Fall Faves....Nails!

Vampy, Sultry, Mysterious...Nail Polish can be all of those things!


I can't say enough about fall. It's my favorite season! The fresh crisp breeze, crunchy colorful leaves, pumpkins, apples and cider....I'm excited! One of the things that excite me most about fall is the change over from the bright pinks and coral nail polishes to the vampy and sultry deep blues, plums and purples. Nail polish probably doesn't excite the average person the way it excites me but I'm ok with that.

Whatever your mood I'm sure you will find a color to suit it. These are my picks for fall nail polishes.

Stay tuned for my fall faves....Lipstick!!

Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation & Small Haul

Smashbox Cosmetics

I decided to do a little shopping this weekend and thought I'd share. I picked up some high end and budget items. If I like it I buy it!! If it's $200.00 or $20.00 and it peaks my interest I'll make the purchase. I shop everywhere from Target to Nordstrom and everywhere in between.

The Foundation
Nordstrom was one of my stops this weekend to purchase the newly released (released 7/10/13) Smashbox Liquid HD Foundation. I also purchased their new Photo Op Eye Brightening Mascara Illuminateur and the Photo Set Finishing Powder. There was a representative/make up artist from Smashbox at Nordstrom specifically for the launch of this new foundation. Needless to say I was like a kid in a candy store.

I decided to have Smashbox's make up artist make up my face using the Liquid Halo Foundation. I knew I was in love instantly. The foundation is perfect for my combination dry/oily skin. It applied smooth, no clumping, no streaks, non greasy and non drying. Believe it or not of all the make up I own I only have one foundation and one tinted moisturizer. I am not big on foundation. If and when I do decide to wear anything it's never full coverage. My skin is my skin and I'm comfortable in it however imperfect it may be. There are those days though that I want to get a little cute and fancy! LoL This foundation will be my go to for those cute and fancy days. I would consider this foundation sheer to medium coverage but buildable.

• Light weight
• Sheer to medium coverage but buildable
• No "cake face" look
• Goes on super smooth
• Last all day
• Skin is still touchable and soft
• Not ashy looking

The Mascara
Elongated my lashes to the point I thought I had fake lashes on. If that's the look you are going for then this mascara is for you. I have to point out though that it's hard for me to be blown away by a mascara because my lashes are naturally long and full so the mascara is just enhancing what is already naturally there. It's not doing anything amazing to my lashes. Did I just toot my own horn? Yeap, TOOT TOOT, BEEP BEEP :)

Photo Set Finishing Powder
LOVE IT! Imagine finely milled silk...that's what this feels like. She applied it after the foundation, blush and bronzer and my face was "set" for the rest of the day. My makeup did not move until I removed it at the end of the evening. I'm impressed. This matte translucent oil-absorbing powder banishes shine and leaves you with a flawless finish.

Just me...Real Regular

A lil fancy in the face but still me. I love that I still look like me. I still see my face, my skin. My imperfections that make me...ME! I'm not caked under tons of foundation. This foundation is like a second skin. Very pleased with my purchase.

 Bonus Pic: Other items I picked up over the weekend. With the exception of these exceptional flats I purchased from payless.com for work. Every year/season I purchase a couple pairs of shoes to leave in my desk at work. I like these flats so much I might have to incorporate them into my regular wardrobe.

Shoes: Payless.com DexFlex comfort flat
Make Up: Smashbox from Nordstrom
Bangles and striped Vintage T's: Old Navy
Nailpolish: Sephora.com
Real Techniques Blush Brush: Ulta
Lipstick: Lancome from Ulta
Lipstick: Buxom from Sephora
Shorts: Torrid from at least 2yrs ago. Planned on wearing them today but ended up in Capri's instead

Professional Manicure At Home

DIY Mani (natural short nails)

Tired of paying for manicures where the color only last a good day or 2 before chipping? I have come up with a regimen for my nails where I am able to get anywhere from 4-5 days of a professional looking manicure before needing to re-manicure/paint my nails again.

First lets talk about my nails:

• Weak
• Thin
• Peely
• Soft
• Up until about 5yrs ago I was a nail bitter. I made a conscious effort to stop. I had a new found love/obsession with nail polish and of course I wanted to use the polishes I had began to collect. 

Now lets talk about what I use to remedy my weak, thin, peely nails.

