Stamping plates

After seeing a bunch of blogs that had pictures of nail designs that had been made using stamping plates, I decided to grab some for myself.
I have done designs on my own nails using a tiny makeup brush, but I couldn't get much detail and my designs were limited.

With plates, though... WOW! The detail possible with plates just blows my mind. (and now, I know how they do it!) And the variety of designs! OMG! My creativity was kindof limited to ideas I got from blogs that I could replicate using my makeup brush. NOW, my creativity feels unlimited.

I ordered a starter kit by KONAD, a set of 25 plates by MASH, and another set of 25 plates by SHANY. I also ordered an organizer for the plates, some tweezers, and some little tiny flowers in many colors. My KONAD kit had the stamp, a scraper, three "Special Polishes" and two plates. It arrived on monday and I excitedly stamped up all of my nails little tiny flowers. The rest of it arrived today, and I am thrilled! I had this afternoon off, so when I was home, I tore into all my packages, pulled everything out and examined it all while putting the plates in the organizer.

First impressions, no use:
They're all so shiny!!! There are a lot of designs that I'll get to choose from, I might not need to order more plates anytime soon, if ever. The MASH plates seem slightly less detailed than the two KONADs I got earlier in the week, and the SHANYs seem to be a lower quality than both of them.

The KONADs that I used, however, didn't show all the detail once I stamped them onto my nails. The design I chose had four little flowers, and then some tiny dots around them. The flowers generally showed up fine, but the dots rarely transferred over, so while the detail was on the plate, it didn't show in the end result.

The MASHs still have nice detail, but it seems a little less than the KONADs. They still seem nice though and I'm excited to try them out. Of the 25 plates I got, over half of them seem dedicated to full nail designs.

The SHANYs... I'm a little disappointed. The plates feel... flimsy. Like when you unscrew the metal lid on a jar, put it back on, and you can "pop" the freshness seal? The plates bend and pop like that. The designs are definitely lacking in the fine details, although a few designs are more detailed than the MASH plates. For example: a MASH butterfly is just a straight on shot of a butterfly shape with the entire inside cut out. The SHANY butterflies are different angles, and have several designs within the wings.

I haven't using anything except the KONAD plates, but I am sooooo excited to have added these to my collection!


- Posted from my IPad.

Soooo craving an organizer

I'm desperately wanting an organizer for my nail polish. Right now, I don't have an organizer, and so they're all lined up on my vanity in front of my mirror. By color, so there's a little bit of organization. But nearly every night, I jerk awake to my cat skidding across the vanity and smashing into them. Nail polish flying everywhere.

So I want an organizer. First, I googled nail organizers, and they're kindof expensive. Not to mention- they're very.... boring. They're not fun or nice looking. There's no personality.
I was thinking about it more, and it suddenly hit me! I should make my own! All I'll need is some wood, screws, a wood cutter, and maybe some paint. I'm thinking along the idea of a spice rack type thing.

Here's an idea:


I don't know exactly how many polishes I have, but for sure I'll need more than what's on there. I have an idea to put like... a picture wall hanger type thing on the back and hook it to a wall so the cat can't knock it over.
I'm also thinking to put some artistic cutouts on the back piece and possibly side pieces and then paint the edges of the cutouts to make it pretty.


- Posted from my IPad.

Hunger Games Katniss (inspired) nails

This might be my first guide post, so yay!

"The team works on me until late afternoon, turning my skin to glowing satin, stenciling patterns on my arms, painting flame designs on my twenty perfect nails."
Her nails aren't really described in too much detail, but I wanted to give em a shot anyways. My initial idea for these, once I saw Chinaglazes collection, was to make a design using only colors from the collection. I also didn't want to do too formal of a design, didn't want anything too "hotrod-ish".
Here's what I came up with:

And here are the colors I used:

Left-to-right: Clear bottom coat, Stone cold, riveting, electrify, luxe and lush

1- Start off with your clear base coat.

Step 2- Stone Cold

2- Add a coat of stone cold. It's a matte, so it's going to dry really quickly. I really like that color, reminds me of a ashy sky with a lot of smoke rising into it.

Step 3- Riveting.

3- Pick a corner and add a dot of riveting. Wipe excess from brush and drag lines out from the dot in a "starburst" type pattern. (I didn't wipe enough of the excess and as you can see, it got a little gloopy. Remember to wipe excess. Better too little than too much.)
4- Go over the starburst with electrify. Wipe your brush off first- you want to use this polish just to let the gold glitter add some color to your fire. It's fine to go outside the lines that you established with riveting.
5- Add a coat of luxe and lush over everything. I really liked that, and using it over everything made me think of how a campfire will occasionally throw up giant chunks of ash. It also takes the place of a top coat.

