Showing posts with label nail polish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nail polish. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Sara: PARTIES HEARTILY WITH IVANKA

Hi-o all you people out there in internet land!

Just a quickie, make up geekery post on my glitter-tastic holiday manicure.



























Zoya Ivanka (left)
China Glaze Party Hearty (from Winter 2010)



 
























And if I don't see you between now and then, may your holidays be merry and glitter-tastic!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Sara says: BOO!

I'm getting revved up for Halloween. It's kinda my holiday. I would marry Halloween if I could. Be that as it may, I can't decide what to be this year. Here's a photo-dump from Pinterest of potential ideas.


Blooooooooodd!





Calaveras!



Source: google.com via Sara on Pinterest



Funny Ladies




Witches, Vamps, and Clowns, OH MY!





A Little More Subtle





Holy Crap!
Source: google.com via Becky on Pinterest





Which ones are your favs? What are your Halloween haunt plans?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sara gets all: ARTSY FARTSY ON MY NAILS

So, I'm sitting here listening to lectures for school and me being me (a child, really) I have to be doing SOMETHING with my hands. That something turned out to be water marbling. MY FIRST TIME EVER! WOOT!

For the uninitiated, this is makeup geekery at it's finest. Here's how to make it do.


Now, I just used a shallow bowl and toothpicks to stir/marble the polish. Water needs to be room temperature (too cold and the nail polish will harden, too warm and it will disperse weirdly).

1.) Paint a base color over the entire nail.
2.) Pick 2 or more other colors and quickly drop the polish on the surface of the water.
3.) Gently drag the toothpick through the drops of polish. Don't swirl too much, but enough to get a nice color variation on your nail. Your nail is probably a smaller surface than you think.
4.) Working quickly, brace yourself and stick your nail "under" the polish layer (holding your finger horizontally the whole time).
5.) TA-DA!

Here's what I used and my result!

Orly Rubberized Basecoat/Zoya Harley for base color/Orly Polishield Topcoat
Marble colors: Zoya Ivanka/Sephora by OPI Caught With My Khakis Down/Orly Velvet Rope

left hand

right hand

right thumb


I'm really pleased with how it turned out and will definitely try it again! There is a mess-factor and cleanup required obviously, but I didn't have too much of a problem with that.

Sorry the pictures are crappier than usual, but these colors are really kind of muted. Grey, pale army green, sparkly primary green, and purple. I likes it!

Have you ever water marbled? What colors would you or did you pick?


Monday, August 22, 2011

Sara says: ME ENCANTA LA ABEJA

Happy Monday, which is my favorite word en EspaƱol... ¡LUNES! You can't say ¡LUNES! without being happy.

¡LUNES!  :D

*ahem* Anyways, I have makeup geekery! Another manicure inspired by Pinterest. Well, actually, it was orginally a pedicure. Bee-hold!





Now, in my rendition, my nail art brush (that actually came with the product) BROKE so I had to used toothpicks to draw the tiny lines. Hence, my lines are pretty messy. But I would definitely do this look again. It's so cute! I love bees!






















































The yellow base is Catwalk Queen by Finger Paints. The design is really super easy to do (if you have a decent damn brush... GRR!) Try practicing detail work on a piece of paper first - "bee" sure (ok, ok, I'll quit!) to practice drawing the design with your non-dominant hand as well.





Have a BEE-UTIFUL WEEK! (I lied, can't stop...)


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sara says: TAG, I'M IT! BEAUTY FAVORITES!

BEAUTY FAVORITES TAG FROM NOUVEAU CHEAP

(Note: Some  of these products are holy grails and some are just products I'm really loving right now.)

[Foundation]
I’m still looking for a favorite foundation. Right now, I’m using a Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer with some powder on top – which is good for the sweltering summer months anyways.

[Powder]
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Light Medium.



[Primer]
Too Faced Primed and Poreless Bronzed Tint. In the beginning of the summer this really helped me feel less transparent (and I have a bit of sun damage on my chest, so face and chest were different colors). It's an intimidating brown color, but a little bit goes a long ways! Pale faces can totally use it!

