Paradisus

It has been awhile (2 years) since I've blogged but as most recent grads, after college you concentrate on building a career and forget the little things that you looked forward to do during your spare time. One of the those little things was this blog that I created. I began blogging to improve my writing skills and share my experience for those who care enough to read about it :)

It's only April and I have so much things that I want to share with you but this post is all about my 2nd trip (yes, 2nd trip of this year), Punta Cuna, Dominica Republic. And for those who are wondering why, well let me reminder you, this blog is not only about beauty and fashion but about anything that is worth blogging.

I've stayed at the Paradisus Punta Cana Resort in the Junior Suit. It's a bit pricy but completely worth it and also it's all inclusive so no need to worry about carrying money around and possibly losing your wallet from all the fun you're having. The lobby is breath taking and relaxing.

To be truly honest, besides the lunch buffet, 99% of the restaurants in the resort made me completely sick and the food was not as I expected. The 1% that I loved and did not made my stomach feel weird was Mole. Mole is a Mexican cuisine and let me tell you guys, I had the best chicken quesadillas! If you ever go to Paradisus Resort in Punta Cana, make reservations to Mole. Also, be careful what you order from the menu no matter where you go. Different countries cook differently!

Out of the 9 pairs of shoes that I took with me in this 5-day vacation trip, these Zara faux fur strap sandals were the most comfortable yet chic that I wore through out the whole trip. I only purchased these during their big Sale because they were the only pair left and it happened to be my size, I figured it was meant for me to take them home (even thought I kept questioning while waiting in the line whether I really liked them or just me being a typical shopaholic). Let me say, I  received so many compliments and my feet being so happy the I learned to love them.

I wish I had more images to show of the lobby, the suit etc of the trip but I mostly snapchat and posted maybe 2-3 other images on Instagram. I tend to live in the moment and forgot to pack my cannon camera so yes, these images were taken with my iPhone.

I am planning to work on more post about items that I regret purchasing and items that was worth waiting in the line to pay for. As always, I will state my truly honest opinion to everyone. Who knows, I might save you from spending money on things that are just not worth it. 

xoxox  V

Floppy April + Giveaway!

Necklace; find from a local boutique, White Monogram Hat, Ring; Pave Coil from Express, Michael Kors bracelet (PoshMark find) style MKJ3509710

Hi beautiful peeps,

For starters I hope everyone had an awesome Easter Day this weekend with your love ones and for all my jewish friends, joyous festival. Being that I love accessories, monograms and everything that has to do with them together, I was super excited to hear that 9th and Elm wanted to send me a Monogram Floppy Hat with my initials. With so many options, It took me literally 2 days to decided on the Hat/Thread color and the font style. I ended up deciding on the White Monogram Hat and Navy Blue with Master Circle font style. I figured, why not choose something that would go well with any outfit. Because of the crazy New York weather, it was a bit difficult to actually take it out for a spin. Snow storms, strong winds, non-stop rain, and yes! I'm talking about the month of March. So during the Easter weekend, I finally was able to show my hat off. I styled it with a loss cover-up sweater and paired it with my levi's white shorts, a fashion statement necklace, a gorgeous ring from express, an awesome Michael Kors bracelet (which I found on PoshMark) and of course my signature hair look. I love everything about the hat! Unlike most flappy hats I own, it stayed well in place! Especially when the wind was passing by. It is fun, stylish, simple but yet elegant in its own way. The Monogram Hat retails for $50 but it's on sale for $25, 50% off! So worth it!

Enough about me! Did I mention, I teamed up with 9th and Elm to do a major giveaway for y'all. I know, Finally! A Giveaway on Vanessa'a blog.

Here are the details;

-  The giveaway will remain live from April 7 at 11 am CST until April 16 at 11 am CST.

-  The winner will be chosen and notified by 9th and Elm on April 17.

-  This giveaway is available for United States and Canadian residents only.

