Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers Year-End Top Ten!

 Since I started Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers in January 2013, it seems only fitting that the last Friday of the year should be a retrospective of a few of my favorite products, ending with a couple that I haven't reviewed yet! Now, I'm not really good at ranking the things I love, so don't think of this as a "Top 10 Best Products" but more of a "the first ten things I thought of that I love and happen to have pictures of."

#1. Urban Decay Build-your-Own Palettes. While it's true that the colors in the palette I featured above had a "meh" pay-off, I really like the 6-pan build your own palette box they came in, and I also love my 4-pan with "Rock" in it. I also like that more and more companies are developing their own build-your own, because anything that makes it easier for me to take all my favorite colors in one easy package is OK with me.

 #2. BLAST FLIPSTICK! It is possible that I included these just because I love the name, but honestly, I do get a ton of use out of the berry-hued one.

#3. Lip Tar by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. I can't get enough of this stuff and I recommend it to everyone, I've even got my mom and my mother-in-law wearing it.

#4. Shiny, iridescent, color-shifting nail polish colors. This one is part of Maybelline's Color Show line but I like other brands, too.

#5. THE WONDER PENCIL! Another product where I love the name, but this unassuming, affordable product really does come in handy and I use it all the time. 

#6. Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book. I haven't used this as much as I would like but I am really in love with the colors.

#7. Imperialis Facial Moisturizer by Lush Cosmetics. I LOVE this stuff. It makes my face smell like orange blossoms. It's a light, creamy moisturizer which keeps my skin from drying out in the desert air.

#8 and #9. Zoya brand nail polish and Jamberry nail wraps. I love Zoya for their unusual colors which tend to hold up well. Here I'm wearing Seraphina with a Black Friday exclusive Winter Morning nail wrap for a lovely, wintery nail look. Jamberry lets me have the fancy nail designs I'd never be able to master myself, without having to carve out time to go to the salon.

#10. e.l.f Lashes. They're affordable. They're available in a variety of styles. They're easy to buy at Target. And while I've been told the glue isn't great, it is latex-free. I honestly don't know why I've never reviewed these, as they're definitely perfect for bellydancers. I mean, at this price, you can even occasionally wear them for date-night or a party and not feel guilty.

Sally Hansen + Jamberry = LOVE

 Today I'm performing at a holiday party, wearing a bright green skirt and a black bra/belt set. I wanted my nails to be festive but not Christmas-y, because I'm not a Christmas-y person, so I felt like green nails with black accents would be pretty slick. I combined Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "In Record Lime" and a Jamberry wrap in Belle du Jour from my friend Kiss My Tips.

I love this combination! The Belle du Jour wrap adds a touch of elegance to my choice of almost obnoxious pea green. My nails are exciting without being too distracting, and the damask-like pattern will be the perfect compliment to the floral appliques on my bra and belt.

As for the nail polish, I am pretty impressed by the Insta-Dri line. Look at that brush! Why doesn't every nail polish have a brush with a rounded tip like that? It gets down perfectly into my cuticle without making a mess everywhere. Seriously, the smoothest application ever. In a $5 drug store nail polish! And I got that intense color from just one coat. Of course, I can't find "In Record Lime" on Sally Hansen's website so it must have been a limited edition, but there are plenty of other awesome colors to try, with or without a cool clear patterned Jamberry wrap layered over them (I vote for with).

I'm really excited about my nails right now and I can't wait to take them from gigs to socializing to dance class all weekend long.

Jamberry Nail Wraps

 Recently a friend of mine started her own Jamberry nail wrap business, Kiss My Tips, and when she offered to send out some samples, I jumped at the chance to try a new nail product and review it here on my blog.

In case you're not familiar with nail wraps, they're sort of like stickers for your nails. You can use them for an entire manicure, or pick a cute patterned one to use as an accent nail, as I did for my space-themed nail look here. For new, skeptical customers they suggest that you pit Jamberry against traditional nail polish for one week, by wearing your favorite color and some wraps for one week and seeing which looks better at the end of the challenge. Well, instead of using a favorite color I picked a random color from my stash that looked good with the galaxy-patterned wraps. This proved to be a mistake as the nail polish was old and from a random brand and didn't go on well and didn't last long even with a base and top coat. I was ready to remove my manicure after only about 4-5 days but I stuck it out for the full seven and this was the result:

The wrap on my left nail is in perfect shape! The one on my right looks pretty good but it was peeling away/fraying at the tip. I think when I applied them I didn't seal that edge well enough because it started peeling at the corner almost immediately, whereas the left one pretty much stayed in place.

Application and removal were pretty easy. You apply them with a bit of heat and pressure -- I used my space heater and it worked perfectly. I feel like it would take a little practice to line them up perfectly, because they went on a little crooked so I had blank space on one side, but you could only tell if you were really examining my nails. To remove, just heat them back up again and peel. They left some sticky residue on my nails, but I slathered on some cuticle cream and the oils broke up the adhesive. Easy-peasy.

I have really long nails, as you see, and by cutting a strip in half I was able to do two nails and have excess on the ends. During the week that I wore them, I did all the sorts of things that would abuse a manicure... Lots of handwashing and showers, including using using some body scrub, plenty of crafting, playing with pets, dance classes and performances, I even had to replace a split ring on my keys which did a number on my traditional nail polish. If they can hold up to my lifestyle, they're pretty sturdy. I'd definitely recommend them for my fellow dancers who lead a busy life and want to still have fabulous nails for class and gigs.

Although I still like traditional nail polish and enjoy taking the time to give myself a manicure, since Jamberry wraps come in a lot of fancy designs (patterns, ombre fades, even sports team logos), they're ideal for when you want one of those cool nail art manicures without stressing about how quickly it's going to chip! I've also heard that they come in glitter colors which don't leave sparkles all over your nails after removal, so I'm pretty intrigued by that. Oh yes, and you can of course use them on your toes, too.

FTC disclaimer: These wraps were provided for free for testing purposes. I chose to blog them of my own volition.