The end result is a flickery red-orange, with specks of gold, and larger glimmery chunks on a grey background. My example on my thumb didn't turn out as good as my toes, but I'm sure you get the idea. Practice will make perfect :)

Step 4- Electrify

Step 5- Luxe and Lush

I would love to get feedback, and to see what everyone else comes up with for Katniss Nails!

Hunger Games nail polish

I'm back! It has been literally.... months and months since my last post. Got busy, got broke, etc. Hopefully, this time around, I'll be able to keep up with my posting.

To start off: My latest purchase- The Hunger Games nail polish collection from ChinaGlaze. I saw the movie preview, then read the books, and then stumbled across the collection online and was blown away. All Lacquered Up has an excellent post with amazing photographs and swatches, and after looking through that I was convinced.

I googled. Most places were fairly expensive, with the entire collection running 60-80. That was pre-release. Post-release might be less now. Anyways, I found a place that sold me two sets for a total of 84- bigdaddybeauty.com. I'm thinking I might give away the second set, contests or giveaways. They had an awesome coupon that let me get another collection of polish, and brought the grand total down to only 80. Talk about awesome!

Hunger Games collection

And here's the other collection I got: A bunch of neon, slightly sparkly colors that smell yummy.

Lots of news! Birchbox, haul, and an awesome stilla sale!

Oh my gosh, It has been absolutely Forever since I last wrote- I'm so sorry!
But to make up for it, I have a superlong post today, covering my most recent birchbox, and a recent sephora haul.

Before I get into all that, I have some great news. I wanted to share a couple sales that I took advantage of, and that are still going on at sephora.
Stilla Lipglazes! I love them, absolutely love them. They just feel so creamy on the lips and the applicator is awesome. Normally, they run $22.00 for 0.08 fl oz. That's just one. But right now, sephora.com has a couple awesome sales going on! There are two sets of stilla lipglazes that are selling for a fraction of what they're worth. The glazes in the sets are only 0.05 fl oz, but the difference is barely noticeable. It's still a good amount of product, with awesome prices!
1- Stilla Lip Glaze Trio This one has three colors: Grapefruit, seashell, and raisin. All three for only $12.00.
2- Stilla Lip Glaze Set This one has eight colors: kitten, kaleidoscope, apricot, grapefruit, fantasy, starfruit, dreamy, believe. All eight shades are only $25.00.
(Swatches below!)

If you want to make your gloss collection bigger, or want to start getting gifts for the holidays, those sets are a great way to go! (I am still just so excited about those sales, you don't even know.)

Moving on.

September Birchbox

Last month's box was. Well, I don't even remember. No, wait, that's wrong. There was one thing I loved. I'll be reviewing that later, though.
This months box, I've really enjoyed. I might even be making my first purchase from birchbox once one of my samples runs out. Anyhow, here is what I got this month:

Incoco Nail Polish strips "We all have a wild side. Eye-catching nail strips are the latest trend-try them on your fingers of toes."
I've seen these in blogs, videos, and the store, but just haven't actually gone out and gotten any. No disrespect, but I love the self pampering involved in sitting down and painting my nails with a bottle and brush. I haven't tried the ones they gave me yet (they're bright sparkly blue!) but I'll be sure to leave a review when I do.

Polished Jouer lip enhancer "Why settle for plain 'ol lip balm when you can hydrate, plump, and condition all in one go? Right, we thought so."
Oh, mi, gosh. I love this stuff. It's amazing. It comes out of the little tube a bit thick, almost like a cream, but when you smooth it on your lips, it's like pure water. It spreads so well, and leaves my lips feeling soft and hydrated. It's not sticky, I meant what I said about pure water- there is no stickiness at all. When the just applied feeling fades, your lips still feel hydrated, not parched. There's not much color from it, barely a "bitten" look. It's more of a flushed color. For a balm, it's fine. I'm not really looking for color from a balm anyways.
The only downside, for me, is the smell. This has a very rose smell. I'm more of a sweet fruity person, but this balm is so amazing, I still plan on purchasing it, smell and all. Oh, it doesn't taste good when you lick your lips either, but I guess that's a good way to break that habit.

