Monthly Archives: June 2012

Trend Try-On: Gel Manicure with Orly GelFX

In the past year, the big buzz in the world of nail polish has been shellac. It’s a special type of nail lacquer and process that’s supposed to last, chip-free, for two weeks. Sounds too good to be true, right? As a DIY manicurist who keeps her fingernails polished about 350 days of the year, I was intrigued.

Hiatus Spa + Retreat (where I have a membership) offers an alternative to the shellac manicure with the Orly GelFX system. Hiatus refers to this as their “eco-gel” manicure. Per the Orly website, their gel lacquer contains antioxidant vitamins A and E to promote healthy nails and pro-vitamin B5 to help strengthen the nail. Also, the Orly GelFX cures with LED light rather than UV light used in shellac, which is a plus. At Hiatus, the gel manicure is a $19 add-on to their spa manicure, or $55 for non-members. In May, I opted for the Essential Mani-Pedi Retreat plus eco-gel add-on to give this gel polish business a try.

Orly GelFX LED UV lamp

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Beauty on a Shoestring: Boots Expert Sensitive Gentle Smoothing Scrub

Boots Expert Sensitive Gentle Smoothing Scrub

If you read Wendy’s post, you know that it can be tricky having rosacea. You want to do your best to not irritate your skin, but yet it’s really important to exfoliate. Oftentimes, exfoliating products are by their very nature harsh on your skin. So what’s a girl with rosacea (ahem, like me) supposed to do? Continue reading

Here Comes The Bride: Tonya’s Wedding Hair & Makeup

Sometimes dreams do come true. My very close friend Tonya found her prince, Ted, and they were set to marry the weekend of Cinco de Mayo. I was flattered when she asked me to do not only her wedding make-up but also her hair. Wait… yikes! You want me to do your hair?? Um, sure I do my own hair for events plenty, but I haven’t done a lot of updos on other people’s heads. However, Tonya has naturally curly hair, which I knew would make the updoing a lot easier. I told her she could count on me.

A few weeks before, Tonya came over for a run-through so we’d have a game plan the morning of the big day. We had already been pinning hair and make-up inspirations on Pinterest for months, so we had good starting points. Tonya and Ted’s wedding was Mexican-themed, and she wanted to wear big, colorful flowers in her hair. For the make-up, we would go classic but bold enough for the photographs.

large flowers in hair, wedding look

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