Leopard Nails

I made an attempt at the look after wanting the Sally Hansen ones that you just stick on, but couldn't justify spending ten dollars on a package.  So with nail polishes I already had, I made my own leopard nails.  Here's how:

1. Painted my nails with Ulta's Set the Nude Nail Lacquer.  No top coat.

2. Make small irregular circles/dots with black nail polish tool.  I used Milani's black polish that's specifically made for nail designs.  You can get it at CVS.

3. After that dried a little bit, I went back and added white dots in the circles for some dimension.  I used a similar polish to the Milani one that I bought from Icing.

4.  Let everything dry.  Otherwise you will smear the polish which I did.  It doesn't necessarily look terrible because it almost adds a fuzzy/furry effect, but it's an unreliable technique to attempt each time.

5. Then top coat to seal the design in.

Ulta Nail Lacquer in Set The Nude Review

I had some reward points that were up to Level 3 so I decided to use that to get a free nail polish and eyeshadow.  Set the Nude is a beigey taupe color that is matte.  I just tried it today and so far I love it.  It only took one semi-thick coat to cover the nail completely.  I'm impressed.  I have use Ulta nail polishes in the past, but I think that they have changed their formula because the quality of this polish is much better than the last.  Usually it's not hard for me to make a little mess on my fingers while painting my nails and with this brush and formula there was none of that.  I hardly got a drop on my skin, that almost never happens.  Overall, I would give Set the Nude 10/10 unless it chips in the next 24 hrs.

Pardon my unmanicured nails.  I had just taken navy blue polish off.

LIFE:

This is my Jenny.  16 yrs old, hang in there.

My BF and I saw Crystal Castles at the House of Blues and it was an imtimate and perfect show.  I've seen them before and I think this was one of their best performances.  Very happy that I got to be there.  Thanks to Dave and his friend Alex.

This is Lollapalooza during the day.

And Lolla at night.  It was so much fun.  I can't wait until next year!!!!

Got to meet Ben Lyons at Lollapalooza.

And Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad.  BB is THE best show I've seen in my life (filming, acting, plot, everything is well done).

How to Avoid New Blemishes from Picking/Squeezing

I know it's nasty!  But sometimes some of us have a tendency to pick at or squeeze blemishes and blackheads in hopes that they go away.  It's a terrbile habit (more like a stress induced habit for me) and should NEVER occur if you wish to keep your skin clear and undamaged.  As a result of picking, new blemishes tend to pop up and old ones tend to get worse. 

But anyway, when I decide to do this, here is what I do to avoid worsening my skin's condition:

*I don't recommend that anyone do this if their skin is really sensitive (mine is semi-sensitive) or if it just sounds like a bad idea to you.

1.  After I've taken the plunge, I gently wash my face with a cleanser like Purpose.

2. After gentle cleansing to clear away dirt, I take a face brush (I use the Face Secrets one from Sally Beauty) and scrub in a circular motion all over my face (avoid delicate eye tissues).  I push a little harder on the brush than I normally would for daily use.  Use a cleanser of your choice.  I either use the same gentle cleanser or sometimes use the Equate version of Proactiv found at Walmart cleanser.

3.  Then I pat my skin dry with a clean towel.

4.  Next I take the Equate version of Proactiv's third step lotion with benzoyl peroxide and rub it all over my face (not in globs, be reasonable, there shouldn't be excess product on your face).  Spot treating doesn't seem to stop the spread of blemishes to the rest of the face.

5. Avoid touching your face from then on, go to sleep!  Let the product work.

*If you have Proactiv, go ahead and use that because the ingredients are pretty much the same.  I've used Proactiv in the past and the Equate system smells, feels, and works just the same.

Again, I'm no expert, this is just what I found works for me after having this bad habit for years.  Almost seems like a miracle that I wake up looking like I've hardly done a damn thing to my face.  And I don't know why magazines tell you to hold ice to a inflamed blemish, because I still do this hoping it helps, but it really doesn't make a difference at all and ends up leaving my skin red in spots where I held the ice (yes, it was wrapped in a towel and not directly applied ice to skin).  My skin also feels more sensitive after icing.  But if it works for you, great.

And my dawgie.  Can't get enough of her.

FOTD: Sexy Neutral? and ecoTools Bronzer Brush Review

Haha I don't know what to call this look, but I did it before work yesterday and I love it.  I felt pretty all day and my makeup only started to fade if even after 8 hours.  Sorry my pictures are taken with my phone so they aren't the highest of quality but you can still see what I used.