Eco-Minded LIV GRN perfume "Made from sustainable infredients, this sultry scent is laced with jasmine and sandalwood. Plus, ten percent of sales go directly to Global Green, an enviromental non-profit"
This is just so yummy smelling. Sweet, without smelling too young. I like it, but I'm not so good at describing scents beyond "mmmmmmmmm"

Balanced Pangea Organics Facial Cream "An all-natural moisturizer, with antioxidant-rich grape extracts and essential oils, keeps skin both hydrated and shine-free."
I haven't tried this yet. I opened it and smelled it and, quite frankly, got scared. It has an incredibly sharp smell. it's a natural smell, but very sharp. I'm concerned about my face smelling like that all day.

Treat Birchbox Friendship Bracelet
A string bracelet with the birchbox square for a charm.

Sephora haul

I haven't gone to, or ordered from sephora in awhile. Like, a month. So I was feeling a little tinge of withdrawal and had to take care of that. I went online, a grabbed a few things.

First up- Stilla Lipglazes. I talked about them earlier, so I'm not going to go too much into them again, other than to tout the sales some more and to link swatches. Seriously, go get these sets. Eleven glazes for less than the price of two. How amazing is that?! And here are the swatches. You're gonna notice that there are only ten colors swatched, that's cause if you get both sets, you get grapefruit twice. but that's ok, cause it's an awesome color.

My arm smells AMAZING right now.

Second- This has been on my wishlist for awhile, but I just haven't gotten around to it till now. Nars Nail Polish in Orgasm All their other Orgasm products are amazing, so I've wanted to get the polish. Now I've got it and I can't wait to use it. It's such a beautiful color- a light pinky peach with gold shimmer... I can't wait to wear it. It's my first NARS nail polish, I'm hoping their formula is are great as the color.

I grabbed a couple more glosses as well. These two are from Philosophy.

Kiss Me SPF 20 This one I grabbed for the SPF. The color in the tube looks pretty crazy- a bright red/pink with a hint of purple.

Melon Daiquiri This one.... it just sounded so yummy. In the tube it's a light pinky peach with some shimmer... I actually just held it up next to the orgasm polish, it's almost a match. On the skin... Not so much. You can see the shimmer, but there's no color. Upside, it smells amazing. Just like a melon.

Last up- I saw a ton of reviews, and videos and blogs about this, so I wanted to grab it and try it out for myself. Hourglass Film Noir Lash Laquer I have no idea is this stuff will be awesome or not. I'll post up a review once I try it.

...Such a long post. I'll try not to let it be so long next time. Also, when/if I get enough followers(50!) I'm going to put together a giveaway. Super excited!

Sephora Haul- Tarte True Blood

It has been so long since I last wrote- I am so sorry!

So this last friday I was down in San Diego and had the opportunity to go and hit up sephora. I had read about Tarte's True Blood products, but I wasn't sold enough to just grab them online. Well, I'll take that back. I knew I was going to get the eyeshadow palette. It's what- 17 shades for 50 dollars? I'm terrible as math, but that's really good, especially given the variety of shades in the box.

But I wasn't quite sure about the lip stain and the cheek stain. I swatched them both in the store and while I bought the lip stain, I had to leave the cheek stain behind. Granted- it was a beautiful color. But it was also just so, so, so glittery. Even the little tiny swatch on my hand there was so much glitter. It's just not something I would have ever used. Had there been no glitter I would have picked it up in a heartbeat. I don't have any tarte cheekstains, but I'm probably going to invest in one some day just because I liked the color of the swatch so much.

I don't have swatches of the colors yet because.... Well. I haven't done anything more than open the box. It's just so pretty I don't want to use them yet. It's like those deserts that are so beautiful you can barely bring yourself to eat them. I feel the same about this palette. It's absolutely gorgeous. There's all the shadows on the top with a decent sized mirror, and then a little slide out drawer on the bottom. A note about the drawer: It has a little red plastic piece in there holding the liner, mascara, and primer in place, but you can remove that red piece, and toss more stuff in that little drawer. I actually put the lip stain in there to keep the whole collection together.

I did mention that I decided to buy the lipstain. I only have one or two other lipstains, one even by tarte, and I just haven't been impressed by them. But the color of the swatch was really nice in the store, so I decided to buy it and give them another shot. I haven't used it enough yet to give a good review.

I'll try to get swatches and pictures up later this week.

