How to fix a cracked/broken nail!

So speak of the devil!! Ironically, after writing about how my nails never crack or break... IT HAPPENED! Ah! I was in complete shock as my nails were always hard as rocks. Fortunately, after much research aka googling, I managed to fix my cracked nail! Here are the steps and a video!

In short, what you do is

1. Take a teabag and cut it into small pieces -- small enough to fit on your finger

2. Save the tea for later! 

3. Super glue the cut tea bag onto your finger nail and file down the uneven edges. Be careful not to overfile

4. Apply a topcoat or nail polish/topcoat to strengthen your nail

5. Enjoy your tea!

The video is below! 

Until Next Time,

Cristina

Cocktail Gradation (Etude House) Nail Tutorial

FUCK YEAH PRETTY NAILS! A lot of people are in love with mah claws. So I decided to film a quick video on how I do em! I recently bought this Etude House Juicy Cocktail Gradation Nail in #3 Love Violet & I LOVE IT! I didn't think I would when it arrived because it looked a bit too... purple-tinted (hah, I know too purple for purple) but the colors when they blend... OH SWEET JESUS COCKTAIL AMAZING GOODNESS. I usually do my own gradation nails but they NEVER look this fluidly blended. I think I'm going to buy a few more sets. One thing I do have a problem with is that the middle "blending" color is a bit.. goopy. I'm not sure how to thin it out but maybe I'll look into it.

Also since I have so many questions about... my nail health. Weird I know but its a widely ... asked topic. Yes, those are my real nails. I have insanely strong and resilient nails that never chip or break. I don't really take particularly good care of them but I do eat fish oil pills every once in a while.

Whoop Whoop watch the video here!

Until Next Time,

Cristina

Rimmel Kate Lipstick 03 + Wet & Wild Silent Treatment Palette

Photo taken 8-10 hours after make-up was put on. Still pretty good in my book!

Im a big fan of drugstore make-up. I'm not sure if its the hunt for bargain goods or the thrill I get when I find a perfect dupe of something for way cheaper. Recently I discovered CVS coupons (late I know!) But what the hell, they give you 5 off 15... Is this real? I wanted to try the new Kate lipsticks everyone and their moms have been raving about. And also to make the 15 dollar mark I picked up some other misc goods which includes this wet & wild palette

I LOVE Wet and Wild palettes. They are super pigmented, last for fucking ever, and are THREE DOLLARS?!? I bought silent treatment because I like nudes and the other ones contained some really intense colors. Very pretty palette and well worth the three dollars.

Wish I could say the same about the lipstick. Although the Rimmel Kate lipstick is extremely pretty, it feels cheap. Kind of like barbie lipstick. I don't know if it was only this color (03) but it made my lips crack quite a bit. The color was spot on though. No orangey tint to it.

Extra Shot!

My hair is so long now! I need to find some protein treatment for it or something.

Until Next Time,

Cristina

The Ghetto DIY Ringlight

Just the ghetto-est and cheapest DIY ringlight-hack ever!! Total cost? Like ten dollars.

 

Ring-lights instantly turn a "blah" photo into something much more. In comparison to harsh, direct lighting, ring-lights give subjects an almost angelic glow. Unfortunately, these little fuckers are expensive and cumbersome. So here I have... TADA! The cheapest macro photography ringlight


 

Materials Needed:

Christmas Lights (battery operated if you want it portable, LED preferred)

Wire hanger

Simply bend the wire hanger into an O-shape and wrap the Christmas lights around. Bigger bulbs such as G12 ones will result in a brighter, more effective ring-light!

These lights are best for macro photography but they will also produce beautiful results when taking photos of small pets, delicious foods, jewelry, makeup, etc! When you are done, you can easily store your ring-light by hanging it in the closet. If you want to be a bit craftier, you can bend the hanger into any shape you want. Heart-light, anyone?

Until Next Time,

Cristina

You won't find what you are looking for here

Warning, LENGTHY AND PERSONAL POST!

Its been a while and I've been taking quite a few hiatuses in these past two years. Don't fret, these hiatuses didn't come without a lesson learned. I originally took these breaks from blogging and making videos because I was a bit lost in my life. And if you too feel a bit lost in your life, then continue reading. Never mind; read anyways regardless of who you are.

Its quite personal but ever since I've had a break to think about what direction I wanted to go in my life, I felt a new sense of fear that I have never... ever felt. And this fear consumed me. I couldn't go a day without thinking what I would do for the rest of my life, as if everything I chose today would be set in stone. I would be graduating soon and I didn't enjoy my major. I wanted to try new things and I felt that I had to stop whatever I was doing (in this case, blogging, making videos, and maintaining my kickass store) to pursue these unknown wants of mine. So thats exactly what I did.

Little known fact but what inspired my newfound delusion of change was that I was actually ashamed of blogging! No matter how much I enjoyed blogging and sharing the tiny tidbits of my life with all of my wonderful followers, I never felt that it held any "weight" against something more traditional. I couldn't imagined doing anything with my blogging skills (now I know there are a bunch of wonderful job opportunities for blogging but I didn't see myself doing them).  I never told anyone I knew in real life about my blog, never showed them my videos, never told them about my webstore or my twitter. (Wow, that is a lot of nevers).

So anyways, my irrational shame of my not-so-secret blog and youtube made me essentially stop doing what I loved to try and find something else that would fit. I won't list all the horrid things I attempted to do but I purposely made myself uncomfortable to "find myself"-- as cheesy as that sounds. But at every corner, I would want to write a new blog or maybe make a new video. 

So what did I find after my deliberate soul searching? Absolutely nothing. I found out a few insignificant quirks about myself but I was still unhappy. I found out I'm horrible at using a knife, that my terrible calculations makes it impossible to model anything in 3d, that I can't talk to journalists, that going to Vegas is not all that great, that I have horrible hand eye coordination, and that it takes me four times as long to finish a game than a regular person because I have no sense of intuition. I also found out that I make great stews, that I can learn to make nifty websites and templates from scratch in a few days,  that I can prototype kickass packaging, that I love interior design, that I have a pretty good eye for type, and much more. But that didn't matter because I wasn't happy. 

And then it dawned on me as I was spewing out manly tears one faithful night (but don't tell anyone because tough girls aren't supposed to cry)... That I was really fucking happy just blogging and making videos. 

That I don't give a shit about finding myself because I was already happy doing something and that is more than most people can say. But not going to lie, it took a long time to come to that conclusion and to just be comfortable.

I also didn't know that my blog actually inspired and impacted people in so many different ways. I know that a bunch of you lovely followers always leave a very special comment about how something I did inspired you but it took a large realization for those words to translate. And it wasn't until I met someone who had read my blog for years IRL that I understood that in some way, even in a small insignificant way, I mattered. The fact that this Christmas, people that read my blog sent me cards... (And not going to lie... you, my friends, sent me my first Christmas cards.)

But I guess that most people have to go through this phase where they feel like the world around them is crumbling when really it wasn't so different than yesterday or the day before. But let me give you a word of advice... Whatever you are looking for... you won't find it by waiting. And its fine to try new things and have new experiences but if you are purposefully trying to find meaning in life through these experiences, you will get lost. You have to actively, wholeheartedly create and cultivate your own meaning -- and very very few people find what they love. 

That is all I wanted to share.

Also, this is the first truly personal entry I have ever written. So this must be progress.

Until Next Time,

Cristina