I went to Office Max to buy some back-to-school supplies for my kids. I also secretly have a thing for office supplies.
As I was walking around the store I found on display a tape dispenser by Scotch in the shape of a black stiletto shoe.
Scotch black high heel tape dispenser
And I found a matching purse that was a sticky note holder by Post-it.
Retail price: $11.99
I keep a small makeup bag in my desk drawer at work. I wanted to add a foundation, but didn’t want to spend a lot.
I went to Target and bought NYC Skin Matching Foundation.
NYC product specs:
BENEFITS
•Breakthrough tone-to-tone shade-adjusting technology adapts to skin’s color and texture
•Formula blends seamlessly for a natural, flawless & radiant-looking complexion
•Enriched with moisturizers, blend of essential minerals and vitamins A, C and E
•Lightweight and hydrating formula
•Stays all day long
•Dermatologist tested
•For all skin types
KEY INGREDIENTS
•Nourishing Vitamins A, C and E
•Skin moisturizers
•A blend of skin-loving minerals
My review:
I used a pea-size drop and dabbed it on my cheeks, nose and chin. It blended very easily on my face.
Didn’t feel greasy and it disappeared into my skin.
I would say the coverage is light to medium. Leaves a matte finish, but it didn’t accentuate the dry patches on my skin, which can happen using some matte foundations.
Here are some photos of the foundation and how well it blended into my skin. NOTE: The photos were taken under indoor fluorescent lights, so the color doesn’t look so hot. But I assure you the color looks good.
Do you have a signature scent? And no I don’t mean how you smell after your hour long Zumba class.
I’m talking about the mixture of your body’s chemistry blended with your favorite perfume.
My mother’s scent is from her wearing the same perfume for the past five years and while that might sound boring, it’s how you can develop your own signature scent.
So, when I happen to smell someone with the same perfume on — I automatically think of my mom. Her signature scent is Lancome’s Tresor.
I prefer something lighter for myself and have been wearing Lancome’s Miracle Forever.
How to wear perfume or cologne:
• Apply perfume to your pulse points.
• Spray a small amount of perfume into the air in front of you and walk though it.
• Layer the scent by applying a body lotion with the same fragrance.
• Don’t over do it.
I enjoy the warm weather, but lately York has been experiencing record high temperatures and lots of humidity.
Hot temperatures can make for a lot of bad hair days. To avoid this try a fun up do with braids.
Here’s how:
Gather half your hair on each side starting from the top of ears. Take that section and part it into two sections.
Braid one side and bring it over to the opposite side of head and secure it with two bobby pins. Next, braid the other section and bring that braid over to the other side and secure with bobby pins.
Take the remaining back section of hair and make a third braid. Bring the braid up toward the front of your head and secure with bobby pins.
I placed a decorative barrette to conceal some of my bobby pins.
TIPS:
• This is not a formal up do, so don’t worry about it looking to neat and tidy, think more in terms of looking like a care-free hippy than as a prom queen.
• To keep your bobby pins in place cross one over the other.
• Have fun and experiment with how to place your braids.
• Updos work best on a day after you’ve washed your hair.
I was maid of honor in my cousin Sarah’s wedding in May. After a year of planning, dress fittings and parties, I felt like I had come into my own as bride’s first lady.
I had never been in a wedding before, so it was all new to me. After it ended, I felt a little sad that there was nothing else lined up, another chance for the wedding crew to get together.
A week later, my longtime friend called me and told me she was pregnant. A few weeks later, she was engaged and asked me to be her MOH for her September wedding.
Because of time constraints, she’s skipping the engagement party, shower and group dress fitting. She sent me and her two bridesmaids a link to the dress she wanted us to get. In my cousin’s wedding, we made a weekend trip to New York to pick out dresses and then spent a night out on the town. The trip alone took several emails and weeks of merging schedules.
Dry skin sucks. And when you have it, you can’t wear shorts, bathing suits, skirts or tank tops without worrying about it. That’s because summer’s warm, dry air can suck the moisture out of your exposed skin, leaving it scaly and dull.