I have tried countless products that have claimed to strengthen my weak nails and help them grow but that never happened until I stumbled upon Nailtiques. I started off with Formula 2 PLUS and I saw a difference almost immediately. Within the first 2-3 days I noticed a difference in the appearance of my nails, strength of my nails and growth. Yes, noticeable growth! Per the instructions Nailtiques should be applied in a thin layer everyday for a week. At the end of the week all layers need to be removed with nail polish remover and the process starts again until you get the desired result.  Once my nails were healthy I started using Nailtiques every other day. Currently I am no longer using Formula 2 PLUS but have moved on to Formula 2 and only apply it once a week or however many times per week I choose to change my polish. What I love most about Nailtiques is it doesn't stop working even after you've stopped using it regularly. In my opinion the product has completely changed my nails. You never would guess by looking at my nails now that they were ever as horrible as they were.

The Manicure:

Remove old polish/residue from nails using polish remover. I prefer Zoya's 3 in 1 remove plus. It's a polish remover, nail cleaner and nail prep all in one. 

Apply a cuticle remover. I prefer Be Natural Cuticle Eliminator. Does exactly what it claims...Eliminates overgrown cuticles. I apply to each cuticle working only one hand at a time as I have noticed in the past if I apply to all 10 fingers and began working on one hand by the time I'm ready to start on the other hand the product has started to dry and leave yellow staining. Gently clean around nail and gently push back cuticles. Wash hands with warm soapy water when done. Start the next hand. Most people don't like to cut their cuticles, I do. It's all about preference. After washing the cuticle remover off is when I would cut/trim away any excess dead skin/cuticle.

Time to gently file, shape and buff. At this point, before filing I like to apply a cuticle oil to my cuticles and skin around the nail. I rub in the oil and then proceed. I prefer CND Solar Oil. 

After shaping/lightly buffing nails wash hands with warm soapy water to remove any excess oil. It's time to polish!! Apply one thin coat of Nailtiques (For those of you who naturally have strong healthy nails, Skip this step)

Apply a base coat. I prefer CND Stickey Anchoring Base Coat. Let dry 1-2 minutes

Apply your color of choice. Today I have chosen Butter London in the color Trout Pout. The main question I get is "How do you paint your nails so neatly?" The only way I can answer that is "Practice makes Perfect" and a steady hand of course. I take my time. Let dry 1 to 2 minutes or more depending on how many coats of polish you are using.

In my opinion and experience the next 2 products add the staying power needed for my manicures to last more than a day or two.

Apply a no chip top coat. I prefer Revlon's Extra Life No Chip Top Coat. Let dry 1 to 2 minutes.

Apply a quick dry anti-chip top coat. I prefer Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

And wallah!! There you have it. The perfect at home manicure that was free and will last longer than the manicure you would have paid for. 

The following pictures are from my last mani which lasted me from Monday night - Saturday. Also keep in mind that I have natural hair and so does my daughter. What that means is my hands are constantly in water, oil, conditioner or some sort of moisturizer not to mention I'm a chronic hand washer. Me and germs don't get along.

LEFT HAND 

RIGHT HAND

Bonus Pics:

Lets see how many days today's mani will last

Nails with one thin coat of Nailtiques

Crazy for Corals

The Coral Craze

Coral is one of the hottest colors this spring/summer. If you don't own any coral nail polishes, lip glosses or lipsticks it's not too late to add this beautiful color to your collection. Whether you're in the mood for a pink based coral or a orange based coral you are sure to find a beautiful coral to compliment your outfit and accessories. Corals are everywhere this season and not hard to find. If you're looking for an inexpensive coral polish check your local drug stores for Essie in Cute as a Button or Peach Daiquiri (pictured below). If you have more of a taste for high end polishes I highly recommend Estee Lauder's Coral Cult (pictured below) I am currently wearing Coral Cult for my weekend mani and I have received tons of compliments. Coral Cult is the best of both worlds when it comes to Corals. At times it appears more pink based however in some settings depending on lighting it comes across as a juicy pink-ish tangerine color. Estee Lauder's Coral Cult is by far my favorite coral with Essie's Peach Daiquiri right behind it. Whatever coral you choose I'm sure you will be pleased!!

Lipstick pictured below is Revlon's new Super Lustrous Lipstick in Lover's Coral and gloss in Kiss Me Coral. I have not worn either color yet as these beauties were just purchased yesterday. Be sure to follow me on Instagram to see what the color looks like on!

With Flash

True Color with no flash