New Gel Nail Action

Pink = Gossip Girl; Purple= Star Burst

So I did my nails at like midnight last night. Thank goddess for gel polish. I can't believe I ever did stonework with regular polish. For the record, all polish is Gelish save for the black stripes and polka dots, and the silver sparkle stripes.

I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I just stuck to common color. I like the way the Index fingers have the half circle of clear at the bottom. I think if I could do them over, I would switch my ring and middle finger designs, then replace those stripes with dots matching the other nails.

So each coat was done at 2min cure, but the topcoat was done at a 5min cure to be safe. I'm really happy with how secure the stones feel. As always, I love the shiiiiine.

Smile for Stickies

Whenever I feel a little down in the dumps, I try to see how retail therapy can work. I used to work out of 3 offices for one company. I had my own office at one location, a shared office at another, and a cubicle at the administrative building. Well now I'm down to just the cubicle. I'm not sad about this. It's much closer to home (20min) and in a better neighborhood convenience-wise. It works out much better.

Unfortunately, now I can't shut my door because I don't have one. This means I hear about things like Survivor, American Idol, and Mob Wives. I care not for these things. Also, there are some people around here who will use your supplies and walk off with them. This is why I lock my drawers.Do you know how pissed I'd be if my cute supplies -- all bought with my own cash-- were to disappear? So yeah. I lock it up; and this latest beauty will never be left on my desk without me being present.

Front cover

I got these awesomely cute tokidoki sticky notes from Amazon for like $8 (free shipping with Prime). I'm a total stationery slut. I love office supplies in general. These are cute, but they suck at being sticky. Anyway, looky looky:

Inside left cover

Inside right = different sized stickies ^_^

Back cover

Review: Darkness Lash Strips

Remember how I said I was going to get lash exte? Well I am terrified of people with sharp pointy things in front of my eyeballs. Sooo I'm gonna go ahead and stick with strips.

Unfortunately, I bought these Darkness #4 lash strips. They suck. Is that overly blunt? Ah well. Let's try again.

Pros
Light-weight
Long enough for my big eyes

Cons
Sharp and pokey at the ends
"Stiff as hell" is an understatement
Curling is next to impossible

I did a video review, but it wasn't so awesome. Nope. My whole video was dark. Next time, I'm not using my webcam. But I digress.

I tried rolling the lashes around my pinky ti give them some curve. IT helped, but not much. When applied, the ends were poking my eyes. That was an itchy nightmare of doom. Aside from that, they were also a real hassle to curl. I only got one bend out of them before calling it quits. That's ridiculous.

At first glance, these are pretty falsies. Yay doll eyes, right? Wrong! Don't be fooled.

See. It looks like I'm not wearing lashes.

Life After MAC

I'm bitter about my job moving me from the King of Prussia area to the airport area of the city. Why? Many reasons, but one major gripe is that I can no longer go to a MAC store on my lunch break. I feel silly ordering online when there are like 4 stores in a 20mi radius. I just never have time. I work an hour from home and rush hour traffic means I'd never get there before closing. That leaves my over-booked weekends. Blah. I'm in desperate need of more Viva Glam VI lipstick. I also want to try out another lipstick -- Viva Glam III. I think it could work. My other reason to go would be that I'll need another Studio Fix Foundation (powder) compact. It's the one foundation I've found that perfectly matched my skin tone in pressed powder form. There are close alternatives, but none in pressed powder. T_T

Anyway, Maybelline has a nudes collection in drugstores. I found two  that look good on me. Rum Riche is a little too coral, or maybe just a little too bright. The other color is probably the most nude nude I've ever tried. It's called Bean There and the brown is a pretty good match for my skin tone. I was amazed. I've never experienced that before. I typically use mauvey colours because pinky brown looks good on my. Now, I have more options. Yay. I'd given up on drugstore brands before, but lately I've been more flexible. Things have improved!

Healthier Relaxed Hair is Possible

Hello world!
I've mentioned my shampoo & conditioner switch before, but now I'm raving again. I've been using the John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioners for the past couple/few months now. I must say my hair is happier for it. I had my hair relaxed when I the bangs were cut, and I was really worried about my hair's health. I'm pleased to say this stuff has helped. My hair is still dry, but nowhere near as dry as it used to be. I have much less breakage, but still a little. I'm sure that sounds lackluster, but I can't stress enough that these products have helped a lot. It's amazing. My hair is soft, shiny, and full of body.

Here's a fine example of just how shiny (not greasy) my hair is now.

That crappy photo doesn't do it justice, but at least it was taken with a real camera. My hair was just washed, dried, and curled (by flat iron). Aside from the years when I avoided relaxers and colorants, this is the healthiest it's been in a long time. It's definitely the healthiest it's ever been while relaxed. Yay.

