Kaviar Mani

Hi Everyone! Yes yes, I know...I have that 31 Day Challenge hanging over my head....but I couldn't help it.  I've been craving to try this since I got my weekly email from Sephora.  No...this is not the Ciate Caviar Manicure Kit.  This is just some plain old (okay, like an FX) polish, and some microbeads I had bought a couple years back.  In fact, I've used them in my Summer Flower mani.  Of course, I didn't cover the entire nail, but still...microbeads are not a new thing in the nail world.  It's just now been made mainstream!  And, as with all other random nail fads, I wanted to check it out. =)

So...I've been hounding my local Sephora, and they haven't gotten the Ciate kit in...they're telling me it will be next week, but we'll see.  Online, it shows that they're the only local store to have it in stock!  Don't you get the feeling that the employees are hiding them for themselves...?  Just a suspicion, hnahaha.

Anyhoo, so in the meantime, I decided to bust out my old microbeads.  I think the whole set of 8 colors was maybe $5 or $6.  Obviously this is significantly less than the Ciate version, but (judging from the picture) you get more beads with Ciate?  I guess I'll find out when I eventually get it...if I get it...I'm sure I want it...must justify....nevermind.  I'll argue with myself later, lol.

Okay, so, here in these pics, I'm wearing Orly's Out of this World (an FX polish).  It's a purple-ish green-ish base with purple shimmer. I think it's a pretty cool color, although not entirely work appropriate!  But then again, that hasn't stopped me...I shall desist only when asked.  =)

I don't even remember where I got my beads from, but it came with a bunch of colors.  Basically I just put on 3 coats of Out of this World to make sure the beads have something to stick to, then dropped and pressed on the blue beads.  After I put away the blue beads, I added purple beads to give it another dimension.

The main problem I faced was that the nail polish dried too quickly to get all the beads stuck on well.  I would have to keep adding more beads to the nail and push them in (like 4-5 beads @ a time after the main bunch).  After, getting all the beads on, my next problem was with the top coat.  I used Seche Vite.  On my left hand, I glopped it on, to make sure the beads would stick.  However, it looks kinda weird.  I know the pic is semi-blurry, but you can see how the beads almost look like their in a gel or something?  Where as the pic above, you can clearly see each bead.  Yeah...which was the look I was going for...

So on my right hand I just used a thin layer of top coat, and was able to get the look I wanted...however, beads are falling out at an alarming rate.  I'm missing more than 11...which isn't too noticeable from a normal glancing distance, but annoying to me, because I can see where they're missing.  Grrr...

So....basically I'm planning to try the Ciate kit, and compare to this cheaper method.  Supposedly the Ciate base color is a more sticky formula, that you can really stick the beads to.  Hopefully they'll have it in stock at Sephora later this week...and maybe w/ a tester?  I would prefer to try before I buy...hahaha.

I still need to get stripes out...bah! Lol

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every 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 or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 9: Rainbow

Hey Everyone! I'm back for Day 9 of the challenge.  To your left I have a rainbow on each nail, and to the bottom, I have just one color on each nail.

I'm not sure which I like better...On one hand (literally, har har) I have rainbows that look drawn by a child, and on the other hand, I have a funky manicure (which I kinda made weird with those butterfly decals).  *Sigh*  I feel that Rainbow Day is Full of Fail Day.  I will be happy to proceed to the next challenge (Gradient) ASAP!!

If you're interested in what colors/polishes I used: Left Pic is all Nail Star (over China Glaze: White).  Right Pic is (Pink) Eternal Scented, (Orange) Orly's Pumpkin Punch, (Yellow) Nina Ultra Pro: Solar Flare, (Green) China Glaze: Turned Up Turquoise Neon, (Purple) Finger Paint.

I got the butterfly decals at a local nail supply store. Admittedly they apply pretty easily, and seem to stay on okay, but now that I've tried them a couple times, I think they just look weird, hahaha.  Kinda like, "what's that on your nail?!?"

I've decided on how I want to do my Gradient look, but haven't chosen colors for it yet.  I will definitely get that out to you soon!

