Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Best Nail Deals on Amazon

So I went shopping on Amazon for a set of nail brushes and a dotting tool kit. Long story short- I spent the afternoon searching for the best price. And I found it. For $4.16 I got 5 double sided dotting tools, and a 15 piece brush set. They did raise the price of the brushes since I've purchased them, but only by about 50 cents. 

This is the link to the dotting tools: 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FJQQMC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00 

This is the link to the brushes: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L1DNWY/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M2C_ST1_3p_dp_1

The only downside of these is that they ship from Hong Kong so I have yet to take a real life picture or write a review on them :( I just wanted to show you all where to get the best deals while the prices are low! 




I can't wait to try them out and see what I can come up with :)
See you soon! xx

Friday, September 14, 2012

Sephora's Nail Polish Remover

I came across a new favorite!
This was the second time I went into Sephora. This nail polish remover was around $6.00, but this was the smallest size. It works like magic! One swipe on a cotton round and all the polish is gone. And the scent it leaves on your fingers is amazing. It smells like regular nail polish remover in the bottle, but completely different on the hand. I also noticed that it didn't dry out my skin at all. I will definitely re-purchase this, and I recommend it completely!

See you soon! xx

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Why is your water marbling not working?

Hey everyone! I've missed you all! School is really taking a toll on me :/
It's really hard to get back into the groove of things, and I really don't have a lot of free time.

So I was searching around the web and I found a lot (More than usual) of questions on things that are happening with water marbling. I thought it might be helpful to compile a lot of those questions here. Let's get right to it!

Why does my polish sink to the bottom?

Two reasons. Either your water is the wrong temp, or you're dropping the polish too high. Hold the brush just above the water, but not to the point where you're touching the water.
What type of water do I need?

Regular tap water. Nothing fancy.
What temperature of water works best?

Room temperature! Try getting as close to room temp as you can, and let the water sit for an hour or two.
How can I get my polish to spread around evenly?

You can shake the container a little after dropping it in, or you can run a toothpick on the outside edges of the bowl. This pulls the water, pulling the polish with it.
Why isn't the polish spreading?

Sounds like the wrong temperature of water. Also, the formula plays a big role. You'll see that thinner polishes spread a lot faster, but are very sheer. Thicker polishes take a while to spread but they have good coverage. You have to experiment! See what works best for the look you're going for.
What are some good color combos?

Pastels with white look very nice, Also mixing colors that are opposite the color wheel give a very interesting effect. My go to color for marbling is white. It looks great with anything!
What topcoat do you recommend that doesn't smear colors?I use the generic air dry topcoat from Sally's Beauty Supply.
How do you avoid getting your fingers messy?Tape! Tape around the cuticle and on the sides of the nails. Clean up is a breeze!
How do you get rid of air bubbles?Before you even want to dip your finger, pop any air bubbles that are already in the water.


My last tip is to work quickly! Polish dries very fast in water. Have all your bottles open ahead of time, and all your tape cut already.
Hope this helps!
See you soon. xx
 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Water Marbling Technique- Tips and Tricks

I finally did it! I successfully water-marbled my nails. I know I'm a little behind on the trend but I might as well start sometime. I experimented with it for a while, and this is the best process I found.

Prep:
First thing you need to get it some water in a dish that's big enough and deep enough to dip up to two fingers at once. I found that using room temp. water was the best- Start with more cold water and let it set for a while.
Color base coat- You will need to apply one coat of the lightest color you are marbling. You'll find that the marble itself will be very thin and your nail might show through.
Get all your polish ready and opened! It's such a pain to have to open each bottle before you need to drop it in.
Tape- Cut all the tape before you even start. You will need two pieces for each finger. One to go under the cuticle, and one to wrap around the sides of the nail and over the tip.

Dropping the Polish:
Don't go for a metallic polish, they won't spread very easily and it will be very thin. Starting with the first color, let it fall off the brush but keep the brush very close to the water. Don't touch the water with it, but if the brush is too high the glob of polish will sink right to the bottom. You can blow or shake the water a little bit to help the color spread. After that color is done spreading, continue the same process with the other colors you want to use, dropping it in the center of the other drop. There isn't a limit on how many drops you need, or how many colors you use. Once you have the amount of drops you want, swirl it around with a tooth pick.

