Beauty

Cheap Luxury Handbag manicure tips

 in Beauty / Nail Polish  tagged tips by

chanel fleur de pecher nail polish late spring 2020

photo: my current favorite polish, see original post here.

Do you normally head to a manicurist to get your nails done? Now that we are sheltering-in-place, are your nails going to pot? Never fear, you can learn how to do your own nails here!

I don’t like people touching my nails, so I have been doing my own nails since high school. I love wearing the current “IT” nail colors, as well as colors which fit my mood. It’s always fun to keep a few colors on hand so you can switch things up every time you do your nails.

If you invest in good nail polish, your home manicure can last for a week; and you’ll find yourself saving tons of money over time. After the lockdown is lifted, you may find you continue doing your own nails at home! It’s a huge money saver; and it gives you the flexibility to change your nail color at will. You’ll get hooked!

Here is my tried and true, home manicure routine. It’s simple, and not invasive. This is also how I keep my nails strong and healthy.

  1. Clean off any old nail polish using a nail polish remover which doesn’t strip your nails. This one is my favorite.
  2. Wash your hands
  3. Clip your nails. This is a great clipper.
  4. File your nails. These are great. Only the edges! Do not file or buff the top of your nails. This weakens them.
  5. Wash your hands
  6. Apply hand cream. Check out my favorites.
  7. Let your hands rest for fifteen minutes
  8. Apply a base coat, wait twenty minutes
  9. Apply first coat of color, wait twenty minutes
  10. Apply second coat of color, wait twenty minutes
  11. Apply top coat.
  12. Allow nails to set for half an hour before doing any type of work

I like to do my nails in the evening when I am relaxing and watching TV. I always make sure I have finished house cleaning for the day. It’s also a good idea to already be in your PJ’s, and have already washed your face, before doing your nails. The only thing I leave for after my nails is brushing my teeth; just in case I want an evening snack, or feel like drinking tea.

It is always a good idea to allow your nails to set and rest, even when they seem dry and hard. This seems to allow the manicure to last longer.

Why use a base coat? A base coat protects your nails from color staining. It can also protect you if you are using nail polish which isn’t five free. What is five free? Five free nail polishes are free from dangerous chemicals which could seep into your body through your nails. I always show, and promote, brands which are five free and healthy for your nails. So no worries!

I recommend using a five free base coat, then you can use any color you want; although I recommend sticking to five free brands for your color and top coat too.

Here are a few fun colors to try out at home, as well as tools you’ll need for your home manicure. You can rock the color of the year, or one of the season’s IT colors by Chanel. There are so many pretty colors out there to try out!

How do I keep my nails healthy? I like to let them breath once a month. It’s a good idea to keep your nails polish-free for twenty four hours, once a month. I try to time it so that my nails are polish-free on a day when I don’t have any plans, and no-one will see my bare nails. Although, if you keep your nails healthy, they will look perfectly fine bare. This is a tip my mom taught me when I started painting my nails in high school. It’s an old school tip, and it works like a charm!

Hopefully this helps you keep your nails looking fabulous while nail salons are closed. Feel free to share any of your own tips in the comment section below!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Cathy

What’s new in my spring beauty bag

 in Beauty  tagged elemis / estee lauder / perricone md / skin care by

spring beauty essentials

What’s new in my spring beauty bag from top left: Perricone MD hand cream / Elemis eye revive mask / Estee Lauder sunscreen spf 45 / Elemis Marine Cream / Estee Lauder Rapid Brightening Treatment Ferment 2 + Vitamin C / Elemis cleansing balm / Elemis Cica Calm cleansing foam / Elemis Cica Calm Hydration Juice / (all products shown c/o of their respective brands)

Spring has sprung! This means it is time to mix up our skin care routines in order to ensure our skin stays moisturized, healthy, and squeaky clean! After all, the pollen is everywhere, and it sticks to our skin. A nightmare for people like me who have spring allergies. Yikes!

The products above are my new lines of defense against spring’s increased sun, wind, and pollen floating in the air. I have been using the Elemis Marine Creams during the warmer months for years. It’s the perfect cream for dry days, and warm days. I love how it keeps my skin even and healthy. The Estee Lauder Perfectionist Pro multi-defense UV protection is perfect to wear underneath the cream for the ultimate SPF protection. Love it!

