GOLDEN BARK - Fall Inspired Nails

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lag in posts, still trying to recover from jet lag. My husband and I are both having a hard time adjusting back to eastern time.

As wonderful as vacation was, it did have a financial toll on us. I've decided to learn how to do my own acrylic nails and nail art. My first attempt was a nightmare, but I must say that my second attempt is decent. I learned that the brushes that come in the kits are crap. If you're interested in doing your own nails invest in a decent brush first!

The nails in this post had been on for about 5 days and they started growing out. I could see a gap between the smile line and the base of the nail. It was really bugging me so I decided to paint them and have some fun with glitter!

This look is great for fall. I've used the warm browns and golds that I associate with this time of year.

Base color - Deluxe Brown by Avon

Stippled color - Brisbane Bronze by OPI

Glitter mix on top

The nail on the left is using my own personal glitter mix. The one on the right is using Wet n Wild glitter polish "Fireworks."

If you'd like to see the tutorial for this nail look go to my YouTube channel!

Golden Bark Nail Tutorial

Hawaiian Vacation

Our vacation is about to come to an end. We are scheduled to leave tomorrow evening, provided that we get on the flight out. There is a little anxiety about flying standingby since there's only 1 flight a day out of Lihue.

Personally, I wouldn't mind being stuck here, but I think my boss may over other ideas.

I will post my pictures and blogs of our trip once I get home with my computer.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator - Day 28 Pictures

Well, almost done with the Rimmel challenge! I'm not sure how I feel about this product. I think I'll reserve final judgement for a few more weeks.

What I do like is the price and the lengthening power of this product.

What I don't like is how easily it runs. If my eyes water the slightest bit, the mascara starts to run. I don't think they have a waterproof version of this yet, will wait and see.

I think that the fullness/number of lashes has improved, but I haven't noted the long curly length of lashes like I do with the Latisse. I may notice that over time, it remains to be seen.

Check out the pictures!

Hawaiian Monk Seal

I don't know if you guys know this, but there are only 2 animals that are indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. The Monk Seal and some kind of bat. Everything else has been brought here by humans.

I had the rare pleasure of seeing a Monk Seal last evening! Aside from being incredibly endangered they are very beautiful.

We saw this little female, she's 3 years old and has been coming to this spot on the shore to rest everyday for the past week. I couldn't help by notice how much she looks like my dog when he's sleeping. The Hawaiian name for the seal stands for "the dogs that play in rough waters."

I plan on returning to this area of shore line to see if she is still resting there. I'd love to get more pictures of her and perhaps a juvenile that has been there as well. From what I've been told he is going through his first molting.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator - Day 21 Pictures

Well, it's been three weeks....the optimism of last week is turning into disappointment. I think the last of the Latisse lashes are starting to fall out d/t the regular lash cycle and now I'm stuck with my old lashes. Yes, they are fuller and there are more of them, but they're not long and fluttery.

Perhaps I had my expectations too high for a drugstore product...I dunno.

I'm on vacation right now and do not have my Latisse with me so I'm forced to complete this experiment. However, if I were at home I'd be starting back with the Latisse. I'll document the progress with the Latisse the same way since I'm basically back to square one with my lashes.

Do you guys agree that there is little change or am I not seeing things clearly?

ULTA - Lovely in Luna

Hey everyone! This is another teal look I did using Ulta shadows. This look is not as bright as Tealtastic, but with the addition of lashes it is still dramatic!

Don't be like me and fear blues and teals....give it try. Pick a day that you have free and play with your makeup. Your first attempts will probably look awful...I know mine did. Trust me, if I had recorded my first attempts you would definitely laugh!

Use the bright colors on the lid or as a liner and transition with neutral "blendy shades." Don't forget to BLEND!

And most importantly.....HAVE FUN!!

Check out the tutorial for this look on my YouTube channel!
ULTA - Lovely in Luna Tutorial

NYX Runway Palettes

I am now the proud owner of 4 NYX Runway Palettes!

They are gorgeous and a great value, especially when you can get them on sale and use a coupon!

At my Ulta they run $9.99 regular price, which for 10 high quality shadows is a steal. They frequently run specials such as buy 1 get 1 at 50% off, or in my case 40% off all products which brought the total to $5.99. I then used my $3.50 off coupon that comes in the mail weekly. So I got the palette for $2.44! What a bargain!

I have done 1 look on my YouTube channel using the Secret Garden palette and am very pleased with the results.

I'll write a full review on the palettes I have once I use them all. I'll also include swatches!

We Finally Made It - Life on the Standby List

We finally made it!

Right now I'm sitting in the living room sipping my Kona coffee and enjoying the sound and smell of the ocean that's outside the back of our condo. There are 2 roosters crowing and a lovely breeze blowing in from the sea.

Yes, I said roosters crowing....they run around all over the island. They're not the typical white feathered fowl you maybe thinking of. They have beautiful colored plummage and patterns. I will post some pictures so you can see how pretty they are.

We don't have anything planned for today, but that's part of the beauty of vacation. I would be perfectly content to walk along the beach or read a book everyday....I'm pretty easy to please.

My only gripe is no internet...I'm writing this post on my cell phone! Thank heavens I have small hands!


H

Rimmel Lash Accelerator - Day 14 Pictures

Ok, so it's been 2 full weeks. I'm not having panic attacks or withdrawal symptoms from my Latisse. I'm starting to become a believer....

I think it's awesome that I can get great results with a $7.99 product vs. $125! Granted, the Latisse does last a long time, but $7.99 just sounds and looks better.

I definitely feel like the lashes are getting longer and fuller. The day 14 picture was taken at the end of the day, so the one coat of mascara was a bit worn off.

