20% discount at Ulta

Hello Everyone,

I am always happy to hear that Ulta is having a 20% discount. It's 20% off your entire purchase, however, it excludes prestige beauty (high-end makeup brands), philosophy, etc.... Make sure you read the fine print on their site. 

In addition to their 20% discount, you can also get a a FREE pink sugar bath and body gift (worth $25). As it is noted, they have very limited quantities so hurry and grab one while you can.  Guess what I got? I will let you know later.

This is the best time to take advantage of any drugstore items that you have always want to try and also use your sunday coupons on top of the 20% discount!! uuuuhh.... huh! That is exactly what I did and I am proud to say it.

Happy shopping!

<3 <3 <3

Lightning Lash lengthening mascara

Hello Everyone,

While I was at Sally Beauty Supply store buying my gelish nail polishes, I also bought the lightning lash lengthening mascara from femme couture. I love it! I thought it was just going to be a fun thing to have, but I actually end up wearing this everyday. It's becoming one of my favorite mascaras.

The color I got is in electric blue. Sounds kinda scary and looks kinda scary. This type of wand is great for lengthening which works well with my stubborn eyelashes. The only negative thing about this is it dries out fast so keep it moving.

I use Palladio to line my waterlines and my lower lids to give the lashes a fuller look. The color for the Palladio eyeliner is in twilight. These two combinations works great together to even the colors out so it doesn't look too dramatic.

For my eyelids, I don't want to put too much on because I want the electric blue to stand out a bit more.
I used the light cream color for my highlights under the brow and the brown to create a bit of a crease. This palette is from Lorac and I got this a while back.

Here is the look:
The color pops out more in person, but if you look closely, my lashes are blue. If you would like the blue to stand out more, you can mix it with the Makeup Forever Flash Palette for a brighter effect. I love how this color brightens up my eyes.

From a distance, it doesn't look blue at all. But at the same time I don't have really thick lashes. =(
I can't wait to try this on someone who has long thick lashes.

 Have a good night!

<3 <3 <3

Prized Pearls.com: AA+ quality white pearls

Hello Everyone,

There is a promotion going on for the 36 inch Hand-Knot Pearl Necklace.
Original price is $215.99 and it is now $53.99. A 75% discount!!! I have the link to the website down below and the promotion will end August 31.

In the email that was sent to me, I was able to take a survey and get an additional $20 off so I paid $33.99 for a $215.99 pearl necklace. This is part of why it's nice to sign up to get these emails but sometimes it can just be part of your junk mail.

These pearls are great quality and they feel very dense. They do not feel cheap at all. I bought a set from this company before in one of my OOTD and I love it so much that I had to buy a second pair. It's so classic and feminine.

You can wear it as a single strand

or double strand

Look how round and shiny they are! =)

Here is how the packaging looks like. It's not anything too special, but what's inside is nice!

Just in case you missed the OOTD with the pearl necklace, here it is again:

The link to the promotion is:
https://www.prizedpearls.com/dealoftheday.asp?deal=1&utm_source=Qualtrics&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=3

Enjoy!

<3 <3 <3

DIY French Gel nails- Gelish

Hello Everyone,

I have always love French tips but nothing seems to stay long on my nails for more than 3 days without chipping or breaking. I also don't go to the nail salon to get my nails done because they are expensive and I can do it myself. Most people would go with acrylics or gel to have their nail polishes last longer. It ranges from $30 or more to get gel nails in the salon so I thought why not do it at home.

There are several items that you would need to get to do your own gel nails. The first thing I got is a basic kit from Gelish. I bought this from Sally Beauty Supply and it is currently on sale for $29.99.
Original price: $49.99. The initial investment is expensive, but once you get the basics, it will make up for your future expenses.

This is a MINI basic kit that comes with ALMOST everything you need. If this is your first time working with gel, I would recommend this kit.

Inside the kit there are:
pH bond : 9ml
Foundation: 9ml
Top it off: 9ml
Nourish: 9ml
Nail surface cleanse: 60 ml
Artificial nail remover: 60 ml

The booklet takes you through the steps but if you are a visual person, there is also a CD that will show you how to apply the gel. Both of these items come with the kit.

Other items you would need:
A UV light to cure gel nails. There are many types but I prefer one that has an adapter so it can be plugged into a wall socket instead of using batteries.

The kit does not come with any nail polish so you would need to buy them separately. A gel brush is definitely a must have item if you are going for a french tip. The gel that I bought comes in a container so I need the brush to apply it to my nails (sorry, forgot to take pictures of them)

These gel nail polish below all have brushes like a regular nail polish so you would not need the extra brush.
The colors I got are: (from left to right) Rendevous, Passion, and Tiger Blossom. They don't have too many colors yet, but I hope they will in the future once it starts to get really popular. Since I have not used them before I will have a review on them in my later blogs.

I would also recommend using these lint-free wipes because it can get a bit sticky.

To create the French tips, I used my konad kit to get the white lines. I talked about this kit in my previous blog.

