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Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 25, 2009


Yes, finally a free moment in my life to sit down and work on my YouTube channel and my blog!  As an update for you all, I actually won the Juicy Couture Nail Art Contest hosted by skyecolispeedo.   Hurray!  I'm so excited to see what I won.  I'm supposed to get Luxurious Bourghese Nail Lacquer Kit.  I checked it out on Google, and it's pretty pricey!  So I definitely will have to see how it is, and maybe do a mini-review.  =)  How fitting it is that my Juicy Couture inspired nails won a contest & my blog is called Juicy Nails & Makeup, right?  Lol, yes...I'm a dork.  


Anyhoo, so some of the latest stuff with me.  Of course, I have my latest swag!  Christmas present from my mom:  Juicy Couture Purse!  I LOVE it...it's like the perfect size...although it gets pretty heavy cuz I stuff it to death.  But still, it's awesome...doesn't my mom have great taste?  She got these for a really good deal @ the Juicy Couture outlet in State Line.  I think the original price is like almost $200, but she got it for $90.  Pretty awesome right?


I also got most of my stuff from the Holiday Gift Wrap in Vegas (from both MGM & Ceasar's).  I have my nifty new camera (the purse is taken with it...and isn't the quality amazing?  At least compared to my last camera!) and my Monster Beats by Dre headphones.  The sound quality is frickin awesome!!!!  I just love to listen to music with these!  Yes, I know..I have that dorky sticker on my camera still.  Just FYI, I've already taken it off.  The camera looks sooo much nicer without it!

The only thing that hasn't come in yet, is my new iPod Nano with video camera.  I ordered a purple one...and I should be getting it hopefully tomorrow or Monday.  These holidays kinda tweak the shipping schedule!  Totally can't wait for it to get here, so I can use my new headphones w/ it!



Now onto the beauty stuff!  I got this Kat Von D perfume solid ring.  It came with a little thing of Saint and one of Sinner.  I'm actually not that fond of Sinner...but I think it's growing on me, lol.  But I absolutely love Saint!  It's a nice light floral-ish smell.  And this ring is sooo cute, and totally her style.

I believe this is exclusive to Sephora, but I know people on eBay are selling it too.  I got this for $30 (+ tax), and I use it all the time.  Some people are getting it just for the ring, and some people don't like the ring, but like the solid.  I LOVE both!



I got a bunch of Essie nail polishes from Beauty Headquarters.  I'll just list them from left to right, top to bottom: Queen of Hearts (from the Judith Ripka collection, it's supposed to have real diamond dust in it!), Cherry Pop, Status Symbol, Tennis Corset, Secret Affair, Happily Ever After, Curtain Call, Ridge Filler, Apricot Cuticle Oil, and Matte About You (a matte top coat).

I actually haven't had a chance to try too many things out.  I used Cherry Pop as part of a holiday French Mani I did (will post pics soon!), and I have a swatch for Curtain Call.  The Ridge Filler Base Coat was pretty cool...I got a tiny bottle for just $1.  I think it works pretty well was a ridge filler, but I think I'll only use this if I'm covering the entire nail with an opaque polish.  Alone, the ridge filler has a nude tone to it, and I don't really like that part of it.  But, like I said, it actually does fill in ridges, so it's something I'll have to keep in mind.  I also have used the cuticle oil...it smells sooo good!  I keep it at work and just apply it once a day during a break or lunch.  I have noticed a difference in my nails since I started using a cuticle oil daily.  They feel stronger and don't curl in as much (yes, I'm bad...I don't drink water so my nails are all thirsty and curly in like crazy!).  Maybe another month or so of this and my nails will start looking fantastic (I hope!), lol.


And last, but not least...I got the Zoya polishes I ordered on Black Friday!  It actually came in two shipments, because some of the polishes were backordered.  I waited till everything came in so I could take a picture of it all together.