Eye Primer: LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
Eyeshadow: LORAC Box Office Hit palette 
Eyeliner (Top): wet n wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner in Dark Brown
Eyeliner (Waterline): Cover Girl Liquiline Blast in Green Glow
Mascara: Maybelline Colossal Mascara in Black
Foundation: Revlon Colorstay for Normal/Dry Skin in Sand Beige
Powder: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium
Concealer: Physician's Formula Conceal Rx in Natural Light
Blush/Bronzer: Neutrogena Healthy Skin Custom Glow Blush & Bronzer in Posie Glow
Highlighter: Jane. Shimmering Blush in Wisteria
Lip: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Peach Petal

 

Tid bit: Jane's shimmering blush was used only on the highest part of my cheekbone and along the slope of my nose.

Tid bit: To line my bottom lash line I used the navy shade from the LORAC palette.
And although the Green Glow eyeliner is very light and not as dramatic as I paid/hoped for it to be, it's a very pretty accent to the whole eye look.

Love this brush! The ecoTools Bronzer Brush is very dense and applies MAC MSF like a dream.  It also doesn't leave a lot of extra dust or whatever you want to call it when swipe the brush across the powder.  The handle is thicker and makes holding the brush during application much easier.  I just don't like the bamboo look of the ecoTools line.

EXTRAS OF MY LIFE:

My old puppy:

Detroit Electronic Music Festival

Eek, I got to meet Skrillex!

Dress/Shirt that I made all freehand :) First time too. I did watch a tutorial for sewing on the sleeves though.  I forgot her name, but it was really helpful.  It looks skanky in this picture because of the lighting, but it's not.  I would also wear it with tights. 

Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale Haul

So a couple a weeks ago, I did visit Victoria's Secret during their Semi-Annual Sale and picked up a few things.  I usually get excited about the perfumes that are slashed in price rather than the bras which are still expensive for me.  I wish they would clearance the bras down more than they do.

Lovin' the leopard print one :)



So on top is VS's Vixen shimmer puff.  I love the scent of this and the shimmer is so pretty.  I like to put it on my chest/collarbone area when going out. 

From the left is a creamy Vanilla & Sandalwood scented body wash which smells amazing and makes my skin super soft. 

Next is their Beauty Rush mascara in Indiglow which I have not opened yet.  I have tried the violet Beauty Rush mascara (I forget it's name) and I love it.  I have read bad reviews on it, but it looks good on me.  I'll put up a picture with it's effects at a later time. 

Next it's Room 504 lotion and cream.  The lotion smells just like the spray and lasts a little while.  I detect a hint of it on my arm 5 hours later.  The cream is the same just a little thicker and more moisturizing. 

Next is the a Velvet Amber Blackberry spray.  I love Velvet Amber Blackberry and am sad that they are discontinuing it :( 

Lastly is VERY SEXY DARE perfume.  I returned it just because I have the big spray and it smells too masculine for me.

Almost forgot to add my hoodie which is so comfy and I'm always dying to catch anything black from the PINK line on sale :)

Perfume Haul

First up is Vanilla Passion Nourishing Body Cream from Calgon's Take Me Away! collection.  This is THE BEST drugstore vanilla scent.  Well it's better than any other brand's gourmand type scent, expensive or not.  I was so surprised by the quality of this product.  The scent is not a cheap smell.  It's caramel-vanilla like Pink Sugar which I just reviewed.  It also moisturizes really well and goes on smooth and creamy.  I can't wait to get the spray which also smells just good.  I tested Vanilla Passion out and purchased the cream at Walmart where it's only 5 bucks for huge amount of product.

Next up is Philosophy's Falling In Love EDP and I honestly don't like it.  It smells pretty with the tester in store, but it seemed much more tart when brand new.  Who knows, maybe my nose was clouded with other scents.  And I know that certain perfumes need a bit of time to mature and this is probably one of them.  Don't get me wrong, it is a nice scent, just not for me.  So if anyone already loves this perfume, contact me (jjgirl1989@gmail.com) and we can trade or I'll give it to you for less than it's $50 worth since I already sprayed it.

