AAAHHHHHH!!! This is gonna put me in the hole I swear! Anyway, I finally found some blogs with more previews of spring collections. I found the Essie French Affair collection, and the Orly Precious collection on temptalia.com and nailswatches.com respectively. I am real liking the colors from the Essie collection. Not too much from the Orly one.
Ok...speaking of nail collections, I am a little late, but I think the appeal came onto me a little late...anyway: I ended up buying a few of the China Glaze holiday 2010 collection colors. Some I bought at Kali's and the others I got from a nail salon, which I think sparked this "appeal." When the collection first came out, I really liked the Party Hearty topcoat because like Leesha from xsparkage said...it's like Christmas in a bottle! Also the fact that it sold out at Kali's right after it came in, kinda made me want it more. So anyway, when I was getting a pedicure at a nail salon in town, I noticed Christmas-y stuff to my left and I almost jumped in amazement...it was a China Glaze gift set, with Phat Santa (a creme finish red), Jolly Holly (a dark green, with a little micro-shimmer), and yessss: Party Hearty (a clear topcoat that has small gold and green glitters, and big red chunky glitter). It's really a cool topcoat. I grabbed this set, and it was oober cheap because the topcoat was like a free gift, so it was only like $12 (regular price of one China Galze color is like $6.50). I also picked up Little Drummer Boy (a deep blue with blue micro-shimmer), and Naughty and Nice (a creme finish deep maroon, it's actually been described as plum, but I see maroon). Only after swatching the Jolly Holly I realized how pretty of a color it actually is, and I liked Little Drummer Boy from the beginning, it's like a shimmery alternative to Calypso Blue, which I also love. And the Naughty and Nice actually surprised me at how dark it is. It's one of those almost black colors for me, and I love those kinds of colors :) I haven't worn Jolly Holly yet (just swatched it for my display wheels I talked about in the last post), but I think it will be on my nails next :)
So, I also wanted to mention that I picked up a few colors from Anchors Away and Intimate. From Anchors Away I got Below Deck and Knotty. From Intimate I got Jules and Catlin. I like every color I picked up. I wanted to get Sea Spray, but I kinda forgot about that color (I had it written down, but I guess it really didn't impress me much), so maybe later, or not. It kinda reminds me of Catlin anyway.
I actually only wore three of those four. I haven't gotten a chance to wear Jules yet, but a kinda weird thing happened. When I was painting my "Nudes" color wheel, I painted China Glaze Stellar right next to it, and when I was coming around to do the second coat, I accidentally put my second coat of Stellar on Jules! That's what I get for trying to do this at night, when I'm dead tired AND have horrible lighting. But it turned out for the better, it's actually a really nice combo ;) Also, Jules by itself looks really nice.
As a side note: got a notice from MAC talking about the release of a new Viva Glam Gaga color! It's more of a nude, and I think I like it better than the first one, which was too white for me. I like the Viva Glam line because it seems like it's a universal line, so more people will buy it (since it's for charity). So I may be talking about that soon! Which reminds me, I should talk about the Wonder Woman stuff I got...well I actually only picked up one quad because I couldn't see myself spending that much money...
Looks like I have a lot to talk about...glad my period of midterms is gonna be over soon, giving me more time to update this blog!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Nail Color Wheels
So on Tuesday I got my set of 10 color wheels that I ordered on ebay :) I was so happy, now I can swatch my nail polishes, and I don't have to look at each bottle and try to remember what it looks like, how opaque it is, etc.
So I am currently in the process of trying to inventory all the colors I have, and when I finish I will post pictures :) What I am going to do is separate them by color family, and then I will have a wheel for my dark dark colors (that I LOVE to wear on short nails), and one for my glitters. I was a bit amazed at the fact that I came very close to filling up a whole wheel with my glitters...I do love them...a LOT! So what's actually going to happen is that I will have repeating colors throughout the different wheels...some may say that' a waste of a nail, but I think it will help me better decide when I know what mood I am in :)
So...they're actually almost done so pretty soon I will post :)
So I am currently in the process of trying to inventory all the colors I have, and when I finish I will post pictures :) What I am going to do is separate them by color family, and then I will have a wheel for my dark dark colors (that I LOVE to wear on short nails), and one for my glitters. I was a bit amazed at the fact that I came very close to filling up a whole wheel with my glitters...I do love them...a LOT! So what's actually going to happen is that I will have repeating colors throughout the different wheels...some may say that' a waste of a nail, but I think it will help me better decide when I know what mood I am in :)
So...they're actually almost done so pretty soon I will post :)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
My Skin Story, Part 2: Acne
I didn't hyperlink any products mentioned yet...will do so soon. But fyi: I got the names of the products pretty good I think, so you can copy/paste into google, and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find it!
So, to continue my journey with my crap skin, I shall talk about something else that has really put a road block in my way: ACNE
Four letters, a ton of power that word has. Let me just tell you that my acne has been a part of my life for at least a good 11-12 years right now. There are some things in life you were headed for, and acne was not gonna let me hide it.
