or thawed blueberries before flipping, if you like! Just a warning, if you add frozen blueberries, the batter tends to get too soft around each blueberry, resulting in a mushy texture that isn’t so awesome. Therefore, thaw the berries, or hold off altogether. I find that this pancake is so awesome plain, it doesn’t need much but a drizzle of pure maple syrup and some fruit on the side.

Enjoy immediately! Feeds 2 hungry vegans/makes about 6 large pancakes.

Sandwiched in the most unlikely of places, between a car wash and an adult lingerie store, is Lingonberries, an entirely gluten free market! How nice is it, for people with allergies, to simply shop in a store without having to check for potentially harmful ingredients! They did the sorting for us. I originally made the quick jaunt to Vancouver in search of a granola that a hairstylist got me hooked on by Bakery On Main in “nutty cranberry maple granola” flavor. I found it, and then some.

Lingonberries carries an assortment of known brands and products, such as rice pasta and Kind Bars, but there was an extensive array of products and brands I had never seen before. Bread mix from Brazil? Cookies from Europe? Dinosaur shaped fruit cookies? COMMUNION WAFERS? They have it.

This is pretty much heaven for anyone with an allergy who has been denied a cookie at some point in their life. Here, you have full reign of every type of cookie, from flavor to size to crunchy or soft, and you are not just left with the one random gluten free option that doesn’t look that great anyway. I think I will be sick if someone suggests another trail-mix bar as dessert!

Aside from boxed goods, they also have a freezer case stocked full of giant frozen muffins, pie crusts, and even chicken nuggets from Applewood Farms! In the front of the shop is a brand new lovely display of glitter dusted cupcakes by Fairycakes of Portland, that also makes dairy-free options. Even though the shop is gluten-free, you still have to check for any other ingredients that you avoid. I had a hard time finding breads or baked goods that are entirely vegan, but there are some to choose from.

I went a little crazy and brought home a huge bag of healthy gluten-free junk food. It was my first time, after all. I have to try everything! Take a trip to Vancouver to get your gluten free fix! You will be so happy you did.

Lingonberries Market
6300 NE 117th Ave, Suite B5
Vancouver, WA 98662
360-260-4411

Dresses and underskirts, layering skirts, jackets, and bloomers are handmade by Amy Dotts of Portland, who was a regular Last Thursday vendor on Alberta Street for the past two years. The dresses are bright and invite lots of smiles – with prices starting around $120, it is a great deal for handmade, local clothing. Each one could be easily dressed up or down with a flick of the wrist and the right pair of tights or pearls! There are a variety of prints and solids, and one of my favorites has little bicycles all over it.

Part inspiration, part oddity, the knitwear by “Girl with a Hook” is something unlike anything I have seen knit before, and very mystical. The hats appear almost distorted in shape, each one created with handspun yarn in a freeform style. I placed a hat on my friend Martina and she looked charming and elfin at the same time. I didn’t leave the shop empty handed, for I fell in love with one of the knit headbands ($40)- it has sparkley yarn and bubbly bits woven in, and wass surprisingly warm on this cold December day.

Just as charming is the jewelry by Viki – whimisical and inspired by nature, Vicktoria Ciesiul uses recycled metals and beautiful stones. Each one looks unique and sophisticated.

All of the vendors are local to the Portland area – and the term, “it takes a village” really applies to Dotts. Amy Dott’s mother greeted me in the store, her dad created the metal shelving in the shop, and the individual designers are all closely tied as friends. I plan on wearing my new Girl with a Hook headband all winter, knowing that no one will ever have an identical one as this!

Dotts
2916 NE Alberta St
www.amydotts.com
503 516 0567

As a young girl, I would daydream about fairies flying around making beauty potions from woodland harvests, leaving shimmery dust trails behind as they worked their magic.

I have found a natural mascara that is not made by fairies but practically could be. 100% Pure makes a mascara out of black tea, blackberries, blueberries and other fruit pigments for a rich, dark color that smells edible, while thickening and lengthening lashes.

I love that I can wear one coat during the day or do two coats at night for a more dramatic look. There are absolutely no parabens, artificial fragrances, or petrochemicals in this mascara. Only the good stuff to make you look gorgeous. Find it here at alex+von .

There is a new place to get a quick detox in a cup! It’s called Sip, (their other location is in SE outside People’s CoOp) a juice cart on NE Alberta between 22nd and 23rd. I ordered the “Summer Breeze” juice with cucumber, cilantro, apple, lime, and substituted the pineapple for carrot! Service was sprightly and fresh, and even the juicer itself was polite. I have never heard a more quiet juicer in my life! I have always been a fan of fresh juices, but not so much of the pricing. Luckily, you can order a 12 oz or 16 oz size, which allows you to save a buck or two. Most juices come in one size and price only, which can be frustrating for the frugal and semi-hungry.

