Nail of The Day - Zoya Ciara

Hello Lovelies! Happy Saturday to you all. Hope you are having nice weather where ever you are (I hate when you get a gloomy Saturday, always brings me down :\ ) But fortunately, I have a nice sunny day and a bright Zoya color to share with you!!

Zoya, Ciara is an all around great shade! I have a thing for berry/fuchsia creme shades. I am very drawn to them and can always justify purchasing another one! This color in particular is quite lovely. The formula was great. It was opaque in 2 coats, and had great staying power. The color is so beautiful too - I got a bunch of compliments on it. It's the perfect color for this time of the year, but I think most people could pull this off year round. Also, this is definitely one of those colors that looks amazing on all skin tones, so extra brownie points for that! I recommend this color to my fellow berry creme lovers or anyone who wants to try a great Zoya color! *Bottom left picture is in the shade*

Have a great weekend everyone :)

What's your favorite color in the berry/fuchsia category?
- Chelsey

DIY: The Egg Facial

Hello Lovelies! So this is technically Part 2 of the girls night/spa extravaganza that my friend Rachel and I had not too long ago. In my last post I shared the pore strips we made (which were great!). After the pore strips we did the Egg Facial. This is a one ingredient wonder! Yes, that's right. All you need is one egg (preferably, organic)!!

What you need:
- One organic egg
- 2 bowls (we used a big one for the egg white to avoid a mess when separating the white from the yoke)

Here is what you need!

Step 1: Crack your egg and carefully sift the egg yoke back and forth between the 2 halves of he shell to separate the egg white into a bowl, leaving the yoke still intact in your shell as shown below. Place your yoke in your other bowl or container. We will be using that in a bit!

Egg white separated into bowl

Step 2: Take a fork or a whisk and lightly whisk your egg white until it has a thin layer of bubbles/foam at the top. This is not a precise science, so no worries if you whisk too much or not enough. Rachel and I forgot to whisk our egg white, so we did it without the bubbles and it worked just the same. 

Separated egg white, not whisked!

Step 3: Pick the egg white up on clean fingers and apply it all over a clean face. Avoid the eye area of course and make sure not to get it anywhere near your mouth. (Raw egg is not edible my friends!). Let the egg white dry on your face until you feel that you can't smile and your skin is very tight. Then rinse it off with warm water and pat your face dry.

Step 4: Now the yoke, which is a natural moisturizer :) (who knew?!). Pierce the yoke with a fork or knife and take a small amount onto clean fingers and apply all over the skin as you did with the egg white. Again, wait until you feel that your skin is tight and you can't smile. Rinse with warm water, pat dry, and apply your regular moisturizer to the skin.

Pierced egg yoke

Ta-Daaaa! Your skin should feel smooth, refreshed, & bright.

What I love most about this quick treatment is that I can literally do it whenever I want (assuming there are eggs in the refrigerator!). But it's just soooo ridiculously simple and quick. It's not intimidating and pretty hard to mess up! Once again, BIG thanks to my fantastical friend Rachel for taking these pictures on her very professional camera ;) We had fun with these treatments and plan on doing them again soon.

What are your favorite at-home facials? I love hearing about new ones, especially in the summertime!
- Chelsey

DIY: Homemade Pore Strips

Hello Lovelies! I am uber excited to bring this to you all!! (I want to put 1,000 exclamation points after all my sentences, but I shall contain myself). With the help of my amazing friend, Rachel and her brand-spankin-new camera, we had a girls night and documented our at home mini spa treatments :)

First up are the Pore Strips...

What you need:

- Milk (any grade)

- Unflavored Gelatine (can be found at local grocery store)

- A measuring spoon

- A small microwavable container 

- An old paint brush or makeup brush

Here is everything you need!

Step 1: Mix 1 Tablespoon of the gelatine and 1 Tablespoon of milk in your container until it is somewhat chunky and looks like the image below

After gelatine and milk is mixed

Step 2: Put mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds. The mixture should look tacky. It becomes a somewhat goopy consistency. BE CAREFUL - the mixture will be hot when it is removed from microwave, give it another minute to cool.

Microwaved mixture

Step 3: Cleanse your face to remove any makeup products, oils, etc. Apply mixture to nose or any other area on the face where you have a build up of bacteria, black heads, excess sebum/dirt. I put it all over my nose and my chin area.

Mixture applied to my nose. Yes, this looks ridiculous!!

Step 4: Leave the mixture/pore strip on for 10 minutes. Then, peel it off and enjoy your smooth clean skin :) For me personally, it did not remove every single blackhead on the area where I applied the mixture, but it cleared out most of it and left the surface very smooth.

Pore strip after removed from the skin. Kinda gross, but oh well

And that's it!! It's super easy, pretty entertaining, and really fun to do with girlfriends. I really hope some of you give this a try :) Enjoy!

Have you made other homemade concoctions like this one?! How did it go?

- Chelsey

Monday Poll #3

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone had a good weekend. If you are in the U.S. today is a national holiday called Memorial Day. In other words, tons of barbeques, American flags, parades, and cheeseburgers. My family is currently prepping for a little low-key bbq in the backyard. I come for the family, and stay for the food ;). Anywhoosy, here is the Monday Poll (yay, I remembered this week!!)...

