cascade cool

hey loves!

 

i'm so sorry i've been MIA lately, the ba and i finally moved into our dream place and i've been super busy getting things in their proper place.

 

all the while i was able to pick up my first bottle of essie polish and have since bought two more!

 

i am in love with essie! i've always thought they were a bit overpriced but i can def tell the difference in quality from my cheap dollar/drug store polishes!

 

this one is called cascade cool and it is the perfect pink, i've been looking for this anytime pink shade for years and finally found it!

 

i promise to get back dedicated to my posting now that we are all settled in!

 

stay beautiful!

hard as nails

hey loves!

long time no read, huh? sorry i've been mia lately. we here in the u.s. had our annual 4th of July celebration this week and i've also been on vacation from work so i've been kinda busy.

here's another one of my newly recent favorite's, it's the sally hansen hard as nails hardener.

as you know a couple of months ago i stop wearing my artificial nails and tried many different hardeners to get some real strength back into my nails and as soon as i purchased this product my nails instantly improved.

it cost about $2 a bottle and it works! i can see on my nails where all the damaged part has not actually grown off and the top half is still very yellow but i have great strength in them thanks to this hardener!

i've been able to let them grow out and actually shape them with only about a month's worth of usage.

if your looking for a perfect hardener this is the way to go! not to mention it is super cheap and affordable!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

seche ultra-v

hi loves!

so here's another favorite!

i mentioned this product last month when i purchased it and i am completely in love with it. it is the most shiny, super-fast drying, chip-proof top coat i've ever used!

the seche ultra-v uv activated top coat is a nail fanatic like myself, miracle in a bottle!

this polish requires a uv light to cure but when it does it is wonderful! the bottle says 3 min dry time but i usually leave it under 6 min and BAM completely DRY!

it holds my manicure for up to 5 days with no chipping! usually around day 5 i will have a very small chip on just one nail.

i bought this from sally's beauty supply for about $8. i bought my uv light from ulta for about $20. please do give them both a try and i'm sure you will love them!

let me know what you guys think!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

pink chiffon

hey loves!

so with the summer in full effect, i'm going to really try and keep you guys updated on my summer favorites.

this scent is called pink chiffon from bath & body works and i've actually been wearing it since early spring.

i absolutely love this fragrance! initially i'd bought a bottle of the body spray, the body lotion, and the body cream but i ended up going back like a week later and taking full advantage of their 'buy 3 get 3 free' deal and bought more of everything including the body shimmer.

the boyfriend and i took a road trip late march and i ran into a bath & body works outlet and ended up getting 3 purse sized body sprays for $10 total! all within 2 weeks! can we say immediately addicted!

i think it's safe to say i've got plenty of pink chiffon to last me well past the end of summer which is a wonderful thing considering i wear it every single day!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

caviar passion

hey loves!

so i've been wanting to try this for awhile now and finally had the time to do it and can i just say, I AM IN LOVE! this is definitely a keeper for me!

if you haven't noticed i love nail polish and painting my nails and this is really unique! the items i used are the 'recollections micro bead' set from michael's. they cost about $7 and work perfectly.

here's how i did it:

i put a small amount of beads in a small container and had an little larger container empty for catching the excess.

i did my normal base coat and applied one coat of polish, let it dry.

then i added a coat of my quick drying uv top coat and immediately sprinkled the beads on top of the wet polish. i did two coats of beads because i wanted them to be really packed but one is fine.

lightly tap your finger on the beads to pack them into the wet polish.

it's best to do one finger at a time because you want the beads to come in contact with fresh wet polish.

lastly, do a light top coat to help prevent chipping. i did a top coat over the entire nail, i find it helps seal the entire thing. some coloring my come off the beads so just wipe your nail brush on a tissue before putting it back in the bottle. and your done! lovely huh!?!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

sterling rose - OOTD

dress - magic (ross)

shawl - hypnotized (ross)

clutch - hgb (shoe dept)

shoes - candies (kohls)

hi loves!

yesterday was the last day of public school for students! school's out for the summer!

i went to an awrds banquet with a friend last night and this is what i wore.

i hope you all are well! have a wonderful weekend!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

may birchbox

hey loves!

so i know this is a bit late but here goes.

this month's birchbox was my first and most likely only one. for those who don't know birchbox is a monthly subscription that cost $10 a month where you get a box of samples of the latest beauty products. this month's box was 'gossip girl' themed.

here is the list of the may box items:

arquiste perfume (very small sample size)

caudalie (hand and nail cream)

fusionbeauty (lipfusion balm)

ojon (damage reverse restorative conditioner)

notecards (birchbox extra, not pitcured)

there were only two items that i have used and those are the lipbalm and the hand & nail cream. everything was very small in size, a lot smaller than i expected. the box itself was much smaller than i expected as well. i wasn't expecting it to fit in my mailbox but it did, i was completely surprised when i checked my mail that day and saw the box in there.

in my humble opinion, it's not worth it. i know it's only $10 a month but what's the point if i'm not even using the items i'm receiving?

i'm going to try one of the other monthly beauty boxes and see what they are about. which ones do you guys like the best?

stay beautiful!

jana <3

pink cream

 

 

  

hey loves!

so as i nurse my nails back to health i've been changing the polish almost everyday and i've gotten them out of 'weak and extremely thin' status to just a 'weak' status.

i recently purchased the sally hansen 'hard as nails' polish from cvs, the seche 'ultra-v' top coat polish from sally's and the red carpet portable curing light from ulta.

i painted my nails today with this lovely pastel pink polish. i am a very big supporter of the breast cancer foundation and i am in love with the color light pink. i actually purchased this n.y.c. color 'polyester pink creme' from cvs over 6 months ago but i'm just now getting the chance to use it and it is adorable!

