I cut them off again!

Inevitably I must cut my nails. the more I try to file them down little by litte the thicker and stronger they become which is both wonderful and a true pain. I am having issues with two nails on my right hand peeling at the moment so I chopped those nails off last week but since I still needed to do a Thanksgiving video I decided to leave my left hand long--at least until last night. 

Hopefully now both hands can grow together--I am hoping for longer nails for graduation which is on December 15th!

After chopping, filing and painting here is what I am left with:

Color is Rescue Beauty Lounge: Concrete Jungle

Violet Tri-Color (World) Series Circle Lenses

Just figured that I would share this pair as well.  These lenses are made by Geo Medical and are called the Violet Tri Color Series. I was really excited to get these because the though of violet eyes seemed really pretty and unique. Overall though, I am pretty dissapointed in the pigmentation of these lenses. They look great in the case but not on my eyes. I've now realized that Geo Lenses aren't the best for color change--lesson learned. So again here is my eye without a lens:

Here is the lens:

And the lens in my eye:

 

Now the color shows up wonderfully up close but, once you get about 2 feet away the color is hardly noticable unless in direct sunlight. Just figured I would share this!

Circle Lens Review - PinkyParadise

Like everyone else with brown eyes, I've long dreamed of having blue, green, even gray eyes. Currently, I wear glasses but I try not to depend on them too much; they are mainly for night driving. The idea of going to the optometrist and purchasing contacts which I don't need to wear (unless at night) seemed  a bit daunting, not to mention expensive. Also, with regular colored prescription lenses you can hardly see the color! So I gave up.

Recently though I stumbled onto the concept of Circle Lenses which are a cosmetic colored contact lens that is used to enhance the size of and change the color of your iris. For reference the iris is the colored portion of your eye and the pupil is the black dot in the center. I was quite intrigued/curious and wanted desprately to order a pair. Then it came down to: Who is certified to sell them?, Do they have fast shipping (I'm impatient), Are they recommended by people who've purchased from them before? and finally, Do they have the lenses that I am/was looking for?

After much thought, consideration, and research, I found Pinky Paradise. They specialize in selling a huge variety of circle lenses at an incredible price. I was only able to find 2 reviews on Youtube (which is my go-to review place now) so after watching both I decided to go for it. I placed my order on November 20th and received my order on the 23rd! (Shipping is from Malyasia and I chose the FedEx Express option which was $18--told you I was impatient!) I ordered 3 pairs of lenses, each of which came with a cute animal case (it was a nice extra but remember to change cases from time to time). You can purchase lenses with prescription but I chose to order Plano (non-prescription). Circle Lenses should not be worn for more than 6 hours!

Here are the lenses I purchased and pics of how they look on my eye:

First, I'll show you my eye alone (All pics were taken without eye makeup so you can really see the color minus any distractions!)

I say that I have a medium brown eye (my friends say my eyes look like root beer in the sun)

The first lens that I'll show you is the E.O.S. "Adult Grey" [E-203] (E.O.S. is the manufacturer)

The Adult Grey was actually the lens I was most excited about and one of the harder to find. It photographs very blue and I'd say it is a blue/purple toned gray. The pattern fades pretty nicely into my actually iris color and they compliment each other fairly well. This shade really opens my eye even though there is not really any enlargment shown. The enlargement effect comes from having a darker (limbic) ring around the outer edge of the lens. Since the limbic ring is absent from this lens the color change is the greatest effect. These look wonderful on and they are very comfortable. For reference these are 14mm, 8.6 base curve (price: $22.90)

The next lens I purchased was the Tri-Color Green (World Series) [CM-903] Manufactured by Geo Medical. Geo is probably the easist brand of lens to find here in the US and is also probably the most common. Many sites sell Geo not many sell such a large variety as Pinky Paradise.

The color of these lenses are absolutely beautiful. Very natural gradiation pattern and the center can blend well with the natural brown iris color. Even though I love the color this pair isn't my favorite. I love it, but not my fav! This lens like the Adult Grey is not really for enlargement also there is slight enlargment due to the gradiation. For reference: 14mm, 8.6 base curve (price: $20.90)

The finally pair I have to show you is my favorite. They are called Hana SPC Natural Grey (Hana SPC is the Manufacturer)

To show the enlargement I'll show my regular eye next to the eye with the lens.

To truly see the difference look at the amount of "white" on my eyes! Also, note the dark ring around the edge of the lens which is called the limbic ring. This dark ring gives your eye depth hence providing the appearance of enlargment!

