September 11, 2010

Makeup - Expensive Nail Polish... worth every penny!

I used to wonder WTF was wrong with people who made a big deal over OPI nail polish and question their sanity when they think that it is OKAY to spend more than ten bucks for a small bottle of nail polish when I can get the same sized bottle of Wet & Wild for 99 cents.  If I am lucky, there is a buy one get one free special. HA!  Ten bucks (sometimes sixteen) dollars for a bottle of nail polish is just ludicrous, right?  Thats what I thought too...

... but I admit that I am slowly moving on over to the dark side!  Eeep!  Save me!

I have never been crazy about painting my nails because...
  1. I have huge hands and feet... meaning:  HUGE nails...!  A lady who did my nails last called me "Supa-man" for my big hands and feet and I haven't gotten a professional manicure or pedicure since.  Sorta traumatizing!
  2. Can't afford weekly mani's and pedi's 
  3. Don't have the patience to do it myself and wait for all that gunk to dry before I can even scratch my nose!
  4. I am rough with my hands ("that's what she said" - LOL) and the colors start to chip by the following day, usually!

So yeah... those are just some of the reasons why I wouldn't think of spending a few extra bucks I could have spent on a Big Mac on a nail polish color.

BUT... lately I've been really bothered with the way my nails look sometimes.  My friends give me crap about my chipped nail colors often, so I usually just choose not to wear any nail color.  BUT... if I don't wear any nail color, my hands look massive and manly... and that just ain't cute!  :(

Anyway, I try to maintain my nail colors for those reasons... because chipped nail polishes aren't cute but neither are manly hands.

I would go to the drugstore around the corner and find the cheapest nail polishes I could find.  Yes, I am cheap like that!  I noticed that they take forever and a day to dry and I tend to eff it all up before its dry because I have to actually get things done from time to time.  Even if I sit around for an hour and it dries completely, it would start to chip and wear off by the next dish washing session.  How annoying!

Today, I decided to give OPI a shot after hearing all the great things about it.


Good thing I got mine for a discounted price, or else I would be beating myself up for it right now rather than typing this!  The color I got is not what is shown here... I got a color called "Senorita Rose-alita".  The description reads, "A rosy plum with a touch of golden charm".  Its REALLY pretty!  You can check out the color at http://opi.com/ but let me tell you that the picture online doesn't do it much justice.  ;)

The color dried fast and amazingly, I only needed ONE coat to get its true color.  I'm not talking about a gunky thick coat either... it was a really thin coat, but it gave the true color it promised when you look at the bottle.  I was so amazed that it was neither runny or too thick and gunky.  AND... it dried so amazingly fast... no more than ten minutes for my toes and fingernails, I would say.

Now, I am not usually an advocate of spending the same amount of money that is better spent on an eyeliner on nail polish, but look at it as an investment.  We'll see how long this polish lasts, but from what I've heard and read, it can last up to two weeks without chipping at all!  Thats amazing... but I will report if it is true or not.  If it is, then it truly is an investment because you would only have to do your nails once in two weeks.  Think about it... if you use the cheaper brands that chip and wear off after a day or two, you'd really be spending more money on nail polish than you think... considering you would have to apply multiple coats and you'd be done with your bottle before you even know it! (I didn't even use a top coat because I want to test it out)  I also find that I am never really satisfied with other nail colors and I would just buy it out of impulse because its so cheap. Its rare that I wear a nail color more than once, but in this case, I am so happy and in love with the color that I KNOW I will wear it over and over again.  Ahhh!  New love!

Do you use OPI?  What do you think of it?  What other nail polish brands do you recommend?  Any tips for those who are rough on the hands and the color wears off from easily?

THANKS!!

By the way... I don't know why, but that was a fun post.  I sure miss blogging!  You'll hear more from me now, I think!  ;)

Makeup - Preferred Foundation

On my clients, I have been using a professional brand of foundation that cannot be bought at stores.  (If you really wanna know, just ask)  It is way too expensive for me to afford for my own face and to be honest, I don't want to spend that much time applying foundation for myself on a daily basis.  I stuck with my tried and true MAC foundation since it didn't give me any problems and to be honest, it is less expensive than a lot of other brands that I would use if I could afford to.

Recently though, I was asked what type of foundation I would recommend.  I took a few trips to my lovely nearby Sephora to see what else is out there and really... I just wanted to play with all the makeup... its been awhile.  Good news... I think I found a winner!


I tried pretty much everything... and this is the best one that I have found.  Great coverage that isn't too heavy and also doesn't seem oily and would run off people's skin.  If you haven't tried it, I suggest you give it a shot.  What you got to lose?  Forty bucks?  HAHA... I know it sounds like a lot if you don't typically use foundation or you are used to drugstore lines (though there is nothing wrong with that), but a little goes a long way.  I say a bottle would last about 6 months if you use it everyday... assuming you don't gunk on way too much on a daily.

Well, that was a quick post, but I just felt like sharing it with yah.  If you do try it or have tried it, let me know what you think!

Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone!  :)

September 9, 2010

LFO - RIP Rich Cronin :(

Yesterday was a sad day.  Rich Cronin of LFO (He is the blonde one in the picture to the left) died of Leukemia at the young age of 35. Who could forget the catchy songs like "Summertime" and "Girl on TV"?  I am a huge fan of boy bands, and LFO was one of the bands whose song always brought a smile to my face.  Abercrombie & Fitch better have paid them lots of money for their indirect promotion because I swear they made the brand that much more popular.  I only had about 6 or 7 Abercrombie pieces in my closet, but I will admit that part of the reason why I purchased those pieces was because of the line, "I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch".  HELLOOOO... I wanna be liked by LFO so of course I'm going to wear it... or try to wear it!

"Girl on TV" was also one of my favorites... I used to wish that I was Jennifer Love Hewitt in the video!  Gosh, I was such a teeny bopper... and a little something inside me tells me that I still am!

Although we haven't heard much from LFO as of late, Rich Cronin will be truly missed.  He's beautiful... and in my opinion, puts Nick Carter to shame (sorry BSB... I love you too... but I'm just sayin'!).  *sigh*  Rest in Peace, Rich... I really hope the Chinese Food up there doesn't get you sick anymore and that the Angels around you wear Abercrombie & Fitch.

Lets reminisce a little bit...

Summertime
Girl on TV

August 30, 2010

I made it all up!

What a fun weekend, it was for me!

Being jet lagged (still), it was hard to get up early in the mornings since I've been back from Hawaii.  BUT... I did it anyway!

On Saturday, I had a small makeup gig.  My model really looked like Lucy Liu!  Very pretty and sweet lady... and we got to know each other so well (a little bit more than we had to... oops! haha) over the short amount of time that we spent together.  I love meeting and working with different people. :)

Sunday morning, I left the house by 5:45am to make it to an all day event in Beverly Hills.  Looking back at my sheet now, I did makeup and hair for a total of 13 people from 7am-3pm.  Not bad, right?  I am actually really proud of myself, considering the amount of time I was given and hearing the feedback from my work.  Most of all, I am so grateful for all the things that I learned from the other Makeup Artists that I worked with.  (THANK YOU!)  I am looking forward to the next project working with this company and artists... and working with new models and photographers.  I cannot wait to get the photos to add them to my portfolio that I am currently rebuilding.

This weekend... was all MADE UP!  (get it?  hehehe)