July Favorites 2012

Whoo! as we all say another month as come and gone. I'm still trying to get these out in a timely manner but, no matter how hard I try something always comes up. So I guess it doesn't matter when the favorites come out. What counts is that they do. So without further adu here are my July faves.



1. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup Foundation- 220 Nude. (0.8 Fl. oz.) Now the reason this foundation is my favorite is because of the staying power. This foundation holds up very well to the hot Texas heat and humidity. I was at first skeptical on using this because I had such a bad experience with the original one. For starters the original Colorstay was terrible smelling almost like a chemical floral smell. Also the coverage was awful it was just too thick no matter how I applied it or sheered it out. So when this one came out I thought great I wonder how this will compare. Well I'm happy to share that this stuff is awesome and holds up well. It is a great summer foundation for oily skin gals like me. The longest I've worn it was 18 hours and it held up all that time. Through sweating and searing heat and humidity also I didn't even use a finishing powder with it. Which was great and also no touch ups needed. I also did have a hard time finding the best way to apply this foundation. I tried so many brushes so personally for me fingers work the best and also the next item to make my favorites worked the best. So the only cons are that the price is a little more than the original one and also that you don't get as much product as well. I do like the look of the glass jar but, being that I have carpal tunnel it is quite heavy for me. Other than that I'm so happy to be able to use a Colorstay product. As for smell it does have a faint smell but, nothing my sensitive nose can't stand. So this product is definitely a keeper. I will have to see how this holds up to winter weather. I got this at Target and paid $8.99 with a $3.00 off coupon. It sells for $11.99 at my local Target and Walmart also sells it for $10.99. Walgreen and CVS also sells this but, the prices were significantly higher.

2. Sephora Classic Mineral Powder Brush #45 $26 - Well I got this brush as I have all my other foundation ones to see if this one really worked like people claimed. Well for starters it's a great liquid foundation brush. I know it says it's for powder but, of all the reviews on Sephora website many are using it for liquid instead of powder. So I decided to give this a whirl. This works great for many of my liquid foundations. This brush for me worked the best with the Revlon Colorstay Whipped foundation. It left my skin looking and feeling great. A quick alternative to using your fingers if you don't want to have to take the time to get all the product off if your in a hurry. This brush is made with synthetic fibers which are also micro microbial and won't irritate your skin. This brush is a keeper. Just beware that when you deep clean it. It will take a while to dry like two or more days so make a note of that.

3. Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Base Coat $8 - This is a great base coat for my nails which sometimes get dry and peel. This base coats also fills those areas so that your nails are as smooth as possible. Which is great because I can't really wear those metallic polishes all too well. When your nails are either pitting or peeling those metallic polishes don't look good on and make a manicure look terrible. So if you suffer like me with this problem then this base coat is worth trying.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle 001 $6.49- I love this color it is a pretty wine color and I love the formula of the lip butters they are so moisturizing and non drying my lips. So far I haven't had any problems with any of the colors. I own like 7 of these.

5. Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleansing Gel & Eye Makeup Remover $20-7.5oz

I know that the original Purity Made Simple cleanser is pretty popular, but this new version is way, way better.You can use a bit, lather it up, and use it to remove your eye makeup, followed by putting some on your Clarisonic and finish cleansing your face. Your face will be super clean and feel soft. My face has an oily zone on my cheeks, my nose, and my chin. This cleanser works wonderfully and I love how clean it feels. It won't strip your skin. I like that it suds up more than the original Purity and overall, this gel formula is more effective than the original. I hope this product is always available, as it is superb and a fantastic improvement on the original.

 

If you have any questions or requests please leave them below.  I'm also on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and of course Facebook.

Teacher Appreciation Week 2012

 I found out that this week is Teacher Appreciation week May 7th-May 11th. This is something that I'm not so familiar with. Simply Sweets By Honeybee did teacher appreciation cookies in honor of our hard working teachers. Her cookie designs are spectacular. Especially her 3D cookie tree & chalkboards. Her cookies are so beautifully done and awe inspiring that I was inspired to try a design of my own on my nails instead of cookies. So here is my nail art creation for all those hard working teachers. Past, present, and future. Over the years while growing up I had several teachers who inspired me and other who sorry to say down right tormented me. I won't go further into that. I want to remember the ones who helped me to grow as an individual and helped shape me into the person I'm today.

