My experience with Shellac

Hello my pretties!  I have something exciting to share.  I have been shellaced!  Have you heard of shellac?  No? Well stay tuned and I’ll tell you all about it.

Shellac is a fairly new (I believe it came out last summer in the U.S.) gel nail polish that is currently only available in salons.  The beauty of it is that it is said to last for weeks!  You heard me WEEKS!  Being someone who nail polish tends to wear off or chip after only a matter of hours, I was intrigued.  I kept telling my husband how badly I wanted to try this.  Good husband that he is, he and my daughter got me a gift certificate for Mother’s Day.  Jackpot!

In my area, a shellac manicure will run you about $35-$40.  It does not harm your natural nail.  They start out with a typical manicure, shaping your nails and trimming the cuticles and then they apply a UV base coat, then have you put your hand in the UV nail dryer.  Then they do one coat of the shellac nail polish and have you put your nails in the dryer again, then a second coat of the polish, once again in the dryer and they finish it of with a UV top coat and then, you guessed it, back to the dryer.  All in all it does take a bit longer than your typical manicure, but the great part is after the last time you are in the dryer you are 100% dry and don’t have to worry about smudging your nails.  Not to mention the polish lasts much longer and is super shiny.  I got my manicure Saturday and normally by Monday it would be gone, but look how good it still looks.  Sorry for the image quality, I snapped this quickly with my iPhone.

Stay tuned and I will let you know how well it lasts.  So far I am excited!

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About Face, I think I’m in Love

Tomorrow is the big day.  My little sweet pea turns one.  Holy cow.  What an amazing year it has been.  We are in the full swing of party prep and although I am not as prepared as I would like to be, I am incredibly excited.  Celebrating her big day with family and friends will be so much fun.  I have an adorable cake on order complete with pink lady bugs (we call her Lily Bug).  The only hitch has been that during the tornado phase of cleaning (you know, when you pull everything out and your house looks trashed before you put it all back together), my husband and I both got a pretty bad cold that had us out of commission for a while.  He has recovered just in time to throw out his back, so we are slowly trying to put things back together.

Until then, I wanted to share this gem with you.  Have you heard of Lisa Eldridge?  If you haven’t, I am sure you have probably seen some of the amazing make up she has done on magazine covers or on celebrities.  She has done makeup for one of my favorites, Lily Allen as well as celebs like Nicole Richie and Katy Perry.  Her webpage is full of amazing makeup tutorial videos.  Click here but don’t blame me for all the makeup you will want to buy.

Check out the amazing photos.  These are just some of my favorites from her gallery.

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What’s on Your Wish List?

Aside from world peace and the usual cliche  wishes,  these shoes, some Sephora goodies and the ever popular money (to pay bills) are on my wish list.

I am having fun playing with make up lately (when I get up early enough, and with having a 10 month old, that can be more sporadic than I would like) and have enjoyed playing with muted eyeshadow in grays, browns and/or pinks with fun eyeliner in shades of greens and blues.  Imagine all of the fun I will have with my present from my dear hubby.  Thanks to a somewhat comical turn of events, I know that I will be getting this beauty for Christmas.

Isn't she pretty?

I have always loved mascara and have always considered it to be my number one favorite makeup to wear.  I always dream of having movie star long lashes covered in luxurious mascara.  That is why I am so excited that the other present I have discovered from my husband is this.

Can't wait to bat my lashes covered in this goodness

Currently they are waiting under my fabulously decorated tree (first tree in six years, thanks to my Grinch kitty) waiting to make a grand entrance into my make up drawer.

 

What is your favorite kind or color of make up.  Any fun tricks I just have to try?  I showed you mine, now share yours!

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