Just in Time for the Holidays: Hot Chocolate Design Showcases their Internationally Beloved Quirky Shoe Collection in the U.S.
How can a pair of shoes reflect your style and mood and make you feel super unique? Hot Chocolate Design (HCD) has figured out that exact formula. Through exceptional design, imagination and creativity, this Venezuelan company has become internationally known for their fun and funky shoe designs. The founders are constantly influenced by different styles, tastes and eras, which they channel in their designs to create one-of-a-kind shoes that are loved equally by young and old, mainstream and non-mainstream, fashion-forward individuals.
Beautifully packaged in a cake-themed decorative box, shoes from Hot Chocolate Design make a spectacular gift for the bold shoe lover on your holiday list. Take a look at HCD’s top picks from their marvelous Chocolaticas® and Double Topping line, available in a wide variety of prints and designs to match any mood, event or theme:
Chocolaticas® (Women’s Flats) $69.99: Break away from the flock. Dare to be different! Mary Jane flats boast a unique blend of modern and vintage, with cushioning and soft fabric designed to enhance your stride from heel to toe.
Chocolaticas® Double Topping (Women’s Heels) $94.99: Step out in grandeur style with these spectacular heels. From Marie Antoinette inspired designs to groovy 60’s themed heels, Mary Jane heels were made for the woman who isn’t afraid to stand out amongst the crowd.
Chocolaticas® Double Cream (Women’s platforms) $84.99: Tie your outfit together with a pair of retro-cool platforms in a variety of fresh and funky designs. They’re guaranteed to amp any outfit.
HCD celebrates individuality and different styles of beauty through each one of their products. Hot Chocolate Design products are sold on Amazon and offer worldwide shipping.
ABOUT HOT CHOCOLATE DESIGN
Founded in 2004 by Pablo MartÃnez & Carolina Aguerrevere, Hot Chocolate Design emerged into the Venezuelan market as al fresh and innovative accessories brand, based on the consumer’s desire to rebel against uniformity and creative rigidity provided by mass-produced brands. The inspiration behind HCD comes from the founder’s lifestyle, their passion for collecting vintage items, and a nostalgia for all of the things that made them feel happy and comfortable when they were young. The HCD creative team draws inspiration from art, artifacts, colors, textures and patterns that they treasured in their youth, as well as their yearning to come across them again in their adult lives, transformed as Hot Chocolate Design’s one-of-a-kind shoes and accessories.
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Multi-tasking towelette whisks away makeup, detoxifies and tones without rinsing
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Our own blogger, Lindsey is currently facing a terrible tragedy within her family. Please share, to spread the word and help her receive all help she can.
Per his wife, Lindsey: "It is with deep sadness I have to post that Nicholas Albright lost his battle with mental illness today. He was an amazing father, loving husband and son and giving friend. He will be remembered for his wit, sense of humor and probably one of the strongest work ethics I've ever seen. Please respect the families need for time to grieve. Details regarding a celebration of life will be posted at a later date. To my husband, we will carry on in your honor. I live for our two miracles and the one yet to arrive. We miss you so much. I love you more."
Sadly, the world has lost a great man. A devoted husband and father. A son. A brother. A friend. A paramedic. A nursing student.
He was known for his bright smile and ability to make anyone laugh. Unbeknownst to many, he was struggling inside. He remained strong for as long as he could.
We mourn for him and hope he has found peace.
His family survives him, with his wife, two small children, and a baby on the way due in just a few short weeks.
The family recently bought their first home, and during a time when his family should be preparing for new baby's arrival, his sweet wife is now dealing with grief and the harsh reality of losing not only a loving husband and father, but their family's financial provider. Please consider donating to the family for expenses.
Hello loves! Finally sitting down to write this post, my apologies that it has taken SO long! Like my partner in crime, Danielle, I too was offered the chance at reviewing the Jessica Robertson Lip Gloss line, from Dr. Sun Rx. Danielle said it amazingly, so I'll just echo her! "The creators of Podz, and Dr. Sun Rx teamed up with Duck Dynasty's own Jessica Robertson to launch a selection of nourishing beauty products. The lip gloss line features a rich and creamy formula to smooth your lips into the perfect pout." You've probably seen Jessica Robertson on TV, she's a very fashionable mom and wife, on Duck Dynasty. I don't watch the show myself but I've seen her do several appearances on the TV circuit and she always looks stunning!
