Zomg, it's a Post!

Hey blog readers, another update from yours truly!  I know I said I would be back around March, after the craziness of the wedding, but things have been quite hectic around here!  First off, lemme tell ya...the wedding was exactly how I imagined it, and I had such an awesome time!  Thanks to everyone who came!  The reception was crazy, but we managed to scramble by, and we're glad that everything is over and we can move on with our lives!!

Look at the guys in the picture...it's like they're scared to stand closer together!!  But you can tell all the women are good friends...we're all nice and close...hehehe.

So anyhoo, after we got married, I had to move into his place (I have traditional parents who would have frowned upon moving in earlier....), and that took a lot of time and energy.  Technically, I still have a bunch of stuff at my parents' house, but I'll work on that when I start to feel better, lol.  Feel better from what, you ask?  When this stupid morning sickness ends!!  Yes, I'm pregnant...ALREADY.  The curse of marriage is that birth control seems to fail when you finally say "I Do"...as can be attested by a couple other friends of mine who also got a surprise wedding baby.  So now most of my days are spent in bed, feeling nauseous, and disliking a lot of food I normally love.  Like Coke...and onions.  And this baby who used to love ice cream everyday, decided that he doesn't want ice cream anymore..he wants popsicles.  *Sigh*

Anyhoo, here's a pic of what my final decision was for Valentine's day.  I keep using this design, but it's just so pretty!  In case you're new, this design was inspired by 3TanjaJ3's New Year Eve's look.  I've worn this 3 times now: NYE, Engagement Pics, and now the Wedding/Valentine's Day.  I'll probably keep sporting this in different color combinations later on.

For the reception, I just had a plain french manicure.  I got my nails done at the place I used to go before I got into my nail design kick.  They did a pretty decent job, but I didn't bother getting any designs.  At this point, I was just really stressed out with all the wedding planning, and I just wanted an hour to just not think.  My mom got annoyed at me because she spent an extra $2 for the spa pedicure for me.  Hehehe, I couldn't resist.  Come on!  I was about to get married!  Wait, no...I was about to spend a stressful day...doing all the traditional stuff.  Tea ceremony and what-not, the pictures, then the traditional Chinese reception.  Of which, I ate like 2 bites of food in between changing twice and having lots of stuff to do.  At least I got to try the cake...

Well, anyhoo, I mention this because a week after I got my nails done, about....8 of them broke.  I have no idea what they used at the nail place, but my nails obviously did not like them!!  However, with my baby hormones, I have regrown most of my nails...just my pointer fingers both keep on cracking.   =( Bleh!  Maybe in another month they'll all be even again, lol.  So that's one reason I haven't been making videos or blogging.  Although I did get a request for a short nail look...

The other reason I haven't really done any looks is because I really can't stand the smell of nail polish remover right now...so, in the interim, I've decided to grab my fake fingers and do some looks on there for now.  They're still at my parents' house...along with the majority of my nail polish collection.  Maybe I should keep doing the videos there...the lighting is definitely better...plus like 75% of my stuff is there, hehe.

Here's a quick swatch of Zoya's Midori.  It was one of the free polishes from Black Friday.  I haven't had a chance to wear this till right before the wedding.  I can tell because my nails still look beautiful and long, lol.

The color looks pretty close to what's in the bottle.  It has a sheen, but I still prefer it with a top coat.  (This is pictured without a top coat.)

I believe this stayed on for about 5 days before chipping.  But keep in mind, I didn't use the Zoya base coat or top coat.  Supposedly, using their whole system, your polish should last for about 10 days.  I vaguely remember trying to test this, but I got bored of my color and changed it before it chipped, lol.

Here's a couple pictures of me trying out the nail polish from Claire's Accessories  I read on someone's blog (sorry I can't remember who!!) that they tried this "mood nail polish" from Claire's Accessories, so I (of course) ran to the mall to pick some up.  Here's one of the more dramatic ones.  Pictured to the left is how it looks when you're cold...it's a greyish color.  And pictured to the right is how it looks when you're hot, which is a peachy color.  If you're in cool weather, it looks really awesome...like a french manicure. =)  You can kinda see it on my thumb in the hot pictures.

