Gelish Harmony Heaven!

Couldn't help but pick up some more Gelish Harmony colors.  They have such a wide array of colors to choose from and the quality is comparable to other gel polishes in the market.  Below is a snapshot of all 10 of the colors I have to date.  The colors I recently purchased are Need a Tan, Princess Tiara, Don't be Such a Sourpuss, Amazon  Flirt, Coco Cabana Banana, Shake it Till You Samba.  In my other posts I mentioned that I had, Pink Smoothie, Tiki Tiki Laranga, June Bride and Sea Foam.

Nail Color This Week

Love, Love, Love this Gelish polish color - Neon Tiki Tiki Laranga.  It is a very summery color and even though we are in the middle of winter,  I like wearing bright colors all year round.

Cuisinart Citrus Juicer

I had to pick up a new juicer because my lovely Black and Decker Citrus Juicer that I had for almost two years suddenly stopped working.  I immediately had to find a new one because I juice daily and lucked out when I found a really nice juicer made by Cuisinart at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I love the pulp control feature on this one as it allows you to add more or less pulp to your juice.  It's very easy to use and even easier to clean up.

Home Sweet Home - DIY Update

I could not make up my mind on which pillow color I should use in my living room and I ended up purchasing 3 different sets from Pier 1.  I took them all home to get a better idea of how they fit into my living room and even though I really loved all the colors I ended up going with the Ivory.  Using a lighter color pillow will allow me to use my artwork and other accessories to add pops of color.

NYX Round Lipstick Haul

After seeing so many NYX round Lipstick reviews on youtube I decided to give them a try.  The consistency is really creamy and glides on the lips very easily.  I would not go as far as saying its wet but it is really smooth, so much so that the depending on what color you get it will go on a little streaky.  I love that this brand has so many shades to choose from.  Out of the eight that I purchased I was not a fan of only one color - Taupe - it was a little too dark for my liking but I'm going to pair it with a lighter lipgloss to brighten it up.  Overall, for the price ( I purchased the lipsticks on ebay) it's worth giving them a try especially if you're on a budget and you want more options.  I also picked up a NYX Matte Lipstick - color Natural.

Above Photo - Back Row: B52, Thalia, Taupe, Heredes - Front Row: Tea Rose, Margarita, Circe, Peach Bellini

                            

NYX Cream Blushes

I recently purchased some NYX Round Lipsticks and with that purchase I also picked up some blushes.  I already owned the NYX Diva cream blush and in this recent purchase I purchased Bronze Goddess (bottom right)  and Orange.  I am a fan of cream blushes because the finish is more luminous.  NYX has a great assortment of blush colors to choose from so you are sure to find a color that will compliment your skin tone.

Home Finds! (Home Goods and Pier 1)

I needed to find some art frames for a do-it-yourself project and decided to visit one of my favorite home accessory stores  - Home Goods.  I found 3 white frames that were perfect for this project.  I also found a beautiful (cashmere soft but not real cashmere) throw for my sofa.  I got the spending bug after that nice find and so I went over to Pier 1 to see if some pillows that I had my eyes on for a while went on sale and low and behold they were 20% off!  There was so many colors to choose from but with a little bit of convincing from a fellow shopper, I went green.  The color looks great with my new artwork as well.

Do- it -Yourself ArtWork

I love to decorate my home especially now that I'm a homeowner.  I feel like I can really go all out on sprucing up my place.  In a recent issue of Architectural Digest there were some fabulous photos of jewelry from various designers that seemed to jump off the pages with the bright colored backdrop and the jewelry taking center stage.  I immediately knew that I was going to frame them.  Well, I finally picked up the frames today from one of my favorite home accessory stores  - Home Goods.  My DIY artwork ads a pop of color that I really needed in my living room.  I love how my project turned out and it was so easy to put together and at such a low cost too.

Jewelry Finds!

Found a few more accessories on one of my excursions to the mall.  These pieces are light and comfortable to wear.  Forever XXI always has lots of options and styles to choose from.  I've already worn these two pieces and it goes great with most colors.

Nail Color This Week

Tried out a new Gelish Harmony color at the nail salon.  I looked at this color on ebay and was not sure if it was a true yellow so I decided to go to the salon and try it first.  The color on my finger nails is called Don't Be Such A Sourpuss and the color on my toenails is called Fiji and it's made by Essie.  Even though the gelish color is not the true yellow that I wanted I would definitely add it to my collection.

MAC Matchmaster Foundation Review

I got off to a slow start with this foundation and actually thought about returning it but after several weeks of trial and error I discovered the trick to applying the Matchmaster foundation properly.  The key is a little at a time.  If you apply small amounts in layers at a time to see exactly how much is needed you will avoid getting a muddy finish.  I tested the 8.0 but the 7.5 is the color that best suits my complexion.