My kindergarten teacher Mrs. Stewart was one of those people. I still remember her to this day. Somehow I made an impact on her like she had on me. Whenever my father went grocery shopping and she happened to be there. She would always inquire about me and my well being long after I graduated and left home. I feel that kindergarten is a very important time this is where your molded into being your own person. You get to learn about all kinds different things and start to make new friends and learn valuable life lessons. Of course singing, dancing, and napping weren't that bad either.

Then as I got older several other teachers also made a huge impact on my growing up. I won't get into that or this will become a novel. So any who I just want to say thanks to all the teachers out there who come to work everyday and give there 110% to making sure we get the best education out there. So here's to you and all you do. Thanks.

If you have any questions about the items used in this design please let me know. Also if you have any requests for future nail art designs please let me know as well.

Cinco de Mayo Nails 2012

This year I decided to take the plunge and create Cinco de Mayo nails. I have always loved the holiday. I think it's because of all the partying and eating and not to mention drinking. I love me a nice cold frozen margarita every once and a while. Well while brainstorming on what colors to choose and what to design on my nails. I was getting excited as well because Cinco de Mayo is not only a fun day. It is my anniversary as well. That is when I got married 11 years ago. So it has some significance to me. It is not only a day for fiestas and good times. It is also a day to reflect on one of the most happiest days of my life. So without further ado. Here are my nails. I hope you like them as much as I do. I tried. This is my first year doing my nails with something other than bright fun colors without any designs.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

If you want to know in depth what colors I used or how I created this design or have requests or ideas for other nail art creations. Just leave me a comment below. Thanks. 

My Earth Day Nails 2012

I was trying to decide what else to do this month with my nails since Easter already came and went. I knew that the month of April had a few well known holidays. Some are celebrated others not so much. Like April Fools Day, Arbor Day, Take our Daughters & Sons to work day, Administrative Professionals Day formally known as Secretary's Day and Earth Day. Sorry these aren't in any particular order. Earth Day this year is on Sunday, April 22. So I wanted to get this out early.

I have always loved Earth Day since I was a child. I loved drawing pictures of the Earth and liked when as a school we did things that were Earth friendly. Recycling projects and learning about Mother Earth and what we could do to make things better for her and for us. This was something that was done throughout all my years in school. When I graduated I still celebrated the day but, it was different no coloring assignments, projects or papers on what we can do to make the planet a better place. Only now we are grown and have jobs and lots of other responsibilities. So making sure we do the right thing is not always on our mind so much. So every year when the day rolls around it brings awareness to all that we should and could be doing. Meaning that it should be Earth Day every day.  

So I present to you my Earth Day nails. I hope you like them as much as I do.

Here's a close up of my thumb.

Happy Earth Day!

My Easter Nail Creation 2012

 I started brainstorming for nail designs to do for Easter. This started last week for me and by yesterday had come to fruition. So with Easter just 10 days away. I got all my needed supplies to start this task. I will show you in someways how I did this nail design. I won't be going into a step by step process in photo's as this would have taken very long. I feel it's a simple enough design to create on your own without to much instruction.You will just need time and patience. I'm really excited with the final results.

I started off with painting my nails with a base coat. My preferred is Sally Hansen Insta-Grip Fast Dry Base Coat. Then I proceeded to paint my nails as followed. All using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Colors. Except on the thumb where I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. Here are a list of those colors: Thumb-I Pink I Can, Pointer-Lightening, Middle- Jade Jump, Ring-Blue-Away and Pinkie-Raspberry Race.

Let's get started. On the pointer finger I used an orange acrylic paint to paint stripes towards the top and the other on the tip like a french manicure style. Then I used a green acrylic paint to paint a squiggle line between the two orange lines. Then added green dots on the top of the nail using a dotting tool. On the middle finger using a pink acrylic paint to paint a series of dots. Also using a dotting tool. On my ring finger I used a paint brush to paint with a brown acrylic paint a basket shape with a handle. Using the same french manicure method. Then added a handle using backwards "C" on top then connecting it to the sides of the basket. Then lastly on my pinkie I used an orange acrylic paint and a dotting tool to make two orange dots on top of the nail.

