*(ARGH! Pirates/Tattoo inspired Nail Tutorial!)*&

Hello lovelys! I am back!! I know I know.. I'm doing worse and worse about posting. It isn't that this isn't important too me, I have been sick for the last almost 5 weeks now and just finally got my insurance set up with the new area that I'm living in *military insurance is a pain sometimes lol* so I finally have an appointment this week... Most likely will be getting my tonsils removed SOOOO I will probably have tons of time to post after that. lol I just ask for patience with me right now with being as sick as I have been and starting my new block of college classes with more strict teachers, well it's kept me busy. Anyways, enough excuses! Now to the blog you've been waiting for! haha!

I saw the decals I used at Walgreens and it instantly made me think two things:
1: Tattoos which I now have three kind of large ones.
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2: Pirates! How can you go wrong with a design like that??!! haha

So here you go. Stick with the tutorial to see how easy this design really is!!

Awesome two tone right? All you need is nail polish, Q-tips, and a paper plate! I promise anyone can do this design!

So here with go with the tutorial mateys! (that was a push I know, but had to say it! haha)

Here are the colors I used:

*Click the pictures for a larger image if its hard to see the color names*

As always, start with a base coat!! This is such a huge step! The one I'm using ALOT as you can see from the picture haha is Sinful Colors Basecoat. I think it's like 2 dollars at Walgreens. I personally love this one because I never end up with dyed nails and it dries really quickly! Base coats do not have to be expensive but are crucial with nail polish! My Mom just used a green polish on her nails and her nails are STILL dyed green because she forgot to use a base coat! haha

Next is doing your base colors. For me, I wanted to do something a little different so I decided to paint my ring finger nails white and the rest red. I did this also so a red heart decal could be placed on the white to stand out. 

Next I decided I didn't want my nails to be plain just painted one solid color so I decided to add a two tone effect. This truly is seriously easy! I promise! All you have to do is put a little nail polish on a paper plate (not the foam plates.. polish will eat through it.. lol Learned the hard way) and dip your Q-tip in it.. Sponge it a few times on the paper plate so you can have a gradual two tone and not just black and red, or black and white depending on the nail. Start at the corner tip of your nail and work your way in to make a triangle shape on your nail. It's the same concept of painting a wall with a sponge to give a two tone effect, just smaller scale! Awesome right? :)

Now I did this next step kind of backwards so to speak. I put the decals on but then felt it wasn't going to pop much so I decided at last minute to do the sponge effect with the gold glitter color over the black. I should have done this first then decals but hey, you learn as you go and you make designs your own! I love glitter! haha

So there you go! Finished product! Awesome right? I got lots of comments on these and asked all the time who does my nails! I do! haha People say this looks difficult but I promise once you try it, you'll see how easy it is!


And just for fun since this was designed because of my tattoos as the inspiration.. Here are my tattoos! haha

I got them all in like two days. A lot of tattoo work at one time but so worth it. I have meanings behind each of mine and in places I'll be able to hide them for work. I like having a way to express my creativity on my body. I know not everyone agrees with tattoos but I won't ever regret getting mine. I love the meaning behind them. =)

My wings on my back. The wings are in memory of my grandparents that have passed away and the Live Hard is to remind myself to live everyday to the fullest, to be thankful for the time I have, and know how blessed I am everyday!

 Recognize the initials? haha LB is a nickname someone very close too me gave me years ago and I've used it as my tag on my beauty blog. Told you it is important too me! haha The stars around it, I got matching stars with my best friend/sister so it was a great memory. It was her first tattoo! So glad we got them. This was designed in like 10 minutes! Absolutely love the stars in the letters! This is on my right leg, from my knee to my ankle.

I wanted something different and even though I found this design online, I'm so glad I did. I love the meaning behind it! It's a ying yang sign but with mermaids! Creative right?? I changed the original colors and a few little things but I love how innocent the mermaids are and what it stands for. I think it's beautiful and its just a reminder for myself of my 6 week trip in Ohio and what I learned about life and how you are stronger than you think you are. It's to remind me that there is good and bad out there, but that's life. You have to just keep taking it one day at a time. I lost a friend of mine unfortunately to abuse, both physical and emotional so this reminds me of her innocence in a way. It reminds me there are bad people out there but there are truly special amazingly wonderful people like she was too.

