Indie cuteness: flower hair pins

It's a bright and sunny morning here, and the mini roses on the porch are in enthusiastic bloom. (Yeah, I know it's almost November. Did I mention the growing seasons are totally backwards in Florida?)

Anyway, it seems like a good time to share my newest flower-themed accessories. They're a trio of handmade polymer clay hair pins from indie shop Raelwear, on Etsy.

Friday Favorites: October 26, 2012

I missed last week, so here are my favorite beauty and fashion picks for the past couple of weeks!

• Five makeup tips for glasses wearers from Birchbox. (Wish I'd read this one as a teenager!)
• The origin of the "no white after Labor Day" rule + a cool winter whites slideshow from Refinery 29.
• 10 different ways to apply foundation tutorial video from the eternally awesome, always entertaining gossmakeupartist on YouTube.
• How to put crazy colors in your hair using chalk pastels, from The Beauty Department. O. M. G! So very, very going on my list of must-try DIY!

Review: Bath & Body Works Sweet on Paris shimmer mist

Sweet on Paris? Why, yes, I am! And I'm also pretty sweet on the scent from Bath & Body Works, though it's not for those who don't like a good dusting of sugar shock.

According to Bath & Body Works, Sweet on Paris is "an enticing medley of juicy blackberry, lemon meringue and creamy vanilla, inspired by the sweet temptations of a Parisian patisserie." And does the scent live up to the hype? For once, absolutely. It's sweet and sugary without being cloying, and has good staying power, although I get more of the confectionery notes than the fruity ones; for me all that yummy fruit disappears into the very first whiff of the spray and is gone forever.

The shimmer mist version of the scent comes in a cute Eiffel Tower bottle that reminds me of Cinderella's castle at Disney — pointy, pastel, glittery.

Current nails: melon-y sparkle shatter

Looks like orange nail polish is The Thing around my house lately. This time, I also tried my first glitter shatter polish. Intelligently, I chose an orange-y sparkle to go over orange polish, thinking it might be kind of Halloween-y ... and the result is that you can barely see the shatter effect, except as a freaky uneven texture. (OK, weird textures are kind of Halloween-y in themselves, but not quite what I was going for.)

You're probably thinking, "Duh. What did you think was going to happen if you put orange on orange?" but on the off chance you're not, then hey! Learn from my mistakes. ;)

Of course, the funky shatter polish texture is also preventing me from being able to tell whether there's any bubbling going on with the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamond Shine top coat (which I mentioned fighting with in my last post). Hopefully the third time I try this top coat will be the charm. I may go plain old purple with my next polish adventure, so that the top coat will be able to shine, or not, as the case may be!

These are the two polishes I used:

Beauty fail: flame nails (with tips on how to totally screw up your manicure!)

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed me mentioning that the number of years it's been since I painted my nails is ... well, it's in the double digits. This week I came back to the fold — hurray!

...Sort of. Maybe it was inevitable that after so long, my first at-home manicure of the century would be a bit of a mangled mess. And so it was. Et voila:

Kindly ignore my short pointer finger nail (which I managed to break like ten seconds before getting out the polish) and the slight chipping (which betrays the dirty little un-secret that I walked around in public with bubbly nails for a couple of days before taking this photograph).

OK, so the edges could use work — but it's been a while. The flames, though? Love them. I'm especially cool with the fact that I painted them free-form with the brush that comes in the bottle. (I mean, if I get a brush made for painting thin lines, maybe they'll actually look really cool next time...) They're not The Best Thing Evar, but they're good enough for me, taking into account that I've probably painted flames maybe twice in my whole life.

Friday Favorites, October 12, 2012

Fave beauty and fashion links for this week:

• BeautyStat's run-down of the best mascaras out there, with before and after pictures.
• Do smoky eye makeup in just two steps! From Refinery 29.
• How to remove your nail polish without nail polish remover. You just need clear nail polish! A tutorial from msbeautyn3rd's YouTube channel.
• Make your own nail polish remover at home, on the cheap, with acetone and glycerin. From Loodie Loodie Loodie.
• How to pose like a fashion blogger (and part two here) — funny thoughts from Not So Lonely Londoners.
• How to apply concealer anywhere and cover anything. One of the basics, but perennially useful. From TotalBeauty.

Battle of the Facial Moisturizers! CeraVe vs. Philosophy

A few weeks ago, I was on the verge of running out of one of my beauty staples: Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. It takes a lot to find a moisturizer that works with your skin type, especially when, like mine, your skin is prone to breakouts and other misbehaviors. (Sorry, skin. I know it's my fault somehow. If only you could speak, I'd fix whatever's wrong before it could get to you! But because you can't tell me what's up, I have to figure it out through trial and error.) Anyway, Hope in a Jar has been my miracle product ever since I discovered it a few years ago, so I get kind of antsy when the jar is almost empty. Usually, I restock well before I run out.

But not this time.

Friday Favorites! October 5, 2012

The most fun and informative beauty and fashion links I've found in the past week!

• Nude nail polish is both classy and trendy this season, but not all nude polishes are created equal. Find the perfect nude nail polish for your skin tone, whether you're light, medium, olive or dark. Article from Total Beauty.
• If you love to shop vintage (and I know I do), you know that sometimes an awesome vintage find needs a little love. Check out these (mostly) no-sew tips for perfecting vintage clothing finds from Refinery29!
• Super-quick tip: how to get a doe-eyed look in ten seconds flat. From Fashionista.com's post-fashion-show roundup of lessons learned.
• Vivienne Westwood's solution to a bad hair day: Just add tiara. How can I not love that? Another tidbit from Refinery29.
• Do you know the best ponytail style for your face shape? I've been trying for years to perfect the ponytail look. Maybe now, ponytails and I can finally make peace. Article from TotalBeauty.

Review: Missha The Style Aqua Gel Tint

I admit it: I threw this product into my shopping bag partly out of curiosity and partly to get to the free shipping limit. Fortunately, I'm unexpectedly in love with the bright color and fruity taste of this lip tint, and I wish Missha would release half a dozen more shades!

Stats

Product: Missha The Style Aqua Gel Tint

Bought from: Missha US web site

Cost: $10/8.3g (0.29 fl oz)

Shade(s) tested: Scarlet Orange

Available in: Cherry Red, Pusia Pink, Scarlet Orange (I suspect "pusia" is meant to be "fuchsia"...)

The hype

The Missha US web site says: "MISSHA The Style Aqua Gel Tint has strengthening moisture-maintaining power to prevent lips from dehydrating. It contains natural colorants to create pure and clear color. With certified organic ingredients and a fruity flavor, it gives you delicious vital lips."