Steps:
Clean and smooth out your nails
Apply base coat
Use konad French kit to create the white line
Foundation from the Gel kit to keep the gel from chipping or peeling
Place finger under UV lamp- 1 minute
Pink builder gel on the pink part of my nails
Clear builder gel on the white lines
Place finger under UV lamp- 2 minutes
Reapply both again
Place finger under UV lamp- 2 minutes
Finish it with a Top it off coat from the kit
Place finger under UV lamp- 1-2 minutes.
Clean off polish with Nail Surface Cleanse
Optional: use nourish around the cuticles.

This took me about an hour to do. As I do it more often, it will probably only take me 30 minutes.
I love the finished result. It's glossy and I feel like I can do anything with my nails and it wouldn't chip.
But I know it will be a pain in the butt to remove.

Have a great weekend.

* make sure you put on the Foundation step or else the gel will not stay on your nails. It will come off the very next day. Also, leave 1mm between your nail and the skin.
<3 <3 <3

Island Kine: Feather earrings, headbands, necklaces

Hello Everyone,

Feathers and more feathers everywhere!!!

I just had an early dinner today with my friend Samantha who is very artistic and crafty. She has started making her own feather earrings two months ago and her business is taking off. I am so proud of her. It's kinda interesting how we met.... she used to work at MAC and I would always go to her to buy my products.... that tells you how much I love makeup.

During our dinner, I asked her how she got inspired to start this business. She said her mom always make her costumes with exotic feathers for her Polynesian dance performances and to keep her memory alive, she wants to continue creating beautiful feather works through the jewelry pieces that I will be showing you below.

Remember: All the pieces that she designed are handcrafted, unique, and one of a kind.

Her company is called Island Kine. You can find this on Facebook with all her contact information. I enjoy supporting small family businesses and people who are passionate in what they do.

I want to show you who the creator is behind these beautiful pieces.

If you like her products, please "like" her business on FB.

The feathers that she use are soft, not like the ones from Claire's. I learned something new today from her about the different types of feathers that she uses such as saddle, hackle, and pheasant.

The price of her earrings range from $10- $60 depending on how complicated it is and the quality of the feathers. Here are some of the her work:

Love these colors!

Nice mix of metal and feather

Here are them on:

This is an earring with a necklace together. How creative is this?!!!!

I also bought two pairs of feather earrings from her and I told her I want another pair with FALL colors.
Here are the two earrings I got:

You can wear it different ways. This is one way:

and here is the other way: If you want it longer, you can hook the other earring on the chain together with the other one

Second pair are my white angel wings

She also makes feather hippie headbands too!

I can't wait to get my FALL color feather earrings.

Have a nice night!

<3 <3 <3

OOTD: Black and Gray Maxi Dress

Hello Everyone,

I know it's back to school for most people and summer season is almost over, but I do want to take advantage of the nice, hot summer days before fall/winter comes along. Most of you know that fall/winter are my FAVORITE time of the year because it's all about layering. Anyways, recently I have been obsessing over maxi dresses.

Here is one of my favorite from Go-Jeans (Black and Gray Maxi Dress) - XS ($39.00)

Even though I am only 5'1" I still like to wear long dresses. It's NOT TRUE that long dresses only looks good on tall people. 

If you are petite like me, make sure you get a dress that is form fitting to make your body look elongated.  

With a simple dress, I love to add a statement jewelry

The turtle pendant jewelry is from Forever 21: $5.80

With this outfit, I have on my military style jacket from Rich and Skinny. This was the jacket I was talking about getting from my previous blog and I finally got it on sale!!! The jacket has a stretchable material that makes it really comfortable to wear. My go-to jacket for summer and fall.

Then for shoes, I bought this 2 years ago from Victoria's Secret by Colin Stuart
They are comfortable, but after wearing them for 3 hours, the thong starts to rub between your big toe and your second toe which can cause a bit of irritation around that area.

For my hair,  I used a flat iron to straighten the back and for the front, I flipped some of my bangs outward to create a soft wave.

My turtle necklace

Here is the outfit on:

Luvsugarcookie's Business Cards!!!

Hello Everyone,

I am super excited that my business cards have finally arrived. They look great just the way I pictured it. I ordered the cards through an online website called moo.com. Trust me, these cards are one of the best quality I have seen. The boxes that they come in are very sturdy and can be carried around in your bag.

I don't know if this is visible enough to be seen here, but when you open the box, there are two dividers. One is labeled "mine" and the other one is labeled "theirs." How cute is that?

(Sorry, the lighting is so bad today)

Down below is a small description about the company. I like that the company uses paper from sustainable forests and recyclable materials.

So, I told myself if I am going to order some business cards, I want it to be special. To order a business card, there is a lot of thought process to it because you need to decide on the type of paper stock you want, color, border, round or sharp corners, simple or complex, it all represents who you are. I know for sure I want to keep the card simple but at the same time to show off some of my work.

For the front, I want a white background and to have my information look very clean and readable. My card is made from Moo Classic Paper. It is a heavy card with a silky finish and round corners.
Photographer: Ryan Chua
Model: Maxime Kumler

The cards look so much better than the pictures I am able to display on here.

For the back, I just want another makeup work that I have done recently so I went with a darker and smokey eye look.
Photographer: Ryan Chua
Model: Danielle Lo

So, for those who are looking for nice quality cards, this is a website to check out. It is a bit expensive than other sites, but order a few and see how you like it. I personally feel the card says a lot about a person and the type of work they put in.

Have a great weekend!

<3 <3 <3