The seas certainly did part when I discovered this little gem! Its a  Chanel highlighter pen that works wonders for illuminating all parts of the face. Haha I sound like my friend Nichole that works at the Chanel counter in the mall. 🙂 My curiosity was first peaked about this product when I saw a video on Pinterest on how to get Kim Kardashian’s makeup look. As much of a drama queen as she is you have to hand it to her that her makeup is always flawless. Being the Cheap Diva I wanted to first see if I could achieve the KimK glow, and then get a highlighter pen that doesn’t have such a hefty pricetag. I gave the E.L.F. version a shot because it was like $4.00 at Target….

Come to find out I probably should have saved my $4.00 bucks. It had a pretty crappy texture and it settled into my…Eh-HEM…wrinkles. That’s when I turned my list of things I’m willing to drop some dough on.

1.) Hair

2.) Denim

3.) Skincare products

4.) Food

5.) Massages

Makeup technically falls under the third category so I decided to go for it. Let me tell ya for $40 it was worth every penny! Ladies you’ll be thanking me when you have this little tool to distract people from those puffy eyes!

~ Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE

DON’T GIVE UP ON YOURSELF

No matter how hard life may seem and no matter what happens to you, don’t give up on yourself and don’t give up on your dreams. Have faith in yourself and know that, just like Dale Carnegie said it: “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” 

I mean just wow!!!!! OK. So I know that I have been sort of M.I.A. and cryptic lately but I can pretty much bet money on the fact that you guys know whats up. My relationship has ended and I’m picking up the pieces. I am trying to do this in the best way that I know how…without anger and with as little regret as humanly possible. If your out there and your going through something similar I hope that this quote gave you a moment of piece and clarity as it did me.

~ Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE

I was born into this life as one person. Yet in the years I have created another.

One is a girl…. wild, free, selfish and sure. The other is timid, damaged, entangled in thought.

Which am I now? Which am I to be?

I feel the fork in the road that my maker has destined me to find. One that I cannot deny.

This is my choice.

This my life.

Every breath precarious upon the one before.

No sense of faith really means anything more than this.

No scars could ever be deeper or more healing at the same time.

My smile slanted upon another promise that I cannot count upon. However much I prey for that certainty in vain.

Faith, love, trust.

Faith, love, trust.

IN ME.

That is what is left. That is what I have.

THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.

~ Hugs and Smiles ~ Raquel Segarra

Hot right?I think even Carrie Bradshaw herself would be proud of these adorable red pumps that I  found at Platoes Closet for $10.00 bucks! Technically I got them for around $8.00 because Platoes gives you a punch card that you get a punch for every time you purchase or sell something there . When its full you 20% off and it was time to cash mine in.

I was inspired to name these “Come Kiss me Pumps” because I’m so in love with the little  adorable red kiss detail in the sole.

Actually I was going to name them after a different 80’s shoe catchphrase but my mom sometimes reads this blig so I figured I would behave 🙂  You know this naming shoes may become a new thing for me. I consider them to be like wearable art so why not right?

~ Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE

LOL I bed you were expecting something else weren’t ya? 🙂 I like to be cheeky with my titles. If the fiance is reading this he’s scolding me in his head for buying yet ANOTHER bathing suit. But he can’t blame me at this price (not that he would) ….

Friggin $10.99 at Ross when it retails at $39 bucks is stores!  Not too shabby of a deal. Plus I just adore the stud and ruffle detail in the top!

I always knew there was a reason I had such a feeling of Ariel and I having kindred spirits.  If fish could be rock stars then she so would have been one! But let’s be real here…..no one holds my heart like this girl 🙂

~Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE

Hair talk anyone? I am Puerto Rican, therefore I have really difficult hair. For the most part I describe my hair as frizzy, thick, dandruff filled and all around a pain in my arse! Awhile ago I was introduced to Keratin and LOVED it…. at first! I had never seen my hair so straight and silky. It was so awesome in fact that I didn’t mind the hefty price tag that comes along with this treatment, most cost about $300 but it lasted over a year for me. Here comes the problem. After a while my hair got really REALLY thin and broke easily. I will admit that I did the keratin way to many times in that year because anytime I saw a wiry hair I was in the salon ready for my fix. Well after about a year  of trying to rebuild my hair for the wedding I have tried EVERYTHING!!! You see my hair is naturally curly. Now not like waves curly…. more like this……

Yup that’s my fro! LOL that pic was actually taken the day I got Keratin three years ago. Here’s the after…….

