Friday, December 30, 2016

NYE Glam Nails

Hey everyone! How has your week been? I can't believe it's already Friday so I'm just not going to talk about it and pretend I'm not going back to work next week. Of course with my luck I came down with a cold so I haven't really been able to paint my nails. Constant sneezing and nose blowing does not make for an easy at home manicure, as you can imagine, but I'll save you the gross details.

I did manage to get polish on my nails just in time for NYE. I started with a base of Julep Lillian, a lovely pale pink creme with pretty easy application in two coats. I wanted something festive and glam, so I did a glitter gradient using a mix of Julep Yumi and Zoya Lux. What's the secret to doing this without getting glitter all over your fingers? An eyeshadow applicator. Yup, seriously. I just get a cheap pack of them at the drugstore and they're great for glitter!




I can't believe this is my last mani of 2016. I'm happy for this year to end - there's so much to look forward to in 2017 (mainly my wedding). I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year!

xoxo,
   Brooke

Monday, December 19, 2016

Snowflake Nails

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? The fiancé and I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (FINALLY!) He really wasn't interested in seeing it but I convinced him to go by agreeing to see Rogue One next week. It was SO good. I know there were many mixed feelings about it, but I went into it not putting the Harry Potter series in my head and I really enjoyed it.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway over on Instagram! Ends 12/26.

We got our first snow here in Jersey City on Saturday (and by snow I mean like half an inch lol) but it was still pretty exciting. I gave nail stamping another try and it came out great! All of my stamping tools (stamping plate & stamper) are from Born Pretty Store. The base color is two coats of Essie Aruba Blue, a gorgeous frosty sapphire blue.





I'm excited for the week to end so I can start my winter break! The fiancĂ© and I have lots of fun things planned. Btw, when you place an order with BPS make sure you use my discount code ASYW10 for 10% off!

xoxo,
   Brooke


Monday, December 12, 2016

Zoya Pepper & Giveaway!

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? It was cold here and we even got a light coating of snow. We've got 2 more weeks of school until winter break and all of the teachers are counting down the days. I'm so excited that I decided to have a giveaway! The prize is a fun little box of Julep goodies. You can check out the details over on my Instagram @manicurediaryblog https://www.instagram.com/p/BN2prNyDSjT/. The winner will be randomly chosen on December 26th. Good luck!

For today's mani I used two coats of Zoya Pepper, a brick red creme. The formula was everything you'd want in a creme. I absolutely love this color! It really is different than any other red I have in my collection.






Hope you all have a great week!

xoxo,
   Brooke

Monday, December 5, 2016

Winter Nail Care Routine

Hey Everyone! It's been a while since my last post. I've been dealing with some nail breakage now that the cold weather is here, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for an updated nail care routine for winter. When the cold temps roll around it is so important to take excellent care of those cuticles!


Lush has some great products for hands/nails. A few months ago I discovered their Golden Handshake hot hand mask. This is one of those products that makes you feel like you're at the spa. The trick is that you need to use boiling water, not just hot, to mix with it. If you prep it correctly you will have a luxurious experience!


Get in the habit of using cuticle cream at least before bed each night, if not a few times throughout the day. Keeping your cuticles moisturized will keep the rest of your nail strong. There are two products I've been loving for this: LUSH Lemony Flutter cuticle butter and Bliss Kiss nail oil. I like to use the cuticle butter before bed and the nail oil throughout the day as I feel it absorbs more quickly and doesn't leave me feeling as greasy as Lush's product.



As for hand cream, I'll admit I can be lazy about it. Part of the issue is that as a teacher I am washing my hands constantly throughout the day. With a lot of hand creams I have issues with absorption so I don't like putting it on at school. Because of this, my cuticles have been drier and therefore has lead to some issues with my nails breaking more frequently. My mom introduced me to a fabulous hand cream from Bath & Body Works. The scent is Shea Cashmere & Silk from their True Blue Spa line. I'm obsessed with this stuff! It smells amazing and it dries literally in seconds - so good! I don't have that heavy/greasy feeling after I've put it on. Trust me, you need this.


In addition to using these products, I try my best to remember to wear gloves outside during winter. It's important to protect your skin from that bitter cold wind! What are your favorite hand/nail products to use in the winter?

xoxo,
   Brooke