Elchim 2001

I'm considering biting the bullet and getting a high quality dryer- the Elchim 2001 Professional hair Dryer. I've always gotten cheap $20.00 ones from walmart and have never enjoyed drying my hair because it never comes out good. I just can't seem to achieve salon results at home. But, I've been reading about that dryer, and it seems that this is one of the times where quality will give results more so than technique. When my stylist does my hair, it's all silky smooth and soft, and the movement of my hair is great, with no snags or tangles. My technique is pretty damned close to what my stylist does, and I always end up... fuzzy.

So does anyone have that dryer already? Is it worth all the hype?

NARS Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment Review

This is just a quick review of NARS Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment- I've only been using this for a few days. So far, I love it. It has spf 15 which is awesome in summer! Also- it doesn't feel like lipstick. I'm not to hot on the feeling that most lipsticks have- the feeling of stuff on the lips. But this I can tolerate- it's a little dryer than a chapstick, and feels thinner on the lips as well. It seems to be softening my lips as well. It gives only a very sheer wash of color, making it ideal for a workplace that only tolerates light use of makeup. The color can be built up, but the max amount of color is only going to make your lips appear bitten- you're not going to get a Ton of color from it. The product doesn't seem to accentuate any cracks, which is also nice.
So far, I'm loving it, and will probably use the whole tube and repurchase. The color selection isn't great, but again- this product isn't really about the color, it's about the spf.

Sephora Haul

I went shopping!!! Yay! I originally wanted to get stuff from both Sephora and MAC, but when I went to MAC, I wasn't impressed enough by my swatches to want to spend money. I mean, I kinda wanted to buy some stuff, but not enough.

But I did buy a bunch of stuff from Sephora. I'm super excited about everything, and can't wait to get some reviews up.

First up: Coach Poppy. I got a pamphlet from Sephora a couple months back that had a bunch of samples in it, and poppy was one of them. I fell in love right away. It was just amazing. And I finally got it! So excited to wear it.

Second: Nail Polish. I saw Sephora's thing with the cherry blossom nails and they were so pretty, I wanted to try it. I ended up getting five colors: What's a Tire Jack?(black) Havana Dreams(a pretty baby blue) Techno Girl(a darkish bright pink) and then Dear Diary and A True Romantic. Those last two and really close to being the same color: They're both really light nudes. Dear Diary has a slight peach hue, and A True Romantic has a pink hue. I'll talk more about these polishes later.

To go with the nail polishes, I grabbed a brush- #17. It's a pointed liner brush.

Third: NARS Peer Sheer SPF Lip Treatment in Angelique. I've always been looking for a perfect summer lippie. Something smoothe, light with a pop of color, and with SPF.

Last: Urban Decay Cannonball mascara. During winter, I wear Maybelline's Full N Soft. It's great. But... During the summer, I kinda always end up with a little under the eyes. So when I saw all the hooplah about the Cannonball mascara, I thought I'd give it a shot.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok. More about the nail polish. I was a little bit disappointed. I have a few other sephora nail polishes, and they all worked great. All five of these, however, were a bit watery. The formula was very thin and difficult to work with. I got it to work, but it wasn't as easy as I'd like. I managed to use almost all the colors I got, except Dear Diary, and got the result at the left. I'll be writing a guide on it later.


(Sorry my feet look a little weird. My camera is just terrible.)

July Birchbox

I've been getting birchboxes for a few months now. I initially considered doing video's.... but I don't have the equipment and I'm not particularly photogenic. So instead, I'm going to write mine up with pictures and links and initial impressions of the products.

For those who don't know- Birchbox is amazing. What they do is send you a box full of deluxe sized samples for a mere $10.00 a month. You subscribe, fill out a beauty profile and wait for your boxes. It's a flat $10.00, no shipping/handling fee's tacked on top of it. In the beauty profile, you list things that you like, categories of products that you're interested that determine what you receive. And the samples? They're not itty bitty little things. These are deluxe samples, and more often than not, the samples received in the Birchboxes outvalue the subscription fee. More than once, I've gotten a "sample" which is actually a full sized product.
Birchbox is more than a subscription, though. On their website, they sell full sized versions of all the products in the birchboxes.
If you're not yet a Birchbox member, you should really check them out and consider joining. It's a great program.

Ok! So my July Birchbox. I am so excited about it. I think this is the birchbox I've been the most thrilled to receive so far. I got a bunch of stuff that I know I'll be using, without a doubt. This months birchbox was put together by Cynthia Rowley. She shares a bunch of her favorite products with this box. Below I'm gonna list the items as they appear on the birchbox card, with their descriptions, and then make comments of my own.

