DIY Splatter Nails

It's #manimonday. I love doing my nails so on Monday (not every one) you can expect a post that's nail related. This time I'm showing you how I did this splatter, speckled, marbled (???) manicure. I saw a variation of this on Pinterest and I decided to make it my own. That's what I love about doing manicures at home, you can make them unique by choosing different colors.

What you'll need:

At least 2 different nail polish colors. *I used 4 (one as a base color and 3 for the splatter effect)

2 straws *I cut 2 straws in half because I worked with 4 colors

Top coat and base coat *Optional (I didn't use either for this look)

Cotton swabs *To clean up because it can get messy

Paper towel *To rest your hand on so nail polish doesn't get everywhere

Nail polish remover *Again to clean up

Step 1

Apply base coat (optional)

Step 2

Apply 2 coats of whatever color polish you've chosen as your base (I chose Essie Playdate)

Step 3

After both coats of your base color is dry, it's time to splatter. Lay your hand on a paper towel to prevent polish from getting every (a flat surface is ideal). Next, using a straw, dip one end into the color of your choice. Using the other end lightly blow into the straw to splatter the nail polish onto the nail. Repeat on all fingers.

*Optional

You can just use 1 color to splatter but I used 4. The process is the same. Just dip one end of the straw into the polish and blow into the other end. This creates the splatter effect. You can use as many colors as you want, but make sure to use a different straw for each.

Step 4

Clean up any polish that may have gotten on your cuticle with a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover.

Step 5

*Optional

Apply top coat to seal in the design and allow to dry.

Step 6

Enjoy your work!

I think this looks really cool and I love that each nail is different. I can't wait to try this with different colors. Hope you enjoy!

*There may be other tutorials like this elsewhere. I am aware that I didn't "invent" this technique. I just thought it looked easy and I wanted to try it out for myself. 

my natural hair questions

photo

I have questions. Lots of questions. I have some answers to, but the questions come first. Oh and they have to do with hair cause like I said, I've become a bit obsessed. I thought I would just share them with you and maybe you guys could help me. Yes? Yes. 

Disclaimer: I know what I do and what I should be doing, it's just nice to hear, er, read other people's opinions and what they do.

How often do you shampoo your hair? I feel like for me, my hair tells me every week or so, but I know it's different for everyone.

Do you co wash? Honestly this whole co washing business confuses the hell out of me. Help me. Do I need to be co washing and how often?

Deep conditioning. All about deep conditioning. Like how often? What do you use? I know I should be doing it, but I haven't found a. the time and b. the right products. I know there are some great DIY deep conditioners that I really want to try. Do you have any faves?

What are you favorite protective styles? I love a good protective style and I want to know, what's your go to one?

How do you maintain your style? Whether it be a wash and go, twist out, braid out, protective style, whatever. I need to know how you maintain it. My biggest problem with my wash and go is that it looks bomb the day of and maybe the next day, but I can't for the life of me keep it looking good for more than two days. I need serious help.

Those are the most burning questions I have right now. I feel like most newbies have those questions or maybe more, so let's help each other out. Also, I am going to do more detailed posts about the products I use and how I use them. 

Thanks for reading, yo.

About my hair and stuff like that

photo

This post may be all over the place, but hey, what's new? I want to give brief overview on my natural hair journey and pick your brain about wash and gos. I will probably be doing a more detailed "natural journey" post, but for now, here goes. I'm new to the whole natural hair game. Well not completely new so let me explain. I guess I've always had natural hair in the sense that I've never had a perm. I've always gotten my hair pressed and worn it straight. With that being said, I used to flat iron and curl my hair almost everyday. When I was in high school, my curls just had to freaking perfect or I was freaking ot. Then as I got older I stopped putting so much heat on my hair and I wore it up in a bun of some sort (which is my fave way to wear my hair btw). Then I stopped straightening my hair altogether and that brings us to where I am today. I haven't put any heat on my hair since March, I believe. I'm not really counting and I don't remember the specific date as I'm not really "strict" about my natural hair. I don't have a certain length I'd like to get to, but I mean of freaking course I want long hair. I'm really more about the health of my hair since healthy hair is growing hair. Not sure if that made sense, but you get the picture. When I stopped straightening it, I had no clue what I was doing. I was putting shit on my hair that had no business being on there. I didn't know half the stuff I know now and I still feel like I don't know much. I'm constantly looking online and all the information is so confusing. Like really, really confusing. At the time, I didn't know what kind of curl pattern I had or what curl type I was. I wasn't even aware that even existed. Now I'm all about my natural curls. I freaking love them. My hair has sort of become my life. I'm obsessed with it. I love learining about it and seeing wha does and what doesn't work for me. I also want to pefect and I mean really perfect a wash and go. I still haven't yet and that bugs me like nothing else. I've done a lot of research, well reading online, and while my wash and go looks decent, it still kind of sucks. So I want to know, do you guys wash and go and if so teach me your ways. I'm kidding, but not really. I really want to know what products you guys use and all that good stuff.

