Sunday, February 21, 2010

Resolution Watch II

Last week I planned to...
*Do 200 crunches a night for at least 4 nights this week- (ACCOMPLISHED!)
*Drink 1+ bottles of water (from my reusable water bottle) a day- (INCOMPLETE)
*Do all of my homework before I go on nail blogs- (ACCOMPLISHED)
*Keep my room completely clean for the whole week- (NOT EVEN CLOSE)
Well, 2/4 isn't that bad, right? Okay, this week I plan to...
*Have my room clean on Friday
*Only eat sweets once a day
*200 crunches 4 nights a week
*Wii Fit 2 a week
*Yoga before going to school
*Blog posts 4 times this week
I'll check back in on Sunday!

CC Yell- Oh!


One coat over white. Layering makes this so much more opaque!

Nail Art Contest Winner!


The winner is..... the beautiful Ms. Mae! I love this mani, it is so pretty. The winner will receive an email notifying her.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Wow, do I have a story for you!

Okay, as a prelude, I am on my high school's ski team. I'm one of three freshman girls and I'm having a blast! So last night I went to sleep, just like normal. Well, this morning.....
I woke up because I heard my door open. I'm a light sleeper so I was awake very quickly, too quickly. Why? Well, had I slept for another minute I would have woken up to them in my room, at 4:20 AM, with party horns. Instead, I woke up to ten dark figures coming at me. Needless to say, I screamed. Loud. Yes, my parents let them in so they knew this was coming.
Yes, today I was initiated. From there, they threw me in the back seat of their car, blindfolded me, and drove. Because they got lost and I had to give them directions to my friend (and fellow freshman skier's) house. They left me (with another friend) in the car while they went and got her.
We went back on the road, this time I had no idea where we were going. They pulled me out of the car, still blindfolded, and onto the street. I walked as they led me, and promptly tripped on the curb. Ouch. They apologized profusely.
Next, they explained the game to us, they'd spin us around until we were dizzy, get in their cars and drive off, and we'd chase them. We were aloud to remove the blindfold after we heard the motor.
It was all going fine, until I tripped on the same curb. Double ouch. Well, asthmatic me couldn't keep up with the car. That was okay, though, because they stopped soon enough, right in front of a house.
Once I finally reached them, the re-blindfolded me and led me (carefully as they felt guilty) into the house. We walked all around before being led outside, where they told us we were to jump in a pool with all of our clothing on. Apparently, they had a change for us after words. We counted to three, plugged our noses, and jumped. My two friends (the other freshmen) didn't jump or fall into anything, the whole pool was a joke. I jumped into a pole. Triple ouch.
Thinking we were done, they led us back into the house and took the blindfold off, telling us that the second part we would face alone. One by one, they led us into the bathroom, leaving the next in line to await their fate. As the 'victim' exited the bathroom, those still waiting were blindfolded yet again. Finally, it was my turn.
The minute I get in, a pair of ski goggles with masking tape covering the eyes is fitted over me. Then, they went to work. I felt them rub something into my skin, as well as desecrate my manicure. They gave me a faux goggle tan, teased my hair, added temporary red dye, and destroyed my perfect nails.
I don't mean to sound traumatized, this was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had, still, it was strange. We left for school after eating some donuts and being given special shirts that the team made for us by hand. I was still in my pajamas.
I swore to keep all of the dye, tease, nail polish, and clothing on for the day; the punishment for not obeying would be being kicked out of my next race. I received quite a few questioning looks, still, I feel so close to all the girls now.
My last race is tomorrow. In this group I have found something I never found in cheer, ten amazing, positive, encouraging girls. There is no way I am not doing this next year. To my ski team, I love you all!

PS: I have pictures of the ruined manicure (see below) as well as the fact that all of the girls commented on the sheer amount of nail polish in my room. The worst part is, they only saw roughly half of it. Here are two pictures, the first is my manicure as of last night (SH Purple Pizazz, an amazing color) and the next is this afternoon, after I had picked a lot of the polish from my cuticles.






Monday, February 15, 2010

China Glaze Poolside

China Glaze sent me this press release. I think I want.... ALL OF THEM! Tehehe, these look awesome!



SPEND SUMMER BY THE POOLSIDE IN CHINA GLAZE

Six New Neons Sure To Make The Summer Sizzle

Los Angeles, CA – (February 2010): Lounging poolside, sipping on a drink and reading the latest magazine…makes you think of Summer doesn’t it? The only thing missing is that perfect manicure and pedicure! Dip into the summer with some of the brightest and most amazing neons from the China Glaze Poolside collection! Perfect for fingers, and especially the toes, nothing says Summer of 2010 like a couple coats of bright polish! The 6 colors in the Poolside collection include:

• Pool Party: Neon Pink
• Flip Flop Fantasy: Neon Coral
• Sun Worshipper: Neon Orange
• Yellow Polka Dot Bikini: Neon Yellow
• Kiwi Cool-Ada: Neon Green
• Towel Boy Toy: Neon Blue

As for most neons, these tend to finish drying on the matte side…But no fear, getting that gorgeous shine is only a top coat away! Try China Glaze Patent Leather Top Coat. Once you get a look at your China Glaze neon nails glimmering underwater and in the sun, you’re never going to want to take these polishes off!

China Glaze Poolside launches April 1st 2010, for international and domestic.

*Please note that like most neon polishes, the first layer will look extremely opaque and thin. You will need to build up to desired coverage and always remember to let each layer dry completely before applying the next. This will help prevent streaks and missing patches of color on the nail bed.