Mini Train Case Haul

I am still trying to get used to applying false eyelashes.   I don't use them everyday and getting the right technique to apply them is still a challenge.  However I am putting together a train case for potential clients and wanted to make sure I have enough on hand.  I purchased these off of Ebay and the price compared to what I would have paid in the stores does not compare.  I also picked up a lash curler for clients with long lashes that will only require mascara.  I recently tested out some of the lashes and find these to be a little stiff and take a little manipulating to stay in place.  I also picked up some Lipstick and Mascara wands.  Click on the link to see the video about my mini haul Mini Traincase Haul (BH Cosmetics…)

Nail Color this Week

Tried out my new Gelish polish.  Love this brand!  They have so many colors and what I really like about this brand is that the polish is not as runny as some of the other gel brands.  Each coat is a full coverage but for more effect I like to apply at least 3 coats especially for the lighter colors.

The color this week is Pink Smoothie.  The duplicate to this from the CND (Creative Nail Design) would be Romantique.  Both are great colors.

Harmony Gelish!

As promised here is a look at my current Gelish collection.  I previously posted that I purchased the colors Sea Foam and Neon Rio Tiki Laranga and my latest order just arrived…I got the Top it off (top coat) and Foundation (base) as well as the colors Pink Smoothie and June Bride, the latter is a not a solid color but a glitter gel polish which I might overlap with June Bride.

Nail Art Tip Sticks

Now that I'm really getting into the gel polishes I decided I'm going to experiment a little with the colors and try to create some unique colors on my own.  Plus I wanted to have a visual of the colors I have outside of the bottle, so I purchased this nail art tip stick from ebay.  I'll do a video in the future on the different color mixes I come up with as well as the color swatches straight out the bottles.

Eden Body Works Brunch

I attended a Natural Hair Care event this weekend.  It was encouraging to see so many naturals and all the different ways we wear our hair.  What was really nice was seeing the founder behind this brand.  Jasmine Lawrence  is the brainchild behind Eden Body Works -  having started this company at the tender age of 13!  Jasmine has appeared on Oprah and numerous other shows promoting the brand.  Not only does she run a company but she's currently enrolled in Georgia Tech studying to be a robotic engineer!  Wow!  The speakers at this event were the who's who in the Natural Hair world  - Felicia Leatherwood, Afrobella, Cassidy of Natural Selection Hair Blog and Dr. Kari Williams of the Mahogany Hair Revolution Salon in LA.  We also had a surprise guest - Paul Brunson from the Lovetown show on the Oprah Network.  Along with the brunch we also received a goodie bag (last photo) - overall great way to spend a Sunday!

Drew by Beshe Wig Update

So, I had a little over a week to try out the wigs I've purchased recently and so far I've only worn the Drew by Beshe.  Let's just say it took some getting used to and I finally had to trim it because the more it relaxed the bigger it got.  I still love the style, but because the texture is so soft it tends to not hold its shape.  I've worn half weaves/wigs before and never had to worry about them expanding like this one.  The shots below are after I trimmed the Drew and removed some of the bulk.  I also purchased Tracy by Freetress Equal and I have not yet worn the Tracy, but I did try it on again the other night and it morphed into an all out afro.  It came out of the package cascading downward but it somehow shrunk.  I'll end up doing some funky photo shoots with that wig at a later date.

CND Shellac Remover Wraps (Product Review)

I  finally got the opportunity to use the CND Shellac Remover Wraps and I now see why the salons don't use them.  These wraps would be great I guess if your in a very high end salon and they want to impress a certain clientele, but it pretty much does the same thing as store brand foil paper and regular cotton balls soaked in acetone. 

 

 

 

 

Nail Color This Week

CND is still my favorite Gel Polish Brand - but I have been experimenting with others.  The finish is always super shiny and it's extremely easy to remove.  Wanted to go a bit darker this week and opted for all black.  The color below is Black Pool and I did this at home with my CND (creative nail design kit - and UV lamp).

I'm so Gelish!

Okay, so I stated in a previous post that I was not too into the Gelish brand, but I really believe it was how the salon applied the color.  I really fell in love with the Sea Foam Color and recently puchased that as well as the Neon Rio Tiki Laranga color.  I started watching some tutorials on youtube for some other color ideas and also ended up ordering the colors June Bride and Pink Smoothie.  I will be sure to post shots of the finished looks. 

 

 

Ben Nye Translucent Powders

I picked up some more Ben Nye Translucent powders!  I previously purchased Topaz but wanted to  try Banana.  I don't know if this will suit my complexion but I was told it really blends well with women with my skin tone.  I also picked up the color Camel.  The powders are butter soft and feel super smooth on the skin.   In this photo I have on Topaz.