I know it says "mood" nail polish, but I have no clue what mood would be cold or hot. LOL  As for the nail polish itself, it's not too great.  I wore it with Nailtek and Seche Vite.  Without Seche Vite, it would've been pretty much a matte nail polish.  But, even with everything, the nail polish chipped really easily!  I probably wore it for 3 days tops.  During my avoidance of nail polish remover, I actually noticed that 2 of the nails lasted for 10 days, so it does have potential.

I'll try to keep up with the designs soon.  I'm at 12 weeks, so the morning sickness should be subsiding any day now....

And here's a quick look at my wedding makeup:

I hired this makeup company called Susie Chhuor, and had my makeup done by Sunny.  She had such an awesome upbeat personality, and she did my makeup beautifully!  I was extremely happy with it.  (I do have a before and after pic...but I don't like how I look without makeup! All those dark circles...)

This is pretty close to how I had my hair on the actual day...though you can't really see in the first picture.  I love getting my hair and makeup done!  What girly-girl doesn't? =)

So, yup....this was a super long blog...which is what happens when I disappear for so long!  Take care, and I promise to have another post soon!

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 blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Where in the world is....

Hahaha, yup.  Where in the world is Emerald!!!  Well, as I may have mentioned in a previous blog or two...I'm getting married this month.  I've been so crazy busy with planning, that I haven't really had a chance to blog or make videos =( BOOOO!  So I figured I would take this chance to explain my long absence, and to tell y'all that I SHALL RETURN!....Soon....like in 4 weeks....or so....lol.

In the meantime, here are some random looks I've sported the last month....AND, some might even be cute for Valentine's day! =)

Pink French tip, with a pink glitter polish on just the tip. Plus a white flower and dots, with a purple rhinestone in the middle of each flower.

A Red French tip, with a pink glitter polish on just the tip.  Then a thin purple nail art strip in a cross shape, and a white pearl on the center of each cross.

A fading glitter french tip.  I started with the lightest color, closest to the smile line, and then faded to a darker color...and then to the darkest color, on just the very tip.

This was a fun design, but I had to put on about 4 layers of top coat to make it as smooth as it was going to get. =)

Yes, another french tip (I was totally in a frenchy mood this past month, huh? hehe).  I have a dark purple french tip, with a double cross design using white and gold.  Basically, I called this my laker's look....and of course, they won the night I did these, woot!  Since the lost today, and my nails were nakkid, I have learned my lesson and will make sure I have laker nails done up the next time they play a tough opponent! LOL




I know...I know...another french tip.  But this one is special.  One of my closes friends, Mimi, got this for me for my birthday.  It's OPI's Too Good for Him. =)  Basically, I did a french tip with a lavender nail polish, then put on about....3 coats of Too Good for Him.  One coat would've been fine for a light glitter effect, but I really wanted it to stand out.

Yes, this is my messily done right hand.  I accidently messed up the left hand because I handled some stuff w/o letting it dry.  Oops. =/

This is more of a swatch, although I did wear the nail polish out like this.  This is OPI's Alpine...a matte polish.  I was actually kinda disappointed in this polish.  I had to put on 3 coats to get almost even coverage (as shown to the right...).  I had hoped it would look like putting white out on your nails (like I used to do when I was a kid...teehee).  I suppose it's not bad....

Here's that same matte white, but with a red and pink double-cross design.  I had expected more..?  I didn't like the way it turned out.  Maybe I should've jused did a french tip >.< LOL.


As you can see, I have been trying out quite a few looks, trying to find the perfect valentine's day one (considering I'm getting married that day....lol).

I have lots more to do...but I just thought I'd use this 45 min break between obligations to blog, =).   Hopefully in about a month, I'll be back to blogging at least once a week!  Take care everyone, and have an AWESOME Valentine's Day!!

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 blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Omg, it's been awhile!

I'm soooo sorry I haven't been posting/uploading the last couple weeks.  I've just been super busy with everything!  Hopefully I can start posting once a week again once this whole wedding thing is done!

