this weeks nails – the Spiff

Give Yourself a Mini Spa Treatment

November 23, 2015 No Comments

I may have to fight for it, loose a little sleep because of it and in desperate times pay for someone else to do it, but by golly I’m going to have nice nails.

I was told that after having a baby I was going to have to quit paying attention to myself. I would have to, “Let myself go.” Now that I’ve experienced life with a baby, I don’t let anything go…I simply adjust my grip.

Doing my nails is a Saturday night ritual. With a baby around, it’s meant I’ve had to adjust when I get it done. Most of the time that means doing them in stages. File and clean up my cuticles before I go to bed; paint the base coat after feeding/changing the baby in the morning; paint the first layer of color before walking out the door; paint the final coat at my desk.

Some weeks it’s a crazy spread-out process like that, other weeks I can get it all done in one sitting. My goal is to never give up!

This week I returned to applying a face-mask while working on my nails. It’s the perfect time to let something soak into your skin while you’re giving yourself a manicure. Afterwards, I felt like a whole new woman (and after a rough week, I looked like one too).

I’m a much happier person when my nails are nice, and I just don’t think you have to forsake yourself entirely just because you’ve had a baby. Women have been having babies and keeping up their appearance for centuries. I’d like to join the list.

Here are the products I use and love for an at-home “me time” –

One: Nugg Face Mask

I have a whole box full of face mask samples that I’m determined to pick through each week. This one was super hydrating and left my skin feeling baby-butt soft. Which is a review you can trust as I have a direct way to compare the two ;)

Two: Zoya Satin polish in Sage

Ok, so maybe Zoya doesn’t employ the most creative imaginations when it comes to naming their polish. But I do love the soft color and how it drys with a matte-like finish. And it drys fast, which is great when someone needs their paci reinserted, completely hypothetical of course. (Ps: I would name this one “So, what do you Sage?!”

Three: Crystal Nail File

My weekly manicure used to include time spent hunting down a fresh nail file. It took at least 15 minutes to find one that had that good clean spot. Thankfully someone invented the crystal nail file – it never ever wears down. All it requires is a quick rinse and it’s ready to go. God bless that person. You can pick up your own at Mori’s Luggage and Gifts in West Town Mall (they have multiple sizes too!)

Four: Essie Fill the Gap Base Coat

Prepping your nail is the most important step for polish longevity. I don’t have time for a top coat, but I refuse to skip the base coat, and my polish lasts all week chip-free because of it.

Five: Sally Hansen 18K Gold Cuticle Eraser

I live such the life of luxury that I’m slathering gold on my cuticles. And that’s no lie. This cuticle pen has bits of gold in it! Sure you can’t SEE them, but it really gets into your cuticles leaving you with fresh nails – which is a luxury in and of itself!

2015, april fools, Beauty

Two Unexpected Ways to Use Coconut Oil

April 1, 2015 No Comments

The coconut is having a good year.

In the store the other day I noticed there’s no shortage of coconut-related products. All of our basic essentials – sugar, water, oil, milk – have been taken over by this tasty and wildly healthy fruit…? Fruit right? No, I just looked it up, it’s part of it’s OWN species. Ooo fancy.

Which further proves my point…this thing is becoming a bit of a diva.

But we’ll take an edible/slather-able diva that will help us feel and look better any day, right?

Let me share with you two new ways the coconut can be introduced into your beauty routine.

Coconut Oil Nails

We knew this stuff was a great moisturizer, but who knew it could do this!?

I found this online and didn’t believe it until I tried it myself. Take your favorite blush and mix about 1/2 a teaspoon of it with a full teaspoon of coconut oil (per nail, by the way so it works out to 5 teaspoons of blush, 10 teaspoons of coconut oil). Then slather on a thick coating of the mixture on each nail, making sure to mold it into the shape of your nail. Then hold your hand under a hair dryer for a full two minutes. Once it’s dry it looks like you got a professional manicure!

Something else that’s quite unexpected is creating an eyeshadow by using it and another simple household ingredient…baking soda!

By mixing equal parts of the two together vigorously (I used a small spatula for about a minute), they combined to create this perfect color that has the consistency of a creamy eyeshadow. And because it’s made up of coconut oil it moisturizes your eyes as you wear it throughout the day. The downside is it does crease by the end of the day, even if you’ve applied a primer. However, the benefits to your skin and the color that it leaves behind, far outweigh the down side of looking wilted and droopy by 5pm.

So…when are you going to try these awesome beauty hacks?

I hope it’s today because it’s a great April Fools joke!

#gotcha :-P

*The nail color I’m actually wearing in the picture is OPI, “Lucky Lucky Lavender.”

Beauty, this weeks nails

Labor Day!

September 1, 2014 No Comments

This past week I took a much needed vacation. I had a break from more than just deadlines and alarm clocks, I also decided to go the full week without color on my nails. I haven’t done that in over 6 years…

Aside from the occasional, “Ah! Who’s hand is that!?” moments, it was nice to give my nails a break.

I hope you’re able to take a break from something today or maybe sometime this week. Even a break from something you love is nice every once in a while. I helps clear your mind and come back loving it even more! Now excuse me while I go get every nail polish I own and paint my every finger nail… ;)