This Week's Mani: Starry Skyline Glitter

Happy Tuesday, loves! How was your holiday weekend?  Hopefully all of you enjoyed your extended weekend to the fullest and were able to truly celebrate those servicemen who have given their lives for our freedom. I for one, had a blast this weekend spending time with my loved ones (and eating lots of good food too)!

For this week's manicure, I was at a bit of a loss. I didn't really lean on any cute manicure inspiration nor did I plan what colors to use ahead of time. But since my toes have been adorned in Essie Nail Polish in Playdate for the last week without a single chip or smudge, I decided I might as well coordinate my manicure with my pedicure.

I didn't want to use the same polish on each nail, as I did want them to stand out a little since I'm celebrating my birthday later this week. So I added one of my newest polishes, NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Skyline Blue to the mani mix. Before I knew it, I pulled out my dotting tool along with my Pure Ice Nail Polish in Superstar (not pictured) and decided to do a few polka dots on my accent nail. Do you like?

Believe it or not, I haven't used any glitter on my nails in a while. I was having withdrawals from the shimmery flecks of sparkly goodness, so it clearly wasn't enough for me to have a dotted accent nail. I had to add two coats of NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Starry Silver Glitter to a couple of nails. I think the hints of pink and cerulean blue glitter really added to the mani if I say so myself.

So what are your nails looking like this week, ladies? Are you into a particular manicure trend lately? Do you always match your fingers and toes when doing manis and pedis?  If so or even if not, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! 

Tuesday's Tunes: The iPod Shuffle Mixtape

Happy Tuesday, ladies and gents! Hope your week is off to a good start and that you have a good tune in your heart (or your player) today.  For today's installment of Tuesday's Tunes, I decided to participate in Chymere Californian's iPod Shuffle Tag for my mixtape. The rules of this tag are to simply put your iPod (or other music player/device) on shuffle and list the top 50 songs that play at random.  As much as I love music, I just knew I had to take part in this tag.  And to make it a really random experience, I decided to use my old iPod from a few years back that I never updated just to see how truly random this list would turn out.  Check out the list and be sure to peep the videos for the highlighted songs.

THE SHUFFLE PLAYLIST

1. Star 69-Common

2. Lemme Get That- Rihanna

3. Baby Can I Hold You Tonight (Sorry)- Foxy Brown

4. These Streets- Tanya Stephens

5. Miss You Much- Janet Jackson

6. My Favorite Things- John Coltrane

7. They Don't Know- Jon B.

8. Po' Folks- Nappy Roots

9. Life Goes On- Tupac

10. Christopher Tracy's Parade- Prince

11. You Know That I Love You- Donell Jones

12. Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time- The Delfonics

13. Juicy- Pretty Ricky

14. For Real- Amel Larrieux

15. Hey Mr. DJ- Zhane'

16. African Queen- 2Face Idibia

17. Hello- Ginuwine

18. Mona Lisa- Slick Rick

19. Think It's a Game- Beanie Sigel

20. Don't Let Go (Love)- En Vogue

21. Go Deep (Timbaland Remix)- Janet Jackson

22. Git Up, Git Out- Outkast x CeeLo Green

23. Somewhere Over The Rainbow- Patti Labelle

24. How You Remind Me- Nickelback

25. Somethin' Wicked This Way Comes- TLC x Outkast

26. Joy & Pain- Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock

27. I Gotta Be- Jagged Edge

28. Mind Playin' Tricks 94- Scarface

29. Entourage- Omarion

30. Let's Go Crazy- Prince

31. This is My Party- Fabolous

32. Strawberry Swing- Coldplay

33. I've Changed- Jaheim x Keyshia Cole

34. Love Come Down- Evelyn "Champagne" King

35. Feelin' You- Lloyd

36. Quiet Storm (Remix)- Mobb Deep x Lil' Kim

37. Honey Dip- Jim Jones x Dipset

38. Other Side of the Game- Erykah Badu

39. Take It Easy- Mad Lion

40. Ain't My Type of Hype- Full Force

41. Can't Give Up Now- Mary Mary

42. Black Barbie- Little Jackie

43. Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine- D'Angelo

44. Knockin' Boots- Candyman

45. Summer Madness- Kool & The Gang

46. Ebony Eyes- Rick James x Smokey Robinson

47. All Night Long (Remix)- Mary J. Blige x LL Cool J

48. Never Lie- Immature 

49. Heard a Word- Michelle Williams

50. Find a Way- A Tribe Called Quest

I must say that this was a very fun tag! At first I thought I would get tired of listing 50 whole songs, but by the time I finished I wanted to keep going.

