We’re Making Sexy Edible Massage Bars with Nature’s Garden!

Are ya ready for it??? Doesn’t this sound like fun??? Yes my friends, this is our “Weekly How-To” with Nature’s Garden!! Aaaand this week we are making Sexy Edible Massage Bars~!!!

Now if you haven’t seen the past couple of articles I’ve done with Nature’s Garden, you’ll definitely have to check them out! A couple of weeks ago I did an article on the background and an overview of Nature’s Garden, which also features an interview with the CEO herself – Miss Deborah Ward!!! And last week we made Homemade Lip Balms with Nature’s Garden products and their recipe!!!

Homemade Lip Balm with Nature’s Garden!

Posted
February 29, 2012
Categories
Beauty
Creativity
Tutorials
Comments
4 Comments

Hi beauties~! How are you today? I’m SUPER excited to reveal this post to you today about making homemade lip balm~! Remember I talked in a previous post about Nature’s Garden, that I was going to be making some homemade beauty products? About a week ago I wrote an article describing in greater depth the story behind Nature’s Garden and included a great interview with the CEO Deborah Ward! If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out here! The story behind how Nature’s Garden came to be is very interesting! Well today is the day – we’re going to make Lip Balm!!!

A Wild and Exotic Manicure Reveal – Kiss Nail Dress Review

Posted
February 28, 2012
Categories
Beauty
Nails
Reviews
Tutorials
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2 Comments

Hey Chicas – how’s you day going? Its a beautiful, sunny (albeit cold) day – but no complaints here! I love the sunshine, just puts you in a good mood and is a little reminder that Spring is coming!

I just recieved some products from Kiss Nails and I’m so excited to bring you this post and reveal my “Wild Manicure”!

Here you see three packages of Kiss Nail Dress, 3 packages of Impress Manicure, Kiss Everlash MD Eyelash Enhancing Serum and Brow Enhancing Serum.

I’ll be bringing you reviews of the Impress Manicure and Everlash MD Eyelash and Brown Enhancing Serums in upcoming posts! So stay tuned for that~! I’m excited to try both products, they look fabulous!

Now I’m not sure if you guys read my previous post on Wham Bam Instant Glam? In that post I talk about the different nail enamel strips and the pros and cons of each. Well as you saw, Kiss Nail Dress is my absolute fave! For several reasons, one being that it lasts the longest of all the nail strips I’ve tried, I find these don’t start “chipping” like some of the other brands do! And I’m definitely hard on my nails – playing with the kids (and their legos) , doing dishes and cleaning etc, all of which isn’t very manicure friendly! Also they come with 28 strips in each package which is a GREAT deal, the most strips per package of any set I’ve ever found. They’re easy to apply and easy to take off and you aren’t dealing with the regular nail polish smell! Definitely instant glam for us ladies~!

First thing I did was “prep” my nails. Filing them, taking care of the cuticles and buffing them.

Once they were adequately prepped, I applied a base coat. I use Nail Life Gripper from Sally Beauty Supply.

I applied the Zebra print to all of my nails except the ring fingers on both my hands, where I put one different strip from the other package. Makes for a fun and interesting manicure! I always love having either a different color or pattern on my ring fingers of both hands! If you want you can alternate regular polish with these strips, if the first time around you want a more subdued manicure. But I have to say I love “Wild” nails! When applying these, I’ll apply the strip to the nail bed and then cut off the excess; which I’ll apply to a nail on my other hand. So I only need 1 strip for 2 nails! Total strips used for this manicure is only 5!!! Not too shabby ! And don’t be afraid to trim the cuticle portion when applying it to your other hand, because it may be to wide, which is such an easy fix! Make sure to press down and smooth them out well, then file the ends off.

After you’ve applied all your strips, apply a top coat.

And it’s done, my wild and exotic manicure! Do you like it??? One thing that’s such a bonus, is when you are ready to remove them, they just peel off! Which I didn’t know the first time I went to take them off, and I was so shocked! Having them come off so easily – yet stay on your nails SO long and so well! Don’t know what kind of adhesive they use – but its amazing~! The smell of nail polish remover bothers a lot of people, so this is a great option for those of you who have that issue (like my mom )!

Big Kudos to Kiss Nails for creating these fabulous products for us ladies to stay looking glam so effortlessly and affordably~! I was at my son’s Football practice tonight and I got so many compliments and inquiries on my manicure – they are definitely a hit! I also wanted to mention, these packages come with wide enough strips that work perfectly for doing pedicures, so you can do either or both – a matching Mani/Pedi~! I’m excited to see what new designs they come out with next! I hope they expand their line to include some solid colors and of course more patterns! I love my patterns~!

Oh and before I forget, I want to remind you ladies Kiss is having a giveaway on their Facebook Fan Page – when you go to there, click the “Freebies” tab on the left hand side. Or, you can go there directly from my site, by clicking the “Kiss Giveaway” banner on the top right hand side of my website! That way you can enter for a chance to score some of these little beauties! Keep your eyes peeled, as I’ll be bringing you reviews of the Impress Manicure and the Brow and Eyelash Enhancing Serums – always my honest and objective opinions! Till next time Chicas – keep it wild, keep it exotic and always keep it glam~! xoxo

Its A Nail Epiphany – A Long-Lasting Glittery Manicure

Posted
February 10, 2012
Categories
Beauty
Nails
Tutorials

Hello My Beauties~! I know its been a while since my last post – we’re finally getting over the “hump” of being sick. And we’re feeling better – and back to blogging for me~! I’ve got a lot of fun beauty posts coming up; but I wanted to start out with this fun Nail Review. This is really exciting! (I know – what can I say – all things girly excites me~!) Below is a few of the glittery nail polishes I have in my stash that will now be getting a LOT more use~!