If you like to swim a lot like I do, the Elemis Cica Calm Hydration Juice is ideal for restoring hydration to your skin. It’s also perfect for windy spring days when it feels like all the pollen on earth is blowing in your face and sticking to you! Ugh!

If you are washing your hands often now due to the current shelter-in-place and virus prevention measures, check out my post about my three favorite hands creams; it includes the Perricone MD hand cream shown above.

While these products were sent to me in PR packages for testing out, they are products I actually use. This is only roughly 20% of the products I received to review for spring. They are brands I also purchase with my own money, and the Elemis Marine Cream I have purchased on my own in the past. I would never recommend something to you just because it was sent to me. I only recommend products I actually use and love. These products are all amazing, I highly recommend them for spring skin care! A few will also stick with me for the summer season such as the Elemis Marine Cream, and the Estee Lauder products.

Which one of these products have your tried and loved?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Best hand cream for frequent hand washing

 in Beauty / General Fashion  tagged colleen rothschild / hand cream / loccitane / perricone md / skin care / spring 2020 by
  • best hand cream
  • colleen rothschild hand cream review
  • best intensive hand cream

Best hand cream for frequent hand washing from left: L’Occitane hand cream / Colleen Rothschild hand cream / Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus+ hand therapy c/o Perricone MD/

Do you find yourself washing your hands all. the. time? I do! Under normal circumstances, I wash my hands frequently during the day, but never to the point where they get tight, dry, and sensitive. Well, now that we are sheltering in place, social distancing, and washing our hands multiple times per hour, my hands are all those things! They are definitely mad at me!!

In order to combat the beating my hands are taking from washing them multiple times per hour, everyday, I am going through my hand cream supply quickly; and have already had to open two new tubes. I always keep two in my backstock, now I will need to order more online in order to keep my supply available. It isn’t only me using hand cream in my house now, it is myself, my husband, and my three kids. We all need it! I assume you do too!

I have been a huge fan of L’Occitane hand cream since the late 1990s when it was deemed the only hand cream on the planet that wasn’t greasy. Everyone and thier mother flocked to the L’Occitane store at the mall to purchase a tube. Sometimes, they were sold out! It was defintly the “IT” hand cream of the late ’90’s and early 2000’s! I am still a fan, and always keep a tube downstairs so I can use it as needed without walking upstairs to fetch hand cream. It’s a must-have in my house.

Now that I mentioned I keep a hand cream downstairs, I must also mention I keep one upstairs on my nightstand. The one I keep upstairs is also a favorite of mine; and preferred by my husband. I keep my Colleen Rothschild hand cream upstairs on my nightstand and apply it as needed, and every night before I go to sleep. It’s an amazing hand cream!

You might be wondering how I can have two favorite hand creams; well, I do! It really is a toss up as to which one is better, I love them both. If you cannot decide which one to choose, the only difference I can point out is that L’Occitane has a thicker texture, and a shea butter scent, as opposed to the Colleen Rothschild which has a pleasant scent. They both smell good, and work equally well. It depends on the texture and scent for you to make a decision. I recommend trying both and then seeing which one you prefer. You might end up unable to choose, just like me!

I receive PR packages frequently; and I have been blogging for ten years now, so you can only imagine how many hand creams have been sent my way, and I have tested out. Nothing compares to L’Occitane and Colleen Rothschild. They are my two favorites. So when I say they are good, you know my sample size has been large! I have tried over twenty brands, and nothing has caught my eye like these two.

This takes us to Perricone MD. This hand therapy was sent to me in February in a PR package. I wasn’t sure what to do with intensive hand therapy, since my hands have always been in good shape due to my other two hand creams. Until this current healthcare crisis, I didn’t realize this was something I needed in my life!

As I mentioned before, I am always washing my hands. I am sure you are too! In addition to hand washing, I am cleaning my house multiple times per week, instead of my usual one day a week. This is exposing my hands to more chemicals, more hand washing, and more chances to get dry and tight skin. I have found that using Perricone MD’s Cold Plasma Plus+ hand therapy one time per day is exactly what my hands need to stay normal. I highly recommend keeping a tube on hand in order to combat the extra beating your hands are taking. It’s truly a blessing during this time.

There you have it! I have two normal hand creams to recommend, the L’Occitane, and the Colleen Rothschild. In addition, I recommend keeping the Perricone MD hand therapy on hand for intensive use as needed.

Do you have a favorite hand cream?

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy