Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sally Hasen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips: Stud-io Time


Dear Reader,

 I recently picked up a brand new box of Sally Hasen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in the pattern Stud-io Time. I'd seen them in stores and figured A: they'd be a bit*h to apply and B: way, WAY too expensive.

When I found them for $2 dollars (yes you read that right ladies and gentleman!) brand new, I was utterly prepared to do back-flips in the store in excitement over getting to try them for less. What can I say? I'm a cheapskate.


The following is an account of my experience with them ;)








They were a breeze to put on. I thought it would be so difficult and frustrating. It wasn't at all! It took me maybe fifteen minutes. 

My tips & tricks:

  • I have small hands & when they're not grown out (as seen here) child sized finger nails, even grown out quite long though, I was able to use one strip on two finger nails. These suckers are pricy! I'm making them last as long as possible.
  • When you don't have enough strips left for a full manicure: accent nail!
  • I used both a base & a top coat which worked really well. My manicure lasted almost a full week with zero chips and when it did chip I could have patched it. Quite frankly these things can last longer than my interest in one nail color for a period of time. I think with pampering/repair I could have made these last a week and a half to two weeks.
  • Take your time! I was a little hasty on one or two nails & actually pulled part of the strip off my nail.
  • After you apply the strip, buff it flush with your nail like crazy and run either the orange stick or your own finger nail around the edge of your nail bed to make a super neat edge. 
This is all about the details/level of attention your willing to put it. If you enjoy doing your own nails (like me) & paying attention to details (like me) you'll enjoy this. If not, I'd probably recommend spending your money elsewhere. It's a great look though! I actually bought another pair to wear for my birthday - sugared pink glitter with black skulls!

What are your thoughts? Too expensive? Fun look? Would you wear them??

If you have any questions about this product, please feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to walk you through it!

Have a great day!! 


 TES



September 2012 Favorites

Dear Reader,

 September's been & gone & I'm fairly certain I must have slept through it. Okay that's wishful thinking, I worked through it and it's disappeared like the last doughnut. Secretively & without explanation.

I have had a good month though for the most part, and I hope you have too! 

Let me know in the comments what your favorite things are and if you're looking forward to Autumn/Winter like I am!

My favorite things for September:


  1.  Lippie: Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee
  2. Eyes: Maybelline Color Tattoo Eye Shadow in Barely Beige 
       

  3. Face: Boots Expert Sensitive Light Moisturizing Lotion
  4. Hair: Bed Head Dumb Blonde Conditioner/Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray
  5. Top: James Perse Button Down (Yes it's wrinkled. I'm always wrinkled. My buttons are usually buttoned incorrectly too!)   
  6. J. Brand Jeans from Goodwill for $4
  7. Sunglasses: London Fog 's Ray-Ban Aviator Look-A-Like ($3 at T.J. Maxx!)
  8. Drink: Lemon Zinger Tea with Sliced Lemons/Water
  9. My Disney Princess Mug. Not because I'm a "Princess" but it has Belle on it & she's still my fav : )
  10. Food: Chicken Enchiladas/Chili
  11. Song: Lean Like A Cholo by Down AKA Kilo (I love dancing to this) Aye Chico by Pitbull &...hmmm Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol & a bunch of songs by Joan Jett. 
  12. Movie: I'm on a total Johnny Depp (Goal #33 see all Johnny Depp's films) and Tim Burton kick (Goal #37 see all Tim Burton's films) so I've taken out a ton from my library
  13. Bag: My new Hunter bag. My very first high-end bag I've actually purchased new and just for me, so very excited!! :) 
  14. Shoe: Vintage Cole-Haan Riding Boots
  15. Book: The Calliope Reaper-Jones Series by Amber Benson. It's a fun little series that appeals to both my Stephen King loving, fantasy fan, darker side and Neiman Marcus, Sephora addicted girly side all in one! 
  16.  Nails: Base: Sally Hansen Nail Hard As Nails Nail Hardener, Color: Butter London Yummy Mummy, Glitter: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Strobe Light, Topcoat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Topcoat. 







Friday, August 24, 2012

Berry Kissed Lippie

This fall I'm embracing a darker eye and a darker berry lip. Not together necessarily - but who knows! I'm looking to try out what I've always been drawn to, but haven't been confident to try.

I've always been nervous with smoky eyes - I've got the technique, but I never liked it on me. My coloring is different; I have blonde hair, brown eyes and a interesting skin tone. I'm medium fair, but I've got a strong golden peach undertones, so I don't fall into "cool" or "warm" tones. Matching colors to me is very difficult!