For reference: John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo and Conditioners are available for about $8 each at drugstores, as well as online via Amazon, etc.

As always, no one paid me a single cent for this post, but it'd be nice if they would!

Gyaru Goals

Howdy! I've been feeling like I should re-evaluate my life in all aspects. I've decided to post about my gyaru-relevant aspirations instead of boring you with my work, school, and familial pursuits.

My Top 10 Gyaru Goals:

1. Stop cutting my hair every time I get bored with it.

2. Lose more and more weight until I feel like Xena, and fit into Japanese sizes. 

3. Improve my highlighting and contouring.

4. Be more adventurous by wearing MORE COLOURS.

5. Show off my awesome legs by amassing a stunning collection of stockings, tights, and thigh highs. 

6. Get lash extensions and keep getting them. 

7. Learn to do more 3-D nail art. 

8. Be gyaru and stick with it. Consistency is key to development. 

9. Find a pair of comfortable color contact lenses, but never the enlarged kind. 

10. STICK TO MY BUDGET!!! Irresponsibility is not sexy. 

One bonus goal is to be a little more social with the gyaru community. I'd love to check out others' goals. The other is to successfully complete the Couch to 5k workout plan. I've never been into running for no reason. Running had to be a part of something else: freeze tag, kickball, playing ninja, escaping zombies. You get it. C25k will help me shed pounds, increase stamina/endurance, and build better bone health. The only downside is that I'm clumsy as hell and will probably trip over my feet a million times in the beginning. Ah well. It is what it is. I will start on the treadmill since I have a gym membership. Once I'm more comfortable running while chunky (with onlookers), I'll take to the streets of suburbia. 


So share your goals. Stick to them. Let's motivate ourselves and each other!

L'oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara, Carbon Black

Woo Hoo. I'm a big fan of this stuff. It doesn't make my lashes look like falsies (as you can see), but it feels good. I don't get flakes in my eyeballs at the end of the night. It doesn't come off easily, but it isn't a beast to take off. L'Oreal did something right with their formula. And the little spiky ball applicator is nice. Not awesome, but nice. My main rave about Telescopic Explosion is the formula. I rub my eyes a lot, but there are no flakes or smudges. Also, my lashes feel soft. They're not stiff and gross. I've had other mascaras that were great (especially by Clinique and Maybelline), but this is a nice addition to the arsenal. This is my new favorite for when my eyes are being super sensative and I can't wear much eye make-up.



Here's a peek at what it did for my medium-long, but sparse lashes:

One coat.

My NEW Straight Hair Routine

This post is long overdue. I upgraded my styling tools from Farouk's Biosilk line to the BabylissPro brand. I'm not sure what other people's qualifications for the term "upgrade" are, but it used to take me 2+ hours to get my hair straight. Now it takes 30 minutes to blow dry and style.

Here's what I typically use to get my hair straight.
- BabylissPro Nano Titanium Profino Hair Dryer
- BabylissPro Diamond Titanium Flat Iron (not pictured)
-Conair Brush (nothing fancy about it)
- John Frieda Root Awakening Strength Restoring Smoothing Lotion

Now truth be told, I use other products as well. But the reason is more about scent than anything else. I love to make sure my hair smells great, but I need the smell of my hair to complement my body's scent as well.

Back to straightening. It takes me 6-8 minutes to dry my hair. Need I repeat that? It's a glorious thing. When drying is done, my hair is soft and shiny, with tremendous body. The only reason I use the flat iron is to super smooth my ends. The plus to using the iron is that my hair gets even softer and shinier. I used to dread washing my hair. It meant I might not feel like straightening it. That meant not doing my "gal curls" Now I'm on a regular straightening routine again. The beauty of it is that there is no increased damage from the heat. I expected there would be, but there isn't. Yay!

Oh yeah, I have bangs again.

Gyaru Coloring Game Review

 I like to colour. I'm kinda dorky like that. Having a child helps me do this without looking too childish. What else helps? Online colouring games! I found this one from Kawaii Games. I like it for its simplicity. There is just one major negative point: the music. Seriously. I had to mute my laptop. There's only so much pseudo-Nintendo music I can take. Sure you can mute it, but why not just put something pleasant on instead? This song... It's horrid. Luckily the colouring is not.

Find the game here:
http://www.kawaiigames.net/jogar.asp?id=104

Big Foot Scores!

I think I've made it pretty clear in the past that I have huge feet. I won't drive you all crazy by dwelling on that. Let's just smile about the fact that my one evil foot stopped being swollen and now I can wear my awesome new wedges. I never thought I'd find shoes of this strappy style in my size.  I even did a happy dance when I ordered them [from Lane Bryant]. It was rad. Such a shame you couldn't see. Someday I'll record it for all the world to see.

