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THANKSFORPLAID- TARTAN TALE NAILS

Have you heard the tale of Tartan?

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. (Tartan is also known as plaid in North America, but in Scotland, a plaid is a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder or a blanket.)

 
This holiday MAC Cosmetics  A Tartan Tale Collection is all about the nouveau riche  history of plaid...so why not follow suit and feature a little of  the criss-crossed horizontal on my nails. As you can see Manami rocked it out again creating this crazy yet strangely sweet and festive set of holiday nails that will surely get you noticed...(we get me noticed :P)
 
In my usual fashion I wanted to rock a skull pattern as well and my dearest MAC Pigment gradient...but a women next to me was getting a reverse french style manicure in a classic red...(which under normal circumstances is just too "normal" for  me) but there is something about a classic red nail that just looks so luxurious. I found myself so weak to it powers that I dropped the pigments back in my bag and dove right into the classic red abyss (I choose a color very close to  MAC's Rougemarie click to see) and I compromised with a hand painted skull pattern on the pinky's
 
The Plaid was done with Minx, now I know what your thinking...#1 but Keri you ALWAYS want a hand painted design...and #2 Minx isn't new to any of us nail junkies that are reading this...just wait...What makes Minx interesting at Sakura is the fact that they have a UV gel that can bake right over top of the metallic sticker, which keeps the design intact for days longer and for a girl like me that abuses her hands hourly this makes is a great choice for a fun pattern like plaid.
 
Lastly the bitchin' skull pattern that looks a bit like space invaders but was just mod enough to compliment its tartan counterparts in this pre-holiday  mani! Enjoy!
 
 
 
p.s. you can now follow Sakura on twitter click here
or LIKE them on f.book click here
p.s.s. thanks to Wikipedia for the tartan definition!

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Filed under  //   nail art  
Posted November 5, 2010
 

THANKSFORLINKING- HAPPY HALLOWEEN SEGMENTS

Since Halloween is literally right around the corner I thought I would share some of my make up how tos and segments with all of you!!
 
 
Elle.com - featuring Cleopatra, Jem and Lucy Ricardo
 
http://www.elle.com/Beauty/Makeup-Skin-Care/Glamorous-Makeup-for-Halloween
 
 
NBC - The Daily Connection  (which not only aired on the Daily Connection spot but got picked up by the 4th hour of the TODAY show) HOLLA
 
http://nbcbuzz.nbcudps.com/2010/10/can-make-up-make-your-costume.php
 
 
 
 
Fox News I Mag  How to Betty Draper and Snooki
 
http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Beauty?auto-play=true&video-maven-id=g4386123
 
 
http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Beauty?video-maven-id=g4386114&auto-play=true
 
 
Style.com
 
http://www.style.com/beauty/beautycounter/2010/10/halloween-beauty-fright-fest/
 
 
 
 
 
What are you going as for Halloween? Leave a comment and let me know!
 

Filed under  //   Random Bits  
Posted October 27, 2010
 

THANKSFORCANDY- CORN THAT IS - MANI

Its that time of the year nail fans! Fall is officially here (in Gotham City at least) so that means Halloween is right around the corner which means ULTRA fun nail designs.  Much to my chagrin , it was brought to my attention a few years ago that Candy Corn isn't actually a food group...and more recently with the changes in my diet I cant even eat them! BOOO!! (see what I did there - here all week) So if you cant eat it paint it on your nails...that's what I always say!
 
OK so on tap...Acid Orange, Gold and White MAC pigments to create a triple gradient on my ring fingers and then we used Acid Orange on all the other fingers and finished with a gradient in black.  And just for fun Ran showcased her mad artistry skills and added some spiders, skulls, bats and tombstones...
 
Additionally I just found out that Sakura is now on Twitter!! YAY so lets give them some tweet love and give them a follow! www.twitter.com/nailspasakura
 
 
trick or treat!

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Filed under  //   nail art  
Posted October 19, 2010
 

THANKSFORRAN- half moon hologram mani

After holding on to my kitty cat Mani for as long as I could and after 2 long weeks of fashion it was time to head over to Sakura Nail Spa for a new set of cal gel!  My appointment was with Ran- an extremely talented nail artisan that is know for her long dagger nails that are ALWAYS bedazzled from cuticle to tip.  I haven't ever been able to secure an appointment with her before so I was excited to see what she could/would do...
 
I brought two MAC pigments with me, deep blue green (a definite favorite) and golden blue (which was from a limited life collection a few years ago). After flipping through a few nail art magazines we decided on a new shape for the tips...a semi moon accented with holograms (all hand painted and placed of course) and then some spectacular skull and star action painted on my ring fingers...
 
anyway the photos speak for themselves so enjoy!

