How to: Acrylic Nails

I have dabbled a lot in nail art in the past few years. Just recently I have started doing acrylic nails regularly. My friends know me as the person to come to when they need their nails done, which is perfectly okay for me! Acrylics are one of my favorite things to do. I love they way they look and feel. 

I thought I would share with you guys a few different sets that I have done recently. Everyone likes the French Manicure style, and they are honestly the easiest to accomplish if you are just starting out. If you would like to try nails I would recommend getting these products. 

These are the bare minimum tools and items you would need to start doing acrylics:

• Acrylic Powder
• Acrylic Liquid
• Acrylic Brush
• Files (Or a Nail Drill)
• Nail Glue
• Nail Tips
• Nail Clippers
• Cuticle Oil

You can also buy the things above in a kit. The kits are great if you are just starting out and don't really know what to buy. 

Nail Drill and Tips

Practice Fingers

Here are the steps to how I do my nails:

Prepped Nail

Drillbit 

1. Prep the Nail. Wash your hands and push back your cuticle. Trim up the nails to the same length. Then you either want to use a drill to rough up the nails or use a regular file. Make sure there is no shine left on the nail. 

2. The next step is to glue on the nail tip, and cut it to length. 

3. Now you can start the acrylic process. Apply The acrylic over the entire nail, taking care to not let the acrylic touch the skin or cuticle. This step does not have to be completely perfect. It will be lumpy your first few tries, but it is okay, you can file out your mistakes. 

4. Wait. Make sure the acrylic is completely dry before going on to the next step. 

5. File down the nail completely smooth. You will need to use a few different bits for this and a few different grits of files to get it how you want it. Filing is the hardest, and most important part. 

Cut The Nail to Length

Acrylic is Applied

Nail is cut to Length I want

6. Finish the nail. Buff the nail with cuticle oil until smooth, and then apply your top coat. I chose a frosty top coat for this particular nail. I love the look it gives. 

Getting Ready to Start Acrylic

Finished Nail

Filed Nail

You are done! Don't forget to apply cuticle oil to your cuticles when you are finished. You can get a lot more creative than I did, adding colors to your tips, adding things under the acrylic, adding glitter, etc. 

Review: Smelly Washer

I was able to try and review Smelly Washer Cleaner. I have had a musty smelling washer for some time, and have tried lots of cleaners to clean it. Nothing has really worked.

Smelly Washer was easy to use, all you had to do was dump a cap full in your washer and run it, as you can see from the video.

After using this I was impressed. My washer really does smell cleaner and not as musty. I will also be trying the other methods soon, including trying it to clean my dishwasher!

Smelly Washer is All Natural! It is also septic safe!

Visit Their Website! 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: Boost Your Sales on Etsy (Ebook)

Disclaimer: I received these items in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to post a positive review. These are my honest opinions. Your experience may differ.

You may have seen recently that I opened up a shop on Etsy. I was very excited. It had been something I had been pondering for a long time, but wasn't really sure if I was ready to make the leap.

After creating my Etsy page, I was kind of lost. What do I do now? How to I get views? What is the best way to utilize my social networks into bringing traffic to my site? My cousin who runs a fairly successful Etsy shop, helped me out a lot. But i still had questions. Questions I hadn't even thought to ask.

That moment was when my two passions merged into one. I was able to review an eBook, called "Boost Your Sales on Etsy". I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, I thought it would give a few helpful tips on creating good listings, how to take good pictures, etc; but I was not expecting it to be packed with information like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), with step by step pictures, and links to websites and groups who also can add valuable input!

This website walked me through the easiest way to make a treasury, in under 5 minutes (It promises under 2, but it was my first time, and I was ooh'ing and ahh'ing at all of the listings). It taught me how to add my Etsy shop to my Facebook page (I didn't even know that that was possible), and even gave me tips on how to pitch other bloggers to help promote my items.

This book was very easy to follow, and I have been slowly going through it, fixing things that I missed when I set up my Etsy Shop, and improving my listings based on suggestions in this book.

I would definitely recommend this eBook to anyone with an Etsy shop!

About The Author:
Julian works with entrepreneurs who want to succeed and sell products as part of their business growth strategy. Whether it's for brand-building and credibility, SEO optimization or Social Media, there are always new pathways to learn.
With over 5 years of experience in marketing and sales, author of 14 ebooks in spanish and english related to the jewelry industry, and strong expertise in the field of digital marketing, Social Media, SEO and internet marketing, Julian wants to teach Etsy Shop owners about the hidden loopholes that Etsy offers in order to drive more traffic and therefore generate more sales.


Purchase this book Here!