[Blush]
I love bright blushers! My favorite is a cremeblend blush by MAC, Optimistic Orange, from the MAC in Lillyland collection from 2010. I used it on my friend Kristen when we went to go see Chicago in June.

Observe Optimistic Orange in action! :)
















[Bronzer]
Sometimes I’ll use a bit of MAC powder blush in Prism for a subtle effect, but I love the Physician’s Formula Happy Heart powder collection and I have the bronzer from that in the aptly named Light Bronzer.

[Concealer]
I haven’t found a favorite yet! I really would like to try the Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer. Confession: I’m a bit of a n00b when it comes to applying concealer.

[Highlight]
tokidoki's Luminosa Powder is my favorite! It's pinky with pink micro-glitter (very subtle!) and it is gorgeous when the light hits it.

Source: sephora.com via Sara on Pinterest


[Moisturizer]
I use a pretty basic, drugstore one with SPF, but my fall quest is to find the perfect, affordable moisturizer. Suggestions for oily skin? I have a Mario Badescu gift card to spend too! Maybe I’ll do that (and blog about it of course!)

[Lipgloss]
Favorite of the moment is L'Oreal Colour Riche le gloss in Plum Rush and Revlon Lip Gloss in Lilac Pastelle. I'm into the purple spectrum right now apparently! 

[Lipstick]
Like blushers, if it looks hard to pull off I will probably love it. A couple of my favorites are: Wet n Wild #511B (a bright fuchsia), Revlon's Siren (a creamy orange), MAC's Playing Koi from Quite Cute 2011, Viva Glam Gaga 2010, and this craziness by Maybelline that I found today. It looks like candy!


Source: scrangie.com via Sara on Pinterest


[Lip Balm]
e.o.s or Jack Black! The e.o.s is fun for when you wanna freak people out in public. It is, indeed, freaky looking, but lovely.

Source: google.com via Sara on Pinterest


[Lip Liner]
I mostly use MAC, but primarily because if I get a crazy lip color and there’s a matchy matching liner I’ll probably pick that up too. I also use the Lip Primer from Too Faced and it’s not half bad (when I remember to use it…)

[Eye Primer]
Urban Decay Primer Potion forever! I’ve heard the NARS one is really, really good though.

[Eyeshadow]
I really love my e.l.f palette in Punk Funk and the Milani Paint palette, but my favorite ever (for the moment at least, lol) is Sassy Grass by MAC (from the Dare to Wear collection from summer 2010).



[Eyeliner]
I have the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary set of 24/7 liners and I’m loving it! They’re my go-to for sure. I do also agree with one of my favorite YouTubers, LovePeaceandLipGloss, that Whiskey (a red-brown) from the Urban Decay's Naked palette is one of my favs, but it is exclusive to that set so I don’t use it very often. The Naked palettes for sale now don’t even come with that pencil anymore! Hopefully they’ll make it permanent. It’s gorgeous.




[Mascara]
I like the one I’m using right now, the leafy-Physician’s Formula one. I’ve also enjoyed MAKE UP FOR EVER’s smoky lash mascara. I want a good colored one!

[Face Brush]
I really want to add this brush from Physician’s Formula to my stash, but ya know I tend to mainly use powder puffs. I don’t have a “set in stone” face routine, so it really just depends. I do like this fan brush from e.l.f. and stippiling “skunk” brushes. I have the #188 from MAC.

Source: google.com via Sara on Pinterest


[Eye Brush]
It really depends on the look I’m doing! I am really impressed right now with the eyeliner brush from e.l.f. (it makes gel liners a BREEZE and I am BLIND y’all!)

