HANG TEN NOTD and Thoughts

When we were younger the style of the day was wearing Hang Ten clothing especially at the beach.  I worked a lot when I was in High School so my Sundays were always spent at the beach in my hang ten clothing, if I wasn’t working I was still wearing my hang ten clothing.  If I could have worn it to school I would have worn my Hang Ten clothing but we had a dress code at my school and could not wear t-shirts.  My parents would usually made it very hard for me to go to the beach, they would tell me I couldn’t go so I had to lie and say I was going to the movies.  I really envied the kids who did not have to lie about being at the beach. My mother just hated the beach so much she never wanted me there unless she was there.  I don’t know why since she can’t even swim and I was a really good swimmer, a strong one, plus I played tennis and my doubles partner and I were the best in the school.  I used to swim everyday as a matter of fact that is how I met my current husband.  He was our neighbor and I really kind of hated him because he would push me in the pool or run by and purposely cannonball into the pool.  I was in sixth grade at the time and he was in 8th.  I did not know that was the sign of a boy liking you.  He moved away during the summer of my 9th grade year and his 11th. By this time we had become more than friends and he wrote in my yearbook that when he was 18 he was going to come back and find me and marry me. My parents hated him because he had somewhat long hair and was Jewish.  My my parents were stout Catholics and they did not me to have anything to do with him. I was really heartbroken and it took a while for me to get over my first love but those trips to the beach were so soothing.  that summer and my girlfriends knew how much pain I was in and always made it fun for me.  We would walk on the jetties (that is what we called them they were really just a sea wall but we had words in Brownsville that were only used in Brownsville).  School started that that year I started dating another boy and met someone with him who I ended up marrying because I got pregnant.  When I was 18 my current husband called and said, “You are 18, now we can be together without any interference from your parents” I held back my tears and to him it was too late, I had gotten married and had a child.  He said he did not care just tell me where you are.  I said it is just too late and hung up telling him never to call again.  That hurt so much, I still loved him but had to stick to my decision.  So, doing this manicure was bittersweet.  It is about achieving peace, and knowing that pain can be relieved but maybe never gone.  About two years after marrying my husband my mom gave me my one of my yearbooks that my husband signed telling me he was going to come look for me when I was 18.  I had completely forgotten about it.  So, wearing this manicure today evoked all these memories.  My husband and I talked about being younger because he noticed the nails and he said it reminded him of the beach.  We had a good day and for that I am grateful and these nails brought about a beautiful day of remembrance.

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I used China Glaze nail polish in Seaspray and Man hunt, then bundle monster plates bm309 and bm320.
Before I wrote this I wanted to find out if they still sold Hang Ten clothing and they do at Kohl's.   I thought OP bought them out but I found some interesting things on the net.

                       
Someone else did hang ten http://arrtofnail.blogspot.com

a England

A couple of weeks ago a-England had their polish on sale with free shipping so, I took advantage of the sale to get two polishes I don't already have from the line.  I have all the Mythicals but very few of the Legends.  a-England polishes are very popular and with good reason.  The colors are beautiful and they wear very well.  You can buy these at Llarowe, Ninja Polish(who have them at the cheapest price but not always in stock) , Overall beauty or you can go right to the website but you will be paying in euro so make sure you use a currency converter so you won't be shocked at the price. Elaine is a beautiful purple and Holy Grail is a very yellow gold.   So, Here is Elaine and Holy Grail

Elaine 1

Elaine 2

Elaine 3

Holy Grail 1

Holy Grail 2

 Holy Grail 3

Do you have any a-England polishes and if you do, what do you think of them.  If you don't are they on your wish list?

