Friday, January 28, 2011

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips ... review!

Sally Hansen has come out with something to compete with all of those expensive nail salon trends, such as "Minx" which I'm sure you've seen some celebrities tweeting and raving about. I had a customer come in to my work last week with an adorable floral pattern on her nails, and I had to ask her about it. She told me they were actually from Sally Hansen, and she bought the strips from the CVS store across the way. I was stoked!

I've been wanting to try the "Minx" nails for a while, but seriously... it's just too expensive. (I think it ranges from 30-50$ and there really aren't that many salons that do it, unless you want to travel to Beverly Hills or some high end salons). I've also  noticed that Sephora has a few of these that they offer ... but I've only noticed 4 different patterns you can choose from.



Soo.... after work I hurried over to CVS and found these little lovelies. The above picture shows just a bit of the designs that they offer, but there are a bunch more.

And, they come in a little box like the picture below.


Unfortunately, they were pretty much sold out, so I didn't have that many designs to choose from. I ended up choosing the butterfly design for something completely random and fun :) 
(Side note: the husband says I look like a 14 year old with butterflies on my fingertips, but I'm choosing to ignore him)

The kit includes everything that you will need: the color strips, a little nail file/nail buffer and a cuticle stick.

Here is a picture of the strips before you put them on

They are really easy to put on too! You just peel them off and place them on your finger tips, smooth them down, and use the nail file that is provided to take the extra off the top :) The strips are actually made from real nail polish, so they are smooth when they are on and they can be taking off with nail polish remover too ... super easy!

Here is a look at my butterfly crazy fingertips:






Aren't they fun?! This design wouldn't of been my first choice, but it was either this, gold glitter, or bright yellow. I can't wait to go back to CVS and see all the other patterns once they get them in.

So the end result: I love them! They were about $10 which is a tad bit pricey but I think it is worth it every once in a while to do something different than your normal nail polish color. It's supposed to last for about 10 days, so we'll see if they actually hold up with the type of work I do and how much I use my hands. I'll keep you updated!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Sparkly Organization!

I've been looking for creative ways to organize my jewelry .... so far I pretty much just have jewelry laying around in the bathroom, on my dresser ... you name it it's there. I always feel like I have so many great pieces that I could be wearing more often, but because they are thrown around everywhere I don't even remember I have them!

So I've been searching and searching for creative ways to be more organized when it comes to jewelry, and here are some great ideas that I've found online that I want to try and copy.

In this picture, this person hung her jewelry as artwork on the walls:

In this next photo, frames were bought for cheap at flea markets or garage sales, then painted to match the room (it was a kid's room for these fun and spunky purple frames). What is the stuff that the earrings are actually hanging from? It is actually a drawer liner that you normally buy for your cabinets and utensil drawers - they come in multiple colors and patterns and are super cheap at your local Target or grocery store, etc. How awesome is that?


I'm not sure what I will end up doing with my pieces, but these definitely gave me some fun ideas to help out. Do you have any creative and fun ways of storing your jewelry?

Oh, and here is a link on how to make this beauty ~

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hidden Treasure

So ... I have become a huge shopper (I'm hoping for the sake of my bank account it is just a momentary thing). I now actually care about what looks good and what doesn't, and I'm always curious about all of the newest trends. How all this randomly happened I don't know; I was always a jeans, cardigan, and flip flops girl with chapstick on.

In order to actually afford all of my new interests I have come to love Forever 21, Kohls, Marshalls (a-mazing shoes-don't get me started) and many other places. So for now, I am now going to dedicate this post to my love of Kohls & Lauren Conrad!



 The line, aptly named LC for Lauren Conrad, has been a hit or miss for me. I would always see pieces that looked adorable but I couldn't really see myself wearing - until now. The spring 2011 collection is awesome and completely affordable.

Here are some pieces that I absolutely love:

LC ruffled tank: Orig. $34.00, but 30% off at Kohls


 LC Kimono Dress: Orig. $60.00, 30% off at Kohls

 

LC Boyfriend Blazer: Orig. $60.00, 30% off at Kohls
LC Boyfriend Jeans: Orig. $54.00, 30% off at Kohls



These are just a few of the pieces that caught my eye, but there are a whole lot more. I couldn't find any pictures of them, but she has some great ankle length pants in right now too that are awesome.

I hope that you guys see something you might like .... happy shopping!!

PS: Here is a website that is truly awesome for shopping on a bargain, and in this post she talks about Lauren's line at Kohls too!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Nails for the working girl

My newest obsession:  OPI axxium gel nail polish

What it is: A UV cured, soak off nail polish that lasts up to 2-3 weeks.

Cost: At my local Happy Nails nail salon, it's $30.00 for both a manicure and the polish.

Thoughts: It's truly am-aaazing. Because I work at a coffee shop, I have had the worst luck with nail polish. It never lasts, it becomes dull, and my nails are just a ruined shaggy mess. With the gel nail polish, it lasts for 2-3 weeks, never chips (after the 2 week period you can actually just begin to peel it off yourself if you want, but otherwise it will stay on pretty well), and is shiny/smooth the whole time. It also seems to harden my nails while it's on, which is wonderful and keeps me from breaking them on a constant basis.

The colors are so much fun too :) I'm currently wearing a gorgeous coral color and have constantly been asked about it by customers.

Here are the two colors I've used so far and have loved :


OPI Gel nail color in Cajun Shrimp
OPI Gel nail color in "You don't know Jaques!"


P.S. These are totally not my hands, but they were the best pictures I could find online that showed the colors wonderfully 

Here is a color chart of some of the colors that salons offer:



So for us girls who would like that ever-lasting manicure to keep up with our hectic lives, go get some gel nail manicures ;)

2011 Goals

Pay off at least one credit card

Sew a successful (and wearable) outfit

Volunteer somewhere

Go to San Francisco again (I've only been once and I LOVED it)

Do yoga for a month

Be more organized!

Go skydiving

Get straight A's for the first time in my life


This is my first year of following many "little" resolutions, but I'm excited to get going on these and follow through for a fun and brand new year.

*Cheers!*

Friday, January 7, 2011

2011 Resolutions

I have figured out that trying to always follow one large new years resolution never works ( for me at least).

For example, "I shall lose weight this year". Besides being the most annoying resolution, this isn't always realistic. Of course during January you will probably lose weight, but come March and April? The pounds come back. So I figure that something more realistic to focus on would be a monthly resolution! How about during February you don't drink soda (and who knows, you might like how you feel after February so you can keep that going) or in March you can plan on doing that 5 mile hike up the mountain that you've always seen while driving on the freeway. One I especially like is to try and not drink alcohol for just one month. Talk about an eye opener ...

I think that setting up little resolutions are so much better. You can write them on a cute chalkboard and hang it on a wall, and being able to cross off so many little things feels so much better than having one large thing that, let's be honest, fails miserably.

I'm currently working on my own list of little things I want to accomplish this year and once it's finished I'll share it with all of you :)

That should hold me accountable .... right?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

What does faith actually mean to me?

Faith to me doesn't necessarily mean something with a religious context. Faith to me is looking back at my past, and seeing that all of those terrible moments I went through happened either for a reason, or to help me grow and learn. Even when you are in your darkest moment there will be a way out of it, it's just the waiting period which sucks the most.


I have faith that everything happens for a reason, and that one day I'll be able to look back at my past and see how trivial everything was and there really wasn't anything to ever worry about.

Faith is what keeps me going