Remember you are all beautiful and no matter what happens in your life, know you NEVER deserve to be mistreated or abused! Strength comes from within you and when you feel there are no options, there are. There are women shelters, churches, support groups, etc. Never be afraid of your own voice, it's the most powerful thing you have. No one can take that from you. It takes just the courage to put one foot in front of the other and say ENOUGH.

I apologize for that rant, like I said my tattoos mean something too me and so does this blog. I may not be able to reach the world but if I can help just one person feel beautiful again, cheer someone up, or give them courage, then I have done my job in this life! I may not know everyone who reads this but know you are all special too me. Stay smiling!! Remember you are beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

XoXoXoXoXo,

LB

&*(Walgreens Haul)*&

Hello lovelys! Now, with me doing some haul videos, I do not want you thinking I'm trying to brag about what I bought. I'm only posting so you can see where I got my deals and where I find some of the great products out there! With that in mind, here we go!

Soooo... you all know I'm a sucker for nail polish. I have more than I need but I am always trying to cover new brands and I do pick up colors that I really like or things that I know I can use for a tutorial. Anyways, not that long ago I did a look with a color called Hannah Pinktana by Wet n Wild fastdry and I fell in love with the formula. It is just as good as Pure Ice or Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear BUT it's cheaper and has a quickdry formula! WIN!

Here are some of the colors I picked up! They are usually for $1.99 but they had a sale going on where they were $0.99! Whoooo! I picked up quite a few of these since let's face it, it's cheap and the colors are amazing! haha Here you go.. Wet n Wild fastdry nail color

Note: Most of this brand has cheesy tv show names or of famous people. lol You'll see what I mean...
Left to Right:
The Wonder Yellows (Yellow color)
9.0.2.1 Orange (Orange color)
How I Met Your Magenta (Magenta color)

hahahaha Told you they had cheesy names!

Left to Right:
Teal of Fortune (Teal color.. Note this Teal in person is actually a sparkly almost green-teal color, not blue teal as it shows in pic.. Couldn't fix it no matter how I tried)
Sage in the City (Green color.. Note this is not lime green in person.. sigh camera issues.. This is a dark granny smith apple green with fine shimmer)
Blue Wants to be a Millionaire (Blue color with multi colored small glitter.. true to color)

This pic, the colors were all off.. Think vibrant bold jewel tones and you got it..

Left to Right:

Sagreena the Teenage Witch (Green color.. This is actually a bold vibrant emerald green color)

Buffy the Violet Slayer (Vibrant purple color.. think of like a royal purple)

Saved by the Blue (Bold blue jewel tone color)

Next brand I picked up was still Sally Hansen BUT it just says Hard as Nails on the bottle. I'm not sure about these but I love Sally Hansen brand so I decided to pick up a couple in this type of bottle to see if they are any different.

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails

Left to Right:
Limestone (Think Shrek green! haha)
Teal Steel (Teal color)
Ice Queen (Clear with silver glitter, with blue and purple larger glitter)

Left to Right:
Tough Love (Bold red color.. For some reason my camera was seriously being stupid on me)
No Hard Feelings (Lavendar color)
Firm Fig (Fushsia color)


I really do apologize guys on some of the pictures not being true to color. Some would be right in the pic and that one or two would be wrong.. sigh. I need a new camera. :(

And as you all know I love the Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear nail colors so I picked up two more that I do not have in my collection and hadn't seen!

Left to Right:
The Real Teal (soft teal color)
Caribbean Coral (Peachy orange color)

Well there you go! Like I said I'm in the process of looking for a backdrop to pictures so I'll take some more test pictures and such and see what I can do to make sure they are always true to color. I freak when the colors are not true to color! lol

Definitely check out your local Walgreens to see if they have any other shades you might like! I usually go to Walgreens or Walmart! =)

Well it's 6:14 am! I need to crash before another day busy of doing my newest nail designs inspired by my tattoos I got on vacation! =) And getting more school work done! Wish me luck! haha

Until next time, remember to always stay smiling and you are beautiful just the way you are!

XoXoXo,
LB

&*(Sephora Haul!)*&

Hello loves, as promised, even though its 5 AM where I live and I haven't been to sleep yet.. I'm posting like I said I would! haha I am determined to keep my promises so here we go!

