Random!

Looking forward to getting a one hour micro dermabrasion and a much needed deep cleansing facial today! Pics and my thoughts coming soon!

Oh so delighted...

Wanna know how excited I was about my Nailene purchase from the 99cent only store? 

Or maybe I should say how lame I get when I'm excited?

On my way home from work, I kept reaching in the bag to look at the nails...
 
Every single stop light I got, I peeked inside to stare at it.

Pathetic, I know.

This is what my personal recession kind of life is boiling down to... (shaking my head)

So I've been wanting to get my nails done, but in the area I live, getting your nails done are overpriced. And getting a fill? Forget it! It's practically the same amount of a full set. Ha! (snort)

But the holidays are coming and I thought maybe I'd splurge the first week of November, get my nails done at a salon and only maintain my nails till the New Year. Not too bad, right?

So when I stumbled upon these babies at the 99cent only store, I was so excited! I've never tried DIY (do it yourself) nails products before but I thought, "For a dollar? Why not?". The worst that could happen is I don't like it -or mess it up- and then just take them off...

Whatevs.

So to get to the point... here is what the nails look like on my stubby fingers (don't judge!).

If you have eagle eyes, then you can tell that the ring finger nail has an huge oxygen bubble. That was only because I was in such a hurry to get these all on, I couldn't possibly bother to pay attention to pressing completely down on the nail when drying... (sigh).

After that incident, all the other nails turned out fine. As you can tell from the 2 pictures above, the entire nail is clear (except where the white stripes on the tip are). I think this looks natural and pretty but if you really wanted to get that just-from-the-salon-pink-and-white-tip look, then just apply a clear pink coat* on the nail bed and then a clear top coat and you are set to go!

I'm thinking of also changing it up and applying an all over color on my nails for the weekend. When I'm done I'll just take it off, as usual, with nail polish remover. And you know what? The white striped tip will still be there since the design is on the under side and not the top of the nail! 

Totally loving this product! I might never have to go to a salon again!

Definitely heading back to the 99cent only store today to stock up. hee hee

Since today is pay day for me, I'm going to take advantage of this baby below:

And make my very first purchase at Ulta! (I told you I don't shop high end)

I'm kind of excited to go inside and see all the high end brands that I won't be purchasing... (rolling eyes)

No, really, I am actually excited to go in there.

If I get enough stuff, I'll probably do my first haul video for YouTube. If not, I'll probably just post pictures here.

Till then... 

Stay chic even if it's cheap!

 * What I meant by a "clear pink" coat (oxymoron, I know) is that mysterious pink coat the ladies at the salon put on your nails, when getting a french tip, for a healthy looking nail bed... Well, I once made the mistake of asking one of them where they get it from and she replied (in that accent - you know what I'm talking about!) "It a special nail product, not available to public" 

You know what that made me think? (Besides wishing I knew a language she couldn't understand to scream over to my sister in complaint?) Was to find out how to get that product... Pronto!

And come to my delight, it was something SUPER simple and cheap! 

Basically to create your own "special nail product", you get a clear nail polish and add a few drops of red nail polish to it until you achieve the desired "clear pink" coat. 

Easy Peasy.

Sooo....

Gosh, I'm just being the world's best blogger, aren't I?

I know on my very first post, I stated that I had these grand ideas of what I wanted to focus this blog about, but after sharing those ideas with my younger sister, AV, she gave me some good feedback and now - thanks to her!!! - I am back to square one. Oh, boo!

Like I mentioned before, I really don't want my blog to be boring by basically bringing my YouTube video's over here to the blog and put it in text mode, because I follow a few YouTube Beauty Guru's who do that and to be quite honest, I'm hardly ever excited to look at their blogs as I am to their videos.

One of the YouTube beauty guru's DulceCandy87 is the one that made me this way!!! (Made me think hard about my blog content, that is). I just love how she knows how to separate her YouTube channel from her blog. Her blog consists only of OOTD's (Outfits of the Day). Focusing on just that one subject gives me such great inspiration, even if I wouldn't wear some of them (sometimes they can be a little TOO trendy for my taste and budget). But the overall point of her blog is what I would like to do.

Granted, I do not have even a quarter of the clothes she has to pull off an OOTD only blog... So I know I have to do something else. And I'm not starting this blog just tp start, I really do want to blog!!! Promise!

So, today I was in search of some other fashion bloggers to stalk follow, and I came upon sccastaneda's blog. She is a fellow YouTube Beauty Guru but on her blog she basically blogs about her life and some random things that are beauty related... and I kind of like that she does that... Gives a little more insight to her as a person. Which I am always curious about in regards to the girls on YouTube.

SOOOO... - gosh, am I the typing freak today!!! - I thought I could do the same until I see a trend in this blog that I can maintain...

