50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong

Did I ever talk about the Milani One-Coat Glitters?
I got them on Christmas at the only open store that day: CVS.
I had to go for the whole collection because they were aaaahhhhh-MAZE-ing!!!

One of my favourites is Gold. Yes, just Gold. No clever names. Gold.
Ya know why? Cuz it's gold. Very very gold.

I wanted this one to last and BLING for days so I got:
1 coat Orly Bonder
2 coats Milani Gold (Honestly, none of them are "one-coat glitters")
1 coat OPI Gold Glitter Top Coat (part of the holiday collection a few years ago)
1 coat Out The Door
1 coat OPI Rapid Dry

It lasted through 3 days of work. A record!

I can't wait to put this back on. It reminds me of this album cover:

Bundle Monster Contest!

A few weeks ago, I got my first Konad set. I loved it. LOVED it! So of course my broke ass went out and got the Bundle Monster set. It's way cheaper than Konad and works really awesome. Sure, it has some problems - the plates are un-backed and kinda sharp and the full-nail designs are too skinny for thumbs - but there is a whole new set coming out that addresses those issues!!

To celebrate, Bundle Monster is doing a contest where the winner gets the new set!
I'm sure all the established nail bloggers have this wrapped up, but even so I'm entering. I love doing the stamping plates so much and I get so many complements on my nails. Today, the lady at the bank was gaga over it!
I feel so pretty!

Chicago Bound?

Yes, yet another "I'm still alive" post.
After waiting 5 months to get my van back from Burd Ford (okay, first I towed it in to Paul Harvey Ford but when they went out of business it was towed to Burd Ford in December), it is now again dead on the side of the road. Burd Ford did not fix my van. When I called them after they inherited it, they said they'd fix it. When I called them Friday after picking it back up, they said it was fixed. When it kicked out in the exact way it originally kicked out, I realised it was not fixed.
Burd Ford can suck my toe.

Having my ability to get to and from work and school directly tied to having a vehicle doesn't work for me. I didn't have my driver's license until I was 19 (and then only had got it so I could drive to Milwaukee and get a tattoo before I turned 21) and didn't own my own car until I was 23 or 24.
Indianapolis, however, only has the choice of driving, walking a mile or so to the bus, driving, getting a ride from someone, driving, paying 40 bucks for a taxi, driving, or driving.
When it comes to getting to work, the only option is driving.
Seriously, an 8 mile taxi ride to work today is going to cost me about 40 bucks. 40 bucks!? I could get all the way to O'Hare from The Loop for 40 bucks!!

I guess if I had the money to fix my car, rent something for the time that it's in the shop, and pay today's taxi, everything would be fine.
But Steve, my significant other, lost his job in January and still has no income. He has been denied unemployment benefits, refuses to sign up the various assistance programs available to the unemployed, and is no closer to getting a job than he was in January.
After several hits to my bank account, I'm simply out of money and likely won't be able to pay for whatever repair my vehicle needs. Or I could pay for the repair but the electricity would be shut off, I'd lose my phone, have nothing to eat and probably get evicted next month for non-payment.

So....
Once I talk to my teachers and see if I can Skype in to class from Chicago (I'm only in 2 classes... Foundations and Printmaking), I'm likely putting my tail between my legs and slinking back to Chicago.
That means no more school. No more work toward getting to Ryerson University. No more dreams of working in a museum's archives. Just hair. Hair and makeup. Hair and makeup until I'm old, arthritic, and bitter from being alone every G. D. holiday.

With as much as I love Chicago, you'd think I'd be happy about this decision but I'm not. I'm f'in pissed that I have to make these kind of decisions out of desperation. I'm pissed that I have to, again, put my dreams on hold... probably forever.
I am happy though, that I made the decision 8 years ago that broadcast journalism wasn't for me and I learned how to do hair. It would be a lot harder to move around like this and work my way through school while trying to work at a radio station. With the way federal funding for public broadcasting is in peril, I'm pretty happy I'm working in a vanity industry during one of the most vain times in history. Go me. Or whatever.

So that's whats up. Maybe soon I'll have some great beauty shit to talk about but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

Back online!

The internet man came today and installed the tubes needed for our house.
Everything is well. We've gotten past the hard part, I think...
My man's still looking for a job and his unemployment insurance should pay out soon so we won't be in such a tough spot.

Even so, it's likely there won't new stuff posted for a while. I will be attending America's Beauty Show (the Chicago Midwest Beauty Show) in March so I hope to have a lot to say about what's seen there.
No fear, I have a huuuuuge backlog of groovy things and techniques to talk about.