China Glaze Nail Lacquers have a suggested retail price of $6.50 each.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Resolution Watch

Okay, here's a new section. This will be updated weekly and is my way of keeping my resolutions going (yeah, I'm 1 1/2 months late but, better late than never! Right?). This week (the week of the 14th) I plan to....
*Do 200 crunches a night for at least 4 nights this week-
*Drink 1+ bottles of water (from my reusable water bottle) a day-
*Do all of my homework before I go on nail blogs-
*Keep my room completely clean for the whole week-
I'll update this on Sunday with how I did! This will go up once every week for as long as I can keep doing it.

Matte Swatches!

Okay, three mattes for you today. Two are OPI Suedes (love this collection!) and one is an Orly matte that I got on clearance from Sally's. All swatches are shown with and without topcoat. All of these mattes have shimmer to them.
First up, Orly Solid Gold. I absolutely adored this polish, super flattering with my skin tone.



Next is OPI You Don't Know Jaques! (Suede). I didn't like this one, simply because I dislike brown polish. I do think it is pretty, just not on me.



Lastly, is Lincoln Park After Dark (Suede). Love this! So classy, but not at all like the 'normal' LPAD. Because I love purple so much, this is a stunner. I think I prefer the Orly, though, just because it really worked with my olive skin.

Friday, February 12, 2010

V-DAY MANIS CONT. ->



Thumb to pinky, OPI DS Signiture + silver balls, RBL Smitten + OPI Mad as a Hatter + white Art Deco, CG Salsa + white Art Deco, CG Strawberry Fields + white Art Deco, CG White Out + Nichole Love Your Life. Don't forget about my nail art contest! Review of the prize down below!
The prize for the contest is Skin MD Shielding Lotion, my verdict? I loved it!
Pros:
Dries/absorbs quickly
Not greasy
Appropriate for facial use
Didn't irritate severe acne

Cons:
Not extremely moisturizing

I would buy it if.....
You have acne
You want to keep your cuticles looking decent
You have oily skin
You spend time in dry climates

My story....
I have severe acne, combination skin, and I spend 8+ hours a week skiing. What this means for me is an alternation between oil slick and patch dryness on my face. You see, when you ski, the wind whips at your face, sucking all the moisture out. This could be easily treated with a heavy lotion except for the issue that you (well me, at least) start to sweat. Ew. I also have the terrible habit of touching my face often, I feel that I break out when I use heavy hand-creams as I transfer that to my 'danger zone'. Fun stuff. This is $18 a bottle, quite pricey but totally worth it if you brave all extremes.

A big thank you to Skin MD for sending this product for review as well as providing for the giveaway.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

V-Day Manis



These are super pretty. The purple is DS Original + Nichole by OPI Love Your Life + nail art heart things. The french is my NOTD for tomorrow, clear + CG Strawberry Fields + freehanded nail art.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

So, last night was winter formal....



And I wore this gold F21 dress and shoes + CG Unplugged. So much fun! I didn't dance with anyone but my friends but still, a really good time. On to some nail swatches (note, these are all oldies, backlogged oldies)
RBL No More War vs MAC Dry Martini. NMW on index, alternating from there.

Sally Hansen Inta Dri Rapidly Rosy

Orly Prince Charming

Zoya Tallulah on a friend’s nails

CG Lubu Heels

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Nail Art Contest!!!!

Let me see your cool V-day inspired mani, I'll give you a Skin MD Shielding Lotion if I like it! Yup, I'm having a CONTEST! Here's my v-day mani, can you beat it?


I will be taking submissions by email (paintedtips@gmail.com) until February 20th so start sending them in! The lotion the winner will recive is awesome! I've been testing it (you will recive your own new bottle, never you worry), I will have a review up soon. You must be a follower of my blog to enter.

Monday, February 1, 2010

8 Things Tag

Tagged by : Miss Adorn (http://missadorn.blogspot.com/)
8 TV shows I watch...
1: Glee
2: Gossip Girl
3: Vampire Diaries
4: Mentalist
5: Castle
6: Survivor
7: Bones
8: House

8 Favourite places to eat...
1: Lucky Lab
2: Papa Hydens
3: Any chinese restaurant
4: Any thai restaurant
5: Food Carts
6: Le Pidgin
7: Todai
8: Kenny and Zukes

8 Things I look forward to...
1: Summer
2: Sleeping
3: Next TD haul :)
4: Lovegrams
5: Completion of high school
6: Laughing
7: Being able to drive
8: Writing

8 Things that happened yesterday...
1: I got up early
2: I cleaned- a lot
3: Gave Ollie some love <3
4: Planned to volunteer today
5: Went to the mall
6: Bought Mad as a Hatter and Absolutly Alice
7: Painted my nails
8: Read MLIA

8 Things I love about winter...
1: Sweaters
2: Uggs
3: Cuddling
4: Hot Cocoa
5: Snow
6: Skiing
7: Hanukah
8: Fuzzy socks (don't judge)

8 Things on my wish list...
1: More polish
2: A job
3: Unlimited icecream
4: To get a 'A' in GS
5: To win my next ski race (not likely)
6: A certain someone
7: Happiness
8: Health

8 Things I'm passionate about...
1: Politics
2: Education
3: Nails
4: Law
5: Volunteerism
6: Stopping pollution
7: Friends
8: My religion

8 Words or phrases I use alot...
1: Love you
2: Essentially
3: It made my day
4: *insert laughing here*
5: Moooo
6: SO this polish is....
7: Hmm
8: *nods head*

8 Places I would love to visit...
1: Paris
2: Florida
3: Colorado
4: Tennessee
5: Australia
6: Italy
7: Israel
8: Ecuador (again)

I tag... EVERYONE! Hehehe