I went to Sephora because I went tanning while I was in Ohio.. I know, I know! It's not good for you! I just went to even out my horrible tan lines I had on my legs and from many summer days with different strappy dresses and tank tops! lol Anyways, I went because my Bare Escentuals bareMinerals foundation was way too white for me all the sudden. So I took a trip to the local Sephora when I got home in need of finding my right shade again! Who better than the ladies at the Sephora in the mall! As always they were helpful and found I'm not golden fair anymore, I'm medium beige (matte formula for my oily skin). lol As you probably know, I couldn't leave the store with just that so I looked around and this is what I got PLUS the face makeup not pictured. Totally forgot to add it! lol

Left to Right:

Smashbox Limitless Liquid Liner Pen in Jet Black (waterproof formula)

Murad Get Clear Live Clear Acne Complex Starter Kit (one month supply)

Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover


So the Smashbox Liquid Liner Pen -- This was the last pick up of the day. lol I love liquid eyeliner but I always feel like the brands I try fall flat when it comes to its staying power. So I asked the lady who helped me if I could use it on my hand and then remove it with their remover.. She of course gave me the tester and I wrote thick lines, thin lines, soft lines, and bold lines on my hand! haha I looked a mess. haha Sure enough it dries really quickly for a pen which I usually do not prefer and I started rubbing across the swatches and sure enough they didn't budge! Win-Win!

Sephora Waterproof eye Makeup Remover -- So I tried the remover and fell in love with their formula. I tend to be one of those girls who loves mascara to look like false lashes haha so I use a couple coats of it. It's hard to remove without having raccoon eyes or scrubbing forever. I like this product because it was super easy to remove it and you don't end up with red skin from scrubbing or losing lashes!

Murad Get Clear. Live Clear. Acne Complex Starter Kit -- Okay, I ended up not being super impressed with the Philosophy kit that I had got. I loved certain products out of it but not the kit as a whole was not worth the price! So I decided in my venture for clearer skin, to try this brand. I will try it for a month to see how it works out for me. I've tried so many now it's hard to keep track! haha I think the price wasn't too bad although its supposedly only a month kit. I think it'll last longer than a month. Anyways, my initial reaction.. I tried it out and love the cleanser! It has menthol in it so it has a cooling effect! If you don't like that effect, don't try this one! I personally love it and I like the smell of it. I hate how some cleansers are so strong it burns your eyes to use it. lol This has a pleasant smell and it continues in their other products in this kit. I have used the spot treatment for two days now and the wash, toner, exfoliating gel, and lotion only once. I like the spot treatment at least so far. It has helped with some of the redness! Let's hope it continues.. Only downfall, finding it isn't very helpful with controlling the oil.. hmmm We will see.

Oh yah! I got this too!

Sephora by O.P.I -- The Garden of Good & Evil mini collection

Completely Fern-ished (green color.. It's a little lighter than this in real life.. camera was not working with colors today!)
Eve-y on the Eyes (Purple color)
Tempted by Teal (Teal color)
Frankly, I Don't Give A-dam (gray color)

So I haven't tried them out but I'm a sucker for packaging and I love the colors! I'm feeling a peacock nail design coming on with these colors together! hahaha The box is adorable, the brand is famous so we will try them out! lol

Well I hope you all enjoyed this post! Note my adorable owl backdrop for the pictures! lol I'm not sure if it's what messed up the colors in the next post, but hopefully not. Will test it out more since I really want to use it! Thank you all for sticking by me and understanding my crazy schedule! I will make more time to post in coming weeks. Promise!

Until then, remember to stay smiling!

XoXoXo,
LB

&*(Yes I am Working on Posts! Sorry Everyone!)*&

Hello loves! So, have you ever had one of those days where you bit off more than you can chew? lol Welcome to my last week! lol I'm not sure how much I talked about it on here but I'm in college with the University of Phoenix, getting my business degree! I'm doing reallllllllly well in school but it's taking up more time than I thought so I'm rearranging my schedule! I promise this next week, I will plan my time better so I have more time to work on my blog. I have taken pictures and edited them so I can post them later tonight once I finish my discussion questions for school. I know I keep promising and not actually getting around too it but I'm finally in a moment where I can get some stuff accomplished! I'll have some new posts up tonight! Until then, keep smiling! Remember you are all beautiful just the way you are!

XoXoXo,
LB