Good Luck!!! xoxox

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sponsored Post

A Fresh Start With Destiny

As we wrapped up February and welcomed March I'm sure most of you are just excited as I am for summer to arrive. February was definitely a busy month; New York Fashion Week, Valentine's Day, 2 baby showers and bestie birthday, so I was most looking forward to relax. One thing I absolutely love to do on my spare time is light-up a candle in my room, lay on my bed, catch up on some reading and of course check out my social media as well. I am a big candle person! My friends think I am insane for having so many candles but to be honest, each candle is far different from the other. Depending on my mood of the day I light-up flowers scent when I'm happy, desserts and pastry scent for when I feel silly or my nieces come over, and ocean breeze or tropical scents for relaxation.
During Fashion Week I've attended the Bene Rialto Collective Preview & Lounge in which I meet Destiny Candle lovely representative Erica who introduce me to this amazing candle/body oil. Yes, I said it! Body Oil! The luxury candle melts to silky body oil and surprisingly as you pour it on to your skin it was the perfect temperature. In every candle there is a hidden surprise for you, a ring value from $10-$10k dollars.
Made in the US, the brand is non-GMO (Genetically Modified Foods) which means the candle is not artificially control in a laboratory through genetic engineering and no animal testing.
My boyfriend and I were pretty excited when I received this awesome surprise in the mail. We had a very romantic night just us two and enjoyed the power of the candle, let me tell you girls, he approves! He actually offered to be my hand model to demonstrate you how silky the body oil drips on to the skin.
Destiny Candle offers a 4oz tin for $14.99 and 8oz tin (which I have) or glass for $24.99 in variety scents. I actually have Imagine - Anything is Possible Candle, Arousing Chocolat Mint scent which I am in love with! Not only do you get a candle and body oil but also a very nice piece of jewelry for an amazing price. Obviously I recommend you guys to check them out! You won't regret it! And if you do let me know what you guys think about it. I would love to hear your thoughts about it too. Love y'all and many kisses!!!

LuLu*s Style Studio Lounge

February are one of the Months I look most forward to not only because of Valentine's Day and New York Fashion Week but it's that time of the year when LuLu*s arrives to NY for its annual Style Studio Lounge event. After attending fashion shows, many editors and bloggers get together under one roof also known as the beautiful 404 NYC. Although not many guest attended due to the extremely cold weather, it was a great and fun event for all of us. This year there were many great sponsors, giveaways and contest for us to enjoy throughout the whole night. I myself won an amazing My Spa 2 go gift bag full of awesome goodies from Bidwell Botanicals, Supergoop, Sothys, and Essie Polishes. By the way, Thank you My Spa 2 go! I absolutely love them *kiss kiss*.
Anyways, open bar was provided by the amazing HPNOTIQ. Even though I'm not a big drinker, I did enjoy the Sea Breeze which contain coconut rum and pineapple juice. Later on through the night, Lulus.com allowed for each guest to pick out one item from the collection. Just image how us bloggers went crazy trying to find the perfect piece that fit our style. I of course picked out a cute deep v-neckline, open back dress in red with sleeves.
Check out the images down below. I will host a giveaway with some of these products very soon. xoxox

Unboxing Boxycharm December "Jingle Belles"

Hey peeps,

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. We made it another year, happy 2015!!! Now, lets get started. Recently during Christmas I have received Boxycharm December "Jingle Belles" box. For those who aren't familiar with boxycharm, it's a monthly beauty subscription box that delivers 4-5 full size products for just $21 a month including free shipping. Yes! full size products at a low price.

Products included:

Coastal Scents Revealed Palette          $39.95

Lina Lasges Luxury Mink Lashes          $30.00

Mistura Beauty Solutions Retractable Beauty Brush           $19.99

Be a Bombshell Lip Product          $14.00

Eva NYC Hair Products           $7.00 - $12.00

Honestly, I was completely impress with all of the luxury beauty products I received. I absolutely fell in love with the Coastal Scents Revealed Palette although may I add, the colours were completely different from the packaging image but I didn't care. The Lina Lasges Luxury Mink Lashes were a bit too big for my face but for those who love big lashes than these will be perfect for you.

Check out Boxycharm for more details and other brands they have worked with. You can also purchase individual items on their website as well.

Hope this post helps and don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel. Click HERE

Sponsored Post

Billion Dollar Brows Holiday Limited Edition: Update

Lets get this started. As most of you know this already, a couple of months ago I posted a review on Billion Dollar Brows. The amazing and affordable universal pencil for all skin shades has recently updated their kit. Billion Dollar Brows best seller Holiday kit now contains a free sharpener at the same price of $34.99 (a $73 value). The brow pencil allows you to draw on until desire shade.

Check out my past review for more details:

KOHL's Exclusive Billion Dollar Brows: Brow Kit Review

Don't forget to check out the rest of Billion Dollar Brows products by clicking HERE.

sponsord post.