Ciao bellas,

Patty

100 post giveaway

Finally got the rafflecopter done.  So here is the give away.  I hope you all like it.  I think the two polishes from Whimsical are the two best ones they have and the glitter removers are so much better than aluminum foil.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/32cda83/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seche Vite Restore

I have to write about this wonderful product.  You can use it when your Seche Vite topcoat gets thick and it really makes it workable again.  You can also use it in your nail polish and I think it might even be better than polish thinner.  I think polish thinner works good on stamping polish but the Restore works on nail polish.  I find polish thinner always seems to water down my polish too much and I hate that.  You just have more control when you use the Restore.  You the problem is with the Restore is that I have not been able to find it in any store.  I think the reason for that is that they want you to just buy a new bottle of topcoat.  I have always had to order it online.  It runs anywhere from $6.00-$7.00.  So if anyone knows where to buy this in a store let me and anyone else reading this know.  I really don't care because I order so much online it doesn'[t matter but sometimes you might find it cheaper somewhere other than the web.
Now, this is my 100th post.  I said I was going to have a give away and I really lucked out because I debated so much on what to get and today I got it.  It is late so I need to gather everything and photograph.  So, swing by tomorrow so you can see what is going to be on the giveaway.  Good stuff.
I hope someone wins this giveaway.  The last time no one did.  So, I am hopeful this time.
See you all tomorrow and have a good night.
Ciao,bellas,
Patty

Beatlemania----Strawberry Fields Forever.

China Glaze makes a beautiful color called Strawberry Fields and I thought I would just show that for my Beatlemania theme but I couldn't.  I remember when I was young and was dating my first husband his brother would always ask me what do you want to listen to and I always said Blue Album from the Beatles it second album.  The first song was Strawberry Fields Forever.  Finally after about two or three weeks the dummy realized I was asking him to hear the same album over and over.  (When I say album, I mean album, no CD's had even been invented and the music industry was slowly weeding out albums).  We ended up getting married and the first cassette I bought was the Beatles Blue Cassette.  I was so sad because I played that cassette so  much I ended up warping it.  It never came out on CD.  There was a red album with the earlier music and that was released but not the blue one.  So, I ended up buying most of the CD's that made up the blue CD, now it has been released.  Go figure.  But anyway, I still listen to the Beatles almost everyday and thought that the only good thing about the opening ceremonies of the Olymics was Paul McCartney singing "Hey, Jude".  What was kinda sad that there were people who could not sing part of the song.  Am I really that old.  My kids know the Beatles.  Who can't sing Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey jude?  How hard was that?  I was saddend, but oh well we can't all be the same.  So here is Strawberry Fields Forever.

China Glaze Strawberry Fields

China Glaze Strawberry Fields

 My stamped version of Strawberry Fields

My stamped version

Closeup

My last stamped version.

To do the stamped look I used Deborah Lippman's Almost Paradise then Bundle monster plate

bm05 for the strawberry and my DRK-A plate for the green that  looks like the fields.  I purposely made it a little abstract because the song is and I think I got the right effect.
Which do you like better the plain China Glaze or the stamped version?
Ciao,
Patty

Almost Paradise Deborah Lippmann

When I saw this color it was just so beautiful,  I knew I had to have it.  I used three coats and a top coat.  It lasted 4 days without chipping but I am pretty clumsy and hit my hands a lot on things.  I don’t know why.  Maybe I need to wear scuba gloves during the day.  I only do it at home no where else.  I do need to say that I am so clumsy that I have broken my pinkie twice and index finger once so sometimes if my hand poses look a little tense it is because I have usually had to position them to stay, but I also fell UP some stairs.  Notice I said UP not down and I landed on my elbow and had so much nerve damage that I lost complete feeling in my right arm.  So, painting my nails is really good exercise for keeping my dexterity up.  I guess what I am saying is that the nail painting is doctor approved for me.  Makes me laugh what else can I do.  I am just so clumsy.  So, back to the nail polish, it is so pretty and looks good with every color you can wear even orange.  I was surprised but it looked good.  The only thing I do notice about Lippman polishes is that they tend to be a little thick but I always put a dropper full of Seche Vite Restore and it works great. I will post more on Seche Vite Restore after the next two posts.