Here's the Challenge:

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every 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 or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 8: Metallic

Hey everyone! Day 8! Wow...I had such a hassle with this look. I know I'm reusing the crackle, but I didn't have the polish I originally had planned.

Anyhoo, so these are the colors I used:

Pink Base Color: Essie's Watermelon

Black Base Color: Orly's Goth

Metallic Crackle: China Glaze's Latticed Lilac

I'm not sure if I've reviewed Essie's Watermelon before.  I absolutely love it!  The color goes on wonderfully, and has a pretty good look with just one coat.  I usually add a second coat just to even out the bald spots (although they aren't that noticeable).  In this look that I'm wearing, I have 2 coats on my thumb, and one coat on the rest of my nails.  I don't think you can even tell...Also, Essie's brushes are a little on the skinny side, but it does the job. =)  Essie's polishes aren't too cheap...usually around $7 a bottle.  However, I feel like Essie is a little inconsistent.  You'd have an awesome coverage, awesome non-chipping polish (like Watermelon), but you also get ones that chip easily (like that Minty one).  I would definitely recommend this color, but I'm not sure if I would recommend Essie as a brand in general.

Orly's Goth is also a pretty cool color.  It's a nice black polish with silver glitter.  I don't really have too much to say about it.  It needs two coats to get a good, opaque coverage.  It seems to take longer to dry than other polishes.  It's pretty, and it works for this purpose. 

If you read my Day 5: Blue post, you might remember that I was complaining about the China Glaze Crackle polish in pink metallic.  I have found out that I have a pale purple (not pink), and I am still complaining about it.  Maybe I still haven't figured out the trick to the crackling part yet....I've tried laying it on thinly, and that seems to work TERRIBLY.  I only tried it because other people who have reviewed it claim the crackle effect works better when you apply a thin layer.  Not for me.  I actually think it works better when you apply a thicker layer, HOWEVER, you have to apply it quickly and evenly.  I think my problem comes when I'm swiping my third swipe (I usually do one stripe down the middle, one to the left, and one to the right) I accidently go over my first stripe.  Then that creates a non-crackling area.  Did that make sense?  Maybe in simpler terms, if you go over the same area more than once, it doesn't crackle.  At least for me.  Let me know if you have had different experiences!  I think I will give this polish one more chance.  Probably not for any more challenges, but for just a regular day sometime in the future. =)

I also wanted to let you guys know I bought a Silk'n Flash & Go, which I am using right now.  I think in a few more weeks, I will post a review on it, just so I have some definitive idea of how well it works. Hehehe

I have a couple ideas for the next challenge, Rainbow, so I'll try to get that out to you soon!
(The Challenge:)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every 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 or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

31 Day Challenge - Day 7: Black & White

Hi Everyone! I have my Day 7 look here for you.  I did  Black & White flames...inspired by The Hunger Games.  Yes, I know...Katniss didn't have anything to do with black or white, but I just chose colors that fit the challenge. =)

The colors I used are Orly's Liquid Vinyl (the black) and Orly's Orly Platinum (the white).  I also have Essie's Happily Ever After as the nudish base color.  Basically I put a few drops of the polish on the tips of my nails, then used a pushpin to drag it up to make the flames.  After I finished with the black, I let it completely dry before doing the same with the white.  I think it turned out pretty cute for a first attempt. =)

Hmm...if I were to use colors truly inspired by the Hunger Games and Katniss, I think I would've chosen a shimmery red and a golden-orange color instead.  I've seen this look done with 3 colors, and that looks pretty cool too.

Here's the Challenge:

I have some ideas of what I want the next couple looks to look like, but I don't have them ready to go yet.  Hopefully you guys won't have to wait long for the next post! I'm workin' on it! =)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:

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

31 Day Challenge - Day 3: Yellow

OMG, where did the time go?  I just checked my poor, neglected blog, and what do I see? I haven't updated it since my vacay in OCTOBER.  Geez, just shoot me, lol.  So here's a beautiful yellow, that I took a picture of MONTHS ago.  It's from Orly, and there isn't a name on my bottle, unfortunately.  I got the tiny mini bottle from Ulta, and figured it would be a cool color for the challenge.

