Beach-y Nails

I really wanted some beach themed nails for my family reunion last week, as we were going to be near the beach. I decided to try a technique that I have seen several times on Pinterest. 

I cut a small square from a makeup sponge and put a thick line of my two colors close but not touching each other. I was going for sand and water.

You want to move pretty quickly here as the sponge absorbs the polish faster then you would think, keeping your polish bottles open helps you to move quicker. Below you can see on my index finger what one coat looks like compared to the other two nails which have two coats.

I used a couple other squares of makeup sponges to darken any spots that I felt were too light.

I used my nail art polish which has a much thinner brush to add anchors to my accent nails. Then applied a top coat which darkened the polish a bit more. I used a q-tip and nail polish remover to clean up around my nails as this technique is a bit on the messy side. On the plus side the polish dries very quickly because it's not as thick as when you apply it with a brush.

Thank you all for stopping by. I hope you are all staying cool, (or warm depending on where you are). Have a great night!
~ Tiff

Did I Shave My Legs For This?

A while back I had seen a pin on Pinerest saying you should use Baby Oil Gel to shave your legs. This prompted a series of tests that took a while to complete. I started out with the Baby Oil Gel, then used Baby Lotion, Shave Cream from the Dollar Tree, and Gillette Venus shave cream that was about $3. I have always struggled with razor burn when I shave and have apparently started a quest if you will to find the right product to shave with.

I honestly did not like the results of the Baby Oil Gel. I had some trouble seeing where I had and hadn't shaved and I had razor burn really bad, (Side Tip: you can use Aloe Vera to sooth razor burn). My legs were also really oily for a while afterwards which drove me bonkers. 
The Baby Lotion was actually pretty good. I didn't have a whole lot of razor burn and my legs were nice and smooth. The only draw backs for me where that I had to use what felt like a lot of lotion and it was difficult to see where I had and hadn't shaved.
The Shave Cream from the Dollar Tree actually did a fairly decent job, however I did not like the way it felt when I pulled my razor along my leg. It felt like even with the cream there it was going to cut into my skin. I did discover if I used A LOT of the cream this wasn't as bad, but very wasteful. 
And finally the Gillette Venus shave cream. I wound up with a lot more razor burn then I had anticipated. I honestly thought that this was going to be a much better shave then it was. It was the first time I had used this shave cream, and sadly I was pretty disappointed. I also noticed that with the weakness in my right hand it was a bit more difficult for me to dispense the cream from the can.

Right Leg

Left Leg

All in all I have to admit that I was pretty surprised with my results. Please remember that just because these are my results does not mean you will have the same successes and failures. If you decide to give these items a try for yourself I'd love to hear what your thoughts are. As for me... I think the quest for the "perfect" shave continues. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great night everyone and thanks for stopping by!

~Tiff

Applying Eyeliner

A few months ago I discovered that I've been applying my eyeliner wrong. I was watching some makeup videos on YouTube and noticed that the women were putting their eyeliner on without holding their eyelid. I did a bit of Google research and learned that the skin on your eyelid is very delicate and by pulling on my eyelid to apply my eyeliner I was causing wrinkles, which explains why my eyeliner looks a bit funny sometimes (it was going into the wrinkles). So, I started doing my eyeliner without holding my eyelid. I have to say I really struggled with this a lot at first because it's a bit awkward but I have gotten better at it, though I do still struggle from time to time.

Above you can see what I used to do, and below you can see what I do now....

For those times where I goof I turn to either a q-tip with a bit of spit (gross I know but one of the best makeup removers) or I turn to my elf makeup remover pen which I love!

After you take the makeup off you simply wipe your pen across a paper towel to clean it, and the tip is double sided so you can swap it after a while (which I will be doing very soon).

After my mascara and eyeliner are on I put a little powder under my eye, this helps to keep the products from relocating to under your eye. Then I finish it all off with a misting matte makeup setter.

If you struggle with this new way of applying eyeliner, know that you are not alone and you will get the hang of it soon. If you're not like me and have known of this trick for a while and have a few pointers I'd love it if you would share them with all of us in the comments section.

Have a great week everyone and thank you for stopping by!
~ Tiff

How To Avoid Spider Leg Lashes Take Two....

I read on Pinterest that you can run your mascara wand under hot water to clean off the excess rather then wiping it off on a paper towel or toilet paper.
*Side tip, I discovered using a paper towel is much better then t.p. :)

I decided to give this a try and I have to say I was not impressed, it took much longer to get all the excess mascara off of the wand, it made a mess of my sink and my mascara, and my lashes ended up somewhat stuck together because of the water on the wand. I tried to dry the excess water off of the wand but I apparently couldn't get it all and when I pulled the semi wet wand out of the tube again there was a lot more mascara on the wand then normal....

My verdict? Thanks for the tip Pinterest, but I'll stick with my paper towels. 

Everyone is different so please let me know if you try this tip and your results in the comments. I'd love to know if there is a better way to do it. :)

~ Tiff