firework subsitute

i am heading out to the high desert to spend the remainder of the holiday weekend at my moms house.  since its the desert and its summer there is lots of dry brush so fireworks are a no (although my mom wouldn't allow them in the snow) so i'm trying to incorporate some glitter into my outfit.  i decided to give myself a manicure and used sally hansens salon effects in frock star - multi colored glitter to add some sparkle to my july 4th.

the nail polish strips come with instructions but i make a few modificatons.  i don't file my nails because it reminds me of nails on a chalkboard, but i do buff them.  i also put lotion on my cuticles before i push them up, it softens them so its a little easier (great trick i learned from anjelica!). 

i've tried a few different prints of these nail strips and so far this one was the hardest!  i don't know if it was a defective pack, or maybe the hot weather was melting the strips, but some of the strips wouldn't peel away from the clear plastic!  i managed to get enough strips off the plastic to do all my nails though.

hope you all have a fun and safe 4th!  i'll be posting some party diys too!

the bright and the bold

i was invited to the launch party for nail couture los angeles' the bright and bold collection at live! on sunset in west hollywood this past thursday.  free cocktails? yeah i'll have one. free mani?  sign me up!  driving to west hollywood during rush hour? oh geez.  luckily the drinks and manicures were enough to lure me to the party cause i am so glad i went, it was so much fun!  i went with my bff anjelica (duhhhh), i invited her to go with me but she was already invited! turns out that one of her friends works for the company that was putting the whole thing together, small world, right?

they had skinnygirl margaritas!

anjelica getting her nails done

anjelica's nails - gemstone

we saw this alex & ani bracelet bar and almost bought a bunch of bracelets... but then we didn't.

american apparel v-neck, madewell jeans, frye wedges, african bead necklace

please ignore my face in the full body shot - its the look of a starved blogger.  i hadn't had dinner, i'd driven from my office in rancho dominguez to eagle rock, picked up anjelica and then to weho for the party.  anjelica and i were both starving by the time we left, but we had such a good time!  the nail strips are amazing (and you know i'm obsessed with those sally hansen strips) and i was told that each pattern from the new collection is designed for a (famous) blogger (not me.  follow and maybe some day i'll have my own nail strip design!).  the event its self was hosted by the ray and the ro, although i didn't see either of the girls there (or just didn't recognize them.  oops)!  i did meet the designer of ncla who was totally sweet and let anjelica and i get our nails done right away!  can't wait to see what's next for ncla!

what to wear: saturday = spa day

saturday was spent with my mom in pasadena. last year for my mom's birthday my sister and i got her a gift card to burke williams, and i thought why not go with her? i'd never had a facial before and i figured it was about time.

we got lattes and cranberry rosemary muffins from intelligentsia cafe on colorado in old town, then went to get our facials.

the beautiful and delish cran-rosemary muffin!

after facials we went to crate&barrel so i could make myself miserable over all the things i want but can not afford.

atacama coffee table, $699

driftwood 6' garland, $29

driftwood mirror, $199

various potted succulents, $14.95-$26.95; conservatory console table, $499

after lunch we went to burkards nursery and i got some thyme, oregano, parsley and a artichoke plant!

hanging succulents

cute little cacti

browsing the plants

gorgeous colors

leafy greens (& purples)

not edible, but still pretty

the goods. no more wasting money on fresh herbs that go bad after a few days!

and of course, here is what i wore (post-spa):

rag&bone shirt, splendid tank, jbrand shorts, free people socks, jeffrey campbell shoes, jw hulme bag, ray-ban sunnies

i want wavy hair

over the years i've tried various different techniques to get my hair to be anything other than straight as an arrow. a curling iron proved to be useless, hot rollers worked, but my hair didn't hold the curls for long. i even tried out dry bar (see my post about it), which was a nice experience but a few hours after i left my hair was basically straight again, just with more volume.

finally i found a solution. the nalu waver by r sessions and it works. it really, really, really works.

the tool. looks like some kind of torture device!

