Nail Update

 

Just last weekend I wrote something about my nails and how the product that I was going to use usually chips off easily. I guess I was wrong, at least on this certain shade. Normally, elf nail polishes don’t last for at least a couple of days based on my experience. Perhaps it really matters on what formula they used on their products. The color that I just used was one of my recent purchases and I must say their recent claim of chip resistant shield does work. My previous nail products just won’t last that long. But anyway, I love ELF products and I will never stop purchasing from them. All their nail polishes used to be just $1 each but currently they are selling it for $2 but with a much improved formulation. I still think it's the best deal you can get for a nail polish.

The Importance of Body Scrubbing

Recalling my childhood shower routines, my mom would always give me a good scrub especially on all pleats of my body. She would always tell me how important it is to scrub all the dirt off our body. Our skin has multiple layers of tissue and it plays a major role in protecting our body against germs and other harmful state. Continuous exposure to dirt, dust, and sweat will result to a progressing grimy layer on the skin until they become flaky and dry or what we call the dead skin cells. 

Proper skin hygiene is very essential especially if you want to have a healthy and radiant looking skin. Exfoliation is one of the techniques in removing dead skin cells to allow the new ones to develop. There are numerous products and tools that you can use for exfoliating and those are the scrubbers, cleansers and moisturizers. 

These nylon net scrubbies are my body exfoliating essentials and it has been helping my skin look rejuvenated. I do scrub everyday and I don’t get harsh results although ideally our body should be exfoliated at least once or twice per week. This will not only make your skin smoother, it will also help you attain a glowing and clear skin. 

Regardless of what technique you wish to use for exfoliation, always remember that your skin will benefit from it as long as you don’t over exfoliate otherwise you will rupture your delicate blood vessels under the skin. In addition to that, keep in mind that you are responsible for knowing your skin’s sensitivity and how it reacts to certain products and treatment. 

Other scrubbing tools that works:

• Loofa Scrubber - made from a dried gourd-like plant;
• Bath Brush - natural bristled brush with wooden handle;
• Pumice Stone or any slightly rough stone - best for foot scrubbing;
• Ayate Scrubclothes - agave fiber ayate pouch with soap inside.

Hollywood Escapade

Hollywood - - the entertainment capital of the world, home of the stars, the walk of fame, land of dreams, and the infamous 50-foot Hollywood sign. Those are the things that come in our minds when we think about this place. For visitors like me who oftentimes gets to see it only in movies wouldn’t want to miss to stop by and take a glimpse of this famed landmark.

The Hollywood sign lies on Mount Lee which is the tallest peak in Los Angeles. For first timers, it wasn’t an easy path driving through the hills just to find a perfect view of the sign and as far as I can remember we did get lost for a bit. There’s no parking space close enough to the sign or maybe there is but we couldn’t find it. We decided to park in one of the neighborhoods there for the hopes of getting a better view but one owner asked us to leave. We finally found one spot and this is the closest and the best view we can get.

Seeing it in person was awe-inspiring, and I couldn’t believe I’ve actually stepped foot in the world’s movie capital. My husband and our friend who came with us also said it was kinda neat seeing it in the flesh.

Soon after adoring the Hollywood sign, we worked our way to the next tourist destination. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is another must-see attraction in the length of Hollywood Boulevard. Embraced with 18 blocks of shiny stars, I was thrilled to see those hands and footprints of the finest stars engraved on the sidewalks.

[ The Hollywood Walk of Fame ]

[ Santa Monica Beach ]

As we hit the road westbound to our last destination, we drove by Beverly Hills hoping to see a few famous personalities strolling around but unfortunately we didn’t. Our last stop was in Santa Monica Beach. I was very excited as we approached the beach and I couldn’t wait to feel the warmth of California sun by the beach, but alas, the entire place was covered with thick clouds and the wind was very chilly. The sudden change of weather was unexpected but that didn’t stop us from getting off the car and take some pictures. We didn’t get to walk around the pier because of the weather but the view of it from the seaside was breathtaking. It was an awesome experience and I will never get tired of wishing to see more of LA. 