• AHAVA Mineral Hand Cream - Loaded with Dead Sea minerals, this fast-absorbing cream heals dry hands without a smidge of residue.

This product I think I am the most excited about. I've been seeing a lot of beauty gurus raving about it, but just hadn't gotten around to buying it. Well! Now I have a sample of it that is 0.58fl.oz and I am loving it. It was the first item I grabbed from the box, I tried it right away, and I am loving it. It comes out the tube a bit thick, but to smooths down and spreads out so quickly. It sinks into the skin, leaving them super soft and moisturized. I know the description says no residue, but I did find that there was.. not really residue,  not really a film, but there was something left on the hands for a few minutes. It kind of made my hands a little shiney, but that faded really fast. It smells a bit like baby powder, but a slightly floral baby powder. Not unpleasant, not overpowering. It's not really my smell(I prefer fruity) but it's really subtle, so I don't mind it.
This cream immediately replaced the lotion I had in my pocket, and I'll probably be buying a fullsize when this runs out, which will take awhile, because I only need to use the littlest amount.

• philosophy purity made simple one-step facial clenser - This perennial award-winner is pH-balanced to gently clear away dirt, oil, and makeup without drying out skin.

This sample I wasn't so excited about. I already have a sample of it from sephora. It didn't work with my skin and ended up breaking me out. Not saying it's a bad product, just didn't work for me.

• Redken shine flash 02 - A must for all Cynthia's runway shows, this weighless spray gives hair a brilliant finish.

I haven't used this yet, so nothing to say here.

• Zoya Touch Collection Nail Polish in Shay - Neutral gets a sexy makeover in this creamy, slightly metallic nude. Perfect accessory to summer's bright fashions.

I've been hearing about zoya for awhile, but didn't have any of them in my polish collection. Now I do! This color is really pretty, and described really accurately as a creamy, slightly metallic nude. I did try it on one nail and it went on really smooth. Can't wait to wear it. The only thing I'm wistful about with this, is I was hoping for a nice wide, flat brush, like opi does. I just love those brushes. This brush was normal though.

• KIND Almost & Apricot - Snack right with this wholesome bar- no preservatives or hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

I've had bars by this brand before and they're pretty decent. It's not your average "this is stuff thats been run through a blender and squished into a bar shape" type of bar. This bar is essentially ingredients -nuts, berries, grains- stuck together with... I dunno. Something sticky. Honey, I think. It's like trail mix in a bar shape. It's all very simple, and very tasty. A good snack to have around.

And that's my July Birchbox! If you got a birchbox and blogged or video'd it, go ahead and link it below.

St Tropez Review Update

A first/second time use impression wasn't adequate.

Granted- the first couple uses it's great. But! The third time I used the moussse... I kinda turned orange. Ish. It's not a good look. It looks good inside, and under shade, but in direct sunlight, you see orange. Makes me /sadface a bit. Ah well.

Bear in mind, that's not necessarily the result everyone will have. I'm exceptionally pale white, it'll most likely turn up differently on somebody who already has an actual tan.

Stripper to Go review(june birchbox)

Just a quick review of one of the products I got in my June Birchbox:

Stripper to Go - These are nice little travel nail polish remover mitts. It pretty much looks like a uhm... a little oven mitt, but without the thumb.  Or a tiny little tanning applicator mitt. It's about one and a half to two inches long, and you can put your finger in it, and twist your finger around to remove the polish. When you open it up, the little mitt is in there and it's pretty much soaked with remover. The remover smells like lavender, which is nice.

So I pulled the mitt out, and used it to remove my polish. I had two coats of color, one silver shatter, and a clear coat. The first hand, it did fantastical. The second hand on the first few fingers, it started to slack off. The last couple fingers? I dunno, the mitt seemed to have dried out a bit and it wasn't as effective. BUT! I was able to stick it back in the little packet and pick up more remover that had been left in there, and that cleaned up the last few fingers no problem.

I think that it dried out kinda quick because of the shatter. I think that any glitter or larger particles are going to demand more of the remover, and use up the mitt faster. I think that having normal polish on would get the mitt to last longer.

Ordering these- you get 6 mitts for 12 dollars. Each mitt is a one use thing, so 2 dollars for one use... is a bit expensive. That said, if you're really limited on space when traveling, but you Know that you'll be redoing your polish a lot, then go ahead and get these. They do what they say they will and that's all that really matters. But, if your space isn't limited, or you're not going to be redoing your polish, then don't bother.

