"F*ck You" by Cee-Lo Green

...is the breakup song of the century.

Never mind the explicit - it's not used in a crass manner. It's really just speaking to how we all feel sometimes. I know you've all been in that breakup where you're just hurt and confused and just want to scream "F**K YOU!!!".

This song is it.

Not to mention it has a catchy melody and will be the end of the summer earworm - straight until Labor Day, I bet.

Grab some ice cream and some napkins, boys and girls. This one's a goodie.

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MASQUE Moxie: Casey Versailles

Now is the time for Graphic Design. Visual creativity is booming on all fronts - even throughout business and technical industries. Who better for the job than a woman with art in her heart and the drive to execute? Her name is Casey Versailles, and she is a Freelance Graphic Artist/Designer that "helps people visually translate their personas".

Casey describes herself as "a creative soul born in the Bayou BAY BAY! I love my GOD, my family, my art, my food, , and my music. I hate being like everyone else. What's the point of trying to be like everyone else?  You were created individually so be an individual!".

Her passion for Graphic Design came early on, with her studying it at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts for high school and majoring in it at Louisiana Tech University. Casey's education translated into a business venture, www.CaseyVersailles.com, where she designs logos, flyers, album covers, graphics for her sorority (Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.) along with other things. One of our favorite things offered is a New Orleans Saints Shirt, expressing Casey's love for football. When asked if she were excited about the season, she exclaimed "Of course! WHO DAT!" The "Got Dat" tees are Casey's homage to her hometown that "show off [the New Orleans Saints] first (but not last) championship ring...".

For women trying to break into Graphic Design, Casey suggests "...find your niche, and go with it. Always stay humble and willing to learn. Also, bartering is a great way to start off, i.e. trade services for a design. Once, I designed a business card for someone and she did a full sew in [weave] for me for free, lol".

Three Beauty Products you can't live without: Miss Jessie's baby buttercream, pure shea butter, MAC mineral foundation

Last Good Book You Read: The Prisoner's Wife: a Memoir, by Asha Bandele

Guiltiest Pleasure: Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!

Song You have on Repeat: "Survivor" by Destiny's Child

Best Piece of Advice You've Ever Been Given: "Do it, Delegate it, or Ditch it"

Most Breathtaking Piece of Art You Own: a Fleur-de-Lis painting done by my Aunt.

Love Advice? LOVE HARD or GO HOME!

Favorite Meal: So many to choose from, but Lobster Mac-and-Cheese (from Food Network's "Down Home With the Neely's"). I made it for my In-Laws last Christmas and they loved it!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and adjust racks to the middle. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter.

In a large pot of boiling salted water over medium heat, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve.

Add 4 tablespoons butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter shimmers, add the shallots and garlic and saute until translucent. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the tomato paste and flour and stir to toast, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce, by half, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the cream, whisking well to remove any lumps. Add the paprika, cayenne, and bay leaf. Bring the cream up to a simmer and turn the heat to low. Let reduce until the cream is thick and can coat a spoon, about 5 to 10 minutes. When thickened, remove the bay leaves.

Stir in the grated cheeses, a handful at a time, combining well after each addition. Add the chopped lobster meat to the sauce and stir well. Add the pasta and stir. Add to the greased baking dish and sprinkle with the panko crumbs and parsley. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle individual servings with parsley.

Casey can be found at www.CaseyVersailles.com and on Twitter at @CreativeHeiress!

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RESTAURANT REVIEW: Steak Frites NYC

I know I say food is good all the time - I cant help it, it's my job (no really, it's my job!). Although I get to eat some pretty and wonderfully delicious things, every now and then I crave real food - meats, starches and veggies. Nothing fancy or expensive, nothing applied to the plate by a mega chef with tweezers. No gelees, chorizo foam, or foie gras. Sometimes my palate is just that simple.



I have found this place. A beautifully intimate atmosphere with great service, great wine, and wonderfully good food. This place (that I'm drooling over as I type) is Steak Frites in NYC. I can't even begin to describe my experience here because everything was cooked perfectly, the menu suited everyone's liking, and a wine pairing was even noted for an added bonus on the Restaurant Week menu. There was no need to stray to the regular menu because the Restaurant Week menu was so fulfilling.

Steak Frites reminds me of a repeat offender for good food. My lamb was cooked exactly to a medium rare temp as I had ordered, the vegetables in my ratatouille still had a slight crunch, and my pomme puree was buttery and smooth. My glass of Malbec red wine matched perfectly as the menu suggested!  (Sorry, I got excited from the memories of licking my fork and my naked lamb bones, don't judge me!). Here's what my friends and I  indulged in:

Icy Blue P.E.I Mussels
White Wine, Pastis, Shallots, Tomato, Fennel, and Herbs de Provence.

Jumbo Lump Crake Cake
Corn, Cranberry Relish

Seared Canadian Salmon
Lobster, Maine Crab, and fingerling potato hash

Filet of Beef "Oscar"
Lump Crab meat and asparagus

Rack of Lamb
Pomme Puree and Ratatouille

New York Strip
Chopped Spinach and crushed potatoes

Apple Tart
Caramel Ice Cream

Pot de Creme Au Chocolate

Profiteroles "Dame Blanche"


Steak Frites
9 East 16th street (btwn Union Square West and 5th ave)
N.Y. N.Y. 10003
212.675.4700
http://steakfritesnyc.com/ Pin It

MASQUE Out + About: AOL Bloggers Night Out

BlogHer 2010 Conference is in town (yippee for female bloggers!), and the many events around town have commenced. August 5th was an action packed night, with many women making their rounds to events at Martha Stewart and Madame Tussauds, just to name a few.

