Smile! for [Haul] October 2011

So since I don't really buy many pieces every time I go shopping, I figured that sharing my hauls every week or every month would be better, so let's try this out! ...Usually I spend it on food. (Cue the corny cartoonish, innocent smile, complete with the sound effect ding!) Although, I'll figure out a better schedule once I try this out a few times.

In October, I've actually bought more things because it was when all the sales and Halloween sales came up. It's usually like that for me in October, so usually I won't really buy as many things. Also because my nail art obsession started around the beginning of fall, so it's very obvious that I went nail polish hunting throughout the entire month of October. I've had friends borrow a lot of my nail polish too because I'm growing quite a mini army of them. Heh heh. :9

[Top Left] Express - $30
Found it in the Clearance section, normally it would've been much more expensive. It's very soft and versatile for Fall and Winter layering to keep you nice and warm. (:

[Top Right] PopKiller - $32
I was on the fence with this dress, but when I tried it on, it totally fit like a glove. I'm a tiny person and the fact that I found a dress that had a waist that fit perfectly and shoulders that was stretchy made me super smiley faced. The dress had a very European feel too. Currently, I'm on the look for a nice, thick brown belt, for this dress. (:

[Bottom Left] Styles for Less - $14.99
I'm very happy to have found such a bright, plaid shirt. With a simple white top on the inside and some darker pants, it's a nice outfit to go out with your friends. It's very Western as well, don't you think?

[Bottom Right] Forever 21 - $25
Doesn't it look very office like? I bought it when my friends and I were buying items together for the shipping deal that was over $21 purchase get shipping free, not that any one of use needed help with that, but it seemed like a fun thing to do together. (: It's very business-formal with a blazer and some tights, and matches well with black heels. Now if only I can find the ideal blazer to go with it.........

[Left] Styles for Less - $20

[Right] Styles for Less - $20

I've been wanting Capri's for the longest time, but it seemed difficult to find them around this season at a price that I accepted. Since I found these two in the sale racks of Styles for Less, I absolutely felt like I needed to get them. :3

[Left] Generation V - $18

I was shopping around with my friends when I found these heels. The size for this brand runs a lot smaller than I thought, but the price was definitely something that I appreciated, since they had fitted so well and were the kind of heels that could pull off a casual look and a formal look as well.

[Right] Styles for Less - $30

Boots are very in style right now, and the fact that normally boots go for at least $50 made me think about these boots even more. I liked the distressed feeling of the boots and how the buckles on the side weren't over the top, but nice and simple.

[Top Left] Styles for Less - $2/each (Blending Eye Brush - Foundation Brush - Eyelash Curler)
I'm not a make-up person, but I do go all out for costumes on Halloween and whatever Expo that I happen to decide to go to. These brushes were cheap and are a very helpful addition to that endeavor.

[Top Right] 99 Cents Store - $0.99
My friends and I were wandering the 99 Cents store when I found this great find! I absolutely love skinny ties, even though I have yet to find a use for them, but for 99 Cents and the last one left, I didn't see the harm in purchasing it. (:O

[Bottom Left] Styles for Less - $6
My previous wallet was a My Neighbor Totoro wallet and I absolutely didn't find a need to part with it, but I couldn't deny how fat and unpractical it was getting to carry it around, so I've been looking around for a replacement that was longer. Perhaps my wallet was glaring at me then for a different reason. I found this next to the counter at Styles for Less and I've been using it ever since I bought it, with my Totoro one safe in my bedroom. (:

[Bottom Right] same as Bottom Left



And then the additions to my nail polish army! Maybe I'll do all of the swatches of the colors I have in a future bloggy entry.















I actually haven't used all of them yet, but Confetti's Silver Slippers is a really nice shiny silver without having sparkles in the polish. I used it for a Catwoman costume for Comikaze Con for her claws, which reflected nicely in the pictures. It's also good for details with nail art.

I love love LOVE the Sinful Colors' Hazard. It's a very coral, muted orange and currently my favorite nail polish color. (:

Salon Perfect's Glow in the Dark polish is extremely sheer and needs at least 4 coats to make the glow in the dark effect visible. Fortunately, since I'm only going to use this polish for Halloween purposes, it's slightly forgiven.

Most of these polishes, I found at either drugstores, Target, Walmart, or local nail salons that had a cabinet in the back where they made the polishes $3 a bottle, which isn't bad at all.

