Monday, December 31, 2012

My Favorite Manis of 2012 (pic heavy post)


Happy New Year!!!

Just wanted to stop by and show you some of my favorite manis from throughout the year...

My top 12 in 2012...

Galaxy Nails

Fruit

Pastel Leopard

Polka Dots with a Twist

Breast Cancer Awareness

Fish Net French Tip

Pink & Black Zebra Dots

Snowman/Snowflakes

Rainbow Shatter

Green Ombre Polka Dots

Interlocking Dots

Pink Friday Leopard Print

The last 2 are my "Honorable Mention Manis". I couldn't leave these off of my Favorites List!!

2 Chainz!!

 Rihanna Music Video Inspired

I had so much fun this year buying and swatching nail polish. Can't wait to break into some of the new 2013 collections that have been sneaking around all the blogs...See you next year!!

 Thanks for reading!!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Christmas Nail Art Challenge on Instagram


I just love doing these nail art challenges...thought I would share some of my entries...here is the challenge photo...

December 1: Snowmen/Snowflakes

December 2: GingerBread Man

December 5,9: Red, White & Green/Christmas Lights

December 5,12: Red, White & Green/Elves

December 14: Candy Canes

December 16: Reindeer

I don't know how I missed the Ugly Christmas Sweater nails day. Maybe I just misread the list. Oh well, one less ugly Christmas sweater never hurt anyone! Stayed tuned for the rest of the this nail art challenge!!

Thanks for reading!!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Mac Lipstick Samples


We all know how wonderful Mac beauty products are, but we also know how expensive they can be. MAC lipsticks are especially pricey at $15 each. Well, here is a way to sample some of their lipsticks without paying that high price tag.
I purchased these from TheBodyNeeds2.com. You can choose from 145 shades of real Mac lipstick. For $3.79 each you will receive a .5g sample in a slimline lipstick tube.The base of the tube is filled with clear lipstick base to prevent waste of MAC product in the twist mechanism. Tubes are labeled with product name and are guaranteed authentic. 
I bought these on Black Friday so I got them all for 30% off! I chose shades that I love and thought would be good for me, and also ones that seem to be pretty popular on my favorite beauty blogs and by YouTube beauty gurus. I chose:

New York Apple
Ruby Woo
On Hold
Craving
Russian Red
Up The Amp

First up is New York Apple. It is a muted red with pink shimmer. I expected it to be a lot darker on my lips than it was. I love the hint of frost in this one though, and it has a very creamy application. 

Next is Ruby Woo. Oh how I love this one! It is a bright coral, matte red and a MAC Best Seller. Very vivid, and seems to have some blue undertones. Some people shy away from Ruby Woo because the application is very dry & chalky. But owning this one previously, I've learned that your lips have to be very moisturized before you apply it, otherwise you will have a dry ugly mess on your lips!

This is On Hold. Its a creme sheen raspberry red. Nice formula but I expected it to be brighter than it was and a lot more pink since it supposed to be a raspberry shade of red. However, It was very creamy. I think this is and old MAC lipstick shade from maybe 2009? Correct me if I'm wrong. And I think it's a permanent shade in their Cremesheen collection. 

Craving was very crumbly before I ever even used it, which immediately gave me negative thoughts about it. It looks so dark in the tube. So I knew it would wear dark on me, being that my lips are naturally dark and not pink, like most of you. Craving is plum creme and that's exactly how it looks! I really like it!

Russian Red is a very intense red with some hints of blue undertones. Just like Ruby Woo, it is a MAC Best Seller and also has a matte finish, but it was much easier to apply than Ruby Woo. And ladies, let me tell you, if you want a really red-red, buy this one! Sorry for the lipstick on my teeth. I guess I was really excited about this one!!

And last, but certainly not least, is Up The Amp. I absolutely loooove this lipstick!!! I've seen it on every shade and skin tone imaginable and it is really pretty! My pictures do it NO JUSTICE at all. It is a lavender violet creme and it is so smooth and easy to apply. The perfect pastel for spring. 
I have to say, this is a great way to try out MAC lipsticks, without the fear that you will waste money on a color you don't like or that doesn't suit you. Thank you to The Body Needs for this ingenious idea. Of the 6 shades I purchased, I will definitely be buying Up The Amp and Russian Red. I already have Ruby Woo, it is a mainstay in my lipstick collection. I'm a red girl, if you didn't notice from the samples! I also noticed that Grey Friday, which is a Limited Edition MAC shade (I dare you to try it!), Pink Nouveau, Morange & Lady Danger, which are a few of MAC's best sellers, are samplers at The Body Needs. These are must-haves for me too!

Do you have a favorite MAC Lipstick? Let me know...
Lips

Thanks for reading!!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

DIY Boot Shapers



Thank you to ...love Maegan for this ingenious idea!!
I bought these beauties from JustFab.com 
and this is how they stand up in my closet...
but after I made me a pair of Maegan's amazing boot shapers for myself, now they stand up like this!!
I love them! And I will be making several more for all of my other boots!
(sorry for the crappy iPhone pics)
See the full tutorial on Maegan's blog here
(photo from www.lovemaegan.com)

Thanks for reading!!