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Beauty Nail Polish

Just Another MANICure Monday

I am a little late to the party this week but between the fact that my daughter has Scarlet fever AND I lost an hour of sleep I think y’all will be understanding. Since I haven’t had a chance to do my nails this week I am sharing with you my top 3 tips for making your manicure last a week…even through cleaning.

Prior to these steps you want to make sure that you have cleaned, filed and buffed your nails really well.

DIY Manicure

 

1. Prime your nails: Much like the primer that goes under the paint on a wall, this step will make sure that the nail polish has something to adhere to, increasing your chances of a having your manicure weather the storm. I swear by Orly Bonder. There may be others but I don’t know about them. I only know about Orly Bonder and I love it.

2. Sandwich your coats: Sandwich? Yes, sandwich as in place very thin coats of a good quick dry topcoat between very thin coats of polish. On average I do at least 4 coats…Hey, I’m a mom! I will do two very thin coats, a thin coat of quick dry and another two very thin coats. Key word is THIN, if you make them thick they will bubble and won’t last.

3.Use a good topcoat: Unless you want to reapply your top coat daily I would suggest you shell out the $8-10 and get a good one. For good measure when applying your top coat, lightly brush a thin amount across the tip of your nail every 2-3 days.

Time to show off your manicure for the week. Next week I am going to use a linky that won’t require you to have a blog so everybody is welcome…Get ready!



 

Beauty Skincare

Yes to Grapefruit..A Review

A few weeks ago the lovely folks over at Yes to  sent me a goody box of their newest product offering, Yes to Grapefruit. I wanted the use the products for a few weeks before reviewing so that I could get a good feel of the products and whether or not I thought it would be a good product to recommend you add to your skincare arsenal or lack thereof!

Yes to Carrots

If you are not familiar with the brand they currently have a Yes to carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and blueberries in their product offering . The newest addition is Yes to Grapefruit and it is touted to help with skin issues such as hyper-pigmentation, as well as help reverse skin damage and enhance radiance.

I was sent these products to test out.

Yes to Grapefruit

Upon my first use of the daily facial scrub I was taken back by the fragrance. The majority of Yes to products are anywhere from  97 to 99 percent natural so I attribute that to the reason why I felt like I had just smeared fresh grapefruit all over my face. I am not a fan of the taste or smell of grapefruit but in all honesty after using the products for a few days the smell wasn’t distracting at all.

The daily face scrub had just enough “grit” in it without being irritating but I felt it was thoroughly cleansing. I’m not really sure if you should use it daily if you have sensitive skin because there was some roughness to it but for my rough skin it got the job done. After a few days I definitely felt like my skin was a little softer.

I followed up the facial scrub with the Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream

Yes to Grapefruit Dark Eye Circle Correcting Eye Cream

Now this…OMGahhhhh. I wasn’t really expecting much and I wish I would’ve done a before but in the past three weeks of use I have seen a difference in the dark areas under my eyes. It is rather light in consistency so you have to make sure not to use too much otherwise you may run the risk of getting some of it in your eye. Do NOT ask me how I know this.

Post daily scrub and eye cream I applied the serum and moisturizer.

Yes to Grapefruit

Loved the serum. Again, one of those things where you only need at the most two pumps. It covered well. I can’t vouch for the product improvement on its own since it is a group of products but it applied well and I didn’t need a lot to get the job done…in other words you get more bang for the buck. We like that.

Now the moisturizer on the other hand gave me a bit of an issue. It was super thick which I suppose is due to the sunscreen in it. I ended up having to mix it with a dollop of my normal more creamy moisturizer to make sure it went on smoothly without leaving me with the hint of a white mask on my face. I actually ended up not using it much and just substituting it with my much lighter daily moisturizer. My skin is dark so it was an issue. If you have lighter toned skin I don’t really see it being an issue.

For the nights and mornings I was lazy I used the towelettes and I love them mostly for ease of use. You know those days when you are far too tired to mess around with a full skin care regimen. Wipe and go. These again had a little “grit.” I am obsessed with making sure all of the dirt is off my skin so I rubbed a little more vigorously than I needed to. Don’t be like me. Just a few regular swipes as with a washcloth will do. I can also see these being time savers in the morning especially when you have cleansed well at night.

Yes to Grapefruit

Of all of the products, second to the eye cream I loved these Yes to Cucumbers towelettes.

Yes to Cucumbers

They were cooling and removed a face full of makeup like a true champ. I suppose Allure didn’t give them the best of beauty award for nothing. These are extremely cooling and smell great. I plan to freeze packs of these in the summer when we head out to the amusement parks etc. to give myself a refreshing cool down when the weather gets hot and sticky.

I would definitely recommend you give these products a try. The pricing is right and you can find these products in your local drugstore or big box retailer as well as online. The company is currently offing 25% online orders. Great incentive if you want to take these products for a whirl.

yes to Grapefruit coupon

I was provided these products for review. All opinions are mine..you already know!!

Beauty Nail Polish

Just Another MANICure Monday

This week’s MANICure Monday is dedicated to my new nail color. Last Thursday, the Spring/Summer Tastemaker Collection debuted and my color Glossy Mimi was in the house!

Coco Rae Cosmetics Glossy Mimi

I chose a pastel hue of orange as I wanted something that would be fun and feminine for Spring and Summer. The formula on it is impeccable, it covers well with two coats and the brush is magnificent. There is a slight bit of gold shimmer to it that almost gives it sort of  creamy shimmer. I am absolutely thrilled with it.

IMG_8785

I plan to do a more in depth interview with Courtney who is the owner of Coco Rae Cosmetics next week.. I am a strong supporter of small business and she has a product that is worth sharing and I sincerely hope she goes far with her endeavors. Stay tuned next week to hear her story.

In the meantime do share the color on your digits for the week.

Can’t wait to see what you ladies are wearing!

manicure monday 250


Beauty Nail Polish

Polish Me Pretty Party

My love of nail polish has earned me my own personal nail color in the Atlanta Tastemaker Magazine’s Spring/Summer 2013 nail polish collection. Atlanta Tastemaker teamed up with Coco Rae Cosmetics to create an awesome line of 6 colors inspired by some of Atlanta’s top bloggers. All of the polishes are “4 free” meaning they don’t include any toxins or harmful substances.

My color is appropriately named Glossy Mimi and is a pastel orange hue that will be a definite winner for Spring and Summer tip wear. While the polish is not yet available, an awesome preview party has been scheduled for next week on February 21 at Fab’rik in Buckhead. If you are in Atlanta I would love to see you! Come by, fellowship and get your nails painted. Looking forward to seeing those of you that are in Atlanta.

Polish Me Pretty Party

Please make sure to RSVP here. Space is limited.

See you there.