Lastly for this post is Playboy's Play It Lovely EDT.  This comes in a cheap, but very cute round bottle with a black bunny head for the cap.  And it smells wonderfully fresh and kinda spicy, I don't know how to describe it exactly.  They also have Play It Spicy and Play It Sexy.  They are all kinda spicy, but this one has the least amount so when I say spicy, it's more of a light spice accent.  Although it smells so lovely, it doesn't last at all.  The only way I get it to last is if I spray it 6-7 times and kinda get it toward my hair.  Then it lasts for a few hours.  That just doesn't seem worth it.  I wouldn't buy this again unless it was on clearance.

Pink Sugar Gift Set Review

Sorry I've been a horrible blogger, I doubt anyone pays attention to my blog haha :( But I work and have summer class and am on a low spending budget because the iPhone costs so damn much.  Anyway, I do have lots of little things to review because I went on a little spree.

So here goes.  This might sound raunchy, but ever since I went to the strip club in L.A. back in April, I couldn't get that stripper scent out of my head (my boyfriend says I think like a guy), but really I just wanted to smell like that because it's so sweet and pretty.  So I end up looking online for what a lot of strippers wear as perfume and Pink Sugar by Aquolina came up a lot so I went and smelled it at Ulta and ever since then I have been crazed and I think about the perfume every day like a weirdo.  I bought the perfume originally from walgreens.com, but it didn't have the brand name on it.  Now I'm sure it was authentic because I trust Walgreens, but I think it's stupid that Aquolina wouldn't put their brand on the bottle or the packaging.  That bothered me and so I returned it.  And for some reason, it didn't smell as good as the one in Ulta.  Well I bought the gift set because it came with the 3.38oz hair perfume that I have been dying to purchase, a 1.7oz EDT, and a little lotion (I think it should have been bigger for the cost!!!).  But either way I "saved" some money by not buying these items separately.

1.7oz EDT: Yum. Yum. Yum.  I'm floating on clouds every time I wear this.  If you don't know what Pink Sugar smells like, it's a caramel cotton candy vanilla scent, but not like those Body Fanstasies sprays which are OK, but very synthetic smelling.  I'm not huge on perfume terminology, but all I can say is that this EDT last longer than most my EDPs.

3.38oz Hair Perfume:  This adds a light hint of Pink Sugar to the hair and it lingers.  You can definitely smell it.  I can't get enough of this scent.

1.75oz Lotion:  Smells great, but the texture is very slick and not creamy at all.  Actually it says cream on the tube.  Oh well, I bought the set for the other two items anyway.

Eitherway, I think this is a decent deal if you are in looooove with Pink Sugar like me :)

Extra tid bit:

Love's Sugar Kiss by Dana smells similar to Pink Sugar and is a cheaper alternative.  I read that it is a decent dupe, but I don't think it quite matches up in lasting power or sweetness.  Sugar Kiss is softer like it has more musk in it.  It's a cologne mist so that explains the lasting power.  I love it although I have to spray a lot of it.  Try to catch it on sale.

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Ink Splatter Review

Love this stuff and I think it works great and thanks to my friend, Alex, for letting me try hers before I bought it :).  I admit I had my doubts about it, but it works.  I have not tried Black Shatter from the Katy Perry collection so I do not have that to compare it to.  I wanted to get that one originally but gave up a couple months ago because I couldn't find it anywhere, and now it's restocked but I'm too cheap to pay the ten bucks.  So I just forgot about it and Ink Splatter is almost the same price, but I got it on sale at CVS, plus used an in-store coupon and I ended up getting 2 bottles for $7.  I will have to review the blue one later.

So putting it on is a little difficult but it can be done.  You have to put it on thinly, but not too thin otherwise it'll dry up too fast and be transparent.  If you put it on too thick, it loses the crackle effect.  When it dries it looks like a soft black so a top coat is a MUST.  I always use a top coat no matter what when I paint my nails so it's not a task at all for me.

Try to catch it on sale right now!  You won't regret it.



I put Ink Splatter over my already chipping nails so I apologize for the tips of my nails looking like poop.



UPDATE:  I received a bottle of Black Shatter by O.P.I. and now I can compare the two.  I actually prefer the Sally Hansen version because you can get thicker blocks of black with good separation.  Black Shatter has a cleaner/smoother formula (less clumpy), but it doesn't crackle enough for me.  The cracks are very thin so it's hard to see the nail color that is underneath.  Even applying thick, I still got thin cracks everywhere.  I still like it though.