Product Rave: Essie's Good To Go

I have just discovered my new favorite product, Essie's Good To Go clear top coat. It promises to set your polish in minutes and I am pleased to tell you, it delivers!

For years I got my nails done professionally, even just having acrylic put on my real nails so my polish would last. I got sick of going in every two weeks and wearing the same color for two weeks. So, I decided, after our wedding, that I would start painting my own nails again. 

Blogging helped encourage me, since I can share all my crazy nail trials with all of you, but there was one major downfall that I had so quickly forgotten...Waiting... and WAITING for my nail polish to set. I inevitably nick & mess up my nails every single time. I was just about to give in, and to going back to the nail salon, when I decided to go on a hunt for a polish that promised to set & forget. I wanted to see if something like this actually worked. In came my discovery of Good To Go. 

I was extremely skeptical. I purposely waited until 30 minutes before my hair appointment yesterday to paint my nails and put this stuff to the test. I waited about 5ish minutes until after I was done, tapped my pinky nails together to see if they were tacky, waited a few more minutes and voila! They were done! I cannot tell you how absolutely excited I am that it worked! My nails turned out perfectly, minus my less than perfect painting skills, ha! Sorry they are kind of a boring, plain color, I'm leaving on a work trip, but I just had to share!

By the way, the color I am wearing is A Crewed Interest from Essie's new spring line. It's a pretty peach color which is a nice, slight departure from my usual baby pink work nail.

Happy Friday!

xx,
Jaime

Power of Positive Words

I've missed blogging so much! I've been incredibly busy lately and just haven't taken the time, so I apologize! Time to get back on my daily pink posts!

Quite awhile ago, I decided that when we bought our house, which has since been a little over a year now, that I wanted to put inspirational words and quotes on my office walls. Since I love anything inspirational around me, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before. Although, I do have to admit, I'm not the most creative person out there :)

I found these words, hand-cut from metal, at a craft show not too long after. They were originally all different colors, but I decided to spray them white and add a coat of clear glitter that sparkles when the sun hits them. I plan to add more words and quotes which I will share once they are done.

Someday we'll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you" ~ Maya Angelou


xx,
Jaime

Stay Gorgeous & Be Healthy

In, sort of, a carry over from my post about bronzer, I wanted to bring to light a larger issue that I was reminded of earlier today, skin cancer. It's not fun and we don't like to talk/think about it, but we really should.

All of us want gorgeous glowing skin, especially for summer, but it's important that we keep in mind the risks that come along with not protecting our skin properly. I am just as guilty, trust me, but this year, stick to it with me: No tanning beds, SPF 15 (at least!) and fake a tan instead!

Please read this story about a 26 year old woman who died of melanoma. Hopefully it'll help us all remember how important it is to protect our skin, even when don't feel like coating ourselves in lotion or spray. Also, go get your skin checked with me before summer, it's better to play it safe.

Stay Gorgeous & Be Healthy!

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles" - Audrey Hepburn

xx,
Jaime

Make Up Review: Rimmel Natural Bronzer

As the weather continues to warm up, I am still in search of the perfect bronzer. I came across Rimmel's Natural Bronzer in Sun Light which actually pleasantly surprised me. I decided to pick it up after seeing a few good reviews on it, but I wanted to test it out for myself. The color Sun Light works really well for my skin tone (olive) and I feel like it blends in very nicely. It looks even better after it's been on for about 10 minutes, which I am sure sounds weird, but that's just my observation. It even worked well when I got a little darker and then lightened back up again, so it seems to be a very versatile shade.

I have olive skin with yellow/green undertones so I can definitely recommend Sun Light if you have the same. They also have Sun Glow which may work for a more pink undertone skin. I recommend going to the store and holding it up to your skin. It's only about $5, if that, so even if it doesn't end up working for you, it's not a huge investment. Also, I know if you buy it at Walgreens and it doesn't work for you, you can return it.

Here is what it looks like on my skin. You can build it up as much as you'd like, but I recommend giving it that 5-10 minutes to set so you can see what the color will end up looking like. As with most bronzers, it's pretty easy to get to carried away.

 Here is a swatch I did on the inside of my arm so you can see how it blends with my natural tone

I hope this helps you choose your summer bronzer so you can have the coveted golden glow!

xx,

Jaime

Sparkly Nails

Since I didn't get a chance to do my originally planned glittery polka dot Easter eggs (below), I decided I would do sparkly nails! Far less work with just as much sparkle and fun for one of my favorite holidays. 

All you need is clear nail polish and whatever glitter you want to use. I used OPI's clear top coat and Martha Stuart's Smoky Quartz loose glitter. 

3 Quick & Easy Steps, takes about 20 minutes! 

* Apply 1 coat of clear polish on nail

* Sprinkle/Coat with glitter, and tap off extra (I recommend doing these two steps one finger at a time)

* After you have done each nail, go back through, brush off any loose glitter and apply 1 coat of clear polish. 

Voila!

xx,

Jaime

Give up, Be Happy!

I've been traveling quite a bit again and have been slacking on my blogging duties, so I apologize! Tonight, I am ordering in Chinese from my new favorite app when I am on the road, GrubHub, and hanging in my hotel room to catch up on all of my favorite shows. I am such a nerd, but it'll be nice to relax!


Anyways, I came across something too awesome today on PurposeFairy.com not to share it with you guys. So here it goes. Worth the time it takes to read!


15 Things You Should Give up, in order to be Happy:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?”Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another,  attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves.  You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

xx,

Jaime