Why am I wearing dark nail polish in spring?

Ok, so first off, sorry, sooo sorry about not posting for like a week! I did post something yesterday, but that wasn't really anything beauty or fashion related, so it doesn't count! I have been busy with school, figure skating, singing, and just plain lazy-ness...

...Although I am completely in the mood for some fun spring nail polishes, this dark nail polish  is still pretty awesome. I am the type of gal who loves the darker polishes, so I will make a few exceptions throughout this spring season.

This nail polish is Orly's Naughty nail polish. It is a gorgeous creme burgundy/deep chocolate brown color. I actually wouldn't say it's much of a burgundy, because it is definitely more brown than red. Yup, just a hint of dark red in there but it's mostly just a very deep creme brown. In some lights, it looks almost black.

This nail polish lasted pretty well, and the chipping was nothing major. The consistency was very, very streaky on the first coat but once I started putting on the second coat, it started to even out and deepen. I actually find that sometimes the darker nail polishes are the ones that you need the most coats on because it takes such a long time to get the deep, dark shade to become even and balanced out. You can get it at Sally Beauty Supply for $6. I would say it's worth the money!

The CUTEST calendar ever!

Good morning, lovely bloggers :)


Today's Sunday (aka my lazy day), which means this post is just about something silly and cute.

Is this not the cutest calendar you have ever seen?! It's called "Sleeping Beauties". Huhh....aren't babies adorable. I got this calendar for $14 at one of those random booths they have at malls. The whole entire calendar is filled with ADORABLE pictures of cute little babies sleeping. Oh my gosh, I can't stop looking at it! Of course my camera (aka webcam) is completely washing it out and making it look not as cute, but you get the idea.

Vegan nail polish remover

For my fellow vegans and vegetarians out there, I need to spread some awareness.

Nail polish remover is not vegan!

Maybe I am the only person who knew about this, maybe other people didn't know as well.  But either way, it's really hard to find a nail polish remover without gelatin. I don't know, it just never occurred to me that nail polish remover would actually have gelatin in it, or any other non-vegan products. The normal "Cutex"nail polish remover has gelatin, and so does all the cvs brands. I have been searching for a while, but I finally found the right one.

This is the Sally Hansen fast acting nail polish remover. So far, this is the only vegan nail polish remover I have found that actually works well. I have bought a 100% organic and all natural nail polish remover in the past but that was horrible! This nail polish remover, however, is actually really really good, and even removing glitter nail polishes is not that difficult.

Spring Nail Polish: China Glaze's For Audrey

 China Glaze's famous For Audrey.
 Yup, the perfect spring nail polish!

As you can see, I had a little fun with some nail art! Nothing much, but it was my first time trying it out.

Now, I'm pretty sure that the majority of all China Glaze lovers already own or have seen this nail polish before. It is one of the most raved about nail polishes! Especially on youtube. But in case you are not one of those people, this blog post is for you. And if you  are one of those people, but just feel like reading this post anyway, well then, enjoy :)

The name "For Audrey" is refferring to Audrey Hephern, as in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" And I actually just made that connection, so silly me. Haha, I feel stupid now...

Anywho, the simplest way to describe this is as a robin's egg blue. However, the pictures above are not doing this beautiful nail polish color much justice ( I apologize for the bad quality of the pictures). In real life, it actually has a teeny bit of mint green in there, too. It is not just a flat-out blue. Although you can't really tell from the pics, it is a robin's egg blue with a little bit of mint green. This color actually reminds me of springtime in Maryland, because when I was visiting there while I was younger, there was a really pretty tree that some robins had made a nest in. I remember finding the shell of the robins egg at the bottom of the tree, where it fell down, and it looked almost identical to this nail polish.

As for the quality and consistency of this nail polish goes, well, I have never been that impressed with China Glaze. The brush is quite flimsy. However, I did find that this nail polish had a slightly thicker consistency than the other colors, which is a good thing. Most China Glaze colors are super runny and streaky, but with this particular one, it wasn't as runny. I usually just let it go though, because China Glaze has a better color selection than any other nail polish brand!

Today I went to Sally Beauty Supply to buy a few spring nail polish colors :)

Sally Beauty Supply is probably one of my favorite places to go shop for anything beauty related- hair, makeup, nails, the whole deal. My mom, grandmother, have been going there for a while, especially since there is one really close to my grandmother's house. When I went today, they had a deal where you could buy 2 nailpolishes and get one for free. I had a $25 giftcard, and so I managed to get 6 nailpolishes with just that giftcard! Amazing deal right there...


