Summertime Skittle

Hey dolls!  I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.  I enjoyed mine very much.  Time spent with loved ones is always a good time.  I even did some nail art for the weekend.  Instead of doing a red, white and blue Independence Day themed design,  I did a summer skittle.

Here's a list of the polishes I used for this manicure:

Essie Bikini So Teeny

Revlon Spirit

Wet n Wild Candy-licious

Sephora by OPI It's Totally Karma

Revlon Black Magic

L.A. Girl Extra Extra

It's been a while since I've done my nails like this.  Would it be weird to say my nails put me in a good mood? No?  Okay, it did.  Don't judge.  I'm actually inspired to start doing my nails regularly.   Or it could be the new nail treatment I'm using, Nail Tek Strengthener.   My nails have been weak and peeling for months.  I can't get them to grow long and stay long.  Do any of you have this problem?  If so, what did you use or are using to combat it?   I hope this one works because Nail Envy failed me.  I'll keep you posted.

Thanks For Stopping By! 

Colorful Leopard & Gold

Hello lovers! How are you? My week didn't go according to plan.  I don't have the complete look post for you today :(.  I still wanted to do a post.  So here's a quick nail art one.

No, my nails did not grow that fast, I wish.  They're actually even shorter than my previous post.  Did some deep cleaning and ruined my nails.  I did these before the watermelon nails.  Took a long time to post it, eh?  These were inspired by my toe separators.  Yes they are THAT cute hehe.  Every time I did a pedicure I thought to myself "I need to do this print on my nails".  It took 2 years but I did it...yeah.  The base polish is Sinful Colors Clementine and for the spots I used Sephora for O.P.I It's My Pink and Sally Hansen Good To Grape.  The studs are from Born Pretty Store...of course! 

I'm going to take this moment to move on to the gold accent nails.  Ummmm...IN LOVE!  This is O.P.I Honey Ryder and I can't stand how gorgeous it is.  It took me forever to own it and I feel so complete now.  I seriously couldn't stop staring at it, very distracting.  If you don't have Honey Ryder I suggest you get up on that.  You won't regret it ;).

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Tropical Floral Nail Art

Hello! Hello! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was very low key, I've been playing a lot of PVZ Garden Warfare and watching The Strain.  I'm seriously hooked.   But I found the strength to pull myself away and do my nails.  I'm so happy I did.  I told you in my last post that I would do one more summer themed nail art and here it is.

Guys! Guys! I am so proud of these.  I've wanted to do a design like this for like forever.  I just never had the balls to sit down and do it.   I thought I would just fail epically.   I'm my own worst critic :/.

The base I used is Sinful Colors New Wave. A gorgeous navy blue cream and a one coater to boot. For the design itself I used acrylic paint.  The biggest discouragement for me when it comes to designs like this is the large amount of colors you need.  Going through my nail polish collection to find the colors I need is exhausting.  But using acrylic paint made that easy.  All the colors I would need is in a nice easily accessible box.

Don't worry I'm still a nail polish junkie.  Right now I'm stalking Ulta.com waiting for the O.P.I Peanuts Collection to release.  I need to get my hands on Where's My Blanket? and To Be Or Not To Beagle.

I hope you like these nails as much I do.  I'm itching to play in makeup so my next post might be a Complete Look/Get Ready With Me post ;). Till next time!

Thanks For Stopping By!

Sweet Summer Nail Art

Hey Loves!  Today I have some delicious nail art for you....watermelon!  Watermelon nail art is really big this season.  I've been seeing it all over the place.  Different styles and variations.  I chose to do the ruffian style watermelon slice and an accent nail with little watermelon slices. 

I'm so so happy with the way these came out.   Both designs were really easy to do.  For the ruffian I used a striper brush to do the outline and first coat.  After it dried I went in with a second coat using the brush that comes with the polish. For the seeds I just used a dotting tool. 

To do the smaller slices I used a small detail nail art brush. I just drew a triangle and outlined the base of it with green.  I used the smallest dotting tool for the seeds but you can also use a toothpick.

Polishes Used:
Revlon Spirit
Revlon Black Magic
China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
Maybelline Color Show Bleached Neons Lime Accent

I hope you liked my watermelon nails as much as I do.  Summer is almost over so I'm going to try to squeeze in at least one more summer design.   What are some of your favorite summer trends for nails?

Thanks For Stopping By!

My Natural Hair Holy Grail & Routine

HI!!

It's finally here! The post I've been wanting to do FOREVER. I'm going to share with all of you today my current favorite hair products (I'm a product junkie, I'm liable to get a new favorite lol) and my hair routine.

My routine is simple.  I wash/cleanse my hair the first Sunday of the month. Then I co-wash every week for the rest of the month.  I deep condition once a week and do a protein treatment once a month.  After my hair is all clean, detangled, and deep conditioned I moisturize it, seal it with oil, put styler in it and twist it.  98% the time my hair is in twists because letting my curls roam free is just too much work right now.  So that's it for my routine, pretty simple, just a long process (I have a love/hate relationship with washing my hair). Now for all the stuff I use.... are you ready?

