Experimenting

I got a new polish in July's Ipsy bag and I decided to play around with it a little.

The polish is Models Own Red Sea - Splash. The Models Own website listed it as a top coat, so I decided to do white tips underneath so I could see what the Red Sea looks like on bare nails and over a white base. I used my curvy "V" tip guides, and in an attempt at doing an accent nail I painted my ring fingers all white (I used Pure Ice Pretty 'N Patriotic.)

I wasn't thrilled with how it turned out, it kind of reminded me of strawberry syrup. I decided since this was all about experimenting I'd use the Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat that I bought a few weeks ago but never tried.

That did the trick!! Putting the matte top coat on toned down the shine of the polish but the glittery bits still catch the light and sparkle! It turned out really cool looking. Unfortunately, it was even harder than usual to get a good picture.

The polish was what I'd call a jelly. It looks more red on my natural nail and more fuchsia over the white base. One coat looked really streaky, but two covered nicely. 

Now that I've discovered that matte top over glitter looks so cool I'm definitely going to have to try some other combinations! Models Own has an Aqua color with similar glitters that I might have to get too! 

Show & Tell

Monday and Tuesday's mail brought fun stuff!!

First I got my new glasses from Zenni! Two new pairs of sunglasses and a pair of regular glasses. Zenni was having a sale, buy two get one free. That's why I was able to get three pairs, the total came to about $35!

Regular Glasses:

They have a stained glass look. I like them a lot. I think they're more subtle than the black frames I usually wear.

Blue "Wayfarer" Sunglasses:

A nice, traditional pair of sunglasses in a dusty blue color. When I smile my cheeks lift them up a little.

Black Cats Eye Sunglasses:

These are my favorites! The style would be way too over-the-top for me to wear as everyday glasses, but I think they are just perfection as sunglasses! I love them!! I don't want to take them off!



Tuesday's fun delivery was my Ipsy bag for July! Lots of goodies this month!

Left to right: bareMinerals 5in1 Cream Eyeshadow in Barely Nude, Pur~lisse Essential Daily Moisturizer spf 30, Models Own Nail Polish in Red Sea, Pixi Beauty Mini Tinted Brilliance Balm in Unique Pink, and Clear Clinic Laboratories Vanished Clear Spot Treatment.


I also wanted to show off my henna. It got better looking, and I wanted to capture it before it starts to fade.

This is what it looked like on Saturday night when the henna fell off:

This is what it looks like today, nice and brown:

I love how it looks! Candice really outdid herself this time.

Weekend Fun

So much went on this weekend! I hit the first Ogden Farmers Market of the season. I got there half an hour after it all started and the produce was already selling out! I managed to snag some tomatoes, but I was really there for the kettle corn.

It's also a tradition for me to stop in and see my friend Candice and get some amazing henna done!

There is so much to love about the Farmers Market. Aside from all the stalls, I always run into friends, and I always get to meet new doggies.

That's Boss. He's a baby English Bulldog!! I just had to snorgle him! His owner was very patient with me. The good news is that he belongs to somebody running a stall, so I'll get to see him next week too!!



If you've read the last few posts you'll remember that we let my oldest boy get a guinea pig. That has been a saga of its own.

What we thought was simple hiccups turned out to be a respiratory infection. We woke up Saturday morning to a dead baby pig. It was very, very upsetting. Joshua took it like a trooper though. Of course he cried a little, but he didn't act out or anything. I'm really proud of him.

He decided that it was a sign that we shouldn't ever get an animal from a pet store, adoption is the only way to go. Since we'd only picked up the guinea pig on Tuesday, there was a warranty. Josh took the money and adopted another female pig. This time a full grown, mellow adult.

Her name is Lily, and she's a complete sweetheart. Even my husband has fallen in love. That's him cuddling her in the picture.

She's still a little skittish, but she's eating and drinking well. She even took a strawberry I gave her! For the love of Pete, please let this one live!



This weekend I also had the chance to spend some time with my good friend Jen. She lives in Wisconsin now, but she came back into town to get some work done on her house so she can put it on the market.