St Tropez Review and Lotion Vs. Mousse

A couple weeks ago I caved and purchased a couple things from StTropez: Their gradual tan lotion, and their self tan mousse. This is just gonna be a review, and then a comparison of those two products.

Review
Overall, St Tropez is going to come in at the very top of all the sunless tanning products that I've used. In general, I've only used drugstore products, and I've tried them all. Maybe not literally, but it feels like it. All my drugstore attempts to self tan have turned me... orange. Orangey, orangish, whatever. I was always tinted an orange color. Some of them left me crazy streaky as well, but overall, they all left me orange.

St Tropez has an AMAZING color! It's a lovely brown color. Not muddy brown, but a very nice golden brown that makes it look like your skin is naturally tanned. I'm normally pasty white, and both products gave me a nice amount of color, and looked natural. And it's not even close to orange.

The smell.... Ok, I know that St Tropez is all "we have aroma guard! you can't smell the fake tan smell!" Well, I can smell it. If you're not overly sensitive, you'll probably just notice the light floral scent of the product. If you're sensitive, you're gonna smell it. In general, because of the smell, I would only recommend applying before sleep. I wouldn't wear either of these out.

Lasting power. They both last a few days, but obviously require upkeep as your skin sheds.

Buy again? omg, YES! These products might be more expensive than the drugstore brands, but the amazingly natural color makes it totally worth it. I personally prefer the mousse, but will use the lotion on lazy days.

Lotion vs. Mousse
Ok, I was going to do a side by side comparison, but I can't figure out how to do columns. Whatever. Anyways:

Everyday Gradual Tan for Body:
The lotion was incredibly easy to apply. You put some in your hands, smooth it around, wash your hands, and you're done. However, there was no color guide, so completely even coverage involved a bit of guesswork, and I kinda messed it up on day one. The color payoff is really good, so any errors are noticeable. But, the second day, I applied another coat, and that pretty much evened out any errors on the first day. The lotion left my skin "sticky" feeling for quite awhile- I wasn't able to get dressed for quite awhile, and certainly not right after application. Day one application left some definite color, without being too severe.
One thing with lotion is that it's difficult to do the tricky spots- wrists, backs of hands, ankles and feet. I always end up overdoing those places, and my wrists always look terrible with horribly obvious lines. This lotion wasn't any different.
Overall: It's good, and it's easy, it has good color payoff. Would be awesome with a color guide. Fades weirdly.

Self Tan Bronzing Mousse:
This is more difficult to apply. You'll *need* a application mitt. Applying involves wearing the mitt, putting the product on it, and rubbing onto the body bit by bit. You can't do whole limbs at once, you can only do small sections. However, it has a color guide, which ensures even application, no streaking, and makes difficult places much easier. This product dries really fast! I was able to get dressed in less than 5 minutes after application. And, with the color guide, you can go out immediately with great color(if you don't mind the previously mentioned smell) When I rinsed off the color guide, the end color payoff wasn't as dark as the lotion. It's still there, but it's more subtle. I'm sure more applications would darken it up. (I only did one before this review)
Overall: It's harder to apply and takes longer, but the more even results are worth it. Fades normally.

I'm UGLY (Response)

Ok, I wasn't actually tagged with this and I'm not sure it's a tag, but I saw the video, and I've been thinking about it(a lot) and I wanted to write a response to it.

I watch a beauty guru on youtube- meganheartsmakeup. I've watched her for awhile and even though she's really young, she is a genius and I learn a ton from her. She also has a vlog channel and I think her sister has a couple channels as well. So when I saw this video from her, I was shocked because I haven't seen any comments like the ones she says she gets(but I don't really read through all the comments anyways)... I think I was more blindsided than shocked. Anyways, here's the video: I'm UGLY.

So. To make everything short and simple: haters are gonna hate. It's what they do and asking them to stop... Well, it will *Never* work. ever.

Alrighty, now that that's done, I'll move onto the long version.
I grew up with haters, I think that there are haters in pretty much everyones life. Every unpopular kid feels like everyone's hating on them, but the popular kids also have haters. If you've got it all, if you don't have anything, if you're ugly, if you're beautiful, if your rich or if your poor. There is always going to be somebody who hates. Even as an adult, I know they're still out there.
My haters... I can't even remember what they hated on me for. I think it was cause I was short and skinny. I also had really pale skin. And after a nice little experience in cheerleading, I became much more selective about who I hung out with and considered friends. Anyways, I had my haters.