my friend anjelica recently bought the nalu waver after her hairstylist used one on her, and because my hair is long now anjelica wanted to test it out on me! after the first time she did it, i fell in love and now am trying to figure out how i can afford to get one of my own (cause she can't do my hair every day!). we were heading out to cha cha lounge last night, so i thought there was no better reason for her to do my hair. again.

before the waves. this is my hair when i brush it out with my fingers when its wet and let it air dry. so straight.

while the tool may look intimidating, anjelica does her hair with the nalu waver herself so you don't need another set of hands to use it. there are a few different heat settings for various hair types, and a glove that can be worn while using it. you weave the hair around the two barrels in figure 8's, so wearing the glove is a must since your fingers are very likely to touch the barrels. about 20 mins later my hair was looking super wavy. the amount of waves can be controlled by the size of the sections of hair chosen. the smaller the sections of hair the more waves and vice versa.

waves for days! i love it!

from the back. never thought i'd have waves like this that would last even in the rain.

and the waves lasted all night. even with the rain, by the time we left the bar i still had pretty good waves. i even got asked if my hair was naturally like this since it wasn't going flat in the rain! this morning i woke up and still have a few waves. the overall assessment: having my hair done by anjelica looks better and lasts longer than dry bar. i give the nalu waver (and anjelica) 5 stars. next step is to try doing it myself, then i'll make the decision on buying it.

the blow dry bars

there is a new trend popping up all over los angeles right now, the blow dry only salon also known as the blow dry bar. what exactly is a blow dry bar? its a salon that only styles hair, no cuts, no color, just a wash and a dry at a price that won't hurt your wallet.

after reading a article on refinery 29, i decided i wanted to check out what all the buzz is about. i checked out a couple of different blow dry bar websites, and decided to book an appointment with drybar. they offer a menu of different styles you can choose, and its super easy to make an appointment through their website. its $35 for a blow out and they offer memberships and packages, which they call bartabs. they also have parties, you can book a private party at one of their locations (three currently; brentwood, studio city & west hollywood. newport & pacific palisades opening soon), or book an appointment during their brunch or happy hours and receive a free mimosa or cocktail.

i didn't want to get my hair done for no reason, so i made the appointment the morning of my friend/boss' wedding. the wedding was in long beach at 4:30, and in order to get my hair done, go home, get dressed and do my make up i needed to go in the morning. i made my appointment at the west hollywood location for 11am, which was also a good way for me to test the longevity of the hair style.

i arrived on time and waited for a few minutes for my stylist (or bartender?) to be ready. she washed my hair and gave me a little head massage (you can pay $10 extra for a 10 minute massage). when she was done we went and i told her how i wanted my hair, i chose the cosmopolitan, which is loose curls. i knew that this was the best option since they would loosen even more throughout the day and end up looking more like the mai tai.

the entire blow out was longer than the advertised 30 mins, and i skipped the mimosa since i was getting over a cold (not that it mattered since i was pretty drunk by the end of the night), but overall it was a very relaxing and calm experience. i think the worst part was driving to and from drybar, since i had to go through weho. i will definitely go back to drybar, but i think i will go to studio city so i can use the freeway. i totally loved my hair after, it was exactly what i wanted.

however, as i expected the loose curls got looser and looser as the night wore on.

anyway, i definitely recommend checking out a blow dry bar to anyone who has an event and can't do her (or his, they do guys too!) own hair.

the smoky cat eye

the other day who what wear had an article on the smoky cat eye, so i decided to try it out. i had plans to go to the big foot on saturday night, the perfect excuse to put on some extra make up (can't get myself to put on eye make up for work).

i'm not very confident with my own cat eye applying so i enlisted friend anjelica to do it for me, and she did such a great job, i might just have to have her do my make up every time i have an event or am going out.. or just for fun

lorac eyeshadow, nars soft touch shadow pencil in aigle noir, givenchy phenomen'eyes mascara, bare escentuals buxom lip polish in gabby