What happens when Peter goes out of town for almost a week and leaves me to my own devices? Muffins for dinner, a whole lot of silliness, and many crafting projects.
It started with me reading yet another great review about Frog Tape. “OK, Frog Tape,” I thought, “if you’re so great with your paint block technology then surely you can help give me a french manicure. “
Let me begin by telling you that I am terrible at painting my nails. Seriously, I think I’m lacking some sort of girl gene, honestly it’s quite pathetic. I started out doing all the pre-painting preparation. OK, I may have skipped the soaking and pushing back of the cuticles but I trimmed and filed my nails.
Then I applied the Frog Tape directly to my nails. When this resulted in strange looking lines, I tried to trim the tape so that it mimicked the natural curves that you have on the tips of your nails. The most important part is to make sure that your nails are completely clean and dry. During my first attempt I realized that my nails had a bit of lotion on them and the tape wouldn’t even pretend to stick.
I painted the exposed portions of my nails with two coats of white nail polish and removed the tape while the second coat was still wet. The result?
Well, Frog Tape isn’t made for nails. It did a pretty good job but I did experience some bleed though. I followed up with a coat of clear polish. My friend, Leanne, and I decided that they look fine from far away. I just won’t draw attention to them.
What do you spend your time doing when your significant other is away? Are you a crafter like I am? Or do you stay up late watching movies that s/he would hate? I’m not going to lie–I did the latter as well.
I hardly ever watch TV. In fact, Peter and I don’t even have cable. (This is when I usually watch my friends gasp and prepare myself to answer a bajillion question about what I do with my spare time.) But when they changed TVs so that in order to watch regular non-cable programming you needed to have cable or some special converter box, Peter and I decided to invest in a box to satisfy our house guests. For a few days, fascinated by our new channel selection, I watched more frequently. One day I came across an infomercial for Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty. I was immediately interested and then as the price stared plummeting I quickly became skeptical–until it fell so low (I’m sure you can hear it in your head, “BUT WAIT!! If you buy right now we’ll take this $150 value and give it to you for for $19.99″) that what I would be getting would actually be cheaper than buying beauty products from a grocery store. Immediately I turned off the TV, walked away, and told myself that if the deal was really that good then I wouldn’t be getting so much for free.
A few days later, I drove down to visit my mother and in her room I saw this:
I found it hysterical that my mom (who also almost never watches TV) saw the same infomercial and also thought that the product sounded like a great deal. Apparently Meaningful Beauty works on a system of automatic renewal so my mom had ordered a shipment and before she’d even made a dent in it she had another one at her doorstep. Being the kind person that she is, she gave he second set to me.
I was immediately put off by the renewal system because I hate it when companies try to get me to spend extra money, but the products themselves turned me off even more. Imagine Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion in a formula that clumps so much that you feel like you are pumping buggers into your hand. This is the best way I can describe the night cream. Most of the other products seemed no different than a simple lotion. All in all, I would not spend money on this product. This formulas used for these lotions are unimpressive and they probably rely on the renewal scheme to ensure multiple purchases.
Has anyone else tried Meaningful Beauty? Maybe you liked it more than I did.
Image courtesy of Wrinkle Cure Review.
Back in September I ordered a bunch of make up from an Etsy store called The All Natural Face. I promised to write a follow-up review but you may have noticed that it never happened. It took me a really long time to figure out how I really felt about this makeup. I was really impressed by their prices and their customer service. (To spark your memory, I got all of the samples below for only $10. You can read more about what everything is in my post about The All Natural Face.)
The samples that I ordered in September lasted me all the way until January, but when it came time to order more, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My biggest qualm with the makeup is that it doesn’t wear well throughout the day. The eye shadow creases even if you apply the primer, the eye liner gets under your eyes, and the foundation and concealer vanish so that skin looks that same as it did when you first get out of the shower. I tend not to wear very much makeup so when I put something on in the morning I want it to last until I go to bed without needing to cake it on before I leave the house. I always think of Becky from Full House telling D.J. that the trick to applying make-up was to look like you’re not wearing any at all. I would love to wear this makeup all the time because of how affordable it is and how great it is to work with The All Natural Face, but since I want products that don’t require me to reapply, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to go back to Bare Essentials.
Has anyone else tried The All Natural Face? What was your experience?
As winter approaches, my skin feels drier and drier. I told you about the great product that I use to keep my face feeling smooth but sometimes it’s nice to mix things up. This is why I periodically exfoliate my face with baking soda. Just pour a small amount in your hands, dampen it with water, and gently rub your face (without using your pointer finger or thumb) pulling upward in circular motions. Simple enough and really economical! Now I have an at home solution for the tougher skin on my body and the ever-so-delicate skin on my face.
Image courtesy of Arm & Hammer.
Most lotions leave my skin feeling either exactly like it felt before I used the lotion or sticky, slimy, and gross–maybe even some sort of combination. But Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion leaves skin feeling great. Alba knows how to make lotion that absorbs into your skin. (You may remember me raving about the Alba Green Tea Sunscreen.) Plus, the scent is so mild that even a guy would be comfortable wearing it. This line is slowly becoming a staple in my everyday routine.
For all you Austinites: Wheatsville, a local co-op, sells it in bulk! Now, you can bring in your own container to fill with lotion rather than buying another plastic one.
Image courtesy of Amazon.com