Anyway, I would do a post with pictures and everything of the nail polishes that I bought, but unfortunately, the only working and available camera i have is my webcam. So I'm afraid that it might not pick up all the lovely details of the colors too well. But oh well, we'll see. I think I'll do a post later where I show some of the polishes, just to see if the webcam actually does show the accurate color or not. Anyways, the china glaze polishes that I got were for audrey, four-leaf clover, and purple panic. The orly polishes that I got were naughty and royal navy. I finally got some really nice blues and greens for my collection, which I never seemed to have many of before. I have just gotten a sudden craving for blue and green nailpolishes, don't know why! The orly polishes are a bit dark for spring, but since I love dark nail polish, it's okay!

I decided to wear for audrey first, because I felt it was the perfect spring color for the perfect chill, spring day. Now, figure skating, on the other hand, that did not go so well! During my practice- I fell... alot! I especially fell really hard on my butt while attempting a double loop.

So now that I've stocked up on my spring nail polishes, what are your favorite nail polishes for spring? I think I'll be wearing for audrey a lot, haha.

5 Vintage Shopping Tips

On Saturday I went vintage shopping with my aunt. It was so much fun! We were planning on going to a few thrift stores, but ended up going to 2 vintage stores. The great thing was, the vintage stores that we went to actually had some vintage things that were fairly new. Not newly made of course, because then it wouldn't be vintage. But they weren't all battered and ruined and extremely worn, like vintage and thrift items can sometime be. I want to briefly talk about the differences between thrift stores and vintage stores. I feel that looking vintage stores are a more fun experience, where as shopping at thrift stores feels as if you are searching and working. It is lot more difficult to find nice things so it takes a long time to search through allll the piles and piles of stuff. Sometimes thrift stores are just full of junk! However, the great thing about thrift stores is that they sometimes have great vintage items (hidden in a pile of other stuff) without them even knowing it. Vintage stores are either going to be really cheap or really expensive, depending on where you go. But if it's a really old piece, it will most likely cost a lot of money at a vintage store, where as, at a thrift store, it will not be priced any different. Now onto my three tips for vintage shopping. Enjoy :)

1. Try EVERYTHING on! - When you go vintage shopping, or even thrifting, things might look really ugly on the hangers. Really, really ugly. But just trust me, if you even THINK you might like something, TRY IT ON!! Things look soo much different when they are on the racks than when you are actually wearing them. They might look better or worse. Lots of times, when you try them on, you might get new ideas for alterations and adjustments you can make to the items in order to make them more fashionable and more you. At vintage and thrift stores, you have to work with what you got. It's all about creativity. For example, let's say you found a baggy flannel top with a strange yet vintage looking design. You could cut it, make it into a loose crop top. Maybe turn it into a short sleeve and then turn the high collar into a deeper scoop-neck. With just a few alterations, it's almost as if you have a completely different top. So when you try even the "ugly" things on, you will most definitely get new ideas of how you can make the item work.

2. Looks for signs of the items being too "worn"- This one's pretty simple. Since it is a vintage store, some items will be secondhand, and some won't be. It's important to look for any stains, rips, holes, missing buttons, broken zippers, etc. All the general stuff. You might be buying what someone else has worn for many years, and who knows, they might not have taken very good care of it. Don't be afraid to bargain for a cheaper, more reasonable price if you see any of these flaws in the items that you choose.

3. Don't spend too much time worrying about the clothing sizes-  Don't waste your time trying to find the right size shirt or right size pair of pants. If you are normally a size 14, you might be a size 10 or 16 in a vintage or thrift store. Maybe a shirt that is a little bit big for you can work as a cute baggy and slouchy shirt. It will be extremely difficult to find your exact size, and a different size might even give the clothing item a different look. Besides, sizes change throughout the decades.

4. Bargaining for prices is okay- In a normal store, bargaining for cheaper or more reasonable prices may not go so well, and even be considered rude. But in vintage stores, everything is pretty laid back and people won't mind if you discuss a different price. In fact, it's the smarter thing to do. Sometimes vintage stores can be a bit pricey, even more so than the mainstream stores, so if you offer a different price to the store-owner, you never know how much you may end up paying.

5. Be a dedicated shopper-Vintage shopping (and thrifting as well) is the type of activity that will take up your entire day. You need to dedicate an entire day to vintage shopping. Set aside a day and time and plan your shopping trip. Maybe even get up extra early to snatch the best deals. Be dedicated to setting aside a day, bargaining, making alternations to the clothing items, etc.

Spring Trends

Hey bloggers :)


I'm in study hall right now and extremely bored because I have no homework to do. So of course, I blog.  Well, actually I will probably be out of study hall by the time that I post this, but whatev...