Dipping the nail:
Tape your nail however you want- mainly to make the cleanup a lot easier. I like to dip two nails on the same hand at the same time, since this is such a waste of polish this will help use more. Anyways, put your nail in horizontally, leave it there for a few seconds, and with a dry q-tip swirl all the extra polish that isn't on your nail out of the water, grabbing it with the q-tip.

Peel off the tape and clean up your cuticles! It will probably take a few practice tries at first, but once you get the hang of it, it can be easy.

See you soon! xx

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

An Update

So...my first two days of school are done! I am soooo exhausted. The first day I  came home I immediately fell asleep! I sure wish I could make posts like I used to. I think once I get in the habit of being awake so early I won't be as tired and I'll come back to this regularly. So far school has been great! The only anxiety I had was on the first day in new classes, in the hallways, and when I had to get up and introduce myself in front of the class. Today was great though. I managed to talk to a few people in my classes without a problem. What really helped me is the thought of 'What's the worst that could happen?'
In other non- school news, I need to redo my nails tonight! I'm definitely doing water marbling. The only downside is it's such a waste of polish:(
I'll post tips and tricks when I get the chance.

Now- off to do homework.

See you soon! xx

Sunday, September 2, 2012

And so the anxiety begins...

So as most of you know, school starts this Tuesday.
And on a more personal note, my anxiety starts this Tuesday also.
The first day of school is always a hard day for me. I worry too much about what I'm going to wear, what i'll look like, and how people perceive me. (The list goes on.) The days leading up to school are usually spent in bed, packing my school bag, and watching tv trying to figure out ways to get my summer back. But I guess there really isn't a way to stop time.

My anxiety feeds off the thought that people are going to judge me. I really don't like looking people in the eye when I'm walking by, or talking to people out of my comfort zone. Also, if I happen to need to drift out of my comfort zone, my face will start to turn red and i'll stutter or try to talk too fast and worry that I'm making a fool out of myself.

This year, I'm planning on changing all of this. I wan't my last two years of high school to be something I will want to remember when I'm older. This means I will have to endure drifting slowly out of my comfort zone by talking to new people, looking them in the eye, and walk with my head up. I know most of these things seem so harmless to most people, but the feelings are amplified for me. It is a physical struggle for me every day to stop looking in the mirror wondering if I look okay. Because truth is- not everyone is going to like who I am, how I act, or how I look; and that's something I'm going to need to accept.

I thought I would change all of this by first starting to say Hi to people I normally wouldn't talk to. This is such a small step for most of you, but a very hard one for me. After I feel comfortable doing this I might be able to hold a conversation with someone.

I'll be sure to share my process with you guys, and I hope I can help some of you if you are feeling the same as me.

See you soon! xx

Friday, August 31, 2012

The Perfect Pump for Revlon Colorstay Makeup

So as you all know I love my Revlon Colorstay liquid foundation. But it doesn't have a pump! I was desperate to find something that would work. I found the PERFECT bottle.

http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Airless-Treatment-Pump-Bottle/dp/B005KC1H5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346442369&sr=8-1&keywords=airless+pump+30+ml

This link will bring you to the exact bottle that I bought. It holds the exact same size as a new bottle of foundation, but it has a pump!
The cool thing about this is it's an airless bottle. It works by pumping out the air as you go, pushing up a disk from the bottom of the bottle. You really do not waste a drop of foundation! It comes with a silver cap, clear body, and a white pump.

I paid $6.50 for the total order.

But don't make the mistake I did! I only bought one, but I wish I would have bought four! I can imagine having these for everything. They are so compact, easy to travel with, and they work with any consistency, or any foundation. You can easily peel the label off your current foundation and put it on the new bottle.

I would highly recommend these! Don't worry- I did all the research, this is the cheapest site to find these bottles.

I hope you try some before they are gone!

See you soon! xx