Beauty Obsessed: January 2013

1/28/2013

Monday January 28, 2013 BLOG HOP!

Monday Beauties Blog Hop January 28, 2013

Hello Beauty Lovers and Bloggers! :) Welcome back to Monday Beauties blog hop! Where I hope to create a place where bloggers can come together and share their links in a friendly and supportive manner! If you are saying "What the hell is a blog hop?" just click here and it will explain EVERYTHING:)

Now let's get to business: Here are the very simple rules:

1. Subscribe to my blog via GFC and leave a comment below to let me know you are following (with your link) so I can follow back :)
Click here to follow :)

2. Add your blog URL to the Linky Below! (make sure to include http://www.)

3. Check out as many blogs as you want and if you decide to follow leave a comment letting them know that you have subscribed and found them on Monday Beauties Blog hop! :)

4. Check out the featured blogs! :)

OPTIONAL If you want to be really nice to me! :)

♥ Grab the blog hop button and place it somewhere on your blog or in a blog post. (remember you will need to re-enter your blog every week, so you can make this a weekly post). You can grab the blog button from the sidebar of my blog.

♥ Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page :)

Please share with your subscribers! If you share on twitter use the hashtag #mondaybeauties so we can retweet :)

**I will choose 2 blogs each week via Random.org(random number generator) and mention them in the next weekly hop as "Featured blogs"

Thanks so much for participating! :) Lets Begin

Featured Blogs:

Visit xoxoseana!!

Visit This Girl's Life!!

1/27/2013

TanOrganic TryMe Set GIVEAWAY at Bewitchery

Check out this great giveaway over at Bewitchery!

NAIL ROCK NAIL CAVIAR REVIEW

I had to a stop into Walgreens in another area and it wouldn't be me if I didn't check out the beauty aisles (obviously). The first thing I saw was a small display of these Nail Caviar sets. There made by the UK brand Nail Rock that also make the Eye Rock and Lip Rock collection. I hadn't heard anything about these coming to the U.S so this must be a new thing. They had 4 different color sets; a brownish bronze, gold, teal and Pluto Pink the color I chose.

I always feel the need to try every new nail art trend that comes out and $6.99 wasn't a bad price, so I couldn't resist. The kit comes with a bottle of nail polish, a pot of micro beads and instructions.

Here's the micro beads, there mostly pink, with some gold and silver thrown in.

Here is one coat of Pluto Pink before the dipping and clean up, as I'm sure you can tell. It's a pretty color, I was surprised at how good the quality was.

The instructions say to paint your nails with one coat then paint the second coat to one nail and dip into the beads and repeat each nail. Then gently pat the beads on your nail and let dry for 15-20 minutes.

When you take you finger out you have some beads under your nail and around the nail. I used my nails (that weren't done yet) to brush them away. You gently pat down, then pat down harder so the beads stick to the polish. Simple!

The only issue I ran into was the bald spots between the beads and polish. If you look at the picture above you can tell on my middle and ring finger. I probably could have dipped my finger a second time now that I think of it.

So this is what you get, I was surprised at how easy and fast the whole process was.

PROS:

Formula was great on the polish and it dries fast
The colors are very pretty
It's easy to do and only takes a few minutes
Once you have the beads set on the nails you don't have to wait for them to dry.
Affordable, the kits are only $6.99 each.

CONS:

I can only see this being a temporary look (maybe one day) depending on your tolerance.
It's hard to fill in bald spots in certain areas like right above the cuticle.
You have to use either the plastic container that came with the kit or some other tray to avoid making a mess with the beads.
There not easy to remove

Overall, I really like the look, I couldn't stop looking at my nails. I only did one hand a few hours before I went to bed. I figured I would wake up with most the beads gone but they were all there so I had hope. Then once I started doing normal everyday stuff I couldn't wait to take it off! The beads would get caught on certain things. Plus it literally felt like I had super hard rocks stuck to my nails and it wasn't a good feeling. Oh and I had to use the foil method to remove them, there pretty hard to get off.

It's a shame because they do look cool. This mani would probably be best for a special night out but no longer unless you don't mind the gritty feeling.

Have you ever tried a Caviar manicure, if so how do you like them??

Click the links below :)

1/21/2013

Turbo Fire- A Review of my Favorite Workout Program!