Now, its only been in recent years that I've considered myself "girly"...Typically I find that I like being a bit more low maintenance. That being said, I've ALWAYS loved lip gloss! I love the way it feels on and just brightens your face! Even when I go more simplistic with my make up, I always use a great lip color!! The typical collection features 6 colors, featured above! I was given Cherry Red, Cotton Candy and Nude for the purposes of this review. At first glance I loved the fashionable wands and the shiny handle! It was comfortable in my hand and easy to find in my cavern of a purse...when I took the time to carry one ;)
TOP- NUDE
MIDDLE- CHERRY RED
BOTTOM- COTTON CANDY
Of the three colors I was given (seen above), my favorite was certainly the cherry red, because what is pinup modeling without a signature red lip? ;) I do like them ALL though. I found that they apply very smoothly and I loved the moisturizing feel and pleasant smell! Cherry Red has been my go to for days that I'm doing my signature pin up look. I love the Nude for days that I want to go with more of a low key, fresh face look. The colors above are very true to what you get, its a great color! I did notice when I looked on the website, the nude color reads much lighter than what is shown here and what I received...just FYI. :) The Cotton Candy is actually SO great to use as a cheek color!! I put a few dabs on the apples of my cheeks after I've applied my moisturizer and foundation and then just use my clean fingertips to blend out and upwards towards my temple, using a circular and swiping motion. Such a fun way to get more than one use out of the lip gloss and I found it to be a PERFECT hue. Plus I am not a fan of harsh blush looks so this just gives a hint of pink and makes your face look very natural ;)
My daughter being an ADORABLE model. She's wearing Cotton Candy! She loves when I let her wear my "Mate Up"
Like most lip glosses, I do find that they staying power could be a TAD better. BUT with such a smooth application, reapplying is a breeze. I hate when you go to reapply a lipgloss and it is sticky or waxy. NONE of that mess here :) You can purchase these lip glosses at pretty much any tanning salon near you, or through www.drsuncosmetics.com If I were to purchase from the line, I would definitely love to try the lip gloss in Mocha or Berry!! I'm also planning to try the Podz line at some point hopefully!! xoxo, Lindsey
I have been wanting to color my hair something FUN for years. My hair naturally dark, dark brown (okay, and some gray, silver, GLITTER), most people mistake it for black. When I started getting more glittery strands, and it got to be too much for me I started just dying it dark brown only to cover them up. But I coveted all of those gorgeous colors I'd see. I've been considering it, but I'm so afraid of bleaching my hair and to be honest with as fast as my hair grows, I'm just not sure I'm up for the never ending, far too frequent, upkeep. It's all I can do to keep up with my glitter.
Enter, SECRET COLOR. I wasn't ready for the commitment of dying my hair pink, but adding a pop of color with Demi Lovato's Secret Color? I can do that! Plus, I can switch out my color anytime I want in seconds. It's SO easy! You can choose from pink, red, purple, and blue. You can wear them on their own, or even layer multiple colors. They say to only layer two, but hey, be a rule breaker if you want. I don't see why you couldn't do more other than the bands being more noticeable.
I forgot to take a picture of the hair itself before I excitedly put it in my hair. So, I will have to come back and edit this later with one of those. :D It was interesting to unbox though. It comes in a protective hair net, but it was a little hard to get it out of the netting and it kept getting all tangled together. Also, it kinda looks like a beard. Like a crazy colored Santa Beard. It made me laugh.
There are no clips or pins or picks to worry about placing correctly in your hair. I don't know about you all but, clip in extensions have never worked for me. My hair will just not hold a random pin on the underside where you can't see it. I could use them in a ponytail or something like that, but not just with my hair down. Secret Color is very brightly colored, and I feel like it's pretty natural feeling and looking, for fake hair anyway...the hair is attached to a thin, clear headband.
You simply place the headband on the top of your head, and then pull your hair through so the color peeks out from underneath. You can vary how much hair you pull through (all of it, half of it, etc) to control how much color you see peek through, and whether you see most of it when you're looking at your face, and almost none from behind, or if you see quite a bit from behind/all around. You can brush your hair with it in place to help mix it in as well.