After that dried then I started working on my thumb area. I used a white acrylic paint and the dotting tool to create the bunny's backside. I made two dots with the bottom being a little bigger than the top. Then using the smaller end of the dotting tool. I made the ears. After that dried then I got a light pink acrylic paint and painted on a small tail using a brush. To make the grass I used a small brush and then used two acrylic paints in green. One light and one dark. I made the lighter strands first then added the darker later. To make the whiskers I used the small brush with a light grey acrylic paint.

Now on to the last two. For the Ring finger after the basket dries. I used orange, pink and yellow acrylic paint with the dotting tool to make the eggs. Then a small brush to make the designs on the eggs. After that dried then I used the small brush again to make the grass in the basket using the same method I described above. Then lastly I used a much darker brown acrylic paint to outline the basket. I used the small brush to make the basket weave and lines on the handle. As for the pinkie finger I used the small brush and yellow acrylic paint to paint on the lines four from each dot.

After all is said and done and dried. Then I used my preferred top coat coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat. Be careful using a quick dry top coat of any brand. I have found that it will smear your design even if you think it's really dry. So beware.

I hope that you like this nail design. Maybe I should have just shown the pictures and not have described so much. So much for little instruction. Oh well.....maybe next time.

Spring Has Sprung Nail Design

Well with winter behind us. It now time for spring which begun March the 20th. I was trying to get used to time change earlier in the month. Which still has been a struggle. I was wanting to do a spring time nail design. So I was trying to decide on what to do. I was thinking flowers like many people do. Then I was thinking what kinds of flowers. I have always loved sunflowers and daisies. To me they are classic and delicate. So I chose on doing a daisy as my flower.

I also decided to incorporate a type of bug for my design. I tried ladybugs, dragonflies, butterflies and bees. I decided on doing a bee. I think a bee was going to be perfect. I could also do the dot/dash type lines that are associated with bee drawings. Well at least cartoon ones. I decided to place the bee on my thumb and the dash lines on the middle and pinkie fingers. The ring and pointer finger would have the daisies painted on them. 

So I started with my usual base coat.  Then I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Jade Jump.

Then using the yellow acrylic paint and a dotting tool.  I made two dots on both my pointer and ring finger on both hands.  Then using the white acrylic paint and a small brush I made the daisies petals. 

After that I then used the black acrylic paint and the dotting tool to paint the dots on my middle and pinkie fingers.  I did this on only one of my hands.  You could do them on both if you want to.

Then I used a dotting tool to make a yellow oval on my thumb nail using the yellow acrylic paint.  Then I applied two black stripes using the black paint.  I also did a V shape to create the stinger.  Behind the stinger I made 3 dots with the dotting tool.  Using a small paint brush I painted the wings. Then using the dotting tool I placed white paint in the wing area. When this dried I put a quick dry top coat to seal in all the nails. Also be careful when using a quick dry top coat as I did because it did smear some of my dot designs. I even let my paint dry 30 minutes.

This is a fairly simple and quick way to do cute spring nails.  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

St. Patrick's Day Nail Art Tutorial

 I will show you step by step how to achieve this cute nail design for St. Patrick's Day. The following picture will show all the items used to create this.

Sally Hansen Insta-Grip Fast Dry Base Coat, Sally Hansen Xtreme in 110 Green with Envy, Sinful Colors in Call you Later, Kiss Nail Art Striper in Gold Glitter, Craft smart Acrylic paint in the colors Black and White and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top coat.

Apply two coats of the Xreme wear in 110 Green with Envy over a base coat.

Then apply one coat of Sinful Colors in Call you Later.

Then using the black acrylic paint make a stripe over the nail.

Then using the white acrylic paint make a square over the black stripe let dry.

After that dries then using the Kiss striper in Gold glitter paint around the white with several coats till it covers all the white parts.  Then using a q-tip clean any areas of polish that may have gotten on the edges. Then make sure it's totally dry before the last step which is applying the top coat.

Now you are done. What cute nails to wear to a party or just out. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.