So here goes!

On my lunch break today, I went over to my local 99cent only store and as usual I find something Ah-mazing!... What do I mean by Ah-Mazing??? A BRAND NAME PRODUCT THAT IS FULL SIZE AND NOT EXPIRED and/or RUINED!!!!

Ah-Mazing, right???

Yeah, I know. So I like to check my local store on a weekly basis and here were my finds today... not much... but good enough to share!!!

Above: Nailene #22126 Salon Airbrush Nails

These babies were a great find! They had another design (floral - but that's not my style in reference to nail art). You can buy them (full price) at CVS, Walgreens, Ulta and Wal-Mart for about $6. I saved $5 on this guy and they are in perfect condition!!! And so cute too. Not sure if you can see in the pic but they are a nice french-tip-stripe design and they are chip proof!

So excited about this product! 

The only thing is you have to purchase your own glue, but the 99cent only store carries that, too, so really you only get set back $2 total and these nails look natural and gorgeous!

I'll post some pics tomorrow or the day after to show you what they look like on my nails.

Above: Nu-Pore Make-Up Remover wipes

My sister, AV, hinted me towards this product. I currently purchase the e.l.f. brand makeup remover wipes at Target for $3, which is still a great bargain. But my sister told me these smell even nicer and obviously are $2 cheaper (so I could 3 of these instead of 1 e.l.f. product), so I decided to purchase one package to try out - since everyone is different - and if I like them enough, I can always go back and get more (as these seem to be a staple shelf item at the 99cent only store).

Above: Clear-framed purple tinted sunglasses

So these guys I got a few weeks ago at a 99cent only store in Riverside. But I wanted to share the versatility the 99cent store has opened my eyes to. 

Who knew you could get a pair of great sunglasses at this store?!?!? Now, these are not brand name at all, but the style and look of it was so cute, I had to get them. (And most of the time when you have your hair down, no one can see the logo of the glasses, anyways).

Just a really cute find!

Until next time... Stay chic even if it's cheap!

Arrivederci!  

Ames

Ummm, hi...

Why, hello, there...

As I'm sure you are aware, this is my very first posting on my very first blog, and I'm kind of nervous...

I mean, I guess I don't really know what my first posting should be about.

Should I just jump right in? Start beauty blogging away? Or give a lil intro on what you can expect?

Maybe I'll just go into a tad more detail about why I am here and what I'd like to achieve by starting this...

Believe me, I struggled thinking I should even go to the extent of starting this blog. In all reality, I just started a beauty channel on YouTube (www.youtube.com/amyames44) and probably should be concentrating on that before ambitiously starting another major feat at the same time. 

Pessimist, much? Nope. My husband, Andy, told me those exact words.

Yup.

Trying to scare me off like the great husband he can be. (rolling my eyes)

I have a hunch that he might have an ulterior motive...Like a beauty channel of his own on YouTube.

Mmmhhhmmm. Yup, I'm going there.

He more than likely sees me as competition. Really good competition. But that's ok. I can handle that. We can duke it out on the world wide web, no problemo! (wildly throwing punches in the air)

He doesn't know what kind of a fight he's getting into. Just wait....

ALRIGHT, (sigh), the fun is over... 

(Andy was standing right behind me after seeing how aggressive I was getting with my typing and fist throwing...) He's not very happy that I'm including him in my blog, especially if it involves portraying him as beauty guru.

A very selfish, rude, insensitive, and competitive beauty guru!!! I could totally take him.

Alright, moving on...

So here's the deal. I'm thinking that I will post my daily looks or makeup looks, just snap shots of yours truly, to give you some inspiration. 

Also, I was thinking that I can post pictures of the nail polish I'm wearing (after being applied on my nails - of course) since I change my nail color every other day. The point is that you can get a good idea on what certain nail polish brands and colors look like on actual nails. I promise I will only post pictures that are true to what the color actually looks like in person.

Hopefully that will help you figure out which color to go out and buy next.

And maybe I will even post some outfits of the day. That probably won't happen as often as the things mentioned above, as my wardrobe has recently decreased (I know, I know!) in the last year. I am not going to lie and say that I haven't gained weight or that I kept buying non-inspiring pieces. 

I have and I did. But I promise I will stop (gaining weight) and have stopped (buying un-inspiring pieces).

Other than those 3 things, I think I'm going to keep this blog simple and to the point so that you don't get overwhelmed or bored ( as I known some of the YouTube beauty guru blogs have become).

The one thing I am determined NOT to do is blog about the same thing I just made a video on. To me, there's not much sense in basically copying your video and turning it into a blog. B-O-R-I-N-G

So if I do, just please send me a virtual slap across the face so I can wake up and smell the expired lipgloss!!!

Till next time...

Stay chic even if it's cheap!