Daily Nutrition for Skin

I've been working extra long hours and all this past weekend (and happily so), but without a little R&R, my face looks like it has taken a beating! Ha! How many of you busy career-driven women, especially with children (and kudos to you, by the way, because I don't know how you ladies juggle while simultaneously carry on an actual social life,) have been looking for an amazing face mask that can do all of it's magic tricks in one packet?

Let me introduce you to my new best pal, the Colbert MD Illumino Anti-Aging Brightening Mask! How does it work? These concentrated Bio Cellulose anti-aging brightening masks deliver brighter, smoother, plumper looking skin using patented QuSome® technology. These masks rejuvenate damaged, tired skin; visibly reduce dark spots and skin imperfections; stimulate skin cell renewal and regenerates the skin; and they can also be used as a pre-treatment before makeup application and/or post-laser treatment recovery mask.

The QuSome® technology allows this mask to deliver active ingredients straight to the dermis where cellular renewal takes place.

Key Ingredients & Benefits:

• Niacinamide: Influences skin pigmentation by down-regulating melanin production, while improving the appearance of photoaged skin (including texture, redness, fine lines and wrinkles)
• Swiftlet Nest Extract: Promotes skin regeneration, acts as skin barrier and prevents water loss
• Lactic Acid: A gentle natural exfoliation that helps to reduce fine lines, wrinkles, age spots and hyper-pigmentation
• Vitamin C: Skin-lightening booster that helps decrease melanin formation, neutralizes free radicals and increases collagen synthesis
• SymCalmin®: Calms and soothes the skin. Helps reduce blotchiness
• Chamomile Extract: Soothes, conditions and balances the complexion
• Hyaluronic Acid: Increases hydration and improves skin's elasticity
• Vitamin E: Antioxidant that fights against free radicals and anti-aging signs

Usage is easy. Apply the mask day or night on cleansed skin twice a week. First remove the protective white film and place the mask on the face, starting from the chin. Gently peel off the mesh and adjust the position of the mask to ensure that the openings for the eyes and mouth are correctly positioned. Press gently on the mask with both hands to adhere. Remove the mask after 15 minutes. Do not rinse. Massage the remaining serum into the skin.

And I love how I can continue working while having the mask on! It's a nice 15 minutes lying down. ☺️ Below is a picture of myself, before putting on the mask. I have zero make-up on and just cleansed my face. I can see some uneven skin tone, I'm a bit blotchy and I sure do look tired.

And here is a photo of myself, post-mask! My face is luminous with a touch of that dewy-looking skin I love so much. (I'm Korean, what can I say...) My skin tone was instantly corrected, all the while with a more lively, fresh appearing result! I love that it's only a twice-a-week regiment, because there's only so much time I have with my skin!

Dr. Colbert's skin care line is top of the top, it's no wonder why he's one of the most well-respected, esteemed dermatologists in New York City. To all my New York ladies: his skin care clinic, the New York Dermatology Group is amazing and if you're looking for a dermatologist, this is your guy! 

Colbert MD skincare is available at ColbertMD.com, Barney's New York, Space.NK, apothecary and more. For a store locator, you can visit here.

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

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Korean Tacos

Thank GOD it's Friday! I'm so happy it's the weekend. This week has been frantic with so much work, I'm ready to kick back and relax! So what's a girl to cook on the happiest day of all? Tacos. And even better? KOREAN tacos. Slow cooker tacos.

I especially love the slaw! It's mixed coleslaw with kale! Healthy and delicious, it gives an extra crunch. Bringing added texture, the slaw goes perfectly with the pork combining a sweet and tangy experience in your mouth.

Slow Cooker Korean Tacos

Serves 6-8, recipe from Table for Two Blog

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 4 pieces

1 cup hoisin sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish

3 tsp ground ginger

1 16-ounce package of coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

Small tortillas or hot cooked white (or brown) rice, for serving

Instructions:

1. Add the pieces of pork in the insert/bowl of your slow cooker. Add hoisin sauce, garlic, green onions, and ground ginger.

2. Toss each piece of pork a few times to fully coat with the sauce and spices.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.

4. Prior to serving, in a bowl, toss coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix with rice wine vinegar and brown sugar.

5. Remove pork from slow cooker and shred. (Best trick I learned to shred meat in a slow cooker is to use an electric hand mixer. Easy peasy!)

6. Serve in warmed tortillas with slaw on top or spoon pork onto a bed of rice. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.

7. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days.

Like it hot? Try it with some Sriracha sauce or Tabasco sauce. This will definitely elevate the other flavors, giving it a full kick of spiciness... to which, I can never ever get enough of the hottest, most spicy food. Proof: My first night living in New York, I took a dare with a girlfriend and ate a whole Jalapeno pepper while downing it with a shot of Crown Royal. It felt like I had smoke coming out of my ears! It was bad, but oh so fun. Such a great memory.

If you do not eat pork, you can easily substitute with beef or poultry. It'd be just as tasty! I definitely want to mix it up and come up with different kinds of Korean tacos. Perhaps Korean shrimp tacos? Mmmm! Be on the lookout for more! :P

I also have some really exciting upcoming stories for my readers next week! Stay tuned for more!

Have a great weekend! 

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

Unakite Necklace Giveaway!

Happy Monday! I'm starting this week off with another jewelry giveaway! This month I've teamed up with an Etsy store called Breezy Please run by the amazingly talented Shannon Boyce. Located in Las Vegas, Shannon creates wire wrapped necklaces with chakra stones and other unique pieces like pendents and even earrings.

Ain't she a beaut?! Let me tell you a little more about this precious stone, unakite.