The band is clear elastic, which does blend in but I think it blends better with lighter colored hair. It also depends on the lighting. In a very bright light, early morning sun in the picture below, there can be some reflection going on because it's shiny and that definitely makes it more noticeable. I'm actually tempted to color mine to match my natural hair color except for a small bit at the top where my hair parts, but I will get to how I did manage to cover it up mostly in a minute.
I do wish they offered different size headbands, as my 9 year old daughter was very excited to see this come in the mail, but was disappointed that it was a tad too big for her head. We could have pinned it down and made it work but she wasn't comfortable with it feeling loose and didn't want to try. Perhaps another time she'll let me, because as I was playing with it in my own hair, and figuring out how best to keep the clear band from showing, I decided to loop my own hair around the band. I've seen this done with other headbands before to create a beautiful look on it's own, but I didn't go to much trouble to do more than camouflage the band. I imagine you could really create a stunning hairstyle though if you play around with it. Anyway, I looped my own hair through it and not only did that mostly hide the band, but it anchors the band in place. It's not moving from my head unless I want it to. I didn't notice any slipping or moving around anyway, but it does feel more secure this way. A couple of criss crossed bobby pins are another option to secure it and keep hair covering where you want it to.
Another option if you simply do not want the band showing at all, is to just place another headband over it. I love using hair scarves! Another option would be to just put it under your bangs. I didn't try that yet, but I will. I imagine placing it under my bangs, and just pinning the sides up a little would make it nearly invisible.
The extensions are 14" long, so if your hair is very long these obviously won't reach to the bottom of your hair. My hair is about 3-4" longer than the Secret Color but I still think it looks just fine. You can cut these as well if your hair is shorter. I barely feel them at all once I've got them in, they're not bulky or heavy and a plus to the headband being the size that it is, it has stretch to it if needed, but at least on my head, it's not at all tight so I don't think I'll have to ever worry about the dreaded "headband headache."
You CAN and should wash these, the packaging says every 5-7 times to wear them. Just put them in a silk or basin full of lukewarm water and a bit of shampoo. I'd probably use baby shampoo since it's more gentle. You should also make sure to brush them out, but only when they are dry.
It is SO fast and easy to make a change! You can even curl these or flat iron them (just don't exceed 300f), work them into a ponytail, or braid them into your hairstyles. You could even ponytail or braid it before you put it in and then keep it to one side for just a chunky streak. It will take some trail and error to get styling with these right so the headband isn't glaringly obvious. I haven't tried curling them yet, but I almost never curl my hair anyway so I like them straight. I received a free sample of these to facilitate this review, but I'm SOLD. I will be purchasing the other colors. Hopefully in the future they'll expand the line, because I'd love an aqua/turquoise, or a lilac, maybe a pastel pink... Or SILVER, ahhh I could totally do a Lily Munster thing with a silver!
My daughter said with the pink, I look like Draculaura!
If you think you might like to try these, you can get them directly from Secret Color for $19.99 plus $5.99 s&h (no matter how many you buy), they are sold at Walmart, and you can get them at Amazon (where, as Amazon goes, the price varies but seems to be lower than anywhere else, right now most are priced around $13, with Prime shipping!).
Featuring 5 brilliant shades, Osmosis Colour Mineral Cosmetics is proud to launch their line of Water Color High Intensity Loose Eyeshadows. Each shadow’s unique loose powder consistency is made from concentrated minerals bound around water molecules. When applied to the skin, these water molecules burst leaving only the minerals left with high pigments and heightened hydration. Each burst instantly adds a stroke of bold, shimmering color and dimension to eyes with build-able, jewel tone hues.
Just like the watercolors used to paint, the rich shades of these loose shadows can be applied in layers to add intensity; apply one layer to achieve a soft shimmer.
Pigments are designed to amplify eyes with a wet-looking finish that will not fade throughout the day. How many eye shadows can make a claim like that? Infused with antioxidant-rich goji berry and green tea extracts, they hydrate, condition and protect your delicate eyelids. Vitamins A, C and E further nourish by offering free-radical protection. The special formula also prevents creasing and caking.
I am smitten with the Pink Champagne, what a gorgeous color!
The can be purchased for $14.00 each from skintrends.com. Happy shopping!