In the left picture, I have: Astra (which I love...but it's kinda hard to remove!), Midori, Veruschka (a matte polish), Suvi, Envy, Irene, and Tangy.  In the right picture, I have the holiday gift set which includes the nail polish remover, base coat, top coat, and drying drops.  As much as I love green (with a name like Emerald, how could I not? Lol), I didn't just randomly decide to buy 6 green nail polishes from a brand I've never tried before!  On Black Friday, if you had a coupon code, you could get these 6 lovely green colors for free w/ any order!  So I ordered Astra and the holiday gift set.  I figured I'd try Zoya properly, with its own base coat, top coat, and everything to see if it really lasts as long as they say.

I've only tried Astra, and I think it wears pretty nicely.  I don't recall how long it stayed nice and unchipped, though.  I'll have to try again and really test it out soon.

So yup, I had an awesome Christmas, and I hope all of you did too!  I think this blog is long enough with all the swatches and nail art, so I'm going to do that in the next one!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

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Swatches & Candy Cane Nails!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Hey everyone...I know, it's been forever!  I've just been super busy with wedding invitations.  I'm really tired, but I wanted to make a quick post so y'all know I'm alive!

To the left, I have essie's Strawberry Shortcake on.
  I think it's a cute spring-like color.


To the right, I have essie's Mint Apple Candy.  I'm actually a little disappointed with this color...it chipped easily, although it looks GREAT. Maybe next time I'll try it with an essie base coat and top coat.  I've used other essie nail polishes with NailTek for a base coat and  Seche Vite for a top coat and those lasted at least a week.  This was a fun, festive color. I'll be trying out the other two soon!

And lastly, I was watching my subscriptions last week, and came across a nail tutorial by easynails.  Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj28EJBJu0o .  Basically, it's a Candy Cane nail design, and let me tell you...she does it way better than me!  Here are some pictures of my first attempt!

As you can see, my lines are crooked, and my green is all over the place.

I've done a set on my mom, and I plan to try these again on myself in the very near future (xmas is next week...so it's gotta be soon!).

So yeah...expect a do over soon! LOL

In the holiday spirit of things, my mom actually got me a baby christmas tree.  (This was after my parents original no to the 5-6 footer I wanted).  So I ran to Kmart and bought a bunch of stuff to decorate it with.  It's kinda overdone, but I don't care...I love it!  It's my first xmas tree in about....15 years?  Maybe less....13 years probably.  Plus, it'll be the first time my parents have been home for xmas in awhile.


So here's a quick shot:

Cute, eh?

There are lights on it, but I'll have to wait to take a pic of that...I couldn't find an extension cord. =(

Expect my latest swag on my next post!  I have quite a few new goodies!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.
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Juicy Couture Nails!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Hey Everyone!  I just entered a contest thrown by Skyecolispeedo's Juicy Couture Inspired Nail Art Contest.  I had lots of fun making it, but I'm not sure how practical the look is.  I mean..it's only been 24 hours and I've lost about 4 rhinestones!  (I've replaced them of course, but still...!)

The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfFjpZx5cbc

The video:



Unfortunately I didn't have time to make a live video instead of a slideshow...the placement of the rhinestones might have been something worth recording, but oh well.  Hopefully next time!

My Left hand is the main hand....I am not talented enough to do much with my left hand (onto my right hand), so I kept it simple.




Well...I think they're cute, but I'm biased like that, LOL.

On a side note, I got my 88 palettes from Coastal Scents yesterday!  Soooo excited to try them out...

The top palette is the Ultra-Shimmer palette, and the bottom one is their regular one...mostly matte colors, but a few shimmers.

If you look closely you can see the difference...my mom thought they were the same palette at first, lol.

I wanted the matte one because I hardly have any matte shadows...and the I wanted the shimmer palette because I love wearing shimmer.  They were about $19 each, plus tax and shipping.

They arrived in PERFECT condition...(as you can see, lol), with no broken shadows.  That's one of my biggest fears of ordering eye shadows online!

I still want to do some makeup tutorials, but am feeling a little camera-shy.  I mean come on!  I don't even speak on camera!  I let my text titles do the talking for me!  LOL...