It was great to see her again, she is as beautiful as ever, and it was so nice catching up. I'm bummed that she's going to sell her house though, as long as she had that I felt like she had ties to this town. Now the only excuse to visit is Tona Sushi and of course all the people here who love her!

Green Nails with Black and White Glitter

My daughter is really into black and white right now. It's her favorite "color". She loves it so much that when I saw Hard Candy's Black Tie Optional, I just knew I had to get it!!

I knew it would have the biggest impact over a bright color. Of course she wanted black or white, but I was able to convince her to go with a fun color.

She chose neon green!

I did two coats of the green, L.A. Colors Color Craze Mint and one coat of the Black Tie Optional. I think it turned out really cool!

Sparkly "V" Tips

A few months ago I took a chance and bought some nail tip guides from Amazon. They were $1.46 with free shipping, so to me it was worth the gamble. Normally I like to shop local, but I couldn't find what I wanted locally.

They showed up right on time, but I haven't used them until now. The order came with five different packages with three different styles in each package. The normal curved guides that I've used before, a "V" shape (you could also call it a chevron), and a shape like a "V" but with curves.

While I was at Ulta I found some pretty pink and sparkly polish that just begged to be in a French tip look. I've done a similar look before, so I decided to use the "V" guides this time.

I just love the white French tip look. It makes me happy, don't ask me why.

I started out with my normal base, and the stickers only pulled up the base polish on one nail. I think it's because I didn't wait very long after I applied it to put the guide on. I think the base needs to be really dry in order to withstand the sticker. 

I painted the tips white, with one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Whirlwind White, and removed the guides while it was still wet. 

After the tips were completely dry I did two coats of the fabulous sparkle, Ulta Salon Formula in Diva. It's got a pale pink base and looks pink in the bottle, but goes on pretty much clear with iridescent glitter specks. I love it. 

I followed up the next morning with two coats of top coat. I really love this look and I want it to last.

Polish Removal and a Shopping Spree

After my nail disaster I painted my nails with another $1 WalMart polish L.A. Colors Color Craze NP541 Candy Sprinkles. I thought it was fun and since it was a dollar I just had to get it.

I knew I'd be redoing things pretty quickly so I didn't bother with a top coat, just one coat of my normal base and two coats of the polish. It's a jelly or gelish, whatever they call it. A semi-sheer color with glitter in it. I didn't do the normal daubing technique like I usually would with a glitter, I just brushed this one on like a normal polish. It worked fine that way, and I am pleased with the polish. It didn't last very long before chipping, but without a top coat I don't know if it's the polish that's the problem or just lack of top coats. 

Speaking of glitter polishes, they are a giant pain in the butt to remove. The polish remover can't penetrate the polish under the metal flakes, so it just doesn't come off as easily. Pinterest (the place I love) is full of pictures of people wrapping their hands in aluminum foil to remove gel and glitter polishes. I thought I might as well give it a try!

You can see how well it took the polish off my thumb and forefinger, pretty much one swipe and it was gone. 

It works great!

It feels a little weird to have alien-robot hands, and I only do one hand at a time so I can still do things. It also gets weirdly warm. I'm not sure if it's the chemicals in the polish remover or just the cotton and foil insulating things. It doesn't hurt, it's just weird. 

First, I tear five strips of aluminum foil and get five cotton balls. I apply polish remover to a cotton ball, put the remover side to my nail, then wrap the foil around it all. I've started with my thumb and I've started with my pinkie, there really doesn't seem to be a difference. I just have to keep it on long enough. I keep forgetting to time how long I leave it on, but I'd say it's between 5 and 10 minutes. 

Now, the reason I didn't post all this earlier is because Tuesday was a bit of a crazy day. 

First, I met up with my friend Tiia Lin at Ulta. Where my weakness is nail polish, Tiia's is makeup. Unlike me, however, she has actual training. I highly recommend you check out her Facebook, her blog and her videos. 

