1/22/13

glitter gradients

I've been obsessed with these manicures lately. It's perfect for when I feel that wearing one color is too boring, but I'm too lazy to delve into the world of freehand nail art: striping brushes and rhinestones (and 3 hours of my time). Glitter gradients can take a boring color and turn it into something awesome. And when I already start with a gorgeous color like this OPI, a sprinkling of glitter makes it look magical.

It's also perfect for when I want sparkle, but don't want to paint all my nails in a glitter and then spend 30 minutes removing it (or peeling it off, but please don't tell anyone that I actually do that).

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest
Orly Mermaid Tail

How gorgeous is Every Month is Oktoberfest?  It looks wine red at some angles, then a plum shade, and sometimes you can see the orange duochrome/sparkle. It's definitely a sexy shade, but a little more fun than a traditional vamp polish.




God, this Orly really is like a mermaid's tale captured in a bottle. Almost worth the extra buck I had to shell out for it at my local nail supply just because it's a LE glitter, not a regular shade from the Orly line. Not that I'm bitter or anything.


Related to my last post, I went to Sally Beauty Supply last night and picked up a of Ion Color Brilliance in 8RC (light copper blonde) and 20 volume developer. And after saturating my head in ammonia and chemicals, I can gladly say it's the exact Lana del Rey shade I was aiming for! A light strawberry golden brown. Do you guys want pics?

Anyways, sorry if this post if kind of bottle rambly. I start my spring semester of school tomorrow, and I really don't want to go back after being able to be lazy for over a month. On the plus side, after these couple of months, I only have 2 years to go until I get my psych degree. But.... I have to wake up early every day this semester. shudder.

1/9/13

new hair color and barely there makeup

Winter break from school for over a month with nothing to do means I get bored a lot. Which means I'll do things like dye my hair for fun.

I recently downloaded Lana Del Rey's revised edition of her album Born to Die. She looks amazing on the cover. The music is amazing: I particularly like American, Cola, and Blue Velvet.


I was bored, and I have a total girl crush on her.  So I had a sudden impulse to go to Target and buy hair dye. I decided to dye my hair so it'd be a gorgeous strawberry-gold brown color like hers. Here's how it turned out, plus my FOTD.

face-
Maybelline concealer
translucent powder
MAC Unconventional blush

eyes-
brows: MUFE Aqua Brown in Ash
UDPP
Soft Brown
Brule
Manila Paper
Mulch
Solar White
L'oreal Telescopic mascara

lips-
Angel
Patisserie





It turned out a little darker than I wanted, but I am definitely not gonna try to lighten it at home! Oh well. It's still a light auburn, and I love it. Another plus, my MUFE Aqua Brow shade will not make me look like a makeup newbie who can't choose the correct shade anymore ;)

How does my hair look? Am I a good red/auburn head? Thanks for looking!

baked by clara: momofuku milk bar

I love desserts. I mean, in a perfect world, every single meal of mine would be cake. Or cookies. Or ice cream. Or brownies. I'm not picky.

Well, I am picky in the sense that 99% of the sweets I'm going to eat have to be homemade. By me. With high quality ingredients. But other than that, I'm not picky.

Over the summer, when I lived with Christian, we would sometimes go to the bookstore for fun. I just liked to browse. He just liked to put up with me.

There I saw this cool looking cookbook. It's dark cover and neon light writing drew me in. Looking through its strange creative recipes made me have to have it. I bought it on Amazon ($15 less than the store!) and started to bake through it.

Momofuku Milk Bar

Here are two of my favorite cookie recipes from the book: corn cookies (seriously) and cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies.

Unfortunately, many of the recipes in the book were either poorly written or poorly scaled down from their normal bakery-sized batches. All over the internet, people have trouble making their cookies. They spread out too much, look nothing like the pictures, have an off texture, etc. The cornflakechocolatediabetes cookie is definitely hard to make - they always come out paper thin. But they are delicious!

First off, here are the corn cookies.