I can't remember much about the polish except that I didn't like it too much, hahaha.  This is what I get for procrastinating my blog.  As some semi-excuses: first I had to prep for my son's first bday, then Thanksgiving came around (sister-in-law wanted to cook turkey......though that didn't work out cuz our oven broke!), after that the holidays which had all these plans attached, my birthday (which was spent @ Disneyland! Hehe), Valentine's Day (aka my anni), a Vegas trip, and then I started working.  So it wasn't like I was just sitting around on my bum, watching the baby...at least the whole time, haahaha.  But I do apologize for being so inconsistent.  I will *try* to do better, and I have a few ideas on future blogs. =)

Here's the challenge...since I'm sure you've all fogotten about it by now! LOL

So sad...this is just Day 3, haahahah. The good thing is that I have Day 4 and 5 almost ready to go...

Till next time!

Gelish Plus Regular Polish

Hey Everyone!  I finally had a chance to do my nails properly!  This is my first polished look since I gave birth a month ago.

So I decided to test out what would happen if you used the Gelish base coat and top coat with regular polish in between.  This is the look I decided to go with...it's a nice wintery manicure. =)

You might have noticed, I filed my nails a little differently...instead of the square edge, I've decided to go with a more rounded look.  I'm just testing this out to see if I like it.  So far, I'm not crazy about how it looks, but it actually feels more comfortable and easy to manage than the square manicure.

Anyhoo, back to the polish!  First off, I used the PH bond, then put on a thin layer of the foundation gel.  After curing, I put on one coat of Orly's Winter Wonderland over the entire nail.  After letting this dry, I sponged on Orly's Royal Navy to the tips, adding an extra layer at the very tip to create a fade.  It's kinda hard to see in the pic, but it's there! =)  After, I used a clear top coat to adhere a light blue rhinestone to each nail (using just a drop where I wanted to place the rhinestone).  I let this dry, then put a thin layer of the Gelish top coat over the whole nail and cured it.  When it was done curing, I used alcohol to wipe off the tacky layer, and then added more of the top coat to just cover the rhinestone and cured it again.  Then I wiped off the nails one last time.

I wanted to see if this manicure would stay the 2 weeks like a full Gelish manicure would.  However, I already chipped 2 nails within 24 hours.  It was worth a try, though!   The chips are small, and I'm going to see how long this manicure lasts.  Well, see if it lasts until I get bored, anyway, lol.  I'll keep y'all posted!

In the meantime, I have a couple pics to update my Latisse use:

This is after 2 weeks of use.  I thought my lashes looked thicker, but my mom said I was imagining things.  LOL

This pic to the right was taken after 3 weeks of use.  I think my lashes definitely look thicker in this pic! My left lashes look thicker than my right lashes.  I can't really tell a difference in the length yet, but I'm not too worried.  Most people start to see a change around 6 weeks in.....so I guess I'm half way there? Hehehe


I also picked up a tube of Kat Von D's Painted Love Lipstick in Lovecraft.  I haven't actually tried it yet...I was in a rush in the store and just knew I liked the color.  Will post pics when I can!

Anyhoo, gotta run...hubby wants to sleep and is annoyed with my typing! Till next time!

Red & Silver Chevron French + Fall Nail Polish Haul!

Hi Everyone! I finally had some free time after my super busy weekend to update my blog and make a new video.

This look to the left was the design I sported for my best friend Liza's wedding this past weekend.  Her colors were Dark Red & Silver. =)  It was such a fun wedding, but seriously...my feet/ankles were super swollen with all the standing I had to do.  It's a tough life, being a bridesmaid, LOL.



Anyhoo, here's the video:

What I Used:

Seche's Recondition (Base Coat)

Orly's Bare Rose

Orly's White Tips

Art Club's Silver Glitter

Art Club's Red Glitter

Art Club's White Polish

Seche Vite (Top Coat)

Silver Rhinestones

It's a pretty simple look, based on a picture I saw on CoolNailArt.com.  It's a wonderful site to get ideas from!