So, what do you think of this color? is it cool or does it look something you would never wear?Thumbs up- or down?
Ciao for now,
Patty

Just the Way You Are

When I found out we how out in the country we were going to be on our little vacation, I must admit,  I started to freak a little.  We went to the Frio River to tube down the rapids Ok, but then my sister says we need to bring our own sheets and that was fine.  I usually take my own sheets if I have to stay in a hotel.  But when I saw the terrain.  I really freaked.  What was I going to do?  First thing I did was to buy some scuba gloves.  I wasn’t about to mess up my nails.  Then I thought oh, no.  What nail polish do I take.  I can’t take my stamping plates and all that other stuff.  Then it hit me grab some indie polish.  It dosen’t need to be stamped. no marbling just a perfect little liquid in a jar.  My nieces always expect Aunt Patty to paint their nails so,  I grabbed three polishes Suprisingly, the girls did not want to paint their nails but I did and I was ready.  I took Pretty n Polished, Party on my Yacht it was perfect and I loved it just the way it was.  So please all the women making polish, keep us dripping in your beautiful bottles of precious polish.  I felt so pretty and it looked so pretty.  But I did suffer one weird thing from wearing gloves.  Sunburn on my arms and my hands are white but that will go away.
I

My sunburned arm. The things we do for beauty.  I am going to put some of that instant tan on my hands to even it out.
Time for sleep
Ciao for now, bellas,

Patty

Light Blue Marbling

It had been about eight months since I had done marbling.  That was what got me into starting on stamping too, before I was into nail polish but just the colors and no nail art.  Marbling started the whole nail art thing for me.

So for this I used only Essie nail polish, I used Bikini So Teeny, A bottle that does not have a name and I don’t remember the name, Turks and Caicos and A Crewed Interest..  I didn’t marble all the fingers just because I thought it looked interesting with just two fingers marbled.  I have two tips on marbling:  1.  you need to use bottled water and second if you keep your apartment or house very cold and the water is not really room temp.  pop the water in the microwave for a couple of seconds just to warm the water and help the polish spread when you drop it in the water..  Most polishes work for marbling.  My next marbling is going to be with del sol nail polish.  It is a nail changing polish.  one color inside and one outside.  So keep an eye out for it next week.
Till tomorrow,
Ciao,
Patty

Punk Rock Barbie by Rock Star Nails

Today, I have a really cool glitter from Rock Star Nails.  It is black white and pink, which were the popular colors of punk music.  It all started with the Ramones.  Then came several other bands but the one I remember most is the B52’s.  I loved them listened to them all the time,  Rock Lobster.  But then came Love Shack,  the video was so good and played on MTV at least twice a day but there was phrase no one understood until they played in slow motion,”Tin roof, Rusted”  after than everyone on the dance floor would scream it out then go back to the gyrating.  Fun times.
So for the manicure I used OPI’s Suzi Pedal Faster with one thick layer of the Punk Rock Barbie.  For the accent finger I used Konad black with my DRK-A Plate. 
Ciao for now,
Patty

My Ciate Manicure partially caviar

On Friday I went out and had a great manicure done by me.  I went to a party on Friday and wanted to be a little dressed up so I did something a little fancy.  I can't call it a caviar manicure but I did use Ciate nail polish.  I used Twilight with microbeads from the black caviar manicure set and gold microbeads from Recollections.  I hope you like it.  I did stay the night but I I took it off before I went to sleep because then I could not use my lemony flutter and hand cream with gloves.  So here it its.

Ciate Twight  nail polish

What do you think?  Do you like this or would the nails look better all black?

Well, still out of town.  Be back soon.

Ciao, bellas,

Patty

Butterflies are Free to Fly

Who doesn’t love butterflies?   They don’t bite most are very colorful.  Have you ever been in a field where a swarm of butterflies fly past you.  Probably not anymore with so much builiding going up.  When I was in second grade I used to walk to school and there was a field and on Spring mornings there were always butterflies in the field next to me.  I think that is when my obsession with butterflies started.  I was even noticing I have around five pair of butterfly underwear but it doesn’t compare to my obsession with nail polish but now I can have the best of both worlds nail polish and butterflies on my nails. 
This is a gradient I did with funky fingers nail polish.  I used a neon yellow and a dark blue because I knew the blue would give me more of the color green I wanted.   I used my practice finger for this.  I got the butterfly stamp from my DRK-A plate.  I need to say something about that plate.  I have told you all before that I have a really hard time stamping with regular polish and need to use Konad polish but this plate’s designs are pretty deep that I can actually work with some regular polishes. So, if you want to recreate this gradient I really recommend using a blue to create your green instead of green, it just seems to give the green a little different tint.
Ciao for now,
Patty