Last Sunday we took engagement pictures.  This look to the left is what I decided to do with my nails for them.  I thought a classic French Manicure was what I was going to do...but then I thought it looked a little....to simple for me.  So I spruced it up w/ an elegant black stripe and some glitter.  I ended up breaking a nail about....an hour before the shoot, but luckily I found the nail and was able to glue it back on.  And then an hour AFTER the shoot, I broke it again and I couldn't find it after that.  THANK goodness I had the nail for the pictures...I was seriously having a heart attack!

Here's a shot of my makeup.  Yes, I'm wearing a Lakers jersey, but that's not the main outfit for our engagement pictures, don't worry!  LOL!  I got my makeup done at M*A*C.  I told Tatianna that I wanted a fresh, dewy finish, with natural eyes.  It's really tough to see the eye makeup in this picture, but I can attest that it was done perfectly.  I don't know why my nose looks ginormous in this picture (cuz seriously, I have a cute little nose! hehe), but the rest of my makeup is fun and fresh.  The only thing that I had concerns about was that I don't usually wear a color this dark...I always go one shade lighter.  I think it's an asian thing, lol.  I also got some cute falsies that look natural.  Well, at least I hope they look natural.  LOL

I won't be seeing the pictures for a bit, but I'm totally excited to see how the rest turned out!!!  Here's a random shot of my hair....I hope it didn't randomly part like that in the middle for the shots!  I decided against wearing my long extensions because I had a look in mind where my hair was about the perfect length.  Unfortunately I didn't take into account how short my bangs were.  So the stylist had to adjust the front...and while it looked nice in the end, it wasn't exactly what I wanted.  However, my hubby-to-be was totally awesome and said that my hair looked very Rihanna-ish.  That made me feel so much better!  Plus I got so many compliments on my hair (and makeup) while getting my makeup done.  I was like..I wish I could take credit, lol.

When I get some free time, I do have one quick & easy nail design, plus I totally should do some swatches!  A new beauty supply store opened up near me, so I totally will have to check it out!!! =)

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 blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Happy New Year!

Wow...where did this week go?  In fact, where did this year go?  I can't believe it's officially 2010!!!

I've entered 1 contest since my last blog.  Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_7_4w2GmM .  KawaiiNails held a contest for "Pink & Silver Love".  I entered it w/ this look.  I'm not sure if you can tell, but if you put the two fingers together, it's supposed to make a heart.  Yes, I know...I'm dorky, but I still like the look i came up with!!!

I also played around with some NYE looks, and I stayed with the black and silver one, even though my outfit was more black and gold.  I just didn't have enough gold polish to do the same look.  Plus I think it looks awesome in Black & Silver!!!

The black & gold look is basically a black asymmetrical french arrow tip, topped with a gold glitter polish (on just the tip), and then gold rhinestones along the border.  The black and silver look actually came from 3TanjaJ3's Golden Glam look.  Hers is gold and white, inspired by champagne, which I think is totally awesome.  Here's a link to my video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF-hc34xaqA , and here's a link to 3TanjaJ3's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq835Pa1LzM .  She even commented back, saying she liked my color combo!  Hehehe, it's a good feeling!

On a side note, I did post a video of a Christmas look on YouTube.  It's just a simple look, but I'm sure if you changed the colors, you could wear it any time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovOfdjdn_C0



I included some other holiday looks I've sported through the Christmas season.  My goal this year is to keep up with making at least one video/blog post per week.  More, if possible, but I know it'll be crazy busy till March.  I also posted a snowboarding video...I know it's not beauty related, but snowboarding is like my favorite winter hobby!  You can check out my YouTube channel  (http://www.youtube.com/user/PrincessTea1) for this video if you're interested.  Just note that I'm still learning...and by no means an expert!!!

I hope everyone had an awesome NYE, and I can't wait to see how this year goes!

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 blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Merry Christmas!

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.

Swatches & Candy Cane Nails!

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.

Juicy Couture Nails!

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.