As many of you know, I have natural nails. And in the recent months I’ve been frustrated (to say the least) with my stash of glittery, blingy nail polishes. I’ve tried ALL different brands, and no matter what brand I use – after only a day or two of wear, my nail polish will literally start peeling off! I’m always meticulous to prep my nails properly, file them, take care of the cuticles etc etc…I’ve had enough manicures to know just how to duplicate it at home. And yet after all that effort the nail polish won’t chip, like regular nail polish, but peel off! That is until now~!

You see this??? This is my beautiful, glittery pink manicure after SEVEN days of wear!!! Yes, count’em ladies – 7 days~! And I’m not easy on my nails – doing dishes, helping my boys with their projects etc! So I definitely wanted to share with you all the secret to a “Long-Lasting Blingy Manicure”~! The trick here is doing it in two parts over two days, as well as having a good quality colored polish underneath. Over the course of two nights makes it less time each night and also allows the nail polish to fully cure and harden between layers. The good quality colored polish underneath the glitter polish, allows the glitter coat less chance of peeling because of our natural nail oils.

The First Evening

1. Apply a good base coat, after filing, buffing, and fully prepping your nail beds . I use this one from Sally Beauty Supply – its a HUGE bottle~! http://www.sallybeauty.com/Gripper-Basecoat/SBS-113140,default,pd.html

2. Apply two coats of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure for the next step. Here I’m using #530 “Back to the Fucshia” (a gorgeous, bright, vibrant pink); I’ll often choose a color close too/similar too the glittery polish I’m using. What I love about this polish, aside from the awesome brush, it has great staying power on natural nails! Much better than OPI! But that’s a personal choice – I’ve tried SO many brands, and I’ve experimented with different base coats, manicure techniques etc. And these little polishes I find are by far the best of the bunch! Sally Hansen Website: http://sallyhansen.com/ and here’s the Sinful Website (Currently under construction) http://www.sinfulcolors.com/

3. Lastly, apply a good quality top coat and let dry. Don’t mess with your nails too much for a good while. I always try to do my manicures after putting my kids to bed, in the evening right before I go to bed. That way all the household chores, or playing with kids etc won’t interfere with your manicure. This is the last step for this evening. http://seche.com/products/product-83005.html

The Next Night

1. Apply the base coat on top of your existing manicure.

2. Now apply the Glittery polish to your nails – two coats total. I used the Sally Hansen Gem Crush in #06 “Razzle Dazzler” for all of my nails except the ring fingers on both hands. On my ring finger on both hands, I used SinFul Colors #923 in Queen of Beauty (a silver glitter). I usually like to do a different color on my ring fingers when doing my manicure – makes for a fun, yet interesting, looking manicure~!

3. Now its time for the final step, which is applying your top coat! Again, try to do this right before bed so your nails will have a good amount of time to dry and cure without any interference.

And VOILA – that’s IT~! Not terribly difficult, or time consuming – but doing the manicure in these two steps over two night really does extend the life of your manicure! In the past, I’ve tried just doing the whole manicure in one night, or changing up how many coats you use, etc to no avail; It still would end up chipping or peeling. It really seems to make a difference dividing this up into two nights, doing so lets the polish cure and harden in between coats which results in the extended life of a manicure! And make sure to do this manicure in two consecutive nights. If you wait a couple of days in between steps, you’re more likely to have chipping on your base color, which will definitely affect the next coat; Resulting in a shortened life of your manicure. Oh and just a sidenote to this, I always do my manicures over two nights even when I’m not using a glittery polish. This has always seemed to extend the life of my manicures!

I’m definitely extremely happy with this manicure – the durability, length of wear and how BLINGY it is~! Who knew – a blingy manicure that ACTUALLY has staying power on natural nails~! Yes ladies, this definitely qualifies as a NAIL EPIPHANY in my books!

Stay tuned, I have a lot of fun beauty posts coming up, as well as some DELICIOUS and easy recipes~! Till next time Chicas – take care, stay glam and KEEP IT BLINGY~! xoxo

Sequence of a Smokey Eye

Posted
February 2, 2012
Categories
Beauty
Eyes
Tutorials
Comments
2 Comments

Hola peeps~! Thought it would be fun to do a “step by step” Smokey Eye post! Always a fun and glam way to emphasize one of the most important features on our face~!

On a daily basis, I usually just use a matte black eyeliner and mascara. But for a night out, its nice to draw attention to the eyes and Smokey Eyes is a great way to acheive this~! For this GLAMALICIOUS look I’m using the….

Wet and Wild ColorIcon Palette in Vanity.

I’m using the three colors on the left – going for a subtle, smokey eye this time. Here’s a link to the Wet and Wild Website – They have gorgeous palettes and many other great products – very highly pigmented!

Here I am with no eye makeup

…(Please excuse the photography – my camera is “old school” lol)

1. Applying the Base and Crease Color.

First apply the middle Taupe shade to your whole lid. Then apply the darker shade to the outer corners and under your eye.

2. Adding the Highlight.

Now, apply the lightest shade to the inner corners of the top and bottom of your eyes. Adds a nice highlight and draws the eyes to the center of your face, while brightening your eyes.

3. Lining the Eyes.

Next line the upper lids with a matte black shadow.

4. Don’t Forget the Lashes!

And now its time for Mascara~! Really finishes off the look – and makes those eyes stand out~!

5. Completed Look~!

Here’s the Smokey Eye Look showing both eyes~! The look is complete and now ready for a night out~!

In future articles, I’ll change up the looks with different colors and different palettes. And also be on the look out for my next article which will feature the best eye palettes – with both splurge and steal categories~! What are your favorite eye products when you want to look glam? Till next time Chicas, keep it glam and keep it SMOKEY~!

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