And since October is the month of costume buying. Here are the costumes I got this year. I ordered another one that was super cheap on Yandy after Halloween because let's face it, it's the best time to get a costume afterwards because of all the cheap deals you can get. I will be getting that costume some time this week and I'll share it in an upcoming costume collection bloggy entry. (:

[Left] Facebook Store -$55
I've mentioned this before in a previous entry that this was my Halloween costume this year and it's from a Facebook boutique called Jessie Shops.


[Right] Leg Avenue - $20
I actually got this costume cheap through connections, but I would really suggest to get Leg Avenue costumes when they're on sale AFTER Halloween when they're having blowout sale in the costume boutiques that pop up all over town or definitely online.

That's it for October's haul. (: Hope you enjoyed it and had a very fun Halloween!


Smile today!



[Colorful Links]

Express
Official Site
Twitter
YouTube
Facebook

PopKiller
Official Site
Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
Blog

Forever 21
Official Site
Twitter
YouTube
Blog
Facebook

Styles for Less
Official Site
Facebook
Twitter

Confetti
Official Site
Facebook

Sinful Colors

Salon Perfect
Official Site
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Comikaze Con

Jessie Shops

Yandy
Official Site
Facebook
Blog

Leg Avenue
Official Site
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook

Smile! for [Nail Tutorial] Disney Princess: Week 5

What time is it? Princess nails time! (: This week our focus is going to be on Cinderella inspired nails!




















Step 1: Apply a base coat. If you don't own base coat, then use clear polish because it's better than nothing.

Step 2: Create fat lines of periwinkle/lavender on your nails, but not all the way. I used Essie's Lapiz of Luxury. This will be the base of Cinderella's dress. By leaving the tip of your nails unpainted, it will serve as the inside white, lace part of Cinderella's dress.

[Colorful Tip] Do not make the lavender very opaque. Try to use a sheer nail polish so that the dress design on your nail looks very layered.

Step 3: Use a pastel light blue to create a curved "V" from the bed of your nails. I used Revlon's Blue Lagoon.

Step 4: Create three straight dark blue lines from the middle of the light blue "V" to the edge of the lavender. I used Essie's Mezmerised.

Step 5: Use a dotting tool (I used a bobby pin) into a silver polish and dot, where the three lines meet in the middle of the "V" and two dots at the ends of the outer dark blue lines. I used Confetti's Silver Slippers. I know that Cinderella's glass slippers aren't silver, but I think silver is the next best thing considering, how the silver I used is so sparkly.

Step 6: Apply a top coat to your nails. If you don't own top coat, then use a clear polish. This seals all the nail polish in and keeps it lasting longer.

[Colorful Tip] For the rest of the nails, I would suggest you use either your pastel light blue or your lavender/periwinkle color. Personally, I used Essie's Lapiz of Luxury.

That about wraps it up for Cinderella inspired nails!

And here's designer doll Cinderella! (:

Isn't that such a fancy purse? Wow..haha! (:

Smile today!

Smile! for [Nail Tutorial] Disney Princess: Week 4

It's Disney Princess nails time! (That's a rather long name...haha. ^^") Today's princess nails are inspired by Jasmine!




















Step 1: Apply a base coat. If you don't own base coat, then use clear polish because it's better than nothing.

Step 2: Create two bright yellow diagonals on the top half of your nail that's closer to the bed. I used Sally Hansen's Lightning. This will be the base of Jasmine's golden necklace.

Step 3: Create two scalloped shapes with a sheer periwinkle that meet in the middle of your nail on the bottom 1/3 of the nail, near the tip. I used Essie's Lapiz of Luxury.

Step 4: Apply a sheer layer of turquoise over the layer of periwinkle. I used Sinful Colors' Mint Apple .

[Colorful Tip] It was really hard for me to find a color that matched Jasmine's attire exactly, so I used sheer colors of periwinkle and turquoise to create the color of her clothes. Light blue and turquoise would work together as well. (:

Step 5: Apply an extremely thin layer of gold on the bright yellow. I used Revlon's Gold Coin.
[Colorful Tip] Wipe both sides of the gold nail polish application brush very thoroughly. Then dot a napkin with the tip because nail polish collects at the tip of the brush even if you wipe off the sides a lot. This way, there won't be a huge cluster of gold on one end of the necklace.

Step 6: Apply a top coat to your nails. If you don't own top coat, then use a clear polish. This seals all the nail polish in and keeps it lasting longer.

That's it for Princess Jasmine nails!

Jen from frmheadtotoe did a Jasmine make up tutorial video on her YouTube Channel. Check it out! (: I applied her rendition of Jasmine's make up for my Jasmine costume when I went to Disney's D23 Expo this year!Here is the Jasmine costume that Jen wore in the video, and the same costume that I wore to D23. The costume is called the Arabian Princess costume and it's made by Leg Avenue. Here's designer doll version of Jasmine! I have noticed though that the costume names are exactly the same, but the one that I got has the blue sheer cloth underneath the bra piece, but Jen's doesn't. Here is the costume that I got, and here is the one that Jen has.