I know it sounds kinda weird. Corn in dessert? But it's delicious. Don't knock it til you try it!

Momofuku Milk Bar Corn Cookies
makes about two dozen 2oz cookies
2 sticks softened butter (225g) (to ensure they don't spread too thin, I use 1 or 2 tbsp less than this)
1 1/2 c granulated white sugar (300g)
1 egg
2 tsp extract (recipe doesn't call for this, but I think it adds a lot. I use 1tsp each of vanilla and butter extract)
1 1/3 c flour (I use bread flour)
2/3 c freeze dried corn powder (65g)*
1/4 c corn flour (45g) (mix 1/4c flour with 4tsp dried corn powder)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

*you can get freeze dried whole corn kernels from Target or Whole Foods (or online). Grind it in a food processer or coffee grinder (specifically for spices) and measure from there.

1. Cream together butter and sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add egg, beat until well combined. The original recipe calls for beating in the egg for 8 minutes (!!!) but ain't nobody got time for that. I also think beating it for that long will contribute to the spreading of the cookie. Beat in extract.
3. On low speed, add in all the dry ingredients until JUST mixed. Do not over mix.
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or better, overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Scoop out cookies while still cold, spaced about 3 inches from each other.
6. Bake for about 12 minutes. Check on them, see how soft they are in the center. Bake for additional time as needed.

The cornflake cookies take a bit more time and an additional step. You need to make something called cornflake crunch, but believe me, you won't mind the additional step. The crunch is so salty and delicious and try not to eat all of it before you make the cookies.

sweet and salty heaven on friggin' earth

Momofuku Milk Bar Cornflake Crunch
makes enough for 1 recipe cornflakechocolateetc cookies
2 1/2 c cornflakes (170g)
1/4 c milk powder (20g)*
1 1/2 tbsp sugar (20g)
1/2 tsp kosher salt (2g)
4 tbsp butter, melted (60g)

*you can get nonfat dry milk powder in most grocery stores in the baking aisle.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
1. Pour cornflakes into a bowl and crush them with your hands until they are about a quarter of their original size.
2. Add milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix.
3. Add the melted butter and toss. The butter will kind of "glue" together all the dry ingredients to the cereal.
4. Spread the mixture on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and toasty. Use in a recipe or eat as is (or try not to).




Momofuku Milk Bar Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow Cookies
makes about 2 dozen 2oz cookies
2 sticks softened butter (225g) (again, use a tbsp or 2 less)
1 1/4c granulated white sugar (250g)
2/3 c brown sugar (150g)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (2g)
1 1/2c flour (240g) (again, I would use bread flour because of the high fat content of these cookies)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 recipe cornflake crunch (above)
2/3 c mini chocolate chips (125g) (or any you have on hand)
1 1/4 c mini marshmallows (65g)


1. Cream together butter and sugars on medium high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add egg, beat until well combined. Beat in extract.
3. On low speed, add in all the dry ingredients until JUST mixed - no longer than 1 minute. Do not over mix.
4. Still on low speed, add in the cornflake crunch, chocolate chips until barely mixed in. For the marshmallows: AFTER I scoop the cookies, I pinch off a bit of the top of the dough mound and add 4 -5 mini marshmallows, as shown in the picture above. Then I replace the top and lightly press on it. You can mix them in the batter if you want, but this ensures your marshmallows will stay in the center of the cookies, not the edges where they will spread out all over your baking sheet.
5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or better, overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Scoop out cookies while still cold, spaced about 3 inches from each other.
6. Bake for about 12 minutes. Check on them, see how soft they are in the center. Bake for additional time as needed. These cookies are finicky, so they might need as much as 16 minutes. Keep an eye on them.

I know these recipes are a bit complex, but I love complex flavors. I also love baking in the kitchen for half the day. But maybe that's just me ;)


me decorating a (vegan) cake I made for my brother's birthday last year.


I hope you guys enjoyed one of my first baking posts! How did you like it? Should I post more?