P.S. I'm going to be doing a product post soon and maybe answering a few questions if you have any for me.

As always, thanks for reading!

Cold Weather Survival Tips

image

Well, winter in Texas has finally arrived. It's been really cold here after a few weeks of cold weather here and there. That being said, there are a few things that I've learned along the way on how to survive cold weather and still look fabulous.

1. Moisturize I've sang the praises of keep your skin moisturized here and here. I can't stress enough how important it is to keep your skin and lips moisturized and smooth. Winter skin can be a pretty tough battle to fight, but by using the right products, and applying them daily, dry winter skin will be the thing of the past.

2. Hydrate It's always important to drink plenty of water. Some people only stress the importance of doing so in the hot months, but I think it's just as important in the colder months. Keeping yourself hydrated helps with your skin, but it also is so good for your body. So many sicknesses happen during the wintertime, so I like to keep myself as healthy and hydrated as possible.

3. Healthy Eating Now that the holidays are over, we can all get back to eating a little more healthily. Like I said before, it's important to be healthy during the winter months to avoid getting sick as much as possible. Getting more fruits and vegetables in your diet is a good way to get your body healthy after all the holiday eating.

4. Avoid Outside When I say this, I don't mean never leave your house. I mean be smart when you do. When it's cold, I only leave the comforts of my warm house when necessary and I don't stay outside longer than I have to.

5. Layer Layer Layer I'll have a post about my winter essentials when it comes to getting dressed, but I just had to mention something here. Layering and dressing in the appropriate clothing is major in winter. Especially freezing temperatures. So keep those heads, necks, and feet covered!

There are so many more things that can help you survive winter with style and grace, these are just five. Tell me below, what  is one thing you do that has helped you get through the winter?

Holiday Nails

I can't believe that today is Christmas Eve and it's my last "12 days of Christmas" post. For the last post, I'm talking nails. I have 5 of my favorite picks for this holiday season and also for the winter season. Read on to see what they are.

1. Covergirl outlast stay brilliant Bronze Beauty- This color has been on repeat for the last few months and it is the perfect color for this season. It's a sparkly silver polish, but it has hints of bronze. The wear is amazing and I anticipate wearing this color like crazy in the next few months.

2. Sally Hansen diamond strength no chip nail color Red Velvet- This is my favorite color for this time of year. It's also my favorite red because it's not your typical holiday red. It has hints of pink in it and I wore this color to death last year. 

3. NYC Canal Street- I love this color for the holidays because it's unexpected. It has sparkles and it's a brown burgundy color. I love wearing colors like this because they are the perfect transition into the winter season.  

4. Sally Hansen diamond strength no chip nail color Save the Date- This is color I will be wearing for Christmas. I love the purple because it's unexpected, but festive at the same time. 

5. Covergirl outlast stay brilliant Forever Festive- I wore this color all last week and I love it. I think it's the perfect holiday red and is classic enough to wear all year round.

That's it for my holiday nail polish picks. I love all of these colors and will be wearing them not only for the holidays, but for the months to come.

Thanks for reading and I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!

Holiday Hair

Today's "12 days of Christmas" post is all about hair. I am going to be showing you 3 hairstyles that are perfect for holiday gatherings and parties. I like to keep things simple, so all of these looks are easy to do and can be personalized to fit the occasion and your personality.

1. Headband

Another simple look, but I think this hairstyle is perfect for a party. I love that this hairstyle can be worn with your hair curly or straight. I like it both ways, but it's really just a matter of preference. When choosing a headband, it's again a matter of preference. I chose a sparkly one, because I think it's more festive. Any type of dressier headband will do.