Part of growing up for me was realizing that there was absolutely nothing I could do about those haters. I think that realizing was a huge step, and something everyone with haters needs. When I stopped trying to "fight" them, as it were: stopped caring about whatever they said, stopped worrying about what aspect of my appearance they didn't "approve" of, I gained a whole new perspective. When I stopped putting so much energy into the haters, I discovered a freedom I didn't have before and in a sense, found my identity. I was able to do what I wanted, and love myself for it and because of it. Being free of the haters has given me the confidence to really being able to do anything that I want. I can take whatever it is the haters don't like about me, and turn it around into a reason that I'm awesome.

To make this kindof like hers, turning the negative into positive, Imma add this little bit at the end:
Short --> Petite. Granted, it make getting stuff off the top shelf a bit exciting, but being short means I get to rock great heels and not have to worry about being tall than my date.
Skinny --> Thin. There are people who pay thousands and thousands of dollars to look like they have the metabolism that I was blessed with.
Pale --> Creamy. Ok, Yeah, I just bought some self tanning stuff to experiment with. But still, nothing wrong with having pale skin. Plus, with all the vampy movies and tv shows that are so hot, my skin is the new Tan. My skin is so in.
Bitch --> Strong. Yes, I am. I do my job, I do it fantastically, and I don't get messed with. I can handle myself on my own time, and I certainly carry myself in such a way that I am not a target for any shenanigans.
I'm UGLY -> I AM AWESOME!


(omg, I just now realized this is crazy long) Anyways, if you feel like it, go ahead and tell me about your haters, and why you're awesome.

Moroccan Oil

I was on a really big LUSH kick a couple months ago. Their products just smell so amazing, and leave everything so soft and silky, it's just amazing. Amazing. I was so thrilled with their shampoo, conditioner, bombs, soaps, everything.

Well, now I'm on a Moroccan Oil kick. Their products... wow. I first discovered Moroccan oil through amarixe's youtube channel. I watched her hair repair video and tried out the deep conditioning mask and the Moroccan oil for hair. Love em both. Probably very close to the top of my "best purchase ever" list. The mask is just so luxurious, it makes my hair feel like silk. The oil, as a daily thing, is perfect. It's lightweight, smoothes hair, smells amazing. I'll be doing reviews on both those products soon. On sat, I purchased the shampoo and conditioner when I got my hair done. I've only used them once so far, but am pleased with the results.

I'm definitely going to be doing reviews on a bunch of these products, and may be purchasing even more.

Got some Feathers

Friday was.... a horrible day for me. I was originally going to wait until next weekend to go and get my hair done, but after Friday, I needed some pampering. So I called up the place I made my appointment, and the stylist had time for me so I changed my appointment.

I went in, got my hair redyed, with a lot of highlights so I can lighten up the color, since I my color was... close-ish to black. I grabbed a trim, too, just to get rid of any hint of split ends. I didn't really have a lot, because I almost never use any heat with my hair. After all that, I went and started looking at feathers. They didn't have too hot of a selection, but it was good enough. Rather, they had a good selection, but with me being in the military, they didn't really have a good selection of subtle colors. They also didn't have a lot of the grizzle feathers. They had plenty in crazy bright colors, but nothing that I could get.

Oh! Crazy story! So while I was choosing my feathers, I was at the mirror "trying on" a couple different ones, when these try girls came in and bumrushed the feathers laid out on the table, and then tried to snatch the few I had set aside to get(cause they were soooo awesome!) Thankfully, my stylist saw their attempt to ninja my feathers and grabbed them up real quick, telling the girls they were reserved. I ended up with an orangey-red with a solid black line down the center, and a darkened edge, a dark red and black grizzle, and a bright red and black grizzle.

Once I had picked my feathers, my stylist told me about how they would lay on different sides of my face, and the differences between having them forward and having them back and when I picked a spot (part side of my head, about a finger length back from my hairline and three fingers above my temple) and we put em in. They lay nicely, blend well, and if I want them to show more, all I have to do is find the clamp, follow it down with my fingers to get the feathers, and pull the feathers forward.

Feather hair Extensions

I'm not normally one to jump on a bandwagon, but I think I'm gonna at least try these out. Even though work doesn't permit, I think that if I get some muted colors, and place them well, that I'll be able to have them completely hidden while at work, and then style them to show when I'm not at work.
I put myself on a waiting list on one website... Might just grab some from amazon, but I want to make sure to get some good quality feathers.

If anyone already has them- what's your feedback? Also- where did you get them?