1. Mood
A little tired, but feeling good. Got an early yoga class and a run in this morning and then went for a walk with the fam. My legs are a little tired, but I still feel energized.

2. If you had to choose between an oversized, multi-colored knitted poncho (with fringe!) or a faux fur purple vest to wear for a day, which one would you go with and why?
I have to say, I think I would go for the faux fur purple vest. Vests were in this past season and who knows, maybe I will start the purple vest trend. I think I could make it work, haha!

3. How quickly can you get dressed, ready and out the door?
I would like to be bad ass and say 15 minutes, but I think it's more like 25-30. If I am already showered and my hair is not an issue it's usually faster. Also, if I am not going anywhere special, and it is just everyday clothes I will also be faster. It all depends!

4. How many hours of sleep do you get each night?
Currently I do not have classes because my semester is over so on a normal day I usually go to bed around 12/12:30am and wake up around 8/9am. It depends on if I am waking up to go to a yoga or bootcamp class or have to be somewhere early.

5. Does your significant other do anything that drives you crazy?
I do not have a significant other at the moment. But I despise when people as obvious questions that can be figured out from common sense or just looking around them...just a personal pet peeve.

6. Have you ever battled someone on the dance floor?
Why yes I have, multiple times!

7. What's the last book you finished?
My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler. It was absolutely hysterical! I read it in 2 days and laughed the whole time. If you want a light read and a good laugh go check out her books :)

8. What's the plan for today?
Welp it's already 5:40pm. But this morning I took a yoga class, went on a run, then went for a scenic stroll with the family, made guacamole (my specialty), and now I'm prepping my belly for a BBQ!

9. What were your favorite TV shows when you were a kid?
When I was supper little I loved Barney and Little Bear. Gula Gula Island was another favorite. I liked Legends of the Hidden Temple and GUTS on Nickelodeon too. Also, I can't forget about Angry Beavers and CatDog. 

10. Weekly goals:
- Keep up with my exercise and running.
- Not spend money!!! (I'm broke :[ )


The List:
1. Mood:
2. If you had to choose between an oversized, multi-colored knitted poncho (with fringe!) or a faux fur purple vest to wear for a day, which one would you go with and why?
3. How quickly can you get dressed, ready and out the door?
4. How many hours of sleep do you get each night?
5. Does your significant other do anything that drives you crazy?
6. Have you ever battled someone on the dance floor?
7. What’s the last book you finished?
8. What’s the plan for today?
9. What were your favorite TV shows when you were a kid?
10. Weekly goals:

Hope that was semi-entertaining kids ;) I have a really fun and verrrrry simple face mask and recipe for home made pore strips coming up this week! They will probably go up either tomorrow or Wednesday so stay tuned.

- Chelsey
 

Monday Poll #2

Hello Lovelies! Pardon me for saying I was going to do a poll every Monday and then completely forgot last week, HA! That's life for ya...Anywhoosy, we're going to give this another shot. Enjoy...

1. Mood:
Awake. Not particularly energetic or calm. Saving my energy for the run I will be going on after I finish this post :)

2. If you could telepathically make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
I would tell my dog Roscoe that when he barks at the mail man and starts running around the house as if to "sound the alarms", he is overreacting. 

3. Do you do anything in particular to celebrate the start of summer?
I usually lay outside for the first couple of very warm and sunny days and try to get a base tan. The last few years I went to the beach for Memorial Day, but that is usually a traffic disaster! ooof. 

4. Eyes/Cheeks/Lips?
Currently, nothing but Burt's Bees Lip Balm. Like I said above, I'm about to go for a run (in the rain, mind you) so no makeup is required! 

5. Do you have a special spot where you like to read?
Usually, I sit on my bed. If my house is quiet I will sit on the couch. If it's the summer, I will try to read outside in the backyard :) 

6. Is there a song that always puts you in a good/better mood?
Usually anything by Vampire Weekend will put some pep in my step. Or "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, classic :) 

7. Do you keep a pair of casual shoes by the front door?
Nope, I usually don't. If there is a pair it will most likely be my dirt covered running shoes. I try to be nice and not track leaves and such into the house. 

8. Tell me about your weekend. What did you do?
Welp, I didn't feel well on Friday night, so I called out of work for Saturday morning. Slept in on Saturday which helped. Then In the late afternoon I had to do a 7-yr-old rock star birthday party at my other place of work. I am a dance teacher, and we host dance parties for kids as well. So I jumped around like a maniac for an hour with 15 seven year olds, woo! On Sunday my older brother graduated from college! It was a fun day for the fam and I. He now has his Bachelor of Science in Biology and I am very proud of him :) 

9. What scent are you wearing today?
Post-run I think I will be putting on Garden of Eva by Benefit. Light and fresh. 

10. Weekly goals:
- Post at least 3 more times this week.
- Finish reorganizing my room since my spring cleaning.
- Get at least 4 runs in before next Monday.
- Put some money into my savings!!


Here's the list if you're feeling like a good poll ;) 
1. Mood:
2. If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
3. Do you do anything in particular to celebrate the start of summer?
4. Eyes/Lips/Cheeks?
5. Do you have a special spot where you like to read?
6. A song that always puts you in a good/better mood?
7. Do you keep a pair of casual shoes by the front door?
8. Tell me about your weekend. What did you do?
9. What scent are you wearing?
10. Weekly goals:


Have a good week everyone!
- Chelsey