OPI Sand in My (Business) Suit

Got a boring suits-and-pantyhose job? Boy have I got a nail polish for you! I've found THE color I can wear to nerdy scientific conferences and not feel like a glamazon (anyone wearing more than chapstick is a glamazon at such events). It is OPI Sand In My Suit, an ivory-beige color. Although this color makes me yawn, I think it's a good purchase because I'll get a lot of use out of it when I go to professional events. 

Do you have any nail polishes that are exclusively great for professional events? Besides a french manicure of course.

How I do a Manicure (Requested)

My sister has asked me to demonstrate how I do manicures. Although I'm no expert at this, I'm good enough so that with the right tools, I get good results.

Hardware: nail cutter, Q-tip, orange stick & cotton balls. 

Essential Fluids: 1) A base coat of your choice (the one shown here is Sally Hansen Miracle Cure. There's nothing miraculous about it. I bought it to stop my nails from peeling, but it spectacularly failed in that area. So I just use it as a ridge filler, which it is good for). 2) An OPI nail polish. I love OPI because its creamy consistency is forgiving, the brush is wide, and the shade selection is unrivaled. 3) Seche Vite top coat. This is a must-have! 4) A nail polish remover.

Easy peesy manicure: 

• Remove existing nail polish. Make sure there is no lotion on your nails. They need to be bone dry. 
• Cut your nails straight across with the nail cutter so they are square shaped. Carefully, cut a bit off the corners so that they are blunt. 
• Push back your cuticles
• Apply Base Coat. Wait till dry. (watch YouTube videos to pass the time) 
• Apply 1 coat of polish. Wait till dry. OPI dries pretty fast, so yet another reason to buy it! Use the orange stick to remove any nailpolish that spills over. No worries, we'll get the rest out later.
• Apply 2nd coat. Wait till dry.
• Apply top coat. Wait till dry. Seche Vite (if you know French) really really lives up to its name!
• If possible, wait 1/2 hour to thoroughly dry the nails before doing the next step.
• Dip a Q-tip in nailpolish remover and carefully flatten the tip between your fingers. Slide the Q-tip over any polish that got onto your skin. The key is to have a very wet Q-tip, so you're not really rubbing it on your skin (which can lead to fibers coming loose), but just pressing the tip on your skin so the acetons flows out and gently dissolves the nailpolish on your skin without disrupting your nails.

Here's my final result. The color is OPI Italian Affair:

Hope you guys enjoyed this post. To help the sister out, feel free to chime in with your favorite manicure tips!

It's my birthday and I'll haul if I want to

As any self-respecting makeup junkie would do, I treated myself to a birthday makeup and nailpolish haul last week. I went to my local drugstore and then to ULTA, and all in all, I think I did good because I got everything for around $50. Here are my new toys:

 

Left to right: 

Maybelline Sensational Lipstick in Warm Me Up 

Maybelline Sensational in Pinkalicious

Seche Vite

OPI Sand in my Suit 

OPI Italian Affair

Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Hydrofuge (Classic Black)

MAC Cremesheen Glass in Ever So Rich (this was a gift from a dear friend and makeup enabler)

Pencils, from front to back

Prestige Waterproof Eyeliner in Surf

NYX Lipliner in Soft Brown

Prestige Eyeliner in Smokey Green

I got the Maybelline products at buy 2 get 1 free from Ulta, and the OPI nailpolishes were discounted to $6.25 each. 

L to R (on both pictures): Pinkalicious; Warm Me Up

Top to bottom: NYX Soft Brown, Prestige Smokey Brown, Prestige Surf

Without Flash:

With Flash:

 

I'm loving this haul so far. I find a restrained haul lets me enjoy each product to the fullest. I'll do full reviews in the upcoming days, but I'll give you a sneak peek now: I already know that Prestige Surf, Colossal, and the Maybelline lippies are all going into March faves. I'm also getting a soft corner for Sand in my Suit. But shhh, full reviews will follow once the honeymoon period is over and I've tested them thoroughly.

PS. I've just installed a third party commenting system called Disqus which allows comment threading and more. Please do me a favor by commenting on this post (even if its just a "hello") so that I can test whether it's working well. Thanks!

In and Out #3

I feel un-makeup-y today. There's something about January that puts me in a contemplative mood and takes me away from the comfortable materialistic thoughts of my usual life. So let me just scratch the surface of these thoughts with an in and out post.


In:

Getting to know my country's history. As an Indian raised almost entirely in the USA, my knowledge of my origins is abysmally embarrassing. I don't know the Guptas from the Moryas (does anyone?!). So I'm lately reading tomes on my country's cultural roots. In a nutshell, there were a lotta invaders.

Getting to know my local library! How come no one goes to local libraries anymore? They've become so pimped out these days! If everyone went, places like Barnes & Nobles and NetFlix would run for cover. I just checked out a DVD of The American President. Next DVDs on the list are Marie Antoinette and Running With Scissors.

Rosewater: I have filled a travel-size spray bottle (from Target) with rosewater, and use it to spritz my super-dry face throughout the day. Take that Fix+!
(ok I still want you cuz I'm a MAC slave, but I will play hard-to-get darn it!)


Out 


Not knowing which drugstore mascara to buy: Maybe you guys can turn this Out into an In by telling me. I just finished my tube of Define-A-Lash lengthening formula. What should be next? I want volume AND length and I want it to be drugstore!