2. Top Knot
A top knot is perfect for any occasion, but I think it looks extra special during the holidays. It's perfect with a bold lip, and a jeweled clip adds a little sparkle.

3. Side part clip back

This is my favorite hairstyle to wear during the holiday season. It's so simple to do, but it just looks classic. For me, I like for my hair to be curly. You can leave your hair straight, do loose waves, or pretty much whatever you want. I also like to create a deep side part. I just think it looks flattering, but again, you can part your hair wherever you want. To clip back one section of hair, for the holidays I love using a sparkly clip. You can use whatever clip you have or you can even use bobby pins. The clip just makes the look even more festive.

What hairstyle will you be rocking this holiday season?

Winter Hats

My knitted black beanie from Target is a staple in my wardrobe during the colder months. Not only is it stylish, it's also pretty practical. Although I love it, it can sometimes be difficult to style my hair when I do decide to wear it. I've played around with a few hairstyles and I've come up with 3 that can be worn with any type of beanie or hat.

I rarely like to wear my hair down, but when wearing a hat, I love it. This is the easiest hairstyle to recreate and the most versatile. You can wear your hair straight or curly. I prefer wearing my hair curly to add more interest.

This is the way I wear my hair pretty much every time I wear a hat. I think it looks cute and it's so easy to do. This literally takes a minute or less to do.

When wearing a hat, pulling my hair to the side and wearing a fishtail braid is my favorite look. It's fast and easy to do.

What are some of your favorite ways to style your hair when wearing a hat?

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

4 Holiday Lipsticks

image

I'm pretty sure all (or at least most of you) who read my blog know that I am obsessed with lipstick. It's really the only makeup that I wear, so I like to have fun with it. I especially love lipstick during the holidays because that's when red or bold lips really come out to play. Even though I rock a bold lip throughout the year, it's a little more festive now. During the holidays, you can wear any kind of lipstick you want. There's no rule that you have to wear red (even though I do). That's why I wanted to show you lipsticks that I'm loving for this time of year.

Milani Chilled Brandy: This lipstick is perfect for the holidays because it's a deep burgundy with subtle gold shimmer. It's the perfect pop of color, but it isn't too bold to wear on a day to day basis.

Milani Uptown Mauve: I love this shade because it's still a bold lip, but it isn't the classic red that everyone expects for the holidays. 

Revlon Red Velvet: I wore this shade all throughout the holidays last year, and I still love it. It's the perfect red shade, but it also has a hint of brown and burgundy. 

Maybelline stain gloss in Ruby Indulgence: For me, this is the perfect red for the holidays. I love the fact that this is a stain, so it's perfect for long parties where there's eating and drinking involved. 

That completes my roundup of holiday lipsticks. I think you can wear whatever lipstick you want during the holidays or for holiday parties, so just have fun with it. Thanks for reading!

Winter Scents

image
In my last two posts, I talked about getting your skin and lips ready for the holidays. It's only right to now talk about my favorite scents to wear during this time of year. I've never really been the type of person who only wears fruity or sweet scents in the spring and summer. If I like a scent I'm going to wear it, but when it gets colder, I naturally gravitate towards scents that have a little more substance. I like more musky and woodsy scents during the holidays and here are some of my favorite ones.

Both of these scents are perfect for this time of year. Spiced caramel cider smells just like the holiday season and cloud 9 is the perfect everyday body spray.

I love both of these scents all year round. They both have a woodsy, musky scent that feels a little more appropriate when the weather is colder.

I love the vanilla notes in cashmere glow. This is my favorite scent because it's always appropriate no matter what time of year it is.

This scent is has the perfect blend of woodsy, musky notes without being too heavy.

You can never go wrong with vanilla. It's my favorite scent to wear and vanilla never goes out of season. I'm not too picky when it comes to vanilla scents, and I'm loving these two right now.

What are some of your favorite scents for this time of year?

Holiday Kissable Lips

image

Welcome back to the "12 Days of Christmas". Yesterday I shared my tips for holiday ready skin, and today I'm sharing my tips on holiday ready lips. I'm going to discuss how to make your own lip scrub, my favorite lip balms, and how to maintain lips that are worthy for a kiss under the mistletoe. Let's get started!