Bachi...or some say Karma
Growing up with two older brothers that boss you around, make fun of you, and get you in trouble, I was bound to take full advantage of them entering puberty. So when the oldest of us got his first pimple, that opened all doors for the pimple/crater face comments, laughing and pointing. There was a lot more laughing and pointing after he started seeing a dermatologist. My mom warned me of the concept of bachi (or karma, to the non-Japanese population), which I often confused with hibachi...two totally different things, but they sound alike when you're 7 years old! Anyway, the teasing continued on to my next brother who was fortunate enough not to have that bad of a case, and by this time my oldest brother was phasing out of his run as crater face.
When I turned 10, my mom and I noticed that my skin was starting to change, and that it was getting weird. It wasn't really acne yet, but I was starting to get sensitive to different things, especially fruit juices, like when I ate mangoes or watermelons and the juices got on my face. But this all faded away, and then...it hit me! From then on, I have not seen a clear face in the mirror. It is quite sad, here I am a 22 year old with acne from elementary school. I've had to deal with this skin for way longer than what my two brothers dealt with...probably put together. However, my skin has gotten substantially better since then, and my dermatologist has finally said that I'm on my own now...I still struggle with this disease...and to me that's really what it is! I actually do regret making fun of my brothers when I was younger, but really...who would I be today? haha...anyway, I think this is a great example of that saying: KARMA'S A BITCH!
Products?
As you can imagine, I've used a ton of products, over the counter and prescription, to help me balance my skin. Here's a slight breakdown of some of the over the counter stuff I've tried:
Cleansers/Scrubs:
So, to continue my journey with my crap skin, I shall talk about something else that has really put a road block in my way: ACNE
Four letters, a ton of power that word has. Let me just tell you that my acne has been a part of my life for at least a good 11-12 years right now. There are some things in life you were headed for, and acne was not gonna let me hide it.
Bachi...or some say Karma
Growing up with two older brothers that boss you around, make fun of you, and get you in trouble, I was bound to take full advantage of them entering puberty. So when the oldest of us got his first pimple, that opened all doors for the pimple/crater face comments, laughing and pointing. There was a lot more laughing and pointing after he started seeing a dermatologist. My mom warned me of the concept of bachi (or karma, to the non-Japanese population), which I often confused with hibachi...two totally different things, but they sound alike when you're 7 years old! Anyway, the teasing continued on to my next brother who was fortunate enough not to have that bad of a case, and by this time my oldest brother was phasing out of his run as crater face.
When I turned 10, my mom and I noticed that my skin was starting to change, and that it was getting weird. It wasn't really acne yet, but I was starting to get sensitive to different things, especially fruit juices, like when I ate mangoes or watermelons and the juices got on my face. But this all faded away, and then...it hit me! From then on, I have not seen a clear face in the mirror. It is quite sad, here I am a 22 year old with acne from elementary school. I've had to deal with this skin for way longer than what my two brothers dealt with...probably put together. However, my skin has gotten substantially better since then, and my dermatologist has finally said that I'm on my own now...I still struggle with this disease...and to me that's really what it is! I actually do regret making fun of my brothers when I was younger, but really...who would I be today? haha...anyway, I think this is a great example of that saying: KARMA'S A BITCH!
Products?
As you can imagine, I've used a ton of products, over the counter and prescription, to help me balance my skin. Here's a slight breakdown of some of the over the counter stuff I've tried:
Cleansers/Scrubs:
Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control
Neutrogena Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask
Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Power-Cream Wash
Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Power-Clear Scrub
Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Resurfacing 3-Way Cleanser
Philosophy Purity Made Simple
Ole Henriksen Aloe Vera Deep Cleanser
Ole Henriksen Walnut Complexion Scrub
St Ive's Apricot Scrub (regular & acne prone skin formulas)
St Ive's Green Tea
Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel
Toners:
Clinique Clarifying Lotions 2, 3, and 4*
Clean & Clear
Ole Henriksen Grease Relief Tonic
Boscia Balancing Facial Tonic
And you guys know about my battle with moisturizers.
*So for the Clinique Clarifying Lotions, I recently seen an ad in a magazine that leads me to believe that they changed the formula on these, which makes me want to try them again.
Overall, I have never found that perfect skin care regimen, if you can't tell by the long list of stuff that I have tried. I
As I have mentioned, I've been seeing a dermatologist for quite some time. He has precribed me pretty much everything in the book as far as topical go, and even antibiotics. At the end of last year, he had told me that I won't need to come back for my regular appointments and that unless I have a major breakout I won't have to see him again. Now, that doesn't really say much, I am still breaking out, and I have pimples on my face, but it's like a million times better than what it used to be.
So to sum it all up: my skin is horribly oily, and I've battled my way through acne, but in the end, my skin is far from perfect, and hopefully I will end up looking oober young when I'm sol to make up for this monstrosity of a skin history I've been having for years.
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