Anyhoo...on to my HAUL!  Like I said in my last blog, I haven't done one in a long while....but I decided to get a bunch of polish for the fall.  There are lots of awesome new polishes, and I've always liked darker colors. =)

My new 9 Polishes:

I got two from Finger Paints (Sally's), two from China Glaze (Sally's), four from Orly (Beauty Headquarters), and one from MAC.  All in all, not a bad fall collection, right?

This is Finger Paints's "Be a Pal-ette".  I thought this was part of their Seduced by Fall collection (it was in the display), but when I checked on their website, I couldn't find it (AT ALL!).  

Basically, this is a very deep, metallic purple.  Swatched on the left is two coats.  I think two coats actually gives a nice even coverage, though it's hard to tell in the picture.

This runs about $4.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

This next color is Finger Paints's Autumn Blaze, which is definitely part of their Seduced by Fall collection.  

This is a very deep, metallic red.  The color actually looks a lot darker in real life.  Shown on the right is two coats.  It applies beautifully and very even.

This runs about $4.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Next up is China Glaze's Mummy May I.  This is from their Halloween collection (obviously you can tell from the name, lol).  

This is a black polish with purple glitter.  Swatched on the left is three coats.  I needed the third coat for a full, even coverage.  Without a top coat, you can kinda see from the picture that the application leaves bumps where the glitter is.  I would recommend using a thicker top coat to smooth out the bumps.  I think I'll experiment a little to see which of my top coats will do the job. =)

This runs about $5.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

This next color is China Glaze's Lubu Heels.  This isn't from their Halloween collection or anything.  In fact, I'm not sure if it belongs to any collection?  I just saw it on their Halloween Display and decided to pick it up, LOL.

This is a black polish with red glitter.  Swatched is three coats.  It pretty much applied the same as Mummy May I, and it looks really similar, except the subtle glitter color difference.  It also need a thicker top coat to smooth out the glitter bumps.  MissChevious (on YT) as come up with an awesome Halloween nail design, and she uses Eyeko's Vampira as her base color.  I would say this China Glaze dupe comes pretty close, and I'll be trying out her look in the next couple days. =)  Will definitely post pics!

This runs about $5.99 regular price, at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Next we have Orly's Winter Wonderland from their 2010 Holiday Collection.  (I suppose this is more a winter look than a fall look....)

This is a very translucent polish, with very fine silver glitter.  Pictured on the left is just one coat.  I'm sorry it's a little blurrier than I'd like. =/  But you can still see that one coat would add a nice amount of sparkle to your nails, if you're looking for something along those lines.  I'll post pics of what it looks like on normal nails, with probably three coats (depending on coverage) whenever I get the chance to put it on.  It might go on my mom first, LOL.  She's already sporting one of my new polishes...but I keep forgetting to take a pic of it!

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters.  At Sally's, Orly's regular polish is around $5.99, but not sure if this one is considered part of the premiums.

This next polish is Orly's Glitz and Glamour.  This is also from their 2010 Holiday Collection.  I think this color's wearable from fall through winter, just because it's golden. =) LOL

This is a gold metallic polish.  Strangely enough, I didn't have one in my collection, so I decided to pick up this polish (I have a silver one, though...).  Swatched on the right is 2 coats.  I did it when it was kinda dark, so I didn't notice that the coverage was still uneven.  I think a third coat would've tidied things up.  When I have it on regular nails, I'll try to remember to take a pic to update. =)

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters.  At Sally's, Orly's regular polish is around $5.99, but not sure if this one is considered part of the premiums.

Next we have Orly's Out of This World.  This is from their new Cosmic FX collection.

This is a deep purple polish with very fine purple & gold glitter.  It's had to see the gold flecks in the picture on the nail, but you can kinda see it on the bottle.