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Filed under  //   nail art  
Posted September 19, 2010
 

THANKSFORPURRING- FABULOUS FELINES MANI

MEEEOOW - is all I have to say. My new girl crush Manami from Sakura Nails really hooked a sistah up this time!!  Being the kinda "crazy" cat lady that I am I have been waiting on pins and needles for MAC's Fabulous Felines to launch so that I could glamour puss all of you with these amazing nails! The photos really do this mani more justice that any words can but just to give you the run down on the products/colors...we mixed number #10 calgel with Black Black MAC pigment to create the gradient. Manami used white calgel on the index and ring finger and then used Gauche to hand paint the kitty cat faces into puuurfection on to my nails... TOTALLY PAW-SOME

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Filed under  //   nail art  
Posted August 24, 2010
 

the magic pill- diet and exercise

Hi Everyone- I know its been a while (I am knee deep in my 30 day challenge at Bikram Yoga NYC) so I have had limited time to blog however, I just went back to this post I wrote over a month ago on my beachbody profile page and thought I would share it with my readers here.  I am still taking it day by day where I strive for a HIGHLY RAW diet...there have been a few cooked veggies that have made their way into my diet as well as some store bought hummus and balsamic vinaigrette but all in all I have really stuck to my guns eating in the RAW department...the Bikram helps alot- staying in the present moment in half the battle. Mindless eating is so abundant so its helpful (at least for me) to have that time in my day to really focus on the bigger goal.  If we go back to when this all began in  Feb of 2010  to today I am down 14.4 lbs although almost 13 lbs of that have been since July 2010. WHOA even I am impressed! Beachbody  and my twitterfam has really helped me stay accountable and I encourage any of you who are looking for a fun way to stay fit to check out some of the workouts here...www.iheartturbo.com

Anyway- here is the blog post...ENJOY!

I have always been a firm believer in the magical combination of DIET and EXERCISE to help you reach your health/weight//fitness goals...but over the years I have tried to convince myself that exercise is really enough...and hey if I worked out today I have more carte blanch on what I can eat that day...well all know the secret of losing weight is no secret at all...do more and eat less

Well as I have gotten older I have found that so many of us truly OVERESTIMATE how much we  burn off and UNDERESTIMATE how much we take in...(calorically that is) And sometimes its even trickier than that-

I started Chalean Extreme in April committed and ready to work it out! GO HEAVY OR GO HOME!!!  I bought Select Tech weights and plugged all the work outs into my computer...

I even bought a body bugg...so I could track my calories burned and log my calories consumed...and for almost 3 months I kept loosing and gaining the same three to four lbs.. SO FRUSTRATING!

Getting into this business I was determined to have accountability to myself about making working out a daily priority (even though it has been a big part of my life for over 12 years now) Sometimes life gets in the way making it harder to stick to a consistent routine. I wanted to be a product of the biz...

Well truth be told maybe I had been lying  to myself about how much I was actually consuming on some days...or maybe my food choices weren't the best for my metabolism./blood type..whatever it was the workouts were definitely getting done but the lbs were staying put!

Recently (as in three weeks ago) I dove head first into a RAW/VEGAN 5 day cleanse...Which evolved into a 11 day cleanse which has continued for almost another week now on my own...cleaning up the diet...No dairy, No wheat, No sugar, No FUN? Well not exactly...

The changes in my body both physically and emotionally have been astounding...I lost almost 9 lbs in two weeks...I have more energy than ever and my skin looks amazing...

Processed foods...including sugar substitutes are so incredibly hard on your body...and for the first time in a long time my body feels kinda light and free...Don't get me wrong I still have a long way to go but for now it feels right...The hardest hill that is facing me is the emotional ties I have to eating those trigger foods...the soft serve the candy the sweets that for years have been my go tos to make everything feel better (TEMPORARILY)

But what I have truly come to understand from a weight loss perspective is that DIET comes before EXERCISE but its way more important...80% of your success truly depends on what you are eating...so next time it seems like a few handful of fries will be OK or that extra scoop of M&Ms wont make a difference cause you "worked out" today- count to ten and then decide...

 

Filed under  //   Fitness/Shakeology  
Posted August 22, 2010
 

THANKSFORCHECKING- VANS off the wall Minx Mani

In a word - RAD! I am just back from my favorite nail joint  Nail Spa Sakura. Tonight I was lucky to work with Hitomi (I like to call her the Japanese Drew Barrymore) We put our heads together around their amazing collection of MINX nails and she went to work.  Being the 80s girl that I am (I bought my first pair of Vans in 1984 custom made of course with purple check) I was immediately sold on the black and white checkered style MINX.  Of course I concocted a mixture of MAC Pigments in Grape, Deep Burgundy and White Gold to create a gorgeous plum foolery gradation!
 