An idea perhaps?

Sorry for the lack of photos lately... Just haven't really had anything to photograph. Trust me, you do NOT want to see the chipped up blue glitter on my nails right now.

Which brings me on a tangent:
WTF with the new "One Coat Glitters"? Every time I've worn them, they chip the next day. Lame!

So anyway, I think I have an idea...
Today, we had our "Junk Swap" in my Foundations class. Foundations is where you begin to learn how to work with art supplies, try out some new stuff without too much a fear of failure, and really just let your creativity fly. My teacher does a LOT of mixed media work, so much of our work this semester will also be mixed media. We all brought in our various junk and leftover art supplies and traded with each other so we can maybe get inspired for other great stuff.

I took in 2 laundry baskets, a cardboard box, a shopping basket (which I totally admit I stole while I was a teenager), and a crockpot and came home with a laundry basket of other stuff. YAY! Things I don't have to pack back up!!

One of the things I picked up was a bottle of magnetic fingerprint powder. I almost hate mentioning this because someone with more knowledge and time than I is probably going to jump on this idea moments after I hit "post"... but I think I can use this stuff to make magnetic nail polish.

Now, I don't have any magnetic polishes of my own to even really know what on earth magnetic polish is but I've read a lot of blogs about it and I think I might be able to do this. I know it's highly prized and rather expensive. If I can successfully franken some, it will really open up so many colour options and finishes. How awesome would magnetic matte be?

Actually, probably not very. Meh, I'll try it anyway!

Get references...

This is what bad extensions look like.

Poor girl probably paid much too much for strand-by-stand THEN let someone just hack into it.
If I were her, I would not have paid and demanded immediate removal.

There really is a right way and a wrong way to cut extensions. This isn't one of those subjective things. Yes, a lot of styling is up to the individual but extensions MUST be cut in a certain manner.

This is why you should get references and take a look at a stylists' portfolio before you spend the money for high-dollar services like extensions (even sew-ins) and colour corrections. In this case, I can only hope that the cost of the hair was not a non-refundable deposit as it is in my salon.

Markwins wants you to have an awesome prom.

This just came across my facebook:

http://www.happi.com/news/2011/01/14/wet_n_wild_rolls_out_prom_charity_effort

For many teens who dream of a magical prom, the reality can be disenchanting—low funding can lead to drab decor, dispiriting tunes and disagreeable munchies for a night destined to be remembered in shades of gray. But now Markwins’ wet n wild brand is out to add some color with wet n wild Cares, a nationwide charity program to support proms at 10 deserving high schools.

The charity effort will provide 10 high schools with $1,000 to make their prom dreams a reality. Starting Jan. 21, 2011, schools can enter online at wnwbeauty.com or via email.In a letter, video or however they desire, schools will explain their need and why they deserve a prom sponsorship.

In addition, wet n wild will give the selected schools $1,000 worth of makeup, the company said.

Entries are due by March 4, 2011, and th winning schools will be announced on March 11. They will also be featured on wet n wild's website wnwbeauty.com, which will display photos from the bashes.

 

 

I'm going to enter my local high school. Some of the kids are farm kids and alot of the gals I cut hair for are foster children. There's not a lot of money in that school system. I already plan on giving up a day of (really good) wages to volunteer for their "Cinderella" program. 

My prom was... meh... I've never really been a prom person. I went with my Jr. boyfriend my Soph. year and then went with my Sr. boyfriend (not the same dude) my Jr. year but didn't stay the whole time because the local Hooters was giving away Smashing Pumpkins tickets. I think I made the right choice. That boy turned out to be a liar and a cheat and got really ugly. Billy Corgan, on the other hand, still says hi to me when we pass on the street and is not too bad looking for an old, old man. Seriously, Corgan is ancient. He never needs powder on that bald head because it's already covered with a layer of dust. The reason he's been playing louder and harder is because he's too stubborn to buy a new hearing aid. He's so old that when God said, "Let there be light".... Okay, okay. But really, folks, Billy Corgan is deaf. 

Rippin' on Corgan aside, even if I didn't find prom to be worth the rhinestones on my shoes I know that it's the end all for many girls. I'd like to encourage all of you to support your local high schools by donating your unused makeup, giving away your old prom dresses, or by helping the girls get ready for their special day. Talk to the school's guidance councilor (do those even still exist) and he or she can probably help you get together a "Cinderella" program for your area.