I suppose that it's a little disappointing that it looks super cool in the bottle, yet doesn't have the same wow factor on the nail. =/

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters.  At Sally's, this polish is $8.99.

Here is another polish from the same collection: Orly's Lunar Eclipse.  

This is a blue polish that has very fine blue and purple glitter.  There are two coats on the swatch.  I think a third would even out the tone, but still, I can't see the purple on the nail.  Perhaps another disappointing polish?

This runs about $5.00 at Beauty Headquarters.  At Sally's, this polish is $8.99.

And last, but not least, we have MAC's Bad Fairy, from their Villainous Villains collection.  I wanted to get Formidable too, but it's sold out like EVERYWHERE!

This is a pink-ish polish, with very fine pink and gold glitter.  This swatch has two coats and it doesn't look too even, but I assure you, on normal nails, two coats looks perfect.  (This is what my mom is sporting atm!)  The picture does not do it justice...it really does show the two-toned glitter very nicely. =)

I was told that the other two polishes in the collection have Orly dupes....but I think I'd rather have the MAC version if the Orly ones aren't cutting it....

This runs about $13.00 at MAC.

Not a bad collection, right?  I will be trying these out within the next few months, so I'll try to take updated pics and whatnot.  

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every 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 or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.

My Return to YouTube!

Finally...finally...FINALLY!!!  I've finally posted a video.  Finally.  I haven't posted one since....January.  Isn't that terrible?  I got so caught up in the wedding, then the whole morning sickness fiasco, and then just plain being lazy.  But now, I've got my butt in gear, and I have officially uploaded a video with not one, but TWO designs!  Go me!

Here's the Video:


I have a quick explanation of where I've been, and then two nail designs.  I included a picture of my mushroom nails (from the previous blog), but that was just for fun.

Here's the two looks I created:

Aka JcBelle's Wedding Look #1.  Both of these looks are created from my friend's wedding colors.  Our bridesmaid dresses are a deep wine color.  I'm still playing around w/ the look....

I used: Zoya's Irene; Orly's Vixen; Nail Star's Red Glitter, Green Glitter, and Gold; and Seche Vite's Recondition & Top Coat.

Aka JcBelle's Wedding Look #2.  This time I skipped the "wine" color because I wasn't liking it with the green.  One of her other colors is Chartreuse, which I adore.  The closest I came to it was Precision's Limon. =)

Here, I used: China Glaze's Watermelon Rind, Nail Star's Gold, Precisions's Limon, and Seche Vite's Recondition & Top Coat.

The Watermelon Rind and Limon, I specifically bought for the wedding.  Everything else I've bought a while back.  It felt nice buying new polishes again, even if I don't really have a spot for them, lol.  Maybe I should invest in another rack?  And maybe I should actually hang it on the wall this time.  I have a nice spot behind the door, tee-hee.

At Sally's Beauty Supply, they have a coupon where if you buy two China Glaze polishes, you get a Seche Vite Perfect Nail item for free (a $9.99 value, lol...don't I sound like a comercial?).  I decided to try it out.  So far, I can say I'm really enjoying the Recondition.  I haven't noticed a difference in my nail yet, but it's only been a day.  What I do notice is that the Seche Vite top coat seems to work really well with this as a base coat.  I noticed it completely dried a lot quicker and I can't wait to see if there are any changes in the strength of my nails.  My nails are pretty close to 100% of what they used to be.  Which I am completely thankful for since my friend's wedding is NEXT week.  =)

I also went to Ulta for the first time.  There's one in Pasadena (which I had NEVER knew about, shame on me!), and I was really happy I decided to stop in.  I would describe it as a Sephora that carries not only high end brands, but also drug-store brands.  They had an impressive nail polish variety, although I didn't really buy anything except for Sally Hansen's Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pens.  They were Buy 2 Get 1 Free (a $7.50 value?), so I decided to give it a try.  I bought Coral Pink & Black Cherry, then decided to go with a Nail Art Pen in white as my freebie.