It's important to exfoliate your lips on a regular basis. I would recommend doing this maybe once or twice a week, but you can do it more if you would like. Exfloiating keeps lips soft and it also helps lipsticks or other lip products apply more smoothly. I have two methods to get those lips soft and moisturized:

The first method is using a lip scrub. You can go out and buy a lip scrub, but you can also make your own using ingredients you probably already have. These can get a little technical, but I like to keep things simple by just using two ingredients: sugar and olive oil. 

If you don't want to use a lip scrub, you can do what I do:

1. Apply Vasline or any lip balm of your choice.

2. Let Vaseline or lip balm sit on lips for about 1-3 minutes.

3. Take a washcloth (what I do) or a clean toothbrush and gently rub onto lips to get rid of dry skin.

4. Wipe lips with a washcloth to make sure all dry skin is removed.

5. After this, you can apply your lip color or if you're doing this at night, you can apply more of your favorite lip balm and allow to sit while you sleep.

Favorite Lip Balms:

Thanks for reading and I hope these tips help you keep your lips soft during the holiday season.

Holiday Ready Skin

image

No one wants dry skin and no one wants dry skin for the holidays especially. There may be lots of parties and family gatherings so it's important to look your best. I think looking your best starts with your skin. It's a fact that colder weather can cause skin to be dry and look dull, so I have a few things that I do to ensure that my skin is moisturized and glowing for the holidays or any time of the year.

I will start off by saying that I really do not have dry skin. My skin hardly ever gets dry, but I do notice a difference when the temperatures start to drop.

1. The first thing that I like to do to keep my skin looking great is by exfoliating. I'm not really picky when it comes to body scrubs. I usually just go for ones that smell good. Exfoliating gets rid of that dry, dull skin. When I do this, I make sure not to scrub my skin raw. You just want to be rough enough to to exfoliate the skin, but gentle enough so that you don't irritate it.

2. The next thing that keeps my skin healthy is by using a good body wash and or soap. If you have drier or sensitive skin, you may want to be a little picky, but I'm not. Like I said earlier, I just go for something that smells good, but I also don't want it to dry out my skin. Right now I'm loving the Caress Enchanting Secret silkening body wash. This not only leaves my skin moisturized, it also smells amazing.

3. After a bath or shower, it's key to moisturize even further. I like to apply lotion when my skin is still a little damp. I just think it brings moisture even further into the skin. For lotion, I use one that matches whatever body spray or perfurme that I'm using. I'm obsessed with the triple moisture body creams from Bath and Body Works. I also mix the lotion I'm using with the Vaseline total moisture cocoa radiant vitalizing body gel oil. I love the body gel oil and it really does give me glowing skin. I mix it with my lotion because I find that it can be a little too oily when applied alone. The lotion tones it down a little.

When I've completed those steps, my skin is literally glowing and it's so soft. I also do this everyday. You can do this as often or as little as you want. Using these steps with products you love, will ensure that your skin is holiday ready. 

Thanks so much for reading and I want to know, what do you do to keep your skin moisturized during the fall and winter?

"Selfies"

image

Today's Wednesday and I'm so happy that the semester is almost over. I'm heading home for Christmas break and I couldn't be more excited. Today's post is a little different than what I usually post on here. Last week, I documented (a.k.a. took selfies) my looks from the week. I didn't do full outfit posts (maybe I'll do that next time), but I thought it would be cool to take pictures of what I looked like last week. I've also been really active on Instagram lately, so be sure to follow me there. Without further ado, here goes.

Monday: I absolutely love wearing my hair in top knot. It's easy and it doesn't always have to look so put together. I also love wearing a bold lip color.

Tuesday: This look was so simple. Everyone has those days where you don't really feel like getting all dolled up. When I feel like that, I throw my hair up in a ponytail and forgo bold lipstick. I didn't want my ponytail to be completely boring so I added a braid at the top.

Wednesday: I rarely wear my hair down, so this was a real change for me. Since it's colder outside, I feel like I can get away with wearing my hair down more often and I love this hairstyle. It's so easy to do and literally takes little to no effort.

Thursday: I decided to wear my hair down again, but this time I added a braid. I love braids and I think they look good all year round. Some people think they're just a summery thing, but I will rock a braid no matter what. I'm also wearing one of my favorite lipsticks Revlon spicy cinnamon. It's so perfect for this time of year.