I am also a fan of the location. If you stand in the middle of Alberta street and slowly turn around, you can satiate every level of hunger: tea at Townshend’s (parched but not hungry), juice at Sip (in need of nutrients but few calories/probably just did yoga and want to continue feeling healthy), or vegan cake and ice cream at Back to Eden Bakery (totally ran for an hour this morning/possibly PMSing/cake is always good so why do I have to explain!?)The bottom line is: if you want juice, get it here.

Sip
2210 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR
7 days a week, 9am-8pm

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Inside, I look intently at a shelf full of lumps of dough to find that they are loaves of bread and bake at home pizza dough! Both are vegan. To my left are two large cases of desserts and I am faced with many choices. Lemon blueberry tarts, zucchini loaf, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and muffins glisten on their platters. Immediately I ask the barista how to tell which ones are vegan. He explains that each item clearly marks contained allergens, and points to some swirly stamps individually marked “egg, dairy, corn, soy, and tree nuts.” The stamps are so beautiful and artistic that I ignore them entirely, thinking they are a quaint illustration next to the dessert label, but if you look closely, they hold all the answers. I select a Lone Pine (Oregon coffee!) Chocolate Coffee Cake with a chocolate espresso glaze and a Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie along with a soy cappuccino.

The chocolate cake has a moist interior and is very sweet with a deliciously dark chocolate glaze. I sample a bite of the cookie and taste brown sugar immediately. I love that there are not too many chocolate chips, but dislike the amount of sea salt on top (easily solved by brushing it off a bit). Unlike some gluten free cookies, this one is large, chewy, and not doughy. 

Despite the strange location near a gym as well as near a busy MLK bus stop filled with unfortunately dressed people, Tula is the ideal place to go for a satisfying treat or snack. They offer pizza, panini, salad and seasonal soups, as well as a full espresso and tea menu. The inside is clean and spacious, staff is peppy, and they have a very large selection of items to choose from, no matter what your allergies may be. After all, I can only go to New Cascadia so many times before I have the taste of their vegan cupcakes burned in my brain. I’m ready for new dessert options and here they are!

Tula
4943 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Suite 101
Portland, OR
503 764 9727
7am-5pm Mon-Sat

Homemade Has Never Looked so Good

After a recent dining excursion ended with coconut tapioca pudding topped with fig compote, I decided it was time to make my own. Although it takes a little longer to prepare, the larger pearl size (as opposed to small pearl) is satisfyingly gummy in a creamy coconut base. A small amount of agave instead of the usual refined sugar lends a surprising brown sugar flavor. Top with local berries, add a drizzle of chocolate syrup, or enjoy it plain. Go eat your pudding!

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

1/3 C Large Pearl Tapioca
3/4 C Water
1/3 C Agave Syrup
2 1/4 C Canned Coconut Milk (about 2 cans)
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt

Soak tapioca in water for 30 minutes, until all water has been absorbed. In a medium saucepan over medium to high heat, combine soaked tapioca, coconut milk, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a bubbling simmer (low-medium heat) for 15 minutes, stirring often. In the last 5 minutes, add agave and stir continuously. Pudding will thicken slightly, and thickens more after cooling. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so a film does not form on top. Stir in vanilla. Refrigerate in a large bowl or 6 individual servings for a yummy treat!

Inside what could be a cramped space, but is more elfin-like in charm, alluring oddities fill every corner of the French-inspired trailer. Everything is petite and lovely, not claustrophobic in any way. Robin’s sweet and caring demeanor makes you feel instantly at ease. Guests are offered cups of tea and a bite of pastry from stone’s-throw-away Crema, upon arrival. My sister is treated to a bite of the very innovative Crème Cake, made with a crème brulee batter. What could be better than that?

Unlike some bustling salons, where the next client visibly waits in the wings to sit the very salon chair in which you’re sitting, there is no rush here; there is no competition for time. Because of the intimate space, it is just you and Robin. Her focus is entirely on you, your hair, and your vision. She uses the more natural lines, Moroccan Oil and Evo from Australia, which has tongue in cheek product titles like “gangsta grip” and “gluttony” shampoo. Also an artist, Robin designed her business cards and hangs her art in the space. The original sketch for the hair cart is carefully hung on the wall by the entrance. Her husband is a talented wood worker and handcrafted the deck outside and the wooden drawers inside.

Everyone in town seems to want this holiday, as she gets five new clients a week (that is a lot!), so try to book out at least two weeks in advance so you have a fighting chance to achieve the hair of your dreams.

Robin offers color, cuts, and Moroccan oil treatments. Visit her website for pricing. Appointments available Tues-Sat, 8:00am-7:30pm.

Holiday Hair Studio
116 SE 28^th Ave
Portland, OR
97214
503 516 9115