izzi blog

The official izzibag blog

Recently I was introduced to a fellow Brit in New York, the fabulous Linda Mason, makeup and visual artist famous since the 1970s for her creative and exciting use of color. Linda is the author of many books and you can find them at Amazon.com I had no idea what to expect when I was going along to meet her, I had changed my outfit more times than I cared to remember and had scrubbed the fist layer of skin from my face as I tried to get my make up to look acceptable. After meeting Linda I realized that she looked much deeper into a person than what I was wearing or that I had spent 4 hours with a cement mixer going in my bathroom to mix up the foundation color!

Linda Mason

Linda told me that when she sits down with a model and she has done that with the many famous faces of  Cameron Diaz, Brooke Shields, Uma Thurman and Charlize Theron to name but a few she is drawn to their eyes. A new lipstick color can make you feel good but it is really the eye makeup that allows your to transform yourself in amazing ways.  Linda told me that even with great lips (Angelina Jolie eat your heart out here!) and wether you realize it or not everything you do is directed to your eyes. I have to say I don’t have perfect lips, but I have OK skin for a woman of my age, but I know I do have great eyes. On many occasions throughout my life people will comment that I have green eyes or grey, or blue,they are all right because my eyes change almost everyday depending on my moods! I was looking forward to learning more about what Linda had in store for me as she was creating my journey of self-expression through eye makeup.

The Art of Beauty by Linda Mason

Linda told me all about how different zodiac signs lean towards different color charts and she has designed color palettes for each sign….Linda had early in her career noticed striking physical similarities in women of the same birth sign. Even when physical similarities were not immediately obvious, personality,taste, and styles of self expression combined to produce strong likenesses. Each palette comes with an instruction manual to follow steps ABC and how to have a soft but natural two minute makeover…Now we are talking, I have to tell you my niece came to stay recently and she took 2 hours to get ready, I have no idea what she did in the mornings but I will be sending her Linda’s number for sure.

It's as simple as ABC

Did you know that when applying lipstick with your fingertips you can achieve a transparent tinted look, but you will get more coverage with a brush? When it comes to Blush tap 3 fingers on the blush and then tap them on your cheekbone and blend. The rule is that the lighter your skin tone the more delicately you should apply the color remember it is easier to add than to take off.

So what makes Linda Mason elements different from other cosmetic lines? well it is packaged knowledge, she says she has put her years of experience into creating glamorous looks into easy to use kits. Kits which allow a woman to be her own makeup artist and look fabulous in many different ways.

If you prefer a certain color or if you want to experiment with different shades, Linda can prepare a small compact that comes complete with eye,lips and cheek colors so suit you. I think this is a fabulous way to go, I don’t know about you but I hate it when I go to a make up counter to buy a new eye shadow palette to find there is always one or two colors inside that I will never wear, so what a waste. Now I look forward to experimenting with the colors Linda and I picked out.

Colors of your choice

So Linda sat me down as a blank canvas, am sure you cannot believe the hyperventilating that went on as I had to get to her studio without any makeup on! Linda told me that she would try different looks on me and she did. I did not get to see the outcome until she finished and was taking pictures to show me, but how different I looked to the times that I had put on my own makeup!

My Favorite Picture

I think this picture is professional and not too heavy on the makeup, it makes me look healthy but not overly made up.

What a difference a Lipstick makes

When Linda said let’s try a red lipstick I nearly fainted, I would never in a million years have gone for this color, but what a difference it made.

Star for a day

Linda certainly caught my best side! seriously I was more than surprised at just how easy Linda made it to change my whole face by applying different colors to my eyes, lips and cheeks. I no longer need to get up an hour early to turn on the cement mixer, I can now feel confident in my own skin with a little help from ‘The Art of Beauty’ and Linda Mason.

Linda gives makeup lessons as a class or privately and so you can go to her  Gallery at 26 Grand Street Gr Fl. New York, NY 10013 Tel:212 625-0490.

I was recently asked along to the Varli Food Festival in New York by my good friend Bhavna Junja of Jammu Style as she knows how much I enjoy Indian Food. Little did I know just how big this festival was going to be. The mission of the Varli food festival is to educate, motivate and inspire people to explore, cook and most importantly, enjoy Indian food. Well on that point they really have their work cut out, as here in New York I really believe that the American’s do not understand the delights of Indian Food. I think as a nation, only my opinion and I await the roars of replies on this one, they do not like spicy food. Why? I have no idea and when I lived in the UK I made very good friends with a top Indian Chef called RAFI, who has written many books and she taught me how to cook Indian food so I am addicted, lock, stock and barrel.

If only you could smell the picture!

