A Year's Challenge Week 14: Striped Mani

Okay, so I know I said I was going to post this week's challenge on time but as you can see it didn't turn out that way. (*sigh*) Hopefully next week I'll get it right.

 But anyway, this week's nail challenge was a striped mani which is cool because the possibilities are endless. There are so many different ways you can create a striped mani. I thought about it for a bit and decided to do something I haven't done since last summer, and that's a Zebra/Tiger manicure. That's when I first started really getting into nail art.

A Year's Challenge Week 8: Corset Mani

This week's manicure for the Nail Challenge was a little intimidating. I'm usually not too bad when it comes to freehand nail art but it depends on what it is.  When it comes to using my non dominant hand, forget about it. I don't know how people do it! I actually forgot what a corset really looked like so I had to google them lol. Then I remembered, it's actually a good idea for a manicure.

NOTD: Christmas Lights and Snowmen!

I honestly can't believe how quick Christmas snuck up on me this year, I feel like I was just laying out in the sun. Time goes by way too quickly and Im not sure I like it This is probably going to be my last Holiday Themed Mani  since Christmas is what, only 3 days away?! I really wanted to do at least 2 more but for some reason I've been busier than I thought :( Oh well, I cant wait to do New Years Eve nails. Those are gonna be fun :)

NOTD: Holiday Themed Nails- Winter Wonderland

Hey Dolls!! 

So this is my 2nd Holiday themed manicure of the month. For some reason I could not decide on what colors or designs I wanted to do. I was looking through my polish stash and saw Blue Lagoon by Revlon and then it came to me, snowflakes and winter! I bought this color a few weeks ago, its part of Revlon's 2011 Romantic Collection. It's basically a baby blue with pretty iridescent shimmer. So anywho, onto the mani.

NOTD: Red Carpet Christmas!

Hello Dolls!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! This weekend we put up the Christmas tree and decorated the house. That always puts me in the holiday spirit. I’ve been excited to do a few festive theme manis throughout the month and today's nails are decked out in red, green and gold. I began with my usual basecoat, Sally Hansen's Complete Care 4 in 1 treatment. Then I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear's Red Carpet. Red Carpet is a pretty jelly based deep red with very fine glitter. The formula applied very smoothly and was completely opaque with just 2 thin coats.  I really love this color, its almost like a ruby red because of the light glitter. Then I applied a thin coat of Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Anti Chip Top Coat. 

NOTD: OUT OF THIS WORLD

Out Of This World by Sinful Colors

When deciding on what color I wanted to use this week, I really didn’t know. All I knew was I wanted to do something different this time. You guys know how I love playing around with different desings and looks.


I found Out of this World by Sinful Colors in my collection and practically had to dust it off. I couldn’t even tell you when I bought it but it had to be a long time ago. Anyway, its your normal silver polish with some shimmer, It reminds me of tin foil lol. What you see in the picture is 3 coats. I hardley ever apply 3 coats (I’d rather apply 1 all the time if I could get away with it). But I wanted a bold look, not a sheer one. Let me tell you one thing though, it took forever to dry! Even after a half hour I smudged a nail.

NO FLASH

NOTD: Purple Avalanche

I was looking through my nail polish collection and decided to use Avalanche by China Glaze. I bought this color a few months ago and forgot about it so it’s the first time I used it. I was a little disappointed because looking at the color through the bottle I thought it was going to come out a little bit darker with more of a matte finish.  After applying the second coat I realized that it had more of a shiny glossy finish.  Don’t get me wrong it’s a pretty color and I like glossy finishes, but it depends on the color. I do like the brush China Glaze has, it’s the perfect length for me and it's not too wide.

Of course I had to have a design (that’s my new thing lately), I'm not very good at it but its fun. I realized that I never tell you all the products I use when I post these nail looks, shame on me lol

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1. NUTRA NAIL BASE COAT & RIDGE FILLER-  sometimes I have annoying ridges in my nails and I like this base coat because it helps create a smoother surface for the nail polish.