AOL got in on the BlogHer conference and threw a smashing party ("AOL Bloggers Night Out") for the ladies! With yummy treats and playthings galore, what was not to love?



Upon entry, you and your guest were prompted to take part in the AOL Vlogbooth. Tineey and I answered the question, "What is in YOUR bag?" (This video is also posted on Stylelist):

To have some fun, a photobooth was set up, decked out with iPads and girly dress-ups. Tineey and I went classy with silk gloves, wide brimmed hats, and cat-eye shades:

Chef Marcus Samuelsson (follow him on Twitter, catch him on Top Chef, or at his restaurant Red Rooster Harlem) graced the audience with his presence, sharing with the crowd everything KitchenDaily while preparing a yummy meal of Fried Chicken and Corn Salad, followed by a Chocolate Pancake with raspberries and strawberries (this was honestly one of the most delicious things I've ever had prepared in about ten minutes).

Before leaving we made sure to drink the "Blog", a mix of vodka and lemonade while getting Essie manicures (we both picked Chinchilly!).

All in all a very great night. AOL held a gorgeous event at a gorgeous venue with gorgeous ladies. Please make sure to check out Stylelist, MyDaily, and KitchenDaily for your daily dose of all things fashionable, delicious, and personal!

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REVIEW: Pre Game Texturizing Spray

One of the most trying things for a girl can be the management of her hair, especially in the hot and humid summer months.  While some of us may have wash-n-go hair, others need a little more attention.  Add the beach environment (which is basically synonomous with summertime) and there's another level of frustration.

In comes Pre Game Texturizing Spray. From the makers of the All Nighter Styling Powder, Pre Game aids in the "just-from-the-beach" style, giving hair a tousled look.  It also boasts to help with the "3pm droop" by giving hair a natural looking boost.

A scrunch-tastic, spritz-sational all-natural texturizing spray for beachy texture and piece-y-ness. Pre Game adds a gentle hold (kinda like memory), gives 'sproing' to flat 'dos and is a PERFECT compliment to The All Nighter Styling Powder! Formulated with Himalayan pink and Dead Sea salts (for those hair days highs and lows), pure Aloe, and a touch of nourishing Argan oil, Pre Game Texturizing Spray is beneficial for your hair and scalp! Use it before you style - it works great on squeaky clean hair OR for hair that suffers from the dreaded 'mid-day drop' (y'know around 3 pm?) - anytime your hair needs a little kick in the pants!

Now of course this had to be put to the test.  I had a few girlies with different hair textures, myself included, try the product to see what the outcome would be. While they may say it works for all, we need our own proof and an impromptu experiment never hurt anybody!  Four ladies tested the spray:

I, myself, have pretty curly hair (think biracial butterfly, with a nice balance of  B+W parental DNA when it comes to the hair) and usually use curl cremes and leave in conditioners to manage my curls in their natural state. I found that when Pre Game was applied to my hair (alone, gasp!) and air dried, it did provide the aesthetic of "just from the beach" but not in a good way. There was definitely body but I usually need something to control the frizzies.  However, used in conjunction with other products, more like leave in conditioners, it is helpful and smells great.  And the added boost boast is true in my case, it does help to revive hair that's fallen a bit flat.

Jennifer is an inter-ethnic baby too with Caucasian and South American origins whose hair is thick and wavy, au natural but who usually straightens her hair.  She found that after applying on damp hair and being put up in a messy bun to dry, the Texturizing Spray did offer a nice wave but that results did not last for hours.

Allie is our Jewish American princess (with Eastern European roots) with extra thick wavy hair who usually straightens it.  She tried the spray and had the worst results.  To her, it was just a frizzy, uncontrollable mess and it was not something she even wanted to document! (lol).

Jessica is of Puerto Rican descent, with long wavy to straight hair who usually leaves it as is but does help it along with a curling iron from time to time.  After applying the Texturizing Spray to wet hair and letting air dry, these were her fabulous results:

The body and shape she loved, as well as the scent. However when it was applied to dry hair she felt the appearance, while still with some wave, was straw like and not flattering hence reapplication wasn't a fav choice for her. Yet it did give her hair the beachy look, making her hair a little messier.

While we can all agree is smells lovely (thanks to a hint of coconut oil) and technically it does do what it claims - giving you that just from the beach look - but it's not for everybody.  It can be helpful to those who tease it up a bit or doctor it with other products, mostly helping to encourage the hair textures that have some bounce in them already.  For those with extra curly or kinky hair, it will probably not do much at all.  For those striving for the kinda tangled, bed-heady look, its actually quite perfect.  But check it out for yourself! It may be your new alternative to pregamming other than a good cocktail. Just visit  The All Nighter, home of this and other beauty products. You can also order it from our beloved Urban Outfitters and it runs for about $22.

Disclosure: We received this product from the brand's publicist to test out!

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MASQUE Out + About: Etsy Craft Night + South Street Seaport

Crafting keeps me sane. The therapeutic rhythmic in-and-out of a thread being sewn takes me to a deep place, reminding me of an elderly woman in her rocking chair lost in her own thoughts.

Etsy Labs (a summer fave!) had a Craft Night on July 28 at South Street Seaport in NYC. Sponsored by Hancock Fabrics, the meetup was a chance to connect with fellow crafters and snag some arts goodies.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with name tags and cantaloupe. My name is Kelly. I <3 boys.

Etsy furnished the event with cafeteria style seating (which happened to be very conducive to stranger-to-stranger conversation), scissors, felt, embroidery rounds, needles and thread. To honor the event's location, Hancock Fabrics dished out a very cute and appropriate naval print fabric. My end result?

Etsy has been, and will continue, hosting  craft events this summer. To keep track of them all, visit them here. Make sure to make it out for at least one of these, they're so much fun!

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