The little short spot of short lashes has certainly grown to be level with the rest of the lashes. They're starting to curl as well. That always seems to make things look better.

Check out the pix and you be the judge!

Wet n Wild Lust Palette - Sexy Gray & Purple

If you need an easy and affordable look for a special night out give this a try!

I used all drugstore products and I love the final outcome!

The Wet n Wild Color Icon palettes are so awesome! Well, the one palette that I have is awesome! I have created a multitude of looks with it from simple and understated to drama queen!

Products used:

Palladio Wet-Dry Foundation - Cypress

Palladio Blush - Wish

Palladio Eye Pencil - Twilight (gray)

Wet n Wild Color Icon Palette - Lust (purples)

Milani Eye Tech Liquid liner - Black

Black liner and mascara

Nail polish - Layered China Glaze Mediterranean Charm under Sinful Colors Dawn

Click on the link to see the YouTube tutorial for this look!
Wet n Wild Sexy Gray & Purple Tutorial

Are We There Yet? Life On the Standby List

Ok, I know I should be grateful that we were able to use  Delta Buddy Passes for our vacation.....but it took 11 hours and getting bumped from 4 flights before we could get on a plane to LA!

By the time we got to LA we'd missed all the flights to Hawaii so we're crashing at a Holiday Inn for the night. We're praying that we can get on the flight to Lihue tomorrow!

I think the flight volume to LA was heavy this weekend since there's a NASCAR race in California too. Didn't even occur to me to check when and where the next race would be.

Our luggage has already started to party....it's been in Hawaii for sometime now. Right now I'm hoping that my bra and underwear dry in time to put on tomorrow. I had to wash them out, I smelled like airport funk! So I'm sitting here wrapped in a towel writing this post and pushing fluids. Flying sucks all the moisture out of my body!

My face feels tight since all I had to wash it with was the bar soap and the hotel hand and body lotion to moisturize with. But, I have faith that all will work out well tomorrow!

I'll post some pictures and updates once we arrive!

Cover Girl Berries & Cream Eye Look with Initial Review

Cover Girl products were on sale at CVS, so I picked up a couple of eye shadow quads. This look was created using the Berries and Cream palette.

I think it turned out nice and is appropriate for everyday. I did get compliments on how I looked today, so musta done something right!

I don't know if it's the lighting in my bathroom or what, but these shadows were really pale. All but the darkest shade seemed to just look chalky and barely pigmented. I ended up having to wet my brush to pack on the lid shade, but found that it came off when I blended in the crease shade.

Overall with initial application I feel kinda "meh" about this quad. The darkest shade is beautiful, would buy it as a single if I ever needed it. I'm going to try it with a cream colored base next time and see if that helps pick up some pigmentation for the other 3 shades. I did use Painterly Paint Pot by MAC as the base today.

I'll post more pictures as I continue to work with this quad.

Check out my YouTube channel for a picture tutorial!

Coastal Scent Blue Smokes Look

I guess I've gotten over my fear of blue eye shadow. This is the 2nd time this week that I used blues!

This look was created using only the Coastal Scents Warm Palette. I think a lot of people overlook the fact that there are a lot of great colors in the palette besides browns. Not to mention that it is an excellent value for $24.95 or 3.5 cents for each shadow.

How'd I do?  Should I do a tutorial on this look?

Beauty Byte YouTube Channel
Where to order the palette - Coastal Scents

Rimmel Lash Accelerator - Day 7 Pictures

OK, so it's been 7 days of no Latisse and using Rimmel Lash Accelerator instead. I gotta be honest, I didn't think I'd make it for a week. By day 3 I was really starting to regret stopping the Latisse and seriously considered restarting....but do not fear! I stuck with it and have been pleasantly surprised.

Take a look at the pix below!

The eye lashes on the right (my left) had a patch of short lashes that were trying to grow back. By day 7 they are almost the same length as the other lashes. I know it has to be related to the Rimmel because my lashes on their own grow super slow! I don't really notice a whole lot of other changes aside from the lashes feeling soft and looking shinier. I have noticed the the Latisse long lashes on the left eye are curlier. I think that's why I didn't realize that the short patch had grown so much because the lashes are straight and point down.

I'm impressed so far. I didn't really expect to see much from a drugstore mascara. To see results in 7 days is awesome considering it took 2 months to notice changes with Latisse. I hope as time progresses the lashes will start to curl. My stubborn Asian lashes don't like to hold a curl and I've been spoiled by long curly Latisse lashes!

Love to hear what you guys think! Has anyone else been doing the Rimmel Challenge?

Checkout out my YouTube channel!

Beauty Byte on YouTube!

Rimmel London Website

Blue Eyed Lady!

I decided to be a little crazy today and did a bright blue look. Got a lot of compliments on it....encouragement to continue using shades that are "out of my comfort zone."

Deep Truth - Frosty dark blue from MAC Shadowy Lady Quad
Beige - Matte beige from AVON Mocha Latte Quad
Latte - Satin cream from AVON Mocha Latte Quad
Black - From NYX Jazz Night Palette
Silver - From NYX Jazz Night Palette



Sorry the shadows are from so many different sources....this look could have been done with just the NYX palette, but I started off with the MAC and went from there.

1. Applied Too Faced Shadow Insurance as base.
2. Deep Truth on lid to crease
3. Beige blend in and above crease
4. Latte highlight brow and tear duct
5. Silver to blend in crease
6. Black outer V
7. Lined upper lash line with black liquid liner
8. Lined lower lash line 3/4 with navy blue liner and set with blue e/s
9. Curl lashes and apply black mascara

What'cha think?

NYX Website