2. AVALANCHE IN CHINA GLAZE- I really do like China Glaze, one of the reasons bc it seems like they sell every color in the rainbow and more. I hate when a brand doesn’t have a wide selection of colors.

3. WET N WILD FAST DRY IN BLACK- I used this for the black diagonal french tip I did. I'm really impressed with wet n wild’s new polishes, they’ve came along way.

4. L.A. COLORS ART DECO IN SILVER GLITTER- If you guys read my blog you know I love these art deco polishes. I used this for the silver line painted underneath the black tip.

5. L.A. COLORS ART DECO IN WHITE- this was used to draw the vertical lines on my nail. *tip- I heard if you hold your breath while trying to draw straight lines or if your hand is shaky it will help and it does!

6. SALLY HANSEN NAIL ART PEN IN WHITE- I used this to draw the tiny flower petals that are on the tip of my nail. These are good pens for drawing flowers, hearts or whatever you want. You just have to make sure the polish you have on is completely dry before using these pens or it will bleed into your base color. Then I placed a silver rhinestone from my nail gem collection for the middle of the flower. *when using any kind of nail gems or stones make sure to press the stone on the nail for a few seconds with either your finger or the tip of an orange stick, then apply extra top coat after placing the stone or gem.

7 & 8- SALLY HANSEN INSTA-DRI TOP COAT & INSTA-DRI SPEED DRY DROPS-  I hardly ever have a problem with my nail polish chipping and I'm convinced it's because I use both of these products together. After you apply the top coat you only have to wait 60 seconds to use the speed dry drops. There great, you just use the dropper to apply 1 or 2 drops to each nail and its extra protection. If you find your nail polish is  chipping too soon, I recommend either the regular top coat but if you can the speed drops too.

NOTD: Blue Me Away!

BLUE ME AWAY!

by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Polish

I’m really liking Sally Hansen’s Xtreme Wear Polish, I think this is the third color this month I’ve bought in this exact brand. I saw this at CVS the other day with all the other colors and it was like it was screaming “buy me, buy me”! lol. Well you know what I mean, this color just stood out and I feel like it's probably going to be one of the last summerish colors I'm going to wear. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, I probably still have a few more colors to sneak in before fall.

When I applied the second coat I was like whoa! this is definitely a bold bright color but extremely pretty at the same time. I always use my Sally Hansen INST-DRI top coat, but I guess it’s time to buy a new one. Before I even went and  applied it on my nails I could tell just by the brush that the polish was getting thick and gooey (I think that’s the word to explain it lol). So I had to use a top coat that came with one of the nail art kits I have. I feel like it worked well, especially because I still had my INSTA-DRI speed drops that I swear make my manicure last twice as long. Anyway, that’s my little top coat story…

I wanted to do some sort of nail art or decals with this color and I thought pink and yellow would make the blue pop even more. Nothing fancy at all, I just used L.A.COLORS ART DECO in pink to make a few lines. Then I went through my old nail art kit that has stickers, gems, decals, etc. and I found pretty little yellow flowers that matched great with the blue and pink. ( I thought so anyway). This would actually be a really pretty spring look.

QUICK TIP:  To really ensure that your nail polish is sealed and dry, wait a few minutes after applying your polish and soak them in ice cold water for a few minutes. I was hesitant to try this at first but afterwards I could feel that the polish had hardened and was confident that I wouldn’t have any chipped nails the next day

NOTD: Mint Sorbet

MINT SORBET

Whenever I look at this color it reminds me of mint chocolate chip minus the chocolate part lol. I would say it’s a green pastel color, definitely a spring and summer color. I have to get in all my summer colors in before its time to wear my fall colors (which I'm excited about).

I loved it as soon as I saw it in the store, it's called Mint Sorbet and its by Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear collection.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with different nail designs and I’ve been wanting to do polka dots and stripes so I figured I would do one on each ring finger.