So yeah...I doubt I'll be doing any swatches, unless someone makes a request.  Ooh, that reminds me!  I got my first video request on YouTube!  Someone has asked me to do a video on how I take care of my nails to get them so long...not that I thin mine are particularly long...have you seen Love4Nails's nails???  They're frickin long and sooo healthy looking!  LOL  But yeah, I do have a regiment that I do...and I think it's working out pretty nicely.  I haven't broken another nail since I stopped using Tough Cookie. *Knocks on wood!*  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze that in this weekend somehow.  Maybe I should bring my camera to Vegas, hahahha.  I'll probably be chilling in the hotel room for a good amount of the evening anyway...

Don't think I'll be gambling, but cross your fingers for me to get all the electronic goodies I want from the big end of the year point shopping thing @ Ceasar's Palace.  I only want 3 things (that I know of!): an iPod Nano with video camera, a new digital camera (mine's breaking =*( ), and a Tiffany's charm bracelet.  I'm not being greedy, am I? LOL

Edit:  I totally forgot about the new FTC laws...so here's my disclaimer(?):

1. I bought everything product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.
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Black Friday/Saturday Haul

Sunday, November 29, 2009
Just like every hardcore shopper, I ADORE Black Friday! =)  Strangely enough, I've never really gotten into Cyber Monday though....lol.  So I wanted to show you all my cosmetic goodies.  Perhaps swatches to come later...there's just too many right now! LOL


Stop 1 - MAC:

5 Cool Capers Mini-Pigment Set:
  • Kitschmas
  • Reflects
  • Fuchsia
  • Deep Blue Green
  • Grape







5 Frisky Business Bright Mini Lipglass:

  • Beaute
  • Wonderstruck
  • Silly Girl
  • Pinkarat
  • Totally It







Other:
Dazzleglass: She-Zam
MAC 217 Brush





Stop 2 - Sephora:

Tarte Treasure Box Palette

  • 32 Eyeshadows
  • 4 Blushes
  • 2 Highlighters
  • 16 Lip Colors







Stop 3 - Nordstroms:
Nordstrom's Palette

  • 144 Eyeshadows
  • 12 Blushes





Stop 4 - Guess:

Kk, this isn't makeup, but I LOVE these earrings, and they were only $5.  LOL!




Stop 5 - Victoria's Secret

Wet/Dry Eyeshadows
  • Gold Rush
  • Flower Girl




Free Tote w/ $60 Purchase
  • Cherry Bomb Lip Gloss
  • .25 FL oz of Dream Angels Heavenly
  • Love Spell Body Mist
  • $10 off Coupon






Stop 6 - Beauty Headquarters

Nail Polish Rack
(I totally needed one!  My drawer was getting too full, and this just looks way better!)




Essie Nail Polish (only $2.75 ea!)

  • Calypso
  • Bungle Jungle
  • Flirt
  • Princess Pink
  • Chastity
  • China Doll
  • Strawberry Shortcake
  • Blanc


Essie Winter Mini-Set (only $7.25!)

  • Mint Candy Apple
  • Lollipop
  • Rock Candy
  • 3-Way Glaze







O*P*I Nail Polish (only $3.75!)

  • Alpine Snow (Matte)




Other:

  • Lint-Free Nail Wipes
  • 2mm Rhinestones
  • Triangle Rhinestones
  • Random Polymer Slices






Impressive, huh?  I also ordered a nail polish and a starter kit from Zoya so that I could get the 6 free green polishes they were giving away.  Will be reviewing that soon....the kit says that if you use it properly, the polish can last up to 10 days.  That sounds pretty awesome to me!

So that covers just the cosmetics.  On top of that, I also got (in case you were interested! lol):

  • 2 Jeans + 1 Dress from Express
  • 3 Pairs of Sweats + 1 Hoodie + 5 Panties from Victoria's Secret
  • 2 T-Shirts + 1 Hoodie from Aeropostale
  • 2 T-Shirts + 1 Hoodie + 2 Jeans from America Eagle
  • 1 Dressy Top from Guess
  • 2 Dresses + 1 Top from Macy*s

Crazy weekend!!!  But I can't wait to wear/try out all my goodies.  As you can see, the polish rack is already up, and I've already worn 1 shirt and 1 hoodie.  Woot!  Hope you all got some good deals as well!
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Entry to BognaW's Nail Art Contest

Saturday, November 28, 2009
Here's the video for my entry.  The theme was "French Glam" and I did this Korean-inspired look.

