Valentine's Day Nails

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I had to watch a foreign film for my film class yesterday so I had the perfect opportunity to devote a hefty amount of time to my nails. I picked up some mini nail polishes (4 for 99¢!) from Urban Outfitters and had to put them to use. The pink, Ballerina, needed a few coats to become opaque but the glitter polish (Mirror Mirror) and the white (Swan Lake) did not need more than one coat. I also used OPI's 'And A Cherry On Top' as the red. I'm not much of an nail artist; I don't own any tools so I just used a sharp pencil to draw the hearts. Let me know if you guys are being festive in any way today! I'd love to know! xoxo

Nail Care

My nails are always able to illustrate the type of day I'm having. If the nail polish is all chipped off, that probably means it's finals week or I have a deadline looming over my head. If my nails are freshly manicured and polished, it may be Friday night and I'm about to go out or it's Sunday and I am relaxing before another stressful week. Taking care of my nails has become a ritual and the products I use are some of the most used beauty products in my collection. I begin washing and moisturizing my hands. I follow up with the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover and push back my cuticles with a cuticle pusher. After removing the remaining product with a cotton ball, the actual painting begins. In the past year, I have begun to use a base coat and I have to say it has served me well. If you're an avid nail painter like me, I suggest getting some because it helps the polish stay on longer and protects your nails from severe staining. So far, my favorite base coat is the Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat. It dries in seconds so you don't have to wait long to begin applying your selected nail polish. Today, I used OPI's 'Read My Palm' which is a deep mint green. I then added my most loved top coat, the Revlon Colorstay Top Coat. It is so amazing that I am going to have to write a whole separate post on it. Be on the look out for that! What do you use to take care of your nails? 

My Go-To Travel Minis

'Read My Palm', 'What Aura Gonna Wear?', 'Leotard Optional' 

Traveling, specifically when it involves airplanes, can be stressful. When you factor in packing and flying restrictions you may have a mess on your hands. Over the years, I have learned to pack pretty lightly, if I do say so myself. For someone who is attached to their makeup collection and skincare items, packing for a trip is the time to pull out miniature versions of products and samples. For the plane, make sure you have moisturizer and cleansing water because air travel is harmful to your skin. Save smaller containers to refill them at home with the full-size product. That happens to be what I do with the Josie Maran Argan Oil. Instead of hauling around a large highlighter that may take up half your makeup bag, grab a liquid highlighter like Benefit's High Beam. When it comes to nail polish, I tend to overpack because they are my weakness. Many brands such as OPI, Essie, and Orly make miniature sets of their nail polishes so people can try them out before buying the full-size version. This also comes in handy when packing because I am able to cram about five of these in my already overpacked makeup bag. What are some of your tricks to packing light?