Haha, actually it's spring break now that I'm finally posting this...huh....

I've been getting a lot of fashion inspiration lately, which is a change for me, because for the past year I've kind just been obsessing over nail polish over anything else. These "trends" are just my opinion and view on what I think is becoming popular for hair, makeup, and fashion in spring. And as always, make sure to add your own unique twist to all of thee "trends" to make your style truly one of a kind! Enjoy :)


HAIR TRENDS:

1. Braids- This spring, pretty much any type of braid in your hair is extremely popular. Wether it is a braided headband to jazz up your normal ponytail, it's all good. I personally really love fishtail braids because it is something a little different from the norm. The other good thing about braids is that it leaves really nice curls/waves in your hair if you leave them in for a long time. And it makes really unique looking curls if you already have curly hair.

2. Messy buns- Really messy do's are really cute and casual for this spring. At my school, a lot of girls are just wearing casual buns. Not real buns with bobby pins and everything, but just those double ponytail buns. There is not that much to this look and it is as simple as simple can be, but that is probably why it is one of the biggest trends. With a few loose fly-aways and a cute bow bun, you'll be good to go.

FASHION TRENDS:
1. Cropped Tops- Flowy, comfortable, baggy, cute, playful, breezy, everything about them just sounds and looks like spring. You can get a plain color or a cool design to jazz it up. Since almost everyone is wearing these, and I didn't want to just be like everyone else, I got a cropped top with an artistic and unique butterfly design. You can really do a lot with cropped tops and they can work for many different things. They also look cute with a blazer and leggings. Leggings are good for spring too :)

2. Feather Earrings- Feather earrings are great for the boho/indie/hippie style. They can also be edgy too.  They are just really fun and fashionable and can make any plain outfit instantly chic. But of course, since I so passionate about my veganism, make sure you get FAKE feathers. Because what they do to animals in the fashion industry is more cruel that most people know about. The earrings might be cute, but trust, what they do the birds is not. If you get the earrings from a place like Charlotte Russe or Claire's, they will most likely be fake or recycled. But if you get them from a more expensive brand than they will probably be real. Feather earrings of course remind you of birds, which remind you of spring. They are really pretty with curled hair and you can get them in all sorts of pretty colors.

3. Big jewelrey- Big rings and big rings are so stylish for this spring. Of course, you don't want to get earrings that are so big they rip your earlobes, though. The most important thing to remember though is that the material matters more than the size, as far as damaging your ears. I've noticed that a lot of girls are using big and statement jewlrey (especially rings and earrings) to jazz up an otherwise ordinary outfit.

4. combat boots- combat boots are in for spring, no matter what your style is. Edgy, Girly, tomboy, punky, romantic, boho, indie, hippie, you name it, it can work for any style. I have seen girls with every single style you can think of, rockin' the combat boots! I mean, Come on, combat boots are just AWESOME.

5. Straight up florals-  Now I'm not talking about some slight florals details added in to decorate a shirt. I"m talkin about FULL ON FLORALS! It was popular last spring and its coming back this year. If you want to edge up this look a bit, just add some black lace up combat boots and a pleather jacket (fashionably animal friendly!). This is a style that Aria Montgomery from Pretty Little Liars seems to go for a lot in the show.

6. The "distressed look"-distressed jeans, combat boots. I don't want to say too much about this spring trend because I will be doing a seperate blog post about it sometime in the near future.

7. Animal-inspired fashion- Owl necklaces, elephant necklaces, feather earrings, ladybug rings, dove bracelets, anything that has to do with insects or animals is a trend for spring. It seems to be insects in particular though. I have even been seeing ant/beetle rings, and as strange as it might sound, it actually adds a very interesting and quirky touch to someone's fashion look. I personally really like it. I think it's fun and different. This is mostly in jewlrey, but I have seen it in clothing items, too.

MAKEUP/BEAUTY TRENDS:
1. Orange lips- I know it sounds crazy, but come on, it's unique. I wouldn't recommend sporting this look if you are in middle school like me, but if you are a little bit older you might be able to pull off this really bright and fun lip color. If the idea of orange lips is a little intimidating or just not appropiate for your school, a nice coral shade is a good alternative.

2. Almost black nail polish- now I know that spring is usually the time for pastel nail polish, but darker nail polish is actually really becoming popular. This year, the romantic mixed with edgy look is becoming really popular, which is probably why dark nails are in for spring. Any shade that is so dark that it looks black, but really is not. OPI has a lot of these types of colors. Some examples are Lincoln Park After Dark (a favorite for many) and Here Today, Aragon tomorrow.