Dare to Bare

This post is sponsored by Dove® ClearTone™ Deodorant - designed to visibly reduce underarm dark marks and even skin tone.






With summer here and the sun sweltering down we put up our sweaters and boots and it is time for short shorts, tank tops and bikinis.  Time to head to the beach and the swimming pool to cool down from the heat.  But I know that once I put on my bare down to skimpy clothes I have some real problem areas starting with my skin.  In the winter, I tend to wear more pants and since I am wearing pants I might go three weeks without shaving.   Summer does not allow for that so when summer comes I need extra moisturizer from all the shaving and Dove offers a great line.  Right now I am using Cream Oil Intensive Body Lotion but I will be buying the pro-age Cream Oil Intensive Body Lotion since it does have two type of creams catering more towards the over 40's.  The other reason is I know I am going to get a sunburn and there is nothing like some cool lotion going on your skin after too much time in the sun to cool things down.  there is also a gentle exfoliating soap that you can use in case you burn and peel.  It will help gently take off any of that shedding skin and any time you feel like you need a little extra scrubbing and it is gentle so you don't have to worry about your skin getting a rash. 

If bar soap is not your thing.  Dove offers six different body washes.  Summer Care Body Wash has a nourishing, ultra-light hydrating formula to help revive summer skin like no other regular body wash. It has a clean, crisp scent of water fruits and lemon grass combined with our unique moisturizers leaving your skin fresh and rejuvenated.  

So, we are now at a point where we have our body ready to start going bare.  What about the armpits?  have you ever wondered why the skin on the armpits are darker dermatologists have come come up with five reasons:

Cause #1: Shaving.

When you shave you cut the hairs off at, or just below, the surface of the skin. If your hairs are slightly darker than your skin color, they can give the appearance that your skin has a dark stain when it`s really just sub-surface hair.

Solution:  Minimize shaving by waxing or using  Visibly Smooth Wild Rose Anti-Perspirant Deodorant it creates less stubble and keeps hair from growing so fast.

Cause #2: Buildup of dead skin cells.

According to at least one dermatologist, dark spots under your arms are the result of dead skin cells that are trapped in microscopic “hills and valleys” on your skin.

Solution:  Use Dove Gentle Exfoliating Beauty Bar

Cause #3: Antiperspirant and deodorant usage.

In theory, some ingredients in these products (perhaps the fragrance) could be reacting with the skin to cause discoloration. Practically speaking this seems unlikely but many people do claim that when they stop using antiperspirant/deodorant, the darkness goes away.

Solution:  OK, going without deodorant/antiperspirant is just socially unacceptable but Clear Tone™ Skin Renew Deodorant might be a good choice.  It lightness and softens the skin under your arms.

Cause #4: A medical condition called acanthosis nigricans.

This condition causes light-brown-to-black markings on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin. It can be related to insulin production or to a glandular disorder and it typically occurs in people who are overweight.

Solution:  This is a medical condition that you might have and should be treated by a doctor.


Cause #5: Hyper-pigmentation.

This condition causes your skin to produce excess melanin pigment. It doesn`t usually affect armpits, so it’s a less likely cause.

Solution:  This too is a medical condition that should be treated by a doctor. 


So, it is safe to say that the top 3 causes are solvable simple by using products recommended in the solution.  I for one will take that advice.  Again, these are products aimed at fixing the problem you are having and most of my readers know how I feel about using products in the correct way and by that I mean don't put products that go on your hemorrhoids on your eyes.  If you read most items you buy they will tell you do not put in eye area or any other part  of your body other than where it is intended to be used.

