Archive for February 2008

Fafi and MAC, A Fun Combination!

Friday, February 29th, 2008

I wish I were in my teens or twenties again. Then I would dare to go all out with this wonderful new collection from French artist Fafi and M.A.C. Cosmetics. But being 40, I just don’t think I can get away with a look like the one below, no matter how much I adore it!

MAC FAFI Look

As it is, I am still getting a lot of enjoyment from this collection. It is chock full of fun shades and I have already discovered a favorite new lipstick shade in it. (see Girl Gloss review). Among the other pleasures is a great selection of new paint pots, which I absolutely love. As far as I am concerned, MAC can’t put out new shades of these fast enough. If you haven’t tried a paint pot yet, get yourself to a MAC counter or store and do so! They are bit hard to blend, but they wear oh so well!

M.A.C. Fafi Collection Makeup

The collection also includes some wonderful iridescent pressed powders, including a repackaging of the shade belightful in an adorable compact. This shade is absolutely incredible as a highlighter/illuminizer on a variety of skin tones, although darker skin tones might want to step up a shade to Verv-Acious.

Another wonderful surprise were the two new nail lacquers. I have been enjoying M.A.C.’s limited edition nail shades, and the ones in the Fafi collection have become instant spring favorites. Boom! is a great purple/plum shade with a good measure of pearl shimmer to it that I have been sporting for over a week now. Girls Will Be Girls is a opalescent candy pink.

The collection also features Fafi cases, T-shirts, and collectible dolls. For more see Macfafi.com


Shop for M.A.C. Cosmetics


Disclosures: Beauty and Fashion Tech at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

Ten Years Thinner Book ReviewLast week I announced my start of the Ten Years Thinner diet and exercise plan, by Dr. Christine Lydon, M.D. Now that I have completed the first week, an update is in order!

First off, I will go straight to the numbers. After week one:

Weight lost: 5 pounds (color me impressed)

Inches off: Thigh: 1/2, Hips: 0, Stomach: 3/4, Arm 1/2, Chest: 2 1/2. Sigh…. why are the boobs the first to go, and why do they go so quickly?!?!

My experience has been good so far. The first two weeks are quite restrictive–no dairy, legumes or grains, so I ate a lot of eggs and then ate some more eggs. I focused my dinners on grilled chicken or fish with extra veggies and I made chicken soup that provided several lunches. I also premeasured and bagged my daily cup of nuts for snacks, which I supplemented with quite a bit of grapefruit from my recent trip to Texas.

I was stuck eating out one day, but managed to find a great grilled veggie salad at California Pizza Kitchen and I added grilled shrimp. For dinner ,I got pan seared halibut and veggies. The halibut was done in olive oil, so it was fine, but I’m pretty sure that the veggies were not diet compliant–they tasted too buttery good!

Toward the end of week one I got sick, so I’m not sure what effect that had. I ate a bit less than usual and it was almost all soup, so that might account for the quick weight drop. I also missed two days of the workout because of the illness.

The workout is interesting. After a week, I am pretty comfortable with it and feel like it is good at building overall strength and providing some cardio. But I don’t feel like I am getting as winded as I would get from doing sprint intervals, and I also don’t feel like my inner thighs, glutes, or triceps are getting as much workout as I would like. I added an extra set of one of my favorite triceps free weight exercises to the end and I might add something for the inner thigh and gluteal muscals as well. The inner thigh is an area which I need to keep strengthened due to some past hip issues. My glutes? Well, lets just say I would like a skinnier butt!

I also did fine on the supplement regime, which is essentially three prescription fish oil pills (Lovaza), a calcium pill, a multi-vitamin, and a magnesium tablet. I was previously taking all but the magnesium anyway. The difference now is just that instead of forgetting and only taking my pills about once each week, I managed to hit all but two days. Hint: Put your pills in a daily strip container and leave it on the table by where you eat. I only missed with that when I ate out one day and stayed in bed sick all of another, so I didn’t see the pills on the table.

Overall, I can feel a change in my body composition after only a week. I definitely feel stronger and thinner. So I am rather excited and am looking forward to continuing.

For those interested, you can duplicate the great grilled veggie salad that I had:

Spray veggies of choice with olive oil and roast or grill: E.g. eggplant, mushrooms, zuchinni, sundried tomatoes, asparagus, green onion, peppers, corn (beginning in week three). Also grill some chicken breast or shrimp, lightly sprayed with olive oil. Serve warm over a bed of chopped mixed greens and drizzle with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. After week three I might add a few black beans or chick peas or green peas.

A good week one compliant side dish: Fry sliced plantain in olive oil and lightly salt. These taste a bit like sweet french fries! Can’t find plantain? Check your local Hispanic grocery or in a pinch, fry green bananas instead.

I will be back next Wednesday with another update!

Jump to:

PreDiet Writeup
Week One Recap
Week Two Recap
Week Three Recap
Week Four Recap
Week Five Recap
Week Six Recap
One Month After the End Review


Comparison shop for diet books and plans

Related Posts with Thumbnails


Disclosures: Beauty and Fashion Tech at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page