Unakite, also called epidote, comes from the Greek epidosis, which means- growing together. It is a combination of red jasper and green epidote solidly bound, originally first discovered in the Unakas Mountains in North Carolina. From the combo, we get the meaning of what comes together, belongs together.

This is a highly Spiritual stone. It will bring though serenity and optimisim in regards to the future and will also aid your spiritual growth. This is a great stone to use during the difficult times the world is currently going through. Unakite has a protective element within its make-up and will help you to release negative energies and addictions that may be holding you back.

Unakite Jasper is a stone that encourages visionary abilities by opening your psychic vision. It works through the third eye chakra and aids you to visualize what you desire in your life. It also has a powerful vibration within the heart and thymus chakras, also known as the higher heart chakra. The higher heart chakra encompasses love and compassion, as well as love of self.

So how do you enter to win this necklace for FREE? All you have to do is go to the end of this post, like the article, then comment about what you are digging most about this necklace! There are also a couple of extra freebies which are loaded in nothing but positive vibes- I'm including a Quartz piece cell phone charm, which fits into the headphone port on any phone or device AND there is also a little bit of white desert sage and a small quartz point, bad energy be gone!

Now, there is also one other way you can enter! If you have an Instagram account, please go to my IG profile (@suzannespiegoski) and do these 3 simple steps:

1. Like the photo of the necklace. 

2. Follow me @suzannespiegoski and @callmebreezy42

3. Tag 2 friends in the comment section.

The winner will be contacted directly this Friday, 11-6. 👏 Good luck guys! 😘

Got questions? I aim to answer them :) and happily so! Please feel free to fire away down in the comment box or contact me here. You can also catch me on Twitter and Google+ which I'm frequently on.

Have a great week everyone! Stay tuned for upcoming graffiti trending in nyc and a fun, new Korean-infused recipe! Oooooooh..... :)

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

Trick or Treat!

I WANT TO BELIEVE.

Happy Halloween everyone!!! Every year, my husband and I do our annual costume tradition where we come up with a different concept/theme. Last year, he opted out on playing dress up and only took photos of MaQ and I being Cowboy & Indian. But not this year!

Because I've been an avid fan of The X-Files since the tender age of 12, and the fact that the series is coming back this January (I can hardly contain myself), I knew we HAD to be Fox Mulder & Dana Scully! Do you likes our FBI badges? We even put our own photo in the badge, ha ha! Nerds... I have to admit- being a redhead is actually kind of fun! I'm digging the shorter-length, perhaps it's time for a haircut?

I went all out trying to capture Scully's essence as best as I could. I wore a cross necklace like she did throughout several seasons in the show, wore nude-colored pantyhose with black heels and everything!. Plus being an FBI agent is totally bad-ass. Come on, you know it is! And who got to be a little green man this year? Yep, MaQ the Martian, is out and about and on the loose! Lock your doors and hide your 'Samantha's' - we're coming for you tonight! ;)

Have fun and be safe trick-or-treating tonight. Check out all of our photos below, and remember...

TRUST NO ONE. And, THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE.

Ha ha ha ha!

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

P.S. No animal was harmed during this photo shoot. The guns are just prints on paper. :)

Inner Katie Girl // OOTD

WEARING: WET SEAL GRAY SLEEVELESS JERSEY DRESS | BERGDORF GOODMAN BLACK 

CASHMERE CARDIGAN | RALPH LAUREN RIDING BOOTS 

“Hello! C-C-C-Curly!!”

— Carrie Bradshaw

If any of you gals are huge fans of SATC, you'll know what I'm referencing to. How many of you are Katie girls? We're talking about the ones with that 'wild curly hair'. When I was in college, and also when SATC was still airing on TV, I had become quite infatuated with the character, Carrie Bradshaw's Boticelli-esque, ever-flowing ringlets. (Not to mention her all-around adorableness.) And I had begun a new hair cycle.

But I stopped doing this regularly because quite frankly, I don't have the time! It takes me about an hour to complete curling my hair! Sometimes I'll straighten it because it isn't as time-consuming as it is with the curling iron but for the most part I just leave my hair all-natural. Since I haven't really done my hair like this in many years, I was really in the mood to have some big hair today! What's even better? The morning-after hair! The curls will still be intact, but looser and more bedhead. Which is my favorite because it's carefree yet rebellious. What do you think of my curls? Are you into this style?

I have a confession to make on top of secretly crushing on Ms. Bradshaw. The cardigan I'm wearing from Bergdorf's belongs to my husband! It's my favorite cashmere piece and I'll admit that I stole it! He barely ever wears it because I always do during this season! Ha ha ha! It's so soft and comfortable, plus the lil' after smell of the hubs is always a plus.

I've had this jersey dress since I first moved to New York City! That's nearly 10 years ago! I love the versatility of it. You can wear it all four seasons and playing around to mix and match the dress with different pieces is always so much fun. I love that you can even wear it off the shoulder, making it a bit more romantic and sexy. 

Last but not least are the riding boots I'm wearing from Ralph Lauren. I love wearing these during the Fall. They pair perfectly with leggings, mid-skirts or dresses. Tights too! I love boots that aren't too high-heeled. I have a ton of running around to do and need something that won't kill me by the end of the day. I know some of you ladies only wear heels, and I have to say, I don't know how you do it!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my outfit of the day along with my new C-C-C-Crazy do! ;) In case you're wondering, all photos were taken by me. Self-portrait, all the way baby!

We'll be back on Halloween, in costume! All 3 of us. Me, my boo, and my other boo, MaQ! I'm so pumped for you to see! I think it's gonna be a hit this year! Stay tuned... you're going to love it! Until then, check out my other blog posts on fashion & beauty, food recipes, photography, street art, and more!

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

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