My skin is chronically dry. I get some benefits — like rarely finding pimples or getting excess oiliness or shine. But my dry skin has its problems, too. I have a condition associated with dry skin called keratosis pilaris. Keratosis pilaris is a condition characterized by rough, bumpy skin on the back of the arms and thighs. Many people think they are goose bumps at first glance, and while I don’t mind my boyfriend cuddling me closer because he thinks I’m cold, I do wish my skin was smoother. Especially during bikini-season.
I like to save money when it comes to makeup, fashion and life in general. I prefer most drugstore brand makeup and skincare products to the higher-end ones that cost too much and with little or no difference in results.
In April, I decided to be cheap and lighten my black hair at home. I didn’t end up damaging my hair, but I didn’t get the results I wanted.
I decided this time around I would leave it up to a professional. I called Ulta in Springettsbury Township and made an appointment.
Here’s a look at the entire process which took four hours. I came in with my hair that I lighten back in April.
As you can see my roots were showing. So the stylist said she would have to first lighten the roots and then lighten the rest of my hair.
She then added low-lights and finished with a toner to take out the yellow-orange coloring from the bleaching process. Black hair has red undertones, so when you bleach your hair it tends to turn an orange color, which is what I didn’t want.
I was still kinda concerned that my hair would be orange.
But after the toner was applied I was pleasantly suprised by the end result.
I’ve been professionally getting my nails done for the past four months. I decided to try and save some money and do my own nails.
I have acyrlics so every three weeks they need be filled because of nail growth. Now it used to cost me $25 plus tip every time I went to the salon. Instead, I bought my own nail filler kit by Nailene, that only cost $9.
Here are the end results with two coats of yellow nail polish by Orly.
It took me about 2 hours to fill, sand and polish both hands. Normally at the salon it would have only taken an hour, but I saved a lot of money doing it myself. I still have enough of the acrylic filler to do at least five more fills, maybe even more.
The con is after I applied my polish I could see my nails weren’t buffed smooth. This is when I decided to try the Shatter/Crackle look that is popular right now.
I bought a bottlle of OPI Shatter nail polish in white.
The shatter look easily hid my ridges and bumps on my nails.
Another alternative is to use a clear polish with glitter in it. I find this will help hide nail imperfections too.
How shatter works: Apply one coat of Shatter over two coats of any brand of completely dry nail polish. Then let dry and apply a clear topcoat to protect the nail polish.
Check out my other blog entry using newspaper clippings as nail art.
I was recently asked by my friend Jessica to be the maid of honor in her wedding. After some of the initial excitement and giggling wore off we started talking dresses, of course. Jessica’s theme colors for her wedding are hot pink and black. She chose a few bridesmaid dresses and sent them to me for my opinion. Well, since we’ve been friends for about 12 years, I let her have it.
I love NYX cosmetics because they have one of the best selections when it comes to color and their products are very affordable.
My favorite item I’m loving now from NYX are their Jumbo Eye Pencil. Again, the color selection is vast. And with summer well underway, bright tropical colors are must when it comes to playing up your eyes.
But, don’t be scared off by the brightly infused colors, because the Jumbo Eye Pencil lets you build up the wow factor with ease. So, you can add a light wash of Baby Blue on your eyes or add more layers to bring that blue into high intensity.
The fat pencil is versatile that you can use it to line your eyes or cover your entire lid. The creamy texture makes it easy to blend.
TIP: Use your ring finger to blend, because it’s small enough to get into the corners of your eyelid.
I bought my jumbo pencil in Electric Blue for $4.50. (Ulta had a NYX sale, where you bought one item, then you got a second NYX item 50% off)
Another, product I bought from NYX was NYX eye shadow base. They have three different versions; white, white pearl and skin. I bought skin.
Why use an eye shadow base? It helps keep your eyeshadow from creasing and it amps up the color to whatever type of shadow you are wearing.
I also like Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion, but NYX base only cost $7 compared to the pricier UB version. But, I still love UB’s primer and would still recommend it to other makeup junkies.