The pattern and color of these lenses is very natural. I absolutely love this pair! They are the most comfortable out of the three I purchased. For reference: 14.5mm, 8.6 base curve (price: $25.90)

Customer Service

The customer service with Pinky Paradise was amazing. I emailed with them back and forth a few times before making my purchase. As I mentioned previously their current promotion is for 1 free animal lens case with the purchase of 1 pair of lenes (2 pairs=2cases, 3pairs=3cases, etc). As I mentioned I used the FedEx Express Shipping option which is delivered within 3-5 days. For my purchase of 3 pairs, the cost was $18, however the cost varies by weight so purchasing more lenses will cost more to ship. There is also the registered mail option which arrives within 7-21 working days (again, cost varies by weight). My package was shipped the same day that I placed my order and everything came wrapped in layers and layers of bubble wrap, then everything was placed in a bubble mailing envelope which was then placed into the FedEx bubble mailer. Very safe!

Pinky Paradise also offers a wide range of brands to choose from including Hana SPC, G&G, Dueba, Geo Medical, E.O.S., T.Top, Barbie and numerous others. Besides selling lenses and lens paraphanalia Pinky Paradise also sells Asian products including Makeup, Hair Dye, Lashes, Masks and other fun items including Animation Lenses and Cosplay items.

The only downside to my purchase was that there was no instruction card as to how to open the lenses. Now, I had done plenty of research and watched plenty of videos so I knew how to do it but, I am thinking about other people who may not be so well informed. :)

(what the animal cases look like)

As a side note and why I am loving Pinky Paradise:

I ordered lenses from another popular lens company that is actually based here is the US (I will not name names but if you've watched many youtube videos on Circle Lenses it is pretty easy to guess). The prices were comparable and the shipping was cheaper. I placed that order on October 30 and still have not received it. Not to mention that they still do not have one item I ordered in stock! I ordered from Pinky Paradise with low expectations and truly couldn't be happier with everything.

If you are interested in trying out Circle Lenses I'd highly recommend PinkyParadise.com

Last bit of info--For the 3 pairs of lenses shown above, 3 cases, and shipping my order total was: $87.70 (way cheaper than some companies who are advertsing via youtube right now!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another lovely holiday. Please have a safe and happy turkey day. Make sure to eat lots, love lots and watch football and black friday advertising on tv (Okay that last part not so much). I am completely ill prepared for this one though in terms of a nail design. So here is my last minute, easy as pie buckle design.

I PASSED!

As some of you may know, I am currently a graduate student working to complete my Master of Science Degree. As of 3 pm today I have officially passed my oral defense. This may not mean much to anyone but me but I figured I would share a little bit of my peronal life with you all. I officially graduate in December but right now I am so excited to be finished!
Thanks for reading and commenting!

Where did the blog sale go...?!?!

Hey everybody! For those of you who were wondering, my blog sale has been moved to livejournal. If you are curious to see what was listed check out the link below. I've updated it and added more to it since moving it.
If you want something, than comment on the post. Anyone can comment, you do not need to have a livejournal account! Thanks!

To view the sale click here: Livejournal Makeup Sale (this link will take you to another website)

Twilight Saga--New Moon Inspired Nails

Okay, okay so I am not a crazy twilight fan however, I have read the series and seen the one movie currently out. It's fun to watch and books are incredibly easy to read so while I am not a crazy obsessed twilight fan, I am not a hater either.

This nail art design was inspired by the cover art for the New Moon book in the twilight series. It features a beautiful red and white flower which I do not know the name (sorry). Here is a picture of the book cover:

And here is what I came up with:

The design is a combination of a feathered look and layering. I used two coats of China Glaze Liquid Leather to start with, then painted the red and white design with OPI Vodka & Caviar and China Glaze White on White. I like the overall design. It is my little way of celebrating the upcoming release of the movie without people being like, "OMG you like twilight!" if you know what I mean.

Falling Leaves/ Autumn Inspired Nail Art

My latest nail art design was inspired by the changing of the seasons. The leaves changing color and falling, the days ending a bit earlier and the cold weather approaching. Okay, so only half of that really applies here in Las Vegas so I should say it is inspired by all things fall, no matter where you live.  This design was a combination of two requests that I have received: the first for a nail art design using a nude color as the background and the second was for a fall design. Seeing as how I am nearing the end of my Master's program I have precious little time over these next 2 weeks to get videos made, edited and put together so combining the two requests was a bit selfish of me but...what can I say?

Here are a few pictures of what I came up with. Please forgive how dark they are I filmed this tutorial and took these pictures at midnight...

Here is the video as well if you'd like to see how I did it: