green tea, blue nails

On a bit of a health kick lately: exercising lots, eating really well, going to acupuncture, trying to slow down and relax, and drinking tons of green tea.  Makes me so happy to finally put my turkish teapot to good use.  Every afternoon I fill it up and it never seems to stop bringing me joy.

Another bit of joy...

nail art coercion and a happy ending

Went to a new (to us) salon to get a pedicure with my mama the other day and left with mixed feelings.  They had fancy massage chairs with remotes to that was fun.  And it was cheaper than where we usually go.  And family dynamics of the three generations of vietnamese men and women doing everyone's nails were entertaining, to say the least.  But each one had such freedom on their individual 'style' of massage; mine was great but my mom's was like being tapped gently with a limp dead fish.  Very weird.  And then as we were about to get up, the woman who was doing me insisted that I get some nail art done.  "Otherwise people are going to think you did your own nails!" she said, as if that was the worst thing in the world.  I said no thanks about 10 times, but my mama thought they were never going to let us out of there if I didn't do it, so I said, sure, go ahead.  Turns out they do whatever they feel like doing in the moment.  And, it also turns out, I really kind of secretly love my new nail art.  Best extra $6 spent against my will ever.

safety orange

Me and my neon orange nails.  Remember these neon polishes I got a while back?  While I'm not in love with the magenta, this safety orange color is really rocking my world right now.  It's also fun because it changes so much depending on the light I'm in, going from an almost tame coral to a practically blinding tangerine.

 American Apparel neon coral nail polish

latest beauty buys

I got a coupon in the mail the other day for 10% off my next Sephora purchase. Let's be honest here, 10% is nothing. That's not a real discount. What it is is a trick to get suckers like me into the stores buying more stuff.  And it works.  Well done marketers! This is what I picked up the other day.

Yes, that's my fuchsia lipstick there, and in case anyone's curious, I'm wearing it much more than I'd ever imagined and am loving it more and more each day.  I also picked up one of the new Make Up Forever liquid liners, in this gorgeous sparkly eggplant.  I love the way it goes on and the color is amazing, but to be honest I'm not convinced this is the best liner out there.  I've worn it a few times and it seems to flake off towards the end of the day.  I'm still trying to work out if there's some way around that.  If anyone out there has any insight I'd love to hear it.

Checking online on the US site I see that they don't carry these little spray scents in their bath and body line, which is too bad for you guys over there because they really are wonderful.  They're super cheap and smell delicious and clean and light, and are the perfect thing to throw in my dance bag for a little freshening up throughout the day. 

Also missing online are perhaps the most exciting part of this sephora spree: the nail stickers.  They're similar to the Sally Hansen ones that people are going crazy over.  I cannot wait to try out my leopard nails!  Definitely had to wait until after I visited my grandmother though...

shades of blue

Baby blue nails and a dancer's best friend, the theraband.

Kiko nail polish #159

neon pedi

In case you were wondering, the neon nail polish I got last week goes on surprisingly matte.  Not as matte as if I'd put a mattifier on, but not nearly as glossy as your average polish.  I don't mind one bit, but I thought I'd let you know.  Also, I swear I did not buy it to match my sheets.  That would be weird. 

My ballet teacher laughed at my toe nails the other day and asked me if they were purple.  I thought it was an odd question.  If you want to call it purple that's fine with me.  Whatever you call it, it makes me smile when I look down at my feet.

neon

When I was little I used to think my mom was crazy because she thought pink and orange were great together.  Well mama, as usual, you were right.  Lately I can't get enough of the combination, as you can tell here from a few of my recent purchases.  Also it seems I'm still celebrating color in a big way.  Must be the weather.  Last night we slept with the window open for the first time this year, and it makes such a difference in my happiness and energy level when I wake up, just to smell that morning air drifting in.  Happy summer everybody!

Zara leather clutch, American Apparel neon nail polish

sparkly nude

Three rounds of antibiotics and two shots in the butt, but I think the end of this sore throat is drawing near!  This calls for a festive neutral manicure to celebrate. 

read my nails

I wanna try this.  Anyone else?

Nice to see that year of highschool french finally paying off too.

ps- sorry for the infrequent posting this week.  I've got a music video shoot tomorrow and the next day that I'm styling, and then a surprise performance on saturday that we're rehearsing for non-stop.  Living two parallel lives is complicated when things actually start happening.  Not complaining, just stating.

spicy nails

Still more or less housebound.  Suppose I have enough energy to go out, but the last thing I want is a recaída or a relapse, though in english it doesn't quite inspire as much fear and respect as I think it does in spanish.  They talk about it here like it could be the death 'o you. 

On the bright side, I have not yet gotten tired of doing all the things I never have time to do.  Like experimental manicures!  The half-moon endeavor was too much work for the sloppy pay-off, so I went with a simple yet joyful multi-colored look for this week.

Colors used: MAC Fireball, MAC Shirelle, and Rimmel Pro 318 Coral Queen

Be sure to make the color distribution random.  It's actually way harder than you would think. Or I am dumber than I think.  Whichever.

Ram's head ring by Elizabeth Cole, turquoise ring from covered bazaar in Istanbul, random brass ring, wedding & engagement rings, bracelets from H&M and the rastro (flea market)

In other news, the sun came out today.   I am thankful.

matte half moon

Excuse the craptastic pictures. And the fact that there's already 3,000 tutorials for the half-moon mani online. But you know, I've got all this time on my hands, and very little energy, so experimenting with strange manicures is the perfect thing for sick week #2.

I started out with a base coat of Nailtiques formula 2, without which my nails would be a flakey splintery mess. Then I used those hole reinforcement stickers to block out the half moon. Some people are doing this freehand. I think they be crazy.

Now you can just throw on whatever color floats your boat at the moment. I used Urban Outftters nailpolish in Green 12, which is one of my absolute favorites, not just because of the gorgeous color, but because I can usually get away with just one coat, and it lasts longer than just about any other brand I've tried. Plus they're on the cheap end and the color selection is pretty awesome. Check them out if you haven't, I highly recommend them.

Now's the part where you take the stickers off. I've done this twice and this part is where it goes wrong. The nail polish must be DRY, with a capital D-R-Y. But even so, I find that in the spots where there was a thicker layer, it leaves a ridge and messes up the clean line. Also I had issues with not being able to get all the way down around the edges because the stickers aren't laying completely flat against the nail. Are my nail beds especially curvy? Doesn't anyone else have this issue? Anyway, this is the stage where you reveal that you and your nails are not perfect. This is also the stage where I realized I didn't really care.

I liked them, but after the final step I like them even more. I added my new favorite nail product, Rimmel Pro Matte Finish, which instantly mattifies any nail polish you have.


The final outcome sort of looks like I scratched off half my manicure in a fit of anxiety, but maybe that's part of the charm. I kind of love it. I also know that once I'm back on my feet there's no way I'm going to find time to do this again. But for now, I might as well enjoy it.