I need Adderall. Staying on topic is hard work.

Anyway, these shoes are comfy, but not as comfy as they appeared to be. They are cushy, but mostly on the outer ring, not the middle. I find that odd, but they feel fine. I can wear them for a good while. Here's a side view:

New Bags are LOVE

FRONT

I got a nifty new purse from Lane Bryant and this is what it looks like from the front. It's deceptively roomy inside. This thing holds a LOT of action. I've used it as a:

• purse
• gym bag
• diaper bag
• shopping bag

I'll probably wear it out if I keep all that up, but I like versatility. I think I won't push it by using it for shopping anymore. The bag is sturdy and straps will support the weight of being over-stuffed. I just don't wanna risk it.

BACK

The one thing I hated but am okay with now is the fact that the bag is brown. It's a really dark brown that's almost black. I'm the type of purse-buyer who wants clearly defined colors. If it's brown, make it blatantly brown. Don't make me have to hold it up to the light or next to something black.

On the plus side, it's not overly flashy and looks great with most styles of clothing. Now I want one in black and red. Too bad those models don't exist!

OrangeBear

Do you know OrangeBear? I found it on YesStyle a while ago but never bought anything. I think I will soon. They carry plus sizes bigger that also go well beyond my size. I think I'll order one size up for my first order, just to be safe. It's not like I don't have a sewing machine to make adjustments.

Take this 2-fer for example. Good luck trying to find this in my size locally. It just oozes "comfy" all over the place, too. I am on a shopping break for the next month maybe (personal goal of self-budgeting). I may not be splurging anytime soon, but I'll be getting this top sooner than later. Now that I know my dress code at work is stupid, I'll be dressing more casually.

(Seriously. You can't wear flip flops, but you can wear sweat pants/shirts. According to the "non-slip soles" for footwear, I could rock slippers to work if I wanted. What sense does that make?)

Anyway, I want that top and many others. The end. Now, eye candy:
 

 

 

*All photos from YesStyle.com


Note to all my fellow big gals: Just because they make it in your size doesn't mean it's flattering and you should wear it. DRESS FOR YOUR SHAPE!

Extreme Couponing

Dress was originally $60.
Brown shrug from Dots
for < $20

Did I tell you guys about my AWESOME Lane Bryant experience a week ago? No? Oh it's on.


So I ordered some bras and shoes from LB and had them delivered to the store. When I went to pick them up, I bought the dress in the photo to the left, sexy time gear (aka matching bra and panties) and some scented lotion with a matching spray (BOGO 1/2 off). Well I forgot my Real Woman Dollars, but the lady told me I could bring the receipt back to apply them later. In the meantime, I got $10 off my in-store purchase because when you order online and ship to store, LB includes a $10 off $50 coupon in the pick-up confirmation email. Stay with me here, people.


So I did as instructed and brought back the receipt and real woman dollars. I also got two cool rings (BOGO 1/2 off!) and a black patent faux-crocigator purse. I'll share a photo of the bag when I do an updated "What's in Your Bag" post. Shall we get back on topic? 


Since I've become a far more savvy shopper, I ended up getting $278 worth of awesome for ... FREE!!!
Aaaaaaand they ended up putting $41 back on my card. 
Aaaaaaand I got another coupon for $25, $50, or $75 off (depending on how much you spend). I've already used it to buy more awesome stuff. I had these things shipped to store (BTW, that's free) and have another $10 off $50 coupon to use if I want. I suppose I'll post on that separately for the tl;dr people. 


Here are the rings I got. 

     

Matching is AWESOME

I meant to post this a while back but... stuff happened. So here I am, posting now. Better late than never as they say. They being people. Blah blah blah.

So I started doing my own gels a while ago and tend to start simple (like in the picture) and maybe add designs with stickers, rhinestones, and konad plates a few days later. Why? Because I have this really, really  bad habit of doing my nails around midnight. But no biggy. I like taking a little more time to think of which design to use.

For reference, this nail color is Harmony Gelish UV Soak-off polish in "Exhale" and I bought it from Amazon for like $11. As for the lipgloss, I can't remember the shade but it was cheap N.Y.C. brand and I think it came from Target. There are only a few shades so this is easy to pick if you want it. It's really shiny and sticky though. I was just desperate for a nude gloss. The lip plumping effects aren't noticable on me. I have full lips but I buy plumpers because the masochist in me loves the tingling/burning sensation. Yeah, I'm weird.

It sucks that I've been unable to type with long nails. They just get in the way. So I keep them short. No biggy to me, but it's oh-so-ungyaru. LOL like I give a fart. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Quickie, Anyone?