Do you have any favorites on the list?  If this tag looks like something you would like to do, feel free to participate!

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO TODAY?

photo credit: sai kiran anagani on unsplash.com

Purple Kisses: FOTD with MAC Heroine Lipstick

Okay, I'll admit it. It's been forever and a day since I've posted a FOTD here on the blog! And to get back into the groove of things, I decided to share today's look with you guys.  I reached for my beloved MAC Wonder Woman Defiance palette to play up my eyes and pulled out my MAC Heroine lipstick that I was so happy to FINALLY get from the MAC Spring 2013 Fashion Sets Collection. Talk about somebody being pressed to get a lipstick! But anyways, I came up with a basic look that's perfect for daytime wear/everyday wear. I even toned down the lippie by adding a gloss, making it more wearable for anytime. Check out the deets for today's look below and tell me what you think!

Brows:

MAC Brow Pencil in Spiked

Milani Brow Tint Pen in Dark Brown

MAC Studio Fix Concealer in NC42

Eyes:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer

MAC Wonder Woman Eyeshadow Palette in Defiance

Avon Super Extend Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Avon Super Drama Mascara in Black

Avon Glimmerstick Chromes in Electric Pink (inner bottom lash)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Whiskey (bottom lash corners)

Face: 

Avon Illuminating Face Perfector (primer)

Avon Perfect Wear Foundation in Toffee (discontinued)

MAC MSF in Dark

La Femme Blush in Mulberry (not pictured)

Lips:

NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Purple Rain

MAC Plushglass in I ♥ U (LE from the Quite Cute Collection)

MAC Matte Lipstick in Heroine

What eyeshadows and lip colors have you been reaching for lately?

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MANICure Monday: O.P.I. Nicki Minaj & Kiss Nail Dress

Happy Monday, loves! How is everyone doing?  I hope all the fellow mommies had a wonderful Mother's Day on yesterday and that everyone's week is off to a great start!  As for me, I had a great weekend and now my week is off to a bright start, thanks to these little O.P.I. nail polish minis from the O.P.I. Nicki Minaj collection that launched last Spring.

Now to be honest with you ladies, I almost forgot I had these polishes.  They were like five seconds from being tossed! Isn't that sad?  I try to sort through my stash every couple of months, as I like to rotate the polishes I have on display every so often.  If I don't, I will forget I have a certain polish and I don't want to purchase the same shades (or similar ones) over and over again. So while I was looking through my polishes, I saw the minis I had grabbed on a whim from the O.P.I. Nicki Minaj Collection at the bottom of the container, along with a couple bottles of Bon-Bons. I picked out "Did It On 'Em" and "Fly" from the set of four and decided I'd better use them before the color started to separate!

O.P.I. Nicki Minaj Nail Polish in "Did It On 'Em" is a bright (but not neon) yellowish green shade. I don't own another color quite like this one so I decided to go ahead and try it out!

I felt that O.P.I. Nicki Minaj Nail Polish in "Fly" would contrast "Did It On 'Em" nicely, as it is a deep muted teal shade. So I chose to pair these two for this week's mani.

And while I was digging out of the stash and trying to stray away from glitter for a change, I decided to use my leopard Kiss Nail Dress strips for accent nails.  Besides, I purchased them a minute ago and they will eventually use their stickiness if I don't use the remainder of them soon.

So what are your nails looking like this week, ladies? Are you into a particular manicure trend lately? Have you purchased any special edition or limited edition polishes before?  If so or even if not, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!