Cleansers/Clarifier (Once A Month)

• Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl and Shine Shampoo I've been using the same bottle for over a year lol.  It does is job, cleans my hair without it feeling completely stripped.  The smell is AH-MAZING, coconutty goodness.
• Baking Soda I make a paste with this and exfoliate my scalp.
• Apple Cider Vinegar Using 3 parts water 1 part ACV, I rinse it through my hair while the baking soda is still on my scalp. I let it sit for for at least a minute.  Rinse completely.

Co-wash (Weekly)

• As I Am Coconut Co-Wash This is my numero uno co-wash! It leaves my hair so soft and moisturized, but still refreshed.  Great slip, so you can also detangle with it.  I'm addicted to the way it smells... SO GOOD!

Detangler/Conditioner

• Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner This is my jack of all trades.  I also use this as a co-wash sometimes but I prefer As I Am.  As detangler and conditioner this is my baby.  I even use it as a moisturizer and styler!

Deep Conditioner

I love to try out different deep conditioners. A lot of times I do D.I.Y ones.  The 2 I'm going to list below are my current favorites and what I've been using for some time now.

• Palmers Coconut Oil Formula Deep Conditioning Protein Pack (once a month) I really like this protein treatment. My hair loves it, it smells delicious and it's not as messy as the d.i.y Greek yogurt mask.
• OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Intense Moisturizing Treatment I LOVE IT! That is all lol. It leaves my hair soft and shiny. It smells so pretty, I randomly sniff it whenever I go in the closet lol, and a little goes a long way.

Moisturizers/Leave-In

• Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Coconut Curling Cream This is my boo, my baby, my everything.  It moisturizes and defines my curls.  Oh and of course it smells like that Crack lol.  I'm on my 3rd just about to buy number 4. It'll take a lot to get me to try something different.

Oils

• Unrefined Coconut Oil My day one.
• OGX Nourishing Coconut Oil Weightless Hydrating Oil Mist I use this everyday after I spray my hair with a conditioner and water mixture.

Styler

• Eco Styler Gel This is my only styler right now. It smooths out my frizz and lays those edges down.  It gives my curls the best hold and definition.

And that is it ladies.  I really hope you enjoyed this post. I'm very happy I finally did it.  There are a few new products from Shea Moisture that I can't wait to try.  When I do, I'll try to do a review for you.  Who knows, I might get some new favorites.  What's some of your favorite curly/natural hair products? I would love to know.  If there is anything you would like me to do a post on, please let me know in the comments below.

Thanks For Stopping By!

Pastel Galaxy & Floral Nail Art

Hey Dolls, I hope everyone is having a great week thus far.  It's so gloomy in NYC right now.  A perfect day to stay indoors and organize nail decorations, clean, watch Teen Wolf and even do a blog post.  Today I will be talking about nails I posted a few days ago on Instagram and Tumblr. Without the missing stud and minus the filter hehe.

For like forever I've wanted to do pastel galaxy nails and do galaxy drips again.  I'm so happy I finally did it lol. Everyone said the galaxy drip nail looks like an ice cream cone until I tell them what it is lol.  If you want to know how I did it you can check out my post from the first time I did galaxy drips here.

I LOVE floral nails, especially these.  But the next time I do a design like this, I'll try to not do it at 2am lol.  The amount of nail polishes needed alone is what made this design exhausting.  That won't stop me from doing it again...soon hehe.  The only tools I used for the flowers were a small nail art brush and my tiny detail brush, I made from a liquid eyeliner brush.  With the small nail art brush I used a light dotting motions to shape the flowers.  Then with the detail brush I placed lines and dots for depth.

Polishes Used:

• Models Own Juicy Jules (thumb)
• O.P.I Save Me (thumb)
• Revlon Spirit (galaxy & floral)
• Icing No Name Powder Pink (galaxy)
• Essie Bikini So Teeny (floral)
• New York Color Palm On The Beach (floral)
• New York Color City Sweets Pink (floral)
• New York Color Lavender Cupcake (galaxy)
• Sinful Colors New Wave (floral)
• Sinful Colors Nude (floral)
• Wet n Wild megalast I Need A Refresh-Mint (floral)
• Wet n Wild megalast On A Trip (galaxy & floral)
• Wet n Wild megalast Sugar Coat (gradient & galaxy drip)
• Sephora by O.P.I What Aura Gonna Wear (gradient, floral & galaxy)
• Maybelline Peach Petal (floral)
• Born Pretty Store Studs 

For next weeks' post I'm planning on doing a hair post.  I'm finally going to share with all of you my Natural Hair Routine and Favorite Products (at the moment).  Until next time...

Thanks For Stopping By!

Sweetheart French Manicure

Hey Dolls!
Today's nail art is one of those, I need to finally do my nails, don't know what I want to do, spur of the moment whatever, that you just fall in love with when you're done.

Aren't they just super pretty?  It makes me think of winter and weddings.  I actually showed it to one of my besties that is getting married next year as soon as I finished, like.... WEDDING NAILS! lol

These happened solely because I REALLY wanted to wear Sally Hansen Goldi-Flecks.  A recent purchase that makes me so happy I ALWAYS walk down the beauty aisle in Rite Aid.  I don't know how I didn't notice it before.  I'll apologize from now if you start to see too much of it in upcoming manicures lol. For the gradient I used Zoya Taylor and Revlon Spirit.  Topping it all off with gold heart studs I bought from Born Pretty Store! 

I'm going to hate when it's time to redo my nails :(

Thanks For Stopping By!