nail polish remover recommendations?!

As a broke college student, I definitely consider myself a bargain shopper. However, a good bargain shouldn't come at the expense of good quality!

For the past several years, I've relied on Rite Aid Nail Polish Remover. (OK, maybe I've gone a little TOO cheap.) That being said, I so need a new polish remover that is....

a) cheap ($5 or less)
b) effective (I'm definitely impatient, so I have little tolerance for removers that take forever to work!)
c) gentle/nourishing (I polish my nails A LOT, so I need something that won't dry my nails out and/or repair them

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in "Wild Child"

Here's the result of my first experiment with the "Salon Effects" nail polish strips by Sally Hansen. While I do love DIY nail art, the truth is that I'm an impatient kind of girl. So these no-dry strips seemed like a dream come true! My mom bought these for us to try awhile back. When I opened it, I discovered one of the little packets containing the strips had already been opened. Thinking my mom had just opened it to check out the pattern, I brushed this off. Unfortunately, upon reading the instructions, I quickly realized that once the packet has been opened, the strips lose their stickiness. Being the frugal Asian-American that I am, I refused to throw out an entire handful of otherwise perfectly good nail polish strips. My solution? Using a basecoat, then immediately sticking the strips down while the polish is still...damp? The final effect didn't turn out as clean as I thought it would, but hey, it was my first time! I guess I don't mind that they didn't turn out TOO perfect...I ended up going wakeboarding with my boyfriend and his family the next day, which scuffed up my nails anyhow. ;p

All in all, I think I would give these strips another shot. The designs are too cool to pass up!   

birthday swag from Sephora!

*excuse the non-rotation, even when I rotate my photos right-side up when I import them, they don't stay that way.


One of the many benefits of being a Beauty Insider at Sephora is that they give you a free gift on your birthday: this year's gift is a body wash from the Philosophy line. It smells like vanilla cupcakes! Happy birthday indeed. <3

eye candy and food for thought.

Saw this video on a friend's Tumblr: I'm hooked! This is "Ugly" by K-pop group 2NE1. I'm pretty sure this could be an anthem for many girls out there, even if you don't understand Korean. (I don't either- but the chorus is in English.) ;p 

Chorus: (courtesy of lyricsmode.com)

"I think I'm ugly

And nobody wants to love me

Just like her I wanna be pretty

I wanna be pretty

Don't lie to my face

Cause I know I'm ugly"

It's an interesting thing when women as gorgeous as the ladies of 2NE1 look at themselves in the mirror and don't like what they see. (Actually, who's to say whether they do or don't- pop songs don't always reflect the singers' actual lives!) From one perspective, it makes them seem more down-to-earth; it makes ordinary girls feel as though these superstars can relate to us. That at the end of the day, despite all the glitz and the glam, they have insecurities, just like the rest of us. But on the other hand, it's downright crazy- if our idols don't feel THEY live up to standards of "beautiful," then who can?!  

I'm not dead

My camera and computer are currently at odds, so I've been unable to upload any pictures. Boo!