Happy New Year everyone!

Facing the fresh start of 2014, I am feeling immensely blessed at the amazing things that have happened this year. 2013 wasn't so much about the tangible things that I had, but more so reminders of not taking for granted the things that I've always had: my family. From my sister battling and overcoming cancer to welcoming our puppy Oreo (his instagram) into our lives, I feel like I can't reflect on the past year without a great depth of appreciation for the love around me, especially when it was least expected.

I wanted to write this first before getting into my favorites because I know it seems like each month a lot of the talk goes into consumable products and tips for surface-level beauty but ultimately this blog, my videos, and everything else I talk about means so much more to me than just things. You guys give me passion. It's about how we touch each others' lives and bring each other confidence, hope, and positivity in a world where there is far too little of it and far too much judgement and cruelty.

For this next year, it's my resolution to (of course) continue bringing you my thoughts on my favorite products, but more than that, to bring you the ability to be more yourself by loving yourself at every stage of your face and body. Hopefully recommending a few good things will give you more time to spend doing you. Let's all be more comfortable in our own skin in 2014!

With that, lets get on with this month's favs!

I have chosen the winners of the Revlon nails giveaway. Congratulations to Lulu and Caroline :]! I hope you enjoy these! For everyone else who missed out this time, no worries, I have lots of fun giveaways coming up very soon.

I wanted to catch up on a few nail-related items. I have a couple of recent konadicures and nail swatches, my Revlon nails removal experience that I've had lately, and a very cool special magnetic polish from Europe, but it's not all going to fit in one post. So part I today and part II tomorrow. :) Anyway, on with the swatches.

Zoya Sienna is an incredible color. It is SUCH a fantastic spring color and it actually looks good against my skintone! Shock of shocks, I can wear orange! It looks chunky here, but it's just the flecks. It's really smooth, especially with a top coat.


I jazzed it up with a little houndstooth konad pattern in gold. Two pics, cause it's that good.



Here is Essie Chastity. This is a barbie pink cream with a very, very slight lavendar tone that wasn't picked up in the photos. I liked this color plain best.


This was a failed Konadicure, methinks, because it had too much going on. A little too extreme-baby-cutesy-frosty with OPI Pricess Rule! on top to be flattering on my skin.


This is a new favorite polish for me, OPI Hey! Get in Lime! It's a really pretty light green cream polish that has a bit of a jelly finish alone. Formula isn't that great but what pastel cream polish is? Results are worth it. And I LOVED this lace pattern Konad over it. Very vintage-classy!




I had originally tried a dark purple, OPI Who Are You Wearing?, as the dark color but it just wasn't stamping well. If you are looking for a cheap black that is good for Konad, I recommend Rimmel 399 Black Satin. This was a tough, delicate pattern to pick up and it got the job done.

As for the Revlon artificial nails removal, I can't say it was a pleasant experience. You are supposed to soak them in acetone and the nails "melt" away, but I realized it wasn't so easy. I only had drugstore-type Cutex acetone remover (vs beauty salon pure acetone) and it took about an hour to completely remove! Granted, it came up much easier than real acrylic nails, but my finger pads were rather pruney and numb by the end. Make sure you have a towel handy to cover your hands and the small bowl you soak in so the fumes don't make you crazy.

Here is a photo during the process.


AHHH! GROSSS! Nails from the crypt!

Thankfully, the condition of my nails underneath seemed good. I clipped them down again and filed off any remaining plastic bits with a glass file without any more chips than usual.

Like I mentioned before, more nail goodness to come tomorrow!