BIG difference huh? I would honestly love to do the keratin again someday but for my hair there is no sporting the curly look with the Keratin in it. Its was much like a straightening perm. Not that I’ve grown out the curl I like the option of being able to do both styles. To get it straight I use self grip rollers, blow out creme, and sit under my blow dryer for about 30 minutes. Then I rub in some heat protection oil and flat iron. It seems like a lot but if you have hair like me then it’s so worth it! Given that I go through all this to keep my hair somewhat healthy I am always looking for new products that are as close to natural as possible. Well the other day I was getting a massage at Thrive and Bloom Spa and the guy said he used grape seed oil. The type off massage I got included a head massage and this grape seed oil ended up in my hair and scalp. OMG! This is going to be my new go-to hair care trick. I seriously haven’t had my hair so soft since Keratin! Plus it turns out that grape seed oil is cheap! You can get it at your local grocery store in the organic or cooking section for like $10 bucks!

~ Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE

Well I hi there! I remember you! That was me all of almost 6 years ago. Not too terribly long ago I know but to be it feels like two lifetimes have passed since this picture was taken. I had only been in Grand Rapids Michigan for a few months and I was certainly high on the future that I was creating for myself. Twenty five, excited, terrified, and definitely loving my new Jlo inspired hair! Oh, and loving my new radio life. Lol well this is me now…..

Loving my weave and loving the fire in my spirit that I feel when I’m on a stage. Now before I continue let me first explain that for some reason I can’t sleep tonight and I am a little bit tipsy. These sort of posts always make for either a good laugh or a great moment of revelation for me later in life so bare with me. When you compare these two photos you would think from the outside looking in that not a whole lot has changed accept for the hair color. But sitting in this chair typing away in this moment I realize oh so much has. I am a full blown woman now. About to create my own family. Ooooowf! Heegie Beegies anyone? Its so strange how pivotal life can be at any single moment, second, year, day or week. I mean shit…. the very day I met the love of my life I had sincerely given up on men! Not not in the typical jaded man-hating type of way that we women tend to do when we are going through a break-up but really just OVER it. I mean I had ALWAYS…even to a fault believed in love and being with someone. Even if it was the wrong someone. And on this particular night… I was not the me I knew at all. I was determined to  prove to myself that I could be sexy, sassy and on my own and nothing else mattered. Now to anyone that has known me since even before the days of that JLO haired R!LEY you see above, that is most definitely not within my norm.  But BAM! GOD kicked in that wicked sense of humor he has and gave me the most unexpected gift of my life. If you read my randoms here often you know I just went to LA for the AI finale which to date was the biggest professional accomplishment of my life. The reason I bring that up in coincidence with meeting my fiance is because of how much I now know that a mere five minutes or five years can truly change a lifetime. You see, before I went to LA I was happy in my personal life but maybe not as fulfilled professionally. I was sort of…Well no, let’s be honest I was truly in a rut. But after having gone there and doing what I do best with pride, I was renewed in ways I never thought I could be. What I mean by that is I was happy to have the experience but still oh so happy to come back to the life that I know now.

I was happy to come home this this sexy nerd (inside joke)… my puppy, and our home. I bet your thinking as you read this…”What the hell kind of mystical moonshine has R!ley been drinking to give us this kind of post?” No moonshine involved I promise you but I guess I just like to document  my happy times in type. Because this way when I feel like shit… I can read back to times of hope and realize that life is short and I should stop being an ass and realize the blessings I have. Sorry to be so blunt but liquid courage sometimes does that to ya 🙂

~ Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE

Not me silly!! Haha! CheapDiva.com is getting a face lift! My fiance and I will be tweaking a few things that I have been wanting to do for a while now. Don’t worry, she won’t come out looking like a pulled and tugged experiment gone wrong. She will just be a tad more fabulous! Dr. Computer Wiz Fiance is really good at this kind of stuff 😉 Can’t wait to show you!