Undecided for Nail Color

It’s about time and my nails are all set for summer. Now that they are quite long and easy to polish, I need to get a move on fiddling with my manicure set and nail polishes. Some women would go after what is in style for the season; some just doesn’t care, while some of them including myself focus only in whatever the mood feels like. In spite of that, I do go for the craze on occasion and most of the time I enjoy exploring for hottest nail colors online like OPI, Zoya, Wet n’ Wild or even Julep Maven who happens to be well-known for their trendsetting new nail colors every month. 

This is just about the right length I always opted for because too long is rather hard to handle. I also like semi square-tipped nails since they tend to be stronger and it makes it look more wholesome. Those with long sharp nails scare the heck out of me. With the use of emery board, I simply shape the sides of my nails by slightly rounding it off and that’s it. 

How I choose my color? Here it is! Help me decide.

So here I finally settled on this nail color. It kinda looks bronze but somewhat gold rose. It's lovely but considering it's from the brand elf, I'm pretty sure it will easily chip off after a few days.

[ELF in Blush & Sally Hansen Super Shine Top Coat]

Ebates Account

This is a guest post thanks to Olga Quinn.

I checked my ebates.com balance yesterday using my clear olathe and I am due for a pay-out of twenty three dollars this pay period! If you aren’t familiar with ebates.com, you should definitely check it out. It is a website that allows you to get cash back from purchases that you make on-line. After you sign up, you use the website as a spring board to go to website that you shop on. The site tracks your purchases and gives you a certain percentage of your sale back into your ebates.com account. They have different specials everyday. Some stores will have “daily doubles”. For example, yesterday Sephora, which usually gives four percent back of your purchase gave eight percent back! At the end of the earning period you can get your cash back as a check or as money sent to your PayPal account. I set it up so that I could get money through my PayPal account. It is a simple way to save a little bit of money each time you shop online. For someone who buys a ton of stuff on line, it comes in handy!

Silverwood Lake Boating Experience

[Image Source: Google Maps]

Silverwood Lake is located on the west fork of the Mojave River in the San Bernardino Mountains near the city of Hesperia, CA. It was one Saturday when my husband and his friends at work decided to hang out at the lake and do some water skiing. One of his friends owns a cool boat which is excellent for high-speed maneuvers and since I’ve never been to that place or even be in a speed boat, I decided to come along (I was invited by the way =p).

The Silverwood Lake is known to be the highest reservoir in the State Water Project more specifically in San Bernardino County.  Other than water skiing, the Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area also features scenic hiking trails (short or long hikes), fishing, has picnic area, camping, and swimming beaches. 

The boys are having so much fun starting from tubing, to wake-boarding and lastly this weird looking wake-board with some sort of extension that lifts you higher as you keep your equilibrium. This one was quite hard to keep up and they kept plunging into the water, they love it so much. They end up being sore the next day though. Lol!

As for me, I was the official photographer of the day.  The fact that I can’t swim and not the least bit of interest in learning how to, I wouldn’t even dare to try even if I was wearing a life vest. I was fine with my chips and drinks munching away while taking photos of the water sports hopefuls.

My Blog Transition

Courtesy of:  jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Who would have thought that acquiring your own domain name wouldn't be as smooth sailing as I thought it would be? As you all know, my blog used to be hosted by Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. I have been with Blogger since 2004 and it has always been a hassle-free utilizing it from being an online journal to personal interests. I never had any problems with the layouts and configurations. It's easy and it's free. :)

I have been thinking for months now and I'm always debating on having my own domain or just stay with blogspot until I eventually get tired of blogging. There are only two reasons why I think I should have my own domain; One is to give my blog a more respectable and better appeal. Two is to try and see if having my own domain name will benefit more in terms of monetization. A couple weeks ago I found out that GoDaddy.com was having a promo for their domain name and for $2.00 it was dirt cheap I couldn't resist. I finally gave in. 

