NOTD: Monday March 23 2009

Photo from Sandbox World

These pix don't really do this justice. If Strawberry Shortcake** wore nail polish, it would look like this. I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Sheer Strawberry and one coat of Sinful Colors White Diamond.


These pix make it look a lot more sheer than it was. The flash really bring that out. It was sheer, but not as sheer. It looked like pink shimmery icing or something. That's what made me think of Strawberry Shortcake, but it's a very princessy color, too.

Photo from Cakes By Yvonne

Also, let me know what you think of the watermarks. I'm still trying to work out what I like. Do you think it covers up the colors too much?

**BTW, that is the new, revamped Strawberry Shortcake, up there. She's got a makeover last year. And it's not just looks:

Strawberry Shortcake was having an identity crisis. The “it” doll and cartoon star of the 1980s was just not connecting with modern girls. Too candy-obsessed. Too ditzy. Too fond of wearing bloomers.So her owner, American Greetings Properties, worked for a year on what it calls a “fruit-forward” makeover. Strawberry Shortcake, part of a line of scented dolls, now prefers fresh fruit to gumdrops, appears to wear just a dab of lipstick (but no rouge), and spends her time chatting on a cellphone instead of brushing her calico cat, Custard.

Next thing you know she'll be teaming up with a high-end cosmetics company. (See the MAC Hello Kitty Collection, Two-Faced Smurfette Collection, and Barbie. Wooo, Barbie is a makeup slut. But, no surprises there. Nor complaints. Just sayin'.) They are also revamping the CareBears to give them longer lashes and less belly fat. WTF. See Fictional Stars Get 21st Century Facelift.

Nail Care

Normally when I do my nails, I don't really take care of them. I clean off the polish with a nail polish remover an a apply the next color, along with base and top coats. Today, I decided to actually give myself a manicure. My nails are thanking me as we speak. My cuticles look a lot better, my polish looks better. My nails look pretty darn good.


First, I removed the existing polish with Sally Hansen Moisturizing Polish Remover. It works really well, but I can't speak to how much it moisturizes. I just never took notice. But I've been using the stuff for a while. Could be, if I switched to something non-moisturizing, that I would notice right away.


Next, I used Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle Remover, which I bought a few months ago, but only used it once. Didn't really notice anything. I took it out today and followed the directions: Apply a thin strip of Problem Cuticle Remover around cuticle and under nail. Massage into cuticle. After 3 to 5 minutes, gently ease back cuticles with Manicure Stick. Wash away excess with warm, soapy water. Huh, I definitely didn't follow those directions when I used it last time. So, I follow the directions. Afterward, my horrible cuticles were much improved. They appeared healthier and they were pushed back, so my nails looked better.


After applying the color, I used Avon Anew Ultimate Transforming Hand and Nail Cream. (whew! What a mouthful!) This product claims to:

"Visibly reduce fine wrinkling and strengthen nails and cuticles with a cream that reduces blotchiness and produces a naturally radiant, even skintone."

I can't really assure you if it does that. I don't think I have any significant wrinkling on my hands. It was a very thick cream. It feels a little greasy I think. I am not sure I love it. I might try another cream next time.

Another thing I am working on to improve the appearing of my manicures is the way I treat my nails. I am being more careful about when I use my nails. It takes some work to type without using my fingertips, but I'm getting there. I have stopped opening soda cans and taking out staples with my finger nails, and I've seen a marked improvement.

All in all, I think my hands look nicer. They definitely feel better. I am thinking that it might be worth it to take a little extra time when I'm doing my nails from now on.

NOTD and FOTD: Tuesday March 17 2009 ST. PATRICK's DAY!

Are you ready for a St. Patrick's Day FOTD and NOTD????

Eye products

Dab on a very thin layer of the ELF cream shadow on to lids (I did the chartreuse in the inner 1/2, bronze outer 1/2). Using Coastal Scents 78-pc-palette, select the green labeled "1" and apply that to whole lid. Next, take bronzy color labeled "2" and apply to outer corner and a little ways into the crease. That pale champagne-y color "3" is for highlight. Apply to brow bone. Next, I applied the brown to the outer 1/2 of lower lash line and the green to the inner 3/4. Green liner to waterline, I used NYC waterproof in Teal. So, not quite green, but best I got. Curl your lashes and apply mascara of choice. Since these were more earthy colors, I used CG Lash Blast in Black/brown. A little more natural color. Oh, I also applied some black shadow "4" to my brows after grooming to color them in some. I don't do that everyday, but I had the CS palette out, so I thought, why not.

Voila:



Some face and lip products:

That whitish lipstick is actually a primer.
I used the Avon Blush in Earthen Rose for contour.


Now for the nails! Take the following ingredients:

And MIX!
3/4 SH Emerald City 1/4 SH Gunmetal. Add 3 drops each of a white and a black creme (I used Rimmel Nail Tip Whitener and Maybelline Onyx Rush). Next, I added a bit of NYX Crystal Glitter and NYX Pink Pearl. Add just a little NP remover to thin it out if necessary.

Now, that's what I did. You probably don't want to. Because if you're smarter than me, you'll realize that a glitter in an opaque polish will look dumb. It looks fairly reptilian. Hmm. That's what I'll call this. "Reptilian." Cool.

With Flash

W/o flashHoly crap! Look at all the green! Anyway, it was fun. :-)

NOTD: Thursday March 05 2009

I only had one vote (Tiffasaurus failed me) so now, my nails are green! I'm really liking the color! I wanted something different than what I had on hand, so I frankened!

These are the colors I used:

Recipe: 20 drops of Maybelline Go Go Green (a chartreuse with shimmer), 10 drops of Sally Hansen Emerald City (a darker green with shimmer, not quite forest green), and 10 drops of Pure Ice Jaguar (a champagne gold with a hint of fine glitter).

Mix 'em all together and the result was Harlequin:




I love picking out new names :-)

This color is what Maybelline Go Go Green wishes it was! I mean, compared with the outside of the bottle, it looks like GGG should be this shade, but compare these swatches (one coat each). GGG is a lot more YELLOW than Harlequin. It's hard to tell with one coat, but here are the pictures.


Also, here is the little mixing thing that I use. I don't have very many empty bottles so, I use this and only make enough for one mani.

NOTD: Jan 01 2009

These are two NOTDs from Jan 01 and Jan 07. They are both Sally Hansen. The first is Forever Mango. It was very difficult to get a good photo of this! The first photo is w/o flash. The second is with. The first looks orange the second looks pink! Its somewhere in between.




This second color is Poppy. This is two coats but should be three, as it's still a bit on the sheer side. Anyway, I can't help but love these kinds of colors. I think they go very nicely with my skin tone.