Friday: The weather here in Texas is so crazy. On Friday, we were under an ice storm warning and the high was around 34 degrees! For really cold days, a knitted beret is a must. They also can save a bad hair day. It's a win win situation.

Saturday: This was a casual day. I didn't really feel like doing much with my hair, so I decided to put a headband on. It's so easy to do, but I think it pulled together my whole look.

Sunday: I fully took advantage of the cold weather and wore my hair down the majority of the week. I used to wear my hair like this all the time in high school, so I decided to bring it back on Sunday. I kept it casual with an almost nude lipstick. 

I hope you all liked this post. I plan to do more of these in the future. Thanks so much for reading!

November 2013 Favorites

image

I thought it would be fun for me to feature some of my favorite products that I use on a day to day basis on the blog every once in awhile. It's even more perfect because the month just ended, so what better way to showcase my favorites than to do a November favorites post. I love watching these kinds of videos on YouTube, and since I don't make videos, I thought doing in a blog post form would be the next best thing. Just as a disclaimer, I really don't try out new products that often. I'm the type of person that likes to stick to what I know works best, so I won't be doing a favorites post every month. If I did, it would kind of get repetitive and boring. In other words, I'm only going to do these posts if I discover something new that I love. Now that we have all of that straightened out, let's talk about my favorites.

My first favorite of the month is actually my favorite of all time. I absolutely love this Dooney and Bourke handbag. I've had it for about 2 years and it still looks brand new. I love how soft the leather is and I basically carried it throughout the month.

My next favorite are these Pandora stack rings. I wear these rings everyday. I love that you can wear them all together or wear them one at a time. They are heavy and such high quality.

This is a pretty random favorite, but I love owls. I collect all different kinds, but these two are my most recent ones. The white owl is actually a scented wax burner and the red one is a candle holder that my mom bought me. I love them both.

The next two favorites are pretty much what I've been wearing all month long. I have a ton of different Bath and Body Works body sprays, but for some reason Secret Wonderland is the one I've been wearing constantly. I love the way it smells. I also have been in love with the Vaseline total moisture cocoa radiant vitalizing body gel oil (say that ten times fast). I mix it in with my lotion and it leaves my skin so soft!

Next, I've been loving the Caress enchanting secret and the evenly gorgeous body washes. Both of these smell so good and I love the way they both make my skin feel. I've been using the crap out of both of these this past month. 

The Sally Hansen diamond strength nail polish in red velvet is my absolute favorite nail polish of all time. I love how it wears and I love the color against my skin. It's red, but it has pink undertones with subtle silver shimmer. I love it all year round, but I wear the heck out of it during the holidays. It's a perfect color for this time of year. I recently discovered the Covergirl outlast stay brilliant nail polish in the shade bronze beauty and I fell in love with it. I wore it for over a week straight and I seriously saw no chips! I'm excited to try more from the line.

This wouldn't be a true favorites post if I didn't share some lip products. I love lipstick. I mean I really love it. The first lipstick pictured is the Milani statement lipstick in uptown mauve. I just got this last week and it is already a favorite. It's a raspberry color and the pigmentation is incredible. It also has a fruity scent which I love. I already want more of these. The next lipstick is one that I've already talked about here and it's Revlon's iced amethyst. It's such a pretty color and I wore it almost everyday in November.

That's it for my November favorites. I hope you all enjoyed it and I want you all to tell me some of your all time favorite products. Below are links to some of the products mentioned above or similiar ones. Thank you all so much for reading!

Dooney and Bourke purse similar here and here

Pandora stack rings here here here here here and here(my fav)

Secret Wonderland here(currently sold out)

Vaseline body gel here

Caress evenly gorgeous here

Sally Hansen red velvet here

Covergirl bronze beauty here

Milani uptown mauve here

Hair Chronicles: Fishtail Braid

It's no secret that I love fishtail braids (at least it isn't now). I love that they are easy to do, but they instantly glam up even the most casual of outfits. I pretty much love everything about them, so I thought I would share how I create them. Granted, there are so many tutorials and variations on the fishtail braid, but I still wanted to share mine. It's one of my favorite ways to style my hair. I will say that depending on your hair length and thickness, this can take awhile. Especially if you're a perfectionist about your hair like I am. I think it's worth it though.

What are some of your favorite ways to style your hair?