Polka dots are actually really easy to do, all I did was pour a few drops of white nail polish onto a paper plate and used a toothpick to make the dots.

I feel like those look like candy stripes, a good idea for Christmas nails. I used Art Deco’s nail art polish to easily draw diagonal stripes across my nail.



I was just thinking and I never told you guys what kind of base coat and top coat I use when I do my nails. My bad, better late than never though, right?

For my base coat I’ve been using Nutra Nail Base Coat & Ridge Filler with green tea. I really like this because I feel like compared to others it helps the polish to apply more evenly. It's not a clear color either, its more of a light tint of white. Once it's completely dry it basically looks clear.

I have a two step process when it comes to top coat. First I use Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri Top Coat, this is the best top coat I’ve ever used! If you guys are looking for a good top coat try this one. Then 60 seconds after I apply Sally Hansen's Insta Dri Speed Dry Drops, this is really cool because it’s a mini dropper and you squeeze the cap and apply 1 or 2 drops to each nail. It's almost like an extra step to ensure your nails don’t chip and I honestly can say my manicures last longer when using both of these top coats. I also feel like the drops make your nails dry faster too. Ahhh! love Sally Hansen, I don’t know what I would do without them..lol

How To: Nail Art-* Purple Rock Star *

Lately I’ve been experimenting with nail designs, after some practicing I’ve come up with a few designs that I think are cute and not too embarrassing for me to post on my blog. It’s really easier to do these designs than you would think, believe me if I can do it, you can do it.
You don’t have to use the same colors as I am, you can switch up the colors to make it your own style. These are just some tips for you guys, customize it however you like since it is your nail design..

Step 1: Apply 2 coats of China Glaze in Avalanche      

Step 2: Take black nail polish and create a French tip but on an angle. It helps if you start at the edge and pivot your finger as you are applying the color .
 

Step 3: Pour a small amount of white nail polish onto a piece of paper and with a tooth pick lightly dot onto the black area for a polka dot design look.    

Step 4: With the same white polish use a nail art brush or you can use something like the Nail Art Deco polishes (anything with a thin brush) and start at the outer edge and draw a few squiggly lines, using that pivot motion like you did in step 2, if it helps. The lines do not have to be perfect at all or in the same shape and place I used. Have fun with it.   

Step 5: Using a silver glitter nail polish (with a thin brush) draw a line where that gap between the black polish and the first white line is, then draw lines over and underneath each white stripe.




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I am no where near a professional and I don’t claim to be, this is just me experimenting while  showing you guys how to create this design. If you guys like this and decide to try it out PLEASE leave me a comment or if you have some cool designs of your own I would love to see them!!  xoxo

Five Favorites: July 2011

Here are my five favorites for the month of July. I noticed that I tend to wear less makeup in the summer, probably because I’m usually tan and don’t feel like I need as much. Plus when its super hot out sometimes I just don’t go all out. Don’t get me wrong, I hardly go out with nothing on my face but you get the idea. This month will have more of a variety of beauty products. Hope you enjoy  

L.A. Colors

Art Deco Nail Lacquer

I love experimenting with different nail designs and these are perfect for doing that. The brush is high quality and makes it very easy and fast to use. It lets you draw either thin lines or thick. I first discovered these at a family dollar store and they were $1.99, the next time I saw them was at the Dollar Tree so they were only a $1 each! I currently have them in black, white, yellow, pink, gold and silver. I want to get them in every color. I was recently at the Dollar Tree and I was in heaven because they had the whole collection of colors. I wanted to buy each one but I didn’t. I need to go back very soon and get the rest of the colors. For the price of these the quality is great, the colors pop out especially if you use them on top of a lighter nail color. My favorite combo is white nail polish with zebra print in black.