What interesting about MINX at Sakura is that they offer a UV gel top coat to seal the Minx sticker onto the nail for longer wear (I have always been hesitant about the MINX b/c for the money I didn't think they would last) But my nail arsenal has officially been expanded!  First they find a nail sticker size that matches your nail bed. Then its trimmed to fit your nail perfectly. There is a huge HOT lamp that is used to warm up and almost melt the sticker then its placed on the nail and smoothed out.  The excess is filed off and then SUNSHINE BABE top coat is applied - then its into the UV light for 2 minutes...and for a final protective layer a coat of clear calgel is applied and once again into the UV light.  Enjoy the photos

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Filed under  //   nail art  
Posted August 11, 2010
 

THAINKSFORLOVEEASY- ORGANIC AVENUE Love Easy Cleanse- Final Thoughts

Detox

Well the final day has come and gone and I actually am wiser, thinner and more clear headed for the experience!  Eleven days ago I started the LOVE EASY cleanse with Organic Avenue and to date in addition to loosing 7.9 lbs I feel lighter, more well rested and have a clearer understanding than ever about my relationship with food.
 
The cleanse is based off about 2000 calories of Chlorophyll, Juices, Raw food entrees, salad, dessert and coconut mylk- which if you read in earlier posts makes it such an easy transition from a traditional "American" diet because there is actually cleansing foods in the cleanse.  (Just drinking juice for 11 days would have be nearly impossible for me)
 
I will end my cleanse with a visit to LYT for hydro colonic therapy (sorry if this is too much info but honest is my only policy) which should help detox any remaining toxins from my body and then i am out of the nest!
 
 
As most of you know my biggest concern is what to do next- its a big world of distractions and yummy foods and friends waiting  for me to get off that cleanse already so we can go out to eat! HELP!! Fortunately the past 11 days have given me some breathing room (and not only in my jeans) to get a clearer idea of what to do next and what makes sense with my lifestyle.
 
 
I have picked up Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose's who is New York based Nutritionist/Author that has many famous clients and and is very committed to a RAW/Vegan lifestyle.. What has been interesting so far about this particular book is that she allows Salmon, organic eggs, raw goat cheese , a guacamole recipe and Dark Chocolate as part of her detox...and it give a very comprehensive guide to a 30 day detox including shopping lists and recipes. Needless to say I see lots of avocado's in my future!
 
I want to thank my husband first and foremost for being so supportive to me during this time as well as Mia and  the team at Organic Avenue! I am truly grateful for the experience and looking forward to all the new foods/eating habits i will be incorporating into my lifestyle.

Filed under  //   Going Raw  
Posted July 21, 2010
 

THANKSFORLOVING- Organic Avenue Love Easy Cleanse Part 2

If you have ever done a cleanse the big question as the last day comes to a close is always  what do I do the next day? Pre-planned cleanses are always easier to do because there is a lack of thinking involved. Heck, Organic Avenue even numbers the items so you know what order to eat everything in.  All you have to do is drink or eat the provided juice/food and you are cleansing just like that.

Well through this exploration of a better healthier less acidic sugar addicted me...that was my exact question...what happens on day 6? Day 7? Day 8? After a 5 day cleanse its hard to know how to transition for a semi- healthy semi processed diet to one that is ALL organic, raw and vegan. 

Since dairy, wheat, soy and pretty much every other food I was eating pre-cleanse is either full of sugar or metabolizes in the body that way I was pretty much at a loss for a transition...
The easiest and most obvious answer for me was to just order another 5 days...and here I am just finishing what is now day 8 of eating a Live Organic Vegan Experience (L.O.V.E. made Easy).

Filed under  //   Going Raw  
Posted July 17, 2010
 

THANKSFORSHINING - tokidoki hologram manicure

WOW- this post took a week sorry nail freaks! Anyhoo- here it is- My TOKIDOKI  hologram manicure.  Megumi (my fab nail artisan at you guess it Sakura Nail and Spa) worked her meticulous magic re-creating the Tokidoki heart and crossbones design using patience and small disco holograms.  We used a mix of MAC pigment in Violet, Bright Fuchsia and White Gold for the  gradation and on the ring fingers we added black black pigment to the mix...I think I love you...but what am I so afraid of...

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Filed under  //   nail art  
Posted July 17, 2010