There must have been over 60 Top Indian Chefs from allover the place including Canada and the UK all demonstrating their talents, even Padma  Lakshmi was there. The smell in the Met Pavilion was just wonderful, the aroma of cumin, coriander, garlic and hot chilli made me think of RAFI. So many people I got to speak to Maneet Chauhan, Jehangir Mehta who is a huge New York Star Chef, Gobi Takatin known as the Tandoor master, Chef Hari Nayak  who can make the best Chai Creme Brulee.

So I met with Chef Vikas Khanna, an internationally recognized Chef, restaurant owner, food writer and filmmaker, certainly a force in the culinary world. He told me about a recipe for Piri Piri Shrimp a favorite at restaurant Junoon..Delightful is all I can say.

One of the Chefs I really wanted to meet was Shipra khanna who was the winner of Master Chef India, who really inspired me and she was demonstrating there and then how to make great Indian Food. Very lovely lady or should I say Chef !

With Chef Shipra Khanna & Sony Heron

I am all about girl power and the next chef I met was Romy Hardeep Gill  who is no exception to the rule. She is a fellow Brit and deserves a huge Shout out. Romy’s family are from West Bengal, am assuming this i where those wonderful Tigers come from? anyway her family drew traditional flavors from around the area in their cooking. Romy told me that she would cook from a very young age with her mother and try to incorporate all areas of the country into the food.Romy has also always been very aware of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, founded on a nutritious, balanced diet and wishes to pass her knowledge on to others. So here is a recipe that she gave to me and the outcome believe me is awesome….Try this one at home.

Pomegranate Srikhand

Ingredients

2 Small fresh Pomegranate

500 gm Low fat Natural Yogurt

1tsp Saffron

6 tsp White Caster sugar.

3 green cardamom

3tsp Balsamic Vinegar ·

Take out seeds from the pomegranates in a bowl and sprinkle 2 tsp of white caster sugar and 3 tsp of Balsamic vinegar. Cover the dish and leave it for 30 minutes.Soak the saffron in 15 ml of hot water in a dish, keep aside if you soak saffron in hot water you get the amazing yellow colour.Crush the green cardamom seeds.Add 4 tsp of caster sugar to the yogurt whisk it well, Add the crushed cardamom seeds to yogurt.Add few tablespoons of pomegranate seeds to each serving dish, top up with few tablespoons of yogurt and decorate with few drops of liquid from the pomegranate dish. ENJOY!

Curry without Calories

My evening was complete, I met so many nice people and I want to help them spread the word, Indian food can be as mild or as chili hot as you like, do not have the misconception that everything is fuelled to burn your lips. I wish oh I wish that my American friends will come to dinner and I will cook them some of my favorites and hopefully convert them!

Watch out for the invitation, it’s coming your way…….

I don’t know about you but I always find Mother’s Day a Chore, of course being a Brit it’s even harder as my mum lives in the UK and we live in the USA, so my mum gets two Mother’s Days.

I always struggle what to buy my mum, she is 82 years old bless her and she has everything she needs. So I was glad that the Accessories Council invited me to their Mother’s Gifting event, which gave me inspiration. I am not sure which of these gifts to give my mum but I know which ones I will be sending a link to my 3 sons!

I firstly went to talk to the Lovely Roman Sun Stone whose jewelry is just fabulous and not expensive, it starts at around $20 for a complete set, so within anyones budget! This beautiful teardrop pendant and earring set  is accented with clear crystals the amethyst teardrop pendant has matching post style earrings.

Will go from Day to Night Wear

Chic Buds are the first line to launch their Tangle Free flat cord designer printed Ear Phones for your Mobile, I hate it when I delve into my handbag only to find my ear phones are all wrapped around everything and it takes ten minutes of frustration to release them. Well not any longer, can’t wait to try these out at $29.99 they are a steal and sorry mum but you don’t need these I do!

They Come in Pink, Blue and Silver

Lia Sophia is part of the Remington Brand, you will remember they were famous for their Lady Shavers a few years back and they have a Lifetime Replacement Guarantee which I think is fabulous, so I know anything I buy for my mum, I will not have to worry that she may break it.

Every Piece has a lifetime Guarantee

I think my favorite piece is the Carla Marina jewelry and being a Leo I just like to shine so take a look at their website as some of their pieces are just Gorg!Their Luxa Pendant Necklace at $98 has a  golden glow of the Topaz stone and the intricate carving of the gold seal of King D. Luis I. I love it and I know that it will look great with a crisp white shirt and a pair of jeans or with a cocktail dress.

Insignia of Portugal's 3 military orders first created in 1789

I think the idea of giving my mum a QVC gift voucher would also be a great idea and then that way she can browse the TV on a raining afternoon and choose her own gift…Ummm now there is a plan! oh and whilst I think about it I might just have to eat a Whipped BakeShop cookie, too good to give away.

Who can resist a cookie?