The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leZaDtAgi0Y

The Video:



I won't go into too much details, but...

What I Used:


NailTek (Basecoat)
Essie: Guadalupe Opal
Essie: Watermelon
O*P*I: Happy Anniversary!
Nail Star: Silver Glitter (Thin Brush)
Seche Vite (Topcoat)
White Pearl Nail Art
Pink Pearl Bows

What I Did:

1.  Basecoat

2.  One coat of Guadalupe Opal

3.  Watermelon Tips

4.  Happy Anniversary! Dots

5.  Another coat of Happy Anniversary! Dots, and add white pearls to the dots.

6.  Silver glitter along the border of the tip

7.  Top coat + Bow

Viola!

Afterwards I kinda decided that it could look better w/ the pearls/dots placed elsewhere.  I might try it again sometime soon, but for now...here's the look!
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Pure Ice: Wild Thing Review


I decided to check out this line from Walmart.  Pure Ice polishes are about $2 each.

The color is really nice and vivid, BUT...after I removed the polish from my fingers, they were stained bright green.  Even with a basecoat.

Soooo...let's just say I'll be only using this once every blue moon.

However, my nails did turn out pretty cute, and I got a few comments on them.  =)


I didn't do anything crazy....just made a little flower in the corner.

Here are the steps if you want them:
1. Basecoat

2. Two coats of Wild Thing

3. Five dots in a circle in dark blue (I used Nail Star)

4. One dot in white in the middle (it kind of mixed with the green, lol...that's what I get for being impatient)

5. Top coat

Done!

It could've been easily dressed up with rhinestones or whatnot, but I was going for a plain simple look. =)
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Inko86's Penguin Nail Art

Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Hey everyone!

So I saw this really cute video on YouTube by Inko86.  She entered this design into a contest for 3TanjaJ3's Christmas Nail Art Contest.  As you guys may know, I entered this contest as well.  I had a little Xmas ornament design.

Here's the link to Inko86's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7edwq5l8-s

And here's a picture of how my nails turned out!

I didn't judge my space properly, so I didn't have enough space to do the cute santa's hat.  And that blob looking thing on my ring finger is supposed to be an igloo.  But whatever!  I still thought it turned out pretty cute!
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Bday Present for my Bro

Monday, November 23, 2009

The present I ordered for my brother's birthday FINALLY came in from Japan. These figures are practically impossible to find here in the US, so I was very excited to give him something I knew he would love.

This is a Figma figurine called Drossel.  It's from Disney Japan.  =)  I actually prefer the other hair pieces, where it looks like pigtails, but whatever...my bro likes this one cuz they look like "headphones" or something.

Since it's a Figma, I think I'm going to get the stage sets for him as well, so we can start posing them and taking pictures.  It will be fun...I hope!

I pretty much caught up with all the blogs last week.  I think I have one more kinda holiday design, and that's it for now....

I need more free time to figure out what's next!  I have a couple makeup contests I want to enter...and I think they're closing soon, so I gotta hurry up.  But it's hard to come up with a unique, avant guarde kind of look, you know?  I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
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Two New Videos up on YouTube

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Hey all...I have two videos I just posted last night on YouTube.

The first one is about my first Franken-Polish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hojUrFcjTBw

*Edit: Embedding the videos! 11/28/09



The second one is about hime decorating of a photo stand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZTKLw0pQjM



They were both pretty fun to make.  The photo stand took forever to do, but I love the end product.  The polish was relatively easy to make, and I love the color I ended up with.

Enjoy!
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Polymer Clay Slices

Monday, November 16, 2009

Another recent purchase I just received in the mail yesterday were a couple polymer clay slices.  They are totally the rage in nail art right now, and of course I had to get into the action!

I bought two from Japan, and about 50 from Hong Kong (it was like $7 including shipping...couldn't resist!).  The ones from Japan arrived...the ones from HK will probably arrive...around Thanksgiving.  Damn that ship time for HK/China!

So here are the two canes I got:  a pink rose and a grey cat.  I used the rose ones on my mom.  They are really thick and uneven because I had a hard time slicing them.  But I've been practicing on some canes I made myself (silly cheesy stuff), and I think I'm getting the hang of it.