Tiia helped me pick out colors, let me hold her adorable baby, and as we were checking out she said she had a present for me! When we went out to her car she handed me a bag full of nail polish!! I love this woman!! 

L to R: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Whirlwind White, Color Club Dark'n Stormy, Color Club Mod In Manhattan, and Nail Rock Nail Velvet Navy

In addition to those polishes Tiia gave me, I bought a bunch of my own. With the sale going on and the coupon I got 5 polishes for under $9!! It was great!! 

L to R: Essence Colour & Go 147 Miss Universe, Ulta Salon Formula Diva, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear 481 Breezy Blue, Ulta Salon Formula Indigo-Go Girl, Pixel 233 Oh Golly Gee!!

I'm already working on a new look with my new polishes, I'll post more soon!

The other thing that kept me busy is that we welcomed a new addition to our family. 

She's still scared and spends most of her time hiding. We've seen her out to eat and drink though, so that's good. 

This little lady is named Summer, and she belongs to my middle kid Joshua. He's been working his butt off this summer, helping his dad with side work and helping me here at the house. We ask a lot of him, and he rises to the challenge. 

My husband and I decided that he's shown enough responsibility to be in charge of another life, so we agreed he could get a guinea pig. I had guinea piggies growing up, so I know what kind of challenges he's likely to face. He did a lot of research and decided that he wanted a female and a baby. He thought about adopting, but he really wants to train it and the sites he visited told him that starting with a baby is easier. 

He's doing really well so far, and going very slowly with her. He had me scoop her out of the carrying box and into her cage so that she won't associate him with anything negative. He left her completely alone for 24 hours and even then all he did was lay his hand in her cage with a treat for a few minutes. For an 11 year old kid with ADHD, this shows a remarkable amount of restraint! I am completely proud of him! 

Nail Disaster

I found a pretty coral colored polish that had some gold glitter undertones. Coral is such a summer-y color I knew it just had to be a part of my collection.

I thought it would be a whole lot of fun to add some teal to go with the coral. What I wanted was teal stripes showing through the coral. In my head it looked epic.

WalMart had some fun colors for $1 a piece and I found a teal (L.A. Colors Color Craze NP420 Atomic) that I thought would work wonderfully.

I started out by painting two coats of teal over my normal base coat. Then I added striping tape in the design I saw in my head. So far so good.

I thought about painting a coat of white between the teal and the coral, but I thought that would make the drying time just too long. I thought it would be better to do a third coat of coral if it was needed.

I got the first coat of coral (Pure Ice 984CP Twinkle) on and it didn't look great. I wasn't worried though, most polish doesn't look right after the first application.

I had to let everything dry so I wouldn't have bubbles, but I think that was a mistake. I got the second coat of coral on and pulled the tape up.

It was a catastrophe!

Not only did the tape pull up a ton of the coral, it also left lines in the teal!

So bad.

I removed everything. I've started repainting with another $1 WalMart polish, but I'm not finished and I have to head to bed. I'll post all about it tomorrow.

Copper Shard Nails

It seems like most people are going for patriotic nails this week for the 4th of July.

I have a couple of ideas that I might do later this week, but this time I decided to do something else. 

I have been wanting to do this ever since I got the bottle of Nailtini Champagne in my Ipsy bag. It took a lot of work, but I think it turned out pretty cool.

I didn't want a sheer base this time. I started out with a coat of OPI Natural Nail Strengthener and then two coats of Pure Ice Pretty 'N Patriotic, a matte white polish that reminded me of painting my nails with white out in Jr. High. I had no idea this was a matte polish when I got it. There isn't anything on the bottle to signify that it's a matte, so be warned. It's really not very pretty by itself, I'm pretty sure I'll only be using this as a base for other things. Nothing against matte polishes, a lot of them are really cool, this one just doesn't do anything for me. 

After two coats of the white I thought I'd have a pretty good base for the coppery Nailtini 124 Champagne and I wasn't wrong. One coat over the white looked really weird, but the second coat gave me exactly the color I wanted. 