I thought having your nail polish in a pen would give you better control in application...enough to do designs with.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.  The brush is actually still pretty big, so instead of doing French tips as my original plan, I ended up doing the whole nail.  On the plus side, doing the whole nail was actually pretty quick.  Here's a picture of the Coral Pink on my mom.  I added some purple flowers to dress it up a little.  She didn't like it...said I didn't make them look nice.  Wtf?  Just ignore the last 45 min I spent on your nails!  LOL

After I was done with her nails, she had me do my aunt's nails.  This time she insisted that I make them look nice.  Whatever that means!  I asked her what design I should do, and she said to just make them look like mine (this was when I was sporting the mushroom nails look, lol).  I decided to forgo the mushrooms, and stick to a double French Manicure.  I think they turned out alright....if a little plain and boring.

Hmm, how would I have spruced this up for myself?  More glitter! LOL!  Kk, maybe not glitter...but rhinestones or something...or flowers.  I have no clue why flowers are my go-to....

I've marked a BeenaPop video as a favorite so I can come back to it sometime this week.  I think I'm going to try a variation of it with the wedding colors...so theoretically I'll have another shot of it.  (Not going to make it into a video when there's already one out there...?)

Anyhoo, much love till next time!

Disclaimer-
1. I bought all the products show or talked about in this blog.
2. No one is paying me or compensating 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.

Orly Nail Whitener

Hey, I have a few minutes to do a quick post before I head off to bed.  I need to wake up early again tomorrow...so basically I haven't been able to sleep in for over a week.  This kills me a little inside, I swear!

So yeah, I wanted to show you the nail whitening treatment I did:
Before:

After:

I don't really see a difference in the photos.  But, in real life, I think there is a slight difference.  If I have free time later, I might edit this post to include a close up side-by-side comparison.  But I'm getting sleepie, lol.  I got this for under $3 (for 2 packets) at Beauty Headquarters, so it's pretty affordable.  I guess all the treatments with the essie nail whitening pen have worked, because my nails haven't been that yellow.  So it's a little hard to judge how effective the Orly one is.  I have one more packet that I'll probably use in a month or so.  I'm not sure how safe these are for your nails...so I'm trying to keep the whitening to a minimum.

Still more posts to come within the next few days (really dying to get caught up!)..including a quick post about the nails I currently have on.  I had received some clay canes, and couldn't wait to use them!  So I put some on my mom and myself.  I still need to get used to slicing them all thin, but I'm getting there, lol.  I just hate it when I miss and I only get 1/2 a slice or something.  But I'll explain that more in depth soon.

Probably a good time to get a tagline I can put at the end of every blog and video, eh?

Short Look @ Orly:Dazzle!

One of my new purchases is this gorgeous silver polish by Orly.  I used it in my last blog for the ornament.  I tested it on my mom and I think it's a really cool polish.

First of all, it goes one super smooth.  With one coat on a basecoat, you get a pretty decent amount of polish.  On my mom's nails, I used two, and I think it just makes the color stand out more.

I haven't noticed any cons at the moment, but I didn't check to see how easily it chips.  And I can't check now, because I already have a different design on my mom, lol.

It has a very foil-like appearance.  And it's also very shiny!  I think my mom really liked how shiny it was.  It's definitely a BIG change from the matte polish, hahahhahah.

I did this very simple design because a) my mom insisted that she have design (man, have I spoiled her!), and b) I didn't want the design to over power the Dazzle.  My mom was also very insistent that I put a rhinestone...so there you have it.  My design, LOL.

So recently, I've also tried to avoid putting top coat over the rhinestones, because it makes it dull(er).  Unfortunately, with this method, the rhinestones fall off so easily.  I highly recommend putting top coat over the whole nail, rhinestones included, so that they have longer wear.  I was told that if you want rhinestones that actually stay shiny with a top coat over it, you need to use actual crystals.  I know Michaels is having a sale on their Jolie's Swarvoski Crystals (like 30% off + a coupon), but I don't think I want to spend that extra money on temporary one use stuff like this ($5 for 20 stones), when I can just buy like 1200 for $3.  Maybe I can splurge for my wedding LOL!