Icon Q Jett Wireless Charger

December is here and what a better way to start a post with a gift idea for those who love the latest technology. Recently I have recieved the Icon Q Jett Wireless Charger starter kit for Apple 5/5s, an electromagnetic device that transmit energy between the transmitter (dock) and the receiver (phone). The Icon Q allows you to drop your phone on top of the dock (charger) and quickly pick it up without having to pull the cable charger out, perfect for bloggers/writers to have during New York Fashion Week. The red light informs you its ready, once you drop your phone on the dock the green light appears. Honestly, I personally love it. I receive so many emails and usually I spend most of the time on my computer, blogging and editing pictures so its perfect when my friends call and I can easily just pick up the phone. You can also charge the phone using the USB cable if you feel more comfortable that way. Although keep in mind, because it's a wireless charger it will take a bit longer to fully charge. The Icon Q is aimed more for convenience instead of speed. Have I mentioned this cool product is only $49? Perfect for a great holiday gift and staying within your budget as well. Jett Starter Kit is only for iPhone 5/5s, Samsung Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy s4/s5.

By the way, Icon Q is having a special giveaway. 

Win a JETT Wireless Charging Starter Kit and Power Bank (a $100 value)

to enter click HERE

Sweepstakes ends 12/15/2014

Check out Icon Q other products on their website and don't forget to enter the contest!

Let me know if any of you end up winning. Good Luck!

℅ Icon Q Corp.

Black on Black with Wolford

Hey Sexy's,

Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving weekend. My Thanksgiving plans consist of food with my family and of course Black Friday shopping spree. This year a lot of stores opened at 6pm on Thanksgiving so if we wanted the good deals we had to head to the mall as soon as we're done eating before everything was sold out. As most of you do so too, I take advantage of the Black Friday sale by starting my christmas shopping early. Already knowing I was going to have a very long day not only did I wanted to dress up and look amazing but also be as comfortable as I can be. Wolford had send me these amazing pair of Evelyn Stay-Up in black which may I add the details are so beautiful. There are many ways you can wear Evelyn with, I decided to rock them with a long sleeve body conscious black dress from H&M, my Michael Kors coat and boats from Target. Evelyn Stay-Up was perfect for a dinner party celebration and an evening of shopping, it definitely transformed my simple outfit. Hours of wearing Evelyn I was so impress but not surprise on the good quality and how secure the fit is. Unlike most stay-ups/hold-ups, I didn't have to keep rolling them back up to keep it in place. The elasticized band at the top holds the stockings up very well, perfect for an everyday look. Don't forget to let me know what you guys think about these amazing Wolford stay-ups and I definitely recommend you to check them out if you haven't.

www.wolfordshop.com

wearing: Evelyn Stay-Ups in size Medium 

(but I think I needed a smaller size, woopsi!)

℅ wolford

One Direction Limited-Edition Beauty Collection: Review

Well hello beauties,

This blog post is dedicated not only to those who love makeup but are a huge fans of One Direction. Yes, I said it! I had the opportunity to test our their new limited-edition beauty collection and may I say I am very impress.

The One Direction limited-edition beauty palette contains 6 eyeshadows, 4 lip gloss, lip gloss top coat, eye pencil, and 2 nail polish. Pretty much you have everything you need to glam yourself. The 3 eye shadows from the top row are more metallic while the bottom row eye shadows have a little shimmer, perfect to create a smokey eye. The "Tell me a Lie" eye shadow (which is like a metallic nude pink) can be used as a highlighter as well. Keep in mind, I applied a primer before I swatch the eye shadows on my arm. Although both "Loved you First" and "Irresistable" are similar I must say "Loved you First" is my favorite lip gloss in the palette. "Heart Attack" lip gloss is more of natural look, I would add "One thing" lip gloss on top of either "Loved you First" or "Irresistable" to give it a more beautiful shinny lip.
My boyfriend and I planned a little dinner with my best friend so I wanted to create a stunning look for a night out in the city but yet keep it a little simple. First I applied "Summer Love" eyeshadow (smokey purple haze) to add on to the crease. Than taking an eye shadow brush I picked "Nobody Compare" (metallic silver) and applied it to the whole lid. After blending in both eye shadows I used the eye pencil to create a wing on the eyes. Because I need a little bit more color I decided to apply my favorite "Loved you First" lip gloss, added some foundation, fixed my eye brows, applied Mac lashes and I am done with my look. What do you guys think?

BTW, ONE DIRECTION Makeup Giveaway direct link for anyone who's interested: Click the LINK

And I would have a giveaway soon that will be including this cute One Direction limited-edition makeup with other awesome goodies as well. Stay tune!

Sponsored Post