I finished up the design with two coats of OPI Gaining Mole-Mentum. I did the first coat in a daubing technique to distribute the shards the way I wanted them. Then I used the second coat to really fill it all in. This is such a fun polish. If you don't already have it in your collection you really need to go get it! GO!

I think it turned out pretty cool. This was one of the times that I started one day and finished later. I started out on Friday night painting the base and two coats of white, Saturday I spent hours doing the champagne and glitter, then I finished up with one coat of OPI Top Coat on Sunday morning. Whew! 

A little SNAFU

I messed up.

I'm just figuring out the Google Pictures thing and how it relates to my new phone.

I thought I was just cleaning up my pictures, but it turns out I was deleting everything from my posts.

I had a minor freak out and had to delete a few posts with pictures that were completely irreplaceable.

I also had to recreate a TON of pictures.

This means that some of the links in my posts might lead to nowhere and there may be a couple of posts that don't have pictures at all any more. I'm still going through my old files and trying to find some pictures, so you may see some older posts still missing stuff. Please be patient with me!

June Ipsy Bag

I've been so busy I nearly forgot to post about this month's Ipsy bag!

This month's haul was pretty great! I mean, a Rebecca Minkoff bag? Are you kidding me with this?! 

I am most excited about the Be A Bombshell Mascara and the NYX Butter Gloss. I needed new mascara so that was just perfect timing, and it's excellent! As for the gloss, it really does feel like butter! It's a nice pale color, and it doesn't get as sticky as some of the other glosses do. 

I'm also pretty happy about the OFRA Eyebrow Pencil. To be perfectly honest, my eyebrows are a little sad.  Let's just hope this gives them the help they need.

The bag also had some perfume, Realtree for Her. Thing is, I'm not really a perfume kind of girl. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with the sample yet, but it's probably going to find a home with somebody else. It smells good! I'm just more of a body splash person. I feel like all the other products I use already have so many scents that adding more on top is just overkill. I'd rather just smell clean. 

The last piece in this month's collection is a bottle of Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray. I gave this to Betty, for two reasons. First of all, she has gorgeous natural waves and I thought it would be a lot of fun for her to play up on that. 

Second, I chopped my hair off. 

Well, I went to a salon and had a stylist chop my hair off. 

Your guess is as good as mine as to why my lips are blue. I didn't edit this picture except to crop it, and my lips weren't blue when I took the picture. Weird.

I was really hating my other cut. There was nothing specifically wrong with it, it just didn't feel like ME. I felt like my hair was making a statement that I just didn't agree with. As if I was trying to be edgier than I actually am.

Racing Stripes and How I Do My Nails

I know it's been a while since I posted about my nails. Don't worry, I didn't lose interest! Losing interest is a serious problem with me, so I don't say this in jest!

Right after I did my Harry Potter inspired nails there was a bit of a catastrophe involving a crocheted afghan that I was trying to pull up and a 75 pound German Shepherd who laid down on it at just the wrong moment. The casualties were two nails on each hand that were bent backwards or ripped. It was brutal and quite painful!

Dramatic reenactment. 

It also wasn't pretty. I had to cut my nails super short and I've been waiting for them to grow a little before I did anything other than just keeping them protected.

Now that they're longer I decided to celebrate by treating myself to a new polish. It cost a whole $1.98 at Rite Aid!! Woo!

The base color is three coats of my new Sinful Colors 1106 Cinderella, a light blue with a bit of a pinkish hologram. I probably could have gotten away with two coats, but three looked better.

The racing stripe was done by taping it off with nail tape and painting on a dark blue from Alessandro International. The Alessandro was a gift from a friend and didn't come with any identification, so I'm not exactly sure what color it is. I couldn't find it on their site so it's probably from a past season. (This is the closest I could find on their website.) Update: I contacted Alessandro International and they looked it up for me! The color is 77-160 Blue Lagoon.)

I used my normal OPI Natural Nail Strengthener as my base coat and followed up with two coats of OPI Top Coat for protection.