Fitness has become a big part of my life since last year, and I've been wanting to share my love for it for a while now. I figured my first fitness post would be about one of my favorite workout programs Turbo Fire! I'm going to tell you about the program, why it's effective, the workouts that are included and why I love it. I purchased this program from Beachbody.com over six months ago.

Beachbody is the company that sells this program along with other popular workout programs such as P90X, Insanity, Brazilian Butt Lift, Turbo Jam ( which is the beginner version of Turbo Fire) and many more. This is what Beachbody has to say about Turbo Fire..

"Turbo Fire is an intense new cardio conditioning workout designed and practiced by the famous fitness trainer Chalene Johnson. Chalene will help shape your body with intense fat-burning exercises that have been proven to be 9x more affective then average cardio workout".

What is Turbo Fire?

Turbo Fire was released in 2010, it's a series of videos that incorporate different activities, a little yoga and stretching, resistance/strength training, ab focused workouts, and of course a lot of cardio in the form of kickboxing and dance.

The basic 90 day program comes with the following twelve videos:

Four Fire videos: Fire 30, Fire 45, Fire 45EZ, Fire 55EZ
Three HIIT videos: HIIT 15, HIIT 20, HIIT 25
Two Strength Training videos: Tone 30, Sculpt 30
Two stretch videos: Stretch 10, Stretch 40
One Abs video: Core 20

You also get a full nutrion guide, the turbo class schedule, guide books to track your progress and a resistance band.

I will go into more detail about what Fire, EZ and HIIT stand for below..

Why it's effictive?

It's all about the HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is proved to burn up to 9x more fat and calories than traditional cardio. HIIT means working out at your very max in up to 1 minute intervals.

How that works?

When you exercise at your max (1 minute intervals) it improves aerobic and anaerobic energy release and cranks up your bodies metabolism to burn calories faster. This occurs because the intense intervals fatigue your muscle groups. In turn, your body works overtime to replenish the tired muscles with oxygen, creating the "Afterburn Effect" which can last up to 24 hours after you've finished the workout. By combining HIIT, general interval training and the cardio burn of kickboxing, these Turbo Fire videos are a fun, sweaty way to melt off pounds during and after the workout.

The Fire Workouts:
As stated above, Turbo Fire includes 4 fire videos in total: Fire 30, Fire 45, Fire 45EZ and Fire 55EZ. The number stands for how long the workout is (i.g Fire 30 is a 30 min workout, Fire 45 is a 45 min workout and so on). All of those workouts include about 3-4 minutes of a warm up and cool down with different combos of kickboxing routines in the middle. Many of the kickboxing routines incorporate dance movements as well and the choreography is pretty straight forward. Once you do a workout a few times you will have the moves down. Than, you can focus on your form and technique. These fire workouts also include turbo's which are the HIIT (1 minute intervals). You basically do a super fast routine that includes some plyometric moves for 1 minute than you rest (recover) for 1 minute. They really get your heart rate up and you're completely out of breath but you feel so good about yourself.

The videos that have the EZ title are supposed to stand for easy but there not, they just don't include any turbo's. There is also a modifier for people that don't like to jump and would rather have a low impact but high intensity workout.

Here is a preview of one of the Fire videos..

The HIIT Workouts:
There are 3 HIIT workouts, one is 15 minutes, one is 20 minutes and the other one is 25 minutes. These are pretty intense. You do 1 minute drills that are super fast with high impact moves and then you take a break for 1 minute and start over. For example HIIT 15 has 3 different 1 minute drills but you do them for a total of 6 times. I know it seems like a lot but before you know it the 15, 20 or 25 minutes are up and your dripping sweat and tired, but feel good because you just burned so many calories!

Here's another preview of a HIIT workout and Stretch workout:

The Strengh Training Workouts:
Both Sculpt 30 and Tone 30 use resistance bands that target every muscle in your body and are used to strengthen and tone your muscles. I'm not a big fan of using resistance bands, I prefer free weights so I've only tried these workouts a few times. I use other strength training workouts in place of these. If you like resistance bands than you will like these workouts.

The Stretch and Core Workouts:
There are two stretch videos, one is 10 minutes long and the other is 40 minutes long. The stretch 10 are basic stretches that are good to do after any cardio workout. The stretch 40 is part yoga and part deep stretches. The Core 20 video is an intense ab workout, it uses your body and resistance bands to target your abs and includes some standing ab work. When I first tried this video I couldn't finish it because my core and lower back muscles were weak. Each time I did the video I got a little better and can now complete it.

