Juicy goodness...

I was so excited this Christmas when I tore open a gift from my mother and cast my eyes upon the greatness that is Juicy Couture's Viva la Juicy. This really is a beautiful and uplifting fragrance, unlike any I have in my collection. It doesn't resemble Juicy Couture edp. The original was a lot more powerful and could easily be overwhelming if applied too heavily. Viva la Juicy is definitley lighter...with notes of jasmine, mandarin, wild berry, and honeysuckle, this is definitley a pick-me up scent for those rainy and cloudy days. It even has a hint of praline on the dry down, which I absolutely love in a body product (when done right). This edp works very well with my body's chemistry! The body lotion and shower gel are lovely as well, and will be saved for those extra special days where I want to be wrapped in sweet Viva la Juicy goodness for as long as possible. Certainly a winner by Juicy Couture, and a definitley a keeper in my book!

Fixing a Torn Nail

The bane of my nail exsistence is a torn nail episode. It seemingly always happens every two months or so, when my nails are clearly revolting against the lack of adequate moisturization, or from the too-much chemical exposure from cleaning products. Now, it's seems to always be my right thumb nail that cracks on the side. Here's a pic for reference: Yikes! And excuse the remaining holiday mani polish!

Yes, I know I should have been taking my biotin and using my cuticle cream daily, but sometimes with a busy life, it takes a back seat. But regardless of all the preventative measure that I put in place, breaks happen. So, I have mastered a technique that I found through some light online research and practice on how to fix a torn nail. I've slightly modified it to make it work best for me. So, I hope this mini tutorial can help you in the future to save that nail before you resort to clipping and filing!

What you'll need:

Tea packet or tissue

Nail glue

Acetone Nail polish remover

Orange stick

Tweezers

Step One: First, remove all (if any) nail polish and wash and dry hands/nails. Do not moisturize.


Step Two: Carefully cut out a tiny square from the tea bag or tissue. Just enough to cover the tear!

Step Three: Pick up the cut out square with tweezer and apply a dab of nail glue to the tissue. Apply the square to nail tear, covering it completley. Hold down for 5-10 seconds.





Step Four: Dip the orange stick into the acetone polish and clean up any glue from under the nail or the skin surrounding the nail. This is great for getting rid of any nail/skin contact from under the nail when the glue seeps through the crack.


Step Five: Lightly buff the nail to a smooth(er) finish, if desired. Polish if you like!

Here's my repaired nail. Now I only need to buff and file! Viola!

This technique works like a charm until my nail grows out long enough to either trim to an acceptable length or I'll just re-do the repair until all is grown out!

How to prevent nail tears:

MOISTURIZE, MOISTURIZE, and then MOISTURIZE some more. Just an everyday lotion will do the trick. A heavier hand cream works even better. Cuticle oils are best used before bed each night, (and with gloves to prevent staining!)


Use a nail strenghtener daily, even under nail polishes. I love Orly's Nail Armor base coat.


Wear latex gloves when using household chemicals and cleaning products.


Taking a mulit-vitamin helps with overall hair and nail health. Biotin is most frequently recommended by nail-aholics and esteticians for maintianing the health and integrity of nails.

Konad...a new obsession

I love pampering my tips and toes. With hundreds of nail polish and nail art in my personal collection, I am head over heels in love with it all. Seriously. And, recently I stumbled upon the fairly new art of nail stamping. What a genius idea! Who doesn't want flowers, kitty cats, and horses on their nails without the hassle of cheap-looking stickers or expensive salon prices? Well, I do! So, after doing my share researching, I got my hands on Konad's Nail Art and Image Plates. You can only get these online (at least in my area), but if you go to Konad.com, or wowsocool.com, you can find and order all the Konad products to your hearts desire and locate retailers near you. Right now, I only have the starter set, with one image plate, but man~this is soooo cool! What you need to stamp (successfully, that is): nail image plate, special nail polish, image plate scraper, image stamper. It is important to use the specially formulated nail polishes, because they are thicker and dry immediatley upon contact with the nail. I have the french tip image plate, and tried it out. I found that the whole process is really easy! It does take a bit of practice to align the french manicure tips just right on my natural nail, but once I got the hang of it, *viola*, perfect french tips without the hassle of being hand-painted!

tis the season...

...for posing and photographing annoyed doggies with a holiday theme....

Merry Christmas!

Estee Lauder Giveaway

Another blogger is offering a great prize to one lucky winner this holiday season: A set that includes a whole bunch of Estee Lauder goodies, including a 3.4oz Beautiful Sheer edp. Nice....That alone is worth the entry to win. But theres lots more where that comes from. The retail value for this prize is over $100usd easy. Go check it out for yourself at http://nickels-n-dimes.blogspot.com/2008/12/giveaway-7-estee-lauder.html

Good Luck!

Under Construction

Yes, this bloggie is currently undergoing a hiatus as well as the parsimonious pursuer until I finish my finals this week! Man, these 16 weeks flew by fast this semester. Only 2 more years of school left until my B.S...lol...Sorry for the delay in entries, but hey~a girl's gotta do well in Government, right? Just hang on a few more days or so. For now, enjoy some holiday cheer and give yourself a holiday manicure with candy canes or snowflakes......you know you want to!

Essie Pama Arrived!

So, a while back http://www.pamaliqueur.com/ was offering a free, yes, free bottle of Essie nail polish for people who signed up. Of course, being a crazy nail polish fanatic, I jumped on this oppurtunity. Luckily, I was one of the first 1000 or so to do it, and finally after 4-6 weeks, a lovely white box appeared on my front steps. I have actually never tried an Essie polish before. I am more of an OPI and China Glaze gal, so trying a $9 bottle of Essie for free is beyond awesome! And... Essie Pama is georgeous!!! It is a deep crimson red with a beautiful jelly finish. I will upload some pics in the coming days.