Sheer Blue Water Marble

Recently, I wanted some funky nails that were cute, summery, and easy. I pulled together a quick water marble, which surprisingly worked this time (I've had many, many failed attempts recently). This time I didn't marble over an existing coat of polish. Instead I just applied it to my bare nails which gives it a delicate, beachy vibe. The bad thing is that when you don't marble over an existing color, any gaps or bubbles in the marbled polish looks like chipping.

Overall, I love it. I really love the thick stripes that happened on my left hand... I wish I could get that every time!

Swatch: Essie's Mink Muffs

2 coats of Essie's Mink Muffs

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Pink-a-Dot

These are from 2012's Easter collection (which I found for sale at 2 different Targets). I think this design is super, super adorable. It's girly without being vomit-inducing, and did I mention that it's super shiny compared to older Salon Effects?

New Sally Hansen Salon Effects (Summer 2012)

I saw these at Target the other day. I'm liking the direction Sally Hansen is going with these! Lots of glitter and new ideas!

Remixed Sally Hansen Salon Effects

Tired of boring old black and white nail stickers? Make it a throwback to kindergarten and color between the lines with a Sharpie! I only colored in select flowers with pastel Sharpies, and it turned out pretty okay.

Review: LUSH's Rockstar Soap

Weekend bonus beauty & bath post!


From LUSH's website: There’s nothing hard rock or heavy metal about this soap. We’re serious about soap, but not too serious not to love our pink sudser. It’s unabashedly a best-selling pop hit that everyone, boys and girls, can’t wait to get their hands on. While you may object otherwise, once you try our pink, vanilla-scented cream soap you’ll be singing a different tune. Scented with real vanilla (the gorgeous stuff that comes from pods, not labs), and decorated with soap stars embedded inside you’ll want to give Rock Star a regular rotation in the soap dish.

Another overdue LUSH post! I love Rock Star Soap. It's got that uniquely LUSH underlying scent that stays with you hours after use. It foams well, and I feel clean and without any residue. This sample is not enough and I'm going to have to buy it full-sized!

Tape Stripes

Using the same method as in my last post, I did me up some white stripes (sorry, my Southern is showing)!

Tip: A top coat is necessary when using these homemade nail stickers because, as I learned the hard way, the polish will separate from the tape... which happened when one of my stripes went missing!

Tape Shapes

I got this idea after poking around on Tumblr. Basically, you paint Scotch tape, let it dry, cut it into shapes, and then use those shapes as nail stickers. It's so much easier than trying to freehand shapes with paint! This is my first attempt:

Kiehl's Mini-Review Mega-Post!

My newest skincare obsession is Kiehl's. I owe Kiehl's a lot since they saved my face from a nightmare caused by a certain popular in commercials product. Here are some quick-fire reviews of multiple Kiehl's products with descriptions from kiehls.com.


LIP BALMS

Lip Balm #1:

• Temporarily protects and helps relieve chapped or cracked lips.
• Helps protect lips from the drying effects of wind and cold weather.
• Formulated with soothing emollients Squalane, Lanolin and Sweet Almond Oil as well as Vitamins A and E.

Pear Lip Balm:

• Protects against the elements and helps relieve chapped or cracked lips.  Enriched with Cotton Seed Oil and contains Octinoxate, a mild sunscreen of SPF 4.

If anyone ever asked me what my desert island product would be, it would be this. I hate having dry lips, and this is the best cure because it's shiny, not sticky, and both of these flavors (or lack of) are great. The #1 balm isn't flavored/scented, but it's not unpleasant either. The pear balm has a hint of pear in its scent and flavor. It's not overwhelming or artificial tasting/smelling. I really love it, but it costs slightly more. I do think it's worth the extra few bucks.




CREME WITH SILK GROOM

Our unique Creme with Silk Groom moisturizes, protects, and conditions hair for an optimal styling experience. Formulated with Silk Powders and naturally-absorbed oils and moisturizers derived from Wheat Protein, Soy Protein, and Jojoba Oil, this non-greasy grooming aid has become world-renowned for its silky smoothness and superior efficacy.

I put the creme on the ends of my hair after I washed it and removed excess water with a towel. I then let it air dry and brushed it out. The tips of my hair kind of clumped together in a small way, but it wasn't visibly distracting as long as I didn't use a ton of the product. My hair was a little softer, but I didn't notice a huge change after one use. What I did love despite that, was that it had the scent and feel that my hair has after I leave the salon. To me, it's almost worth it for that fact alone.


CLEARLY CORRECTIVE™ DARK SPOT SOLUTION
Clearly Corrective™ DARK SPOT SOLUTION is a fast-acting serum that evens skin tone and diminishes dark spots to impart overall radiance and luminosity to the skin:

• In as little as 2 weeks, 55% of women clinically demonstrated a significant reduction in dark spot intensity.
• In 4 weeks, 69% of women clinically demonstrated a continued reduction in dark spots intensity and 73% of women showed a significant reduction in acne scarring.  Reduction in other skin discolorations was clinically evident among 69% of women.
• In 8 weeks, 87% of women clinically demonstrated more uniform skin tone to deliver breakthrough clarity.
• With continued daily usage, Clearly Corrective helps to prevent the formation of future dark spots and other skin discolorations.
• No Silicones. No Parabens. No Fragrance. No Colorants. No Optical Diffusers.

I had no hopes for this product, because let's get real, it's almost too good to be true. I've been using my small sample for over two weeks and I'm fairly certain there's an improvement in the darkness of my dark spots. My skin looks brighter and more vibrant. I've been targeting one scar on my ankle in addition to my face, and my ankle scar looks better... it hasn't disappeared, but it looks lighter (and it was a pretty bad scar).
UPDATE 8-2-2012: I totally broke down and bought this and my skin has seen a HUGE improvement! Sooooo worth the price!


CREME DE CORPS SOY MILK & HONEY WHIPPED BODY BUTTER

• Luxuriously scented cream – light on skin, yet rich in 24-hour hydration. 
• Decadently air-whipped for instant penetration to restore, protect, and soften skin.
• Quickly absorbed to deliver deep moisturization and leave a light, addictive scent on skin.
• No parabens, glycols or silicones.

I'm not sure how I feel about this product. I feel like it was difficult to spread around my skin and it's scent was just okay. Maybe the non-whipped Creme de Corps products are better?

Armored Thumbs

Here's another texting mani--this time with a mysterious metal leaf substance that my mom had. In hindsight, I should have placed it right at the cuticle edge to give it a better look.

Bare Insets(ities)... Get it?

To do this, I cut up Scotch tape and placed it on my bare nail, painted over it, and then tried to push the tape into itself because I didn't want to ruin the paint edge. This is not a great method, so I welcome any other ideas! Blurry picture is blurry in order to avoid showing horrendous problems in the details!

Black Clouds

Using the watercolor technique, I put these black clouds over Zoya's Sooki. To make this look look not-weird, you have to hit the cuticle line and hit the tips.

Click here to see more watercolor nails!