TREsemme Deep Clarifying Shampoo

This is a really good shampoo that I use every 2-3 times I wash my hair to get all the build up out from the hair products I use. I’ve tried other clarifying shampoo’s and compared to the other ones I’ve tried this one actually makes a difference. When I don’t use this shampoo I use John Frieda’s Full Repair and that stuff is really great also, but if even if you’re not using a ton of hair products you still need to use a clarifying shampoo that really gets in there and removes all the oils and gunk (at least once a week). Depending on your hair washing schedule. If your looking for a good one I strongly recommend Tresemme and the bottle is huge, you’ll have it forever.     

Milani Mineral Blush

I bought this blush a few months ago but didn’t start using it until this summer and now I use it almost everyday. I use it in Sunset Beach. The color is buildable so you can wear it for a natural look or you can apply more if you’re going out at night. This color looks good with a tan bc it’s an apricot/ peachy color. I’ve heard some youtube gurus say these are pretty much the dupe for NARS orgasm. It’s also light weight and goes on flawlessly (it comes with a little brush like most blushes do but I would use a normal blush brush for the best application. I always change blush colors once fall comes and I'm defiantly going to buy one of the other colors from Milani. 

                                         

 Helen of Troy

Hot Shot Tools Blow Dryer

The type of blow dryer I use is important because I have very thick hair that usually takes forever to blow dry. So I can’t just use any blow dryer unfortunately, I’m so glad I found this one. Helen of Troy is known for making great hair tools, I have one of their curling irons and I love it. I bought this at Sally's Beauty Supply, at the time they were having a special where it came with a Helen of Troy flat iron for $50. To be honest the flat iron is not to great at all, but it was worth it bc the blow dryer is excellent. My main concern when buying a blow dryer is to make my dry faster. It has a 1875 watt powerful air flow, with ionic and Tourmaline technology that makes your hair dry faster. It also has 2 speed/4 heat combinations with a cool setting and it comes with a concentrator attachment (that I use every time). I can honestly say it takes me half of the time to blow dry my hair now. It used to take me at least 45 minutes and I dreaded drying my hair but now I really don’t mind. Plus its really light so your arm isn’t killing you when your done.

e.l.f essential

Shimmering Facial Whip

I picked this up the last time I was at Target when they finally started selling the whole line of e.l.f products. I was so excited, I about 15 things bc the most expensive product was $5. The shimmering facial whip was one of the $1 items I bought. I really like it, its pretty much a shimmering whipped facial highlighter. It blends in well and doesn’t make your face feel greasy. I use a tiny dab on my cheeks and my nose after I apply my bronzer and it gives your face a subtle glow. It comes in 8 different shades: persimmon, Camilla, lilac petal, toasted, golden peach, spotlight, pink lemonade and citrus. I use golden peach, but the camera makes the color look orange and its definitely not. Sorry about that

Dollar Tree Haul

GOTTA LOVE BARGAINS!!!!!

I don’t know if all of you have a “Dollar Tree Store” near you but if you do then you know what I’m talking about. Its like any dollar store but huge with a even huger selection of almost everything. I’ve always loved dollar stores, it’s always to fun to find some cool things that are only a $1. This store is usually a hit or miss sort of thing, sometimes I’ll go there and find nothing and sometimes, like today I’ll find lots of stuff.

Since I was so successful today here, I thought I would do a Dollar Tree Haul, lol….You might be laughing now but wait till you see the all the cool things I got.

L.A. Art Deco Nail Art Décor

These are the nail polishes used for making all different nail designs . They are perfect for this because the brush is very very thin. There really great for creating the zebra/animal designs.  I’ve only seen these sold at dollar or discount stores, never at CVS or a local drugstore. Usually when I go to the Dollar Tree they have about three different color selections but today they had every color in the rainbow. I  was so excited, I bought 5 different colors: gold, hot pink, yellow, black and white. ( I already had them in black and white but there about a year old and I could tell they were getting old so I bought new ones). I wanted to buy every single color they had. There was purple, glitter silver, plain silver, orange, blue, etc. I will definitely be going back soon and getting more. I want to have every color they make..lol..especially bc there only a $1!!

