Nail Polish Essentials.

we all have our favorites. here are five of my most-loved (and used!) picks:

from L to R:

1. Seche Vite Top Coat: $5 (half off!!) via Amazon

 i never understood the hype around this one until i used it for myself.

it is FANTASTIC. and essential if you paint your nails frequently or hate waiting for them to dry.

the topcoat is glossy and dries within a minute. it's magic. seriously. 

2. Ulta Salon Nail Base Coat: $3 via Ulta

a pretty solid base coat, i love this one and the Sally Hansen Diamond version, it dries quickly and applies nicely. an basic that every girl should have in her nail polish arsenal.

3. O.P.I.'s Barefoot in Barcelona: $8 via Amazon

my personal favorite. i use this ALL the time. it is the perfect nude for slightly tan to olive skin tones.

it's a pinkish brown but it looks lovely on. i reach for this when i don't know what color to paint my nails and it never fails. i also really love the consistency of OPI nail polishes. the brush is just right and it always ends up looking fantastic.

4. Essie's Fifth Ave $8 via Essie

another favorite. this is my go-to red. it compliments my skin tone (as well as many of my friends! so i think it'll work for everyone) and is a true old Hollywood-esque red. The formula is great but the brush can be a little tricky at times. Despite that it's still one of my all time favorites and the opacity is spot on.

5. Nicole by OPI's Kardashian Kolor in Rainbow in the s-kylie $7 via Target 

every girl needs a fun glitter topcoat, and i love love love this one. the glitter is chunky and it looks awesome paired with OPI's Barefoot in Barcelona.  I tend to just stick to this one on one or two nails to keep the look moderately glam, but I think it would look great for an event painted on a solid colored base such as black, white or gold.

what are your favorite nail colors? any recommendations?

xoxo,

Bella

2010 Make-Up Favorites

Hey everyone, so sorry that this particular post came out so late, i meant for it to come out much earlier but this one is about my top products for 2010.  Now 2010 was a very interesting year, it was the year that I truly fell in love with makeup and all that it can do for you as well as a year where I learned more in probably the last 3 or 4 months than I have in my entire life and I'm superbly grateful for that.  Make-up favorites for the year include quite a few newbies that I probably didn't mention on this blog, sorry!, and a couple of old favorite standbys. So here we go:

Face:
Primer: Smashbox PhotoFinish (both the original and light formulations-still a fave of mine)
Foundation: Chanel Double Perfection Compact-absolutely adore, its pricey I know, but the application comes off looking so flawless!
Powder: MAC MSF Natural in Medium Dark
Concealer: NARS Concealer Duo
Eyes:
Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion-love!
Eyeshadow: I cant pick one single eyeshadow but I do have a favorite palette-The Urban Decay Naked Palette-absolute perfection.
Eyeliner: Urban Decay's Whiskey or Zero and also the Bobbi Brown Gel Liner
Cheeks:
Blush (powder): NARS Amour
Blush (creme): NYC Creme Blush Stick in Wild Berry
Bronzer: For the first half of the year it was NYC's Sunny matte bronzer but towards the end of the year it was NARS laguna, which is amazing!
Highlight: Benefit High Beam
Lips:
Everyday Lip wear: Chapstick or Maybeline Color Sensational Lipstick in Blushing Brunette
Pop of Color Lip wear: Smashbox's Eden-great pinky purple shade
Nail Polish:
Chanel Particulière


and those are my favorites for the year of 2010.

stay classy,

love always,

Bella

ps: i adore minka kelly.

photo credit to the respective owners.

Fashion Find!

My mom was out shopping and she picked up a lot of shoes lol she like came home with bags, its her little thing, but she got me the cutest casual shoes ever! Well maybe not ever but they are really adorable and would be amazing with jeans and just a toned down outfit.  Plus they are ultra comfy! She got these shoes called Women's Casual Fringe Moccasin from Land's End in Sears Department Stores for.........$11.99! That's such a great price considering how cute they are, so if you have a sears close by check it out! They are on sale though so the supply might be limited, but i think these would be great for transitioning from winter to spring or any thing like that.  She got them for me in black but i just looked on the website and they have a variety of colors, they look great in plum (Red Grape) or brown (Saddle).  Check them out, what a fun find :)

thats what they look like in saddle,

you can find them in any sears store with a Land's End Department

or online: here

fun reads,

bella

p.s. i do love a well styled outfit, you go lea michele! :)

(im not trying to endorse any products, this is just my opinion. images property of their respective owners)

Quick Update: Favorite Things January 10'

I meant to do this two days ago lol but life got in the way, so here are my favorite things of January:

• Benefit Beauty to Go Bestsellers: I did a review about this one, and i LOVE it, it sits in my bag and is just plain handy and comes in use so often.  Great Buy :)
• Makeup Gurus on Youtube: a little hard to stop watching once you turn them on, loving the fantastic sister duo of Elle and Blair (juicystar007 and allthatglitters21) they have some great advice on there.
• Shakespeare: ahh Hamlet. time consuming but worthwhile.
• Sephora by O.P.I. nail polish in Domestic Goddess. seriously gorgeous purple. Its not dark, not light, just right for my varying moods. Im actually wearing it right now :)
• Organizing-beyond useful, annoying but so worth it. I love knowing where everything is in my room!
• Being young..only happens once :)

BTW, just ordered a whole bunch of stuff from Coastal Scents and I cant wait to review it.  There brushes are becoming quite loved by the youtube world and are supposedly very good dupes for their MAC counterparts so we'll see how that works out.  

 

Domestic Goddess by Sephora for OPI

fun reads,

bella

ps: loving the sass on beyonce ;)