Dreaming in Spring Pastels

I love where I live. I've been seeing everyone all over the country posting pictures and status updates of the snow and ice, and not envying them the slightest bit. This is what my car said yesterday:

Granted, it was probably more like 78 or 79 degrees outside. It was a teensy bit warmer in the car. But this weather in the middle of February? I'll take it! I hate to rub it in to all of you shivering in your scarves and mittens out there, but I'm loving this Vegas weather! If it makes you feel any better, in a few short months when it's 120 here and I'm hibernating in a dark, air conditioned house, you may gloat all you want. But for now, my mind is on spring, so I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite wearable trends for the coming season: Pastels!

I love my pastels! This is a no brainer for spring. My favorites are mint green, baby blue, and of course pink. The great thing about this trend is that you can incorporate it into your wardrobe so easily. It works in a great pair of skinnies, a cute blouse, dress, or accessory. Anything goes! Because I tend to lean towards neutrals, I usually like to use color in a statement necklace, handbag, or scarf, but I do love a pastel skinny jean! Here are some of cute pieces in fun spring pastels.

 

 

PINK 

 

1. / 2. /

3. / 4. / 5. / 6.

 

 

MINT 

 1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

 

 

 

LILAC

 

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

 

 

 

YELLOW

 

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

 

 

 

BLUE

 

1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5.

 

 

 

And we can't forget about spring nails! I'm loving the Essie Resort 2014 Collection  (on the left) right now, and their Wedding Collection (right) is also beautiful!

 

 

1. Cocktails and Coconuts / 2. Resort Fling / 3. Find Me an Oasis / 4. Under the Twilight

5. Using My Maiden Name / 6. My Better Half / 7. No Baggage Please / 8. Meet Me at the Altar

 

 

 

 

 

What's your favorite spring pastel?

 

 

 

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At Home Gelous Manicure

 

I have been seeing this Gelous top coat product all over the internet lately, so of course I had to try it out for myself! Some people are claiming it will make your manicure last up to 2 weeks! Two weeks you say? I can't even fathom! In 2 weeks I have probably painted my nails 3 times. I prefer my nails polished over bare, but I can't keep a manicure looking decent for more than a day or two. So frustrating, right? And chipped nails are SUCH a pet peeve of mine. So gross. I don't have the time or money to get my nails done on a regular basis, plus the process of gel nails in a salon is not for me. Especially the removal process. So when I read about Gelous and that it comes off just like regular polish I decided this may just be my saving grace. The price doesn't hurt either. It's just $5.99 in store at Sally Beauty Supply, cheaper than a bottle of Essie! :)

 

I read several reviews and tutorials, and almost every one used a different process for their manicure. They ranged from like 10 coats (yikes!) total, to just a couple, so I settled on something in the middle for my first attempt. Her are all the products I used for my mani:

 

1. Gelous Advanced Nail Gel Coat / 2. Essie Bordeaux / 3. Out the Door Fast Drying Top Coat / 4. Sally Hansen No More Mistakes Manicure Clean Up Pen

 

The color is Essie Bordeaux, which has been one of my go to colors for years, and I can't live without a fast drying top coat. This one is called Out the Door, and it's one of my favs at only $5.49! Another great deal! If you're like me and you're totally sloppy at painting your own nails, a clean up pen is an absolute MUST have! Without it I would literally look like a 4 year old did my manicure. No thanks! This product is a life saver! You can get it pretty much anywhere.

I started with a base coat of the Gelous and only let it dried very quickly. Then I did 2 coats of Bordeaux, with a coat of Gel in between. I followed with 2 coats of Gelous, and finished with one coat of Out the Door. I normally do my right hand first, and wait for it to dry before I do the left hand. When they're both dry, I clean up the edges with my trusty Sally Hansen pen.

 

Above is the finished product. Not the best polish job I admit. Here's how it looked after 1 full day:

 

 

Still pretty great! Just disregard how messy they still are from my paint job :).

 Day 4: Just a little bit of wear at the tips. Still looking totally presentable though.

Day 5:

After Day 6 I decided it was time to take it off.

You can see where the sides were starting to chip. But I have to say, for almost an entire week this was awesome! I probably could have made it stretch another day or two. One of the things I was apprehensive about was how easily this stuff would come off, but to my relief it wasn't any harder to remove than regular polish. It came right off! So my verdict on Gelous : SOLD! I'm a fan! I will definitely be using this on a regular basis.

Have any of you tried Gelous? What have your experiences been? Are there any nail products out there that you can't live without? I'd love to hear!

 

 

 

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TGICF - Thank Goodness It's Casual Friday

Today was a jeans and t-shirt kind of day. I wanted to be super comfy since I volunteer in Mason's classroom on Friday mornings, so mission accomplished! I did still want to add a little pizazz though. Hence the bright lips. This is something new to me, but I am totally embracing it! I usually do a nude shade of some sort, but I recently went through my lipstick drawer (yes, I have a drawer just for lipstick.) and pulled out some of my favs to put back in the regular rotation. It livens up even the simplest outfit, don't ya think?

 

 

 

What I wore:  H&M cardigan, Decree V-neck tee, Target jeans, Tory Burch flats, H&M bracelets, Charming Charlie necklaces and hoops, Essie Burgundy nails, Revlon Love That Pink lips

 

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