Now I want to take a few minutes to talk about my technique. Step-by-step his is how I do my nails. (Your results may vary!)

• First I remove the polish I already had on. Cheapo polish remover and cotton balls. If it's glitter polish I will press the cotton ball onto my nail and wrap it in tape. 

• Then I file my nails and trim them if they need it. Usually at this point I use a buffer to lightly buff out the ridges I get. 

• Once every couple of weeks I will apply cuticle oil, let it set for a few minutes, and then gently push back my cuticles.

• I'll also take a minute and clean under my nails with one of those hook things that are attached to my nail clippers. 

• Then I go and wash my hands and scrub my nails with a nail brush. I want to be sure my polish has a nice clean nail to stick to. This is also when I gather all the polish colors I plan to use. 

• The first thing I apply is my base coat on all ten fingers. I've been using OPI Natural Nail Strengthener, but when I run out I'll probably try something new. Having a base coat really seems to help my polish last. I don't recommend you skip this step. 

• Drying time. Luckily the base coat seems to dry quite fast.

• Now I paint one coat of my base color on my fingers, but not my thumbs. I use my thumb nails to clear any over-paint from around my nail. If I paint my thumbs now the polish will just get smudged at the tips. 

• Drying time. I make sure the polish doesn't feel tacky any more before I add any more polish. The way I tell is by touching two nails together. If they feel like they stick, they're still wet. 

• If it's needed I add the second coat. I've found that the less expensive polishes need more coats. The expensive stuff is usually great with just two coats, the cheaper stuff might need three or more. I make sure they're dry between coats.

• More Drying. This is the part that takes the longest. The more coats of polish the longer it takes to dry. Usually I do this at night, after the kids are in bed, when I know I have hours to watch television and surf Pinterest. Not doing my thumbs also makes it easier if I have to use the bathroom or scratch an itch! There are times where I go to bed before the next steps. If I do I always wash my hands again before I get started. Just in case there is anything that transferred to my nails in the meantime. 

• This is when I do any artwork or decals. After my base coat is completely dry. Obviously this step is optional.

• Now I do my thumbs, after all the rest of my nails are mostly finished. 

• While my thumbs are drying from the base color coats I start doing the top coat on my other nails. Again, I've been using OPI Top Coat but will probably get something different when I run out. Just for the sake of experimenting. I do two coats because I have weak nails. First I paint the underside of my nails (when they're long enough to go past the edge of my finger) then I paint the tops. I let the first top coat dry fully before I add a second. When the polish is dry on my thumbs I do any matching nail art and finish up with the top coats. 

It does take a few hours for me to do my nails, but I usually do them on a evening when all I'm doing anyway is watching T.V. with my husband. Luckily he doesn't seem to mind the fumes! I'd say 90% of that is drying time. 

I think the process is worth it. There are a lot of steps, but doing it this way ensures that I get at least a week out of my polish. Sometimes more. I could just slap a couple coats of polish on in 5 minutes, but then I'd get bubbles and chips. Since I have to see my hands all day, every day... Well, I want to look at something pretty! 

Donuts

I was recently chatting with a good friend of mine who was having a rough time. She mentioned a person who went through similar problems but who chose to just roll over and give up.

In a moment of unusual brilliance I came up with an analogy that I want to share with the wider world.

Some people are cupcakes. Then they get a big hole punched in their lives. When this happens there are two things they can do. Either they can give up and live their lives as a squashed pastry or they can stand up, brush themselves off, raise their middle finger to the world and say,

  "Screw you all, I'm a donut now!!"

Normally I'm not one for vulgarity, but sometimes it's needed. This is one of those times. It's about taking back your power.

Things are going to happen. Good things and bad things. Nobody can change that. The only thing we can change is how we react. You aren't less because of what's happened to you, you're just different.


Picture source: http://www.vinylpulse.com/2012/08/drop-dead-clothing-gonuts-vinyl-toy-release-0811.html

Harry Potter Nails

It was one of the things that got me started on the road to nail polish addiction and I've tried four times to get it looking decent.

