Valentine's Day Manicure

In honor of the upcoming romantic holiday, I had some fun with my manicure opting for an accent color on my ring fingers.  I'm fond of this trend right now, are you??  Too bad my first fingernail is so short compared to the rest!  My 3-year old didn't seem to care.  When I got home from the nail salon and he saw my pink nails, he said they looked, "beautiful."  Melted this mama's heart.  I told him thank you and explained that all  girls like to be told they are beautiful- it's a nice thing to say.  You can't start too early;)

This is a shellac manicure (which I highly recommend because the paint stays fresh for about two weeks!) I don't recall the name of the pale pink color, but the brighter pink is called Pink Flamenco.  

I did my toes in the brighter pink too.  Maybe I can pair those toes with these BCBG sandals?!

Would be a sweet V-day gift!  Do you have anything special on your Valentine's wish list?

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Enhancing Your Beautiful Face with Makeup {Huda Beauty}

I don't think I've ever written a post about makeup before, but I recently came across a website that is too good not to share.  I'm by no means a makeup or product junkie for that matter, but I like to feel put together and confident, which includes wearing makeup to work.  When I was a stay-at-home-mom, I got into a really comfortable routine of barely putting on makeup during the day- which was nice actually, but now that I'm working again, I wouldn't dream of going to the office without makeup on.  I wouldn't feel  professional if I didn't have makeup on at work.  After everyone seeing me with makeup on everyday, if I suddenly showed up one day without, I'd look naked.  I know some people can pull off that fresh faced look and still look gorgeous, but not me. I just don't feel as confident.

My own makeup routine hasn't really changed much in the last 10 years, and lately I was feeling like I could be doing more to look better with some new makeup skills.  My routine had gotten down to a quickie 3 minute application that was okay, but nothing special. I see those celebrity "no makeup photos" and realize that we are all just regular gals trying to do our best to look and feel good about ourselves.   I've had my make up professionally done before, most recently for my wedding (airbrush makeup by A Perfect Face, which I highly recommend), and I loved the look.  My makeup never looks that good when I do my own.  I never use blush or bronzer and have no idea how to "contour" my face, but I really wanted to learn.

Somehow I  stumbled upon the website of Hollywood trained makeup artist and beauty consultant Huda Kattan, Huda Beauty.  She is stunning.  And after looking at her work and video tutorials, extremely talented as well.  In her videos, she applies makeup to her own face, explaining the process and techniques while she goes, as well as what brushes and products she's using.  I swear I've now watched about every single one.  And the nice thing is that they are only about 10 minutes long, so it's not a huge time commitment to learn some new makeup skills.

My favorite, practical videos are the ones about how to contour your face.  I can't believe what a difference it makes.  I put a couple others I liked here too, but you have to click the link or photo to watch the video.

How to Contour Your Face

How to Contour Your Nose

How to Get the Kim Kardashian Look

Super Natural Beauty

Now I've added contouring my face to my daily makeup routine.  It only takes about two additional minutes and I love the look.  My contour brush and powder are from Smashbox at Nordstrom ($45).

And I was inspired to buy a new eye shadow palette at Target, makeup by Sonia Kashuk ($20).

For Christmas, my sis-n-law got me the Naked eyeshadow palette by Urban Decay, which I'm also loving.

But, the one makeup tool I don't think I could live without is my EYELASH CURLER!  I curl my lashes everyday before putting on mascara and it makes the hugest difference in opening up my eyes.  I HATE it when I go out of town and forget it.  I need to buy a second one to put in my travel case so I'm never home without it. Ha!

So, are you into makeup?  Not so much?  I don't think I go overboard buying products, tending instead to stick to the tried and true (typically MAC eyeliners and brushes). 

And I'm still a mascara and lip gloss only girl on the weekends!

I hope this helps!  If you check out the videos, let me know what you think.  

Nails

I recently decided to stop with the acrylic nails and have gone back to au natural.  Since I had James nearly two years ago, I've been wearing fake nails.  At first it was such a chore to try to fit in those bi-monthly sessions to the nail salon, but I got to where I looked forward to the hour of uninterrupted alone time.  My nail girl, Cindy, did a really good job and I always, always did a french manicure on my hands.

But then I started wanting a change, and went with shorter nails and (gasp!) color on my nails.

Now, without the nails, I need to let mine strengthen so that they can grow a little.  For the time being, I feel like I have boy hands that don't look that good.  I think I'll still visit Cindy for manicures and hopefully, in a few months they'll look more like this.

via

So tell me, are you into your nails?  Real, fake? It feels a lot better to me to type on the computer with my bare hands, but I also love the look of when I'd walk away from Cindy's chair with my freshly done nails.  Nail polish doesn't last nearly as long on real nails.  I've just been applying clear every few days.



For a secret santa gift last month, I got all these cute mini OPI nail colors that I'm so excited to try.

And I'm smitten with these barely pinky colors for my nails.

But I'm loving BLACK- Lincoln Park After Dark- for my toes lately.

Maybe this summer when I've got a bit of a tan, I'll go back to my trusty old french manicure.  What colors are you loving now?

My Favorite (Fast & Fake) Tan

Now that it's August, I know many of us see fall just around the corner and are getting prepared for school to start for the kiddos- but I, for one, am not ready for summer to end!  We are renting a beach house with my husband's sister and her family soon and I'm so looking forward to it!



Being outdoors more and running around with James in the backyard has helped me get a little tan, but when I really want to get nice color fast, I turn to my favorite spray tan from Victoria's Secret-  Instant Bronze Body Spray.  I couldn't find it on Victoria's Secret website anymore (where it sold for about $10) but found a link to it on Ebay (2 for $44).  If you find it somewhere else cheaper let me know:)



It's not a traditional self tanner, it's more of a body spray that gives you instant color, looks great and smells nice!  It dries right away and you see the results immediately.  I use it mainly on my legs since they seem to be less tan than the rest of me.

And speaking of Victoria's Secret, I think they have the cutest, inexpensive bikinis!  I don't think anyone particularly relishes shopping for swimsuits, but I've ordered from them online and been happy with my selections.  

I'd love to hear where you find your bikinis, what brands you like, etc.  Seems like now is a good time to buy them because they're all on SALE! :)