Fashion Friday: 3D Nails a Costly Obsession

I bite my nails during stressful event, scary events and when I am bored. In the winter my cuticles die and I bleed everywhere. All of these things do not sound attractive and my fingers and nails look horrendous. So what do I do? I opt for fake nails either gel, acrylic or a combo of the two. I have gotten my nails done in many places be it someone's basement, a nail salon or even went to Jasper or Asia.

Why do girls like fake nails. Typically, someone in a office job will have nice manicured nails and more often than not they are actually not their own. Our nails do not always glimmer and shine and look healthy so we have to use cosmetic procedures to enhance our fingers.

This set of nails was done by Ai Sasaki @ jasper. She has not relocated to Calgary @ Sakura Nails. I had no nails of my own at this point (nubs) and she was able to to acrylic extensions for me. She was very profession,  cute and efficient. She is Japanese after all and takes nail art very seriously. She timed each hand and made sure the best ingredients were used. She also had many magazines (current ones from Japan) with designs to choose from. getting awesome nails from her cost me $120 without gratuities. Unfortunately these nails snapped a week in from my work when it got stuck in a cabinet. 

These were done by Vivian Yen, my friend's sister in law in her basement. She was still practicing and din't charge me for much. These had acrylic tips and I asked for an Anna Sui design. This took a while to do since she was new to it and there was some bubbling. These nails lasted me 2 weeks. 

These two pictures are the right and left hand of my gel nail hello kitty set. Obviously I am obsessed with Hello Kitty so I had to get these nails. During this nail session in the basement the lights went out so bubbling occurred in one finger nail. But as you can see she was still able to do some cute 3d designs. These nails lasted me closer to 3 weeks before the bubbling got too annoying and I ripped off the design. These two set of nails took over 4 hours to do since she did it at home and did it  for fun.

Now all of the designs above were done by hand and they used no machines. When they filed they used nail filers so I was not in any pain nor did I bleed.

I got these nails done at Studio nails in Southgate and they hurt me a bit when they drilled too far into my nail bed to smooth my nails down. I made this design and it took about 1.5 hours to finish. The cost was $65 plus gratuities.

I got bored so I went home and added my own gems. I had bought swarvoski gems and used nail glue to make my nails more interesting. @ the salon it would have cost me an additional $10 to do this (min)

I go these nails done in another basement but this time a friend of my ex manager: Jenny. She was a mexican lady who was married to a brown guy and lived in mill woods. It was very cheap I think this cost me $30 and I totally would go back but I lost her number. =/ maybe I will have to re-ask jenny to get it done. Overall the quality was pretty decent and its as done in 2 hours. I made this design since I kinda like glitter and pink and stars. This set lasted me a good month before one chipped and I ripped them all off.

This was an older photo (look at date) where I got gel nails done in taiwan and they put swarvoski crystals on each on of my fingers. I did not pay for this (my aunt did) but I think she said is was around $30 cad including tip. It worked really well for my photo shoot and matched my purple promise ring. =) 

I finally went for a french manicure ( more professional look) but alas within 4 days I had chipped it using weights at the gym and the nails were done too long ( I had asked for them to be shorter but their had a english barrier) I think this was at Vo's wait or Studio nails. I went with my friend Carrie (she is on the right) and she actually got cut there and her cuticle started bleeding.

These are some stick on / glue on nails you can get at the drug store they look meh and lasts about 5 days but it only cost me 12.99 

I got this babies done at some nail salon on jasper. I think it cost me $45 dollars but they were the ones that latest me the longest and with minimal pain. They latest close to 2 months and my nails did not suffer.

 Now a days you can order pre-made acrylic nails that you can glue on urself. THough they do not last as long they are still deliciously appealing. This set of nails can be bought at luuux.com I would love to wear something like this if I had a job that didn't involving moving my fingers.... what job would that be? or if i just sat pretty lol

 I love these nails  that can be bought from etsy

 I have always wanted sushi nails. and then go eat sushi.
 some more cute dessert and food nails i found on the web.too bad not many people in edmonton can do things like this . in calgary there are more and more in van and toronto .

 these look like awesome and delicate nails perfect for a bride ?

and another hello kitty nail set. I WANT I WANT I WANT. i really do.

I like getting my nails done but sometimes salons hurt me really bad and it really kills my nails and nail bed. IT takes forever for my nails to fully grow out again and heal. After doing your nails a lot your finger nail itself get all brittle and can even be yellow. It is really hard to recuperate them. You often see people who get their nails done constantly have their nails done. 

Nailpolish Addiction: Julep Maven (Feb Box)

I am subscribed to various beauty boxes and one of them is the nail polish/ beauty product geared monthly subscription box from the US: Julep. Though I often bite my nails( the nervous type) I do at times grow my nails out and can utilized my massive nail polish collection. As seen under my Beauty tab, and the picture of my two rows of nail polish from OPI, ESSIE, JULEP, NAIL FOOD (korea), I adore nail polish.

So JULEP costs 19.99 a month plus taxes and it includes 2 nail polishes usually and some sort of other beauty product. In the past I have gotten quick try drops, cuticle butter, mascara, lip stick as the additional beauty product. All of the high in quality and made in USA. Like any subscription they gauge you by using a survey to determine what nail polishes they should choose. You can also add on another nail polish or two during a set period of time for a low price of 4.99.