I finally pulled off Harry Potter inspired nail art. *Cue the angelic choir.*

I did striping on my left hand. I used two pieces of nail striping tape to mark off the area, then I pulled the tape off right after I added the accent color.

When I was done I knew I'd never get the tape straight on my right hand so I did dots on my right. I really can't decide which I like better.

My thumbs have the symbol for the Deathly Hallows.

I went by the colors in the books. If it isn't in the books, on Pottermore, or from an interview with J.K. Rowling herself... Well then it just isn't true. There are lots of fun things in the movies, but I don't take them as true canon. For today that just means that Ravenclaw colors are blue and bronze, not blue and gray or silver or light blue or whatever that is in the movies.

I spent a lot of time looking for good colors. I wanted them all to compliment each other and have the same slight metallic sheen. Here's the breakdown of what I used:

Pinkies are Slytherin, green and silver. Green is Sinful Colors 926 HD Nails and the silver is Wet 'N' Wild Fast Dry 236C Silvivor.

Ring fingers are Hufflepuff, yellow and black. Yellow is Sinful Colors 928 Let's Meet and the black is Sinful Colors 933 Secret Admirer.

Middle fingers are Gryffindor, crimson and gold. Red is Wet 'N' Wild Wild Shine 463 Jezebel and the gold is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 110 Wedding Glitters.

Pointer fingers are Ravenclaw (YAY!!!), blue and bronze. Blue is Wet 'N' Wild Wild Shine 443D Bijou Blue and the bronze is Revlon Parfumerie 100 Autumn Spice. Quick note about Autumn Spice, it smells. After it dries it has an autumn spice perfume that lasts as long as the nail polish is on my hand. It's weird, but not unpleasant. I looked for months to find a polish in the right shade of bronze. There are plenty of copper polishes out there, but bronze is hard to find.

My thumbs are done in white, Sinful Colors 112 Tokyo Pearl, and Deathly Hallow nail decals from Nail Thins. I used the original, regular sized ones since I was using them on my largest nail.

All my fingers have two coats of OPI Natural Nail Strengthener as a base coat and one coat of OPI Top Coat to finish it off.

Ipsy

I mentioned in the first post I did about my nail addiction that I signed up for Ipsy, this is the post where I get to tell you all about it. (In the spirit of full disclosure, if you click on that link and sign up for Ipsy then I get points towards free stuff. That doesn't color my opinions at all.)

I know it's been a long time coming, but I wanted to get a few months in. I wanted to be sure that I really do love it and that it wasn't some kind of fluke the first couple of times.

I love it!!

As I said before, Ipsy is a subscription service that sends out beauty products in a cute bag every month for a flat rate of $10.

Ten dollars is totally worth it. They don't cheap out on the products. Some of them are trial size, but even the smallest container of product that I've gotten is enough for many uses. A lot of the stuff I've been getting is full sized products. Some of these full sized products are worth more than the price I pay for the whole bag! For example, in my May bag I received a full size bottle of Nailtini polish (which I already blogged about) I was curious, so I looked it up and found that it sells for $13 a bottle and that doesn't even include the shipping.

I don't wear a lot of make up, but I do enjoy it. Even if I didn't wear make up at all I'd still love Ipsy. In addition to the make up and nail polish, I've been shipped hair supplies, sunscreen, moisturizer, a mud mask, and even a make up brush.

Here's the break down of the four months I've been subscribed and everything I've been sent! (Quick note: I was cleaning up my Google Drive and accidentally deleted a bunch of my pictures. I had to recreate March, April, and May. The pictures aren't as good, and some of the products look used because I've been using them!)

February:

A cute pink bag containing: POP Beauty Plump Pout Mini in Fuchsia Freesia (Love it!), skyn ICELAND Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud (haven't used it yet), City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon (also haven't tried it yet), Zoya Nail Polish in Odetta (used it and liked it a lot!!), and a pair of J. Cat Beauty Eyelashes and Eyelash Glue (Used them with mixed results. The product is great, my technique... not so much!).