I play the makeup game a little safely - until this year! I've experimented with bright pink lips, dark eyes, nude lips, etc.

#1 Fall Makeup Desire:
Wine colored lips!

plum lipsWine stained lips..
burgundy lips.
Berry lips



I subscribe to Elle, Vogue and Harpers, so I get them weeks after they actually are released. That being said, I'll start being obessed with something and after I get the magazine find out they've done a spread on it. Which can be irritating cause I love uniqueness but anyway lol Harpers has a vampy lip in their beauty ideas for fall too - so great minds think alike!

Now I just need to obtain the right color. I have a handful of vampier colors, but none are quite right. I have my eye on either Raspberry Pie or Red Velvet Cake by Revlon from the lip butters line (of course!) I know there are some other great companies and lines (ditto of course!) but I'm cheap and I'm not a fan of lipstick, so Butters are my <3

When I got the Clinique Lip Smoothie thingy (I like food inspired things. You may have noticed I have a thing for butter items) I hated it! I was going to get rid of it the first possible chance. Now, it's almost exactly what I'm looking for!


And let this be a lesson - and it's one I've failed many times! I'll look at a item and go "I hate this! I'll never wear it." Toss to the donate pail.

6 months later, a year later. I'm kicking myself over getting rid of that because it's just what I'm looking for! Give things a chance! Put it a aside, give it some time, then if you still cannot stand it, move it on.


Of the vampy colors I do own:




From L-R CO Bigelow Mentha Lipgloss in Berry Shimmer, Covergirl Lipstain in 440, Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie in Goodness Grapecious, Trish McEvoy Lipgloss in Cheers. From Top to Bottom: Covergirl Lipstain in 430, Covergirl Lipstain in 405, Freeze 24/7 Iceslicks in Plumcicle, Covergirl Lipstain in 410.


Bottom Row from L-R: All Covergirl Lipstains. "440", "430", "405", "410"
Flash

Top Row from L-R. Clinique Lip Smoothie "Goodness Grapecious", Trish McEvoy "Cheers", Ice slicks "Plumcicle"  CO Bigelow "Berry Shimmer"
 Far right line: Lancome's Rouge Absolu "Violine"
Natural Light

Sally Hansen's Teeth Brightening Lipgloss 'Radiant", Revlon Lip Butter "Berry Smoothie." Revlon Lip Butter "Cherry Tart."
Flash
Natural 


 *I know the reds aren't vampy, but I'm going for pin-ups (Reds) or Vamp (Plums) this F/W. And some of the browner based colors are too brown on me and layering the red helps it work with my coloring.






I'm obsessed for fall. Visions of clothes and makeup and shoes all inspired by crisp weather are dancing through my head 24/7. And I'm excited to be pushing my limits - the things I'm attracted to and what I'm actually comfortable being seen in are often two different styles of thought.


The Ten Things for Fall I'm most excited for:
1: That bite in the air
2: Jeans
3: Sweaters & sweatshirts in modern takes on 80's silhouette
4: Wedges
5: Soups and breads
6: Hot coco
7: Plum/Berry/Wine lips
8: A dear friend travels through 
9: Roaring fires 
10: Knits



What are you most excited for???


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Sorry I've been away so long! I've missed dipping my toes into the fashion pool and reading up on what everybody else is loving/wearing.

I have a recent fashion haul I'd love to share with you all, but I'm trying to decide whether I should just post a quick video of the items or try and find time to take decent photos of all of it? Any preferences from you all? I love watching/reading about hauls so I wanted to take a bit to share some of my thrifty/vintage/bargains with my favorite people. Let me know your thoughts!! :) Best wishes to you all...


Love, 
Tes 

Fall

Fall

Fall by thecky featuring joie tops

Joie top
joie.com

Hudson Jeans slim fit jeans
$305 - houseoffraser.co.uk

Proenza Schouler leather bag
proenzaschouler.com

Kendra scott jewelry
charmandchain.com

Juicy couture jewelry
juicycouture.com

Crumpet silk scarve
$115 - crumpetengland.com

Stella mccartney sunglasses
forwardforward.com

I wanna Rock N' Roll

Friday, May 18, 2012


Dior Spring/Summer 2012 Couture Highlights 


This post is a little late (thanks ever so spring storms) but Dior is beautiful no matter when this overworked blogger can get around to sharing her favorites. I'll get back on track soon, I promise. My new new motto is; Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor eccentric lightening strikes can hold a good girl down!!

Lots of love ;) Next week: May Favorites, Hauls and some Summer styling ideas.











What was your favorite S/S show????