Why is Payless torturing me with BOGO 1/2 off?!

 

I think I've made it very clear that I have big huge feet. Well my pickins are slim and my sources are typically Lane Bryant, Payless, Torrid and DomShoes.com. I think I need to get these shoes. I feel like I'd be depriving myself of something awesome. I love retro shoes, but they're never in my size (12, 12W depending on brand). The last pair (denim and brown) are like $50 and I doubt I'd find anything like that for such a low price ever again. WANT.

NEW Stuff Coming

From Amazon for <$100

So I need a new blow dryer. My Conair dryer is nice and nifty, but I REALLY don't have the patience anymore. It takes too long. The salon I go to uses BaByliss dryers and irons. The process is SO fast. I'm in and out in under an hour if there's no one ahead of me. I leave with silky smooth and shiny tresses. Why? Because of the greatness that is BaByliss (and the skill of the stylist).

I know the technique. Now it's time to upgrade my tools. A while back, I did a post on my BaByliss flat iron (still awesome, BTW). Well I ordered a blow dryer by the same brand from Amazon and it will be here tomorrow. I will gladly post a product review at that time, but I'm confident it will receive 5 stars. My only sad spot is that it's not the matching dryer to my Swarovski crystal-embellished flat iron. I chose this one because it's a bit more powerful. I figure it's better to have stronger than prettier because 20min drying vs. 1hr is definitely FTW.

Money Disappears Quickly

So my little $5k of Wheel of Fortune money is all used up for grown up schiesse. Seriously. I bought a new laptop for myself because my eyesight is getting bad from using my iPhone, Aria and netbook. When it comes to screens, BIGGER is certainly better. I bought my husband a Bluetooth receiver/speaker thingy for his car so he doesn't get ticketed for cell phone use whilst driving. I also got him a grill set since he loves too cook our dinner on the grill almost every night. Side note: Veggie burgers taste best via grill, as does corn. I bought our mothers really pretty mama's day keepsake photo boxes filled with chocolate goodies. I got our son a ridiculous abundance of pull-ups, veggie squeezers, yogurt bites, summer clothes, surf clothes, and something else I can't remember.

I ordered this 36 watt UV lamp via Amazon.

Lastly, after much thought, I bought myself a UV gel dryer and basic supplies & colours so I won't have to go to the salon ever again. Bonus: friends want to pay me to do their nails already and this just solidifies things. I'm all about saving money.

After these purchases, the remaining money goes to nothing but bills and home-improvement. Our trees really need to be pruned, chopped and generally cared for so we have to hire someone. There are some small electrical projects we have to hire out as well. We will have to wait on upgrading the kitchen appliances, but that's not a huge deal.
I will say this: I wish I won $50k,  but $5k is better than nothing!

Low-Key Nail Art

My friend Meghan came to visit and I thought it'd be fun to paint her long skinny fingernails. I used OPI "Friar Friar Pants on Fire" (2 coats) with the standard black Konad polish and Plate #?. The clear rhinestones were a fun addition for texture. We've decided we need to have a picnic and paint each other's nails.  It should be a fun adventure. That's how we roll.

Soooo Yeah.

My nails are definitely too short to be considered "gyaru neiru" but I'm gonna go ahead and say, "So What?!" a la Tyra Banks. I'm typing almost non-stop for 8hrs per day and I've decided my old long nail look had to go. So I'm all about short gel manicures. This particular set is SUPER sparkly. I'll have to use my real camera to do it justice.

Since I still have all my nail art and Konad supplies, I'll have to add my own flair to this nail set. I like the idea of adding some star-shaped rhinestones and pearls to it. I just have to squeeze it in before midnight. (That's my new bedtime lol. No more Insomnia Avy) I think the next step is to invest in a UV dryer and some gel polish. The investment is worth it. I get to change my nails as often as I like without budget-busting. I'm sure it's the smarter option. Plus: New Skill!!! Because believe me when I say I suck at shaping acrylic-- even for just a refill. Time to look around Amazon and eBay.

Hola! Miren a mi Zapatos!

"Have you seen this? Have you heard about this?" Ah, Mr. Leno is pretty irrelevent here but I'm in a wonky mood. Work is so insanely busy that I bare have time to slack off.

Onto shoes... It's hot as balls out here. I'm looking forward to pedicures and summer heels. Like this take on the gladiator. It's from Lane Bryant because they carry my size in sexy. I find myself buying most of my shoes from there lately. Shoes like these are great, as are boots, but their flats don't last as long as I'd like.

Not that it matters-- my feet are swollen like when I was pregnant. No, I'm not preggo again. Thanks, Big Guy!

Anyway, dems da shoes.