March:

This bag was made by an artist especially for Ipsy and is a representation of city streets. I've been carrying it around as a wallet, I totally adore it. It held: Pixi Beauty Flawless Beauty Primer (used it once, didn't notice much difference), bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready (LOVE IT!! This tube has lived in my purse. It's tiny, but perfect!), NYX Love in Rio Eye Shadow trio in Segredos de Giselle (Also love and used many times!), and Chella Indigo Blue Eyeliner (used it and thought it was cool, but not for every day).

April:

Betty totally called dibs on this bag. A rock and roll theme was right up her alley! I kept the fun stuff inside: Big Sexy Hair Root Pump Volumizing Spray Mousse, Starlooks Luscious Longwear Lip Pencil in Naked, Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow in Champagne, Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion, and Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil travel size in Black Velvet. (I haven't used any of this stuff yet, but I'm looking forward to it all!)

May:

This leafy bag had fun stuff that's making me long for sun and sand: Hang Ten Classic Sport SPF 50 sunscreen, Pacifica Mineral Eye Shadow Duo in Moonbeam and Unicorn, Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer in Champagne (already blogged about this one!), Pur~lisse Pur~Moist Hydra Balance Moisturizer, and a Crown Brush Pro Blending Fluff Brush.

I'm having a lot of fun, every month is like Christmas! As you can see, I'm getting some really quality stuff for a really reasonable price.

Champagne Nails and a haircut.

My last manicure chipped, so instead of a Sunday manicure I had one on Friday.

I actually took the nail polish off on Wednesday and just painted my nails with two coats of OPI Natural Nail Strengthener. I just couldn't decide what to do this time. There are so many ideas buzzing around in my head but nothing seemed right.

Turns out I was waiting for a reason! My May Ipsy bag came on Friday and included a bottle of Nailtini Lacquer in Champagne. Talk about serendipity!

Two coats of OPI Natural Nail Strengthener and two coats of Nailtini Lacquer in Champagne

I really like the Nailtini Lacquer, but I'm not sure how I feel about the color. Sometimes I think I like it, then I see it in a different light and I'm not so sure. It's a pretty shade of copper-y beige, with a pearl glimmer. I just don't know if I like it on me. Feel free to let me know how you think it looks, I'd love some honest feedback.

There is another thing I'm not sure how I feel about.

I had my hair cut on Tuesday. I wanted to go much shorter for summer. I took a few ideas into the stylist, told him I wasn't afraid of going short, and then told him to do whatever he wanted.

It looked great when he was done, after he blow dried and styled it. I totally loved it.

The after pictures were taken by Joshua, the super talented stylist who came up with this look.

I did a little tweaking in the car and liked it even more.

But now that I've had it for a few days I'm not sure how I feel about it. I wore it today with no product in it at all and that's clearly not something I can do.

Eric told me it looks like something bad happened to my head, "Something that wasn't supposed to happen." Shanon said it looks like something from the 80's a la Cyndi Lauper. It's definitely much spikier when I don't have stuff in it.

I'm thinking it's a little more avant-garde than I'm used to. As it stands right now, I think I'm going to grow it out for a while and then go in for a simple pixie cut. Then again, I'm also considering dying it light blue with dark blue accents.... I do know I need more time to play with it, so don't be surprised if I post more pathetic selfies!

The Addiction is Over

As much as I love it, I've come to realize that I just can't do it any more.

Picture via Wikimedia Commons

I am giving up Dr. Pepper.

It's that time of year where I've got to work to stay hydrated and I've noticed that if I get a Dr. Pepper in the morning I don't drink enough water the rest of the day. I just can't do that and be healthy. I've got to cut the DP out of my life. Not only am I giving up Dr. Pepper, I am giving up all soda. All of it.

I've gone Cold Turkey. No weaning myself off. I have ripped the Bandaid off quickly. My name is Heather and it's been 5 days since my last Dr. Pepper.