I put the cat slices on myself.  My brother had cut them for me, so they are a lot thinner.  They look almost like stickers.  When apply thin slices, they bend easily and are simple to mold to the shape of your nail.

I'm not sure what the point of having clay slices over stickers would be, but I have to say I'll be using these for awhile.  They are pretty sturdy, and probably don't fall apart as easily as a sticker would.

I've also ordered some pre-cut ones, and I know those will be thicker than I've been slicing right now.  I'll try them out and if I think they're too thick, I'll probably use them to decorate stuff instead.  I guess I'll have to wait and see!


What I Used:


NailTek (Basecoat)
essie: Watermelon
Seche Vite (Topcoat)
1.5mm Rhinestones
Cat Clay Cane
Rose Clay Cane

What I Did:

1.  Cut the cane into thin slices.  For my personal preference, the thinner the better!

2.  Basecoat

3.  Watermelon - I put two coats on my mom, but I only used one coat on myself.

4.  While Watermelon was still wet, I put the slices of the polymer on.

5.  I put a drop of Seche Vite wherever I wanted the rhinestone, and added a rhinestone.


6.  Top coat over everything.

7.  I tested out the essie Quick-e drops, and was very impressed.  Since I was going out, I didn't want to stress test them, but I think I will in the future.  I want to know how fast it really dries (it says seconds on the box, but I gave it closer to the minute mark), and if it really dries all layers like it says it does.  I've seen some drops that only dry the top layer, and stuff still smudges really easily.

But yeah, as you can see, one coat of essie gave really great coverage.  The 2nd coat was just to make it more solid.  I definitely want to go back and buy more essie polishes.  Unfortunately, Beauty HQ doesn't have that big of a selection, but I think I know a few colors I want to buy.  In general. most of the stuff there are older colors, which is why they could sell them at such a discount (probably!).  I'll probably look online/YouTube for some ideas for colors. =)
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China Glaze: Scarlet


I got this China Glaze: Scarlet polish.  I've used it before, in the LadyBug nails, but I had never used it as a regular polish.  So...before I ran to a birthday party, I tossed on a basecoat and two coats of Scarlet.

Without a topcoat, the polish got dull pretty quickly.  And the red is just soooo plain.  the way I had worn it, it barely lasted the night.

I suppose this is really disappointing because normally China Glaze polishes perform pretty well.  =(

I bought a couple more colors, but I had also gotten a bottle of essie, and I am waaaayyy more impressed with essie.  But more on that later!

Originally, I was planning to start up a China Glaze collection, but I think I might hold off on it for now.  I'm going to explore essie and O*P*I a bit more.  I have lots of Orly already, but I think I might get more....there's a couple colors I have my eye on....
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China Glaze: Golden Meringue




I kept saying I was going to do this haul blog thing, but I changed my mind.  I'll just try to keep up w/ new items as I get them (or in this case, show them).

One of my new polish purchases was this China Glaze color called Golden Meringue.  My mom had chosen it, but I don't think either of us like it as much as we thought we would.

The color is extremely sheer....I'm used to getting a more opaque color with 2 coats, but in the pictures, I have 3 coats and it's still looking really sheer.

To spruce it up, I added this random design...but you can see the design a lot better than you can see the color underneath. =(

What I Used:


NailTek (Basecoat)
China Glaze: Golden Meringue
Orly: Vixen
Art Club Nail Art Lacquer: Silver Glitter
Seche Vite (Top Coat)
Dotting Tool (Medium)


What I Did:

1. Base Coat


2. 3 Coats of Golden Meringue


3. Using the Silver Glitter, make two stripes in a diagonal, parting in the middle.


4. Using the Dotting Tool and Vixen, make 6 dots, 3 up top and 3 on the bottom, going from big to smaller as you get closer to the middle of the nail.


5. Top Coat, and you're done!


It was a really easy and simple design. We weren't exactly thrilled with it, but I just needed to do something really fast before my mom dashed out and about.


I did this look last week, and I'll be posting this week's in a few min (I think!).