Now, hair, it can go crazy in the summer.  I tend to be a big head sweater and need to wash my hair everyday if I go outside for a long period of time, but since I color my hair my usually use a shampoo and conditioner that helps keep my color longer.  Dove also offers solutions to most hair problems special treatments for your damaged hair, gels, and hairsprays.

So, we've got our skin nice and smooth, using the right deodorant/antiperspirant and our hair is looking great.  What is left.  Show it off.  Don't be scared to go bare.  You are ready for summer so enjoy.

ciaon for now,
Patty

Dove Moisturizer

 Dove Body Wash

I was compensated for this post by the Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.
http://clevergirlscollective.com

KB Shimmer Cheerleader

Today, I got KB Shimmer Cheerleader in the mail.  I wanted it for a while and it was easy to order with her new website.  I used a coat of OPI Kiss My Tulips then two coats of KB Shimmer's Cheerleader.  I just love the way it looks and can't wait to go out and flaunt it tomorrow even my husband said he really liked that.  He sees so many polishes that when he tells me he likes on I know I hit a home run.  And this one hits a home run.
Ciao for now bellas,
Patty

Embarrasing Beauty Disasters Solved

This post is sponsored by Dove® ClearTone™ Deodorant - designed to visibly reduce underarm dark marks and even skin tone.

First I want to talk about armpits.  I know no one likes to talk about it but we all have them and they all sweat and stink.  Why don't other parts of my body do that?  Yes, your feet stick but no one really smells them unless you take your shoes off.    But go to the supermarket or church with out deodorant and people smell you a mile away.  Here is a little anatomy lesson. (Thankfully, I saved my anatomy books) Our bodies all have bacteria and the area under the arm is a prime place for bacteria to grow.  When sweat combines with the bacteria it smells.  That is the shortest way I can put it without talking about sebaceous glands and all that other stuff. The first weapon in fighting body odor is keeping the area clean.  Showering usually is a must. Dove offers a good assortment of body washes and beauty bars to keep that area clean.  OK, now you are clean what next, you do need more. At the onset of puberty your hormones are changing and one of the changes is the onset of body odor.  This is when you start using something to get rid of the odor  If you use only a deodorant it is going to kill the odor but not the perspiration.  (the wet stuff).   So, when buying a deodorant look for one that is a deodorant antiperspirant.  For example, Dove has a large assortment of deodorant/ antiperspirants in several scents.  Most are are designed not to stain your clothing. 
Still have body after using a deodorant/antiperspirant.  Dove has the answer with their clinical strength deodorant/antiperspirant.  This is a real break though in the fight against body odor because a formula like this used to only be available through a doctor  prescription.

Now, talking about breakthroughs,  let's talk about break outs.  Lots of times we cause our own breakouts.  A pimple is also caused by an oil gland that becomes infected when it becomes it becomes inflamed causing and inflammation filled with pus.  Just like body odor it is important to keep your face clean but sometimes we overdo it.  Have you ever used all kinds of facial products the cleanser, toner, moisturizer, with a mask all in one day and the next day have a couple of zits and think.  What happened I just took such good care of my skin.  Well, what happened in you skin was the oil glands can get over stimulated by washing too much and causing even worse breakouts.  I know that feeling you just want those pimples to go away.  Remember my Vegas story with the Monistat.  I wanted that acne to go away I was washing four times a day and really making things worse.  Now,  my case is different from a small breakout from over reacting oil glands in this case you need to use something gentle like Dove moisturizing soap twice a day and don't touch your face unless your hands are super clean.  Keeping your skin clean and lightly moisturized with bring everything back to normal.
So, whether it is acne or body odor Dove has a solution for you.



I was compensated for this post by the Clever Girls Collective.com. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

An Apology

In my post yesterday I asked for feedback. Today when I talked to my sister she said she was not able to post a comment. When I went into blogger I checked the comment option and it was closed. I have fixed that and now you can make comments and don't have to fill in some scrambled letter box. Again accept my apologies.
Ciao,
Patty