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Sparkle Nails

For unknown reasons I got bored with the pink dotted nails rather quickly, so I took that polish off and did this new look last Thursday. My allergies have been making me miserable, so I'm just now getting around to posting about it. This picture was taken today.

I did a base coat on these french tips. Last time I skipped it because the Nailene Perfect Tips pull the bottom polish off. I noticed a big difference in the quality of the overall manicure, however, so I went ahead with a base this time as an experiment. The stickers did pull up the base coat, but only on a couple of nails. I think I need to do a little more experimentation to see what it is that causes the damage. I really like the look of french tips, but I want to use different polishes without having the stickers peel up the base color.

The tips were done with one thick coat of Sinful Colors 112 Tokyo Pearl. The glitter is a personal favorite, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear 180 Disco Ball. It's a great holographic glitter with lots of different sparkly colors. It kind of reminds me of Aurora Borealis Swarovski crystals, my favorite color of the Swarovski bunch. I followed up with two coats of my OPI Top Coat for good measure.

The glitter polish had kind of a weird reaction on the white tips. It almost looks like it caused dimples. I'm not sure if it's a trick of light from the glitter, or if it actually made divots in the polish. Either way, it's kind of an interesting texture.

Pink and Silver Polka Dot Nails

I bought a super cheap set of dotting tools on Amazon and I've been playing around with them and finally had something that turned out halfway decent.

Standard base coat with Opi Natural Nail Strengthener. The pink is three coats of Wet 'N' Wild Wild Shine 402 Tickled Pink. I did the dots alone ahead of time (I still can't do much with my left hand) and then added them on top of the pink. The silver dotting is Sally Hansen Hard As Nails 850 Pumping Iron. Followed up with at coat of Opi Top Coat. 

With all this nail art I'm doing I'm really learning that you get what you pay for when it comes to nail polish. Unless the cheaper brands have a color that I just adore, I'm better off going with a higher price point. When it only takes one coat of polish instead of coat after coat, I'm really saving money. Using the cheap stuff is okay for nail art, but really not good for covering my whole nail.

In other nail art related news, I've been trying and trying to do a Hogwarts style look. I must be under some kind of jinx! I've tried three times and every time it turns out terribly! I'm not giving up though! This will happen!! 

More Royal Stalking

I'm trying not to jinx it, but on September 10, 2015 Queen Elizabeth II will match Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch. Then she'll beat the record.

Her Majesty is fighting fit, and just had her 88th birthday. She's already outlived Queen Victoria, who died at 81. The Queen Mother lived to 102! I think it's safe to say that we've got many more years of this new Elizabethan Era to look forward to.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the Queen. She's giggling at Prince Philip in his uniform!

The Queen has begun delegating more and more responsibilities to her children and isn't taking any more long trips. I'd say she's earned it. She still works awfully hard, not just for a lady who is twenty years past retirement age, but for anyone!

Part of that delegating was sending Prince William and Duchess Catherine to New Zealand and Australia. I was really looking forward to seeing and reading about this trip. Mostly I was excited because Prince George would be in the spotlight and I'm super curious about him.

The little cutie completely stole the show!!

If you remember my last post about the Royals you'll note that I was on the fence in my opinions on the Duchess. This trip has completely changed my mind. The Duchess of Cambridge totally won me over.

The three week trip had a grueling schedule of visits and appearances. The Duke and Duchess were magnificent. Especially the Duchess. She looked beautiful in every single picture, she chatted with everyone, she accepted gifts with gratitude, she hugged children and puppies, basically she was amazing.

After following the schedule and seeing all the pictures, especially the ones with her and Price George, I have a new found respect for Catherine. You can definitely call me her fan now!!

By the way, my favorite place to follow the tour was a blog called Duchess Kate. Every day it was updated with not only all the events and pictures, but it gave a rundown on what she was wearing, who designed it, and where to get it! I highly recommend it to anyone who is curious about HRH Duchess of Cambridge.