Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Going On Safari?

So lately I have been super into animal prints. Add in the color pink, and I am head over heels for it! My wonderful parents knew how much I wanted to redo my bedroom and for Christmas has purchased me some gorgeous bedding, curtains, and bathroom accessories, however, unfortunately my comforter did not last very long.

Between dogs, daughters, a boyfriend, and some rowdy friends, the poor thing was basically torn to shreds. I have been suffering and waiting to buy a new set until I found one I really fell in love with, and I have finally done just that!

I'm sure many will find this set a little bit juvenile, but I can't help loving the gorgeous bubblegum pink color, and the amazing zebra print! Now I just have to hunt for the perfect zebra curtains to match (since for whatever reason, they do not sell them in addition to the bedset???)
I am absolutely in LOVE with the set, and it comes with a comforter, two shams, sheet set, and bed skirt. I paid only $50 after using walmart gift cards I had earned from taking paid surveys! I also am going to receive 3% cash back for using ShopAtHome to make my purchase.

I will definitely post before and after pictures when my set comes in! :)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

DIY Earring Display!

OMG can I just say how EXCITED I am that my earring display came out the way it did?? I did remember to take pictures along the way so I can post step-by-step instructions for you all as well!

To start you will need:
  1. whatever size picture frame you prefer. I chose 8X10 (which I found on clearance for $7)
  2. mesh/chicken wire/something along those lines (I found some plastic mesh things at ac moore for .69 each and got 3 colors because I couldn't decide in the store! lol)
  3. glue (hot glue will work best!), I made due with krazy glue and gorilla glue :)
  4. paint if you buy an unfinished frame and want to paint it
  5. fabric to back the frame (I found a .29 piece of felt at ac moore)
  6. scissors
1. Cut your mesh or chicken wire, whatever it is that you picked up, to fit inside your frame the way a picture would. (IF you decided to paint your frame you would do that before this step)

2. Glue your mesh inside the frame, for some reason I couldn't find my hot glue gun so I had to use some gorilla glue to glue mine in.

3. Glue your fabric to the back of the frame (preferably with hot glue however I made due again with krazy glue) (please ignore all the other stuff in the background! lol)

4. Let your glue dry and then add your favorite earrings! :)

I am so so happy with how this came out! It was my first time making one but I think I am going to make some smaller ones to group some of my favorite earrings by color and display them on my wall..well see though!

On top of being super easy and fun to do, it was also a super cheap project for me
clearance frame: $7.00
plastic mesh: $.69
black felt: $.29
Total cost: $7.98

I hope you guys find this helpful and as easy as I did!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Gel/Shellac Nails

Hey guys!

I'm sure a ton of you have heard about gel or shellac manicures and I wanted to share some info with you about them!

I have recently started doing them in my salon and have answers for your most common questions!

Q: Is there a difference between gel and shellac?
A: No, gel and shellac manicures are the same, only difference is different companies call them one or the other.

Q: What is the difference between a gel manicure and a gel overlay?
A: A gel manicure is a gel polish. Both cure in a UV light, however a gel overlay is a buildable gel that is generally used with tips much like acrylics.

Q: How do I take my gel or shellac polish off?
A: Your best bet is to go back to your salon and have them soak the polish off. It takes 15-20 minutes for the polish to soak off in pure acetone. Please DO NOT peel or rip the polish off, this can cause damage to your nail! Yes, you can purchase pure acetone and soak them off yourself.

Q: Can I still get a french manicure with gel or shellac?
A: Absolutely!

Q: How long will they last?
A: There is no guarantee for how long they last as everyone is different, but typically around two weeks.

Q: Why does my gel polish peel off the same day I had them done?
A: Some people just cannot wear gel polish. If you have oily nails, chances are your gel polish could peel or pop off right away.

Q: How long do they take to dry?
A: As soon as your nails are done curing in the UV light, you are completely dry! No worrying about smudging or chipping your nails! :)

Here are some pictures of my first ever gel manicure :) The color I used is called "dulce de leche"


My friend has really short nails that she bites and cuticles that she picks, she works with animals so she constantly has her hands in water or is washing her hands. (I'm working on the biting and picking though! lol)

Hope this helps you guys out with any questions you may have about gel/shellac manicures :)

It's been forever :( ...

And I am really trying hard to get back into blogging. I have decided to kind of add a couple more elements to this blog and post about not just beauty and hauling but home decor as well.

Since my ex and I separated last year, I have been super into fixing my condo up and getting everything the way I want it.

I have so much stuff that it's hard for me to keep everything organized but I have been working on it hard and getting everything done! It is taking a lot of time but I love how things are coming along!