Update: 
I have been using the treasury technique for a few days now, and I have to say, I can definitely do it under two minutes! It is so easy! And such a great way to show what items you absolutely love!

Uploading Palette Collection!!

Hello All!

I am uploading my Palette Collection video to YouTube right at this moment. For some reason though now, it takes AGES for a video to upload.. last night it took All Night Long. Literally. I started it while I was awake and it went until like 5 this morning. Luckily for me, I was sleeping for most of it. I thought I would try uploading into a different format today, but it is still taking an unbelievably long time to process and upload. Maybe it's my internet connection?

Anyway! As I did with my Peacock Eye Shadow Tutorial, I will post the video here once it is uploaded (So probably tomorrow morning).

Here is some information on my palettes that I currently have until my ELF order comes in (which will HOPEFULLY be tomorrow, weather permitting). 

The first Palette is a 24 color Profusion Palette. The colors are very vibrant and pigmented, but I would recommend a primer and setting spray, as they do tend to wear off easily.

The Next palette is a 15 Color Concealer Palette. I bought this product from Amazon. I love love love these concealers. The coverage is great, and the colors are easily blend-able and turn almost powdery once set.

The next THREE palettes were all one in the same. The same Palette in different shades. The ELF 36 Color Eye Shadow Palette. These come in three different varieties, Everyday, Brights and Natural, I show all three in my video. I love ELF shadows, and I love the company. It's one of my favorites!

The Next palette is a 66 Color Lip Palette. This palette has every color under the sun in it, and all the colors are great. it does have a very weird smell to it, but it does not bother me. If you are one of those people which smell bothers you, then I wouldn't recommend this product.

Next up is a 6 Color Contour Palette. I love this palette. They are all matte colors, and easily build-able for an everyday or dramatic look!

The next palette is a Blush Palette. I couldn't find the exact palette that I purchased, but this one is similar. I love the colors in this palette! There is a perfect tone for everyone, from the lightest to the brightest shade. 

In my video I show 2 other eye shadow palettes- One that I made, and one that was given to me as a gift. As I don't know the brand or where it was purchased, I can't give you guys a link :( The profusion palette is similar, so you could purchase one of those. The colors are great and very pigmented.

The last palette is (I remembered the brand) A Color Workshop (at least I am fairly certain) Palette. i sadly, could not find a link to this product as I think it was some sort of limited edition palette. It's your basic 96 color eye shadow palette that you can find anywhere. 

And those are my palettes as of right now... I'm super excited to get my other three in the mail soon! As well as the other products I ordered... Hopefully I remember to film the unboxing, before I rip everything open like a kid on Christmas morning. 

Again- Thanks for listening to my rambles. Have a great day!!

Peacock Eye Shadow Tutorial!

This is the Eye Shadow tutorial I filmed yesterday! As I type this i am also working on editing my palette Collection video :D YouTube literally took AGES to upload this video, so I'm going to try and play around with file formats... blah blah blah. Anyway! I hope you all have a great and wonderful day!!

I have been away!!

Hello Folks!
I have been away for SO long! Life took hold of the reins there for a while... I was helping raise a set of twins when their mom wasn't in the best place in life, also trying to balance a house and a husband... BUT! Now I'm back!!!

I thought I would jump right into it. Today I filmed 3 videos! The first was a foundation routine... that well... let's just say my computer ate it.. I can't find the files because of the recording software I was using...! So I lost hours of editing and filming. The second video I said screw it, and just went back to filming on my webcam. I have gotten a new laptop since my last posts so this webcam is way better in quality, it records in 480p, instead of 140. That being said, the next video I filmed was something I have never actually done before! I filmed a Peacock Eye Shadow Tutorial, which I am currently in the process of uploading to my YouTube Channel. The final video that I filmed today was my current Palette Collection. I still have to edit this video, but it will be up shortly.

Later in the week or early next week, I will receive my shipment of ELF products that I ordered late last week. I hit an awesome sale! I will either film an unboxing or Haul video of that :)

Thank you for visiting my blog and listening to my rambles for the day!
Visit my youtube channel, and continue to check back in with this blog. I will be updating frequently.

Kisses,
Caity <3

Going out look...

I just did my friends makeup for a date. I have to edit the video, because there are several times I stepped in front of the camera. I will put a finished look up tomorrow.
She never wears full faced makeup, and that is exactly what I did, complete with countouring and a winged out smokey eye.
Stay tuned for pictures and videos.

Purple Eyeshadow

Hey All!
I just wanted to do a quick update, I've been sick but today I finally feel a little better, so I thought I would post a quick pic of my eyeshadow today. I just wanted to try out a new look using some of my new shadow! Let me know if you would like a tutorial on this particular look, I would be happy to make one later this week :)