Chippy tips: Let me explain. The tips of my nails always chip off their nail color in 1 day after I've applied them with great love and care. WTF am I doing wrong? (before you ask, I do use a topcoat)


That's enough moaning for a day. I'll get off the soapbox now. Just had itchy fingers and wanted to rant to you guys. Sorry, no useful information this time. I guess this was a "Juicystar07 vlog" style post. ;)

Quick lil' NOTD: OPI Done out in Deco

Although this lovely lilac shade is more appropriate for spring when the tulips are amongst us, I just love seeing it on my nails on these cold days.

Here it is. With a top coat, OPI nailpolishes last forever and ever. I'm so impressed!

BTW, I've been loving Sally Hansen's Miracle Cure for severe problem nails:

This product can be applied alone to treat flaky nails, but also does triple duty as a fantastic base coat, ridge filler and top coat. For $7.99, this is a terrific multi-tasking product. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Hope you all are having a lovely Christmas Eve, and have a Merry Christmas (or a Festivus for the Rest of Us!) 

PS. I am making a 2010 wishlist as I type this (I wanna try new brands like Purity). As for my next post, I will do an Oscars for Cosmetics post, where I talk about my favorite products in 2009. 

Muah, Happy Holidays everyone!

OPI Barefoot in Barcelona Review

OPI's Barefoot in Barcelona: oh how I love thee.

 

I think this is a stunning nude pink color that works wonders on my skin. I just feel very grown up and sophisticated when I look down at my nails. It works just as well with my tweed blazer as it does with my party outfits.

In spite of multiple attempts, I wasn't able to take a picture that did the color justice. But trust me, its a gorgeous creamy, brownish rosy pink. It complements my skin tone like nothing else. I also would say that if you're clumsy at applying nail color like I am, think about picking this up. Cuticle spillovers will be very hard to notice, and the formula is so impressive that one coat is enough, and you can swipe over and over the same area without getting streaks. Finally, because it's such a lovely neutral, I'd wear this in all seasons.

I've so far only bought 3 OPI nailcolors. I'd love to buy more because their brush and formula are by far superior to anything else I've tried. I guess I just never got around to trying them because of sticker shock, but considering its only a couple more dollars and I love them to the point of probably hitting pan on all, it's well worth it. So now that I've jumped on the OPI bandwagon, what shades would you recommend for me to try out next?

Bling Bling Storage

Hey girls, I was in a Clean House NOW mode this Sunday and decided to organize my jewelry, hair and nails stuff. Here it is:

My everyday jewelry is kept on top of my chest of drawers in a jewelry box. I picked it up for $10 at a garage sale! Yaaay! The mirror was sent to me courtesy of Brushlove.com.

I've used the plastic drawer insert that keeps your cutlery in good order to house my chunky and long necklaces, bracelets, and watches. Cute no?

I've used a box for bead organization to house my smaller delicate pieces, along with some safety pins.You can find this box at any crafts store in the beading section. I love that there is room to spare. I can buy more! Next to the box is my glasses case.

My nailpolishes are stored in what used to be a jewelry box from India. Sorry I'm not showing my nailpolishes, but its not an impressive collection at all (working on it!)

Next to the nail polish box, I've kept an open basket full of manicure-pedicure tools. Next to that are my hair tools (blowdryer, flat iron & hot rollers)

All my stuff fits into 3 drawers and so I have like 3 more for other stuff (like my poor hubby's clothes lol).

Do you have any suggestions on how to improve my storage?

Lush, MAC, OPI, & NYX Haul!

After months of holding myself back, I finally let loose and got a large haul thanks to wonderful Black Friday deals that extended all weekend. The wait was seriously worth it as I saved quite a bit of moolah. I'll review of all these items once I've tried them out but for now, enjoy the haulage:

MAC Strobe Lotion
MAC sharpener (for Engraved
MAC Select Cover-Up in NC45
MAC Moisturelush Cream sample (which I may add the stingy makeup counter lady was unwilling to part with because "people take advantage of it"...as I am checking out...with a boatload of makeup...WTF)

NYX Jumbo eye pencil in French Fries

NYX Lipgloss in Ice Princess (which I've been using this relentlessly and may hit pan at a record speed)

Lush Grease Lightning

Lush Sea vegetable soap

Lush Dark Angels

Lush Whoosh Shower Jelly

A Grape Fit; You Don't Know Jacques!; Barefoot in Barcelona

This is love. Go buy it now.

Can't wait to review these products for you guys! Which ones would you like me to review first?

Also, a HUGE thank you to Beautygirl24, The Beautifier, xcharleym0ox and Krystle for the blog awards they've recently given me. I'm so grateful for every single one, and I promise to post it up ASAP. Just want to say thanks here. You guys are so awesome. :)

Nicole by OPI: It's Possible

I put on "It's Possible" from Nicole by OPI over the weekend. I wanted something shiny on my nails to counteract the not-so-shiny weather (eugh it was cloudy, cold and raining the whole time). Nicole by OPI is  just a little bit cheaper than OPI ($1 less at Target). The color range is nice, but not as diverse as OPI. I was pleasantly impressed by how thick and creamy this nail polish was--this picture was taken after just 1 coat! Also, the applicator is large enough that cover my nailbeds in 3 strokes (ok 5 for my massive thumb). I have tried two other colors by Nicole, and my overall impression is that its a high quality brand of nail polish, but with a narrower color selection (at least at Target, maybe there's way more out there that I'm not aware of). I will say that the one downside of this nailpolish is that the thick consistency makes application a bit streaky (especially for metallic shades), so apply with care. I try to apply a generous amount for each nail so that I can go over the streaks. Other than that, its a great nail polish--right up there with China Glaze, I'd wager.

What are your thoughts on Nicole by OPI? Are there other brands that you'd say are cheaper than OPI, but have great quality and color range?