Why I love it?
Well I've always liked cardio kickboxing and have loved dance since I was a little girl. So when you combine the two its my kind of workout. Then there's the music!!! You can tell that they took a lot of time with this. It's a bit of hip hop/dance that motivates you to move! The song selections are great and most of the time the music matches the choreography and corresponds to specific moves. It's a great idea because the songs eventually help condition your brain and body to the moves. I also really like the instructor, Chalene, she is super motivating without being obnoxious or corny.

With all that being said, I hope you guys enjoyed this review. Basically, if you're looking for a cardio challenge that has kickboxing and plyometrics you will probably love Turbo FIre. If you are looking for something that is an intro to kickboxing but still effective I would recommend Turbo Jam (the beginner version of Turbo Fire). I like both, I graduated from Turbo Jam to Turbo Fire and can honestly say I got addicted to both pretty quick.

**I was not paid or asked to do this review, I purchased the program with my own money 2 years ago and have enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it with all of you!!**

Have you ever tried Turbo Fire?? Or if you have any questions about the program, please ask and I will try to answer as best as I can. This is my first real fitness post and I'm excited to share more!!

Click the links below :)

Monday January 21, 2013 BLOG HOP!

Monday Beauties Blog Hop January 21, 2013

Please share with your subscribers! If you share on twitter use the hashtag #mondaybeauties so we can retweet :)

**I will choose 2 blogs each week via Random.org(random number generator) and mention them in the next weekly hop as "Featured blogs"

Thanks so much for participating! :) Lets Begin

Featured Blogs:

Visit gl0ssy!!

Visit Simply Blushed!!

1/14/2013

Monday January 14, 2013 BLOG HOP!

Monday Beauties Blog Hop January 14, 2013

Please share with your subscribers! If you share on twitter use the hashtag #mondaybeauties so we can retweet :)

**I will choose 2 blogs each week via Random.org(random number generator) and mention them in the next weekly hop as "Featured blogs"

Thanks so much for participating! :) Lets Begin

Featured Blogs:

Visit L is for ladybird!!

Visit Sparkle in Sequins!!

1/12/2013

Throwback Saturday- NOTD Blue Me Away!

It's fun looking through my older posts, a lot of them I totally forgot about. It's even more interesting reading what I wrote and thinking did I really write that. I guess that's a sign that my writing has improved. Anyway, I wanted to republish a nail post this week, one of my firsts. That's when I really started getting into nail art, I was horrible when I first started.

Click here to check out my very beginner nail art in the this post, NOTD; Blue Me Away. Oh and try not to laugh it's okay if you do though, I did :)

Click the links below :)

1/08/2013

e-naturalne French Green Clay

I've been wanting to use a good, natural face mask for a while without all the nasty ingredients that are in the usual masks I use. Than a few weeks ago e-naturalne asked if I would review one of their products and I chose the french green clay. e-naturalne is an online company that sells organic cosmetic products that are made for all different uses. They sell everything from essential oils to face and body scrubs to plant extracts and much more.

To make a basic mask you mix equal parts of the french green clay (it comes in powder form) with equal parts of water.

I mix equal parts of the french green clay with equal parts of water. Then I add a few drops of Aloe Vera gel since my skin is more on the dry side. The clay and water mix easily into a paste. I use my fingers to apply it over my face and neck then leave the mask on for about 10 minutes or until I feel it harden. It does feel a little tight on your skin, but it's a good feeling and then I rinse with water and a washcloth.

It looks messy inside the bowl but when applying it's not, it doesn't drip or stain anything.

The benefits are amazing! I had no idea, the first time I used this I couldn't believe how soft and firm my skin was! After just one use my skin felt tighter, softer and toned. I've used the mask only 3 times and it's helped my skin stay clear and fresh looking. A mask like this should only be used once a week, once every two weeks if your skin is dry.

I highly recommend this product and wish I started using it a lot sooner! You can also add different ingredients to customize a mask for your skin type. Jojoba oil, honey and avocado are just a few items you can add.

Take a look at the e-naturalne site to see the different ways you can use the french green clay and all the benefits you will reap.

Have you ever used a french green clay mask??

Click the links below :)