Moisturizing Gloves and Socks

Moisturizing gloves and socks are perfect for a few different reasons. There’s a bunch of different ways you can use the gloves; Slathering your hands with either a really good moisturizer or Vaseline then put the gloves on before bed, your hands will be super soft in the morning! I’m sure there are a few other reason to use them, you can warm them up by putting them in the microwave for a minute or 2 and wearing them for a few minutes while giving yourself a manicure for soft hands and cuticles. 

I especially bought the moisturizing socks because I bought this moisturizing foot masque at Sally's Beauty Supply, and the directions say to apply a thick layer to entire foot & ankle area, then cover feet with a towel or socks ( but warm up the towel and socks first), let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Then take off the towel or socks and rinse feet. I cant wait to try this!

Travel bottles for cosmetic liquids

Everyone needs a few of these. I probably have a dozen of them but since I seem to loose them or throw them away by accident, its good to know that you can get these small (medium or big) bottles for very cheap. This package came with two bottles (both small sizes) one had a normal cap and the other had a spray nozzle. I use these for lots of different reasons. When I clean my bigger makeup brushes and I'm just spot cleaning, I’ll pour some of my brush cleaner into a spray bottle and spray the brush a few times. Its kind of hard to dip a big fluffy brush into a small cup of brush cleaner, so that works perfectly. Sometimes I’ll make my own brush cleaner and store it into one of the bottle with a cap.  I also am really into DIY recipes, I make my own doup of MAC Fix + (well it’s not my receipt, I found a few different tutorials on YouTube). I use these spray bottles for that, maybe I’ll make a post on how to make it soon There’s a ton of different usages for these bottles. Again, 2 for a $1!!!!. Love it!

   (sorry for the horrible quality of this pic)

Pretty Colored Caddies and Baskets

The Dollar Tree is famous for having a whole bunch of different storage containers, caddies, and baskets with a variety of different colors. I already have about 10 in my room, small ones for my makeup, bigger ones for my hair products and containers for my nail products. Since I never seem to stop buying new products I feel like with even all these storage containers I have theirs still never enough room for all my stuff. The one I bought today is ideal for holding your hair brushes, combs or even hair products in.  I already have one in a neon green color but I needed another one, so I found a neon hot pink one. It will look perfect next to the neon green one..lol

There are a few other things I bought but didn’t take pictures bc I felt like it wasn’t that necessary. I bought a cd visor for my car. I’ve literally owned about 100 of these since I got my first car, lol. But something always happens to them, I either lose them, or throw them away with the car I got rid of or who knows..ha!

I bought a new mouse pad ( I have a laptop but I never have gotten used to using the laptop mouse. I need to have a mouse plugged in). The mouse pad I had was so old and they had a really bright purple one. Had to get it!

Last but not least..I bought one of those Over-The-Door Storage Organizers. I had a small one on my door that had 4 little compartments. This one is a lot has 8 pockets and is longer. The more storage I have, the better. I have so much stuff and not enough room to store it all. I’m sure, you being beauty junkies like me can understand. I would love one day to have my own little room just for all my makeup and beauty products. ha! I wish!

How To: Zebra Nails!

ZEBRA NAILS!

I’ve always loved different types of nail art and designs, ever since I was old enough to paint my own nails. It’s just fun to do plus it looks really cool. One of my favs is the zebra/animal print. I do this all the time, especially in the summer bc I like doing them on my toes too. Before the first time I tried it myself I didn’t know exactly how to go about it or what kind of nail polish to use. I was looking for a tutorial on YouTube and I found Kandee Johnson’s video on how to do zebra nails. She made it look so easy so I literally watched her do one of her nails as I was doing mine then I was able to do the rest of my nails in 5 minutes. So it's really that easy!

For those of you who don’t know who Kandee Johnson is, she’s a YouTube guru, professional makeup artist and extremely talented. Plus she’s one of my favorite guru’s. I’m going to post her video in this post for you guys to see.