Pop Art Spring Nails

Yay, Spring is here! It's been way too long since I've done a fancy-pants design on my nails so I grabbed my tools and went to work: 

Left Hand

Right Hand (sorry for the smudge on Pinkie)

This was SO fun and easy to do! I really love the tangy orange. It's still a pastel, so it's not an irritatingly bitter looking orange. Pastels are going to be huge this spring, so grab yourself a bottle of pastel orange and even a minty-seafoam green. Bring on the allergies, Mother Nature! (Can you tell I am ready for winter to be over?)

Products Used: 

Pop Beauty Nail Glam polish in Tangerine Taste

Milani Black Magic

China Glaze White on White

A bobby pin (for the dotting)

Striper brush

Keeping Up With Kim's Smoky Eyes

Oh, the obligatory Kim K "Smoky Eye" tutorial. People kept asking for it, so it was inevitable: I had to do one. Here's a photo of her typical smoky eye. You will notice that her makeup artist always layers the purple, instead of smacking one dark plum over the whole eye he will use lilacs, purples and plum. This is what makes smoky eyes look flattering on us. Kim also has a lot of long, lush eyelashes, top and bottom. When trying to achieve her amazing look, it's important do the following.  

1) Layer your colors

2) Apply mascara on bottom lashes 

3) Tightline

 (I talk about tightling in my video below, check it out)

My Version

STEP BY STEP

More Pix

PRODUCTS USED:

Eyes

Macroviolet and Blacktrack Fluidlines from MAC

MAC eye shadows in Expensive Pink, Soft Brown, Shadowy Lady and Carbon

MAC Pink Bronze Pigment

Lips

Natural liner, NYX

Cosmopop, Lime Crime

Pink Hope, Youngblood Cosmetics

Face

Tarte Amazonian Clay in Glisten

MAC Big Bounce Eye Shadow cream in Trophy

Sindulge Goody Bag Review

A couple of blog posts ago, I talked about Sindulge.com's beauty event. We each got these awesome little beauty gift bags filled with innovative items and after trying them all, I decided to share my thoughts with you. Click the video to watch my mini-haul!

J.Lo at the Oscars

If you watched the Oscars this year, then you know that Jennifer Lopez looked FIERCE in her low-cut sequin gown, classic bun piled high on her head and glow-y makeup. 

Here's my version

Click below to watch this quick and easy J.Lo tutorial

Just me and my forever sidekick, having a moment

PRODUCTS USED

Face

MAC Refined Golden Bronzer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (any shimmery shade will work)

MAC True Red blush

MAC Pearl Cream Color Base

Eyes

Urban Decay Priming Potion in Eden

MAC Fascinating and Teddy eye kohls

MAC Charcoal Brown, Scene and Vanilla eyeshadows

MAC Vanilla Pigment

Wet N Wild black liquid liner

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara

Lips

MAC Stripdown lip liner

MAC Viva Glam 5 lipstick

Stila 24k Gold gloss

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips Are So "Aflorable"

Sally Hansen came out with a bunch of new prints in honor of Spring and Valentine's Day. I picked up this one in "Aflorable" and I've already worn it twice. I also scored one of Revlon's brand new colors in Muse, the sage color you see on the rest of my nails. I like to mix it up when it comes to wearing the print nail polish strips. I'll do some of my nails in the print and wear a complimenting solid polish on the rest. 

I know it's only February, but these nails make me feel like spring is just around the corner!


***
A lot of people have told me that they have a hard time applying these strips, and I used to as well, until I changed the way I put them on: 

1) Put on a base coat. The directions say not to, but I find that the strip doesn't stick as well if you lay it down on a bare nail.

2) After you lay the strip onto your nail, direct your blow dryer, on low heat, on your finger. This warms up the strip and "melts" the polish so it melds onto your nail. 

3) After blow drying for a few seconds, you should be able to gently tug at the top of the strip, pointing down, and it will cut off on its own at the tip of your nail. You can file down any ridged edges. 

Hope these tips help. Let me know if you would like to see a tutorial on this method !

Sindulge at Culver Hotel

On Wednesday evening I attended Sindulge's event at the historic Culver Hotel. Sindulge is a great new website that sends you a selection of luxury samples for $12 a month. What's really cool is that they also offer personalized consultations via video and text chat with an expert staff of makeup artists and beauty experts! When I asked Ami Desai, Sindulge makeup expert, what set Sindulge apart from other "swag bag-a-month" companies, she informed me that every monthly sample bag is different for each customer, depending on their skin type and style needs, which will be determined after speaking with the customer via video and texts. Cool, right?! I wasn't able to take photos of everyone who was there, but I met SO many awesome ladies and gents who genuinely were nice people and loved all things-beauty. Here are some of the highlights of the evening....

Ami Desai, left with a fellow Sindulge expert (sorry, I didn't catch her name)

How cute was the little swag bag? 

Youngblood Cosmetics, a mineral makeup company was there with all their new products

Youngblood cream blushes, highlighter and lipstick

The goodies we got: LA Fresh waterproof makeup removing wipes,  Pop Beauty nail lacquer  (mine was Tangerine Toste), Youngblood lip gloss in Pink Hope, Youngblood Mineral Primer, Youngblood Eye Impact Cream, and ME natural eye pencil in Emerald City.

I was in love with the upstairs bar area at Culver Hotel- so fun to shoot!

I absolutely adored this detailed column

At the Pop Beauty nail polish station

Having fun with the Vanity Girl mirror- oh how I'd love one in my home!

Miss Vanity Girl herself, Maxine on the red carpet with celebrity makeup artist Jeffrey Paul

From L-R: Beauty blogger Gloria Yang, TV host Jennifer Chan, my PR girl Jennifer Castaneda and me.

Apparently, we all love small, quilted purses with gold chains. LOL!

Style Haul during Fashion Week N.Y.C.

I've mentioned Style Haul before, but I think it's worth bringing up again, because it really is a great beauty and fashion channel. Style Haul interviews makeup artists, hair stylists, fashion gurus about the most up-to-date trends in all things beauty. If you haven't jumped on the Youtube bandwagon, now is the time! I love being subscribed to their channel. I just log in to my Youtube account and click on my subscriptions. Watching these Style Haul videos is one of the biggest ways I keep up with fashion and beauty news. 

Take the latest video for example. Glamour Magazine's Editor Louise Roe took to the backseat of taxi cabs in N.Y.C. during Fashion Week to talk with bloggers about what they saw on the runways. Being on the West Coast, I wasn't able to attend but it really felt like I was there because of all these fun interviews! 

Enjoy....