i started out with a base coat using the hard as nails, then two coats of color, then one coat of the 'out the door' and i finished it off with the 'ultra-v.'  they dried within 10 minutes (5 minutes under the light with each hand) and are glisening. it immedietaly felt like the strength had improved a bit

so far i'm liking the combination off them all. i've been filing and clipping my nails each day as well with hopes of keeping them growing but also slowly cutting/filing away all the weakness. in hopes the re-growth will be stronger.

i hope all of you had a lovely day today!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

quick sand - OOTD

dress - pinky (ross)

shoes - gianni bini (dillards)

clutch - lulu (tj maxx)

 watch - juicy couture

necklace - vintage

hey loves!

i hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! went to a party with the ba last night and had a blast. memorial day is next week so here's to a speedy week and a long 3-day weekend!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

riding coach

hey loves!

a couple of weeks ago i was in dillards and saw the cutest pair of coach loafers but they were not available in my size, sad face.

the bf works out of town in west texas and he ran into a coach store. fully knowing of my want for the loafers he decided to pull a trick out of his sleeve. he told me he found me a pair of basic black vans and they were being shipped to the house. now i've been searching for the perfect pair of old school flat, ked-like sneakers in all colors to wear this summer with no success locally.

by the way, if any of you have any suggestions on where i can get some please let me know! i'm looking for the really cheaply made kind that are so flimsy they feel/wear like a pair of ballerina flats. i'm not a fan of tennis shoes and i hate walking in/on thick soles of any kind.

the box arrived in the mail the other day and to my complete surprise i open it and this is what i find! love, love, love him and love, love, love the shoes!

will do an OOTD post later when i find the perfect outfit to wear with them!

i'll be doing a complete review on the e.l.f. products i bought last week this coming up weekend! stay tuned!

stay beautiful!

jana <3

shine eraser

hey loves!

i just wanted to check-in with a quick midday savior tip. these oil blotting sheets from e.l.f. are a lunch time refresher! as lunchtime hits and you pull out your mirror for a quick oil check (it's a must in my line of duty because my face produces enough oil in 4 hours to run a car engine!) it's so easy to pull one of these out and blot away the shine! i don't have to touch my brush or powder at all! now these are the plain ones that contain no shimmer, they do make them with shimmer but since that's not really my style i stick with these. they are only $1 for 50 sheets!

also as i pulled out my makeup bag i noticed my daily collection has grown and i believe it's time for a new/slighly bigger one.

stay beautiful!

jana <3

ruby red

hey loves!

yesterday a friend and i went to target and i discovered their e.l.f. collection! i was in heaven! i literally had no idea they had that many e.l.f. products! i very rarely shop at target because in my area they are one of the higher priced stores but i will now be going there a lot more often!

i ended up having a huge haul, unexpected of course.

e.l.f. products i purchased:

flawless finish foundation

clarifying pressed powder

makeup mist & set

wet gloss lash & brow clear mascara

lip primer & plumper

matte lip color (ruby red)

ultimate eyeshadow palette (actually purchased black friday 2011)

my current reaction of all the e.l.f. products is i love them all. since i was changing foundation i decided to change everything as well. my entire routine has been re-vamped and it's got me really excited. e.l.f. products are extremely affordable and can fit into anyone's budget, i strongly recommend them!

also from ulta i bought a new nyx soft matte cream ('addis ababa), love the color not so much the actual product. i got a real techniques stippling brush by pixiwoo, love the brush but not with the new foundation, will save it for another time.

i'd stopped by cvs the other day and got the magic perfecting base, now this is my first time ever using any kind of primer because i never really understood the point of using it but i am in love with it now. it immediately mattifies your face and i am a huge fan of matte! i do not like shine at all, not even on my lips. it smooths out your face which allows easier application of foundation. it also has a very light feel, my old foundation/make-up routine left my face feeling very heavy and i could actually feel the make-up on my face, not anymore!

i'm still in the process of strengthening my nails and i can tell this is going to be a very trying process! i've stripped all heavy color polish off and applied strengthener and a very light coat of glitter for at least a lil pop of color. fingers crossed it doesn't take long because i hate the sight of my nails with no polish.

stay beautiful!

jana <3

electric charge

hey loves!

so i think i'm becoming a bit of a nail polish addict! i cannot walk into a store without going to the nail polish section. for the last three days i've come home each evening after work and changed my nail polish. it's just so exciting to get a new color and try it out.

these colors are called 'electric charge' by l.a. colors and 'pearly white teeth" by spoiled. this is my first time purchasing the spoiled brand, they are usually about $1.99 at cvs but they are on sale for .99 right now so i went ahead and picked out to colors. i also picked up a new n.y.c. lip stain in 'rock on ruby' and some more e.l.f. remover pads.

i had a small plastic container i stored all my polish's in but it filled up pretty quickly so i bought a much bigger one and now i've got plenty of room to grow!

i bought some new foundation today and i'll have a complete review on it tomorrow.

jana <3

pink sizzle

hey loves!

so yesterday i decided to stop wearing artificial nails and get my natural nails back to a decent strength. i stopped by sally's beauty supply and picked up a few items. 'the rock' is a nail hardener and 'out the door' is a fast drying top coat, this is my first time using these two products so i'll give them both an official review in a few weeks.

this color from l.a. colors is called pink sizzle and it is soooooo cute! i loved it in the bottle and i love it even more on my nails! i find that even though l.a. colors is one of the cheaper nail polish brands it chips a lot less than some of my more expensive ones!

jana <3