Now moving on to setting up my account and redirecting my old blog name to a new domain name, blogger made it so easy for me since it has very helpful features and layouts. Simply type the new address within the settings and click on redirect to old address box and there you go... Brand new web address! But that doesn't end there. I lost my Alexa rank and my page rank went back to zero. I have heard about it but I did forget about all these fiasco since I was so busy shopping for a name. Although there are ways to keep these rankings and make the move seamless. I tried every step according to some blog tutorials about keeping the ranking but I failed. I verified my website in Google Webmaster Tools and attempted to do the 301 redirect. Unfortunately, as I was getting ready to change the address under the Site Configuration page, it showed me this message 'Restricted to root level domains only'. I'm not going into more details anymore and conclusively I decided to just start rebuilding my page rank and traffic.

With all the complexity and perplexity with the change of web address, perhaps having my blog hosted by blogger would be best for now otherwise I would end up with a messed up blog. :)

  

Disclaimer: Post not sponsored.

My New Virtual Closet

Women nowadays are so hooked with fashion, and so am I. Some may profess for not being one but they somehow fall prey to the entire hard-to-refuse craze driven by engaging advertisers. I am not a shopaholic, neither do I splurge on stuff that I don’t really need but I do get occasional compulsions to shop. To help lighten my shopping urge, I would go window shopping in-store and more so online. Perhaps it is every girl’s best leisure pursuit.  

As I was browsing the web for interesting stuff, I came across with this website called Clozette.co – roughly a social network for women who are fixated with fashion and beauty. I am familiar with other similar websites out there but I never really got the chance to check them out. For the love of window shopping and adoring trendy stuff, I decided to sign up with them and boy I was having fun! Every member has their own style and fashion picks but the scope of the website is boundless. You can find bold styles to even the simplest elegance. After signing up with clozette, members can start sharing photos of their fashionable outfits, give out beauty tips such as discussions, and the most interesting part is creating your virtual ensembles thru liking other member’s photos or adding photos that you desire.  And that doesn’t end there…Clozette.co offers a Clozette Bazaar section where members can buy, sell, or swap items. Members also have the privilege to create store for FREE. So if you are one of those who love fashion and beauty stuff and an online shop owner as well, check out their free online store or even create a store with them and I guarantee you will love it there. I’m still getting the hang of it and I would say I’m definitely enjoying myself finding great items on that website. At the moment, I am checking out for handbags off their bazaar page. I believe most of the users are from Asia and  I love asian fashion so much so I think I found the right place to be inspired and be able to get hold of the stuff like outfits and accessories that I want.

[ Screenshots from Clozette's bazaar page. ]

Another highlight from their website which I’m pretty sure everyone (even I) would be thrilled about is the regular contests that Clozette offers. The prizes are so amazing! Check them out and sign up to be a part of rockin' fashionistas. Like them on Facebook if you want more updates regarding their website or if you just want to be updated with everything about fashion and beauty.

My Picks for this Spring Season

Lately it's been fun looking around the web for outfit inspirations and then recreates the ensemble with a twist of your own taste. And since its spring time, I want to challenge myself to get into bright colored outfits. I’m the type of person who only enjoys black-and-whites as well as blues-and-grays. The more neutral, the better! 

By just browsing from one website, I was able to put together an outfit I believe would work out for me. For the top, this Challis woven tee features a cuffed short sleeves and a slit with tie at the back look so simple and yet so edgy. I chose the blue skinny jeans to match with the tote bag…and I’m not saying you really have to match your jeans with your handbags though. The bag gives me this laid-back feel to it. Apparently, the Birkin bag design resemblance have been this season’s IT handbag and finding the right one without spending more is just as perfect as strolling to the beach-side patio. 

All images except tote bag are courtesy of charlotterusse.com

 

Chic strappy wedges and espadrilles are the type of sandals I would wear for this season. Pairing it up with jeans would be ideal for the cool weather as well as casual allure. When it comes to accessorizing, the jumbo look is the current trend. Big chunky bangles, Tribal, and Big golden chains will definitely make your entire look. There are fashion jewelries that just go way over the top and only the bold seekers can pull it off. The burnished ring necklace or the spiked necklace is already bold enough for me but I guess it’s not too bad and not too overwhelming. And finally, I want to complete the look with the infamous aviator inspired sunglasses. 

Disclaimer: Post not sponsored.