Express Crisscross Bra Top (Katherine Pierce)

So in the episode Klaus of The Vampire Diaries, Katherine is wearing this really awesome top- it's this blue color with really thick straps on the front, and like... crossed thin straps on the back. It has a little bit of rouching(sp?) on the sides of the breast, and a squareish neckline. Anyways. My description isn't too hot, but the top is Super cute!

I ordered one in medium and that turned out to be way too big. I even washed it to see if it would shrink. It didn't. So I sent it back, and got a small one instead, and it arrived yesterday. It fits amazing. It's nice and snug where it matters, and loose where it doesn't. The built in bra fits good and holds the girls up. The neckline is kinda square, with a hint of a sweetheart going on. All in all, it's awesome and I can't wait to wear it.

Oh, and I got two colors, not just the one she wears. I got the blue, and I got the purple because that people is just so pretty.

Here's the link for it!

Sephora Haul and Initial Impressions

So I made an order from Sephora and it arrived today. I'm gonna run through the stuff I got real quick and give my straight out the box impression. Bear in mind I haven't actually used any of them yet, this is just packaging, smell, and maybe swatch tests.

Body Shop Body Butter Collection - This is a little set of four of their scents: Mango, coconut, shea, and satsuma. I had gotten a pretty good sized sample of the mango and I loved it. I wanted a tub of the mango, and to try some more of their scents, so I ordered the set. They're all packaged cute, with a little bow and whatnot. I opened all of them and sniffed them. The mango, the one I got the sample of, smells aaahhhhh-maaa-zing! So good! It literally smells like mangos. The coconut one, smells like coconut. Shea smells kinda like..... baby powder. The satsuma smells very... tart. Honestly, it smells a little sour. Not the tart kind of sour, the "this is rotting" kind of sour. I suppose it is possible that I got one from a bad batch, but I will never order it again, and will probably never use the pot that I do have. The others are all good, though.

Sephora Collection Sugar Scrub - I needed a scrub to use before the St Tropez stuff I got. I grabbed a basic one because I didn't need anything fancy. I gotta say, this stuff smells amazing. Sweet, tart, and juicy. Like.... a sweetened grapefruit. Can't wait to try it out.

St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse - I chose this one because it had some of the best reviews. I also saw a youtube video showing this stuff in use and it seemed pretty good. I like that it has the color guide in it- that'll make it pretty fool proof. Hopefully.

St Tropez Gradual Tan Everyday Body Moisturizer - I grabbed this for in-between days, and days I didn't want to use the mousse.

St Tropez Tan applicator mitt - uhm. I was kinda expecting a bit more for $6. It's essentially a 1/8 inch piece of foam with a thin piece of mesh on the back. It's not even sewn on there. It's like it was heated so it would melt on.
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I'll be using the St Tropez items over the next week- I'll let you all know how it goes!

OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Polish Collection

I initially found the PotC because there was an advertisement in my cosmo. Once I saw it, I knew I had to have it. My polish collection at the time had zero pastels, now it has six, and two shatters!

Without Flash

With Flash

First color, from left to right:

Skull and Glossbones. This is a really interesting white nude color. It looks like newspaper, and I plan to use it to try out newspaper nails.

Steady as She Rose. The magazine advertisement showed this color as a light pink. It's not as pink as all that. As you can see in the pictures, it's a very very light pink, with a lot of murky white in it. It's almost a grey with very light dusty pink in it.

Sparrow Me the Drama. This color came out pretty true to the advertisement color. It's a darker pink with a little bit of a dustiness to it.

Planks a Lot. This color is darker than the advertisement shows, but is still a gorgeous purple shade.

Stranger Tides. I'm not too hot on this color. It's a very murky dusty, dull green/yellow.

Mermaid's Tears. This color is just gorgeous. It's a bright dusty green. It's not as pastel as is shown in the advertisement, but it's still amazing.

Silver and Black shatters.



Ok, So when I got the polishes, I spent FOREVER deciding which one to use first, and went with Planks a Lot, the purple shade. I like it- a lot. The polish is smooth, easy to apply, dries fairly quick, and is just gorgeous.
I topped the purple with the silver shatter. I'm not sure how I feel about the silver shatter. It's really, really pretty, but with these dusty pastel shades, it seems like the silver just covers them up, rather than letting them pop.

Without Flash

With Flash

Ok, forgetting that the camera on my phone is pretty terrible, I just don't think the silver provides enough contrast for the colors in the collection to show through. They seem much better with the black.