My most recent project has been organizing my jewelry. I have tons of it so it has been hard to find places to display it all and have it easily accessible for me. Today I am heading to michaels or joannes to make a DIY earring display. I will definitely post pictures of how to do it when I do actually make it.

For now I will show you what I have done for my necklaces. A friend of mine gave me his old wall mount tie rack when he was moving and I have finally gotten around to putting it up (more like having my boyfriend put it up for me! lol).

Here's how it turned out:
It looks much more sparkly on my wall, for some reason my camera didn't pick up all the bling. I love how it looks there and it keeps all my necklaces untangled and out of the way! Plus the tie rack fit perfectly in between both of the closets in my room!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

It's been entirely too long!

In honor of St. Patricks day tomorrow, I wanted to do a post with all my green nail polishes! I then realized just how many green polishes I have, 11! I love green as a color but it's VERY rare that you will see me with green polish on.

Zoya polishes: Thumb - Veruschka, Suvi, Midori, Tangy, Irene


China Glaze Polishes: Thumb- Watermelon Rind, Outta bounds, Emerald Sparkle, Metallic Muse, Hey! Get in lime! (OPI on the pinky)


And because I had 11 polishes, I had to do one on it's own and decided to do Zoya's Envy since she is on of my absolute favorite greens!

So happy St. Patricks day! Remember, EVERYONE is Irish on St. Pattys Day!! Enjoy your day & be safe!!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Review: ME! Bath Ice Cream

I came across this company about 6 months ago on Facebook (CLICK HERE FOR THEIR PAGE) and I am a total sucker for bath products, especially really cute ones!


I was fortunate enough to be sent a free bath ice cream of my choice and picked the Mint Mojito scent.
Tell me that isn't so cute! It actually looks like a scoop of ice cream! The scent reminded me of the bath products you get in a hotel, which is good because I like the hotel shampoos but it really didn't smell like a mint mojito to me.

All of their products are handcrafted so no two will ever look identical which I love! It melted fast in the bath and right away I could feel the oils released into the water. My skin felt very hydrated and smoothe after my bath.

I would not recommend getting the bath water in your hair or on your face though because of the oils. My bath water turned a very pretty mint green color as the bath ice cream melted.

Overall I am very happy with the product. The bath ice cream are $8.50 each and available on their website HERE.




FTC disclaimer: I was sent this product for winning a giveaway, I was not paid to write this review or sponsored in any way and all opinions are 100% my own.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Daily Product Usage!

Ok so one of my favorite beauty bloggers EVER, Veronika did a really fun post (at least it was fun for me) about how many products you use on a daily basis. As I read through the products she uses on a daily basis, and came to the end results of her using 24 products daily not including tools, I thought it would be fun to think about my daily products.

I know a lot of you don't wash your hair daily, but I find that my hair is VERY greasy after a day, so for me, washing my hair daily is a MUST (Unless I'm in a super rush in which case I use a dry shampoo). So this is my everyday "low maintenance" product list (keep in mind when I go out with my husband on date night or for special events my list goes WAY up!)

Shower:
pantene ice shine shampoo
organix conditioner (either pomegranate green tea, teatree mint, or shea butter, depends on my mood)
Alba botanica pineapple enzyme facial scrub (it's very gentle!)
murad clarifying cleanser
gosmile energizing am toothpaste (YES I brush my teeth in the shower in the am, don't judge)
bath and body works shower gel (I generally have 3-4 different scents in my shower at any given time)

After shower:
clearasil toner
olay pro-x wrinkle smoothing cream
garnier fructis nutrioniste eye cream
burts bees acne solutions spot treatment (cant remember the exact name)
Avon Foot Works Deep Moisture Cream

the body shop body butter in strawberry
solar oil cuticle cream

Hair before styling:
chi silk infusion
sunsilk 24/7 cream
bedhead leave in conditioner
chi 44 iron guard

After styling:
big sexy hair hair spray
guys & gals shine spray (this is from the salon I used to work in, prior to this shine spray I used the mark. by avon shine spray)

Makeup:
tarte clean slate primer
Covergirl clean makeup foundation in classic ivory 110
Covergirl clean pressed powder in natural beige 140
mac mineralize grand duos blush in love rock
mac zoomlash mascara and chanel cils a cils mascara both in black
black liquid eyeliner (cant remember which one im using right now)
burts bees pomegranate chapstick
kevyn aucoin liquid cyber lip gloss in alurabliss

perfume:
right now its ed hardy for women, or miss dior cherie.

So on my easiest days I use a total of: 25 products! That does not include any tools I use like brushes or flatirons, etc.

I hope I'm not the only one (aside from Veronika!) who uses this many products on an easy day!!