[Nail Polish]
Right now, I’m really loving Orly Lollipop (the perfect light purple for my skin-tone, NO LOBSTER-HANDS!) and Finger Paints Catwalk Queen from the Fall Fashionista collection. I can’t wait for Halloween collections to start rolling out. >:)

Source: scrangie.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: scrangie.com via Sara on Pinterest


[Perfume]
Burberry (just the classic Burberry) and Thierry Mugler’s Alien are pretty much all I wear. I’ve been enjoying a solid perfume by Pacifica, Spanish Rose, for the summer time.

Source: sephora.com via Sara on Pinterest


[Makeup Brands: Highend/Drugstore]
High End: I don’t venture in to that territory very often, but I’d have to say uhmmm... YSL, Guerlain, Chanel, Giorgio Armani... whatever Christine posts that is fabulous. I like to window shop!
Middle: Urban Decay, MAC, MAKE UP FOR EVER, NARS, Too Faced
Drugstore: Wet n Wild, Milani, Physican’s Formula, L.A. Colors, e.l.f.



Whew! I tag EVERYONE reading this post right now. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your favorites in the comments. I'd love to read them!

Full-disclosure: I bought everything! I am not affiliated with anything! Links are for information only and I would never send you anywhere I wouldn't go, ok?



Thursday, July 21, 2011

Sara says: CHECK OUT MAH TROPICAL TIPS

Hello! I have more makeup geekery for you today, this time a manicure!

I found this lovely look on Pinterest, of course, from WAH Nails in London.



And here is my interpretation and what I used.




















Base Coat / BONDER Rubberized Polish Gripping Basecoat
Base Color / MAC Nail Lacquer in Brown Bag
Blue / Sinful Colors in Fly Away
Hot Pink / China Glaze in Shocking Pink (Neon)
Yellow / Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow
Aqua / Orly in Gumdrop
Green / Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lickety-Split Lime
Top Coat /Orly Polishield

(left hand)



















(right hand)  
























I'm pleased as punch! My lines aren't as thin as the WAH Nails rendition. I didn't have a nail art brush on hand (in a pinch you can use a ratty old gel eyeliner brush).

The ORLY Rubberized BONDER dealy is definitely my favorite base coat. And if I haven't said it before, you most certainly want a base coat my lovelies. My nails have yet to yellow because of polish!

Also, the ORLY top coat is lovely but you have to work FAST. I find, like Seche Vite, that once you get down to the last third of the bottle that it gets quite tacky. Most beauty nerds who swear by Seche Vite counteract this problem by getting the big ole' refill. Can't get tacky if it never gets empty!

So what are you rockin on your claws? Any favorite products? I'm about to pee myself waiting for the China Glaze Metro Uptown/Downtown collection to come out!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Sara really likes: NAIL POLISH!


I was inspired by Kaylah over at The Dainty Squid to take a cold, hard look at my nail polish collection  
(Let's just go ahead and say that this one is gonna be picture heavy!)

That's right, sometimes to escape from the doldrums of everyday existence you have to catalog your fuckin nail polish. I am not ashamed!

But I love makeup and I will hopefully be sharing my mad skills and the rest of my stash with you soon!

But first, I'll be a tad slutty and give you all of it- my nail polish collection that is. I currently have 53, and that's after I, painfully, had to weed out some of the funky ones.



Now, I love all of them... I really do... a little too much (I have 2 of "Fortune Teller" by China Glaze, because it was from Halloween 2009 and OMG WHAT IF I RUN OUT AND CAN"T EVER FIND IT AGAIN?!?!?!?! *ahem*). But, if I had to choose, here's my top favorites:



The bottle I'm holding is "Buried Treasure" by Sally Hansen and is probably my #1 favorite ever. It looks friggin amazing over pretty much any color, but really shines over a dark color. My dream polish would have to be Clarins "230" (AKA "Unicorn Pee"). I also love to mattify polishes (remove the shine), which can be done with a special top coat like this one.

Ah yes, *sigh* a happy rainbow of nail polish...


My favorite "Nail Files":
-Scrangie
-Vampy Varnish
-Dr. Frankenpolish


Stay tuned for: More excessive makeup fun-times! Tips and tricks! Nail dresses?!