This is this months box plus the extras I ordered:

As you can see my box this month was super loaded I added 2 extra polishes. Included is a eyelash curler that is portable.

Originally 18 dollars and 14 for members I am already more than half way their for the cost of my box.
"Made with a patented Hexanal formulation, nails are restructured to a stronger, thicker, and smoother condition in just one stroke. Results are nails that are structurally stronger, and less prone to breakage and splitting. "
I have yet to use it so I do not know how great it works * more updates later* I had a similar bottle from Sally Hansen but I also didn't use it long enough to see if it actually had beneficial effects. But if it does work it is perfect for those who have brittle nails from biting, and from those who often use nail salon services to get acrylic and gel nail sets

According to Julep it is originally 18 dollars and for members 14. "Activated by natural light, this innovative formula creates a unique polymer force field that prevents chipping for days longer than regular top coat, leaving your nails with a gel-like shine (but without gel-removal hassle)."

This is perfect since my manicures chip due to me using my hands and or being really clumsy.

I also adore the fact that each nail polish has a person's name such as "ginger, laura, rose" etc. They are quite matching to their colour.I also like how they have an area on the top of the nail polish cap for a swatch (says swatch me" so you know the colour of what it looks like out of the bottle)

I also love how they include a candy every time , during halloween it was these orange candies that look like teeth and in xmas it was cute candy canes. This month for feb we got little hearts.

Here is a pic I found of another person's box , as you can see they got different colours due to their profile.

Shipping for additional products outside of your monthly box is free and if you want it faster it doesn't cost to much. When it ships free it usually gets there within a week. I recommend this box and i think it is SOOO WORTH IT for the money.

How to combat the DRYNESS of Edmonton

Living in Edmonton in the winter makes my skin super dry and itchy. In response to the cold and wind chill, my face peels and then tries to regenerate a lot of oil to compensate and then I get dry skin and break outs. WHY WHY WHY. Also, this kind of weather gives people dehydrated skin that leads to wrinkles and a lack of GLOW and health. So what can I do to combat this effect? I mean the winter is practically 1/3 to 1/2 of the year.

I use multi techniques:

1. face lotions
2. face masks
3. BB Creams and/or Tinted moisturizer
4. Humidifier
5. Night Mask Cream
6. Drink a lot of AQUA (H20)

This doesn't only apply to FEMS this applies to MALES too. I really don't like it when men get all wrinkle/ saggy in their money maker.

I tend to use these few creams after I wash my face or before I go to sleep the one on the left is from biotherm and it gives you hydration as well as SPF protection. The one in the middle is great to use before sleep and needs to be washed off when you wake up the next day. The third one is just a cream not only for hydration but for brightening the skin tone. This is especially important in the winter when your skin can look dull or even red.

There are many awesome BB creams out there and awesome brands but most are so expensive, as a student I really just can't satisfy it. BB creams are awesome to get that hydrated and finished look . BB creams were used in korea especially for patients that had plastic surgery. It has great effects such as evening skin tone and making it look perfect, sooth and regenerate skin, encourage skin generation and anti-wrinkle and skin lightening.

 I also use aveeno for a moisturizer before i go out since i have somewhat sensitive skin and i get red often.

Urban decay's tinted moisturizer is pretty awesome and can be applied easily and does not feel caked on, super oily or heavy. Great for a long day wear.

Off course I'm super asian so I have HELLO KITTY masks for a silky smooth skin and glow. I love the smell and its super cute. Look below for how they describe the instructions:

I also use other masks such as :

These two masks are great for replenishing and nourishing and moisturizing. ALL THE -INGS you need in winter. off course these once have english instructions in the back though I never read them. I do though look at the ingredients to see whats in there. I found they have aloe components, grape seed extracts, ginseng root abstract and citrus peel oil. If you want to go more natural (no chemicals) you have to do a DIY and make it out of yogurt, egg white etc. and for me usually that is too goopy and too much work.
My motto for beauty is less work the better.

My routine is usually to use face masks once a week in a really hot bath so its humid and keeps the masks even more moist and also use the humidifier with VICKS humidifier to keep my nose from feeling like a nose bleed. Also drink tons of water 8 + cups to keep that skin hydrated and also go to hot yoga or some sweat producing activity to keep your body regulated.

Off course its not only our faces or our noses that get dry this season. I often find my fingers, my elbow (wenus) and my feet get ridiculously chapped. I use the brand CUREL for my hands and feet. I first saw this brand when I received it in my BEAUTY BOX (glossy box) a few months back. The lotion/ balm in the tube is rich and creamy and dries fast.

They are not super expensive at all and they have a mild and pleasant scent.

I also religiously use AVEENO products since I have sensitive skin. All of their products don't make my skin irritated. I just wish their lotion could smell better, but I guess that would mean more chemicals.

Surprisingly I can actually use Victoria Secret's lotion : Shimmer without getting a rash and it makes my skin look well.... SHIMMERY . I often use this after a workout to make my skin look glowing and also to make sure I don't STINK.