Nail Couture

Lately I have been seeing a huge explosion of nail art creations. While I was in Sephora this set caught my eye: The Ciaté Caviar Manicure. I walked by it a few times, bewitched by the awesome photo on the cover of the box before I decided I couldn’t pass it up.

I love the caviar affect for nails! It is such a fun look and adds a bit of spice to your life.  It is a very easy process to create as well. Start by unpacking the box of fun and use the plastic top as a tray to catch the fall of beads from your nails. Next put a coat of the polish on all of your nails after a base coat. Then one by one you add the second coat to each nail and pour the ‘caviar’ onto your nail and press them firmly onto the nail and then onto the next! Repeat this process on each nail until you achieve your desired effect.

Every nail doesn’t have to be done uniformly ...get creative! Try using a small brush to paint stripes on your nails and add the beads to the stripes or just paint the tips for a luxurious French manicure!

I am so glad that nail art is becoming a renewed fad! I remember when I was younger I loved painting my nails and everyone’s around me! I had an awesome kit and a book with how to paint different animals and designs on your nails.  I loved it! I am glad that I am getting back into this art with a bit more refinement in my technique.

Sephora has a great array of polishes as well as fun design kits. I was also able to get a set of a thin brush to draw designs and a metal tool to put polka dots on your nails. Ciaté has a few other fun 3-D nail art sets as well!

Get creative and have fun! The possibilities are endless!

Enjoy & be beautiful!

www.sephora.com

http://www.ciate.co.uk/ 

http://www.bellasugar.com/Ciate-Nail-Polish-Coming-Sephora-22292548

B.B. Creams: Tinted Moisturizer on Steroids

A B.B. cream is great for those people who want a bit more of a simpler daytime skincare & makeup routine. It helps to protect, moisturize, correct, brighten and enrich your skin. 

A B.B. cream or beauty balm is foundation and skincare rolled into one…You may be thinking well Carolyn isn't that what a tinted moisturizer is for? Yes, technically you can use a tinted moisturizer in place of your day cream and foundation regimen. It does even more than what a tinted moisturizer does.

A B.B. cream is pretty much a tinted moisturizer on steroids because it doesn’t just moisturize and provide coverage… it protects and betters your skin in a similar way that your full skin care routine would. 

Now I am not saying this product is for everyone, but it is a great alternative for those people who want their face done in 5 minutes or less and want the benefits of a more advanced skincare routine.

I personally love using it during the summer because it gives me a bit of coverage so I can look awesome at the beach without people thinking …” wow was it really necessary for that chick to slap on her mask of makeup just for the beach”… and you know we all think that when we see those ladies with the full blown makeup on while at the pool or the beach. 

This product is great and most brands are adding their own BB cream to their lines.

For an investment, the Dior BB Cream is perfect. I would not use it on skin tones deeper than a medium olive tone because it could turn the deeper complexions a bit ashy looking. This is because it has an SPF of 50 and only comes in one shade. It gives medium to full coverage and helps to cover dark spots and discoloration. It cream has a very low key glow to it, more like a slight luminous glow.

If you want to save a bit of money try the Garnier or Maybelline versions.

The Garnier B.B. Cream has a SPF of 15 and comes in 2 shades: light/medium and medium/dark. It has a light to medium coverage level. I use this one the most because it is a bit lighter in texture and works great as a primer under foundation as well. It also gives a beautiful glow to your skin. 

The Maybelline version has a sheer to light coverage level and comes in 6 shades. It has a SPF of 30. So this product is great for those who want a bit more protection and only want a very light amount of coverage.

These are the B.B. creams I have tried but there are many out there. If you are loyal to a line and this sounds like the perfect product for you, go get it and try it!!

Enjoy & Be Beautiful!

http://www.dior.com/

http://www.garnierusa.com/

http://www.maybelline.com/