And with that, here's the designer doll version of Jasmine! (:

Smile today!



[Colorful Links]
Jen from frmheadtotoe
YouTube Channel
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

Discount Women's Dress Shoes (DWD Shoes)
Official Site
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Blog

Leg Avenue
Official Site
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook

Smile! for [Nail Tutorial] Penguin Nails

The other day was my little sister's birthday and to celebrate, we watched Happy Feet. It's such a cute and inspirational movie, as well as musically fun. This was the inspiration that started this nail tutorial.


Here are the steps that I used to achieve this nail art.

[Sidenote] I used Essie's Lapiz of Luxury for the penguin's body, but you can use other colors too. I, personally, would use pastel colors long as the body of the penguin doesn't clash with the orange beak, it's fine!

Step 1: Apply a base coat. If you don't own base coat, then use clear polish because it's better than nothing.

Step 2: Apply the color that you want for the penguin's body. I used Essie's Lapiz of Luxury.

Step 3: Use white and use your nail as a guide to paint the penguin's white face/belly. You'll be slowly drawing half an oval on your nail. I used Confetti's White Knights.

Step 4: By using the dotting tool (I used a toothpick), use black to dot in the eyes. I used Confetti's Black Tie.

Step 5: By using a bigger dotting tool (I used a bobby pin), use orange to dot in the penguin's feet. I used Revlon's Peachy.

Step 6: By using the same dotting tool (bobby pin), use orange to carefully create a small horizontal oval in between the eyes. This will be the penguin's beak. I used Revlon's Peachy.

Step 7: Apply a top coat to your nails. If you don't own top coat, then use a clear polish. This seals all the nail polish in and keeps it lasting longer.

Then you're done! Ready to have your own little happy penguin on your nails. (:





















That's it for this tutorial!

Smile today!

Smile! for [Nail Tutorial] Disney Princess: Week 1

Hello everyone! How was your weekend? I absolutely LOVE Disney. (: The colors, the imagination and the extremely detail oriented designs are just so amazing.

Today I'm introducing that's been on my mind for a few weeks now. The idea came to be because a friend is determined to buy the Disney Princess Designer Doll collection. The collection was introduced at this year's Disney Expo in Anaheim, California, and I must admit, the designers did put a very modern fashion twist to the classic Disney princesses. Take a look for yourself!

(From left to right: Rapunzel from Tangled, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Snow White from Snow White, Pocahontas from Pocahontas, Jasmine from Aladdin, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Mulan from Mulan, Cinderella from Cinderella, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog)

Anyways, enough of the introduction..I did some designs for nail art based on these Disney princesses. (: Every week, I will introduce a new nail tutorial based off another princess and maybe even a few other Disney characters. This week I shall be introducing my nail art design version oooof.......

Belle from Beauty and the Beast and here it is! Here are the steps that I used to achieve this nail art.

Step 1: Apply a base coat. If you don't own base coat, then use clear polish because it's better than nothing.

Step 2: Using a pastel yellow, draw three fat vertical lines. I used Revlon's Sunshine Sparkle. This is going to be the ruffly yellow dress on your nails and it should create a scalloped design.

Step 3: Using a more brighter yellow, draw three U-shapes across your nails. I used Sally Hansen's Lightning. This is going to be the brighter yellow ribbon that's near the bottom of Belle's dress.

Step 4: By using a dotting tool (I used a toothpick), dot three golden dots at the tip of where your U-shapes meet. I used Revlon's Gold Coin.

Step 5: Apply a top coat to your nails. If you don't own top coat, then use a clear polish. This seals all the nail polish in and keeps it lasting longer.

All done! (: This nail design would go nice with a Belle Halloween costume. Hope you find your prince, princesses! (;

If you're curious how the Belle designer doll looks, here it is!

She's rather poofy isn't she? Haha. (:

Coinky-dinkly, Jen from frmheadtotoe did a make up tutorial for Belle a few days ago. (: She's such an inspiration! I will add her information in the Colorful Links section below. Even though she got the costume for free, I tried my best to find the cheapest website that had the Belle costume for you all if you wish to be Belle this Halloween or maybe even for a convention. Hope it helps!

[Colorful Tip] Many of Yandy's costumes are under $30 on their website under the Clearance section. Go check it out and maybe you'll find the Halloween costume you'll wear this year. Happy browsing!

That's it for this tutorial!

Smile today!



[Colorful Links]
Jen from frmheadtotoe
YouTube Channel
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

Yandy
Official Website
Facebook

Smile! for [Nail Tutorial] Leopard Nails

Hello smileys! In a previous post, I mentioned wanting to try out leopard nails and I finally did today!

I'm not sure why, but instead of leopards, they look like golden Dalmatians to me. Or...baby leopards! Hahaha! :9 Here are the steps that I used to achieve this nail art.

Step 1: Apply a base coat. If you don't own base coat, then use clear polish because it's better than nothing.

Step 2: Put a piece of tape across your nails and firmly check that they're secure. Apply 3 coats of a beige or light tan color. I used NYC's Mulberry Street. (very left)

Step 3: By using a dotting tool (I used a toothpick), dot several dots of gold or brown. I used Revlon's Gold Coin.

Step 4: By using the dotting tool again, use black to draw little c's around the dots of gold/brown. I used Confetti's Black Tie.

Step 5 (optional): Apply a very thin coat of sparkle. I used Revlon's Gold Coin.

Step 6: Apply a top coat to your nails. If you don't own top coat, then use a clear polish. This seals all the nail polish in and keeps it lasting longer.

Then you're done! Ready to go out and prowl the city! (;


















Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I'm really considering making a YouTube video since this doesn't catch the actual process in the best way. I'm also considering trying out gradient nails. It seems very simple and classy, and after watching Jen from fromheadtotoe's tutorial, it's become a part of my to do list.

gradient nails by fromheadtotoe

This nail art was inspired off of two of my favorite leopard nails that I found on YouTube.

leopard nails by cutepolish

leopard nails by IHaveACupcake at 1:25

For more of these ladies' nail art, I'll link their information in the Colorful Links section below. That's it for this entry! (:

Smile today!



[Colorful Links]
Jen from frmheadtotoe
YouTube Channel
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

cutepolish
YouTube Channel
Blog
Facebook

Elizabeth Celis from IHaveACupcake
YouTube Channel
Facebook
Etsy store

Smile! for [Nail Polish] Target Haul and Review

That's quite a wordy title..isn't it? I apologize! I'll try to make them more interesting!

Recently, I went to Target and acquired nail polish! (: Here they are! -insert jazz hands-

[Haul and Review]
The total for all three of these was a little under $10.50, which I don't mind since normally the nail polish prices that I see are around $6 or $8 each. All right! So, the line up is....

NYC's Mulberry Street is a light beige that has a little bit of a shimmer to it (left)

Revlon's Sunshine Sparkle is a very creamy transparent pastel yellow. (middle)

Revlon's Gold Coin is a very sparkly gold. I bought it thinking that it'd be a very nice detail color to give the nail art that I want to try out a nice sparkle of color. (left)

At every Target store in the make up section, there's a random shelf somewhere that has nail polish that is less than a dollar! I'm assuming every Target store because all the Targets (total of 7) that I've been to, have it. The quality of the polish isn't any worse compared to the ones I've come across with. (mine and friends' nail polish) So no worries! NYC Mulberry Street (left) was actually 94 cents, which is the polish that I like best from this haul because the brush makes application very user friendly, especially since I'm a nooby at this. ^^''

[Colorful Tip] Revlon polishes are very translucent, so they'd need average about three coats. It's come to my attention of some complaints for Revlon polishes that they chip very easily, but so far I haven't really had any problems with it, but just in case, have a clear coat on top of it to seal it all in. (:

[Plans]
The Revlon Sunshine Sparkle (middle) is for the Despicable Me Minion nail design that I mentioned in the previous post.

Despicable Me Minion Nails by 05saramd

The NYC Mulberry Street (left) and Revlon Gold Coin (right) is for a leopard nail design. Lately, I've been interested in leopard print designs. I wondering if it's a phase, but for now, I have a few pieces in my wardrobe that's leopard print and they make me happy. (:

leopard nails by cutepolish

leopard nails by IHaveACupcake at 1:25

There's a number of leopard nail designs on YouTube, but these are the two that I liked the best. If you're interested in looking at their other stuff, I'll link it in the Colorful Links section on the bottom of this post, as well as 05saramd's info.

I haven't decided yet, but I might post an entry of my entire nail polish stash in the future. Yes? No? Maybe? Well, that's it for this post!

Smile today!



[Colorful Links]

cutepolish
YouTube Channel
Blog
Facebook

Elizabeth Celis from IHaveACupcake
YouTube Channel
Facebook
Etsy store

05saramd
YouTube Channel